More than five hundred bandit cavalrymen charged in a killing frenzy, murderous intent soaring to the heavens. Their hoofbeats rumbled like thunder, their momentum terrifying.
The people of the Qingshi caravan usually dealt only with scattered, wandering bandits. When had they ever seen such a horrifying spectacle? They were so frightened they panicked, unable even to grip their weapons steadily.
"Third Son, this old man won't be going back. You must take good care of your mother!"
"Mother, your son won't be able to return to Qingshi Town and fulfill his filial duty!"
"My Cuihua, if I'd known I was going to die on the road this time, I'd have mounted you the day we set out, no matter what!"
The merchants wailed loudly, shouting their last words. One by one, they cried out all the things they had never dared say before.
Big Dog held Xiao Hua and kept comforting her.
"Don't be afraid, Xiao Hua. Big Brother is here. We'll be fine!"
"Mm, Xiao Hua isn't afraid. Big Brother is a great hero. He'll protect Xiao Hua!"
The Joint Defense Camp men, on the other hand, had some backbone. Their faces were calm, killing intent stern and awe-inspiring as they leveled their spears and waited in battle formation, looking ready to face death without flinching. Ning Chuan could not help but look at them in a new light.
"Come to me, my Attribute Points!"
Ning Chuan's eyes gleamed sharply. His hands blurred into afterimages as stones shot into the sky, sweeping in every direction like a machine gun.
To avoid repeating the mistake with the Silver Armored General, he aimed only for heads this time.
Seven stones at a time, every single one striking the soul.
Splat, splat, splat...
"Ding, gained 1 Attribute Point!"
"Ding, gained 1 Attribute Point!"
The sound of Attribute Points arriving rang out without end.
Bowl-sized blood blossoms bloomed one after another, vivid and tragically beautiful.
Headless corpses tumbled from their horses one after another, without cries of pain or terrified screams.
In utter silence, the charging bandits fell like grass beneath a scythe.
The warhorses that had lost their masters immediately stopped charging and began turning in panicked circles where they stood.
A cavalry charge was like an arrow loosed from the bow. A distance of over five hundred meters vanished in an instant.
Long Da and Long Er rode at the front, reaching the foot of the slope first. They saw the ground below the slope packed with dense rows of chevaux-de-frise.
Countless horse pits had also been dug before them. Fury surged in their hearts, and they hurriedly reined in their horses.
"Watch out for the horse pits! Dismount and charge! Kill every last one of them! Kill!"
Long Da pointed his saber at the camp and roared.
"Hahahaha... Ning Chuan, you little brat, did my army scare you pissless? Get out here and die!"
Long Er's aura was slightly inferior to Long Da's, but his voice was even louder.
After Long Da and Long Er gave their orders, they saw a group of burlap-clad men across from them staring at them with strange expressions.
"What's going on?"
"Where are they?"
Long Da and Long Er flew into a rage. Whenever they gave orders in the past, their subordinates always answered in unison. Being even a second slow was disrespecting their own lives.
What was going on today? Had these damned underlings eaten dragon hearts and leopard gallbladders?
Long Da turned around, let out a cry of "Mother!" and nearly fell off his horse in fright.
"Where are the five hundred cavalrymen who charged alongside us just now?"
"Why are there only a few dozen scattered riders left?"
Looking closer, where were the few dozen riders? Every person sitting on horseback had already become a headless corpse!
The hairs on both men's bodies stood on end. Cold sweat drenched their clothes in an instant, and a chill shot from the soles of their feet straight to the crowns of their heads.
They were both peak eighth-rank martial artists. Even they would have to avoid the sharp edge of a fierce charge by more than five hundred brothers.
To slaughter more than five hundred brothers in an instant, without them even discovering a trace of the enemy—what kind of terrifying horror was this?
For a time, the scene fell into an eerie silence. Long Da and Long Er could hear only their own ragged breathing.
A cold wind swept past, and Long Da and Long Er shuddered violently.
"Well, this, um, um, this..."
"If I said we only came to invite you all to a late-night meal, would you believe me?"
Long Da stammered for a long time before barely squeezing out a sentence so absurd that Ning Chuan almost burst out laughing.
"Dismount. Kneel."
