The Plan Has Changed

Almost at the same moment Zhuang Laosan shouted, Yang Yi gave his answer. "Everyone, follow me and kill the enemy!"

Before today, Yang Yi had never fought another Lan Blood, so he had no idea whether he was strong or weak. He had only instinctively felt that his strength should be quite decent.

His original plan had been to carve out a path of survival through the Song Household, but only after fighting Song Can did he suddenly realize—he was very strong!

The Body Tempering Technique Yue Jian had left behind, the Qiao Household's Yin-Yang Pool, and the Golden Light in his mind had allowed him to surpass in a short time the foundations others had spent years accumulating.

Especially now, when the quality of his vitality and blood was exceptionally high, the three great martial techniques he cultivated could bloom with terrifying might in his hands.

Since he was strong, then the original plan needed changing.

Just as before, Qin Siniang stayed close behind Yang Yi. Even Shen Qian hesitated not in the slightest, raising his sword and following.

They've gone mad, they've gone mad! Zhuang Laosan cried inwardly. Yet he quickly realized that Yang Yi was not acting on a rush of hot blood. On the contrary, this was the right response.

They had indeed broken out of the encirclement and had a chance to flee, but how could the enemy possibly let them go so easily? Leaving aside the many skilled fighters from the three great households, among the Lan Blood alone, besides the two Song brothers, the enemy still had six more.

Once they fled, the enemy would certainly hunt them down at their heels.

The enemy even had horses to rely on. No matter what, they would not be able to shake them off. Once they were caught, it would be four against six.

They might as well take advantage of the enemy not yet having gathered and defeat them one by one. If they could kill another two Lan Blood, escaping afterward would become much easier.

Moreover... the light was poor at night. The Song Household had fallen too quickly just now, so the other enemies might not have figured out what exactly had happened there.

For a moment, admiration rose in his heart. In such chaos, this young man could still make such thorough calculations.

Thus, after only a brief hesitation, Zhuang Laosan followed the other three.

The enemy truly did not know much about the situation on the Song Household's side.

For this operation, the three households had each sealed off one direction, while Shadow Tower handled the remaining direction.

The original plan had been for Song Du to shout and stall for time, then loose several volleys of arrows before charging in together. At that point, no matter whether the Qiao Household's people had three heads and six arms, they would still face grave danger.

But plans could not keep pace with change. Before they had even properly deployed, Yang Yi had led his people out of the ruined house and driven straight into the Song Household's formation.

Fortunately, they had anticipated such a possibility. Each direction had two Lan Blood leading numerous men. No matter which way the Qiao Household's people tried to break through, they could not possibly accomplish it in one stroke. They only needed to delay them briefly, and the other three groups could swarm in together.

Thus, upon noticing the disturbance on the Song Household's side, the other three groups rushed over to reinforce them, waiting only to join forces, surround them, and wipe them out in one blow.

There was nothing wrong with these arrangements. They could even be called impeccable.

It was simply that no one had expected a variable like Yang Yi. The Song Household's defensive line had been easily breached, Song Can had been killed by a single punch, and Song Du had likewise met a vicious end. Before dying, he had not even managed to send out a warning. Only a pack of stray cats and dogs that had survived by luck remained.

"Quick, quick, quick!" On horseback, Zhao Lanzhou urged them on without pause. Fighting had already broken out on the Song Household's side; they had to hurry over and reinforce them.

"Something's wrong." On another horse beside him, Zhao Buyou, already past fifty, suddenly furrowed his brows and strained his eyes toward the chaos.

"Uncle, what's wrong?" Zhao Lanzhou was younger, after all, and eager to earn merit. Though he vaguely sensed something amiss, he did not take it seriously.

Zhao Buyou suddenly slowed his horse. Dimly, he saw several figures rapidly approaching from their direction. At the same time, a jumble of shouts rose from the Song Household's side.

"The household head is dead!"

"Elder Song Can is dead too!"

"Watch out! Those Qiao Household people are charging toward you!"

The last shout came from a clever Song Household man warning the Zhao Household from afar. But the commotion all around was too chaotic, and even Zhao Buyou could not hear it clearly.

