Under the night sky, torches were sparsely lit on the city walls of Tongshan County. Occasionally, a few guards would patrol the area.
When it was close to nine o 'clock, the east-facing city gate opened and five riders filed out of the city.
Xu Dong, who was in the lead, rode a tall horse and wore soft leather armor. He carried two large sabers on his back and held a guandao in his hand. Twelve flying sabers were lined up in front of his chest, complementing his tall and mighty figure. From afar, he looked like an Asura overflowing with murderous intent on the battlefield. It was unknown how many lives he was going to crush.
Before the Li family of Tongshan County married into their family, he had been a martial artist in dire straits with no foundation. However, he had been taught martial arts by a famous master when he was young and had practiced long, medium, and short sabers. Back then, Li Yanfeng had seen that he was an outstanding fighter and that he was submissive when he was down and out, so he had arranged the marriage between him and his sister.
Among the three types of sabers, the guandao was suitable for charging on the battlefield and breaking formations on horseback. The large saber was used for close-quarters chopping and hand-to-hand combat, while the throwing knife was good for sneak attacks and killing. Xu Dong practiced all three types of sabers. His level of martial arts wasn't high, but he had some understanding of how to deal with all kinds of fighting situations.
When the Female Zhenren arrived, Li Yanfeng had organized people into the mountains, so Xu Dong was given the important task of leading the scouts. After that, Tongshan County was breached and half of the city burned down. Xu Dong, Li Yanfeng, and the others watched from afar with scouts. Although the Female Zhenren had left quickly and they didn't engage in direct combat, at that moment, they were indeed the closest to the Female Zhenren's troops.
After that, Li Yanfeng eliminated dissidents and unified Tongshan, and Xu Dong's status rose accordingly. But in general, he was only given some peripheral power and was excluded from the core of the Li family's power. Xu Dong was not satisfied with these things.
Fighting head-on on the drill ground was a stupid way to "follow the rules". He might only be able to fight to a draw with several Foreign Officials of the Li family, but among those Foreign Officials, which one of them was an "all-rounder" like him? What he practiced was the art of battle formations, an unscrupulous killing technique. For his sister's sake, Li Yanfeng simply wanted to suppress people like him so that they couldn't stand out.
Of course, there was no need to doubt Li Yanfeng's skill in martial arts. Especially his ruthlessness, it caused Xu Dong to not dare be too disloyal. It was impossible for him to openly oppose Li Yanfeng, but he could share the burden of the Li Clan and seize credit so that no one could ignore him in the end. He could do these things openly.
The four bailiffs that followed him out were his direct subordinates that he had nurtured in Tongshan County. At this time, they were all dressed in leather armor. Some carried barbed fishing nets, while others carried lime. They carried weapons of different lengths. In the past, these people had also received private training from Xu Dong.
Stepping out of Tongshan County's city gate, one could only see the pitch-black silhouette of the mountain ridge in the distance. Only a few places were dotted with the lights of the surrounding villages. The road to the Li Clan's Wu Castle had to cross a mountain ridge. Someone said, "Boss, the people who came said that the murderer is not easy to deal with. Do we really have to go there at night?"
"What are you afraid of?" Xu Dong glanced at him. "Is a joint attack on the battlefield the same as a one-on-one fight in the woods? What are you wearing? It was A! If he can't kill you with a knife, he'll be the one to lose his life! What Lulin Hero? If you're caught in a fishing net and surrounded by people, you can only be hacked to death! No matter how powerful Shi Shuifang's martial arts are, can't you surround him and kill him? "
"We're not afraid of Shi Shuifang."
"He died when he was alone!" Xu Dong said. "We don't fight with people. If you want to kill someone, the best way is to swarm him. You're wearing armor. When the time comes, it doesn't matter if you use fishing nets, lime, or rush up to hug him. As long as one of you succeeds, the person is dead. What's there to think about at a time like this? Besides, can an outsider scoundrel be more familiar with Tongshan than you? Back when we were hiding from the Nüchen, which inch of the mountain hadn't we been to? Do I need to say who took advantage of us when we went out at night? "
"You followed me and patrolled the streets of the city every day in dog skins. How much of the profits from Tongshan and the Li Clan did you get? You don't know? Today's incident is the time for those so-called Lulin Heroes to see what you're capable of. Do you still want to stand up for yourselves? If you're afraid now, go back immediately. Don't blame me, Xu Dong, for not hanging you up when there's something good in the future! "
After he said this, the first person raised his head. "Boss, I was just saying casually. If we're talking about killing someone, we're not being vague."
Someone patted his chest. "That's right! This person just fought twice at the Li Clan's mountain in the evening. He must be exhausted. In my opinion, we don't even need to go to the Li Clan's side. We can just look around and find him. "
"No matter how skilled he is, he's still a person. As long as he's caught in this net, he can only lie down and let us do whatever we want. So what if we take a knife from him?"