Ning Chuan's voice drifted faintly down from the hilltop.
Long Da and Long Er hurriedly flipped off their horses, knelt properly on the ground, and lowered their heads until they were nearly buried in their crotches.
Their cowardly appearance now was a world apart from their earlier boasts, as though they were entirely different people.
"Lord Ning is mighty!"
"Lord Ning's martial might is unmatched!"
"Mother, this old man doesn't have to die! I can go back and fulfill my filial duty again!"
"Wonderful! I can return to Qingshi Town and see little Cui Cui again!"
Seeing this, the caravan merchants threw down their weapons. Some cried out loudly, others clutched their heads and wept, every one of them shedding tears of joy.
When the mounted bandits had suddenly charged just now, they had been scared out of their wits. They had already finished their last words.
The Joint Defense Camp members looked toward the carriage where Ning Chuan stood atop the slope, their eyes filled with reverence and fervor.
Ning Chuan stepped out of the carriage, walked down the slope, and came before Long Da and Long Er.
"Speak. Who are you? Why did you attack us?"
Long Da raised his head, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
Ning Chuan is so young, yet so formidable. He definitely isn't an ordinary person. That damned Straw Bag Strategist has gotten me killed!
"This lowly one is Long Da, First Boss of Second Dragon Mountain. This is Long Er. If this lowly one tells you everything, I beg Lord Ning to spare us brothers' lives!" Long Da pleaded humbly.
"Hmph. Do you think you still have room to bargain?"
"Yes, yes, yes. This lowly one will speak at once. The Straw Bag Strategist from the County Yamen came to us and said it was the County Magistrate's order for us to come kill Lord Ning."
"This lowly one was merely deceived by others. I beg Lord Ning for mercy. Please treat this lowly one as a fart and let me go!"
At this moment, Long Da could not have looked more humble.
Long Er beside him had been frightened stupid and did not dare let out so much as a peep.
"Where is the Straw Bag Strategist?" Ning Chuan asked with a frown.
"The Straw Bag Strategist did not come. He is waiting for news at Second Dragon Mountain."
Ning Chuan swept his gaze around but did not see any trace of the Straw Bag Strategist. He guessed that even if the man had come, he had already fled.
Even if they went to Second Dragon Mountain now, they might not be able to catch the Straw Bag Strategist. Someone capable of being a strategist should not be too stupid.
"Scram."
"Thank you, Lord Ning, for sparing us! Thank you, Lord Ning, for sparing us!"
Long Da and Long Er were overjoyed. They scrambled up from the ground, clambered onto their warhorses in a panic, and whipped the horses desperately as they galloped into the distance.
Their urgency reminded Ning Chuan of how he had been chased madly by a vicious dog in his previous life.
"My lord, these are the two bosses of Second Dragon Mountain. Are we really just letting them return?" Zhang Dashan asked Ning Chuan with a puzzled look.
"This official never agreed to let them go," Ning Chuan said blandly.
Zhang Dashan did not understand. He turned to look at the gradually receding Long Da and Long Er, and his pupils suddenly shrank.
In the distance, two blood blossoms suddenly bloomed, and two headless corpses fell from their horses.
"Ten rings. Right in the bullseye!"
Ning Chuan blew on his fingers.
When Zhang Dashan looked at Lord Ning again, he felt only that he was towering, majestic, and unfathomable.
In the distance, atop a small hill.
The Straw Bag Strategist collapsed onto the ground and muttered to himself.
"Impossible. Ning Chuan is only sixteen. Even the two bosses were no match for him. Could he have been cultivating since he was still in his mother's womb?"
"Long Da and Long Er, those two useless fools, are indeed ambitious but lacking in talent. They cannot be entrusted with anything important!"
"Fortunately, this old man is resourceful and wise, planning within the tent and winning a thousand miles away. I did not show myself personally, or the consequences would have been unimaginable!"
"That's right. This old man is resourceful and wise. I'll toy you to death with wisdom alone. Ning Chuan, just you wait!"
The Straw Bag Strategist climbed up from the ground, scrambled onto a warhorse, and whipped it into a mad gallop.
When one scheme failed, he came up with another.
"Damn brat Ning, consider yourself lucky this time!"
Before you continue