250 Second Year (2/2)
Long Xiaoshi's face darkened. Realizing that the old man was as persistent as before, he knew that he could not send his tribesmen one by one to their deaths henceforth. He thus turned his head and took a look at the guest beside him.
The guest nodded his head and took off his thick and heavy cape. He then pulled a short sword out from his waist area and walked towards the old swordsman standing in the middle of the battlefield.
He did not waste any time on self-introductions, and duly sped up and charged toward Long Qinying, who was already bracing himself. The latter could tell with one look that this person was not a son of the Great Snowmountain and seemed to be an expert.
When there was nearly ten steps between the two swordsmen, and their swords were on the verge of meeting, a snowball suddenly flew diagonally toward the guest.
The guest halted his footsteps at once and used his weapon to deflect the snowball. Changing countenance, he asked, ”Has Luoshen Peak also learned to sneak attack?”
Long Qinying was as surprised as his opponent. He was outraged at the accusation and was about to refute it, but a voice from the mountain slope on the left preceded his. ”Sneak attacks are the forte of Golden Roc Fort, and aren't easy for others to learn.”
A young man who was not yet twenty years old appeared. He was dressed in all-white and had been hiding in the snow without being discovered all this time. His face was just as white, and at his waist were a saber and a sword. None of the swordsmen of the Great Snowmountain knew who he was.
”A Golden Roc killer!” someone cried out in alarm after recognizing that one of the weapons was a saber.
Both swordsmen who were on the verge of a showdown howled at the same time. No matter how deep their mutual enmity was, it could not compare to their shared abhorrence for the Golden Roc Fort. It was none other than that unscrupulous and dishonorable organization of killers which had blocked the way out of the Great Snowmountain, and abducted innocent children from the tribes every year.
While the strife among the tribes of the Great Snowmountain's five peaks went on year after year ceaselessly, each tribe's slogan for peace was to unite in the fight against Golden Roc Fort.
”My name is Yang Huan. I'm a defector from Golden Roc Fort. It's this man who's a real Golden Roc killer.” The youth only explained himself after the howls from both swordsmen had completely stopped.
Few people had ever heard the name ”Yang Huan”, but many had heard about the ”defector from Golden Roc Fort.” The traceless disappearance of two young killers in full view had become a terrible humiliation of the Supreme King, and the story had spread throughout the entire Western Region.
”Haha.” The sword-wielding guest laughed disdainfully. ”If you can call me a Golden Roc killer, I can just as easily call you a spy. You really think just based on the one line that you can prove that Danduo Peak is colluding with a foreign enemy?”
The guest had deftly shifted the youth's accusation towards the chief of Danduo Peak, Long Xiaoshi, who was standing behind him.
The youth was not here for a verbal dispute. Pulling the sword out from beneath his waist, he leaped like the most agile of deers toward the guest.
Regardless of which tribe they were from, nobody from the Great Snowmountain would intervene in this fair contest. Long Qinying even took a few steps back to give up the battlefield.
The guest bent his legs slightly and waited for the perfect time for a sudden leap toward the rear of his opponent.
The youth reached near to the guest within a few hops and swept past him like a gust of wind. However, as if struck by fear on the spot, the youth ran away without appearing to have exchanged blows. Only when he was a dozen steps away did he stop and turn back to face the now-motionless guest.
”There's a Golden Roc Fort waist token on his body. This is the item they use to recognize each other.” The youth sheathed his sword, implying that the fight was already over.
Only a few people, including Long Qinying, had seen through the youth's swordmanship. The old man was the closest person to the body and so he walked over to it. It collapsed on the snow the moment his hand made contact. He bent down and fumbled for a while before fishing out a faint yellow oval-shaped jade token which he subsequently raised up high to show to everyone.
Every swordsman of the Great Snowmountain recognized the Golden Roc Fort waist token.
Nobody trusted the white-clothed youth who had appeared from nowhere. On the other hand, no matter whether they were friend or foe, everyone believed the chief of the Luoshen tribe, Long Qinying.
Even Long Xiaoshi did not dare to accuse the old swordsman of fraudulence. Instead, he pointed the finger at the youth. ”You sure have quick hands. It's truly in line with Golden Roc Fort's practices to plant a waist token on someone so as to frame and alienate him.”
”Why, you also know that Golden Roc Fort is good at driving a wedge between people.” The youth raised his voice so that everyone in the valley could hear him. ”Aren't you ashamed that the men of the Great Snowmountain only know how to fight against each other and not how to join hands to resist the common enemy?”
The swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain were not used to criticism, regardless of whether it was offered out of good or bad will. The two groups of people thus turned toward the youth and loudly rebuked him at the same time. A few short-tempered people even charged toward him with their swords.
Strangely, it was Long Xiaoshi who held back his tribesmen. His objective for today was to wipe out the people of Luoshen Peak, and he did not want there to be any complications. ”You may be a small boy but you certainly have some nerve. What right do you have to say this?”
The youth looked toward Long Qinying instead of the questioner. ”I was friends with Long Tao and Long Hai. They entrusted me with reforming the five peaks of the the Great Snowmountain before their deaths.”
Although Long Qinying had long known that the outcome would be like this, his body shuddered nonetheless. ”Those two grandsons of mine are dead?”
”Yes. They killed a Golden Roc killer in Stone Castle and were consequently retaliated against.”
”Good!” Long Qinying cheered. To kill a person in Golden Roc Fort was something which nobody else from the Great Snowmountain had been able to do.
Long Xiaoshi snorted grimly once again. Although Luoshen Peak now had an extra swordsman helping them, this did not affect the battle situation. In fact, the white-clothed youth's interference in the battle would save him considerable trouble.
Long Xiaoshi raised his heavy sword and shouted from the deepest part of his abdomen, ”Kill!”
The two factions bellowed as they charged at each other. They never enjoyed verbal debates, and only knew how to engage in bloody fights.
A melee was about to take place with the white-clothed swordsman sandwiched in the middle. He thus pinched his lips and emitted a sharp whistling sound.
A dark cloud suddenly appeared in the clear sky and rapidly drifted over everyone's head.
A giant red-crowned roc descended from the sky, and with its first attack, it pecked off one of Long Xiaoshi's eyeballs. It subsequently flew up again before landing behind the white-clothed youth. Spreading its giant wings to protect him, it raised its head and swallowed what was in its mouth before looking left and right.
The swordsmen of both factions gasped astonishedly in unison, effectively drowning out Long Xiaoshi's screams of pain.
According to the old legend, giant rocs fed mainly on dragons. As descendants of the Five Dragons, this was the living thing these swordsmen should dread the most. They never imagined that this legendary bird would truly exist in this world.