Chapter 244 A Sneak Attack At Night
On the main road, not long after Hu Yicheng and the other people left the gazebo, an arrow was shot from the nearby forest.
The arrow came so suddenly that everyone was shocked. Fortunately, they were quite alert because they just had a conflict with Ou Yangming and the other big men, so one of the cavaliers moved and narrowly dodged it.
Nonetheless, everyone was enraged. Several cavaliers got off their horses and retrieved their shields from the horsebacks, then they approached the forest quickly. They moved orderly, which made it clear that they had been training for years. Normal people could not have been so calm in the tense situation; only soldiers who had been to battlefields had such quality. Nevertheless, as the soldiers entered the forest while risking being shot by arrows, they could only see a figure that was about to disappear. The person turned around when he was far away and made a gesture of contempt at the soldiers.
The cavaliers were furious and were about to pursue the man, but the head cavalier furrowed his eyebrows and ordered, “We mustn’t enter the forest carelessly, let’s go back!”
He was prestigious among the other cavaliers, so nobody dared to question and object to him once he gave the order.
After they retreated to the carriages, the head cavalier reported in a deep voice, “Sir, we have trouble.”
Hu Yicheng asked, “What is it?”
“There were a few reckless men among the people whom we drove away from the gazebo earlier, and they’re hiding on both sides of the road to ambush us.”
“Oh? They’re really bold!” Hu Yicheng scoffed angrily.
Sir Hu never thought if he and his followers infuriated the big men because he had already classified them in a different rank, and never cared about the lowly people.
“Lingfeng, did they come because they’re indignant or they’re scheming something?” Scholar Xu asked.
The head rider was a descendant in Hu Yicheng’s clan, so he was naturally loyal toward the inspector, but he smiled bitterly when he heard Scholar Xu’s question. “Uncle Xu, I can’t be sure, but they seemed like they were only venting their anger and had no intention to kill us.”
Although the arrow was shot violently, it was not aimed to kill.
Hu Yicheng scorned. “Brother Xu, they’re just a bunch of little thieves who are trying to block us because they’re mad. Once I return to the capital, I’ll urge the authorities to catch them all.”
“You don’t have to be so outraged if they’re only blocking us out of anger, but…” Scholar Xu waved his hand, then he frowned and had a grave expression on his face. “I have a feeling that it’s not that simple.”
Hu Yicheng was stunned. “Brother Xu, what do you mean?”
Scholar Xu pondered and said, “Forget it, let’s go on. If they keep coming at us, it’ll be quite troublesome.”
Hu Lingfeng glanced at his uncle and obeyed the scholar’s order. Scholar Xu was not from the Hu family, but he was knowledgeable, and Hu Yicheng had always listened to his advice, hence Hu Lingfeng did not defy the scholar’s instruction.
With that, the convoy continued their journey but soon enough, arrows were continuously shot out from the trees and bushes on both sides. Even though it did not stop the convoy from taking even a single step forward, it was impossible for them to hurry on with their journey.
The cavaliers were not going to let it be, but each time they dashed into the forest, they did not see any sign of their enemies. While the tactic of running after shooting was simple, it was extremely functional. As a result, the convoy could not carry on anymore. It was as if they were stuck in mud.
Hu Yicheng and Scholar Xu had already left the carriage. As they looked at each other, they felt a chill from within their hearts.
Needless to say, the inspector and the scholar could not be fooled by the stalling trick. They would be underestimating their opponents’ IQ if they still thought the big men were blocking them because of the conflict earlier, but they could not figure out who exactly would go this far to stop them halfway.
After being provoked by the arrows again, Hu Yicheng looked at the sky and instructed softly, “Lingfeng, look for a place to camp. When the sky turns dark, send some men to seek help from a nearby city.”
“Yes, sir,” Hu Lingfeng responded softly too.
Their convoy consisted of roughly twenty military men, who had the cultivation base of at least Force Grade and were not interior to the Guards under the generals in the military.
As such, the soldiers did not attach any importance to the thieves, but they began to worry after the sneak attack from their enemies. This was because they knew a huge accident was going to happen that night.
Since it was almost nightfall, Hu Lifeng decided to stop their travel, and he ordered the other men to set up barracks.
Following that, tents that were stored in the carriages were taken down. Hu Yicheng had prepared sufficient resources for their journey, thus they would not have any trouble even if they were to camp in the wilderness.
Despite that, the atmosphere in the convoy became tenser.
When the cavaliers got off their horses to build the tents, two of them disappeared as the other people covered them.
Even so, even Hu Yicheng and Scholar Xu could not guarantee that the two cavaliers could successfully get reinforcements.
