Turning the Tide

On the sheer cliffs of the gorge, there was a protruding platform four or five meters above the ground.

After hearing the shouts of battle ahead, Chen Xun moved like a nimble monkey, using the jutting rocks around him to climb smoothly onto the platform.

The platform was small, barely large enough for one person to stand on.

Half-crouched on the platform, Chen Xun looked ahead and immediately saw dozens of people locked in a melee.

The bandits held an overwhelming advantage in numbers, with fifteen or sixteen of them present.

Chen Xun's side, meanwhile, had only four people.

They appeared to be at a huge disadvantage, as though they could not hold out for long.

But after observing carefully, Chen Xun discovered that several bandits had already died, while his side had suffered only a few minor injuries.

It turned out that although the bandits had many men, they did not have many Martial Artists.

Secondly, the One-Line Sky Gorge was narrow, wide enough for only a single carriage at most. Chen Xun's four companions stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking the passage completely.

No matter how many bandits there were, only four of them could attack Chen Xun's side at once.

Therefore, even if the bandits won by continuing to fight, they would still suffer grievous losses.

"Hmph. Archers, get ready."

Suddenly, a middle-aged man who looked like one of the bandit leaders snorted coldly and shouted.

The next moment, two young men carrying bows retreated several meters, drew their bows and nocked their arrows, preparing to fire in an arc and kill Chen Xun's Martial Artists.

The expressions of Gao Feng and the others changed as they inwardly cried that things were bad.

As a precaution, they began holding back their originally all-out saber techniques, focusing only on blocking any arrows that might come.

Yet while they held back, the bandits continued attacking with all their strength. The difference immediately left their defensive line hanging by a thread.

"Damn it! Chen Xun, make your move! Shoot those archers dead!"

In his urgency, Ke Jun roared.

The bandit leader's expression instantly changed.

He was about to call out a warning, but it was already too late.

A crossbow bolt crossed dozens of meters and struck one of the archers squarely in the chest.

With a wet splat, the powerful bolt buried itself deep in his body.

With a miserable scream, the archer instinctively released his bowstring, toppled backward, spat blood, and convulsed. Before long, he was dead.

The arrow he fired before dying missed Ke Jun and the others due to its angle and instead struck one of his own men.

"Fuck, shoot your arrows properly!"

That man cursed furiously, his rage blazing.

"Good! Beautifully done!"

Though Ke Jun could not see the archer's death, he could hear it, and he was immediately overjoyed.

The others were invigorated as well. Since someone could handle the enemy archers, they no longer held back and threw themselves fully into fighting the enemies before them.

Their line, which had been retreating, began pushing forward.

"Damn it, damn it! They actually have an archer too!"

"Over there! There! I see him!"

Following the direction from which the crossbow bolt had come, the bandit leader spotted Chen Xun crouching on the platform at a glance.

"You, shoot him down for me."

The bandit leader dragged over another archer and pointed toward Chen Xun's position.

The remaining archer's face was slightly pale, and terror filled his eyes. It had been close—so close. He had nearly been the one to die.

But under the bandit leader's orders, he had no choice but to raise his bow and aim toward Chen Xun.

"Fire."

At the bandit leader's command, the archer immediately released the bowstring. The arrow flew out, then struck the rock wall, its shaft snapping as it fell.

Shooting upward was far more demanding than shooting level. How could an archer trained by bandits possess such accuracy?

And under such crushing pressure and fear, missing was perfectly normal.

"Useless trash."

The bandit leader flew into a rage.

Chen Xun, on the other hand, had the Iron Clothes trait bolstering him. He was not afraid of ordinary arrows, remained calm, and was firing downward, which was far easier.

What was more, he had only recently mastered a major-achievement archery technique.

His shooting posture and judgment of wind direction had both improved enormously, greatly increasing his accuracy.

"Perfect chance."

The instant the bandit leader turned to curse at the archer, Chen Xun seized the opportunity, pulled the trigger, and fired a bolt.

The crossbow bolt arced through the air, aided by a light breeze, and struck the archer with perfect precision.

"You motherf—"

The bandit leader had only gotten out one curse when he saw a long, slender crossbow bolt lodged in the archer's head.

