Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 239 The Royal Little Demon Master and the Ferocious Demon Knight
"Why should I? The Rakshasa Token is already in your hands, so what does this have to do with me?" Lu Xiaofeng retorted.

Gu Song sneered: "Since that's the case, you may leave!"

"I……"

Lu Xiaofeng was speechless.

The current situation is that a large group of Western Region and Ming Dynasty warriors have arrived in Lahasu, looking for the four of them.

If any one of them left alone, they would be suspected of carrying a Rakshasa amulet.

After all, the Rakshasa talisman is such a small piece that unless one thoroughly searches him, no one will know if he has it on him.

Lu Xiaofeng could naturally leave, or he could say that he didn't have the Rakshasa Token on him.

But will those people outside believe it?

It's impossible to think about it.

Even if he willingly allowed himself to be thoroughly searched, they wouldn't completely believe him.

Therefore, he can now be said to be in the same boat as the Three Friends of Winter, and can only support each other and leave together.

Anyone who leaves alone will be suspected by the martial artists and be surrounded and attacked.

"I've really been completely fooled by you!"

Lu Xiaofeng shook his head helplessly, but he had no choice but to join.

"Welcome!" Gu Song laughed.

Hanmei snorted coldly, "I'll believe you for now, as long as you don't drag me down later."

As it turned out, Lu Xiaofeng not only did not hold them back, but also became the leader among the four.

Although it's only temporary.

Lahasou is a trading hub on both sides of the river, with a large daily flow of people.

Even so, it is still this extremely cold and remote place in the far north. No matter how prosperous it is or how large its population is, it can only be compared with some small cities in the Central Plains.

Dozens of martial artists guarded the surrounding area, enough to completely block the small town from entering.

If they break out from any point, they will be pursued and attacked by dozens of martial artists as soon as they are discovered.

This is when Lu Xiaofeng can come into play.

He secretly led the friends he had made in the past few days to a secluded path, from which they left without anyone noticing.

These outsiders had absolutely no intelligence sources in the area. By the time they realized something was wrong, Lu Xiaofeng and the others had already been on the run for more than two days.

Dozens of martial artists had no choice but to give chase.

But in their haste, they could only manage to get some slow horses. How could they possibly catch up with Lu Xiaofeng and his group, who had been running for more than two days?

With the exhausted horses panting and on the verge of death, the group of martial artists finally realized that they had no chance of catching up with Lu Xiaofeng and his companions, so they had no choice but to stop and sigh helplessly.

"It seems we won't be able to catch up this time."

"Damn it! Those four guys were too fast!"

Someone took out a carrier pigeon, ready to send a message; clearly, this person had powerful connections.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap

"what sound?"

Everyone was startled and immediately fell silent to listen carefully.

Tread, step, step...

"It's the sound of horses' hooves!"

"So chaotic and complex, it's endless..."

"Oh no! It's cavalry!"

Everyone's expression immediately changed.

Since we are currently within the territory of the Yuan Dynasty, when it comes to cavalry, it is naturally the Mongol cavalry of the Yuan Dynasty!
Someone used their light-footed skills to leap to the treetop and gaze into the distance.

In the distance, billowing dust could be seen as a cavalry force of no less than a thousand men galloped toward them, each clad in armor and carrying a bow and a halberd.

"This is bad! Not just cavalry, but elite cavalry!"

"This equipment... belongs to the magic riders of the Magician's Palace!"

"What? Elite cavalry?!"

"And they're magic riders from the Magician's Palace?!"

Everyone's faces were ashen.

When the word "elite" appears before the name of an army, it is often not a purely military force.

During wartime, they fulfilled the duties of the military.

However, in peacetime, they often also have the responsibility of suppressing martial arts practitioners.

Moreover, what appeared before them now were not ordinary elite soldiers, but the magic riders of the Magician's Palace.

The Demon Master's Palace and the Yuan Kingdom's royal family have an extremely close relationship, which began with the Demon Master Pang Ban's master, Meng Chixing, and has continued for several generations.

The Yuan Dynasty royal family supports the development of the Demon Master Palace, while the Demon Master Palace is tasked with suppressing the martial arts world for the Yuan Dynasty royal family.

The Demon Riders were an elite army formed by the Yuan Kingdom's royal family and trained by the Demon Master's Palace, totaling only three thousand men.

During wartime, they obey the orders of the Yuan Dynasty's royal family; in peacetime, they belong to the Demon Master's Palace.

That sounds outrageous.

In fact, it's quite outrageous.

But this is the status of the strong in Kyushu.

Pang Ban's master is the renowned Grandmaster Meng Chixing, who himself is a prodigy with the potential to break through to the Grandmaster level.

Although he was defeated in his previous battle with Zhang Sanfeng, he was still honorable.

After all, it was a real fight against a Grandmaster, and a Grandmaster at the second level.

After the war, he was known as the person closest to becoming a Grandmaster.

