"Don't worry, if that lord wanted to escape, he wouldn't have come here in the first place. Besides, if he wanted to leave, he would have already left. "
A voice came from the side. It was Zhang San comforting her.
Huang Yongtu felt a little better.
"Hyah!"
At the same time, the clopping of hooves could be heard. Turning around, Huang Yongtu saw an Iron Cloak Highwayman with a valiant aura galloping off in the direction where Wang Chong and the others had retreated.
Beng!
Almost at the same time, a bowstring vibrated, and a massive metal arrow shot out from the corner of the main road. With just a single arrow, it pierced through the head of the Iron Cloak Highwayman.
The immense force of the arrow pierced through his forehead and out through the back of his head. Fresh blood splattered everywhere, and the highwayman was sent flying from his steed. The arrow pierced into the trunk of a large tree on the slope behind.
"Ah!"
Exclamations of shock and gasps could be heard from the crowd. Everyone was stunned by the arrow. No one could have imagined that Wang Chong and the others would stay behind while retreating.
That arrow was incomparably swift. Be it in terms of speed, strength, or timing, it left no room for anyone to dodge at all.
That Iron Cloak Highwayman scout didn't even have time to react before the arrow pierced through his head.
"You've really guessed it. You've succeeded!"
At the same time, about fifty zhang away from the corner, Bai Siling slowly sheathed her bow and turned around with a confident smile. Then, she made a 'V' gesture to Wang Chong.
"Well done!"
Wang Chong chuckled.
Bai Siling didn't specialize in archery, but her archery skills were already astounding. She was the one with the highest attainment in archery among the group, and her arrows had never missed their target.
"Let's go. With this arrow, they should at least be a little wary. They won't be able to scout as freely as they like. Besides, if we can eliminate one of them, we should at least try our best to whittle down their strength. "
Wang Chong said.
There were simply too many Iron Cloak Highwaymen, and it was impossible to defeat them head-on. Thus, Wang Chong could only think of a way to whittle away at their strength like water droplets grinding a stone.
Wang Chong waved his hand, and the forty cavalrymen continued to gallop out.
…
"Bastard!"
On the boulder, Iron Cloak Li's complexion turned awful upon seeing the scout he had sent out being pierced through the head by an arrow.
"Again!"
Waving his hands grandly, Iron Cloak Li sent another subordinate over.
Gallop, gallop! The second Iron Cloak Highwayman was much more cautious than before. Moving as one with his steed, he circled around the corner. Barely after he had galloped for a short distance, Peng! The bowstring vibrated, and another arrow pierced through his skull.
But this time, the iron arrow was shot from the forest.
"Second one!"
Bai Siling slung her bow and arrows on her back, mounted her horse, and with a squeeze of her legs, she immediately leapt out of the forest.
When Wang Chong retreated earlier, only the forty cavalrymen had followed him. However, Bai Siling didn't leave. Instead, she had hidden herself behind the forest.
That highwayman was so focused on chasing after her that he didn't expect Bai Siling to be hiding behind the forest. Caught off guard, he fell for the arrow once more.
"Damn it!"
Hearing that the galloping of the steed had stopped after turning the corner, Iron Cloak Li knew that the second scout must have been killed as well.
"Again!"
With a livid face, Iron Cloak Li waved his hand and sent out another scout. But this time around, he was much smarter. He sent out three scouts, and they carefully circled around the corner before heading to the main road and two hills to the left and right.
This way, they could avoid being ambushed by the other party.
But this time, they were welcomed by four cavalrymen of the Tang dynasty, as well as Bai Siling herself. As intense as the battle was, it ended swiftly as well.
Three highwayman scouts faced off against five True Martial realm experts, and it didn't take long for them to lose their lives.
This was truly an awkward situation!
Due to Wang Chong's retreat, the Iron Cloak Highwaymen had lost six of their brothers before they could gather any intelligence.
Furthermore, they weren't mere subordinates but Iron Cloak Li's true subordinates.
A deathly silence fell over the massive boulder.
"Advisor, what do you think?"
Iron Cloak Li finally turned to Zhou An and asked.
This advisor of the Iron Cloak Highwaymen was similarly silent. The young man from the training camp was simply too crafty. His every move was completely out of the ordinary.
Even if it was Zhou An himself, he wasn't confident that he would be able to escape unscathed under the other party's schemes. But it just so happened that they couldn't just leave the other party alone.
Otherwise, there would be no order to their attack or retreat.
If Wang Chong hadn't gone far and launched a surprise attack, they would truly be in deep trouble. After all, warhorses could wrap cloth around their hooves to reduce the sound of their hooves.
