Black-Iron Arrows

The Demon Hunting Team advanced at a blistering pace.

In less than half a quarter-hour, they had fought their way into the heart of the Black Saber Alliance's headquarters.

Not only the alliance's core members lived here, but their families as well.

Chen Shi'an had originally thought the Demon Hunting Team would show mercy to these women and children, who lacked even the strength to truss a chicken.

Yet when some of the new recruits tried to spare them, Iron Bull and the others immediately rebuked them.

"When you cut down weeds, you have to pull out the roots! Leave these people alive, and they might become a scourge someday!"

They did not merely say it, either. They demonstrated it themselves, raising their sabers and cutting down terrified women and children on the spot.

Under their cold, stern gazes, the Demon Hunting Team's recruits also raised their blades against the women and children.

Inside a courtyard in the heart of the Black Saber Alliance's headquarters.

Five bodies lay sprawled across the ground. A pretty woman huddled in a corner, clutching a child of four or five.

The child wailed in terror. Pale as death, the woman held the child tightly, her eyes filled with fear.

Pi Hou and the others surrounded her, but none of them moved. All turned their gazes toward Chen Shi'an.

Iron Bull had already left them, joining the other veterans of the Demon Hunting Team to hunt down Jiang Beiwang.

"Please, spare my child," the woman pleaded desperately.

Chen Shi'an looked at Pi Hou and the others. "What do you think?"

Pi Hou and the others exchanged glances, then voiced their answers one after another:

"Boss, I'll follow your lead."

"That's right. We'll all listen to you, boss!"

Throughout their advance into the heart of the Black Saber Alliance's headquarters, Chen Shi'an had led from the front, always appearing wherever the danger was greatest. He had won his men's loyalty.

He was also decisive and ruthless in combat, his movements clean and efficient. All along the way, he had almost never needed a second stroke to kill an enemy.

The strength he displayed had thoroughly impressed his men.

After a moment's thought, Chen Shi'an looked at the woman. "Hide here in this courtyard with your child. Don't go anywhere. Find a way to stop the crying, and don't come out until everything outside has gone completely quiet."

Relief and joy appeared on the woman's face. She repeatedly kowtowed to Chen Shi'an, then hurried deeper into the courtyard with the child in her arms to hide.

Worry crossed Pi Hou's face. "Boss, everyone's competing with all they've got right now. If we don't kill these women and children, our final head count will definitely be lower than the other squads'."

"I know."

Chen Shi'an nodded slightly. "If I can capture or kill Jiang Beiwang, we won't lose."

At those words, Pi Hou and the others all blanched.

"Boss, you mustn't take that risk. Jiang Beiwang is an eighth acquired stage martial artist, and he's run rampant in the Outer City for years. He has an enormous amount of experience fighting and killing.

"Personal Guard Iron and the others went to surround and kill Jiang Beiwang themselves precisely because they were worried we'd suffer casualties," Pi Hou said urgently.

Another man added, "Boss, Jiang Beiwang himself is an eighth acquired stage martial artist, and there are bound to be other experts around him. Going after him would be far too dangerous.

"If anything happens to you, we brothers will lose the man we depend on."

Chen Shi'an slowly swept his gaze across his subordinates. "Brothers, the people of the Black Saber Alliance may deserve death, but slaughtering defenseless old people, women, and children is something I, Chen Shi'an, cannot do.

"At the same time, I can't let our squad lose to the others and make you all lose face for following me.

"Capturing or killing Jiang Beiwang is therefore something I must do-and something I must accomplish."

At this point, he raised his voice slightly. "Pi Hou, take everyone and keep advancing.

"Spare every old person, woman, and child you encounter along the way. Tell them to hide and not make a sound."

"Boss..." Pi Hou began again.

"That settles it. Do as I said." Chen Shi'an's voice was quiet, but his tone brooked no argument.

Sensing his resolve, Pi Hou and the others hesitated as though they wanted to speak, then fell silent.

"The deeper you go, the stronger the people inside will be. Don't let your guard down, and no one is to act alone!" With that, Chen Shi'an strode out of the courtyard and headed deeper into the Black Saber Alliance's headquarters.

After parting with Pi Hou and the others, Chen Shi'an abruptly doubled his pace. Using the surrounding buildings as cover, he moved at tremendous speed, leaving trails of afterimages.

Sure enough, the deeper he went, the stronger the people became. Every so often, he encountered martial artists who had entered the acquired stages.

Chen Shi'an did not get tangled up with them. He simply kept moving deeper inside.

He was so fast that these ranked martial artists of the Black Saber Alliance could not catch him at all.

He did not know where Jiang Beiwang was, but Iron Bull and the others did.

As long as he followed their trail, he would surely find Jiang Beiwang.

Finding Iron Bull and the others' trail was simple, too.

