Reinforcements Arrive, Driving Back the Bandits

Reinforcements Arrive, Driving Back the Bandits

Boom!

In midair, two palms slammed fiercely together.

A violent surge of force spread outward from the two of them.

The sand and stones on the ground were blasted into the air by the raging force. Fragments of rock sprayed out like hidden weapons; if an ordinary person were struck in a vital spot, they could very well die on the spot.

Immediately afterward, a figure flew backward like a kite with its string cut.

That figure was naturally the Blood Fiend Sect disciple.

The Blood Fiend Sect disciple was merely a second-class martial artist with forty years of cultivation, while Zhou Shan possessed sixty years of cultivation. Meeting him palm-for-palm, he naturally came off worse.

If the difference were only a few years of cultivation, the gap would not have been too great. But the Blood Fiend Sect disciple and Zhou Shan were separated by a full twenty years of cultivation. His internal organs were struck by a fierce force, and he suffered grave internal injuries.

After exchanging a palm strike with the Blood Fiend Sect disciple, Zhou Shan also felt a sinister Internal Force invade his body, making his heart beat several times faster.

He knew that this was the Internal Force of the Heart Shattering Palm, specifically aimed at the heart.

Yet before the formidable strength of sixty years of cultivation, that sinister Internal Force was instantly dissolved.

His heartbeat returned to normal as well.

If the Blood Fiend Sect disciple had also possessed sixty years of cultivation, Zhou Shan truly might have suffered a loss. Even though he had cultivated Eagle Claw Iron Shirt to perfection and attained Bronze Skin Iron Bones, he still might not have been able to guard against such a sinister martial art as the Heart Shattering Palm.

"Puh!"

The Blood Fiend Sect disciple crashed heavily onto the ground and spat blood.

"A... a First-class Martial Artist!"

The Blood Fiend Sect disciple spoke in a feeble voice.

"Die!"

At that moment, Zhou Shan also darted to the Blood Fiend Sect disciple's side and stomped down hard, his foot landing on the latter's chest.

Crack!

With that stomp, the Blood Fiend Sect disciple's breastbone shattered instantly, piercing his lungs.

Under that terrifying force, his heart burst apart as well.

"Puh..."

The Blood Fiend Sect disciple threw back his head, spraying blood from his mouth.

A few breaths later, the Blood Fiend Sect disciple lost all signs of life.

"Kill!"

Just then, a group of Black Armored Army soldiers suddenly surged into the battlefield from outside.

"Are... are the reinforcements here?"

Zhou Shan had not expected the reinforcements to arrive so quickly.

"Hahaha! You Blood Fiend Sect scum subdued the Thirteen Villages of Hengyun—did you think our Black Armored Army didn't know? The reason we did not act was merely because those strongholds sat on different mountain peaks, easy to defend and hard to attack, making them troublesome to wipe out. This was the perfect chance to lure all of you down from the mountains and catch you in one net."

At that moment, Zhou Shan heard the laughter of Captain Li Wentao.

Only then did Zhou Shan understand. It was not that the reinforcements had arrived quickly—the Black Armored Army had been prepared all along.

Lure the snake from its hole, then catch it all in one net.

With several hundred Black Armored Guards joining the battle, the situation on the battlefield immediately became one-sided.

The bandits of the Thirteen Villages of Hengyun could only be slaughtered.

Besides several hundred ordinary Black Armored Guards, the arriving Black Armored Army also included three captains. They surrounded Blood Fiend Sect Branch Master Yang Yuntian and the three First-class Martial Artists from the Thirteen Villages of Hengyun.

"This is bad—we fell into their trap."

"Branch Master Yang, what do we do now?"

"Why don't we retreat? If we keep fighting, I'm afraid our chances of survival will be grim."

The three First-class Martial Artists of the Thirteen Villages of Hengyun turned pale and immediately gathered together to ask Yang Yuntian for his opinion.

"Damn it!"

