The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 248 Beating the Iron Falcon

The three men behind the "Iron Falcon" general, including the cavalry captain, grinned and charged out with their spears.

Zhang Wangyue said to Huang Rong, "Return to the formation."

"Alright, head镖师, be careful." Huang Rong lightly touched the ground with her toes, her body fluttering like a butterfly, gracefully skimming into the rocky formation. After landing, she swayed and disappeared behind a jagged boulder, hiding herself completely inside.

The three heavily armored riders had reached their peak momentum as they charged forward. After their horses had taken more than ten large strides, the captain, his arm encased in fine armor, fiercely raised his spear, poised to thrust.

Zhang Wangyue charged forward, and in the instant the cavalry captain thrust forward, the chief镖头 (bodyguard) of Fu'an leaped into the air, his copper staff thrusting out.

With a loud bang, the "Iron Falcon" cavalry captain was sent flying by the powerful blow of his club. The force of the blow caused his warhorse to lose its footing and tumble to the ground.

Zhang Wangyue landed heavily, stomped his right foot, and his body shot out like an angry arrow, crashing into a rider beside him. His fierce "Iron Mountain Lean" landed on the tall horse, which crashed to the ground like a collapsing wall.

Zhang Wangyue took a step to the side, and his bronze staff fell like thunder, smashing open the opponent's head.

Huyan Lei turned his head sharply, bent his arm to catch the iron spear that was thrusting at him, and was pulled backward by the momentum of the warhorse. Following closely behind, Fu'an's head镖师 (镖头, a type of镖师, a type of镖师) stepped on the ground like a dragonfly skimming the water, and after regaining his balance, he thrust out his tiger-head gold-inlaid spear with a whoosh. A large spray of blood splattered everywhere, and the cavalryman's face was directly smashed by the spearhead.

The warhorse, now without its master, galloped past Huyan Lei, then slowed down and trotted towards the "Iron Falcon" main camp.

"How is it?" Zhang Wangyue asked, stepping back to Huyan Lei's side.

Hu Yanlei said, "Dealing with one or two riders is not a problem, but if many riders charge, it will be difficult to defend against them if we can't attend to everything."

Zhang Wangyue said, "This is the biggest threat when cavalry charges. With the help of the horse's momentum, the rider can easily gather hundreds of pounds of force."

"If only Chief Yang of Chaya Mountain had cavalry like that."

"It will happen," Zhang Wangyue smiled.

"You've got some skill." Seeing that he had lost three riders in a single exchange, the "Iron Falcon" officer's cold, sharp eyes turned fierce, and he waved his right hand.

In the blink of an eye, the twelve riders roared like thunder and lightning, drawing a semi-circle as they quickly spread out and advanced.

"go!"

Zhang Wangyue and Huyan Lei retreated into the chaotic rock formation.

The twelve riders did not receive the order to stop and charged straight into the rock formation. What followed was a scene that shocked the "Iron Falcon" officer. His cavalry were clearly not far from the enemy, but no matter how they circled around, they could not reach them.

The general was able to command hundreds of cavalry and was proficient in many formations such as the "One-Character Long Snake Formation", the "Fish Scale Formation" and the "Three Talents Formation". However, the formation in front of him was unprecedented. It seemed ordinary at first glance, but was extraordinary upon closer inspection, and even more difficult to understand.

Suddenly, from behind the towering boulder, the figures of Mu Nianci, Liang Xiaowu, and other bodyguards emerged like rabbits and falcons, and more than a dozen fishing nets rained down on them. The "Iron Falcon" cavalrymen were caught off guard, thrown to the ground, and dragged behind the jagged rocks.

The officer's face was somber.

Behind the rocks, Mu Nianci and the others stabbed and slashed with spears and knives, taking the lives of twelve people in the blink of an eye. After the shrill screams, the air returned to calm.

Hu Yanlei, who was hiding behind a large rock, grinned at Huang Rong and said, "Miss Huang, what a fine formation."

"Huyan Biaotou has incredible strength."

"Haha, compared to the chief bodyguard and Brother Zhou, I'm far inferior."

Huang Rong smiled gently, but in her heart she was worried. She was not afraid if the other side sent a small cavalry squad in as they were doing now, but she was afraid of brute force causing damage. She didn't know how long it would take for Zhou Yan to arrive.

The "Iron Falcon" officer outside the formation carefully examined the clues, but still couldn't figure it out. He was secretly astonished. This was no ordinary escort team. Even the elite troops of the Song Dynasty did not have such a formation.

