Joining Forces

"Good! What a fine shot!" Seeing Lin Xuan take down one man, the other militia soldiers on the city wall couldn't help perking up and cheering again and again.

There had only been three Roaming Bandits to begin with. Now that one was dead, the remaining two would be much easier to deal with.

Lin Xuan kept shooting, each arrow drawn and loosed swiftly and accurately as he pursued the man Zhang Quan's first arrow had failed to kill.

The man was nimble, but under such a relentless assault, he was hit all the same. He wore iron armor, but it did him no good.

Within fifty paces, Armor-Piercing Arrows were devastatingly lethal.

Zhang Quan watched Lin Xuan's technique with a look of astonishment. When he himself shot arrows, he had always taken his time aiming before loosing, which was why he was accurate. He had never seen anyone shoot as quickly and accurately as Lin Xuan.

Before long, Lin Xuan had run out of arrows. The man had taken four hits but was still able to fight, unlike the one who had been killed by just two arrows.

Lin Xuan drew his saber and charged at him.

Seeing Lin Xuan draw his saber and engage the enemy blade to blade, Zhang Quan abandoned the idea of shooting. He was afraid of accidentally hitting Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan's strength was enough to crush these Bone Binding mid-stage martial artists. Their strength generally ranged from three hundred to four hundred catties, and his own strength overwhelmed them outright.

It was just like when he had fought the bandit chief. If Lin An hadn't ambushed him, or if Sharp Eyes hadn't warned him of the enemy, he would certainly have died at that bandit's hands.

Clang, clang, clang!

In no time, Lin Xuan's blade clashed with the bandit's several times. Each blow made the man's tiger mouth ache so badly that it split open and bled.

The bandit could barely hold his own, but he couldn't escape either. There was no one behind him, and he hadn't run soon enough.

So he gritted his teeth and shouted at Lin Xuan, "I can tell you're a man of talent. Why waste your life working for the government? If you joined our Righteous Army, you'd be far better off than with this damn government!"

Lin Xuan said nothing.

What a joke. My family's all in the Garrison. And this guy's trying to coax me into joining the Righteous Army?

But he couldn't bring himself to hate these rebels. They were on opposing sides, not sworn enemies. He only hoped he wouldn't have to fight them too often in the future.

It wasn't long before Lin Xuan and Zhang Quan killed the bandits.

"Even if I lost, I didn't lose completely. That bandit of yours was wounded by me," Zhang Quan said with a broad grin.

"Fine. I'll split the bounty with you." Lin Xuan agreed readily.

Looking closely, Lin Xuan noticed the words [Bad Luck] floating above one of the corpses.

When he opened it, he saw this: [Bad Luck]: Unfavorable fortune; nothing goes smoothly.

Seeing those two words, Lin Xuan couldn't help perking up.

"Bad Luck... can that count as a talent? Then good luck should count as a talent too. Could I collect that as well?"

This talent had come from the bandit Lin Xuan had killed with two arrows. While examining the body, he had found that one arrow had struck the man's arm and the other his lung. Both had slipped past every armor plate, piercing straight through the gaps in the armor and into his body.

Lin Xuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. No wonder killing him had been so easy. The man had simply been unlucky.

The corpses and the wealthy family's dead were carried into the Garrison.

Lin Xuan had killed two bandits and brought back four corpses in several trips, earning forty taels of silver.

Zhang Quan had killed one bandit and brought back five corpses, earning thirty-five taels of silver.

"That bandit was partly your kill, thanks to your arrow. I'll split the bounty with you." Lin Xuan took out five taels of silver and handed them to Zhang Quan.

Zhang Quan felt a little embarrassed. As a scion of Commander Zhang's household, raised with every advantage, he wasn't short of silver. He had only brought it up because he didn't want to admit that he'd lost.

"I was joking. Whoever kills them gets the bounty." Zhang Quan declined Lin Xuan's offer.

"You won this time." Lin Xuan wasn't competitive and insisted on giving him the money.

Zhang Quan accepted it somewhat awkwardly, thinking to himself, This guy's really something. Does he not care about who wins or loses at all?

Thousand-Household Commander Su carried several bandit heads and reassured the wealthy residents in the city, "The bandit chief's head is here. There's no need to worry. The Garrison will keep you safe. They've already lost several men and won't dare attack the city.

"Commander-in-Chief Li's forces will arrive to support us in a few days. We'll wipe out this entire bandit horde!"

Thousand-Household Commander Su was so certain and confident because he had planted several spies among the able-bodied recruits taken in by the bandits. He had placed them there on the day they drove away the displaced wealthy families and common folk.

Though he couldn't keep track of the enemy's every move, he would most likely find out as soon as they made a move.

Seeing this, Liu Zuolong didn't panic. Instead, he rallied his Roaming Bandit followers:

"See that? The government troops only dare kill our brothers when they're alone! They're huddled in the city like turtles, too scared to face our main force!

"We've robbed every rich household in the area, and they haven't even dared make a peep!

"Follow me, and we'll eat well and drink our fill. They can only shiver in hiding inside the city! Tomorrow, we'll keep robbing the rich!"

His words prompted a roar of laughter from many in the Righteous Army. The fear caused by the deaths of three men vanished in an instant, as if nothing had happened at all.

That was what he said, but as soon as he turned around, he told his deputy, "When we set up camp tonight, step up the guard. Send more men on patrol to prevent a night raid by the Garrison troops!"

At least they've got some backbone. They're not provoking us anymore, Liu Zuolong thought, sizing up the Thousand-Household Office.

The next day, they stuck to their usual methods and looted the wealthy households nearby. This time, they worked faster than before, though they searched even more carelessly.

They also went into Lin Xuan's house to search. But when they saw its dilapidated condition and the old household goods, they took just one quilt and didn't search any further.

Lin Xuan hadn't replaced his tableware or furniture during this period. That made them mistake his home for a poor farmer's. They didn't even bother looking for a cellar before leaving altogether.

A day later, reinforcements from the Wuqu Guard arrived. Wuqu Guard Commander Sun Chengdong personally led a hundred guards, along with three thousand Garrison troops from other garrisons in Wuqu Province, to intercept Liu Zuolong, one of King Cui's subordinates.

Commander-in-Chief Li's forces, meanwhile, headed straight for King Cui's main army.

The Wuqu Guard reinforcements had an immediate task upon arrival: join forces with the several Thousand-Household Offices in Liang City, consolidate the troops into an effective fighting force, and then prepare to counterattack Liu Zuolong's contingent.

Before dawn, a piercing bugle call split the sky.

Lin Xuan quickly donned his armor. His scales clattered as he stood with the other Flag Commanders and Squad Leaders on the Drill Ground.

On the platform, Wuqu Guard Commander Sun Chengdong stood in gleaming armor and boomed, "Thousand-Household Commander Su, lead the Liang City forces as the right wing. Take formation and await orders!"

Although Lin Xuan was exceptionally skilled with a bow, as a Flag Commander, he didn't take his place among the archers. Instead, he stood at the very front of the right wing's vanguard.

The three Squad Leaders under his command—Lin Jie, Qin Huai, and Liu Jiye—each led ten militia soldiers. The thirty men formed the vanguard, with sabers and shields in front and spears protecting the flanks, all under Lin Xuan's direct command.