"Chief, I don't think that there's a need to increase our manpower. If the other party returns and hides behind the corner, unless we send at least two hundred men, we'll just be sending ourselves to our deaths. If that's the case, it's better to send someone who's more agile and skilled. "
"If you're worried about the other party's archery, we can find a way to equip them with a metal shield."
Zhou An said after a moment of contemplation.
Naturally, they didn't have the standard shields and tower shields that were commonly used in the military. However, it shouldn't be a problem for them to craft a simple shield with a few pieces of metal.
Zhou An's orders were swiftly relayed down.
After losing three of their skilled brothers, Iron Cloak Li and Zhou An finally received the news that they wanted to hear.
"Reporting to Chief, they haven't gone far. They are resting at an area three hundred zhang away!"
"Got it. We'll look into it after an incense's time."
"Yes! Chief! "
The highwayman scout quickly retreated. After the scout left, Iron Cloak Li turned to Zhou An with a frown on his forehead.
"I don't know what they're up to either. But of course, we can't rule out the possibility that they're just trying to fool us. "
Knowing what Iron Cloak Li was thinking, Zhou An shook his head. It was rare for him to encounter such an elusive opponent that he could not fathom or see through. If not for the fact that the other party was a student of the training camp, it would have been impossible for him to become a bandit and call them brothers. He really wanted to convince the chief to recruit that young man.
"But regardless of what they're up to, it's sufficient as long as they don't leave. In the end, not a single one of them will be able to leave. "
Zhou An stroked his beard confidently as a scheming glint flashed across his eyes.
...
"Time is of the essence, and we don't have much time left. The next few hours will determine the fate of us, Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, and the others. Therefore, I hope that from now on, everyone will listen carefully to every order that I say. "
At the same time, three hundred zhang away from the corner, Wang Chong was gathering forty cavalrymen of the Tang dynasty for a final speech.
It was rare for Wang Chong to have such a serious expression on his face. Most of the time, he had a calm and wise expression on his face.
As such, many of the cavalrymen could sense the heavy atmosphere, and they couldn't help but put on a solemn expression.
"Ma Song, lead your men and form an orderly formation at the front to confuse them. The rest of you, listen to my orders. "
Wang Chong said grimly.
"Yes, lord!"
The cavalrymen replied loudly.
Of the forty cavalrymen of the Tang dynasty, Ma Song and the other twenty had already received Wang Chong's training. Only the twenty cavalrymen under Bai Siling had yet to undergo Wang Chong's training.
Following which, Wang Chong divided the cavalrymen under Bai Siling into four echelons as well, and he chose a ten-man commander and a five-man commander as well.
Time was of the essence, so Wang Chong instructed the twenty cavalrymen to undergo intense training on the main road.
A battle could break out at any moment, and Wang Chong didn't have the luxury of time. Fortunately, these cavalrymen had followed Wang Chong through many joint operations, and on top of that, they had fought with the Iron Cloak Highwaymen before, so they were able to familiarize themselves with Wang Chong's commands quickly.
Roughly an hour later, the twenty cavalrymen in the four groups had already met Wang Chong's requirements.
"What comes next is the most important thing that all of you have heard. This concerns whether we will be annihilated or successfully exterminate these audacious highwaymen and uphold the dignity of the army and the royal court. I believe that none of you wish to die under the steeds of the highwaymen. "
After the training was completed, Wang Chong gathered all forty cavalrymen of the Tang dynasty.
"This is a small formation! This is the crux of the matter, so you must listen carefully. We only have the time of an incense stick... "
At the start, Bai Siling could still roughly understand what Wang Chong was saying. He knew that he was reorganizing the cavalrymen into more efficient units.
However, what Wang Chong did afterwards was something that Bai Siling couldn't understand at all.
Many of Wang Chong's orders and instructions were things that Bai Siling had never seen before, needless to say, come into contact with. Bai Siling believed that even those from prestigious military families wouldn't be able to comprehend this.
Many of the things that Wang Chong had done were beyond Bai Siling's imagination. Due to her family background, Bai Siling had come into contact with many generals in the army, but none of them had ever displayed such abilities.
"Who in the world is this fellow?"
Bai Siling was getting more and more curious about Wang Chong's identity. Many of the things that he had done weren't things that ordinary people could understand.
However, Bai Siling knew that time was of the essence, and this wasn't the time to ask such questions. Thus, she forcefully suppressed the impulse in her heart.
But deep in her heart, Bai Siling had made up her mind that once this operation was over and she could live a successful life, she would dig out Wang Chong's secrets no matter what, even if she had to be a scoundrel.
The sky quickly darkened.
Smoke began to rise from the official road as Wang Chong's forty cavalrymen began to dig a stove to cook.
The others were on guard on the official road.
The appetite of the forty people was not small, so the green smoke from the fire was very big. It filled the entire public road, blurring everyone's figures.
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