Chapter 1929: The Culprit is the Horse!
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric
“Stop shooting! Charge at them instead!” the boss of the a.s.sa.s.sins finally threw his bow to the ground and ordered.
If they were to continue shooting, all of them would definitely lose their lives. Since that was the case, they would be better off charging over to kill them.
Huala!
Upon hearing the order, the remaining survivors amongst the band of a.s.sa.s.sins whipped out their weapons and leaped out from their hiding spots.
Looking at the few figures who jumped out, the boss of the a.s.sa.s.sins felt as if someone had plunged a dagger into his heart.
In order to ambush Dan Xiaotian, he had mobilized over thirty men, and he thought that it would be a walk in the park to a.s.sa.s.sinate a cripple like Dan Xiaotian. Who could have thought the rain of arrows would end up thinning out his men instead?
Right now, he only had eight subordinates left, and two of them had arrows sticking out of their heads. They were wobbling weakly from side to side with each step they took, and blood was trickling profusely from their heads down to the ground.
What a bitter sight this was!
The h.e.l.l! If he knew that Dan Xiaotian was such a difficult opponent to deal with, he would have never accepted this deal!
They were bandits living outside the city, and earlier this afternoon, someone visited them with a huge sack of Ethereal Coins, requesting them to eliminate Dan Xiaotian. They thought that it would be a minor issue, but it turned out to be the worst mistake he had ever made in his life!
After the huge death toll on their end, he couldn’t allow himself to retreat anymore. By hook or by crook, he was determined to complete this mission!
“Chop those scoundrels in the carriage into minced meat!” the boss of the a.s.sa.s.sins hollered angrily.
Hula!
The remaining eight a.s.sa.s.sins immediately dashed right for the carriage.
“You’ll have to step across my body if you wish to kill the Third Young Master!” Elder Yi hollered.
He was about to jump down from the carriage, but before he could do so, another figure had made a move ahead of him—the horse.
It was as if the horse was angered by the earlier rain of arrows too. Without any hesitation, it freed itself from the carriage and das.h.i.+ngly leaped over a distance of ten meters to stand before the eight bandits.
Peng!
It kicked out its hooves and struck the two fellows with arrows lodged onto their heads. This strike pushed the arrow deeper into their heads, bringing them instantaneous deaths.
“The heck…”
The remaining six bandits were frenzied.
To think that a horse would actually kill two of their comrades… If anyone were to learn that they were from the same group, they would die of shame!
A short and stout middle-aged man whipped out his saber and dashed forward, intending to slice the horse into two. But before his strike to reach, the horse suddenly kicked its hooves forward once more.
Pah! Crack!
It struck the middle-aged man’s crotch squarely, and the sound of an egg shattering echoed loudly in the surroundings. The middle-aged man immediately kneeled to the ground as his face scrunched up so tightly that it could crush even a fly in between the folds.
Hu hu hu hu!
While the middle-aged man was being incapacitated, the remaining five people swiftly closed in on the horse, intending to deal it a fatal blow. However, as if expecting their moves, the horse took two steps back to create some distance before kicking its hooves up once more.
Peng peng!
Yet another two more bandits collapsed to the ground while grabbing their severely injured crotches.
“That rascal!”
The remaining three bandits went insane.
It was one thing for their arrows to mystically miss the targets, but it was as if this horse had suddenly been possessed or something too!
Their legs trembled in fear as they slowly backed away fearfully, hoping to make their escape. But before they could run away, the horse abruptly charged right at them.
Padah! Padah! Padah!
In a moment’s time, the remaining three bandits were incapacitated too.
After which, the horse sent a powerful kick to each of the kneeling bandits, and in less than two breaths, all eight of them were tragically killed, leaving only the boss of the a.s.sa.s.sins.
Padah!
The whip in Elder Yi’s hand fell to the ground as he was shocked silly by the sight he had just witnessed.
Did I really use a whip to strike this fellow earlier?
Elder Yi felt a cold breeze breathing on his crotch as he stared at the horsewhip on the ground with a look of fright, not daring to pick it up at all.
If the horse were to remember the grudge and give him one good kick… Well, he was old and couldn’t really have children anymore, but he still valued his manhood as much. It was the kind of thing that you would rather retain even just for decoration than to have it shattered!
Looking at the corpse n the ground once more, Elder Yi couldn’t help but shudder.
These a.s.sa.s.sins were mostly at Saint 9-dan, and some of them had even reached Great Sage 1-dan… Yet, they were all destroyed by a horse just like that…
How in the world did something as ridiculous as this even happened?