Moreover, Pang Ban was very knowledgeable about the rules. He took Fang Yeyu, a member of the royal family, as his disciple and entrusted him with the management of the Demon Cavalry.

Pang Ban only had two disciples in total. His eldest disciple was taken in early years and was sent to carry out a secret mission, so no one knew of his existence.

Therefore, Fang Yeyu is Pang Ban's only disciple on the surface, known as the 'Little Demon Master,' and is the future heir of the Demon Master Palace.

In other words, on the surface, not only the Magic Knights, but even the Magic Master's Palace will belong to Fang Yeyu in the future.

The Yuan Dynasty royal family was therefore very relieved.

"The demon riders have arrived; could it be the little demon master?"

"not at all!"

"That's terrible..."

Although Fang Yeyu is the master of the Demon Cavalry, he is still a young man with low strength.

If he were present, he would become a weakness for the Demon Knights, requiring them to divide their forces to protect him.

But since he's not here, it means this demon cavalry will unleash their full fighting power without restraint.

"Everyone, let's split up and escape. Whoever is lucky might be able to escape with their lives."

"Although the enemy has elite cavalry, I have dozens of men here. If we really clash, it's hard to say who will win or lose."

“That’s right! It would probably take hundreds of elite soldiers to kill a Grandmaster, but we have dozens of them, including more than ten Grandmasters. Why should we be afraid of them?”

Some people clamored, not believing that their dozens of warriors needed to avoid the thousand iron cavalrymen on the other side.

"Hmph! A bunch of fools. If we were in the mountains, there might be some room for a fight, but here..."

"I think we have no conflict with the Yuan Kingdom, so why should we fight them head-on?"

Some people felt that this group was no match for a thousand demon riders.

Some people felt that since there was no enmity between the two sides and they were currently on Yuan Kingdom territory, they should not confront the Demon Cavalry and should simply avoid confrontation for the time being.

Half of the crowd vanished in an instant, scattering and fleeing in all directions.

But half of them remained.

They generally felt they shouldn't have run away; some were simply angry, while others... had come from the Ming Dynasty to Lahasu, on the northern border of the Yuan Dynasty, after many hardships.

Searching for the Three Friends of Winter in the freezing cold, only to find that the other one had escaped.

They chased after them for several days without catching up. All these setbacks had already filled them with pent-up anger.

The arrival of these thousand demon riders was perfectly timed.

Let them take their lives to vent their anger... That's what these people think.

With this in mind, they not only did not run away, but even took the initiative to attack.

A thousand horses galloped, billowing dust as they came.

The thousand demon riders all wore ferocious and unrestrained smiles.

Seeing that these people didn't run away, he laughed even more heartily.

"Disperse!"

The leader of the demon cavalry shouted, and the thousand cavalrymen suddenly split in the middle, turning into two teams that rushed to the left and right respectively.

This caused many martial artists to miss their target.

Looking at the demon riders surrounding them, everyone couldn't help but feel a bad premonition.

Only now did they realize that this elite force was different from the elite forces they had known in the past.

They are cavalry!
Most elite troops are infantry. Even if they wear armor and carry large shields, they are still on the ground and are hampered by their equipment. When facing a master-level expert, they can only take hits and cannot hit their opponent.

However, cavalrymen have the advantage of horsepower.

While cavalrymen may not be as agile as master warriors, they certainly possess the speed to keep up.

Some masters who are not very skilled in light-footed techniques may not be as fast as a horse.

If it's a horse of a different bloodline, then it's even less comparable.

The demon rider's actions were not yet finished.

The demon riders, divided into two groups, surrounded the group, forming two interlocking encirclements, one inside and one outside. Then they picked up their great bows and began to fire.

The target, naturally, is the many martial artists in the very center of the encirclement!
With a thousand arrows raining down, many martial artists could only defend themselves by condensing their inner energy.

Some martial artists realized something was wrong in that instant.

Now they are surrounded and can only passively defend themselves against the relentless barrage of thousands of arrows.

Even a grandmaster martial artist with abundant true qi cannot maintain the condensation of true qi indefinitely.

Sooner or later, it will be exhausted.

The best way to avoid being worn down is to... charge now!

Once the martial artists understood this, they charged outwards.

But at this time...

"Aim at them! Fire!"

From within the demon riders came the voice of command.

As elite cavalry trained by the Magician's Palace, every member of the Magic Knights possesses excellent archery skills. While they may not be able to hit a target from a hundred paces away, shooting a person within that range is quite easy.

But the masters who were charging forward were in a terrible predicament. Thousands of arrows were aimed at them and came flying at them in a volley. On average, each of them had to deal with more than two hundred arrows.

How terrifying!
It's impossible to withstand it head-on. Even if one has condensed true qi, facing this terrifying attack would likely consume a huge amount of energy.

The only options are to dodge, or... retreat!

Some chose to withdraw, while others successfully evaded the situation.

