The Attack

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Urgent bell chimes rang out from the heights of the village!

They spread through every corner of Wang Family Village!

The villagers, who had yet to recover from the calamity of several days ago, fell into panic.

This was the heightened alert system the village had decided upon several days earlier.

Long before this, the village had decided to station people at elevated points by the village roads. Should enemies attack, they would sound the bell as a warning!

This bell...

To the villagers, it was undoubtedly an omen that disaster was about to arrive!

Though panicked and terrified, the village was, after all, their home.

Very soon, the village's able-bodied men gathered together, each clutching farming tools such as hoes, shovels, and pitchforks. Trembling, they barely managed to arm themselves.

Supported by the village's young men, the old village chief also made his way onto the hastily erected wooden barricade at the village entrance.

In front of the wooden barricade,

Sharpened logs had been bound together upside down in crisscrossing rows, forming continuous lines of chevaux-de-frise that blocked the road leading into the village.

Under the threat of death, the villagers of Wang Family Village had unleashed astonishing strength over the past few days, constructing a simple defensive system in a short time.

But how much use this crude defensive system could truly be was something only heaven knew!

At this moment,

Rumble!!!

The earth shook. A thunderous roar came from the road at the far end of sight. Billowing dust rose into the air as a black torrent, like a flash flood bursting from the mountains, reached Wang Family Village in only moments.

Over a hundred Black Wind Bandits gathered before the village gate.

"How could this be? How did the Black Wind Bandits get here so quickly? Why are there so many of them?!"

The old village chief's body swayed, his face turning deathly pale. The world spun before his eyes.

The last time the Black Wind Bandits had attacked,

There had only been twenty or thirty of them.

But now,

There were more than a hundred below!

Could Wang Family Village escape this calamity today?

The old village chief's hands and feet trembled faintly. The young and able-bodied villagers around him were in even worse shape, barely able to remain standing by sheer force of will.

"Where's that little brat called Yang Qingyun? Did he send you trash here to die?"

"Tell him to get his ass out here!"

Black Viper sat atop a tall horse. His cold voice sounded like scraping iron sheets, while his chilling gaze swept casually over the villagers atop the barricade. Anyone who met his eyes could not help but shudder, lowering their heads and not daring to confront him.

Every young man of Wang Family Village atop the wooden barricade was drenched in cold sweat. Their backs were instantly soaked, their hands and feet trembled, and even their grips on their farm-tool weapons had become wet enough that they nearly slipped.

Yet even so,

The overwhelming majority of Wang Family Village's able-bodied men still stood here. No one fled.

Even though the Black Wind Bandits' fearsome reputation, built up over more than a decade, was terrifying; even though merely standing up to face these bandits seemed to have drained every last bit of their strength!

Behind them,

Was their home!

Having witnessed the horrifying sight of Cuihua Village and several nearby villages reduced to ruins, with mutilated corpses burned to ash, no one believed these damned bandits would show mercy and spare their lives!

And at this moment, upon hearing Black Viper's words below, the old village chief's heart skipped a beat.

What was going on?

How did the people of Black Wind Stronghold know Young Master Yang's name?!

Could someone have betrayed them?!

In an instant,

The old village chief felt as though his heart had plunged straight into an abyss!

This likely meant that the people on Black Wind Mountain already knew that their Third Boss had died here several days ago!

"Second Great King, you jest. Wang Family Village has always been home to people surnamed Wang. There has never been anyone surnamed Yang here. Have you perhaps come to the wrong place?"

Though the arrival of Black Wind Stronghold's Second Boss with such a large force had already made everything clear, the old village chief still clung to that one-in-ten-thousand sliver of hope. He carefully forced a smile and spoke in a placating tone.

Only,

Black Viper gave the old village chief a cold glance from below and said nothing.

"Second Boss, these stubborn peasants are clearly refusing to see reason. There's no need for more nonsense. Let's Take Action directly!"

At this moment,

A burly Bearded Man wearing armor stepped forward from behind. He looked at the crude chevaux-de-frise and wooden barricade ahead, a trace of disdain flashing across his face as he grinned savagely and Spoke Up to Black Viper.

Against defenses as flimsy as tofu, the Black Wind Iron Cavalry could simply ignore them and smash straight through!

"Go."

Black Viper nodded and casually waved a hand.

The armored Bearded Man immediately burst into laughter, his face savage as though he could already see iron hooves smashing through the so-called chevaux-de-frise and wooden barricade, while the weak villagers hiding behind them trembled like lambs!

