582 Suppressing the Rio (1/2)
In the face of the enemy's sneak attack, the Dragon King and Wild Horse reacted so quickly that Liman felt like a clumsy child.
This must have been a trap set well in advance. Gu Feng and another person had attacked Chu Nanping from both sides, while three masked assassins hiding in the nearby shadows suddenly made a move, targeting the Dragon King.
Between vengeance and protection, Wild Horse chose the latter. He was still a killer in his bones and devoted to his task. Since he was now the Dragon King's bodyguard, he would not fail at carrying out his duty.
Liman finally reacted along with the others after the initial chaos. He drew his machete, ready to join the fight.
The Dragon King and Wild Horse's cooperation was very smooth. In just a few moves, they had already killed one assassin and thrown the other two into confusion.
As Gu Shenwei passed by Liman, he ordered, ”Go help him.”
Liman had no doubts about the Dragon King now. He immediately followed the order and ran towards Chu Nanping who was not very far away.
Chu Nanping didn't seem to be taking the two's converging attack as a sneak attack and was still treating them with the attitude that he was in a competition. He coped with it calmly, ignoring the chaos developing around him.
Gu Feng deftly waved his narrow saber as he swiftly moved back and forth like a grasshopper dancing in the dark.
Liman arrived just in time as another five or six people jumped out from the retreating onlookers and rushed at Chu Nanping.
Liman had learned his martial arts skills from a great master and was a bit famous among the aristocratic circle of the Royal Court. He roared once and swung his machete to open a path for him to guard behind Chu Nanping.
Five moves later, Liman found the problem. Although these people attacked eagerly, their moves were not ferocious. Instead of killing, their purpose was to capture the opponent alive. Their target was exactly Chu Nanping; Gu Feng was obviously looking for the chance to strike an acupoint.
Not only this, but the attackers also seemed to be giving the general's son a way out. Liman launched several attacks, but the other side always either dodged or blocked, none of them counterattacking.
Liman's heart suddenly throbbed with fear that he was making a terrible mistake.
Gu Shenwei hadn't unsheathed his saber for a long time, so he did not rush to kill. Instead, he carefully circled around searching for the right feeling. Then all of a sudden, he jumped out of the battle and rushed to Chu Nanping. He knew what these people's real target was.
Chu Nanping had gained a lot of experience in the process of fighting as one versus many. He was still on the upper hand at the moment but would fall into a deep siege soon.
The short-term killer training hadn't changed his nature as a swordsman. And still, in his consciousness, he wanted to defeat the strongest opponent first rather than removing the weak and driving the rest into disorder so that he could break the siege.
Gu Shenwei's choice was the exact opposite. No matter how dangerous the person to be saved was, his first cut was always aimed at the weakest besieger and he would never enter the innermost circle on his own initiative.
He jumped more nimbly and disorderly than Gu Feng, which made it hard for his opponents to defend against his attacks. Three people fell after three cuts. The siege encircling Chu Nanping immediately loosened. Everyone started protecting themselves and nervously chasing the Dragon King, completely forgetting about the main task of their trip.
Soon, only Gu Feng was left to brawl with Chu Nanping. He attacked more fiercely and no longer conceal the purpose of his left hand. With the cover of the narrow saber in his right hand, he started striking his opponent's acupoints with his left hand.
It was the first time that Liman had experienced a real assassination and he was learning much from it. But soon he would learn another lesson, that a fierce offensive was often the prelude before an escape attempt.
In fact, Gu Feng had already accepted the failure of the mission, and he was laying the groundwork for a safe escape. As an experienced veteran in Jianghu, he knew best how dangerous it was if they were closely followed as they retreated.
He fooled his frantic companions, the indecisive Liman, even Chu Nanping, but couldn't fool the more experienced Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei was still jumping around at the periphery. He seldom waved his saber, but every time he did so, someone would fall. Everything occurred like it had been rehearsed, with Gu Feng turning to flee and his first jump landing exactly where the Dragon King had jumped towards.
Gu Shenwei didn't know how to strike acupoints, so his only method of capturing the enemy alive was to hit him on the back of the head with his saber hilt.
Gu Feng fell heavily. With his kung fu, he wouldn't have been knocked out in a single move., but he thought that he had successfully retreated and the unexpected blow, had turned into a surprise attack.
The few who survived no longer hesitated; they fled in all directions and mingled once again with those who were watching from afar.
Gu Shenwei didn't run after them. He had captured a prisoner who could provide him valuable information and that was enough.
Gu Feng awoke soon. The pain behind his head was still clear, but the narrow saber on his throat was more frightening.
He was a famous figure in Jianghu of the Central Plains. It was already contemptible for him to serve the nobles of the Norland, and the assassination and kidnapping attempt was abhorrent, but he still had his own bottom line, rasping out, ”I won't say anything …”
Gu Feng indeed said nothing. When he breathed his last, he did not even realize that death had come.
Wild Horse thrust the saber into Gu Feng's heart and glanced at the Dragon King before walking away.
Liman tried to control his pounding heart. Wild Horse had reacted faster than he did, but he was the one who had made the mistake, so he explained, ”It seems that this man is an expert hired by King Riyao. He's dead but his appearance hasn't changed. With this, the Dragon King can file a suit against King Riyao, and Golden Roc Castle too. Those people were are all Golden Roc killers.”
Gu Shenwei wasn't able to stop Wild Horse in time, which was a small mistake but this didn't affect the overall situation. ”Those people are not Golden Roc killers, and Gu Feng is probably not King Riyao's man anymore.”
”They are not Golden Roc killers?” Liman's surprise was real. To him, those people who held a narrow saber had used a distinct style of Golden Roc Castle.
”They're not killers, but ordinary sabermen.” The one spoke was Chu Nanping, who hadn't killed anyone. ”Killers wouldn't have been thrown into confusion so easily.”
Liman blushed with shame, though fortunately, no one could see his face in the dark. ”No matter what, it must be related to King Kuari and King Riyao. The Dragon King should fight back. They have openly defied Khan's promise, this is outrageous.”
Gu Shenwei didn't say anything. These people apparently wanted to capture Chu Nanping alive, as they had either came for the swordsmanship or the Flame Foal. And Liman's full efforts to cover this up seemed to prove that King Rizhu was more suspicious.