When did the horse he took care of every day become such a formidable creature?
“You…”
On the other hand, the boss of the a.s.sa.s.sins nearly went insane upon seeing this sight.
“I don’t believe that a great bandit like me who have ruled the Xuanjiang City for more than ten years would lose to a mere horse!” Trembling with rage, the boss of the a.s.sa.s.sins roared furiously and charged forth.
In response to his aggression, the horse also galloped forth furiously as well.
Hu!
But before the two could collide with one another, the boss of the a.s.sa.s.sins suddenly conducted an abrupt sidestep, allowing him to bypa.s.s the horse. In the next moment, he was already right before the carriage.
As expected of a Great Sage 2-dan expert, his reflexes were truly worthy of praise. The earlier attack was just a feint; his main goal all along had been to get rid of Dan Xiaotian!
As long as Dan Xiaotian was dead, he could claim the rewards to the mission, and with time, he would be able to build his band up once more… After the deaths of so many of his subordinates, he couldn’t allow himself to walk out of here without earning anything!
“s.h.i.+t, that despicable scoundrel!”
Neither Elder Yi nor the horse expected the boss of the a.s.sa.s.sins to be so determined to get rid of Dan Xiaotian even after all that had happened. It was already too late by the time they realized it. They couldn’t make it in time to save Dan Xiaotian anymore.
Sou!
A saber pierced right through the windows of the carriage. If Dan Xiaotian’s guard was down, this attack could very well claim his life.
Hong long!
But at this crucial moment, the incomprehensible happened. As if a fairytale came to life, the carriage suddenly leaped up and crushed the boss’ face with its wheels.
Peng!
That unexpected heavy strike caused the boss of the a.s.sa.s.sins to bleed profusely. Taken aback, he immediately attempted to retreat, but before he could make a move, the carriage was already charging in his direction.
Bam!
Seven molars were smacked out from his mouth as his saber flew into the distance.
The boss of the a.s.sa.s.sins quickly scrambled back to his feet and backed away from the carriage warily, but the latter didn’t seem to have any intentions of letting him get away. Using its handles as a pair of hands, it seemed prepared to pummel him into the ground.
“What the h.e.l.l is this…”
The boss of the a.s.sa.s.sins rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
The arrows didn’t hit. Fine, there might be some kind of experts altering the trajectory of the arrow, I’ll accept that!
The horse suddenly became so powerful. Fine, it might be because it had just undergone some kind of evolution or became a tamed beast. I can accept that too!
But a non-living carriage suddenly leaping around and executing martial arts as if it was the most powerful existence in the world… how in the world am I supposed to accept something as ridiculous as this?
Is there some kind of ghosts or supernatural forces behind this?
“I need to get away!”
Fearing that he would encounter more unbelievable sights remaining here, he quickly took out a jade token and crushed it.
Peng!
A brilliant glow of light burst forth, raising dirt from the ground. Swiftly, an energy barrier formed around him.
As a bandit, the most important skill he needed to have was not plunder or murder. It was self-preservation. Before engaging in any operations, he needed to identify all plausible escape routes and prepare protective measures beforehand in case anything went awry.
It was in view of this that he spent a hefty price to purchase this jade token. It had the ability to fend off even the attack of an Ancient Sage cultivator, allowing him to survive any danger.
Sou!
As soon as the energy barrier was formed, the boss of a.s.sa.s.sins immediately leaped toward one of the towering walls by the side to make his escape.
While he was on his escape, he didn’t even dare to turn around to see if anyone was on his tail. He was afraid that he would see something that would scar him for life if he were to just so look back. At this point, not even death in the hands of an expert scared him that much anymore. However, if he were to die to a horse or a donkey… he didn’t think that he would be able to rest in peace!
The boss of the a.s.sa.s.sins sprinted with all of his might until he was finally out of breath, Perhaps it was the jade token working its charms, or that the enemy didn’t bother chasing him at all, when he finally turned around, there was no one behind him. Patting his chest rapidly, he heaved a sigh of relief.
“d.a.m.n it, I have really been done me in this time around!”
When he first accepted the mission, the other party told him that it was a minor issue, and that he would be able to get rid of the target easily. Of course, someone as wary as him wouldn’t just listen to a one-sided view of the story, so he specially investigated Dan Xiaotian and confirmed that there wouldn’t be any problems before taking on the task. He never expected that things would end like that!
Dan Xiaotian was indeed not formidable at all, but his horse and carriage were freakishly powerful!