The arrowhead pierced through the hard skull and emerged from his chin. Droplets of blood mixed with white matter trickled down the tip and fell to the ground.

The archer's mouth trembled twice, but he could not open it. At last, his eyes rolled back, and he fell stiffly to the ground, dead.

"Beast! You beast!"

The bandit leader's eyes split with rage.

"Die! Die for me!"

He snatched up a bow from the ground, drew it toward Chen Xun, and fired.

He had never learned archery, and his skill was abysmal. Of the seven or eight arrows he fired in succession, only one grazed the corner of Chen Xun's clothes.

The rest either struck the rock wall or fell into the crowd, throwing the bandits into confusion instead.

At the same time, Chen Xun fired three arrows in succession.

One was dodged, one was blocked with a saber, and Chen Xun sent the last at another bandit. This time, it finally found its mark, striking the man in the chest.

"This man is too strong. Crossbow bolts are not very effective against him. We should deal with the other bandits first."

Thus, no matter how frantically the bandit leader shot arrows at Chen Xun, Chen Xun did not return fire and only aimed at the ordinary bandits.

By the time the ten crossbow bolts Ke Jun had left him were exhausted, Chen Xun had already killed eight bandits.

The surviving bandits had long since withdrawn from the gorge and gathered around their leader, trembling with fear.

The bandit leader's face was ugly. He looked at the two or three remaining stragglers around him, then at the pile of corpses on the ground. In the end, he could only grit his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, and say, "Retreat."

The other bandits immediately let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Chen Xun, is it? I'll remember you."

Before leaving, the bandit leader raised his head toward Chen Xun's position and loudly delivered his threat.

After saying that, he led his men away.

Hearing this, Chen Xun rose from his half-crouch on the platform and calmly watched the bandits depart.

Chen Xun did not take the bandit leader's threat to heart.

Afterward, Chen Xun climbed down from the platform and was immediately surrounded excitedly by Ke Jun and the other four.

"Chen Xun, well done! You did great!"

Ke Jun patted Chen Xun on the shoulder, his face full of delight.

The other three also spoke up. "Chen Xun, we have you to thank this time. Otherwise, we probably would have faced certain death."

"Yeah, your shooting was incredibly accurate. Almost one arrow per man. Have you practiced before?"

"I never practiced. It was only because the crossbow Vice-Captain Ke Jun gave me was of such good quality that it had this effect."

Chen Xun hurriedly said.

"Heh, stop putting gold on my face. It's not as though I've never used that thing before. It never had such accuracy in my hands."

Ke Jun said with a chuckle.

"Is that so? Then it seems I really am quite suited to using this thing."

"By the way, Vice-Captain Ke Jun, could you part with this crossbow? I have some money saved up, and I'd like to buy it."

While the iron was hot, Chen Xun made his request to purchase it.

"That could work. I hardly have any use for it now anyway, so selling it to you is not impossible."

Ke Jun pondered for a moment before agreeing to Chen Xun's request.

"That's wonderful. Thank you for parting with it."

Chen Xun was overjoyed.

In the end, the two agreed that Chen Xun would buy it for ten taels of silver.

That price was already discounted.

On the market, even a decent bow and crossbow would cost more than that.

"I'll give you the money once we get back."

"No rush. We should go support Captain Luo and the others first."

Ke Jun's expression suddenly turned solemn, his voice grave.

At that moment, Luo Shan appeared before them, drenched in blood and leading several wounded men.

"Move! There are pursuers behind us!"

Luo Shan roared.

Everyone's expressions changed at once. They hurriedly followed Luo Shan and fled the One-Line Sky Gorge together.

During their escape, two severely wounded men could no longer hold on and collapsed.

The others carried the two gravely wounded men and continued fleeing for their lives.

One of the two severely wounded men was someone Chen Xun knew very well—Li Peng.

And Li Peng was one of the lucky ones, at least having escaped with his life.

Some had already lost their lives here.

As for the three carts of medicinal materials, the bandits had seized them as well, resulting in devastating losses.

I wonder how the Li Family will react.

As he ran, Chen Xun silently thought to himself.