Shadow of the Profound Residence

Chapter 48: Shadow of the Profound Residence

Zhang Yu swiftly put on his hooded cap, took up the Xia Sword, and stepped out of the tent. He saw people striding toward them from about half a mile away. There were roughly a hundred of them, spread out in a loose formation that vaguely covered every direction, as if they intended to surround them.

With his exceptional eyesight, he could clearly make out their attire even in the night.

Many of them wore garments adorned with feathers and vines, their faces painted with oil colors. Yet they carried metal weapons such as hammers, spears, and swords, with bows and arrows on their backs. A few even wore ancient stone armor, their footsteps incredibly heavy. They were very likely the so-called Other God Cult followers.

They hadn't even gone looking for them, yet the other side had already come knocking.

But how had they found this place so precisely?

After a moment's thought, he concluded that the militiamen from the day likely had informants among them who had seen them head downstream.

The Wen brothers had also heard the commotion outside and emerged from their tent, where they too spotted the approaching group.

Yet at this moment, they discovered that Cai Weng was nowhere to be seen.

There was no time to worry about that now. Dealing with the enemies before them was the priority. Since they didn't know the enemy's capabilities, rashly attacking might put them at a disadvantage. After briefly exchanging opinions with Zhang Yu, the two decided that each would guard one direction, while the remaining side would be entrusted to the eight attendants.

The attendants were clearly well-trained. They had all slept in their clothes and reacted swiftly, emerging from their tents the moment they heard the disturbance. Upon receiving their orders, they immediately drew the weapons they carried. Three raised shields and stood at the front, four held firelocks behind them, while one stood at the rear with a bow, holding his breath as he waited.

Zhang Yu took up position on the southern side. The incoming group there was the smallest, numbering only twelve. This band should have come around from the north. Perhaps they had intended to catch them all in one net, so they had circled around to block their retreat.

Yet the enemy likely hadn't expected to be discovered the instant they approached. That meant they knew their numbers at most, but had no accurate estimate of their combat strength.

After noticing the movement within the camp, these people knew they had been exposed. They were fierce and bold, launching their attack at once. Five or six of them drew their bows and shot into the camp with a whoosh.

Zhang Yu didn't draw his sword. With a casual sweep of his arm, he deflected the arrows. But when he saw several people opposite him raise something in their hands, he immediately sidestepped.

Several flashes of fire burst from the other side, followed by the crack of firelocks. A large section of the antler barricade beside him was blasted apart, countless fragments spraying through the air.

He casually brushed aside the fragments. At the same time, firelock shots rang out from several other directions, clearly indicating that the same thing was happening elsewhere.

The attendants faced north, where forty or fifty men charged toward them menacingly. Their shields took several shots, but they had clearly been specially crafted by the Profound Residence. Even firelock shots failed to penetrate them. Still, two shield-bearing attendants looked as though they had been struck head-on by massive hammers. They vomited blood and collapsed half-paralyzed to the ground.

However, the four firelock-bearing attendants behind them seized the opportunity. A volley rang out, immediately dropping several people on the opposing side. They then cast aside their firelocks, took up bows, and fired flat shots in succession, bringing down more than a dozen men in just a few breaths.

The attendant standing at the very back suddenly loosed an arrow, striking a man who appeared to be their leader squarely in the face. His head jerked back, and he toppled over.

With his death, the group froze for a moment, their steps slowing as though they no longer knew what to do. Someone hastily turned and fled, and that movement immediately sent everyone running after him. Yet the pursuing arrows kept knocking them down along the way, and in the blink of an eye, more than half of them were dead.

This side had appeared to have the greatest number of attackers, yet it was instead the weakest in combat strength. They were nearly shattered the moment the fight began.

The attackers facing the Wen brothers, however, were extremely fierce. First, they fired a row of firelocks from close range, then followed with a wave of spears and flying axes before howling as they charged straight in.

But before they had gone far, most of them began stumbling and staggering.

The attendants had scattered stones across the entrances and the downhill paths, and had dug several shallow pits as well. The ground was uneven and rugged, disrupting their momentum and naturally preventing them from moving quickly.

The Wen brothers remained unhurried. Each grabbed several stones and crushed them easily into handfuls of gravel. Then they leaned back slightly and scattered the shards downward with force. The terrifying strength behind it was scarcely weaker than firelock shots. Amid crackling impacts and screams, great swathes of attackers on both sides fell.