But even if you manage to dodge it, it's only for this round.

Next, as long as they don't retreat, hundreds more arrows will continue to be shot at them.

Can you hide once, but can you hide forever?

Even if someone truly possessed unparalleled lightness skills and managed to dodge several times, successfully reaching the edge of the encirclement.

However, the magic riders could also immediately break the encirclement.

Or perhaps they'll stop shooting altogether and just pull out their halberds for close combat.

In the distance, some martial artists who had not yet fled far showed disdain upon seeing this.

"A bunch of idiots, actually daring to fight the Demon Knights in this kind of terrain!"

The Mongol cavalry dominated the world thanks to their archery skills.

The Demon Riders were elite troops selected from the Mongol cavalry and specially trained.

Their already formidable archery skills became even more terrifying under the tutelage of the Magician's Palace.

Once the encirclement is complete, there is no difference between dealing with one grandmaster and dealing with ten grandmasters.

Those people judged the Demon Riders based on their impressions of other elite troops, mistakenly believing that their superior numbers would allow them to sweep them aside. They were completely wrong.

The only drawback is that this tactic requires specific terrain conditions; it must be performed on flat terrain where cavalry can effectively utilize it.

In other terrains, it wouldn't be of much use.

Unfortunately, the Yuan Kingdom is located in the north, and its terrain is mostly flat grassland, which is exactly the kind of terrain where the Demon Cavalry can fully exert their power.

Therefore, fighting the Demon Knights in this terrain is simply suicide.

"The Demon Riders are indeed ferocious, living up to their reputation. It's just a pity for their fellow cultivators... They cultivated diligently until now, reaching the Grandmaster realm, only to be surrounded and killed by a group of Acquired cultivators... What a pity, what a pity!"

An old man said sadly, "It is human nature to feel sorrow for one's own kind. If I hadn't run fast, I would probably be just like those people in the encirclement."

Another person shared the same sentiment, saying, "With such fierce cavalry, only a Grandmaster of the Three Flowers Realm could escape the encirclement."

Someone else said, "Even the Three Flowers Grandmaster is no match. The Demon Riders, with their three thousand men, have a history of besieging and killing the Three Flowers Grandmaster."

"what?"

"There's such a thing?"

Everyone was astonished. Even a Grandmaster of the Three Flowers had fallen before the Demon Knight?

What they didn't know was that the person had been hiding some information.

The Three Flowers Grandmaster who was surrounded and killed had his entire family killed, and he was so grief-stricken that he had thoughts of suicide. After being surrounded, he never thought of escaping and only wanted to die in battle, which is why he was surrounded and killed by the demon riders.

Otherwise, if a Grandmaster of the Three Flowers really wanted to escape, even the most powerful Demon Knight wouldn't be able to catch up.

Unless they replace all their mounts with exotic horses.

But such a cost is something that no country can afford to support.

The crowd, unaware of the details, were simply amazed.

"So, if we think about it that way, the only way to deal with these demonic riders, besides a Grandmaster, is probably the nemesis of armies... a Body Tempering Grandmaster!"

"Indeed, the Demon Cavalry tactics are ingenious, but they would be useless against a Grandmaster of Body Tempering. After all, they are the bane of armies, beings who can slaughter on the battlefield!"

"Alright, stop spouting nonsense. Once the Demon Riders have killed everyone in the encirclement, they'll probably come looking for us. Why don't we run?"

The crowd immediately dispersed, no longer watching the spectacle.

Right here in the northern part of the Yuan Kingdom, a thousand demon riders surrounded and killed dozens of warriors, displaying their divine might.

In the south of the Yuan Kingdom, another five hundred demon riders encountered three warriors who had just arrived in the Yuan Kingdom from the Ming Kingdom.

More accurately, they were warriors who traveled from the Western Regions to the Yuan Dynasty.

We meet on a narrow road.

The three martial artists looked tense.

The leader of the five hundred demon riders, however, was arrogant and murderous.

"At this time, a Western Regions person who came all the way from the Western Regions to the Yuan Kingdom? He's probably here to compete with the young master for the Rakshasa Token... Heh, let's kill him while we're at it!"

The leader didn't take these three martial artists, who were only at the Innate Realm, seriously. However, he hadn't seen blood in a long time, and now that he had received the young master's order to take up the sword again, he couldn't suppress his bloodlust.

Since we've run into each other on this road, let's just cut off a few heads and have some fun.

At his command, five hundred demon riders galloped forward, stirring up billowing dust.

The intense killing intent could be sensed even from a hundred meters away.

"Brother, what should I do?"

"What else can we do? These people are clearly after us. Brother, let's just kill them!"

"If we meet on the roadside, we'll kill them... What a brutal bunch of cavalry! In that case, second brother, third brother, today the three of us brothers will act on behalf of Heaven!"

With a flick of his wrist, he flung off his blue robe.

(End of this chapter)