"Siege crossbow! b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!" The carriage driver bellowed. The next moment, a flame appeared on his hand and he threw a fiery fist forward, sending a fire punch at the arrow!
Fire control!
"Bang!"
After getting hit by the fire, sparks flew everywhere from the large dark arrow!
However, that arrow did not slow a single bit at all! It continued heading straight for the carriage like a seething dragon!
Realizing the lack of effectiveness, Manager Gao let out a cry and threw eighteen consecutive punches. Each of these punches was imbued with the same strange flame-like before and they pounded fiercely against the siege crossbow"s arrow!
Like a relentless blacksmith, he continued to hammer the giant arrow with a flurry of fire punches. But the reverse could also be said. The force of the arrow was hammering against Manager Gao"s fists!
All of a sudden, a bright radiant light illuminated the sky so strongly that it seemed a thousand fireworks had exploded in the night sky!
Splinters of wood fell around Manager Gao. With each punch, he cried aggressively. After eighteen punches, his deafening roars reverberated about the thick forest. When the arrow left the siege crossbow, it was three meters long. Now, it was reduced to just one meter.
Suddenly, Manager Gao felt something against his back. Startled, he realized he had retreated continuously with each punch and now found himself pressing against the carriage! The arrow before him finally lost its momentum and dropped clumsily on the ground inches away from him.
The air was filled with the smell of burnt wood.
Manager Gao"s chest was rising and falling rapidly as he looked alertly around the forest. A second later, he spat some fresh blood. At the same time, his face also turned extremely red. After a few seconds, his face finally returned to normal and his breathing relaxed.
Manager Gao would never have imagined that the enemies would set up a siege crossbow in a place like this. Although he had relatively high cultivation, he still sustained some internal injuries when attempting to stop the arrow as he was caught by surprise!
The siege crossbow was a military weapon used to bring down the towering gates of citadels. With a length of up to three metres, they were made from the trunks of Black Iron trees and attached to sharp metal tips. These arrows were usually soaked in large oil containers and taken out only before use.
To fire each of this arrow, at least one hundred strong men were required to pull the giant bow simultaneously. Only then would the arrow be powerful enough to secure a decisive victory!
Siege crossbows were extremely powerful. Once they were deployed, citadels would undoubtedly suffer irreparable damages.
After a period of silence, a voice rang out behind the trees. It was filled with respect. "You really live up to the t.i.tle of Fire Saber Great Master. Your moves are impressive indeed. One siege crossbow arrow can bring down a citadel gate but you single-handedly brought it down. This is commendable indeed!"
As the voice spoke, eight people appeared simultaneously. They all wore black masks which revealed only cold sharp eyes. They advanced towards Manager Gao step by step from various directions.
Manager Gao"s eyes narrowed as he asked, "Who are you?"
Ignoring his question, one of them said coldly, "Rumor has it that the Fire Sabre Great Master, Gao Wei Cheng, had retired from Jiang Hu. I believe it is true. A Sabre Great Master working as someone"s bodyguard and accepting the easy life of a dog. I really envy you a lot! Gao Wei Cheng, where is your sabre?"
Startled, Manager Gao suddenly jolted his body forward. His slightly hunched posture suddenly straightened. His eyes glanced at the eight figures as he spoke coldly, "If you already know my ident.i.ty, you are surely a prominent figure in the Jiang Hu as well. Reveal yourself!"
Manager Gao bellowed as he said, "reveal yourself". His voice was so deafening that it shook the ground and moved the trees.
The other person did not even move an inch. He stood there and continued unintimidated, "Gao Wei Cheng, if you take Du s.h.i.+ Qing and turn back to where you came from, we shall not pursue any further! Or else, today will be the day the Fire Sabre Great Master dies!"
Manager Gao c.o.c.ked his head and laughed, "Such audacity! Let"s see how you people plan to fight me!"
Another one of the cloaked person mocked, "Fire Sabre Great Master? What is so great about that?"
The next instant, he suddenly yelled, "All advance! Six to Gao Wei Cheng, the remaining two, kill Du s.h.i.+ Qing!"
The others compiled and drew their weapons as they advanced simultaneously.
Manager Gao had observed earlier on that these people did not have very high cultivation levels. However, they were all probably at Martial Master level. Although their cultivation was a long stride below him, strength in numbers was a force to be reckoned with!
"Are you part of the Iron Cloud Nation"s army?" Manager Gao was shocked by the enemies" astounding momentum, one which many high-level martial artists would not be able to keep up with.
The enemies did not bother to reply. Six sabres slashed towards Manager Gao at lightning speed.
"Protect the carriage!" Manager Gao screamed. At the same time, his wrist made a quick flick. A large sabre with a dark red aura materialized. It drew a thick screen across the air and in the next instant, flames were erupting everywhere.
"Bam! Bam! Bam!"
The clas.h.i.+ng of weapons rang endlessly in the darkness. In the blink of an eye, a fierce battle ensued between seven swordsmen. The other two cloaked figures paid no attention to the battle and bounded straight for the carriage with swords drawn.
If the enemies had advanced individually, Manager Gao would easily have taken them down one by one. However, it was impossible to kill them all at once.
Furthermore, he had also sustained internal injuries after the fight with the siege crossbow"s arrow and this had weakened him even more!
At this point in time, Manager Gao was surrounded by six enemies while the eight guards stood no chance against the other two. Manager Gao was more anxious than ever!
Right after the siege crossbow arrow was released, Chu Yang had already disappeared without a trace into the forest!
He was like a wolf returning to his home territory.
After the boulder struck, Chu Yang immediately turned and withdrew. He spat out a clump of fresh blood to ease the pressure on his internal system. Thereafter, he quickly stomped the ground hard to generate a cloud of dust. He then relied on the low-lying dust cloud to conceal his body, keeping himself low and crawling away like a snake. In a few swift motions, he had disappeared behind a large tree. Lastly, he climbed up to the tree top and relying on the cover of the leaves, he leapt from branch to branch and pa.s.sed more than a dozen trees before disappearing deep into the forest.
The movements were as smooth as a pa.s.sing breeze in the forest. They were so agile that the branches hardly moved.
If the most skilled a.s.sa.s.sins were to see Chu Yang in action, their eyes would probably pop out of their sockets!
This was the escape route that Chu Yang had planned earlier on. In fact, it was planned long before the a.s.sault began. Regardless of where he was, Chu Yang would always have the habit of planning his escape route and path of a.s.sault. He now stood between these two paths.
Attacking might grant him merits! Retreating meant keeping his life out of danger!
Such an ambush would naturally involve a large force. Based on the rain of arrows earlier, it was already clear that a pa.s.sive defence technique would end up disastrously. Even if the enemies were weakened, they could easily kill him.
The only solution to the deadlock was to initiate an a.s.sault on the enemies.
"Du s.h.i.+ Qing must not die!"
"Currently, Du s.h.i.+ Qing is under the protection of Manager Gao. He should be safe for the time being." Chu Yang was not worried about him at all. That was why Chu Yang proceeded swiftly to his next course of action after his sword move on the boulder.
"Bring the killing into the forest!"
Whoever that was in the forest, they were the main perpetrators of this ambus.h.!.+