On Zhang Yu's side, he found that although the people facing him were the fewest in number, they were also the calmest. They didn't charge him, but continued firing at him from afar with firelocks and bows.

After a brief thought, he knew that without the protection of the Heartlight Seal, he couldn't withstand a concentrated barrage of firelock shots. While it wouldn't be easy for the enemy to hit him either, standing here and taking shots was certainly not a good choice.

It seemed he could only take the initiative and attack.

He also knew that since they dared to block his retreat, they must have some skill. From beginning to end, this group had displayed extraordinary composure. Thus, he raised his vigilance to its utmost. The Keen Thought Seal, Roaring Voice Seal, and Vitality Seal activated together. With a burst of force beneath his feet, he charged down from the high slope!

Thud, thud, thud...

Several arrows fell from the sky, but landed only where he had been standing moments earlier.

The enemy clearly hadn't expected him to choose to charge down alone. Several raised their firelocks again, but discovered that he was moving too quickly to aim at him. They simply threw the guns aside, drew the short blades at their waists, and stepped forward to meet him.

Zhang Yu had already rushed before them. As he arrived, a dazzling streak of sword light slashed into the crowd. Severed limbs and bodies flew through the air, accompanied by several short, muffled groans.

In almost the blink of an eye, four of the twelve had fallen.

Losing a third of their men in a single exchange would have destroyed the will to fight of ordinary people on the spot. Yet these people weren't frightened. Instead, they swiftly moved apart, faintly forming an encircling formation around Zhang Yu.

As one of them rolled away to evade the sword light, he snatched up a firelock from the ground and spat a strange syllable at Zhang Yu as he rose.

Zhang Yu suddenly felt a force trying to bore into his mind. He knew the other side was attempting to influence his spirit, but beneath the protection of the Roaring Voice Seal, he wasn't shaken in the slightest. He stepped forward, and a sharp flash of sword light swept past. He then rushed toward his next target. The man holding the gun froze for a moment, and soon afterward, a line of blood appeared across his body. Half his torso, together with the split firelock, slid diagonally to the ground.

Beneath the night sky, sword light flashed and leapt like lightning without cease.

Zhang Yu's wide sleeves billowed as he ended one man with each stroke. In just a few breaths, every enemy here had been slain, leaving only him standing in the field with sword in hand.

He flicked his blade, then looked upward. The battles there were also nearing their end. The enemies on all three sides had been routed. Yet strangely, most of the retreating Other God Cult followers hadn't fled back the way they came. Instead, they withdrew to the riverbank on the eastern side, where there was no route of escape, and regrouped on the shore. They didn't appear to be preparing to continue fighting, but repeatedly looked back as if waiting for something.

He realized the matter might not be over yet. Perhaps more enemies had yet to arrive.

At that moment, several auras suddenly appeared within his Heart Lake. These currents of energy were incomparably chaotic, twisted into a tangled mass. They didn't resemble anything a single person could possess—or rather, they had already departed from the realm of humanity.

A mist rose over the river. At some unknown moment, five people had appeared, walking step by step across the surface of the water. Yet what was surprising was that they all wore the Daoist robes of the Profound Residence. Framed by the surrounding mist, they approached at an unhurried pace, drifting like immortals.

The brothers Wen Guo and Wen De didn't assume they were allies simply because they wore the robes of the Profound Residence. However, they also recognized that these newcomers were no ordinary people. They immediately instructed the attendants to clean up and prepare to meet the enemy again.

The bow-bearing attendant estimated the distance between both sides, seemingly intending to test them with an arrow. But before he could act, a voice came from behind them. "Don't attack!"

Everyone turned around. Cai Weng had appeared behind them at some unknown time.

Wen De said happily, "Uncle Cai, you're back? Where did you go?"

Zhang Yu looked at him without saying anything.

Cai Weng didn't answer. With a grave expression, he walked to the front of the group and stared toward the river.

Wen Guo asked, "Uncle, who are those people over there? Why do they feel somewhat like fellow cultivators from our Profound Residence?"

An indescribable meaning entered Cai Weng's eyes. He let out a heavy sigh and said in a solemn voice, "They... you can consider them people from another Profound Residence."