At the sound of gunfire and battle cries, and seeing people attacking Wang Yan with weapons, the displaced civilians froze in shock for only a brief moment before panic set in.
Afraid of being drawn into the fighting and losing their lives for nothing, they scattered in all directions.
Wang Yan ignored the men around him who were charging in with blades to hack at him. Instead, he went straight for the few who had fired the hidden shots. They all deserved to die, of course, but there was an order to these things...
As Wang Yan was being surrounded and attacked, the patrolmen walking about to maintain order, as well as those training in the drill ground, all noticed the commotion. They immediately grabbed their weapons and rushed over to help.
Thus, a double encirclement formed. Wang Yan's men surrounded the assassins, while the assassins surrounded Wang Yan. By then, Wang Yan had already killed more than ten of them. And that was with him holding back. Otherwise, he would have had more than enough time to kill every last assassin.
"Trying to kill yourself?"
Leaning on his saber in the middle of the field, Wang Yan looked at one of the assassins' leaders. "No need for that. What secrets could you possibly have? Those coming to kill me at a time like this are either from the White Lotus Sect or the Heaven and Earth Society. You're all working for the Taiping Army.
I won't torture you, either. There's plenty of work to be done in Huo County. You're all healthy and strong. You've trained for so many years and eaten so much grain—it would be a waste to let you die. Stay alive."
With those few simple words, the assassins who still harbored some desire to resist