Squeak, squeak...
Two yellow birds circled in the sky, then swooped down towards the convoy below, finally landing in Qian Kai's hands.
The two birds were only palm-sized, with eyes the size of soybeans that looked quite lively. A small wooden cylinder was attached to their legs, stuffed with a small red paper flower.
Qian Kai took out the paper flowers, each inscribed with the numbers 1 and 3.
"Why have only the messages from the First Squad and Third Squad arrived?"
Qian Kai frowned slightly. The small yellow birds in his hands were messenger birds specially trained by Zhenshan Tower for delivering messages. The red paper flowers within meant everything was safe, and the numbers 1 and 3 represented the 1st and 3rd transport teams respectively.
"After all, the routes are different, they might still be on the way."
Wang Sanyang, who was nearby, spoke.
"That should be the case, we'll just wait a bit longer."
Qian Kai nodded slightly, thinking the same thing.
At this time, the sun was setting in the west, and it was already dusk.
Along the way, aside from the minor incident caused by Lin Sheng, there were only a few ignorant wild beasts that bit and injured one team member, but they were quickly dealt with. Other than that, there were no other abnormalities.
"Team Leader Wang, let's rest after another hour of travel. My guards can take watch."
Qian Kai's gaze fell on Wang Sanyang, and he spoke indifferently. Although it sounded like an inquiry, his tone carried an undeniable meaning.
"It's better to switch shifts. Although the guards you brought are elite, they still need some rest."
Wang Sanyang frowned and said.
"No need, it's decided. It's just one night, this amount of time is nothing to us."
Qian Kai spoke coldly and turned his head away, clearly losing interest in further conversation.
Hearing this, Wang Sanyang didn't seek further embarrassment. He understood that the other party looked down on them, the hunters from commoner backgrounds. He turned his head and began chatting with the leader of the Eighth Squad who was nearby.
They seemed to be discussing something interesting, as both occasionally let out soft laughs during their conversation.
"Hmph."
Seeing this, Qian Kai just let out a slight cold snort. He indeed looked down on these hunters who made a living in the mountains.
Although some old hunters were decent in strength, that was only against wild beasts. Fighting against multiple people is not the same as solo combat; cooperation between individuals is equally important.
Although the guards he brought were few in number, only a dozen or so, eight of them were Body Tempering Martial Artists. The remaining few were also exceptionally talented, with robust and imposing physiques.
They had experienced many battles in the past, and their opponents were mostly their own kind, so they were extremely experienced in fighting against people. Furthermore, they could form small battle formations among themselves, which allowed them to leverage their respective advantages.
Therefore, within Zhenshan Tower, they were the true elites, and also the true external violent force of Zhenshan Tower.
After a while longer, the sun was about to set, and the surrounding light became dim. Dark clouds filled the sky at some point, suggesting a high probability of rain.
At the rear of the convoy, Lin Sheng's gaze occasionally scanned the surroundings.
Since discovering someone lurking in the dark earlier, he had not relaxed at all.
However, after such a long time, nothing had happened, which made a hint of doubt flash in his heart.
"Could the person before just have been passing by?"
This thought surfaced in his mind, but he quickly shook his head and denied it.
"No, that person was definitely not just passing by; they were clearly observing them. With such light footwork, why hide like that?"
He remained cautious, having already made up his mind. If he truly discovered a Blood Transportation Realm Martial Artist appearing, he would definitely turn and run without hesitation.
Just then, Lin Sheng suddenly heard a faint rustling sound in his ears, like clothing rubbing against bushes. The source of this sound was from the bushes on the left side of the road. Although it seemed to be some distance away from them, he could hear that the rustling sound was getting closer and closer.
"Are they here?"
He muttered to himself and immediately spoke up to warn.
"Something's happening, on the left side, everyone be careful."
His voice was loud, and everyone in the entire convoy heard it clearly, startling the people who were diligently making their way forward.
"What are you doing again?"
Several guards in the convoy, seeing that it was Lin Sheng who had spoken again, immediately frowned and looked over, scolding him without politeness.
"Team Leader Wang, you should really manage your team members properly, if..." Qian Kai also frowned tightly, subconsciously saying to Wang Sanyang.
However, before he could finish, he heard dense footsteps coming from the bushes on the left. He immediately reacted and shouted loudly.
"Enemy attack!"
But as soon as he uttered those two words, the sound of arrows cutting through the air already came from the bushes.
Black crossbow bolts pierced through the bushes, difficult to detect in the dim light. Before the transport team members on the left could react, they were struck by the sharp bolts.
