Big Black Claims the First Merit
As soon as the fighting broke out on the other side of the ravine, Hu Tieniu, who was standing on the earthen slope watching, felt a jolt in his heart. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, clearly seeing three masked horses charging straight at Shen Jingchuan and his companions, the crisp sound of metal clashing faintly carried on the wind.
"Oh no! Young Master Shen has run into thieves!"
Hu Tieniu let out a loud roar, turned around and ran towards his old horse, reaching for the large axe leaning against the wall.
But the wound on his arm hadn't fully healed, and it hurt terribly whenever he exerted himself. Two young men nearby reacted quickly; one helped him hang the axe back on the saddle, and the other supported his arm as they lifted him onto the horse with great effort.
The people on the construction site were busy working, but upon hearing the shout, they all stopped what they were doing instantly.
Some were carrying hoes and pickaxes, some were clutching machetes and sticks, and a few were carrying short knives and long spears. They all gathered around in a flash, without hesitation.
These people had already received a great favor from Shen Jingchuan, and now that they saw their benefactor being attacked, they all turned red with rage. They followed behind Hu Tieniu's horse in a huge swarm, rushing towards the mountain valley. They covered the more than mile distance as if they were flying.
Shen Jingchuan and his two companions charged past, then pulled on the reins and turned their horses around. Lin Yue immediately rushed to Lin Shan's side, his voice trembling:
"Brother! Are you alright?"
Lin Shan bent down and parted the torn skin on his shoulder, revealing a shallow sword tip mark dented into the close-fitting titanium alloy soft armor underneath. The armor itself was intact and had not been pierced.
He breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned:
"It's alright, Jia held on. But this guy is incredibly cunning; his sword is both fast and heavy. He's definitely not an ordinary bandit."
Shen Jingchuan stared intently at the opposite side and nodded. The force of his spear strike was more than twice that of the two men in black in front of him, causing his spear shaft to tremble slightly. No ordinary martial artist would have that kind of strength.
Lin Shan glanced behind him; the path he had come from was flat. If he turned and ran, he would be even more vulnerable to being chased and hacked down on horseback. He said in a deep voice:
"There's no way to run away now, and being chased and beaten would be even worse. We have no choice but to fight them."
Shen Jingchuan didn't speak, but simply swung the spear in his hand forward, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground, assuming a fighting stance.
The three masked men opposite also turned their horses around. The man in gray reined in his horse and stared at Shen Jingchuan from a hundred paces away, his eyes no longer showing the indifference he had shown at the beginning.
Seeing that the three men not only did not flee, but instead turned their horses around to face him, he nodded slightly and dismounted.
Seeing this, the two men in black also jumped off their horses, pulled them aside, and, swords in hand, followed the man in gray, slowly but surely closing in.
His steps were steady, and his breathing was calm, indicating that he was more skilled in foot combat and intended to defeat these three opponents on foot.
Seeing the three abandon their horses and fight on foot, Shen Jingchuan assumed they were overconfident and immediately shouted "Charge!" His Big Black steed responded by stomping the ground and leaping forward. Its huge body first took a deep step to gather strength, then its four hooves kicked off, and it ran faster and faster, crashing forward with a thunderous hoofbeat.
The brothers Lin Shan and Lin Yue spurred their horses and rode up on either side of the charge.
In the blink of an eye, they were upon each other. Suddenly, the two men in black leaped up ten feet into the air with extraordinary Movement Method, pouncing down on the horse's head. Shen Jingchuan's heart skipped a beat—could this be some kind of light-footed martial art?
He flicked his wrist, first parrying the steel blade coming from the left with a clang, then thrusting the spear tip diagonally towards the chest of the person on his right.
The man in black on the right twisted his body in mid-air and used all his strength to block the shot. He landed in front of Big Black with the momentum of his fall, and with a flick of his wrist, the blade shot straight for Big Black's chest.
He knew that Whirlwind Horse was tall and fierce, but he didn't know that Big Black was even fiercer.
Big Black was already half a head taller and a size bigger than a regular Whirlwind Horse, and it was often fed with food stored in Shen Jingchuan's Ring space, so its strength and speed far exceeded the black-clad man's imagination.
Seeing the blade flashing, Big Black didn't even try to dodge. It reared up, its front hooves wrapped in spiked war hooves, and kicked the man hard in the chest.
With a muffled thud, the man in black, who had just landed and was still off balance, took the full force of the kick. He was sent flying seven or eight steps away, screaming as he crashed to the ground, his thigh twisted and deformed, unable to get up for a long time.
A hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the gray-clad man behind, but he showed no panic. Just as the Big Black giant's forelegs touched the ground and its momentum slowed slightly, he lightly touched the ground with his toes and his figure swept over like a ghost, more than twice as fast as the two black-clad men before. He drew his long sword with a cold star, aiming straight for Shen Jingchuan's neck, his sword path both cunning and swift.
Shen Jingchuan didn't have time to thrust his spear straight at him. He could only grip the shaft tightly with both hands and sweep it horizontally to block. The spear whistled as it struck, but the man in gray didn't take it head-on. Instead, he lightly tapped the shaft with his longsword, used the momentum to twist his waist in mid-air, and lightly shifted his body two feet to the side, actually sliding past the spear tip.
The moment his toes touched the ground, he lunged forward, flicked his wrist, and thrust his longsword toward Shen Jingchuan's chest once more.
The change of tactics was incredibly fast, and Shen Jingchuan hurriedly withdrew his spear to parry. With a clang of metal, the spear tip struck the sword.
He felt that the opponent's sword strikes weren't particularly powerful, but they were as slippery as an eel, with one move after another, the sword shadows layering upon each other, all aimed at his weaknesses.
Shen Jingchuan possessed brute strength, but his spear skills were mediocre. He could barely parry thanks to the length and power of his spear, but his Movement Method was too fast, circling around the horse's head and using tricky and ruthless sword techniques, forcing him to guard his openings tightly and not even find a chance to retaliate.
After a few moves, he was struck twice in the arm and ribs, and cold sweat trickled down his temples. Fortunately, the swords did not break through the defenses of his titanium alloy armor.
This man is more skilled than me. He's only managed to hold on this long because his spear is heavy, his strength is great, and his armor is sturdy. If this continues, things are going to get dangerous.
On the other side, the brothers Lin Shan and Lin Yue were also fighting a very dangerous battle against the remaining man in black.
Once the man landed, he unleashed his full Movement Method, his footwork as elusive as a shadow, circling the two horses and using his steel blade to strike only the blind spots in their defenses.
The brothers parried with their spears, but their opponents' blades were heavy and their footwork was fast. Several times, the blades grazed their bodies. They barely managed to hold on thanks to their excellent teamwork. Although they were not defeated immediately, they were left with only the ability to parry and had no chance to counterattack.
Just as the battle was fraught with danger, a large sound of footsteps, mixed with chaotic shouts, suddenly came from afar. The sound traveled closer and closer along the mountain valley, and judging from the noise, there were at least a hundred people rushing towards them.