At the entrance to the valley pass.
The troops who had been preparing to enter were left at a loss by the sudden turn of events.
None of them had expected anything like this to happen.
Just then.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A dense hail of arrows shot out from the wooded slopes all around.
"Aah! Aah!"
Many soldiers who had no time to defend themselves were struck by arrows and screamed in agony.
"Ambush! Find cover!"
"Archers, return fire!"
Despite his panic, one general immediately issued orders.
At once.
The soldiers who recovered their wits sought cover or raised their shields to block the arrows.
As for the archers.
They nocked their arrows and fired into the dense woods on every side.
Even though they could not see the enemy, there was no need to search for them.
They simply fired back in whichever direction the arrows came from.
Arrows plunged into the woods.
Screams rang out.
The hail of arrows from the dense woods seemed to weaken considerably.
And just then.
Battle cries thundered from every direction.
A large force of rebels charged out of the wooded slopes.
"Regroup and engage!"
By now, the army had actually grown much calmer.
Facing the rebels charging from all sides, the remaining soldiers re-formed their scattered ranks under their officers' command and charged to meet them.
Boom!!
A Sect expert leaped straight over the crowd and struck with his palm in midair, unleashing a phantom palm imprint of terrifying power.
At the same time.
An expert also charged out from among the rebels.
His long saber struck ferociously, cleaving the palm imprint apart.
In the blink of an eye.
The two sides were locked in a bloody melee.
The commotion at the entrance naturally did not escape Hong Bin and the others.
But—