The powerful force directly penetrated the transport team members' bodies and continued unabated until it pierced through one or two people behind them before stopping.
This single wave of arrows took the lives of over a dozen team members.
Only then did the crowd react, drawing their bows and nocking arrows, retaliating towards the bushes.
However, they were only equipped with ordinary crossbow bolts, which were no match for the opponent's powerful crossbows. Even hiding behind the carriages could not withstand the penetration of the enemy's powerful crossbows.
"Damn it, how do these bandits have powerful crossbows?!"
Wang Sanyang was also hiding behind. Even though he was a Forging Tendons Realm Martial Artist, facing these powerful crossbows with extreme penetrating power, he dared not confront them head-on.
It should be known that although Great Yan has always controlled things like bows and crossbows, there weren't excessive restrictions on ordinary bows and short crossbows. General forces could equip them as long as they spent money and smoothed things over. However, powerful crossbows were different.
The official control over such powerful military equipment was extremely strict.
Even a leading force in the County Town like Zhenshan Tower did not dare to equip too many, lest they be held accountable.
Now that these plundering bandits actually had such things in their hands, how could he not be shocked?
Qian Kai felt the same way.
He also couldn't understand why this was happening.
But he understood even more that this couldn't continue, otherwise his side's losses would become greater and greater.
"Powerful crossbows have a long interval between shots. While they are reloading, charge in and engage in close combat, don't give them another chance to shoot."
Qian Kai quickly thought of a countermeasure and immediately ordered the crowd.
In the hasty defense, it was unknown how many people heard him.
Before the opponent launched their attack, Lin Sheng had already pulled Xiao Shi and a few others to hide on the right side of the road.
Although the wooden boards and tarps of the carriages couldn't completely block the attack of the powerful crossbows, they significantly reduced their speed, allowing them to be easily dodged.
Because of this, several people were not harmed by the crossbow bolts.
"It's powerful crossbows?!"
Lao Zhou's face turned slightly pale. Seeing the thick crossbow bolts flashing with cold light, his face was full of lingering fear. If Lin Sheng hadn't pulled him and Xiao Shi and the others just now, he wouldn't have had any confidence in surviving the powerful crossbows.
"Pull back and return fire, I'll block the crossbow bolts."
Lin Sheng reacted quickly and said to Lao Zhou, Xiao Shi, and the others beside him.
At the same time, he took the iron spear from Xiao Shi's hand, used the tip of the spear to flick away a powerful crossbow bolt that shot through a gap in the carriage. The strong force made his hand sink.
He immediately understood that ordinary people, even if they could react, simply couldn't withstand the huge impact force of these powerful crossbows.
If this continued, probably ninety-nine percent of the people would die under these powerful crossbows.
Fortunately, after two waves of crossbow bolt attacks, the opposite side did indeed fall into a brief calm, just as Qian Kai had expected, which gave the transport teams a moment to catch their breath.
"Now! Charge with me!"
Qian Kai roared, drew his steel saber, and was the first to charge into the bushes. The guards behind him also formed a battle formation and followed.
However, the next moment, Qian Kai's figure flew back even faster.
He slammed heavily into a riddled carriage with a dull thud, collapsing the carriage directly.
Immediately following was a rough, loud laugh.
"Go, leave none alive!"
As the laughter faded, figures in black quickly approached the convoy.
Not only from the bushes on the left, but figures in black also rapidly approached from the front and back of the road.
No, not only that, Lin Sheng even heard dense footsteps approaching from the right as well.
They were surrounded!!
Lin Sheng's face was a little grim. Even he didn't know when the convoy had fallen into an encirclement.
Judging from the dense footsteps and the constantly sounding strange laughter, the number of people was probably no less than two hundred.
"Go!"
He was very decisive, immediately let out a low shout, and led Xiao Shi and a few others towards the bushes on the right.
Judging by the footsteps, the number of people on the right was the fewest, making it the most suitable direction for a breakthrough.
Facing an enemy of this scale, he had no intention of fighting at all.
Firstly, the opponent had a large number of people, and secondly, there were definitely experts among them.
Qian Kai hadn't even lasted a single move just now, clearly the opponent's strength far surpassed their side. Taking advantage of the current opportunity to leave, if they delayed any longer, it would be hard to say.
"What are you standing there for? Go!"
Xiao Shi was frozen in place at this moment, as if scared silly. Although he had hunted exotic beasts on Yangping Mountain a few times, this was the first time he had seen such a formation. It wasn't until Lao Zhou slapped him hard on the head that he reacted and quickly followed.