The four of them were provoked and became excited. Xu Dong smiled sinisterly. "That's the logic! This time, we'll show our faces on the mountain first and then find that person. We'll let him know what it means to live a life worse than death. Everyone comes out to seek riches and honor. It's always been a matter of life and death! If we don't die, we'll live forever! Let him die — "
As he said this, he suddenly spurred his horse forward. The other four followed closely behind. The warhorse passed through the darkness and advanced along the familiar path. When the night wind blew, the blood in Xu Dong's heart boiled and burned. He found it hard to calm down. The endless beatings and humiliation of the wicked woman at home flashed before his eyes. The ignorant and offensive actions of the few foreign scholars made him angry. The woman's resistance made him fail in the end and he was even caught red-handed by his wife. This series of events made him furious.
These people didn't understand the truth of chaotic times. Had it not been for the freak accidents that had happened before, even if that woman had resisted, she would have been tamed by him sooner or later after being beaten up a few times. The insensible scholars had angered him, and they would not have been able to leave Tongshan. As for the evil woman at home, she did not understand the power of what she had learned. Even Li Yanfeng, with his powerful fists and kicks, would have to rely on her own knowledge to assist him on the battlefield.
And it was this freak combination of events that made it difficult for him to even return home. Even the few lousy maidservants at home looked at him as if they were mocking him.
He had to prove all of this! He had to get back all of this face!
The night wind whistled along with the galloping of his warhorse. His mind was in turmoil, but even so, when they reached the first forest on the road, he immediately dismounted and let his companions lead the horse forward, in order to avoid being ambushed by that fierce person.
Although some people were worried that it wasn't safe to go to the Li family at night, Xu Dong actually didn't think that the other party would set up an ambush on such a road with five people armed with sabers and spears. After all, no matter how powerful a greenwood expert was, he was just one person. He had fought two battles at the Li family in the evening and then set up an ambush at night. Even if he succeeded, when the entire Tongshan mobilized tomorrow, this person probably wouldn't even have the strength to run. Anyone with the slightest bit of rationality wouldn't do such a thing.
In a situation where all of Tongshan belonged to the Li family, the most likely development was that after the other party killed Shi Shuifang, he would quickly flee and leave Tongshan. This was the safest method. And when Xu Dong went to the Li family, he would explain the pros and cons so that the Li family could quickly respond and cast a large net to block the way. He was the most suitable person to command all of this.
In this way, if the other party still remained on Tongshan, Xu Dong would swarm over with his brothers and kill him to make a name for himself. If the other party had already left, Xu Dong believed that he could at least capture the scholars from before, and even capture the woman who had resisted, and then slowly deal with her. Previously, he hadn't felt so much hatred for these people, but after being slapped by his wife for a day, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He found it hard to endure.
It was about a quarter past nine. In the Li family's Castle Wu, Lu Wenke was dragged into the dungeon and howled in despair. There was only a monotonous sound on this side of the road. The sound of horse hooves, the rustling of footsteps, and even the rustling of leaves in the night wind were clearly distinguished against the silent background. They turned a corner and could already see the specks of light from the Li family's Castle Wu in the distance. Although they were still far away, everyone let out a small sigh of relief.
The attack had been sudden.
At this time, everyone was still passing through the forest. In order to prevent the other party from setting up ropes on the road, they had all dismounted. Two stones tied to the rope flew out with a whistling sound. With a bang, they hit the companion who was second from the back. He immediately fell to the ground. Then, two more stones hit the buttocks of the two horses. One of them neighed and jumped up, while the other neighed and galloped forward.
The panic of the warhorses seemed to suddenly tear through the night. The person walking at the back of the group shouted, picked up the fishing net, and charged toward the forest. The bailiff walking third to the back also drew his blade and charged toward the trees. A figure was standing there.
At that moment, the horses neighed, the warhorses jumped, and the people shouted hysterically. The bailiff who had been knocked to the ground by the stone dug his hands and feet in an attempt to get up. His taut nerves suddenly exploded at the same time. Xu Dong also abruptly pulled out his long saber.
At this time, the figure at the edge of the forest seemed to make a sound, "Hm?" His figure flickered, and he retreated into the forest.
Three bailiffs pounced toward the forest, followed by Xu Dong, and then the fourth bailiff who had been knocked to the ground. He rolled over, ignoring the heaviness in his chest, drew his blade, and pounced. This was not only the stimulation of adrenaline, but also Xu Dong's instructions. Once they found an enemy, they would quickly swarm them. As long as one person could restrain the enemy, or even slow them down, the others could directly hack them to death. Once the highly skilled people of the Greenwood Forest were familiar with their pace, they could fight and move at the same time, and it was possible that they would be the ones to die.
Killing techniques that had been used on the battlefield did not care about any rules of the martial world. There was not even a need to say polite words.