The night slowly turned dark, and a raging campfire was seen among the tents. Aside from that, the tents also looked loose on the outside but were tight on the inside because the men were fully equipped when they rested; they could make the fastest reaction if an unforeseen event took place.
Inside the forest, as the dwarf quietly watched the campfire on the main road, his eyes were full of killing intent. “Did you catch the two fellas who left to get help?”
“Big Brother, don’t worry, we’ve already arranged for some men to stop them, so they definitely can’t escape!”
“Very well.” The dwarf nodded and waved his hand. “Let’s go! Spare none of them!”
He felt a sense of relief when he gave the command.
After all, they were about to attack officials from the imperial court. The moment the attack started, the imperial court would not let them go even if it was for the sake of the court’s reputation. If it was possible, the dwarf would not have gotten himself involved at all.
However, when the dwarf thought about the fearsome eyes, which were filled with evil tendencies of death, he could not help but shudder, and he stopped thinking about trying his luck.
If the dwarf finished the task, perhaps he could go far, but if he did not do it, he would not be able to escape at all.
He immediately cast his worries aside and flashed toward the campfire with the other men.
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh…”
A number of arrows were shot out from the dark without warning, and they were aimed at the tents.
That said, Hu Yicheng and his people were prepared, so they either held up their shields or blocked the attack with their carriages. The rain of arrows only helped them confirm that there was a sneak attack, but it did not damage the people at all.
“Kill—”
A vicious roar was heard, then many strong men charged toward the tents’ periphery.
It was then that several torches were thrown from the tents, causing the surroundings to be lit up like daytime. Subsequently, sharp arrows were shot out from the inner circle of the tents, and a few burly men were shot down as a result.
Hu Yicheng and his men made an incredibly solid defensive circle. They worked a tight schedule, but they did not leave any obvious trace.
When the injured big men groaned in pain on the ground, many other men were terrified. They were not lions who had fought in hundreds of battles, so while they could handle smooth fights, they hesitated to advance in adversity.
In spite of that, a short and small figure appeared at that moment.
He held a big saber, which was much taller than him, and walked toward the campfire.
Hu Yicheng’s face changed, and he yelled, “Shoot!”
Given that an obvious target had shown up on a battlefield, the fire would undoubtedly be gathered on him.
Next, at least eight arrows were shot one after another.
Instead of stopping, the small figure moved his wrist, causing a dazzling light to be produced from the big saber on his shoulder.
Consequently, the arrows that were shot at him were turned into bits by the saber-light.
“A Yang Grade powerhouse!” Scholar Xu gasped and was already drenched in sweat.
They figured that some people were lying in ambush, but they never expected a Yang Grade powerhouse would be involved. Besides, how could they be so valuable that a Yang Grade powerhouse had to make a move?
Everyone else from the convoy looked at each other and noticed the look of despair in one another’s eyes.
The dwarf sneered and continued to move forward without a hurry. He intended to barge into the tents with an absolute aura so that the soldiers would be frightened out of their wits, and it would be easy for his men to catch all of them.
“Swoosh…”
Another arrow was shot, but everyone was puzzled.
The arrow was not shot from the tents’ inner circle; it was shot from behind the dwarf.
In fact, even the dwarf himself was in disbelief. Another flash of saber-light was seen as he shouted, and it slashed the arrow like a struck of lightning.
Afterward, an explosion was heard as the arrow exploded and turned into countless steel shards, which were flying in the dwarf’s direction.
The dwarf’s face took on a ghastly expression, and he wielded his saber without any hesitation. Intense clashes between metals filled the air, and he was only able to block most of the shards by giving his all.
Even then, two of the shards brushed past his body, leaving two traces of blood.
The other people instantly had goosebumps, and they wondered, ‘What weapon was that? It was able to injure a Yang Grade powerhouse! If we were in the dwarf’s shoes instead, wouldn’t we have died already?’
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh…”
Later on, a few more arrows were continuously shot at the dwarf. The arrows were not mighty, but the dwarf no longer dared to resist them.
He flashed and roared fiercely as he tried his best to evade the arrows, then he darted into the dark and gave up the tents behind him.
The dwarf knew better than anyone else that he could not complete his task if he did not deal with the trouble that was hiding in the dark.
On the other hand, Hu Yicheng and Scholar Xu exchanged glances at the tents, and they felt like they had just escaped death. “Ah-“
Shrill shrieks were heard everywhere, and while they did not spot anyone under the dark sky, the screams were hair-raising.
Scholar Xu asked, “What do we do now?”
Hu Yicheng gritted his teeth and uttered, “Kill them!”
They leaped and charged at their enemies with the cavaliers.
