A Surprise Attack on the Golden Saber Gang's Azure Robe Branch Hall (Part Two)

Early the next morning, quite a few people were already gathered in the training ground of the Black Tiger Gang's Everjoy Hall Branch.

Several square tables stood in the middle of the training ground. Two large wooden barrels sat on one table, filled with steaming soybean milk. More than forty large plates sat on another; half held steamed buns, while the other half held fried dough sticks.

Lu Hao looked at the crowd.

"Brothers! Help yourselves to bowls of soybean milk, steamed buns, and fried dough sticks. Eat your fill, then follow me to raid the Golden Saber Gang's Azure Robe Branch Hall."

More than a hundred gang members noisily crowded forward. After filling their bowls with soybean milk, some grabbed steamed buns while others took fried dough sticks. Some stood, some squatted on the ground, and others sat on stone benches as they ate breakfast.

A quarter of an hour later, everyone had eaten and drunk their fill.

Lu Hao had someone bring out a bundle of red cloth strips and handed one to each person to tie around their left arm, making it easier to distinguish themselves from the Golden Saber Gang.

Lu Hao tied on a red cloth strip as well, then swept out his hand.

"Move out!"

Most gang members who had not awakened Qi-Blood were barehanded. The minor leaders who had awakened Qi-Blood, aside from Shi Kang, all carried long staffs. Minor leaders who entered the Gate-Breaking Realm received the Black Tiger Staff Technique from the Black Tiger Gang.

Shi Kang had only just awakened Qi-Blood and had not yet had time to collect the Black Tiger Staff Technique. He was therefore barehanded as well, following behind Lu Hao. His thick, bristling beard and burly build truly gave him something of a black tiger's bearing.

Over a hundred members of the Black Tiger Gang's Everjoy Hall Branch passed through Everjoy Lane.

The street vendors and early-market shoppers all hurried to the roadside at the sight of them.

Yet no one was overly terrified. The western district was home to Bluestone County's lowest-class residents to begin with, and gang conflicts were commonplace here.

There was also an unwritten rule among the gangs. So long as passersby stepped aside, they could not be harmed.

In this respect, the gangs of the western, northern, and southern districts were even more particular than the constables of the Bluestone County Yamen. It was said that when the city's constables collected deed taxes, they often resorted to fists and kicks against shopkeepers and street vendors.

After roughly a quarter of an hour, Lu Hao led his men to Blue-Robed Lane.

The vendors and pedestrians of Blue-Robed Lane had long grown accustomed to such scenes, so it did not cause much of a stir.

The group soon arrived at the Golden Saber Gang's Azure Robe Branch Hall.

Lu Hao had Shi Kang lead fifty men around to the back entrance, while he took the rest and charged straight at the front gate.

It was not yet roll-call time, and only one Golden Saber Gang member was standing guard outside the branch hall.

The man was lazily leaning against a gatepost. In his grogginess, he saw a dark mass of people walking toward him. He blinked, then realized that the Black Tiger Gang had come to launch a surprise attack. He turned and ran into the courtyard, screaming at the top of his lungs as he ran, "The Black Tiger Gang is here! The Black Tiger Gang is here! ..."

Seeing this, Lu Hao immediately led his men charging into the Azure Robe Branch Hall.

This was precisely when the Golden Saber Gang members were at their most relaxed. Hearing the shouts, they scrambled into action. Some rushed for the weapon racks to grab sabers, while others hurriedly fished daggers from their clothes.

The hall master of the Golden Saber Gang's Azure Robe Branch Hall was Ma Xiaotian. Gu Zhao had already dispatched him to raid the Black Tiger Gang's Everjoy Hall Branch, so he was not in the hall at the moment.

At present, only a deputy hall master named Shen Mao remained at the Azure Robe Branch Hall.

Hearing cries of battle outside, Shen Mao hurried out of the room. He fastened his belt as he walked, his clothes in disarray. Inside the room, a disheveled-haired woman had only just put on her undergarment and was lifting her clothes to dress herself, with most of her snow-white skin still exposed.

A gang member who had come to report to Shen Mao saw this scene, but had no mind for anything else. He merely said to Shen Mao in panic, "Deputy Hall Master Shen, the Black Tiger Gang has charged in!"

In the courtyard, members of the two gangs had already begun killing each other.

The most eye-catching of all was Lu Hao. He did not care what realm his opponent was in. So long as he saw someone without a red cloth strip tied around their arm, he swung his fist and smashed them down.

