Chapter 71: Darts Master Xie Yuan (Part 2)
Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Darts Master Xie Yuan (Part 2)
Refugees were easy enough to handle. As long as you didn’t charge recklessly into a crowd of dozens and get swarmed by long weapons like hoes and wooden clubs, any standard team of Martial Artists could manage.
Xie Yuan drove away the refugees, and the Escort Team continued onward for two more days, eventually passing through a canyon called Nine-Mile Gorge.
Nine-Mile Gorge was flanked by high mountains and steep cliffs. The slopes were covered in dense, impassable forests. The only way through was a plank road built along the cliff face, suspended perilously over the mountain stream below.
Xie Yuan silently sized up the terrain on both sides, thinking:
’No wonder Boss Zhao had to lead this escort. This terrain is perfect for an ambush.’
"Everyone, stay sharp! Once we’re through Nine-Mile Gorge, the rest of the way is easy."
Zhao Xingyang shouted the order. The carriers moved to the front to clear the path, waving a flag and calling out:
"Longteng of Yunzhou, Yunzhou’s Longteng! Friends on the mountain, please grant us safe passage!"
Zhao Xingyang explained to Xie Yuan, who was traveling this route for the first time:
"Nine-Mile Gorge is the most dangerous part of this journey, and this plank road is the only way to get through. It connects to vast mountains with deep forests, and the government troops have never managed to completely wipe out the bandits. Just in these mountains, I know of three different bandit strongholds.
"The men in the strongholds need to eat and drink, and Nine-Mile Gorge is the perfect place for them to strike. Our Escort Agency has been ambushed here several times. That’s why whenever we pass through, a Darts Master at minimum must be leading the team."
With a serious expression, Xie Yuan nodded and continued forward cautiously with the Escort Team.
As they reached the middle of the gorge and rounded a bend, the carriers at the front suddenly stopped and signaled with a wave.
The Escort Team came to an immediate halt. The men drew their sabers, formed a defensive perimeter, and scanned their surroundings.
Zhao Xingyang went forward to look. He saw a large boulder blocking the plank road ahead. The dirt on the rock was still fresh—it had obviously been pushed there moments ago.
He looked toward the adjacent hillside, his gaze hardening as he spoke slowly:
"Which brotherhood do you belong to? The Longteng Escort Agency is passing through. We ask that you grant us some face!"
A burly, one-eyed man with a face full of surly flesh emerged from the bushes and sneered:
"So, it’s Master Zhao. You talk a fine game, Master Zhao, but if we give you face, are my brothers in the stronghold supposed to live on air? It’s winter, and times are tough for all of us. Out of respect for you, Master Zhao, leave the goods and you can go. Then we can all mind our own business."
Zhao Xingyang drew his saber and shook his head.
"I wouldn’t call that ’minding our own business.’ Forgive me, but I must refuse."
"So there’s nothing to discuss, then?"
The one-eyed man let out a strange cry and waved his hand. From the forest, some twenty burly men suddenly appeared, armed with crude bows and stones, and began raining them down on the convoy!
The Escort Team was prepared. Several Darts Masters raised large shields, protecting the others from the projectiles.
Seeing that their crude bows were having no effect, the bandits dropped them, drew their machetes, and charged down the mountain with a howl!
Xie Yuan noted that the mountain bandits were all physically strong and armed with sabers. When he glanced over and saw the one-eyed man fighting Zhao Xingyang, he realized the bandit was also a Third Training expert. A chill ran down his spine.
’It’s true what they say. The ones who dare to block a road are either fools or the real deal!’
The bandits had the high ground and superior numbers. They crashed into the Escort Team’s formation in an instant, and a chaotic melee erupted.
Seeing a bandit charging at him with a savage expression, Xie Yuan’s eyes turned cold. He lunged forward and drew his saber!
The bandit’s vision blurred. He felt a sudden coldness on his throat and let out two gurgling gasps. His strength drained away like a receding tide, and he collapsed limply to the ground.
Xie Yuan moved past the first bandit as he fell, plunging his saber into the back of a second one who was fighting a carrier. With a flicker of movement, he dodged a heavy machete from the side, then pulled his saber back and knocked the ambusher’s weapon away with a horizontal slash. Seizing the moment of panic, Xie Yuan kicked the man clean off the plank road.
The bandit tumbled from the cliff, his limbs flailing uselessly as his long, piercing scream echoed through the gorge.
Xie Yuan spun around just in time to see another bandit about to ambush him, but a Darts Master intercepted the attack. While they were locked in combat, Xie Yuan moved in and beheaded the bandit with a single slash. He immediately followed up with a Wolf King Howling at the Moon, striking down a formidable bandit nearby who had been forcing one of the carriers into retreat.
In a matter of moments, Xie Yuan had cut down several men. None were his match for even a single exchange. The area around him was suddenly clear of bandits!
