Ambush

Scarface looked fierce and rough, seemingly reckless, but in truth, he acted cautiously and was meticulous as dust.

He had been the first to notice that something was amiss within the Purple-Leaf Maple Forest ahead, so naturally he could tell there was something suspicious about the situation.

Thus, after hearing Meng Zhao and Lü Yue's orders, he agreed with this course of action.

Flicking the reins, Scarface squeezed his legs around the horse's flanks and cautiously rode forward about three meters before stopping.

His fierce gaze swept ahead. After studying the scene for a moment, he seemed to have found his target.

He took out a large silver ingot from the gray bag hanging off one side of his saddle and flung it out with a backhand. With a whoosh as it tore through the air, it landed precisely before the middle-aged man who appeared to be the leader of the refugees. He called out,

"Take this silver and lead these people away at once. Otherwise, you will be treated as rioters and bandits, and killed without mercy."

Scarface's tone was even, clean and decisive, without a single wasted word. It sounded as though he were merely stating some trivial, uneventful matter—perhaps even making a joke.

Yet the Meng Family guards beside him knew that this was no joke.

Among the Houtian Realm experts under the Second Branch, Scarface was not the strongest, but he was certainly the most bloodthirsty and the bravest.

The middle-aged man who seemed to be the refugees' leader lowered his head to look at the silver ingot on the ground. His cloudy eyes filled with delight. Such a large ingot probably weighed twenty taels.

Used to buy grain, clothes, and medicine, it could certainly help this entire group through their desperate need.

Not just him—every refugee stirred restlessly, cries of surprise rising one after another.

Men and women, young and old alike, fixed their eyes on that tiny silver object, their gazes filled with joy and longing.

A few youths who counted as strong and sturdy among the refugees had already begun to stir. Holding wooden clubs and similar tools, they waved them in demonstration, intending to seize the silver outright.

As for their so-called leader, before that ingot of silver, he was less than nothing and had no authority whatsoever.

And this soon became reality. Several sturdy refugees began grappling with one another.

More people quickly joined the fray, all for the sake of snatching that silver ingot, striking with ruthless savagery.

The old, weak, sick, and disabled who knew their own limits wisely retreated to the rear.

The incident unfolded in only a short time, yet Scarface showed no reaction when he saw them fighting among themselves.

He merely raised his sword-bearing right hand, signaling the guards behind him to heighten their vigilance.

These people had already lost some of their reason. It was not impossible that they might charge the carriage convoy.

Just then, around a dozen refugees swiftly broke away from the crowd. Rather than retreating, they bounded toward Scarface and the others in a few leaps.

They advanced and shifted with considerable method, their movements nimble and swift. They had clearly trained in internal force and possessed lightness skills.

If the Meng Mansion party had not been on guard and had rashly approached these people,

then when faced with these attacking martial artists, they might have been thrown into confusion and caught completely off guard, suffering deaths and injuries.

But with preparations already in place, almost no one felt afraid.

The ten Meng Mansion guards positioned in horn formation behind Scarface on either side spurred their horses forward the instant this group exposed themselves. They rode abreast with Scarface, forming a line as the first defense of the entire convoy.

Moreover, the well-equipped Meng Mansion guards did not foolishly wait for the enemy to approach and engage them at close quarters.

As the group rapidly closed in, they fired poisoned heavy crossbow bolts with a series of thuds.

These heavy crossbows were premium weapons the Meng Family had purchased from the county city armory: Triple Crossbows. Their effective range reached two hundred meters, and within one hundred meters, their powerful impact and penetrating force could even pierce straight through brick and stone. They were formidable killing weapons.

And those firing the crossbows were no ordinary soldiers, but Meng Mansion guards trained in martial arts, with exceptional eyesight and reflexes.

In almost an instant, they achieved tremendous results.

Four rapidly advancing enemies were struck directly by the poisoned heavy crossbow bolts. After crying out in pain, they collapsed to the ground and did not rise again.

The arrows had struck different places, some causing light wounds and others severe injuries, yet their reactions were identical. Within only a few seconds, they convulsed and lost their breath. The venom was clearly vicious beyond measure.

