"We'll all die if we don't run, everyone together—" A brigand had barely shouted when, "Thwack!" His head exploded, and he tumbled from his horse.

The brigand beside him had his helmet pierced clean through. Hong Zhenjie, already terrified, shuddered violently at the sight. His heart clenched painfully, and his legs felt weak. Under the protection of Fourth Master Hong all these years, when had this Young Master 'Hong Zhenjie' ever truly clashed with a formidable master?

"What now, what now? What should I do? I can't die, I can't die!" Hong Zhenjie felt like he could barely breathe. He fiercely wiped the rainwater from his face, glaring through gritted teeth at Great Yan Mountain. He had never imagined that Great Yan Mountain could also instill such fear in him.

He had no idea when another hidden projectile might shoot out from the mountain.

Fear! It wasn't just Hong Zhenjie who was afraid; some of the other brigands were on the verge of collapse.

"If we don't run, it's death!" A voice choked with fear sounded, and immediately seven brigands fled on horseback.

"Thwack!" "Thwack!"...

Seven pebbles sliced through the air in succession. In the span of a single breath, none of the seven brigands had fled five zhang before they all fell from their mounts.

"Don't run, running means death!" A brigand immediately shouted. Indeed, every brigand who had run, even those who loudly called for flight, had been killed. Every single brigand remained frozen in place, gripped by terror.

No one dared to flee; to flee was to die!

"What now, Young Master? What should we do?"

"He's going to kill us all, Young Master!"

...

Everyone placed their hopes on the Young Master! This Young Master, lauded as the second most skilled expert in the White Horse Gang!

"All of you, shut up!" Hong Zhenjie roared in anger.

Having great strength did not equate to having strong mental fortitude. Especially since his senior martial brother, whose strength was nearly equal to his own, had been killed without any chance to resist. Even the far stronger Fourth Master Hong had his weapon blasted away. Hong Zhenjie knew... he himself definitely could not escape these deadly hidden projectiles.

"Don't make a sound, the Young Master is thinking of a solution," one brigand bellowed.

Suddenly, a brigand jumped off his horse, hiding behind the animal, and shouted: "Everyone, dismount and use the Green-Mane Horses as shields. That guy from the Iron Mountain Gang can't kill us if we do that."

Following suit, a large number of brigands swiftly dismounted one after another. They all hid behind their horses, afraid to show their heads.

"This is much better now," Hong Zhenjie secretly sighed in relief. "A hidden projectile master? My Green-Mane Treading-Snow steed is powerfully built and protected by two layers of heavy armor. No matter how skilled that master is, he couldn't possibly shoot through the Treading-Snow steed and then kill me, right?" Not only Hong Zhenjie thought this way, but the other brigands did too.

Inside Great Yan Mountain. Teng Qingshan watched the scene unfold and let out a cold sneer: "Do they think horses don't feel fear?" Teng Qingshan knew very well that at full power, a pebble could penetrate a warhorse and still kill the brigand behind it. But doing so would place too much strain on his wrist.

Teng Qingshan gripped a handful of pebbles in each hand.

"If the horses run, let's see what you do!" Teng Qingshan suddenly threw both handfuls of pebbles toward the brigands.

...

"Young Master, what should we do now?" A group of brigands huddled behind their warhorses, beginning to confer.

With his safety seemingly assured, Hong Zhenjie could finally think normally. Just then, a brigand nearby shouted: "Young Master, the twelve men we just recruited—not a single one of them has died! They don't have heavy armor, so it should be easier for that Iron Mountain Gang expert to kill them than to kill us."

All the brigands noticed this strange fact.

"They haven't lost a single man, yet we've already lost forty-three brothers," one brigand cried out. Although these twelve men were about to join the White Horse Camp, they hadn't been around long, and the other brigands didn't share much camaraderie with them.

"Young Master, is it possible that the Iron Mountain Gang expert is only killing those of us who destroyed the Iron Mountain Gang, and not them?" one brigand suggested.

"Hmm." Hong Zhenjie cast a cold glance at the twelve men and agreed with the assessment.

Just at that moment—

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"...

A torrent of pebbles shot wildly from Great Yan Mountain. Each pebble directly pierced the heavy armor on the horses' bodies and sank into their flesh. Two unlucky steeds were shot straight through the head.

The neighing of horses erupted!

With their legs kicking wildly, the pain of the projectiles caused the warhorses to bolt in panic. The brigands couldn't hold on, and a few who gripped the reins were dragged along the ground by their mounts.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three more pebbles flew. Three of the brigands dragged by their stampeding horses had their heads pierced instantly, blood gushing out as they fell dead.

Just as he felt safe hiding behind his horse, Hong Zhenjie watched his own mount bolt away. In desperation, Hong Zhenjie actually grabbed the corpse of a fallen man to shield himself. The hope that had just appeared was shattered as the horse fled, plunging the brigands into even deeper terror.

Many brigands imitated Hong Zhenjie, grabbing corpses to use as shields.

"Young Master, let's fight our way up the mountain!"

"You damn fool, do you even know where that person on the mountain is? We'll all be killed before we even reach the base of the mountain."

"Everyone, shut up!" Hong Zhenjie roared fiercely in his panic.

The brigands fell silent instantly.

At that moment—

"Let's run! That Iron Mountain Gang expert isn't killing us!" A burly man holding a long spear suddenly bolted—he was one of the twelve men newly recruited into the White Horse Camp. The other ten, equally terrified, immediately began to flee as well.

"Stop them!" Hong Zhenjie yelled in anger.

"Trying to escape!" Some of the surrounding brigands kicked the fleeing man down with a heavy boot.

