Chapter 240

From Yan Liqiang’s perspective, this ambush was more like a one-sided massacre than a battlefield .

Those Blackwind Bandits inside the mountain valley were like animals trapped in a cage to the bow-wielding Yan Liqiang — helpless and powerless . As they scrambled in madness while being squashed together, they were picked out one by one and eliminated in a clean-cut fashion by Yan Liqiang’s Horned Python Bow .

The life of a human being at this moment was perceived worthless . Through Yan Liqiang’s four consecutive moves akin to that of a sailing cloud and flowing water — nock, draw, aim, and release — the lives of these Blackwind Bandits were worth the same as one arrow: ten copper coins only . . .

Each arrow Yan Liqiang released would guarantee a bloody flower to bloom on a certain Blackwind Bandit’s body .

There were some scattered arrows that came toward Yan Liqiang’s direction, but they did not pose any major threats to him at all . Even though there were some that threatened his life, Yan Liqiang was able to dodge those arrows with his supernatural spiritual perception . Subsequently, Yan Liqiang’s counterattack made the Blackwind Bandits in the mountain valley, who wished they could match his archery skills, shut their eyes for eternity .

On the other side, Liang Yijie and the other guards were gnashing their teeth in anger while delightfully unleashing a rain of arrows onto the Blackwind Bandits below mercilessly .

Even though Liang Yijie’s archery skills were not as good as Yan Liqiang’s, he was still able to kill each of the opponents in close proximity with successive shots . There wasn’t a hint of uncertainty in his skills either .

Liang Yijie’s criteria in choosing his targets were the same as Yan Liqiang’s — those who wielded bows and were capable of counterattacking .

Through the massacre that Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie had wrought, the Blackwind Bandits’ capability to retaliate began to decline . Their will to counteract their enemies’ attacks dwindled as well .

Most of the Blackwind Bandits were cunning too . When they saw Yan Liqiang and the others on higher ground, they quickly ran toward the cliffside where their opponents were and hid under the cliff wall so that the arrows could not hit them . However, when a majority of the Blackwind Bandits started hiding near the wall, Liang Yijie and the other guards simultaneously pushed down the rocks that they had piled up last night after letting out a battle cry . With some rocks as big as a football and some as small as grinding discs, the rocks tumbled down toward the mountain valley like a brick wall . Thousands of rocks rolled down from a height of seventy to eighty meters and crashed downward, injuring those who were knocked by the rocks while crushing others to death . This caused the Blackwind Bandits who had hidden themselves under the cliff wall to wail for mercy . Because of that, the scene in the mountain valley below became more chaotic .

Amidst the frantic screams and pandemonium, seven to eight Blackwind Bandits were striking their rhinodrake steeds, attempting to cross the area right below Yan Liqiang, which was also the area that was in front of the mountain valley . However, before the furthest Blackwind Bandit could even go two hundred meters out from the valley, they fell to Yan Liqiang’s Horned Python Bow one by one . All of them were shot down from their steeds before any could cross forward . This scene had thoroughly incited fear into the agitated Blackwind Bandits who were still in the middle of the mountain valley . They did not dare move forward, but instead chose to move backward .

Some of the Blackwind Bandits had already started retreating!

The other Blackwind Bandits at the end formation did not suffer heavy casualties at first . In the beginning, they only thought about moving forward . But once they discovered that they would only be turning themselves into nothing but targets by going forward, they began to retreat in hopes that they could leave this dangerous mountain valley . When the Blackwind Bandits at the back retreated, the ones in front and in the middle — who were still being attacked by Yan Liqiang and the others — could not hold up any longer and began to follow the others to retreat . In an instant, their retreating turned into fleeing . The Blackwind Bandits who were still alive began to turn their steeds around as they desperately escaped to the path that they had come from .

Yan Liqiang continued using his Horned Python Bow to kill the Blackwind Bandits . When he had slaughtered sixty to seventy Blackwind Bandit archers by himself, he started changing his strategy . He decided to not target the archers and he began to focus his aim on the frontmost troops which was also the group of Blackwind Bandits closest to him .

As they watched their comrades tumbling in succession like a harvested sorghum field, the Blackwind Bandits’ fear grew the closer they were to the frontline . No one wished to die next . In this circumstance, the Blackwind Bandits at the frontline decided to drop everything and turn their steeds around, initiating their getaway to escape . . .

It would be hard for the Blackwind Bandits to dispel their feelings of fear once they were infected by a panic-stricken state .

If the Blackwind Bandits could be compared to dominoes placed in the mountain valley, then Yan Liqiang’s deadly arrow was the hand that pushed down the first domino .

In the narrow mountain valley below, the fleeing Blackwind Bandits used their blades to stab the hips of their rhinodrake steeds, causing their blood to spill everywhere . The frenzied rhinodrake steeds started rushing and colliding toward the front without a care for anything else .

In this sort of situation, many of the Blackwind Bandits who jumped off their steeds to seek cover and retaliated with their bows and arrows were now embroiled in the surge of chaotic screams from their troops . When one of them was carelessly flung onto the ground by his own steed, countless others trampled over him as they ran to escape .

When the three quivers that Yan Liqiang had placed near his leg started running out, none of the Blackwind Bandits in the mountain valley had their chest facing him anymore . The remaining survivors had their backs facing him instead and they continued to flee in madness .

Yan Liqiang stood up with the Horned Python Bow in his hands and pursued the Blackwind Bandits while atop the ridge . He continued to shoot at them as he chased after them, killing those who were left behind one at a time . . .

“Quiver…” Yan Liqiang shouted as he ran toward the ambush line where Liang Yijie and the other guards were situated . Without delay, one of the guards threw a quiver filled with arrows at Yan Liqiang . He caught it with his hands and strapped it onto his back before continuing his pursuit toward the Blackwind Bandits in the mountain valley .

“Brothers, go for the kill…” The other guards were burning with fervor as well . Like Yan Liqiang, they took up their bows and crossbows . With their quivers on their backs, they jumped out from the rocks they were hiding behind and followed Yan Liqiang . They continued to pursue the Blackwind Bandits while unleashing their arrows at them . . .

The Blackwind Bandits below were slaughtered until their shrieks filled the air and their minds were struck with fear .

Everyone continued to run two thousand meters along the mountain ridge until they reached the end of the path — a thirty-meter-tall cliff . They saw the last Blackwind Bandit shrink his head under his steed’s belly while striking it and disappeared to a far corner in the mountain valley below .

All the guards remained quiet for a while as they watched the heavily beaten Blackwind Bandits run away with their tail between their legs . When they turned their gaze toward the black corpses akin to piles of cow dung lining the path in the valley, they began to cheer joyfully from the top of the mountain .

“We won, we won…”

“We have finally avenged our brothers…”

One of the guards cried, “Those rhinodrake steeds in the valley below are worth money . Don’t let them get away…”

… . . .