At this point, the Demon Hunting Team's recruits were still steadily advancing from behind, while Iron Bull and the others had thrust into the depths of the Black Saber Alliance's headquarters like a spearhead.

They would inevitably have fought people along the way, leaving traces and the smell of blood.

Following those traces and that bloody scent, Chen Shi'an swiftly moved deeper into the Black Saber Alliance's headquarters.

He also prepared a fallback plan. If Iron Bull and the others had moved too quickly and already captured or killed Jiang Beiwang,

he would change his target and capture or kill the Black Saber Alliance's other senior figures.

As for how to tell whether someone was a senior figure?

The law of survival in the Outer City was simple: the bigger your fist, the greater your power.

The Black Saber Alliance was naturally no exception. Anyone powerful was bound to hold a high position.

Half an incense stick's worth of time passed.

Chen Shi'an had reached the deepest reaches of the Black Saber Alliance's headquarters.

To his delight, shouts and the sounds of fighting came from a cluster of buildings just ahead.

He immediately quickened his steps and hurried toward the noise.

Soon, he arrived at a compound with three courtyards in front and three behind.

Inside, Iron Bull and a dozen or so other veterans of the Demon Hunting Team were fighting the Black Saber Alliance's experts.

The Black Saber Alliance held an overwhelming numerical advantage. They had fifty or sixty men, all of them ranked martial artists.

Their stages were not high, with most at the acquired second stage or third acquired stage.

But enough ants could bite an elephant to death. Relying on their numbers, they kept Iron Bull and the others firmly tied down.

Most of Iron Bull's group were between the fourth and sixth acquired stages.

Iron Bull was the strongest, at the eighth acquired stage.

Their Martial Dao realms were not particularly high, but they had all fought demon beasts. They possessed tremendous combat experience and worked together with exceptional coordination.

Though facing five or six times their own number, they formed groups of two or three and stood back-to-back.

By fighting in small teams, they steadily held off the Black Saber Alliance experts' encirclement, occasionally cutting down an opponent or two.

If things continued this way, it was only a matter of time before the Black Saber Alliance's experts collapsed.

Chen Shi'an did not rush into the fray. He hid behind an ornamental rockery and quietly observed the fighting in the courtyard.

He judged that all the Black Saber Alliance's elite experts should be here, including Jiang Beiwang.

After a swift search, he fixed his gaze on a middle-aged man wearing yellow brocade.

The man in yellow was leading more than a dozen men in attacking Iron Bull and another man from the Demon Hunting Team.

He stood on the edge of the melee and rarely attacked, but whenever he did, he struck at precisely the right moment, posing an enormous threat to Iron Bull.

Clearly, the man in yellow had realized Iron Bull was the greatest threat. He wanted to capture or kill him in one stroke and shake the Demon Hunting Team's morale.

However, Iron Bull had already guessed his intentions. He kept half his attention on the man in yellow at all times, guarding against surprise attacks.

His position looked passive, but once the other men of the Demon Hunting Team finished off their opponents, the situation could turn around immediately.

Chen Shi'an's judgment was correct. The man in yellow was Jiang Beiwang, leader of the Black Saber Alliance.

Upon learning that the attackers were from the Demon Hunting Team, Jiang Beiwang had lost his will to fight and begun retreating with his elite experts and family members.

However, Iron Bull and the others had broken away from the main force, fought their way deep into the Black Saber Alliance's headquarters, and intercepted him.

Seeing that Iron Bull's group of a dozen or so had penetrated deep without support, Jiang Beiwang conceived a bold idea: kill them all in one fell swoop.

The Demon Hunting Team's mighty reputation resounded throughout Windrise Stronghold and likewise held the Outer City in awe.

Jiang Beiwang was a ruthless, ambitious leader. Since he dared reveal his ambitions and sought to dominate the Outer City, he had naturally considered that the Demon Hunting Team would come knocking sooner or later. He had been preparing for that day.

What caught him somewhat off guard, however, was that the Demon Hunting Team had clearly arrived too early. He was not ready yet.

According to past practice, the Demon Hunting Team only acted when a faction controlled nearly a quarter of the Outer City.

Although the Black Saber Alliance had expanded aggressively in recent years, it still controlled only a sixth of the Outer City.

The Demon Hunting Team's surprise attack had disrupted Jiang Beiwang's plans, naturally filling him with fury.

Seeing Iron Bull and a dozen or so others dare to venture deep into the Black Saber Alliance's headquarters only stoked his rage further. He decided to halt his retreat for the moment and kill them first to vent the hatred in his heart.

Others might fear the Demon Hunting Team, but he, Jiang Beiwang, did not.

Yet after exchanging blows with them, he realized he had underestimated how terrifying the Demon Hunting Team was.

He finally understood why the old alliance leader, despite possessing formidable strength, had always refused to expand his territory and merely guarded his own little patch of land.

Time slowly passed.

He watched his elite subordinates fall beneath the Demon Hunting Team's blades, one after another.

