The Road of Escape

"Beast!"

Seeing fellow villagers he had lived alongside for years slaughtered like pigs and dogs, Jiang Yao roared and charged at the nearest barbarian rider, raising his saber.

"Brother Jiang! Don't act rashly!"

The fair-faced, beardless young man's expression changed as he shouted. After a pause, he barked at Jiang Qing, the burly man, and the others, "Speed up and charge through! Don't stop to fight!"

"Kill!"

Seeing Jiang Yao charge at the barbarian riders, the burly man ignored the fair-faced youth completely. Instead, he shouted excitedly and followed Jiang Yao's example, accelerating toward another barbarian rider.

"Gibberish..."

As Jiang Yao, Jian Shang, and the others spotted the Northern Di Barbarian Cavalry, the barbarian riders who were freely hunting down victims also noticed Jiang Yao's group, mounted on the highly conspicuous Northern Plains Biao. Amid a burst of strange cries, seven or eight riders immediately wheeled around and charged at Jian Shang, Jiang Yao, and the others.

"Gah... pfft..."

Jiang Yao was the first to meet the Northern Di Barbarian Cavalry. Borrowing the momentum of his charge, he struck the barbarian's curved saber with his steel blade. Then his saber turned in a flash, and the barbarian rider's head flew into the air with a spray of crimson blood.

"Ha!"

As the two horses crossed paths, the slight young man riding with Jiang Yao sprang into the air like a monkey. He kicked the headless barbarian rider off his horse, seized the reins, took control of the warhorse, and turned around.

"Whoosh..."

Among Jiang Yao's group, a sunny-looking young man with sharp eyes, a medium build, and unusually long arms flicked his arm. The curved saber in his hand spun through the air and, like lightning, slashed into the chest of an oncoming barbarian rider, catching him completely off guard.

"Get down!"

The fat man with the broad face and big ears, who shared a horse with the long-armed young man, gave a soft shout and actually leaped into the air as well. He rammed the wounded barbarian rider straight off his horse, grabbed the reins, took control of the warhorse, and turned around.

"Bang..."

The burly man was the most straightforward. He charged directly at a barbarian rider and brought down the wolf-toothed club he had seized from one earlier. It sent the barbarian's curved saber flying, and even smashed the rider into the air, blood spraying wildly from his mouth!

Yet the woman seated behind the burly man, who looked dignified and gentle, with beauty like a flower and a face like the moon, did not seize a horse. Instead, she kept her eyes fixed on the other barbarian riders, occasionally looking anxiously toward Jiang Yao as he killed in fury.

Kill with a saber, seize a horse! Kill with a flying saber, seize a horse! Forcefully kill barbarian riders...

The string of close clashes was clean and decisive, making Jian Shang, who had been watching the battle, cheer in admiration. At the very least, he knew he absolutely could not do the same.

"Hold tight!"

At that moment, Jian Shang and Jiang Qing were sharing a warhorse when a barbarian rider locked onto them. Without even turning her head, Jiang Qing gave a crisp shout and squeezed her legs together, sending the horse speeding up!

"Ah..."

The sudden acceleration threw the unprepared Jian Shang backward, nearly tossing him from the horse. Fortunately, his left arm wrapped around Jiang Qing's slender waist in time, saving him from disaster.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

Jiang Qing held the reins in one hand to control the horse and wielded a curved saber in the other, meeting the barbarian rider's attack in a flash. Amid crisp metallic clashes, she blocked his curved saber as the two sides crossed paths.

"Bang..."

Jian Shang gripped the Pear Blossom Wrought-Iron Spear and swept it out with all his strength. A dull impact rang out as the wrought-iron shaft lashed viciously across the barbarian rider's face, instantly breaking bone and tearing sinew as blood burst forth.

"Ding! Congratulations, player Jian Shang, for killing one foreign invader of the Divine Land. You have obtained one copy of the slain target's cultivated Northern Di Saber Technique (Incomplete), one copy of Northern Di Horsemanship, and have been specially awarded one merit point!"

At the same time, the system's loud and pleasant notification rang in Jian Shang's mind, filling him with delight. He had not expected to club someone to death with a single spear stroke.

However, Jian Shang noticed something this time. It turned out that killing every enemy soldier did not necessarily raise his Force value by one point. No wonder he remembered killing five armed men from Shizhuang before, yet his Force had only risen by four points. Amid the chaos of battle, he had assumed he had failed to kill one of them and simply had not noticed.

Based on his observations and guesses, ordinary soldiers in Forging the Sacred Court had Force values between 10 and 20. Elite soldiers had Force values of 20 to 30, Battle-Hardened Elite troops had Force values of 30 to 40, and even the weakest special units were elite soldiers. The specifics depended on their rank.

In that case, when players killed hostile targets with lower Force values than their own, they would only receive merit and the techniques their targets cultivated, without any increase in Force. Or perhaps they needed to kill a certain number before their Force would rise.

"Awoo, awoo, awoo... gibberish..."