Lu Hao's punches were clean and decisive, every strike a killing blow. Either he used Black Tiger Plucks the Heart to drive into the opponent's throat or the pit of their heart, or he used Black Tiger Sweeps Its Tail to blast their temple.

Watching from the side, Shen Mao secretly felt his nerve falter. Although those Lu Hao had blasted to death were merely Martial Apprentices who had not awakened Qi-Blood or were only in the First Gate-Breaking Realm, Shen Mao could kill such people with one punch as well. But he could never do so as cleanly and decisively as Lu Hao.

Shen Mao understood that even if Hall Master Ma Xiaotian had been inside the branch hall, he would have stood no chance against Lu Hao.

Little did he know that Lu Hao's ability to kill Golden Saber Gang members so cleanly and decisively had been forged through fighting for his life at Spring Breeze Pavilion and the Water Serpent Gang's Clear Water Ferry.

At that moment, another wave of battle cries came from the rear courtyard. Shi Kang had already led his men in through the back entrance.

The Black Tiger Gang had come prepared against an unprepared enemy, beating the Golden Saber Gang members until ghosts wailed and wolves howled, until they cried for their fathers and mothers.

Lu Hao was like a god of slaughter, charging wildly through the crowd. Within a few breaths, six or seven corpses had fallen around him.

After blasting several Golden Saber Gang members to death in succession, he saw one of them reporting something to Shen Mao in the distance. He immediately concluded that Shen Mao must be the person in charge of this branch hall.

Shen Mao caught sight of Lu Hao looking at him and inwardly cursed his bad luck. Knowing he was no match for Lu Hao, he turned and ran without the slightest hesitation.

Lu Hao immediately chased after him.

Seeing Shen Mao trying to flee, a Black Tiger Gang member nearby fiercely kicked off the ground with both feet and used Black Tiger Pounces on Prey, lunging at Shen Mao.

Shen Mao suddenly saw someone pouncing at him from the diagonal. He immediately poured all three strands of Qi-Blood within him into his right leg and launched a flying kick, striking the gang member squarely in the chest. The man screamed and flew backward, crashing to the ground and spraying a mouthful of blood.

By then, Lu Hao had already caught up behind Shen Mao.

He too kicked off the ground with both feet, his body suddenly leaping up as he slammed viciously into Shen Mao's back. Shen Mao lost his footing and was knocked to the ground.

Shen Mao struggled to crawl back up, but Lu Hao's fist was already swinging toward him.

Lu Hao poured all nine strands of Qi-Blood into his right fist and smashed it toward the back of Shen Mao's head.

Shen Mao's head immediately slammed hard against the ground. His whole body stiffened, and he lost his breath on the spot.

Meanwhile, the two trusted men Chen Xuan had planted there had originally intended to take advantage of the chaos and shout a few times to disrupt morale.

One of them secretly observed the situation in the courtyard. He saw that as soon as the battle began, the Black Tiger Gang had already gained the upper hand. The Golden Saber Gang only had seventy or eighty members to begin with, and they had been caught completely off guard. Of the corpses lying in the courtyard, seven or eight out of every ten belonged to Golden Saber Gang members without red cloth strips around their arms.

While he was observing, the other trusted man Chen Xuan had planted there had already bellowed at the top of his lungs, "The Golden Saber Gang outnumbers us! We can't beat them! Run!"

The moment that shout ended, before he could let out a second cry, Chen Xuan's other trusted man hurriedly rushed over and clamped a hand tightly over his mouth.

Lu Hao had just straightened up when he heard the shout. His gaze shifted and landed directly on the two men.

Several Black Tiger Gang members nearby also turned to look over.

Lu Hao immediately understood. These two had to be troublemakers planted by Chen Xuan and Han Zheng.

The Golden Saber Gang's Azure Robe Branch Hall had only Deputy Hall Master Shen Mao holding down the fort, and after Shen Mao was blasted to death by Lu Hao's punch, the hall was left like a dragon without a head.

A few Golden Saber Gang members dropped to their knees and tried to surrender, but the two gangs had long borne deep grudges against each other. How could the Black Tiger Gang accept their surrender? A flurry of fists or staffs soon followed, and before long, the sounds of fighting in the courtyard gradually died down.

Lu Hao also walked over to Chen Xuan's two trusted men.

At that moment, half of Lu Hao's face and clothes were splattered with blood, all of it sprayed onto him when he killed the Golden Saber Gang members. It made him look especially ferocious.

When the two saw Lu Hao approaching, one of them trembled in fright and dropped straight to his knees. "Deputy Hall Master Lu, Chen Xuan made us do it!"