"What are they shouting about? Did I hear them say both Song Du and Song Can are dead? And that someone is charging over?" Zhao Lanzhou frowned. He had vaguely heard it too, but he did not believe it at all.

How much time had even passed? Unless those Qiao Household people had True Blood, Song Du and Song Can could not possibly have come to harm.

"Form up! Form up, now!" Zhao Buyou shouted urgently.

He did not believe it either, but combined with what he had vaguely seen, he had no choice but to believe. Especially as the distance closed, those figures grew clearer and clearer in the darkness.

Whoosh...

Vitality and blood erupted, revealing those figures completely in the darkness.

"What?" Zhao Lanzhou wore a face of disbelief. Someone really had charged over.

Where were Song Du and Song Can? What had they been doing, that they could not even hold them back?

"Loose the arrows! Loose them now!" Zhao Buyou roared.

But they had rushed over in haste and stopped abruptly. Their formation was scattered, far less meticulous than the Song Household's earlier deployment. Now that they acted in such a rush, how much damage could they possibly inflict?

Even the Song Household's unbroken offensive had failed to stop Yang Yi, much less them.

Several breaths later, Yang Yi charged into the crowd like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, taking the lead. Qin Siniang and the others followed close behind. In an instant, the Song Household's fate from moments ago replayed itself here.

Seeing Yang Yi at the forefront advancing with unstoppable force, Zhao Household disciples dying or falling wounded with every gesture he made, while he continued pressing toward him without slowing, Zhao Buyou let out a fierce shout. "Lanzhou, face the enemy with me!"

They could not allow these Qiao Household remnants to slaughter as they pleased. These were the Zhao Household's foundations; watching too many of them die pained him as well.

There were only himself and Zhao Lanzhou here, but with the many Zhao Household disciples working alongside them, they could still delay the enemy for a while.

The other two groups were already racing over. In particular, the four Lan Blood from the Chen Household and Shadow Tower had sensed that something was wrong. Their whips had become afterimages as they desperately rushed toward the battlefield.

Fifteen breaths... no, ten breaths would be enough! The four Lan Blood would arrive.

"Ah!" A scream suddenly rang out. Zhao Buyou turned his head in terror, just in time to see Zhao Lanzhou pierced through the chest by a sword.

Who?!

Zhao Buyou's eyes split with rage, hot blood rushing to his head. He had never expected that at such a moment, Zhao Lanzhou would be ambushed—and killed with a single sword strike.

Then he saw a petite figure leap down from horseback behind Zhao Lanzhou and slip into the crowd.

"It's that Qiao Household slut servant, Lü E!" Zhao Buyou had not seen her face clearly, but from her build alone, how could he fail to guess who had attacked?

When had she...

Of course. Their formation was so scattered, and the scene so chaotic. That slut servant had always excelled at assassination. At some unknown moment, she had quietly infiltrated their ranks. While Lanzhou had been off guard just now, she had suddenly struck and succeeded in one blow.

Watching the most outstanding junior of his household die before his eyes, Zhao Buyou's vitality and blood surged into his heart, and he felt his whole body trembling.

"Lü E!" Yang Yi also caught a glimpse of that fleeting figure, and his brows rose.

That was good news. The reason he had not taken Qin Siniang and the others to flee after breaking through the Song Household's defensive line, but had instead changed the original plan, was partly due to the considerations Zhuang Laosan had mentioned earlier—and partly because Lü E had been left behind in the ruined house.

He was now working for the Qiao Household, while the Yang Household lived within the Inner Fort. In the future, he would need to rely greatly on the Qiao Household.

Lü E had led this operation, so she surely held no small status in the Qiao Household.

The four of them could certainly have fled on their own, but if they could save Lü E along the way, that would count as a merit as well.

After his previous experience cultivating in the Yin-Yang Pool, he had been unable to stop thinking about it.

But entering the Yin-Yang Pool required merits in exchange. He had no other Body Tempering Technique to hand over to the Qiao Household.

He simply had not expected Lü E, who should have been unconscious, to wake at some unknown time—and to play such a crucial role at this critical moment.

These Lan Blood truly were tougher to kill than the last. Lü E was so delicate and petite, had been poisoned before, and had looked as if she might croak at any moment—yet now she could wield a sword and kill people.