A Fierce Battle

Once the soldiers recognized the bandits as skilled fighters, some fled, some hesitated, and others kept watching the fight, completely unaware that becoming outlaws had put them in such a dilemma.

They were either killed by government soldiers or by experts from the Xiong State; the bandits rarely met their end.

Only when all the government officials, soldiers, and Xiong State are dead can they continue to be bandits.

The reason why the bandits stopped and started, and why there were always onlookers and shouts, was precisely this.

"Shoot with great precision!"

"Barbed arrow!"

In the jungle, Xiong State clashed with soldiers charging back and forth on horseback, while archers exchanged fire from their hiding places.

In close combat, there are rarely battles lasting hundreds of rounds. Close-quarters combat is all about danger, with a single strike capable of killing someone in an instant. Long-range shooting, on the other hand, is all about delivering a fatal blow.

Without the chaotic fighting of the bandits, the confrontation almost turned into a two-on-one battle.

"My lord, I beg you to lend a hand!"

Zhang An picked up his long sword and examined it for more than ten seconds. He felt that the government troops did not have a clear advantage.

Without the bandits intervening, the three guards fought against two experts from the Xiong State. Although there seemed to be one more soldier than the government troops, Zhang An could see that everyone was giving it their all, even taking advantage of the leaping and charging capabilities of their mounts.

A sergeant's killing spree is different from a battle in the arena. A sergeant's battle relies on coordination and working together. If you don't win the opponent at the beginning, it will be difficult to make a comeback.

Moreover, some people were careless at the beginning and were killed with a single blow without knowing their opponent.

Zhang An felt increasingly confident that winning would be difficult.

He wanted to charge forward with his knife, but fearing it would disrupt the coordination of the soldiers, he could only ask Zhang Xuezhou was inside the carriage, for directions.

In Zhang An's eyes, Zhang Xuezhou could see his strength at a glance, so his cultivation level must be extremely high. Moreover, the other party was an official in Chang'an City, so he could definitely use some kind of Technique Method to maintain balance.

"Make your move!"

Zhang Xuezhou gave a vague reply.

What he disliked most was this kind of martial arts confrontation.

Currently, the only combat Technique Method he uses are the Sand Entanglement Technique and the Sand Dissolving Technique. Both of these spells require chanting and are difficult to cast, making him extremely passive when facing archers.

If Zhang Xuezhou makes a move, the opposing marksman will likely have to attack him before he can even finish casting his spell.

Zhang Xuezhou touched the sleep bug in Heavenly Robe's pocket, feeling that now was not a good opportunity for a sneak attack.

If he were to use the Yang Soul Transformation Technique, he would essentially be a target, and problems would easily arise if his physical body lacked protection.

In particular, the transformation of Yang Soul into human form also poses the problem of leaking Technique Method, which would cause great inconvenience to Zhang Xuezhou.

He was best suited for ambushes. As long as these experts from the Xiong State were at or below the Consciousness Creation Realm Consciousness Creation Realm, and carelessly ran near the carriage, Zhang Xuezhou could use his realm suppression ability.

However, since his cultivation level exceeded the range of his suppression, Zhang Xuezhou could not escape being stabbed.

Looking at the arrow that had penetrated nearly half a foot into the carriage, Zhang Xuezhou felt that he lacked a strong enough partner to cooperate with, and things were going to be difficult.

"Should we... charge in and kill them?"

Rong Li touched the knife, peeked through a corner of the carriage curtain, and then quickly lowered it again.

Having lived in Hibiscus City for decades, she had never witnessed such a dangerous and bloody confrontation.

Seeing the ear-piercing sound of metal clashing as the weapons struck, accompanied by a streak of sparks, Rong Li felt that this power was far beyond her ability to resist.

The most troublesome thing was that Rong Li couldn't see either side's swords and knives attacking. She only felt that in the blink of an eye, the swords and knives had already clashed.

If it weren't for the sound and the sparks from clashing swords, she wouldn't even know where she would land.

"Cousin, what skills do you have?"

Zhang Xuezhou pressed down on Rong Li's hand, then whispered a question to Rong Tianding.

"My techniques can only manipulate the dead," Rong Tianding said in a low voice. "Right now, I can barely make a dead person wave their arms and body; it's only for intimidation, not for combat!"

"Your spells are only good for scaring people. My spells take too long to cast. This Zhang An couldn't even dodge an archer's arrow before, let alone block arrows for us. I'll probably get shot before I finish casting my spell!"

Zhang Xuezhou lifted the curtain to look into the distance. He saw that the two soldiers charging at each other in front were showing signs of fatigue, while the archers behind them, who were meant to be a deterrent, were clearly losing the exchange of fire and had to jump off their horses to avoid the arrows.

