Could the title Righteous and Loyal have been won through killing?

Feng Cheng and the new recruits standing behind Zhang Yuan all had their facial muscles twitching.

They had never seen such decisive, clean killing methods.

They only knew that Brother Yuan bore the title Righteous and Loyal, but the scene before them had not the slightest connection to righteousness and loyalty.

"Could the title Righteous and Loyal have been won through killing..." Feng Cheng muttered softly, tightening his grip on the saber in his hand.

By the riverbank, Xu Xianzhong, a waist knife in hand, revealed a look of surprise.

Zhang Yuan looked young, yet the ruthlessness and mercilessness of his attacks were unlike anything Xu Xianzhong had ever seen.

"Good heavens, what is Commander Zhang's background..." Gao Tong, the constable at Xu Xianzhong's side, lowered his voice and clicked his tongue repeatedly.

Killing without blinking was not something one could simply talk about.

When battle truly came, whether one could bring the blade down, whether one could keep one's mind steady under the surging impact of blood and qi...

Without the tempering of military slaughter, it was absolutely impossible to possess such decisive killing intent.

"Forest—"

Zhang Yuan's voice sounded.

"Military Battle Tactics!" Xu Xianzhong cried out in alarm.

Though the Black Robe Guards were Martial Guards, they differed from the true garrison troops.

The Black Robe Guards' usual duties were arrests, patrols, and escorts. They rarely needed to form up in formations.

Much less military battle formations.

An ordinary Martial Guard Bureau only had several dozen Martial Guards and did not train in military battle formations at all. At most, they formed small formations such as the Azure Wolf Battle Formation.

Yet Zhang Yuan's command at this moment was clearly a battle tactic used in military formation warfare.

Wind, forest, mountain, fire.

Swift as Wind.

Dense as Forest.

Immovable as Mountain.

Aggressive as Fire.

By the riverbank, Zhang Yuan's team of soldiers swiftly changed formation. The shield-bearing soldiers stepped forward, the spearmen stood in the middle, and the soldiers carrying bows and crossbows took position at the rear.

The quickest and most orderly were the soldiers in the front row led by Chen Wu.

Feng Cheng and the others at the rear were somewhat flustered, but they could still keep pace with the movements of the other soldiers.

"Good, good. They've only drilled military formations; they aren't very proficient..." Xu Xianzhong let out a breath and murmured softly.

If even the Black Robe Guards were elite to that extent, how could that be acceptable?

His gaze fell on Zhang Yuan, and a bright gleam flickered in his eyes.

Never mind the other soldiers—the commander, Zhang Yuan, was absolutely familiar with military battle formations.

Before his eyes, Zhang Yuan raised a hand and swept it down.

"Wind—"

The crossbow bolts from the rear fired in a volley, arrows falling like rain.

Though there were only a dozen or so Black Robe Guards, most of their crossbows were repeating crossbows. A box of bolts held ten arrows, and once they were fired, the bandits at the prow did not dare raise their heads at all.

After three volleys, Zhang Yuan swept his hand again.

The soldiers with short spears on their backs stepped forward. They drew out the short spears behind them and gripped the fine chains on the spear hafts tightly.

Bang—

Bang—

Bang—

The short spears flew out and embedded themselves in the wooden boat, the fine chains behind them snapping taut.

Twelve fine chains pulled tight as the soldiers exerted force with their hands.

The wooden boat that had lain crosswise in the river shuddered, then was slowly dragged toward the shore.

"They're pulling the boat to the shore!"

"They're armored! Once the boat reaches shore, we're finished!"

The two wooden boats behind collided in succession, and the bandits aboard them cried out in alarm.

The bandits on the first wooden boat had all gone pale, while the few bandit leaders wore faces full of terror.

One bandit held up a wooden board and tried to rush to the prow to pull out the short spears embedded there, but the moment he raised his head, arrows shot over from the shore.

At a distance of only several Zhang, the arrows in the Black Robe Guards' hands were already extremely accurate.

After arrows pierced the skulls of several bandits, no one else dared show their heads.

"Kill—"

By the riverbank, three bandits who had swum over underwater roared as they wielded sabers and slashed at the taut iron chains.

A sharp glint shone in Zhang Yuan's eyes. He stepped forward, and the hand that had been resting on the saber hilt clenched tight.