How was he supposed to complete such an a.s.sa.s.sination?
He swiftly fled outside of the city, to where he had agreed to meet the client after the job was done. He lit up a bonfire and waited patiently for the other party to appear.
There was no way he would be letting this matter go so easily!
…
Elder Yi’s body had been so tense throughout the entire encounter that when everything ended, his body simply suddenly slackened and fell to the ground.
He felt like he had experienced a lifetime of shock in just a single night.
He was almost convinced that the a.s.sa.s.sination from that bunch of a.s.sa.s.sins would spell their end, but as if some sort of sorcerer was on their side, their horse and carriage suddenly came to life. It was as if a fairytale. Without having to make a move, the problem just somehow resolved itself…
Was there anything as exaggerated as that in the world?
While he was in the midst of his shock, the horse suddenly galloped back to the carriage, secured itself to it, and with its head tilted upward, it began galloping back to the Dan Clan Residence once more.
Watching the horse in front of him, Elder Yi’s hands trembled in horror.
For such a fearsome horse to be pulling their carriage…
Even if you want to pull our carriage, I wouldn’t dare to even think of driving you around!
“Master Zhang…” Elder Yi turned his head backward and asked.
In truth, he already had an answer in his mind.
The horse and carriage had been perfectly normal for all of these years, and the only thing that had changed from back then was Zhang Xuan’s appearance!
“We’ll talk once we’re back at the Dan Clan Residence,” Zhang Xuan’s voice echoed quietly from within the carriage.
He knew that someone would ambush them on their way back, so he had the horse tamed and the carriage enchanted when he got onto the carriage earlier.
Even ordinary people were able to reach Saint 9-dan without cultivating, let alone horses who boasted stronger const.i.tutions than humans. Upon maturity, they already wielded strength on par with Great Sage 1-dan cultivators. However, their intelligence was slightly lacking, and no one had been able to communicate with them thus far, which made it nigh impossible to tap into their strength in battle.
But as long as one could tame the horse and establish mental communication with it, one would be able to get it to do whatever one wanted to.
Putting aside killing those a.s.sa.s.sins, were it not for the boss running fast enough, it would have been able to destroy him as well!
“Yes!”
Suppressing his excitement, Elder Yi turned his head around and watched the carriage racing through the streets to return back to the Dan Clan Residence.
…
The bonfire blazed for quite a while before two figures suddenly approached.
One of them was a middle-aged man. The boss of the a.s.sa.s.sin recognized him to be the one who had entrusted him with the mission to a.s.sa.s.sinate Dan Xiaotian back then.
As for the other figure… while her face was masked, it was obvious to see that she was a young lady based on her physique, and a very beautiful one at that!
“How is it? Have you accomplished the mission?” the middle-aged man got straight to the point.
This middle-aged man was no other than the head instructor of the City Lord Manor, Xue Chen!
And the young lady beside him was, of course, Xue Qin.
Typically speaking, such matters wouldn’t require her involvement, but after the humiliation she had suffered, she wished to see with her own eyes the heads of Dan Xiaotian and that mummy who dared to cross her!
Thus, she decided to follow Xue Chen here after concealing her appearance with a mask.
“Accomplished the mission? Look here, don’t you think that you have some explaining to do? Is this what you mean by a simple task?” the boss of the a.s.sa.s.sins roared in anger.
“What do you mean by that?” Xue Chen frowned. “Is your group so weak that you can’t even get rid of a severely injured old man and a cripple?”
“Weak my a.s.s!” the head of the a.s.sa.s.sins spat. “More than thirty of my brothers have died in the earlier operation! If not for my fast reflexes, I would have died there and then too! How do you intend to compensate me for my loss?”
“More than thirty of your men died?” Xue Qin widened her eyes in disbelief. “Are you telling me that Dan Xiaotian’s group singlehandedly got rid of all of you? Does he wield such capabilities?”
“It isn’t him!” the head of the a.s.sa.s.sins harrumphed.
“Who else could it be then?” Xue Chen asked doubtfully.
He had investigated Dan Xiaotian carefully, and the latter shouldn’t have any backing in Xuanjiang City. Given the strength of this band of bandits, they should be able to deal with him easily.
These bandits were a pain to deal with when they plundered the merchants coming into Xuanjiang City, so why would they suddenly become so inept now when their target was just a mere Dan Xiaotian?
The head of the a.s.sa.s.sins spat on the ground and bellowed wrathfully, “The one who killed my brothers is their horse! No, that’s not it. Their carriage as well!”
“???” Xue Chen and Xue Qin.