Yang Yuntian's face was ashen.

He knew as well that with the Black Armored Army's reinforcements arriving, this operation had already failed. Worse still, he had fallen into the Black Armored Army's trap, burying all the bandits of the Thirteen Villages of Hengyun, along with the hundred Blood Flame Army soldiers under his command.

Within the Blood Fiend Sect, he had only recently been promoted to branch master and his foundation was shallow. This could be said to be his entire power base. Now, in one stroke, he had been sent back to square one. He might very well become a commander without an army.

"Retreat! Retreat immediately!" Yang Yuntian shouted. "Everyone, split up and break through!"

At this point, they could only save whoever they could.

At once, all the bandits fled in panic.

Yang Yuntian and the three First-class Martial Artists of the Thirteen Villages of Hengyun all fled in different directions.

"One hundred Black Armored Army soldiers will remain behind. The rest of you, kill! Do not let a single one escape!"

Li Wentao roared.

At the same time, Li Wentao chased after Yang Yuntian in the direction he had fled.

The other three captains each pursued one of the First-class Martial Artists from the Thirteen Villages of Hengyun.

Zhou Shan did not join the pursuit, choosing instead to remain behind.

"Centurion Wang, are you all right?"

Zhou Shan spotted Wang Ping lying on the ground and immediately went over to check on him.

"Cough, cough, cough. I just took a healing pill. My life has been saved," Wang Ping said weakly, then added, "Still, little brother Zhou, you're impressive. You actually killed two second-class martial artists in such a short time."

"I only relied on Innate Divine Strength," Zhou Shan said with a smile. "I have thirty years of cultivation, along with Innate Divine Strength. These bandits and Blood Fiend Sect thieves did not know that, so they were careless and were gravely wounded by a single move, losing their lives as a result."

"That makes sense. Thirty years of cultivation combined with Innate Divine Strength is enough to contend with a First-class Martial Artist."

Hearing Zhou Shan's explanation, Wang Ping did not doubt him.

For those blessed with extraordinary talent, killing enemies above one's level was nothing unusual.

Zhou Shan helped Wang Ping to one side to rest, then ordered the Black Armored Army soldiers who had remained behind to begin clearing the battlefield. They moved the corpses on the ground to one side, then dug pits nearby to bury them.

Half an hour later, the Black Armored Army soldiers who had gone after the bandits returned.

Li Wentao and the other three captains also returned. Each carried a head in his hand. Li Wentao held the head of Blood Fiend Sect Branch Master Yang Yuntian, while the other three captains carried the heads of the three First-class Martial Artists from the Thirteen Villages of Hengyun.

The Black Armored Army also needed merit to obtain cultivation resources. The basic monthly salary alone was far from enough.

For a captain, killing a First-class Martial Artist was no small achievement and could earn considerable military merit.

Zhou Shan had slain a Blood Fiend Sect disciple, as well as the Great Chieftain of Golden Saber Stronghold and the Great Chieftain of Savage Bull Village. Naturally, these deeds would be recorded, and he would receive the corresponding military merit.

"Continue onward!"

Li Wentao gave the order, and the convoy escorting the military equipment resumed its journey.

The remaining cleanup was left to martial artists from the Iron Shirt Sect, Giant Bear Martial Hall, and the like.

All the Black Armored Guards, including the other three captains, continued accompanying the convoy to escort the military equipment.

Before nightfall, the convoy arrived at Hengshan County.

After resting for a night in Hengshan County, they changed horses and continued their journey the next day.

Qingyang Commandery had a total of twenty-five counties.

Among those twenty-five counties were six large counties and nineteen small ones.

Hengshan County was merely one of Qingyang Commandery's small counties, located at the edge of Qingyang Commandery. Beyond the Horizontal Cloud Mountain Range lay Yingchuan Commandery. To reach the commandery city of Qingyang Commandery, they still had to pass through six counties after Hengshan County, a journey of more than a thousand li.