Of the twelve, only eight managed to escape; four were intercepted. Indeed, Teng Qingshan had not struck those eight.

"Young Master, please spare me. I have a wife and children!" One burly man knelt down repeatedly, kowtowing.

"I'm suffering here, and you want to escape safely," Young Master Hong Zhenjie felt deeply resentful. "Unless I leave here alive today, none of you are going anywhere."

Forcing others to die alongside him?

"Bastards!" The four men who were intercepted cursed under their breath, filled with hatred. But surrounding them, a brigand held a long spear pressed against their throats, ensuring they dared not move.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Four sounds rang out in succession. The brigands guarding the four men had their heads pierced.

The four watched in shock as the guards beside them collapsed, but a moment later, overwhelming joy surged through them. As the first one took off running, the other three spread their legs and sprinted away wildly.

"Let's run too!" Two of the brigands actually took off running just like the other four.

Two pebbles sliced through the air, leaving streaks of blood, and two bodies crashed down.

To run was to die!

Not to run was to wait for death!

Under the pouring rain, these ninety-odd brigands were going insane.

"Brothers, let's charge up together and kill that guy!" A brigand, using a corpse for cover, shouted frantically.

But with a "Thwack," a pebble grazed the corpse and pierced his throat. This brigand also died instantly!

"What, what exactly do you want before you'll let us go!" A brigand collapsed, shouting madly toward Great Yan Mountain.

Young Master Hong Zhenjie's mental state was worse than that of most of the brigands: "I'm going to die here, I am definitely going to die! I can't hide from it, I can't hide!" Hong Zhenjie trembled all over, his eyes bloodshot. He yelled hoarsely toward Great Yan Mountain: "What do you want? What exactly do you want? Tell me! I'll give you everything, I'll give you all of it!"

But there were still some brigands driven to madness.

"You bastards from the Iron Mountain Gang, even if I die, my eight thousand brothers in the White Horse Gang will avenge me!" A stout brigand roared suddenly.

"Shut up," Hong Zhenjie violently turned and shrieked at the brigand.

The brigand paused, staring at him. Then, he too became enraged: "Young Master, what's the worst that can happen? Death! What's there to be afraid of!"

"You shut up!" Hong Zhenjie slapped the brigand down.

"Hahaha... So this is the Young Master of the White Horse Gang! Hahaha..." A deep voice suddenly echoed across the heavens and earth, loud enough to drown out the sound of the storm.

All the brigands instantly fell silent.

This voice belonged to the hidden hidden projectile master in the mountains.

"Yes, I am, I am the Young Master of the White Horse Gang," Hong Zhenjie stammered. "Tell me, how exactly can you let me go? Just say the word!"

"You must die today!" The deep voice boomed across the world.

Hong Zhenjie's face instantly turned deathly pale: "No, no—"

"However, the other brigands do not necessarily have to die!" The voice continued. Many of the remaining brigands cheered inwardly. "If you can kill this Young Master Hong Zhenjie, I will spare your lives! But if you help Hong Zhenjie, you will also certainly die!" The voice reverberating through the heavens and earth threw the brigands into chaos.

Kill the Young Master?

Who in the White Horse Gang would dare kill the Young Master? But at this moment of life and death, many brigands began to exchange glances.

"What are you doing?" Hong Zhenjie cried out in shock and anger.

"Brothers," some brigands roared, "What's the worst that can happen? Death! Do you really think that bastard from the Iron Mountain Gang will let you go so easily?"

"Brothers, there is no second choice today, kill this Hong Zhenjie!"

"If Hong Zhenjie doesn't die, we die!"

Immediately, brigands shouted, and suddenly, more than half of them, holding long spears, charged toward Hong Zhenjie. However, a portion of them, absolutely loyal after being trained by Fourth Master Hong since childhood, fiercely protected Hong Zhenjie, turning to attack these traitors.

A chaotic melee erupted.

Lives were lost in the mutual slaughter, and blood pooled everywhere. The relentless rain washed over it, dyeing a large area of the surroundings red.

"You want to kill me? Go die!" Hong Zhenjie was indeed known as the second master of the White Horse Gang, killing more than a dozen attacking brigands in succession.

At this point, only twenty or thirty brigands remained alive.

"It seems I must intervene myself!" The deep voice sounded again.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! ...

A multitude of pebbles sliced through the air, killing brigands one by one, including those who were attacking Hong Zhenjie.

In mere moments, only Young Master Hong Zhenjie remained alive.

Hong Zhenjie gripped his long saber, looking around at the field of corpses. Of the 146 brigands, only he was left. Hong Zhenjie’s eyes suddenly widened, and he roared toward Great Yan Mountain: "It was you! You deliberately let us slaughter each other so you wouldn't have to exert yourself, didn't you?" At this stage, Hong Zhenjie finally understood.

"You are quite intelligent!" The voice, originally deep, suddenly became strikingly familiar.

"That voice, where have I heard it before..." Hong Zhenjie frowned.

A figure then leaped down from Great Yan Mountain, landing on the muddy ground and walking toward Hong Zhenjie. Hong Zhenjie braved the downpour, gazing closely at this person. He desperately wanted to see... who this terrifying hidden projectile master, this nightmarish existence, truly was! Otherwise, he would die unwillingly!

"It's you!" Hong Zhenjie stared in shock, his eyes wide.

Teng Qingshan, completely unarmed, walked toward Hong Zhenjie step by step.

"You killed my senior brother, you caused my father's death! It was you all along, Teng Qingshan!" Hong Zhenjie's eyes filled with terror, and he instinctively backed away.

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