Chapter 210: First Sign of Power
Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu
Since everyone was on their rhinodrake steed, both parties were rapidly closing in on one another. Strangely enough, no one spoke up from either party even at a time like this. Yan Liqiang just blindly charged forward along with everyone else in Sun Bingchen’s party. Those cavalry clad in black, with their faces veiled, were also charging toward them. Both parties were like speeding cars rapidly racing toward each other on the same road and were about to collide head-on. Only the deafening sounds of the rhinodrake steeds’ iron hooves could be heard.
Truth be told, this was Yan Liqiang’s first time partic.i.p.ating in such a battle. Though they were not on a battlefield, facing about two hundred incoming Blackwind Bandits was no different than a real battlefield.
While they were galloping at a high speed, Yan Liqiang looked around him.
Liang Yijie had a steely look on his face. His lips were pursed tight and both his hands were already holding the longbow he had retrieved from his saddle…
Sun Bingchen narrowed his eyes and cold gleams flashed across them as he watched those Blackwind Bandits who were coming head-on in front of them. There was not even the slightest hint of fear on his face which had fine lines on it…
In contrast to both of them, the facial expressions of the guards around them were a lot more complex. Yan Liqiang noticed that some of them had already gone pale while some seemed to be extremely nervous. They gripped their reins so hard that even their fingers were blanched.
Even so, Yan Liqiang didn’t feel nervous at all. In fact, his blood was racing right at this moment. His adrenaline was pumping to the point that his body could feel the quivering, sinful pleasure of an impending o.r.g.a.s.m.
At that moment, the image that flashed across his mind wasn’t the scene before his eyes, but some scenes from blockbuster movies like ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and the ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’.
Cavalry swept across the land like tidal waves…
Magnificent swords gleamed in uniformity, like lightning slicing through the thick clouds…
The warhorses neighed while the iron spears exuded the dragon’s aura…
The sounds of the iron hooves reverberated across the land and within the chests of men…
Hot blood which coursed through the blood vessels of the men was also spilled among the mountains…
As it turned out, it seemed like this kind of life and this kind of clash were what he had yearned from the bottom of his heart over the two lifetimes he lived. Realization suddenly dawned upon Yan Liqiang at that moment before he was overwhelmed by an indescribable emotion. He finally understood the reason why G.o.d had given him another chance to live and allowed him to come to this world. That was because his life had been like a silent flint. Only during an intensive clash on a battlefield like this would he truly be able to experience the marvel and meaning of life. The hottest pa.s.sion in the deepest part of his soul would only blossom to the fullest in this world!
Let life be beautiful like the summer flowers!
Alongside the setting sun, the Blackwind Bandits who were coming head-on with Yan Liqiang and the rest had already unsheathed their gleaming long swords, and many of them were already holding the bows that they carried on their backs.
At the end of the first lunar month, the air in the northwest was still filled with a hint of coldness from the winter. One could feel the biting cold wind against their face while riding on a speeding rhinodrake steed. However, Yan Liqiang saw his own summer in the face of the biting cold wind instead…
He let out a yell on his rhinodrake steed and pulled out his Horned Python Bow. With a squeeze, Snowstorm Cloud beneath him seemed to have instantly understood his intention. It let out a long neigh and then rode past a few people, suddenly making it to the frontmost of Sun Bingchen’s party.
Take the lead and rise above others!
“LIQIANG, WATCH OUT…!” Liang Yijie shouted behind him because he thought Yan Liqiang wasn’t aware of the danger behind his action.
The moment Liang Yijie’s voice trailed off, Yan Liqiang had already nocked his first arrow on to his bowstring. In just a split moment, Yan Liqiang had fully drawn the five picul Horned Python Bow. He synchronized his strength with his bow and his steed, then released his first shot…!
Without a doubt, the powerful five picul bow was the most powerful bow among the ones that everyone held in both parties. On Yan Liqiang’s side, even the longbow in Liang Yijie’s hands was merely four piculs.
At this moment, the formidability of the ‘power’ in his ‘powerful bow’ was instantly revealed.
The moment Yan Liqiang released his first arrow, both parties were still a thousand meters apart. This distance alone was enough to overshadow any powerful bow lower than five piculs. However, the arrow Yan Liqiang released flew like a thunderbolt and accurately hit the rhinodrake steed beneath the person at the head of the incoming Blackwind Bandits’ party. The entire arrow impaled that rhinodrake steed below its neck and sank into its body.
To shoot a rider, shoot his steed first!
The rhinodrake steed let out a miserable neigh. Its powerful legs gave out as it instantly crumbled to the ground. The cavalry riding on its back was sent flying as though being ejected on an ejection seat flying at over 80 kilometers per hour — he landed on the ground with a bone-fracturing impact. The cavalry rolled on the ground and hit his head on a rock so hard that his head was instantly split open — his brain and blood splattered everywhere.