He immediately roared at his companions behind him:

"Brothers of the Black Wind Iron Cavalry, charge!"

As the Bearded Man's roar fell, the Black Wind Bandits behind him automatically parted to either side. Ten cavalrymen, covered from head to toe in pitch-black heavy armor along with the horses beneath them, slowly emerged from the crowd.

Heavy iron hooves struck the ground, producing crisp clacks.

"Iron cavalry... the Black Wind Iron Cavalry! Why are they here?!"

The old village chief's face filled with shock upon seeing those black steel beasts appear.

The last sliver of hope in his heart vanished like smoke!

The Black Wind Iron Cavalry were heavily armored cavalrymen, clad in armor from head to toe. They were Black Wind Stronghold's most elite force, and its greatest support in dominating Huangshi Town for more than a decade without anyone daring to resist!

Ten years ago, when the Black Wind Bandits had only just established themselves on Black Wind Mountain, a Country Squire in Huangshi Town had resented having to hand over so much silver tribute every year.

That Country Squire had therefore spent heavily to hire several Entry Realm Warriors. He also contacted wealthy households in nearby villages and organized three hundred fully armed retainers to attack Black Wind Mountain, intending to wipe them out.

But on the way there, they encountered an ambush by the Black Wind Bandits.

Still, with the Entry Realm Warriors he had hired at great expense fighting for them, they managed to hold on.

Yet just as the battle reached a stalemate, the Black Wind Iron Cavalry suddenly charged forth. Their avalanche-like momentum almost instantly shattered the retainers' formation, causing the battlefield to collapse at the first touch. Even those warriors were dragged down and killed on the spot!

After that battle, the Country Squire who had initiated it suffered a savage reckoning from the Black Wind Bandits.

Several villages that had contributed men and effort were also punished with extermination. Their entire villages were burned to ashes, leaving not even chickens or dogs alive!

And that was how the Black Wind Bandits established their formidable reputation!

From then on, no villages or fortified hamlets within Huangshi Town's territory dared resist!

And after that,

The Black Wind Iron Cavalry appeared several more times. Each appearance stirred up a bloody storm, displaying unmatched strength and cementing their place as Black Wind Stronghold's elite force!

Rumble!!!

Just as the young and able-bodied men of Wang Family Village atop the wooden barricade were stunned into despair, the Black Wind Iron Cavalry moved!

The ground began to tremble slightly, releasing a continuous roll of muffled thunder.

Then,

The black torrent of armored iron, like a mountain flood bursting forth after a dam collapsed, surged toward the village with unstoppable momentum!

Under that terrifying might, it was like a black tidal wave, ready to drown and suffocate everyone!

The Bearded Man led the Black Wind Iron Cavalry in their charge.

From the sky,

Two or three feeble arrows drifted down, mixed with a chaotic assortment of kitchen cleavers, bricks, spears, and other junk.

This made the Bearded Man sneer contemptuously.

As expected, they were merely a pack of weak farmers. And they dared imitate others by taking up weapons to resist?

What an enormous joke!

The Black Wind Iron Cavalry did not even need to act. The Bearded Man felt that he alone could slaughter his way through them!

"A pack of lowly peasants dare resist? Kill them all!"

With the Bearded Man's savage laugh, the black torrent of armored iron came crashing forward. The chevaux-de-frise stretched across the road ahead did little to stop them. Under the armored charge, they were like paper, collapsing at the first impact!

Not only did they fail to hinder the Black Wind Iron Cavalry in the slightest, they did not cause even the smallest injury!

Every obstacle standing before that armored torrent was crushed into dust beneath its terrifying force!

"It's over!"

The old village chief collapsed helplessly to the ground.

Though the villagers gripping hoes and pitchforks still trembled as they clutched their weapons behind the wooden wall, preparing to resist,

The old village chief knew,

That these farmers, who had only just picked up weapons, meant nothing before the elite Black Wind Bandits!

Sure enough,

Rumble!!!

With an earth-shaking crash, the hastily built wooden barricade was smashed apart. Wood splinters flew, dust swept outward, and the black torrent of armored iron poured through the breach!

The old village chief could practically see what came next: the villagers of Wang Family Village being slaughtered one by one like pigs and dogs by the Black Wind Bandits!

Yet,

At that very moment,

A blurred shadow suddenly flashed past.

Accompanied by a sharp flash of blade-light that drew a long streak across the air, it crashed head-on toward the incoming torrent of armored iron!