Softhearted

Long Fanyun led two hundred cavalrymen to the scene, saving the Dragon King's troops from being wiped out.

He had originally been ordered to carry out another mission. On his way back to camp, he encountered Han Wuxian and the others. Upon hearing that the Dragon King might be in danger, he immediately began searching everywhere for his whereabouts, finally appearing at the most perilous moment.

The two forces together numbered fewer than five hundred men. They barely managed to hold back the pursuers' assault, but could not shake them off. The old scene was playing out again: once the two hundred rescuers ran out of arrows, they would become meat on the chopping block.

The Red-Crowned Great Peng appeared at precisely that moment, arriving only a short while after Long Fanyun.

A cavalryman was the first to spot the black shadow in the sky. He shouted at the top of his lungs in the language of the Great Northern Court, and Gu Shenwei raised his head and blew a whistle.

The Great Peng Bird had rarely killed anyone in recent years, but the whistle showed that the human it was closest to had fallen into danger.

The black giant bird plummeted from the sky. The fleeing soldiers were heartened, while the pursuers were utterly shaken. They had only heard of the Demon Bird's existence; this was their first time seeing it with their own eyes.

A rain of arrows shot into the air, easing the pressure on the Dragon King's troops.

Gu Shenwei blew whistles of all kinds. The Red-Crowned Great Peng understood the messages and did not approach too closely. It circled just beyond the cavalrymen's range, beating its wings and driving the airflow against the incoming arrows, knocking them down. Occasionally, it swooped low, seized an enemy