The figure flashed into the forest and ran horizontally along the edge of the forest. He did not immediately rush into the complicated terrain of the forest. In the eyes of the crowd, this was the biggest mistake he had made!
The bailiff with the blade rushed in and slashed at the figure. The figure suddenly stopped in the middle of running, pressed down the bailiff's arm that was wielding the blade, and grabbed the hilt. The bailiff let go of the hilt and pounced.
"Ah! I've got — "
His voice exploded in the forest. However, the other party used the momentum of his charge to retreat. The bailiff lost his balance and charged forward at lightning speed. Then, his face crashed into the trunk of a large tree.
The sneak attacker was already holding a long saber in his hand. He retreated past the big tree, and the rest of them roared hysterically as they pounced on him. Someone threw a fishing net full of barbs out, and the figure wielding a long saber leaped to the side and rolled away.
Someone threw out lime powder, and the forest was filled with dust. However, the figure was faster than expected. He was like a leopard pouncing in the forest, almost sticking to the ground as he pounced into the middle of the crowd. The long blade in his hand swung twice, and the wind from the blade was like lightning, like a silent but extremely fierce undercurrent in the water. It was unfolded in front of the crowd's eyes for an instant.
Xu Dong, who had practiced with the blade for many years, knew that this was a half-style "Night Fighting in Eight Directions". This was a move used when one was fighting against many in a chaotic situation. The move itself was not unusual. Every sect had their own variations. To put it bluntly, it was more like a method to crazily hack your way out of an encirclement when there were enemies all around you. However, the steel blade was tangible. The other party's blade struck in different directions like a whip, and it bloomed violently. It was unknown how many years of saber practice were required to master such a technique.
The shock in his mind only appeared for a moment. Because it was night time, he couldn't see the technique of the slash clearly. He only knew that the calf of his companion who threw the lime had been cut, and he didn't know where the person who threw the fishing net had been cut. However, they were all wearing leather armor. Even if they had been hit, their injuries would not be serious.
He and the other bailiff continued to pounce.
The person who had thrown the lime powder felt his legs turn to jelly, and he was sent flying.
After the figure wielding the saber slashed out with the "Night Fighting in Eight Directions", his footsteps seemed to explode, splashing the soil like flowers. He had already turned and was charging towards Xu Dong. The bailiff in front of Xu Dong clashed with the figure in the blink of an eye. Xu Dong heard a "ping" sound, and the blade's flames blossomed. Then, the figure that was charging towards him seemed to throw a jab at the bailiff's face. The bailiff's body trembled, and he was knocked back quickly.
"Third Brother, catch him —"
Xu Dong grabbed his nine-ringed broadsword and roared.
It had only been a short while since the start of the battle. Theoretically, Third Brother had only been punched in the face. He could still grab hold of the other party, but for some reason, he just kept coming towards him. Xu Dong's gaze swept across the others. The brother who had thrown the lime powder was currently rolling on the ground. The person who had thrown the fishing net had staggered to his feet after being slashed. The bailiff who had initially tried to grab hold of the other party but had crashed into a tree did not move.
What happened to them …
There was nothing wrong with their strategy. Everyone was wearing their armor. Even if they were slashed, how many injuries could they sustain?
As long as one of them could restrain the other party …
He saw the figure charging out from the left side of Third Brother with a saber. Xu Dong slashed down with his saber, but the figure suddenly appeared on the right side. By then, Third Brother had already retreated in front of him, so Xu Dong also retreated with his saber, hoping that Third Brother would wake up the next moment and grab hold of the other party.
On the left, right, and left, the figure suddenly raised his long saber and pounced towards Xu Dong.
At that moment, what Xu Dong saw was the youth's beast-like face filled with murderous intent.
He did not know that throughout the day, whether it was against the six servants of the Li family, beating up Wu Cheng, or killing Shi Shuifang in the form of revenge, the youth had never revealed this look.
He would never know the level of bloodshed in which the youth's beast-like gaze and resolute killing method were born.
His strategy was not wrong.
He chose the most resolute and most irreversible way of fighting.
Therefore, at this moment, he was facing the saber of the Huaxia army, the strongest army of the Jurchen people in the world for the first time in decades, which had completely defeated them on the battlefield.
The yamen runner who crashed into a tree and fell to the ground had his throat directly cut open. The man who threw the fishing net had his lower abdomen cut by the saber light, and his body had already begun to split open. Third Brother, who was rushing in front of Xu Dong, had his eye pierced by a knife when he was hit by Xu Dong's punch. The man who threw the lime powder had his tendons cut open and was rolling on the ground.
They had chosen the unscrupulous way of fighting on the battlefield, but for a real battlefield, even the way they wore their armor was ridiculous.
"Kill —"
It was a ferocious roar like that of a tiger. Ning Ji's saber fell towards Xu Dong —
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