Holding Off the Enemy

Behind Zhang Yuan stood four soldiers. The veteran clad in plate armor, holding a long spear, with a two-foot short knife at his waist, was Yu Changlong, who had gone on several missions with Zhang Yuan.

It had been Yu Changlong who helped Zhang Yuan fasten his armor just now.

Feng Cheng wore chainmail, held a shield in his left hand and a saber in his right, his face full of excitement.

He had never expected Zhang Yuan to let him accompany the formation.

The other two soldiers wore leather armor and were also recruits. Their faces were taut, quivers on their backs, bows in hand, and four short spears strapped behind them.

This was the standard configuration for a five-man squad, and also the minimum complement for the Azure Wolf Battle Formation.

If there were ten soldiers, they would also be equipped with long axe soldiers and heavy shield soldiers.

With more men, there would even be heavy crossbows.

Those were truly devastating weapons.

Yet even with armor and weapons so complete, they were only Black Robe Guards of the Martial Guard Bureau. If they were frontier troops, with heavy armor, heavy cavalry, heavy blades, and formations assembled, they would become an Iron Great Wall.

Great Qin had always flourished in military affairs, placing immense importance on everything from soldiers' armor to logistics.

Only thus could they use the Martial Way to stand against immortals and demons, using mortal flesh to resist their incursions.

"Bang—"

A tremendous crash came from the direction of the river bend.

"Ambush—"

"The government's River Blocking Rope! Rush through it!"

"Damn it, a dozen Black Skin Dogs dare block your grandpa—"

Shouts rang across the river channel.

The sounds of ships colliding came one after another.

The faces of Yong'an County's County Lieutenant and the others changed. They turned and sprinted toward the riverbank.

At the riverbank, the military clerk's expression darkened slightly.

The bandits had arrived earlier than expected. The interception vessels Yong'an County had prepared on the Guangji River were not yet in position.

"Hold off the enemy." The military clerk gave a low shout and waved toward the Martial Guards who had finished tidying up.

"Yes." Zhang Yuan clasped his fist and led the military formation in a rapid charge.

The four soldiers behind him followed closely. Not far away, Chen Wu also led a squad of soldiers behind them, while the other martial soldiers who had formed up followed loosely.

On the other side, Qi Junliang's fifth squad also moved along the river bend, beginning to circle around them.

After advancing several hundred paces, they had reached the great river.

One hand pressed against the hilt of the Wild Goose Feather Saber at his waist, while the other touched the grip of the hand crossbow fastened at his lower back. Zhang Yuan ran onward, his gaze sweeping ahead.

The river bend was no more than twenty zhang across. Three twin-masted wooden ships had collided together.

A long ox-tendon rope had been drawn taut, stopping the wooden ships' downstream momentum.

On the riverbank, more than a dozen soldiers in black Black Robe Guard martial uniforms held longbows. From five or six zhang away, they fired arrows that pinned down the bandits aboard the ships, leaving them unable to raise their heads.

Great Qin did not prohibit common folk from owning swords and other martial weapons, but military-grade hard bows could not be privately kept.

Though there were only a dozen or so Black Robe Guards and yamen runners on the bank, their longbows gathered in one place had already trapped the bandits aboard the three ships inside their cabins, leaving them able only to roar and curse.

At this moment, two teams of armored soldiers charged in from the riverbank, immediately throwing the bandits on the three ships into panic.

"Quick, rush out and cut the River Blocking Rope!"

"A few of you, dive in with me and scatter those Black Skin Dogs! If they keep firing arrows, the brothers can't get out!"

"Charge! If the armored troops arrive, we're all dead!"

Shouts sounded from within the cabins, and then people leaped from the portholes into the water.

The soldiers on shore fired arrows. Several shafts struck the bandits diving into the water. Great blooms of blood billowed through the river as the bandits struggled and wailed, clawing their way back toward the ships.

The other diving bandits had already vanished from sight.

"Retreat—"

The County Lieutenant, who had rushed to the riverbank first, held a long spear. He glanced at the river before him, gave a low shout, and swept his spear across, forcing the yamen runners and soldiers behind him to retreat.

They had barely withdrawn seven or eight paces when four or five bandits burst from the water, clutching bluestone slabs in their arms and biting sabers between their teeth.

"Pfft—"

"Pfft—"

The soldiers loosed their arrows, piercing through the charging bandits. Their bodies fell into the river, blood flowing downstream and reddening the water.

Without the suppression of arrows from this side, the bandits aboard the ships rushed out. Some adjusted the masts and rudders, while others took up blades to hack at the River Blocking Rope.

At the water's edge, more and more bandits who had dived underwater clutching bluestone slabs emerged. The County Lieutenant swung out his long spear, piercing through the body of the foremost bandit with one thrust, then drew his waist knife.

"Kill—"

He strode forward, sweeping his long blade sideways and hacking a bandit who had rushed onto the shore back into the water. Then he flicked his saber upward, sending another vicious-faced bandit flying into the river.

As County Lieutenant, his Martial Cultivation had already reached the Houtian Mid-stage. Even throughout Yong'an County, he counted as a powerhouse capable of suppressing one side.