Finally, a Second Training bandit took notice of Xie Yuan. He leaped forward, saber raised, and roared:
"You arrogant whelp!"
The bandit’s charge was swift and powerful, but just as he was about to reach Xie Yuan, a long saber descended and intercepted him. It was Qin Sea, who shouted:
"Your opponent is me!"
Left with no other choice, the bandit was forced to fight Qin Sea.
Though numerous, the bandits were not an elite force. The number of Second Training experts among them was just enough to match those in the Escort Team.
They had hoped to snowball their advantage with their superior numbers of weaker fighters, but they never expected the Escort Team to have a Darts Master capable of fighting many at once. In an instant, he had completely neutralized their numerical superiority!
Seeing that the Second Training bandit was occupied, Xie Yuan focused his internal energy. He weaved through the battlefield, deliberately charging into the thickest parts of the fight. With a flurry of his saber, he cut down three more bandits, saving two carriers in the process.
His gaze swept the battlefield and landed on the Second Training bandit, whose back was now turned to him. The man was locked in a heated battle with Qin Sea, and the fighters around them had cleared out, leaving an open path between Xie Yuan and his target.
’So you’re the one who wanted to attack me earlier, huh?’
Xie Yuan’s eyes narrowed. Lifting his legs high and landing softly with each step, he darted behind the bandit in a few quick movements and drove his saber forward in a powerful thrust!
But the Second Training bandit’s instincts were astonishing. He suddenly twisted to the side, bringing his saber around to parry.
A powerful force knocked Xie Yuan’s saber aside, leaving his chest wide open!
Xie Yuan hadn’t anticipated such a quick reaction. But, acting on pure instinct, he let go of his saber, using the momentum to draw the axe from his belt. He swung it three times, a blur as fast as a flash of lightning.
The bandit had been fighting Qin Sea for a long time and was already exhausted. He hadn’t even gotten a clear look at the new attack before a sharp pain exploded in his chest. An instant later, a cold chill pierced his back—Qin Sea had run him through with his saber.
Having taken down the Second Training bandit together, Qin Sea gave Xie Yuan a thumbs-up:
"That axe of yours really comes in handy!"
’He had been watching from the front and hadn’t even been able to follow the axe’s movement. Such speed!’
With both men rejoining the fight, the tide turned decisively against the bandits.
Just then, a pained grunt echoed from the front of the line. The one-eyed man, clutching his bleeding stomach, threw a stone orb that released a cloud of purple smoke and retreated into the forest.
Zhao Xingyang dodged the orb and, rather than give chase, turned back to the main fight. Seeing their leader flee, the remaining bandits panicked and tried to escape. Several more were cut down, and only three or five of them managed to make it into the woods.
Zhao Xingyang stopped everyone from pursuing. He did a quick assessment and found the cargo completely intact. Only one carrier was seriously injured; the rest had minor wounds that were of no great consequence. He couldn’t help but be pleasantly surprised:
"That one-eyed man brought his whole stronghold down on us. I thought we were in for some real trouble, but this turned out much better than I imagined!"
"They were clearly watching us for a while; they had just the right number of Second Training experts," Qin Sea said with a laugh. "This is all thanks to Xiaoxie! He fought like several men, going on an absolute rampage through their ranks! He even helped me take out one of their Second Training experts, completely breaking the stalemate."
The Darts Masters started buzzing with conversation. After a quick tally, they realized that out of the twenty-odd bandits, seven or eight of them had fallen at Xie Yuan’s hand.
Such a kill count was incredible. However, when they remembered how he had fought against Monto—with power that far exceeded his peers—it no longer seemed so strange. As long as he wasn’t fighting a Second Training expert, results like these were to be expected.
One by one, men came to thank Xie Yuan. If he hadn’t intervened to save them, they, being outnumbered, would surely have been overwhelmed and met a bitter end on the plank road.
Zhao Xingyang’s eyebrows shot up:
"These bandits have sharp eyes. They could tell exactly how many Second Training experts we had? Hmm. Good thing they miscalculated and didn’t account for Master Xie. Otherwise, our casualties would have been much higher!"
Zhao Xingyang’s brow smoothed into a smile. He clapped Xie Yuan firmly on the shoulder.
"Good work, kid! You get full credit for this victory! When we get back to the Escort Agency, I’m going straight to the Agency Head to recommend you for a commendation!"
"Thank you, Mr. Zhao."
Xie Yuan’s smile was pure and brilliant. He looked so sunny and handsome, it was as if he wasn’t the same person who had just been cutting down bandits.
After leaving Nine-Mile Gorge, the rest of the journey to the delivery point was uneventful.
And so, Darts Master Xie Yuan successfully completed his first major escort mission.
On the return journey, Xie Yuan glanced at the progress panel that appeared before him:
’After I get back and take another medicinal bath... I should be able to achieve a breakthrough, right?’