Even the most skilled martial arts masters cannot withstand a large army, including the Sweeper Monk and the royal retainers.
An individual's energy is limited, and their Internal Energy is not inexhaustible, which is why the imperial court has always suppressed the forces of the martial arts world.
No matter how powerful or skilled a sect you are, a mere tens of thousands of troops pressing in will be enough to exhaust you with their barrage of arrows, not to mention the fierce generals within the army who are no less capable than martial arts masters.
At this moment, facing the barrage of crossbow bolts from the Martial Command Office, the remaining less than ten riders from the Western Xia First-Class Hall were all terrified.
The Martial Command Office uses powerful crossbows from the army, which are far more powerful than the arrows that were just launched.
The barrage of hundreds of crossbow bolts was far more deadly than the previous rain of three thousand arrows.
At this moment, everyone in the Western Xia First-Class Hall was in despair, except for one person.
Murong Fu, disguised as Li Yanzong, felt a chill run down his spine, but he still did not give up hope of survival.
He is the only son of the Murong Family. If he dies here, the Murong Family's great cause of restoring their kingdom will come to an end.
With both hands clasped together, he used the Murong Family's "Star Shifting Technique," but this time he wasn't using martial arts, but rather the Western Xia First-Class Hall cavalry around him.
Two cavalrymen were propelled from their horses into the air by his Internal Energy, meeting the oncoming crossbow bolts.
With a series of soft thuds as the long-range attack aimed at Murong Fu was neutralized, the attack was successfully neutralized.
" Li Yanzong, you!"
Helian Tieshu, standing nearby, glared angrily, but before he could rebuke him, he was also desperately swinging his weapon to parry.
After a volley of crossbow bolts, only five people remained in the same spot.
Following closely behind were the soldiers of the Martial Command Office Mansion, five men in a group, three groups in a team, who all surrounded them.
These are all top-notch fighters selected from the Imperial Army, proficient in battlefield tactics and military formations. They can rival second- or third-rate martial arts masters in one-on-one combat, and their combined power is doubled.
With a slash from you and a shield from me, we covered each other's movements. In just one exchange, even a top-tier martial arts expert like Murong Fu was exhausted from dealing with the situation.
In the moment of crisis, Murong Fu dodged the blades and swords, quickly approached Helian Tieshu, and beheaded him in a flash, much to the astonishment of his opponent.
At the same time, he pulled off his face mask and raised his hands in surrender:
"Stop! I am a spy from the Great Song, not from Western Xia."
"I am the infamous Murong Fu of the martial arts world!"
"This man is Helian Tieshu, the Grand General of the Western Xia Expedition. Brothers, you can use his head to claim credit."
Murong Fu spoke, he threw Helian Tieshu's head, which was still wide open in death, towards the soldiers.
In his plan, revealing his identity, along with the head of a Western Xia general, would be enough to make the soldiers in front of him fight over it for merit. At that time, whether he could escape or take this opportunity to talk to them, it would be perfect.
But when Helian Tieshu threw out his head, the soldiers in front of him didn't even have time to glance at it, and instead surrounded him again, covering each other.
The soldiers in front of me had received orders to kill without mercy, no matter who you were.
Seeing that his attempts to make peace were futile, Murong Fu had no choice but to resort to drastic measures.
He channeled his inner Internal Energy, and the long sword in his hand hummed as he poured in the Internal Energy, making him feel as if he were about to break through the encirclement.
If this were a massive army of millions, surrounded and cut off, he might have no way out. But with only a mere hundred men, he could try a strong charge.
Those who block my way shall die!
Wielding his longsword in the army, sometimes displaying the Mercy Saber Technique, sometimes the Demon-Subduing Saber Technique, Murong Fu possessed a sliver of unparalleled bravery.
On a hilltop not far away, the Beggar Clan' Sect members and Xu Xiao stood watching the carnage below.