Behind him stood two rows of martial soldiers and yamen runners. The front row discarded their longbows, drew their blades, and charged forward. The rear row stepped forward and lofted arrows toward the bows of the ships, seeking to stop the bandits from steering the vessels and cutting the River Blocking Rope.

But their arrows were insufficient. The bandits on deck raised wooden boards, doors, and windows before them. Some used long hooks to catch the River Blocking Rope, while others poked their heads out to hack at it with long blades.

"Whoosh—"

A piercing whistle rang out.

"Bang—"

A short spear flew from the riverbank, crossing seven or eight zhang of river like lightning and plunging into the bandit hacking at the River Blocking Rope. It nailed him to the ship's side, his body twisting.

That spear had flown straight and level, relying purely on strength. The person who threw it possessed at least a thousand jin of force!

When the spear struck the ship, the entire vessel shuddered.

A Houtian Mid-stage expert!

"Hah—"

The bandits at the bow cried out in alarm and stepped back.

The bandit leaning out to hook the River Blocking Rope was so frightened that he released his long hook and stumbled backward in panic.

The County Lieutenant on shore, waist knife in hand, turned back to see a squad of black-armored soldiers arriving. Zhang Yuan had led his troops here.

That spear had been thrown by Zhang Yuan, the leader of the troops.

The military clerk had briefly introduced the two troop leaders to them earlier, but the County Lieutenant had not expected Zhang Yuan to be a Houtian Mid-stage expert whose strength reached a thousand jin.

Among ordinary Black Robe Guards, reaching the Early Houtian Realm was already considered elite.

Those in the Mid Houtian Realm were all military backbones.

Martial Way Cultivation was arduous. To improve one's qi, blood, and strength required not just resources, but also perseverance and talent.

Most martial artists in the Mid Houtian Realm could not cross the threshold of a thousand jin of strength.

Even the Yong'an County Lieutenant himself possessed only barely nine hundred jin of force.

Yu Changlong, following behind Zhang Yuan, did not seem to feel much about it, but Feng Cheng and the two recruits had faces full of astonishment and excitement.

Brother Yuan's strength was actually this formidable!

"Commander Zhang, hold them off! The ships downstream are already on their way!" the County Lieutenant shouted.

Commander was generally a form of address for a centurion leading troops.

Zhang Yuan, as an acting leader, did not truly count as a commander.

But when outsiders addressed him this way, it elevated his status by several degrees.

After all, when traveling outside, status was something people gave one another.

"County Lieutenant Xu, withdraw first." Zhang Yuan kept one hand on his saber hilt, his feet never slowing.

Yong'an County's County Lieutenant was named Xu Xianzhong. He had served in the military in his early years, then retired to take up the post of County Lieutenant.

Hearing Zhang Yuan's words, County Lieutenant Xu did not insist. With a raised hand, he led the soldiers and yamen runners behind him back.

None of them wore armor, and they held no advantage in fighting the bandits.

As they withdrew, Zhang Yuan and his soldiers had already reached the shore.

Taking advantage of the gap created by Yong'an County's yamen runners and soldiers retreating, the bandits who had dived over with bluestone slabs surged ashore. They cast aside the stones, gripped their sabers, and charged forward.

Zhang Yuan stood at the water's edge, one hand on his saber hilt, motionless as a mountain.

Behind him, the soldiers slowly gathered, forming a square formation.

"Kill—"

The first bandit to rush before Zhang Yuan gave a furious roar and brought his saber down toward Zhang Yuan's head.

Zhang Yuan did not move, only tilting his neck slightly.

"Clang—"

The blade struck Zhang Yuan's shoulder armor, scattering a spray of golden-red sparks.

A martial artist below the Houtian Realm could not even break armor.

Much less with the blade in this bandit's hand, which was truly far from sharp.

The bandit who had swung the saber changed expression drastically. He turned the blade and slashed it toward Zhang Yuan's neck.

But after sweeping only three inches, his saber stopped moving.

Zhang Yuan's right hand had risen at some point, his arm blocking before his neck.

The bandit tried to pull back his blade. Zhang Yuan shook his arm outward, and his bracer smashed into the blade.

"Clang—"

The saber rang sharply, its edge snapping off.

Before the bandit could come to his senses, Zhang Yuan's palm had already shot out and seized his throat.

"Crack."

Zhang Yuan crushed the bandit's neck bones in one grip. His head lolled to one side, black blood spilling from his mouth.

With his right hand, Zhang Yuan raised the bandit he had crushed to death in a single grip, then flung him into the charging bandits behind, smashing four or five of them into the water.

On the left, a bandit swung his blade as he charged up. Zhang Yuan lifted his left hand, and the hand crossbow fastened at his lower back was pressed directly against the bandit's forehead.

"Spare—"

"Pfft—"

The crossbow bolt mercilessly pierced through his forehead, its tip protruding five inches from the back of his skull.

Zhang Yuan did not spare a glance for the bandit he had killed. His left-hand crossbow fired repeatedly into the river before him.

"Pfft—"

"Pfft—"

"Pfft—"

Bloody sprays of water burst in every direction.