The remaining men were evidently stronger in martial arts and reaction speed, and their mental fortitude was astonishingly high. They ignored their arrow-struck companions and charged straight ahead.

They collided head-on with Scarface and the Meng Mansion guards, who came riding in with swords swinging. For a time, the sounds of slaughter did not cease.

Meng Zhao stood straight-backed atop the front compartment of the carriage, fingering the Jade Prayer Beads in one hand as he watched the battle ahead, his expression calm.

Scarface's saber technique truly was vicious—broad and sweeping. Borrowing the force of his horse, he split one martial artist who had escaped the crossbow bolts in two with a single strike. Flesh and blood splattered to either side like mud, staining the black horse and his clothes red.

However, there were capable men among the enemy as well. A short, nimble fellow soon used his movement technique to entangle Scarface.

With Meng Zhao's current eyesight, he could see that Scarface's martial arts were stronger. Unfortunately, the fine horse beneath him was both an aid and a restraint, preventing him from killing the short man in a short time.

And it was not only the front. At Wang Tao's position at the rear of the convoy, more than a dozen ambushers suddenly leaped out of tunnels dug beforehand on both sides. Their martial arts were no slouch either.

However, these ambushers faced almost the same fate as the group disguised as refugees. They were struck head-on by the heavy crossbows, leaving several dead or wounded.

Afterward, Wang Tao, the Mountain-Splitting Hand, and the Meng Mansion guards beside him were entangled in battle by the remaining ambushers.

But Wang Tao's martial arts were clearly more agile, and his strength was greater as well.

He did not rely on his mount. Instead, he employed lightness skills and thunderous methods.

In a short time, three Houtian Realm martial artists died beneath his powerful palm force.

The dead men's clothes had been completely shredded over their chests, where clear black palm prints remained. Their breastbones had been smashed to pieces.

Compared to Scarface, his performance was even more dazzling. No wonder he had earned the reputation of the Mountain-Splitting Hand.

Lü Yue had now entered a full state of alert. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he gripped the long whip in his hand tightly.

His dark pupils roamed and scanned the surroundings, paying particular attention to the ground all around them. He said to Meng Zhao,

"Young Master, these are merely jumping clowns, nothing to fear.

But I am afraid there may be stronger experts hiding nearby with ill intent. Please enter the carriage and rest for the moment while we wait."

Lü Yue could already sense a subtle atmosphere brewing. Their side seemed to have fallen into the enemy's trap.

The enemies at the front and rear would be defeated sooner or later, but they had also served to restrain Scarface and Wang Tao.

At this moment, there were unprecedentedly few men around the carriage, and he was the only truly capable expert available.

Under such circumstances, Lü Yue was deeply worried about Meng Zhao's safety, so he hoped Meng Zhao would enter the carriage.

If something truly went wrong, they could directly spur the two Black Scale Horses. With the ferocity and ability of those two beasts, they would surely be able to carry Meng Zhao out of the encirclement.

That was also why they had used Black Scale Horses to pull the carriage.

Meng Zhao directly shook his head in refusal. The pace at which he fingered the prayer beads grew faster and faster, while the chill in his eyes deepened.

Clearly, this group had long since learned every detail of his whereabouts and had deliberately laid such a trap to deal with them.

Who had leaked the information was unclear for the moment, and there was no time to pursue the matter.

But such a trap could not possibly be all there was. There had to be another move waiting.

There were not many Meng Mansion guards left near them.

With that in mind, he had to prepare to save himself.

If he lacked strength, then so be it. He could only hide in the carriage and leave his subordinates to fight and protect him. There would be no other choice.

But because of the empowerment, he possessed internal force at the Lesser Accomplishment of the Houtian Realm, and he had opened a Lake-like Dantian. He was no weakling.

Through the Sky-Illuminating Mirror, he had also raised the thirteen forms of the Luohan Fist to the Lesser Accomplishment stage, giving him the strength to fight.

If he hid inside the carriage, it would be no different from binding his own hands and feet. How could he do that?

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