" Deputy Commander Qiao, if you were the one below, would you be confident in breaking through?"
Xu Xiao quietly watched the desperate struggle of the cornered beast, and even had time to tease Qiao Feng.
Murong Fu was as famous as Qiao Feng. In terms of martial arts, Qiao Feng was slightly better, but he couldn't defeat Murong Fu quickly.
At this time, Qiao Feng looked at the masters of the Xixia First Grade Hall below. They tried their best but were still blocked by Tongwu Mansion police officers and could not stand out. He felt a little emotional for a moment.
An individual's bravery is so insignificant when facing the power of the imperial court.
Qiao Feng, seeing the experts below who had repeatedly tried to break through but were forced back into the encirclement by the Martial Command Office's men, answered truthfully:
"This man's martial arts skills are comparable to mine, but the Martial Command Office's military formation is impenetrable. If we hadn't been surrounded, I would have been fifty percent certain to escape. But now, if I were in his shoes, I would also be doomed."
"Of course, these are all top-notch soldiers from the Imperial Army. Their individual bravery and discipline are far superior to those of ordinary martial artists."
Xu Xiao looked completely at ease as he watched Murong Fu walk down a dead end; he felt a knot in his heart had been untied.
A woman can only care about one man; if there's another, it's better if she's dead.
Because of the distance and the cover of the fighting sounds, Murong Fu's self-introduction was not heard by anyone.
Although Wang Yuyan sensed that the man's martial arts skills were similar to her cousin's, they were too far apart for her to be certain.
A Zhu A Bi beside them also sensed that the Western Xia cavalrymen were familiar, but none of the three dared to ask a single question.
Xu Xiao had warned them before that women shouldn't interfere in men's affairs; watching the fun is fine, but interfering is not.
Seeing that the situation below was settled and that Murong Fu's death was only a matter of time, Xu Xiao turned his gaze to Qiao Feng.
" Deputy Commander Qiao, do you know why I'm so determined to clean up the martial arts world and leave you martial artists no way to survive?"
"I, Qiao... I was unaware of this." Qiao Feng was still somewhat unaccustomed to the ways of officialdom, and only after speaking did he realize that he was already Xu Xiao's subordinate.
"It's alright, you don't need to be so formal. Your nature is upright and incorruptible. I don't want you to be loyal to me, I don't want you to be servile."
Xu Xiao patted Qiao Feng on the shoulder and then began his brainwashing.
"I want to unite the Beggar Clan' Sect and all the people in the martial arts world, so as to gather all the power of the Great Song Great Song and change its current predicament."
" The Great Song needs a martial spirit!"
"A martial nation will not suffer; even if it does, it will give to others."
"I understand now. We were too narrow-minded and had too limited vision."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Feng clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.
With a few words conveying a sense of national righteousness, Xu Xiao continued his outburst:
" Qiao Feng, I don't care if you're Khitan or anyone else, I only know that you're a true man, someone who will avenge wrongs and repay kindness."
"After that, my next stop will be Shaolin. It's the second stop in the effort to restore order to the martial world, and also the place where you can fulfill your long-cherished wish."
"Once we've taken over Shaolin, I'll entrust you with the task of reorganizing the martial arts world. Whether you continue with my coercion and enticement or use your own martial arts reputation to recruit them, I won't care."
"Two months. I'm giving you two months. You must dismantle all the well-known and large-scale martial arts organizations within the Great Song Dynasty, and gather their best members to supplement the structure of the Martial Command Office."
"Only by completing this step can the Great Song reverse its decline and begin its journey to confront the Western Xia and the Great Liao. Can you do it?"
Meeting Xu Xiao's trusting gaze, Qiao Feng's heart was already filled with thoughts of Shaolin Temple, settling old scores, and the Great Song's reversal of its decline.
After much deliberation, he cupped his hands and kowtowed.
" Qiao Feng obeys the order and will certainly not fail in his duty."