Qian Le and Liu Shunjie were even worse than Xiao Shi, their legs trembling with fear. Fortunately, they weren't fools and quickly reacted, following Lin Sheng into the bushes.
On the road at this moment, figures in black clashed with the hunters, the sound of clashing weapons mixed with a series of mournful cries constantly echoing.
One tall and one short figure slowly walked out of the bushes on the left, their faces wearing playful smiles.
"Brother Wang, you finished up quite quickly over there. It seems the power of these powerful crossbows is indeed formidable."
The tall and strong man in black was a bald, muscular man, his body bulging with explosive power. He looked at the short, thin figure beside him and said with a smile.
"There are still some experts in Zhenshan Tower. I came over to see if there were any unexpected gains, to prevent any accidents."
The short, thin man, Wang Luan, was only a little over 1.6 meters tall. If he didn't speak, from his physique, he looked more like a woman.
"It seems Brother Wang is disappointed. This group is just a bunch of trash."
The strong man was named Zheng Tao, ranked Third Brother among the Black Wind Bandits' leaders, and was a Forging Tendons Late Stage expert. Qian Kai was the one he had sent flying with a punch just now.
"Not entirely. When I was tracking and observing this group earlier, someone was actually able to discover me. Perhaps there is an expert among them."
The short, thin man, Wang Luan, spoke indifferently, his gaze constantly sweeping across the battlefield, seemingly searching for his target.
"Oh? Is that so? To be able to discover Brother Wang, they indeed have some skill. Let me see who it is!"
Zheng Tao's face showed surprise. He was very clear about the capabilities of the short, thin man beside him. It was said that he came from an assassin background, cultivated a technique that was extremely skilled in concealment, and possessed excellent footwork, like a poisonous snake in the dark. Even he, if unaware, might not be able to detect his concealment methods.
And he was also ranked third among the Ten Tigers of Lin'an, which showed how powerful he was.
Wang Luan searched for a while but did not find his target.
However, Zheng Tao quickly noticed something was wrong. His gaze fell on the bushes to the right.
"Why haven't the people on the right come over yet?"
To leave no one alive, he had arranged people on all four sides. Although fewer were arranged on the right, there were still twenty to thirty people. Logically, they should have charged over by now.
Hearing Zheng Tao's words, Wang Luan also realized this. He focused his vision and looked closely, but the sky had already darkened at this time, coupled with the dense bushes, he couldn't see anything clearly. He could only vaguely see figures constantly falling in the distance.
"Let's go take a look!"
Wang Luan and the other man exchanged glances and immediately charged forward.
Thump... Thump... Thump...
In the bushes, Lin Sheng led Xiao Shi and a few others charging in one direction.
Although their speed was not slow, they were still discovered by the surrounding enemies. Figures in black, holding weapons, blocked their path.
"It's over!"
Seeing the twenty or so figures in black charging towards them, despair appeared on the faces of Xiao Shi, Lao Zhou, and the others.
"Don't let these few escape, kill them."
Figures in black let out strange laughs as they charged towards them, the weapons in their hands reflecting points of cold light under the dim moonlight.
"Let's fight them! Even if we die, we'll take a few down with us."
Lao Zhou drew the short saber from his waist, holding a saber in one hand and a spear in the other. Gritting his teeth, he roared and was about to charge forward.
But as soon as he took a few steps, he saw several figures in black who were fierce just a second ago, their bodies trembling, and then they fell to the ground, constantly letting out shrill wails.
"This..."
Lao Zhou and the others were momentarily stunned.
"Don't just stand there, just charge forward."
Lin Sheng's low roar startled them awake. Only then did they react and immediately charged forward.
The figures in black charging towards them were struck down by Lin Sheng, who threw out several pebbles, hitting them to the ground.
With his strength, these hard pebbles could also unleash considerable power in his hands. A single blow could incapacitate these figures in black, and it was even possible for them to die instantly if hit in a vital spot.
However, upon seeing this, the figures in black not only showed no intention of retreating but instead charged forward even faster, fearless of death.
Clang, clang, clang!
With the clear sound of metal clashing, Lin Sheng raised his iron spear to block two long sabers slashing down. With a flick of his wrist, before the two figures in black could react, the spear had already cut across their chests.
The chests of the two figures in black were cut open with deep, dark gashes. Large amounts of blood mixed with shattered bones and organs flowed out. Their bodies fell to the ground, constantly twitching and convulsing, clearly not going to survive.