Seeing four of their own killed and two warhorses stolen in the very first clash, the Northern Di Barbarian Cavalry flew into a rage. After wolf-like howls and strange cries, thirty or forty riders wheeled around and charged at Jiang Yao, Jian Shang, and the others from every direction.

"Brother Jiang! As long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood! If we get tangled up, none of us will escape!"

The fair-faced young man looked frantic as he shouted in exasperation.

"Little Yao! Save me! Sob, sob, sob..."

Just then, an elderly woman fleeing in panic suddenly stumbled and fell. She immediately screamed Jiang Yao's name in a hoarse, shrill voice, crying and shouting at once.

"You all go! I'll cover the rear!"

Jiang Yao's expression changed drastically. Gritting his teeth, he shouted at Jiang Qing, the burly man, and the others. With a snap of the reins, he charged toward the elderly woman.

"Brother Jiang, I'll help you!"

The burly man was overjoyed. Pulling on the reins to stop his horse, he shouted.

"Go!"

Jiang Yao glared fiercely at the burly man and roared, his voice like muffled thunder.

The burly man froze, muttering resentfully under his breath, but he obediently turned his horse around.

"Brother!"

It was clear that Jiang Yao held great authority. At his command, although everyone was reluctant, they still obeyed and broke through the encirclement. Yet Jiang Qing, who appeared so gentle and obedient, unexpectedly cried out and turned her horse around, charging toward the fallen elderly woman.

"Crack..."

Before Jiang Yao and Jiang Qing could arrive, a barbarian rider reached her first. A clear sound of breaking bones rang out as the Northern Plains Biao trampled straight over the elderly woman. Blood sprayed wildly, and it was obvious she would not survive!

"Die!"

Though she was merely a fellow villager and not someone he knew well, Jiang Yao still roared in fury upon seeing her die beneath iron hooves. He swung his saber with all his strength at the barbarian rider.

"Clang..."

This barbarian rider seemed considerably stronger than the previous ones. With a twist of his curved saber, he actually blocked Jiang Yao's full-powered strike as their horses flashed past each other.

"Pfft..."

Just then, Jiang Qing and Jian Shang's horse arrived. Jian Shang lifted the Pear Blossom Wrought-Iron Spear in his hand, and its sharp blade sliced open the warhorse's cheek.

"Neighhh..."

The Northern Plains Biao beneath the barbarian rider let out a shrill cry and stumbled on its front legs, throwing the rider from its back as well.

Assassinating a barbarian rider was difficult. Assassinating a warhorse, however, was possible. But Jian Shang had once had his spear caught and nearly been killed because of it, so he merely wounded the horse rather than trying to kill it.

"Though I have no right to tell you what to do, and I deeply respect your loyalty, you are not a savior. In a situation like this, acting on impulse will only add another corpse. It will also drag down—or even kill—the brothers and sisters fighting at your side. That is all I have to say."

As they crossed paths, Jian Shang looked directly at Jiang Yao and spoke slowly in a calm tone.

"Go!"

A mournful expression appeared on Jiang Yao's face. He looked at Jiang Qing with reluctance and doting affection, then turned his horse around, snapped the reins, and shouted.

"Thank you!"

"Crack..."

Jiang Qing glanced at Jian Shang in surprise and spoke softly. Then she flicked the reins in her hand and quickly followed.

"Awoo, awoo, awoo..."

Unfortunately, although Jiang Yao had finally abandoned the thought of saving others and focused on breaking out, the barbarian riders who had set their sights on them would not let them go easily. The pursuing cavalry grew from thirty or forty riders to fifty or sixty, howling like wolves as they surrounded them in a grand and menacing wave.

Though the mountain villagers led by Jiang Yao had performed well enough along the way to rival regular soldiers, Jian Shang did not believe their side—only nine people, including two women—had any chance of fighting if fifty or sixty barbarian riders caught them!

Their only advantage was that they were lightly equipped cavalry. If they galloped at full speed, their traveling speed held the upper hand.

"Head northeast, into the Nine-Dragon Mountain Forest!"

The plain stretched as far as the eye could see, at least several dozen li wide. The fair-faced young man looked into the distance in all directions and shouted loudly.

"Go!"

After sweeping his gaze over the miserable sight on the plains and glaring hatefully at the rampaging barbarian riders, Jiang Yao snapped the reins, changed direction, and shouted.

Yongjia City lay south of Shizhuang, and heading northeast would still keep them within the area ravaged by the barbarians. But here and now, Jian Shang, who did not know horsemanship, had no choice. He could only follow Jiang Qing closely as they charged toward the forest several li away.

They galloped at breakneck speed, racing like wind and lightning, the wind whistling past them!

Jian Shang and the others all knew that the slightest slackening would lead to a situation beyond all redemption. They might even drag down the others, so every one of them drove their horses with all their strength!

A new week had begun, and the ranking push was on! The goal was the top twelve... only a few spots away!

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Fight!