Meanwhile, the sounds of fighting in the distance were rapidly drawing closer.

Jiang Beiwang abandoned the idea of killing Iron Bull and the others. Leaving his subordinates behind, he turned and swiftly retreated deeper into the compound.

Iron Bull swung his saber repeatedly, forcing back several Black Saber Alliance experts in front of him. Then he leaped up and pursued Jiang Beiwang.

Besides him, three other men from the Demon Hunting Team saw Jiang Beiwang fleeing. They, too, drove back their opponents and gave chase.

Chen Shi'an moved as well. He swiftly slipped out from behind the rockery and followed Iron Bull's group, using the courtyard buildings as cover.

Jiang Beiwang moved extremely fast. In no time, he had passed through two courtyards.

Iron Bull and the others pursued him relentlessly.

When they stepped into the third courtyard, a sudden series of whistles rang out.

Six pitch-black arrows tore through the air and shot before them in an instant.

"Black-Iron Arrows!"

The moment he saw those pitch-black shafts, Iron Bull's expression changed drastically. He shouted urgently, "They're Black-Iron Arrows! Fall back!"

Black-Iron Arrows were forged entirely from black iron and designed specifically to deal with martial artists in the acquired realm.

Black iron was heavy. Black-Iron Arrows weighed dozens or even a hundred times more than ordinary arrows. Normal bows could not fire them; they required specially made powerful bows-Black-Iron Bows.

Ordinary people could not draw a Black-Iron Bow. At the very least, it required a third acquired stage martial artist.

Black-Iron Arrows were heavy and sharp. Once fired, they traveled incredibly fast and struck with tremendous destructive force. Caught off guard, even a ninth acquired stage martial artist could be shot dead.

However, black iron was an exceptionally rare metal. Even among a hundred iron mines, it was difficult to find a single one that produced it.

Moreover, forging Black-Iron Arrows and Black-Iron Bows required extraordinary craftsmanship.

There were no craftsmen in the Desolate Ruins capable of making Black-Iron Arrows or Black-Iron Bows.

Any Black-Iron Arrows and Black-Iron Bows found in the Desolate Ruins could only have come from the Sacred Martial Dynasty, Northern Liang, or Southern Qing.

Black-Iron Arrows and Black-Iron Bows were exceptionally rare and difficult to obtain. Even Windrise Stronghold possessed fewer than thirty Black-Iron Bows in total, and its supply of Black-Iron Arrows was far from abundant.

Xiang Chuxiong treasured those Black-Iron Bows and kept them under tight wraps. Unless there was absolutely no other choice, he would not bring them out.

Yet how could a mere Black Saber Alliance possibly possess Black-Iron Bows?

All four men of the Demon Hunting Team, Iron Bull included, blanched and desperately drove their bodies backward.

But the Black-Iron Arrows were simply too fast. They could not dodge them.

With no other choice, the four men channeled every ounce of strength into their hands and swung their Horizontal Sabers at the oncoming Black-Iron Arrows.

After a series of metallic clangs, all six Black-Iron Arrows were knocked away.

But Iron Bull and the others' arms had gone numb, and their faces flushed crimson.

The force behind the Black-Iron Arrows was enormous. They had exhausted the strength of nine oxen and two tigers just to block them.

One man's Horizontal Saber had even suffered a notch the size of a little finger.

Worse still, another series of whistles rang out as a second volley hurtled toward them.

Again, there were six arrows, swift and laden with a terrifying force.

Bitter expressions appeared on Iron Bull and the others' faces. They stood in the middle of an open courtyard with nothing to shield them and nowhere to hide.

There was no other choice. They could only grit their teeth and raise their sabers to block.

The whistling rang out through four successive volleys before finally stopping.

All four men of the Demon Hunting Team were wounded.

One had even been shot straight through the abdomen. He had lost the ability to fight and was now being tightly protected in the middle by Iron Bull and the other two.

Iron Bull was an eighth acquired stage martial artist and the strongest among them. He could have avoided injury.

But to protect his three companions, he had blocked the most arrows. A Black-Iron Arrow had gouged a large chunk of flesh from his left arm, and blood had already dyed the entire limb red.

If a fifth volley came from the shadows, the four of them would probably die here.

Fortunately, Black-Iron Arrows were exceptionally precious. It was already inconceivable that the Black Saber Alliance possessed Black-Iron Bows; their stock of arrows was bound to be small.

Of course they wanted to kill Iron Bull and the others, but they had already exhausted their arrows.

Although the four men of the Demon Hunting Team had narrowly escaped death, their fighting strength had been greatly reduced, and one companion was gravely wounded. They could only stop, not daring to continue the pursuit.

What they did not know was that, just as the Black-Iron Bows stopped firing, a figure silently vaulted over the wall and swiftly pursued Jiang Beiwang in the direction he had fled.