Shing—

The long saber left its sheath. Its blade carried a chilling gleam as it swept across the waists of the three bandits.

Bright-red beads of blood scattered, followed by blood gushing forth like springs and splashing everywhere.

One slash, three men cut down!

"At least Great Accomplishment Level saber arts!" The constable at Xu Xianzhong's side gripped his saber and cried out.

That slash was crisp and swift, showing that both its power and speed had reached maturity.

It was a slash tempered a thousand times over.

Zhang Yuan held his blade slanting downward. Drop after drop of fresh blood fell into the river and dispersed.

Bang—

The wooden boat, dragged to within two Zhang of shore, crashed into a riverside reef and ran aground.

The bandits aboard were thrown off balance by the collision. Some fell onto the deck, while others tumbled into the river.

"Captain Qi, it's yours."

Zhang Yuan shouted loudly.

On the other side, Qi Junliang wielded a long spear and led the Black Armored Soldiers behind him as they leaped forward.

"Thanks!"

Qi Junliang called out softly. He took several steps onto the reef, and the two soldiers behind him thrust out their long spears, bracing them against his lower back. With a powerful lift, Qi Junliang's body shot more than a Zhang into the air and rushed onto the deck.

With the boat pulled to shore, it was their team's turn to board. Zhang Yuan was clearly yielding them the credit.

The instant he reached the deck, Qi Junliang swept his long spear directly across.

Bang—

Two bandits holding wooden boards at the ship's side were sent flying by the spear and fell into the water.

He took another step forward and thrust his spear.

Bang—

A bandit holding a wooden shield was pierced through along with the shield.

The long spear buried itself in the mast, piercing through the wooden pillar, which was two chi thick.

The force of that thrust was already not far from Thousand Jin Strength.

Qi Junliang shook his arm, and the wooden pillar crashed down, smashing onto the prow with one end plunging into the water.

That one thrust sent the bandits trying to close in scrambling back in panic.

No one wanted to be skewered by a spear.

Behind him, a soldier took two steps up along the wooden pillar. The round shield in his hand struck the ground and rolled forward, bringing him to Qi Junliang's side. The round shield protected Qi Junliang, while his other hand held a saber slantwise.

Huang Sanliang.

"Go kill them yourself. Do you think I need you protecting me?"

Qi Junliang snorted, though his expression carried a little more satisfaction.

He stood shoulder to shoulder with Huang Sanliang. Saber, shield, and long spear pressed forward, keeping the bandits aboard from daring to approach.

The armored soldiers had already stepped onto the boat over the broken mast, while some climbed aboard directly along the chains.

Seven or eight soldiers stood at the prow, their black battle armor connected into a single mass. The bandits who still wanted to rush out immediately retreated.

An unending stream of Black Armored Black Robe Guards rushed aboard. There was no longer any suspense in the battle on this wooden boat. So long as the armored soldiers suppressed all the bandits, whether killing or capturing them would be effortless.

By the riverbank, Zhang Yuan's gaze crossed over the first wooden boat and looked toward the two behind it.

The bandits aboard were already hacking at the River Blocking Rope, while others jumped from the boats and swam desperately toward the opposite bank.

At this rate, only the bandits on the first boat could be captured. Most of those on the other two boats would escape.

Zhang Yuan moved, heading toward the water's edge ahead.

Before reaching the reef, the long saber in his hand suddenly swept horizontally.

Bang—

The River Blocking Rope, as thick as an arm and made of ox sinew, was severed with one slash. The taut rope smashed into the wooden boats, tangling seven or eight bandits who had poked their heads out and dragging them into the water.

With the River Blocking Rope cut, the two obstructed wooden boats instantly shot downstream.

However, because the River Blocking Rope had broken from the shore, the two boats were now being pulled diagonally toward the lower riverbank by the current and the rope's dragging force.

On the decks, the bandits frantically either rowed or tugged at the sails, doing everything they could to stop the wooden boats from crashing into the riverbank.

Saber in hand, Zhang Yuan stepped onto the reef ahead and unleashed Thousand Jin Strength through his foot.

Bang—

Borrowing the force of that step, his body crossed more than two Zhang of river in a single bound, flying onto the wooden boat's deck.