"..."
It all happened in the flash of lightning and the spark of flint, too fast for either man to react.
Blood splashed across the face of the slightly older soldier beside him.
He froze.
One moment, the young man had been blustering about teaching the woman who had rejected his marriage proposal a lesson.
The next, an arrow had pierced his throat!
His eyes widened in disbelief, as though he had witnessed the most terrifying thing in the world.
He slowly lowered his head and looked at his neck.
An arrow was lodged in it.
"Urgh..."
He wanted to shout, but no sound would come out.
Instead, blood came bubbling out in gushes.
His body crumpled limply to the ground. Only then did the soldier beside him react, about to scream hysterically.
Whoosh!
The next instant, another arrow flew out of the night and pierced his skull!
A hazy veil of mist and rain shrouded the little border town.
No one knew that, while Huang Tong was leading several hundred men in preparation for a surprise attack,
the enemy had already slipped quietly into town under cover of darkness.
They lurked in every corner.
They had disguised themselves as ordinary residents, merchants, diners... even beggars pleading for alms along the streets.
They were only waiting for the final assembly.
In truth, they had already surrounded the entire county office.
"They say each autumn rain brings another chill. This rain... does feel rather cold."
Ning Que stood some distance away beneath an umbrella, letting the fine raindrops patter against its oiled canopy.
Yin Jiuyou, Qi Shanhe, Qiao Musheng, and Mu Yuwei stood behind him, their faces brimming with excitement.
Even when the former Juzi had been around, they had never taken the initiative like this.
Because they were "rebels," and the other side were "soldiers."
Outlaws had an innate fear of government troops.
On a deeper level, what they faced was the centralized power of an entire Dynasty!
This was their first battle to overthrow imperial rule. They had to succeed!
Taking a deep breath as well, Ning Que looked toward the county office, his gaze gradually turning icy.
Behind him stood more than a hundred skilled fighters from the Quick Sand Qingzhou Branch, weapons in hand and fully armed, their faces solemn and their killing intent surging.
At a single command, they would charge into the county office and fight through blood.
"Archers, ready!"
"Loose!"
At Ning Que's command, fifty archers released their bowstrings.
A dense volley of arrows instantly flew toward the county office.
The darkness and curtain of rain provided perfect cover. Soon, screams rang out incessantly from inside the county office.
At the same time.
County Magistrate Qian Taizhong was still asking Huang Tong what tactics he intended to employ. Huang Tong snorted. "I plan to enter Black Kui Ridge under cover of darkness and launch a surprise attack when they're most exhausted and least vigilant..."
Qian Taizhong's eyes immediately lit up, and he raised a thumb. "A brilliant plan, Commander!"
"Huang... Huang Tong, disaster! The enemy has launched a surprise attack! Our brothers in the courtyard have suffered heavy casualties!"
"What?!"
Both Huang Tong and Qian Taizhong froze at those words.
They hurried outside, only to be horrified by the dead and wounded strewn everywhere.
Qian Taizhong was scared witless and instinctively looked toward Huang Tong.
His eyes seemed to ask, Weren't we launching a surprise attack? How did we end up getting ambushed instead?
"Quick! Bring me my weapon!"
Huang Tong shouted urgently.
His weapon was a mountain-cleaving battle-axe, taller than he was.
Forged entirely from refined steel, its keen blade gleamed with the cold luster unique to metal.
Only with the mountain-cleaving axe in hand did Huang Tong feel somewhat steadier.
He shouted at the chaotic scene, "Don't panic! Form ranks! Raise your shields!"
Fortunately, most of the casualties were county constables and their captains, who had no armor or helmets. The local troops Huang Tong had brought had suffered no casualties.
Most had merely been thrown into disarray by the sudden attack.
Now that Huang Tong had shouted his orders, they immediately found their anchor and formed orderly ranks.
The elite soldiers at the front raised iron shields to block the arrows.
Clang, clang, clang-
Arrows struck the shields with a dense succession of dull impacts, like the rumbling of thunder.
The bows and arrows obtained through the prize draw were all made from superior cold iron. Their tremendous force struck the ground like crashing boulders.
Before long, the shields' surfaces began to cave in.
"Switch!"
Huang Tong roared.
As soon as the first rank's shields could no longer hold, the second rank's shields took their place.
Huang Tong lived up to his past experience fighting under the State-Guarding Great General. With a string of commands, he immediately defused the crisis.
As for County Magistrate Qian Taizhong, he had already hidden beneath a desk in the county office, clutching his head with both hands and trembling.
Huang Tong glanced at him, his gaze growing even more contemptuous.
"Hmph! A coward who clings to life and fears death!"
After cursing him, he swung his battle-axe and roared, "The rebels are nearby! Fight your way out, steadily!"
At that moment, Huang Tong's expression grew considerably more serious. His earlier contempt for those rebels was gone.
The mere fact that they had launched a surprise attack before he could was enough to astonish him.
He had to admit that these rebels were well trained, and an expert was surely guiding them from behind the scenes!
After several volleys, Ning Que stopped the archers from firing again.
A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes. "There's no point in shooting anymore. They've prepared their defenses."
"Next comes the charge!"
"Kill!"
At Yin Jiuyou's roar, everyone rushed forward.
Huang Tong's side did the same, with him leading the charge.
Soon, the two sides crossed weapons, and battle cries filled the county office.
Huang Tong was extraordinarily fierce. With his mountain-cleaving battle-axe in hand, every swing claimed a rebel's life.
Yet his expression grew increasingly grave, and alarm mounted in his heart.
Anyone who knew the enemies before him knew they were rebels.
Anyone who did not would have mistaken them for regular local troops!
Not only were they armored from head to toe, but every weapon in their hands was top quality.
Even the guards at the foot of the imperial city did not have equipment like that, did they?
Huang Tong had only seen equipment like this in one place-the Embroidered Uniform Guard!
Huang Tong's ferocity soon drew the attention of Ning Que and the others.
Just as he was about to cleave down with his axe, a clang rang out!
His axe had actually been stopped?
He looked up to find a ghostlike man dressed entirely in black standing before him, a long saber held crosswise.
"How about trying your hand against me?"
Yin Jiuyou spoke.
Then he slashed horizontally!
The swift blade stirred bursts of whistling wind, and Huang Tong hurriedly raised his weapon to block.
Another violent collision rang out. Huang Tong was driven back three steps, the web of his hand going numb.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Before he could react, three more figures appeared around him.
They took mutually supporting positions, surrounding Huang Tong.
"What's the fun in bullying our subordinates? Come play with us."
Powerful auras surged from Qi Shanhe, Qiao Musheng, and the others.
"..."
Huang Tong gripped his mountain-cleaving axe, but the will to fight had already vanished from his heart.
He might not even be a match for one of them, let alone four at once!
"Don't kill him!"
Just then, a voice rang out.
A young man walked onto the battlefield.
Yin Jiuyou and the other three immediately put away their weapons and stood to either side.
As Huang Tong looked at Ning Que's face, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he cried out instinctively, "You? The prisoner who was supposed to be executed a few days ago!"
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