As soon as that rhinodrake steed collapsed, the other four rhinodrake steeds, which were charging closely behind, instantly collided into it along with their riders. The others from behind failed to evade in time and also subsequently crashed into them. The fall, roll, broken bones, collision, shouts, and neighs of the steeds which all happened at the same moment was akin to a terrible car accident on a highway. The Blackwind Bandits who were thrown off from their rhinodrake steeds were sent flying by those other steeds at the back before they could even react, and they were trampled over countless iron hooves. None of them stood up again after that…
Just the first arrow Yan Liqiang released alone had caused at least eight casualties among the incoming Blackwind Bandits.
Unbeknownst to Yan Liqiang, the group of Blackwind Bandits was already secretly panicking after he released the first arrow. That was because their leader was the one charging at the front; he was the first person who had fallen along with his rhinodrake steed after taking the first arrow.
Before the Blackwind Bandits could even react in time, Yan Liqiang released his second arrow just a second later. It hit the rhinodrake steed beneath the one of the Blackwind Bandits in front. The limbs of the steed suddenly gave out mid-run before it instantly crashed to the ground. At the same time, the Blackwind Bandit was thrown from the steed, and another three rhinodrake steeds from behind inevitably collided into it again.
Yan Liqiang’s third arrow followed immediately after. Another rhinodrake steed was felled while the ones behind immediately collided into it.
After releasing only three shots, more than ten people from the Blackwind Bandits had fallen.
At this point, the remaining Blackwind Bandits who were rus.h.i.+ng toward Yan Liqiang’s party finally reacted. They let out a sharp whistle and the crowd instantly dispersed.
However, Yan Liqiang didn’t stop with his arrows. The moment the Blackwind Bandits dispersed, Yan Liqiang released his fourth arrow. The arrow instantly impaled one of the cavalry riding in front through his chest, and he instantly fell off from the back of his steed…
Someone among the Blackwind Bandits finally couldn’t restrain himself from shooting Yan Liqiang. However, his arrow only managed to fly out about three or four hundred meters due to the lack of his strength before it fell on the ground after losing momentum. At this point in time, both parties were still about seven hundred meters apart.
Yan Liqiang didn’t stop for a minute. He was riding on his steed while he continued firing the arrows. His dextrous actions flowed smoothly like the moving clouds and flowing water. He basically could keep up with the speed of releasing two arrows every three seconds as his arrows poured down on the incoming Blackwind Bandits like torrents of rain.
The arrows Yan Liqiang released never missed their targets. Everytime his bowstring vibrated, one Blackwind Bandit would definitely be hit and would fall head first off his steed.
During their journey, Yan Liqiang was initially thinking of concealing his true strength. However, under such life-and-death circ.u.mstances, Yan Liqiang couldn’t be bothered with much while his blood was racing. In situations like these, you either kill or get killed. If he were to conceal his strength and hold back in drawing his bowstring, the remaining Blackwind Bandits might just make him pay the price with his life. Between political trickery and the lives of his many companions around him, Yan Liqiang chose the latter without any hesitation. He had to minimize the number of casualties on his side to the best of his abilities. As for his exposed skill in archery, he would find a reason to cover it up. The rest could choose to believe it or not…
Most importantly, Yan Liqiang didn’t expect to encounter such a situation as soon as they left Gan Province. It was just like that saying: ‘Life doesn’t always go according to plan’.
However, seeing how he could take out one enemy every time his bowstrings vibrated, the excitement bringing total annihilation and chaos to his enemies just by having this kind of warbow in his hands made Yan Liqiang’s blood surge. The feeling was so intense that he even wanted to shout to the heavens.
By the time Yan Liqiang shot the entire quiver of arrows hanging from his saddle, the distance between them and the incoming Blackwind Bandits was about five hundred meters. However, the size of the other party had already been reduced by one-fifth — it seemed to have thinned out considerably. Despite sacrificing so many people, the Blackwind Bandits still couldn’t even touch a hair on the head of anyone from Yan Liqiang’s side. The imposing manner they possessed was long lost as many of them were already scared out their wits. Even so, the Blackwind Bandits still continued charging toward Yan Liqiang’s and the rest. They knew if they turned around and fled, the consequences which awaited them would definitely be even more terrifying than death.
At this point, Yan Liqiang only truly understood why the art of archery was so highly valued by the military of the Great Han Empire and was thus regarded as the best battle technique. Aside from the art of archery, what other battle techniques or martial arts techniques could possibly make killing people from such a long distance as easy as pie, and equate the value of life with a simple draw of a bowstring?
Yan Liqiang even felt that he could eliminate all these Blackwind Bandits by himself before they could get any closer to him, given enough arrows and if the rhinodrake steed beneath him could maintain enough speed and stamina exceeding that of regular rhinodrake steeds.