Free Web NovelChapter 92: Chapter 92: One Against Ten
Xie Yuan threw himself backward as an arrow whizzed past his collar and plunged into the river.
SHING! He drew his saber. He saw shadowy figures on the hillside as ten or twenty men swarmed out of the dense forest.
Kong Chun, Tang Dawei, and the others quickly drew their weapons and formed a circle around Xie Yuan.
Kong Chun flourished his escort flag, took two steps forward, and shouted:
"Friends on the hill! We’re with the Longteng Escort Agency! Our chief has met your Boss Song, so please, grant us passage and let’s part on good terms!"
Another arrow came whistling straight for his head. Kong Chun hadn’t expected them to be so lawless. His pupils constricted as he watched the arrowhead grow larger and larger in his vision.
Before he could dodge, Xie Yuan’s saber flashed out like lightning and deflected the arrow. He eyed the bandits on the slope coldly.
"The Longteng Escort Agency, huh? You’re the ones I’m here to rob!"
The bandit leader lowered his hunting bow and roared with laughter.
"That kid with the saber has some real skill. But you’ve run into our first big score of the spring. Today, I don’t care if you’re God Almighty himself, you’re going down right here!"
"Brothers, with me! Charge!"
The bandits on the slope howled in unison, unleashed their auras, and charged violently down the hill.
Tang Dawei and his men’s faces paled. Not only were the bandits numerous, but judging by the auras they flaunted, every single one of them was a powerful fighter!
There appeared to be about ten of them at the Second Training level alone!
’These bastards have sent all their elites. What’s going on?’
The Darts Masters’ hearts sank. There were only six of them in total, and Xie Yuan was the only one at the Second Training level.
No matter how fast Xie Yuan progressed or how strong he was, he was still hopelessly outnumbered.
And even if he could handle two or three opponents, how could he possibly defend against ten Second Training fighters? That’s not even counting the other ten bandits who were at least at the First Training level. ’What are we going to do?’
Forget Xie Yuan; even if their agency’s chief were leading them, they might win, but the chief would likely be the only one to walk away alive.
The Darts Masters’ faces were pale. They all thought this was it, their only hope was to take a few of the bastards down with them.
Just then, Xie Yuan suddenly moved. Instead of retreating, he advanced, charging up the slope ahead of everyone.
"Master Xie!"
"Brother Yuan!"
Kong Chun and the others cried out in shock, completely taken by surprise.
’This is bad. If he’d stayed with us in a defensive circle, watching each other’s backs, we could have held out for a while. What’s gotten into him, charging into that mob all by himself? It’s full of enemies at his own level. It’s like throwing a meat bun to a dog—a one-way trip!’
’If our point man dies the second the fight starts, what’s left to fight for?’ The Darts Masters watched Xie Yuan plunge into the horde, despair creeping into their eyes.
Xie Yuan watched the horde of bandits charge, raising their blades and howling. He tightened his grip on his saber, his gaze hardened, and he charged to meet them head-on.
’His reasoning was simple. If they held their ground, twenty men would surround them. He’d never be able to protect Kong Chun and the others by himself. By the time he fought his way out, his companions would all be dead.’
’Since it was a battle against overwhelming odds either way, he might as well try a different approach.’
’He would be the one to charge, and force the enemy to defend.’
Xie Yuan surged forward. His saber flashed—Drawing Slash, Wolf Assault!
The fastest of the charging Second Training bandits saw a flash of steel coming at him like the wind. He went to raise his blade to block, but his arm suddenly stopped moving.
His momentum carried him forward past Xie Yuan. Then he abruptly dropped his saber, clutched his neck, and collapsed. Blood gushed from between his fingers, impossible to stop.
Without a second glance, Xie Yuan delivered a powerful downward slash, severing the hand and saber of the next bandit. He followed up by plunging his blade into the man’s heart, finishing him.
He ripped the blade free in a spray of blood and executed another horizontal slash. The blade moved like splashing water, the wind it created howling like a wolf, as he cut down the minions to his left and right, along with the Second Training bandit before him.
In the opening clash, Xie Yuan had already cut down three Second Training bandits. With his perfected saber techniques fueled by Inner Strength, no one at his level was a match for him!
The bandits behind them were horrified. For a moment, it was unclear who was charging whom. Down the slope, Kong Chun and the others stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
’Master Xie is this ferocious? No wonder he dared to charge in alone!’
But in doing so, Xie Yuan had plunged deep into the enemy’s formation. As terrified as the bandits were, they found their vicious resolve, their eyes turning bloodshot as they raised their blades!
"Watch out!"
Kong Chun screamed, but no matter how much he shouted from the bottom of the slope, how could Xie Yuan possibly dodge the storm of flashing blades in the middle of that mob?
Xie Yuan focused only on dodging the powerful, heavy strikes from the Second Training bandits, and with a backhanded slash, he took down another one.
As for the slashes from the weaker bandits, Xie Yuan simply deflected them with a flick of his arm and paid them no further mind.
Seeing his blade about to connect with Xie Yuan, one of the bandits was overjoyed.
