251 Third Year (2/2)

”Is that the person you seek?” the general asked.

Shen Liang nodded his head with a gloomy look on his face. ”Yes.”

It was indeed Slave Huan. Shen Liang was able to recognize him even though he was still a far distance away. The once-childish face had matured a little, but it had not acquired too many scars over three years of running about and away. The only thing was that his complexion was paler than Shen Liang remembered, as if he had been constantly hiding underground.

”Prepare the arrows,” the general ordered. For several days past, he had been infected by the anxiety of the Golden Roc killers, and did not expect that the ”Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the Five Peaks” would be a lunatic like this.

”Wait a moment.” Shen Liang remained doubtful, for he saw only Slave Huan but not Maid Lotus. Although the former had killed many people, he did so with the assistance of the giant red-crowned roc. In Shen Liang's eyes, Maid Lotus' swordcraft was more impressive.

The general was a little displeased. This was Shu-lik's military camp, in which the Golden Roc killers were merely guests, yet his orders were interfered with. Nevertheless, he swallowed his dissatisfaction. With twenty killers hiding within the camp, he had no choice but to act carefully.

Shen Liang summoned ten of the killers. There was no longer a need to keep them secret at this stage. They walked out of the camp and spread themselves out as they charged toward the knight. They had separate duties. Three of them would be responsible for killing the man while seven of them would monitor the skies. The giant bird was the target which they were taking more precaution against.

The killers each carried a saber in one hand and a quick crossbow in the other. The bolts were smeared with enough Antiaris poison to kill an elephant.

The Shu-lik soldiers could not resist slyly curling their lips. They were not in Jade City, and over here, the practice of outnumbering the enemy was ill-accepted and even somewhat looked down upon.

Without dismounting his horse, the knight slowly raised up a saber which was exclusive to Golden Roc Fort, and blew upon the horn which hung on his chest.

The officers and soldiers of Shu-lik were astounded. They had never heard such a high-pitched call before.

The ten killers nervously halted their footsteps and raised their heads to search the skies for a giant roc which looked like a dark cloud.

Before the bugle call ended, more knights surged out of the mountain pass. Heavy swords rested on their shoulders as they silently spurred their horses on. Only the convergent rumbling of the horses' hooves upon the ground accompanied the sound of the bugle.

The general and his soldiers abruptly changed countenance. ”Just how many knights does the Great Snowmountain have? A thousand or two? Or even more?” They had never seen so many swordsmen appearing at the same time. These uncouth mountain people engaged in endless fights from the time they were born. To be able to gather a few hundreds of them as a team was in itself a remarkable achievement.

There were, in total, less than a thousand soldiers in the military camp. They were usually more than enough to intercept individual or small groups of swordsmen. However, compared to a large cavalry army which came rolling down from the snow mountain, they were effectively like an egg against a stone.

The horses picked up speed and the heavy swords began to move away from the swordsmen's shoulders. A murderous atmosphere pervaded throughout heaven and earth, such that the smell of death filled up everyone's noses.

The ten killers standing in front were like a few lonely treelings situated in the wilderness while facing them was a furious thunderstorm which would uproot every one of them.

Unable to decide whether to continue carrying out their orders or to run for their lives, the killers quickly lost the chance to choose.

The swordsmen did not even need to use their swords. The horses stomped the ten killers into pieces as they sped past.

”Arrows! Arrows!” The general bellowed as a premonition of his destruction arose in his heart.

The soldiers frantically moved into formation and drew their bows.

A dark cloud drifted past over their heads.

”Demon Bird!”

The moment this terrifying name was mentioned, a soldier was already lifted into the sky, and just as quickly, he was heard screaming in agony as he fell out of the air. His voice was so chilling that half of the soldiers immediately discarded their weapons and prepared to flee.

Shen Liang did not dare to believe what he was seeing. The person was well and truly Slave Huan. How could he have become the ”Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the Five Peaks” for real?

The blademaster staggered his way towards the tent, pushing aside any soldier who blocked his way. Even if the current operation was a failure, the blacksmith had to be killed so that Slave Huan would not obtain him.

As the camp was in chaos and everyone was scrambling to get on the horses, the general ordered his bodyguards to create a way out for him by killing their fellow soldiers.

Nobody paid attention to what was going on in the tent. When Shen Liang dashed into it, he saw that there were two new people protecting the blacksmith and his disciples.

One was a gentle yet cold youth who was holding a long sword, while the other was a green-eyed girl who wielded a saber.

The remaining ten killers were nowhere to be found.

Shen Liang hastily exited the tent. He had already lost the will to fight, and wanted to run away together with everyone else.

The swordsmen of the Great Snowmountain charged into the camp like a flood submerging every living thing on the road. Meanwhile, the giant red-crowned roc was busy flying up and down like a child happily playing his favorite game.

Amidst the crowd, Shen Liang saw Slave Huan dismount his horse, before sheathing his saber and pulling his sword out. The onrushing knights automatically gave way to the ”Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the Five Peaks”, so that the two men who possessed sabers could have an isolated space for a life-and-death duel.

Shen Liang pulled his saber out. As the blademaster of Heart Cleansing Yard, he was certainly a very well-known figure.

Within the tent, while his two disciples were trembling with fear, Daga the blacksmith remained calm as he spoke. ”I'll need fifty kilograms of Wushan refined iron if I am to forge the world's sharpest sword for your master.”