"Zhang An, I remember you were ordered by Lord Du Zhou to protect me along the way. How can I, in my ailing condition, possibly participate?"

Zhang Xuezhou asked a question that made Zhang An look bitter.

Zhang An was protecting Ping An by dealing with those bandits, not with the experts from the Xiong State.

Seeing Zhang Xuezhou urging him on and mentioning his own health condition, he couldn't help but take a deep breath, holding the knife and constantly looking around, seeking an opportunity to rush in.

Thirty zhang is not a long distance, but it is still a hundred meters. Military horses can charge back and forth in an instant, but people relying on their legs need to find a direction to charge and cut in, so as not to miss even their own men.

Zhang An dropped his whip, leaped over the crossbeams and rocks, and kept getting closer to the battleground.

"Everyone, kill with all your might! A powerful cultivator has descended from the sky!"

When Zhang An had run nearly halfway, he heard a powerful voice coming from behind him, which made him look up, but there was no cultivator in the sky.

But in just a brief moment, Zhang An saw a gray-robed figure float by in the air, only a few feet away. The figure, with its wide robes and sleeves, exuded the air of a highly accomplished person.

"A great cultivator has arrived to help!"

Zhang An shouted.

He ran for several dozen steps, and saw an arrow fly from the bow and soar into the sky from the woods.

The whistling sound of the arrow piercing through the air clearly demonstrated its extraordinary power.

"You wicked scoundrel! I was merely passing through this place and had no intention of interfering in your affairs, yet you dared to shoot arrows at me! Your crime is unforgivable!"

An angry voice came from mid-air, followed by cold snorts and muffled sounds from the jungle on the ground.

As the great cultivator in mid-air continued his incessant chatter, another feathered arrow flew out.

"A mere Nascent Body Transformation Realm cultivator dares to act arrogantly in our Great Han? I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you have ten arrows first, let you use all eighteen of your skills before you die a swift death. That way, no one will say I'm bullying the weak!"

Two arrows shot out, and the cultivator in the air waved his hand, sending the arrows flying out again in a strange manner.

"A great cultivator! He must be the sect leader of some major sect!"

Zhang An shouted, feeling his right hand, which was holding the long sword, suddenly stabilize.

With such a powerful cultivator in charge, they had absolutely no worries during the battle.

The Body Transformation Realm cultivator was very strong to Zhang An, so strong that Zhang An had no idea what to do with him. However, the great cultivator in the air was obviously ridiculously strong, even able to withstand ten arrows from the opponent. This meant that the opponent was not Divine Ability Realm cultivator, but Sole Self Realm cultivator.

The small-scale conflict involving bandits was suddenly disrupted by the intervention of skilled fighters like Li Guang and Cheng Bushi, instantly reversing the situation.

"While a powerful cultivator is distracting that archery expert from the Xiong State, quickly use this opportunity to strike!"

"He's a martial artist at the Consciousness Creation Realm. Don't hold back, use your full strength!"

Only when the soldiers in the doubles team called out to Zhang An did Zhang An's trembling heart quickly calm down.

The charging cavalry created an opening, and without a second thought, Zhang An surging his Qi and Blood, unleashing a powerful strike that seemed to split Mount Hua.

This is a fierce attack, but it also leaves openings, making it easy for either the opponent or yourself to die in a two-on-one match.

However, when used in coordinated operations, this tactic can actually create a powerful impact.

"Excellent swordsmanship!"

Watch out for your right hand!

Two sounds came in quick succession: a soldier swung his longsword back, and another soldier countered with a thrusting spear.

When Zhang An felt the voice was somewhat familiar, he felt the long sword slash down, and the powerful counterattack force pressed down like Mount Tai.

Before he could exert any more force to resist, Zhang An saw the curved blade that was slashing down from the longsword flicker and then slide off his blade.

Zhang An had no time to react to this move. He quickly withdrew his right hand and discarded the knife, only to feel a sharp pain surging through his fingers.

With just a bump and a slip, he not only lost his knife, but all five of his fingers were also severed by his opponent.

Zhang An's face showed great shock. As he quickly pulled away, he heard two dull thuds.

"Finally got my hands on you!"

"Even a snake demon can't dodge this shot!"

The two soldiers shouted repeatedly, and the expert from the Xiong State cried out in pain as he was pierced by both a sword and a spear.

Black markings appeared on his face, and pustules bulged beneath his ripped clothes, from which pus-like venom burst forth.

Zhang An suddenly pulled his hand, with its five severed fingers, towards his chest, feeling as if raindrops were falling on his back, or as if he had been burned by flames.