’Even if I’m a level weaker, a blade is just as fast! It might not sever an arm tempered by perfected muscle training, but it’ll still wound him severely!’
The blade met Xie Yuan’s arm, but to the bandit’s surprise, it didn’t have the effect he’d imagined. He didn’t even draw blood!
A nearly invisible golden light flashed where the blade struck, leaving only a white line on the skin.
Xie Yuan glanced back at the stunned bandit. Not bothering to swing his saber around, he simply smashed the man’s face in with his fist.
"Get back! All of you, get back!"
The bandit leader’s face drained of color. In the instant Xie Yuan had charged their ranks, nearly half his men had fallen!
The once-swarming encirclement suddenly looked sparse.
The bandits’ hearts pounded in their chests. ’This job... this guy is way more than we bargained for!’
’No wonder that lord in the city wants him dead...’
The thought flashed through the mind of the leader, a man named Da Chun. He ordered the others to fall back, then motioned for the remaining Second Training fighters to surround Xie Yuan with him.
Xie Yuan stood on the slope, saber in hand. A glance to his left and right revealed six remaining Second Training bandits, who had surrounded him as if facing a great army.
He took a breath. ’Now the real fight begins.’
’I seized the initiative by striking first. Now it’s time for a head-on clash.’
’Where to start...’
Xie Yuan’s appraising gaze swept over the six cautious men surrounding him. Each man his eyes fell upon felt his heart lurch and a cold dread wash over him.
’What kind of look was that? It was like... a butcher choosing a hog, or a woodcutter picking kindling.’
Sweat beaded on the bandits’ foreheads. They suddenly saw Xie Yuan’s gaze lock onto their leader, Da Chun.
’To catch the thief, first catch the king.’
His decision made, Xie Yuan suddenly sheathed his saber. While the bandits were still processing this, he drew an axe, lowered his stance, and charged forward with explosive speed!
Seeing Xie Yuan charge at him, Da Chun’s face went pale. He grit his teeth, his eyes turning bloodshot with fury, and roared:
"Bring it on!!"
He raised his blade and, with all his might, unleashed the single most powerful strike of his entire life as a bandit.
For an instant, Da Chun felt as if the mountain wind itself obeyed his command. The strike was like a fierce tiger leaping from the forest; he had unleashed his full potential.
’I’m so strong...’
The thought had barely formed in Da Chun’s mind when a flash of cold light filled his vision. Before he could think another thing, he was plunged into darkness.
Xie Yuan used his Triple Axe Strike, shattering the bandit’s blade and cleaving him open like a rag doll in a single, fatal blow.
The other five bandits seized the opportunity to close in. The two closest already had their sabers hacking into Xie Yuan’s back!
Xie Yuan’s face went white. One of the two blades failed to break his skin, but its force hammered into his organs like a heavy blow. The other blade, however, sliced open a gash. It wasn’t deep, nowhere near as damaging as the strike’s power suggested it should be, but blood still streamed from the wound!
He spun around violently. His right hand blocked an incoming saber with the axe, while his left drew his own saber in a reverse grip, using the momentum of his turn to lop off the nearest bandit’s head!
Two more blades hacked into his right arm. A flash of golden light prevented it from being severed, but another gaping wound appeared.
Xie Yuan grunted, and with a flick of his right wrist, he threw the Tiger Bone Axe. A nearby bandit instinctively ducked to avoid it, only to see a saber simultaneously thrust forward, as if waiting for him, and pierce his throat.
With a flick of the blade, a spray of blood splattered across the ground. The bandit made a gurgling sound and slowly collapsed.
Xie Yuan’s right arm hung limp at his side. He held his saber in his left hand, standing still in a standoff with the three remaining bandits.
The three bandits swallowed hard in unison.
’Six Second Training fighters had surrounded him, and in the blink of an eye, three more were dead. All they had managed to do was give him a few wounds.’
’This man... he’s a monster.’
’There were so many of us surrounding him, yet he’s going to slaughter us all...’
One of them was trembling so hard his legs could barely hold him. His eyes darted about, already looking for an escape route. But this was no time for distraction.
Xie Yuan’s eyes narrowed. With an upward flick of his saber, he sent the man’s weapon flying, then cleaved open his chest and abdomen.
Another one down.
The other two were too slow to react, failing to seize the opening. They instinctively glanced at each other. One man’s eyes flickered, and he gave a slight nod.
The other man’s eyes turned bloodshot and crazed. With a great roar, he charged at Xie Yuan, but the man beside him simultaneously retreated, leaving him to face the monster alone.
Wielding the saber with his left hand was awkward, but against an enemy whose spirit was already broken, a simple flourish was enough to feint past his blade. Xie Yuan advanced straight through his guard and plunged the saber into his heart.
Watching the last Second Training fighter flee for his life and disappear into the forest, while the remaining rabble screamed and scattered in all directions, Xie Yuan couldn’t be bothered to give chase.
He pushed the corpse in front of him off his saber, flicked the blade clean, and sheathed it with a fluid, backhanded motion.
On the hillside, only Xie Yuan remained standing.