The officer was quick-witted; he shouted, "Throw the rope and pull down the stone!"

In an instant, more than a dozen riders charged forward, waving ropes that were several meters long and thrown far and accurately.

The rope was lowered and looped onto the jagged rocks. The cavalrymen turned their horses around, and the tall horses moved forward slowly. The riders exerted their strength, and with a loud bang, the standing rocks were pulled down and dragged out of the formation.

"This is bad, we have to stop it. If this continues, the rock formation will be destroyed in no time."

"Cut the ropes and release the arrows."

"shoot!'

Zhang Wangyue and the general issued orders almost simultaneously. A squad of "Iron Hawks" moved through the rocky formation, firing arrows. A soldier from Fu'an drew his bow and nocked an arrow, which shot out with a "whoosh." The long arrow traveled dozens of steps and landed on the "Iron Hawks," but was easily deflected by their armor.

The "Iron Falcon" cavalry drew their bows and nocked arrows, which clattered and thudded onto the rocks where the bodyguards and porters were hiding, making it difficult for them to lift their heads.

Suddenly, Liang Xiaowu rushed out. The young bodyguard held an iron pot in his left hand and a snowflake-patterned iron knife in his right. He moved swiftly to the left and right, using the iron pot to block arrows and the long knife to cut ropes. In a short time, he broke the ropes and hid himself.

Huang Rong was overjoyed, thinking to herself that this镖师 (bodyguard/escort) was clever; this method could at least delay the enemy from destroying the chaotic stone formation for a considerable amount of time, allowing Zhou Yan to arrive.

With the sun high in the sky, Huang Rong's rock formation had been blocking "Iron Hawk" for nearly an hour before Zhou Yan's figure appeared on the treetops of the forest on one side of the valley.

Looking around, on one side of the field of vision were a large number of cavalry, with several small squads of "Iron Falcons" either suppressing them with arrows or throwing ropes and pulling stones. On the other side, the bodyguards, including Liang Xiaowu, held iron pots and moved as nimbly as monkeys, cutting the ropes with a single stroke of their swords.

Zhou Yan knew the wonders of Huang Rong's chaotic stone formation, but there were many stones lying haphazardly on the ground, indicating that the chaotic stone formation had been greatly damaged.

Fortunately, they arrived in time.

As Zhou Yan landed, the three Shi brothers surrounded him. He was about to give them some instructions before heading towards Zhang Wangyue himself when suddenly a sharp cry rang out. A gyrfalcon swooped down from the valley and appeared in the sky above the forest, its cry urgent and bright. "Young hero, we've been discovered. This beast has also been domesticated." Along the way, Zhou Yan had become quite familiar with the three Shi brothers, addressing them as brothers. Shi Bowei no longer addressed him as his benefactor.

"Indeed, it seems we should attack directly."

"No problem, we guarantee there will be chaos." The three Shi brothers grinned.

"Alright!" Zhou Yan leaped and landed beside the "Night-Shining Jade Lion," patting his neck. "Go, go away."

The horse seemed to understand its rider's intentions, and with a swift movement, it galloped away.

Zhou Yan, holding a heavy black iron spear, laughed and said, "Brother Shi, please show us your superb skills."

"I'll make a fool of myself!"

Shi Bowei, Shi Zhongmeng, and Shi Shugang clasped their fists together, leaped onto three large trees in different directions, and suddenly let out a long roar. In an instant, all the beasts roared and the earth shook.

……

As the gyrfalcon swooped down into the forest, Zhang Wangyue, Huang Rong, and the "Iron Hawk" officer all turned their gazes in that direction.

Huang Rong was overjoyed and said, "It must be Chief Escort Zhou who has returned."

The officers outside the formation changed color, and Hai Dongqing reacted strangely; he had a vague premonition of something bad.

But in an instant, the roars of ferocious beasts rose up everywhere, tigers howled and lions roared, the wind blew through the forest, and the mixed sounds swept over like a hurricane.

Huang Rong let out an "Ah!" Her face paled at the sound, her heart filled with trepidation and a chill running down her spine. But upon closer listening, she discovered that among the sounds of the beasts were three long howls, each uttered with internal force. These howls possessed the sounds of the five notes of the pentatonic scale: Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zheng, and Yu, and were both melodious and powerfully resounding.

"Is this the skill of controlling beasts?" Huang Rong asked with great curiosity.

As she thought this, the sound of warhorses neighing suddenly filled her ears. The horses of the "Iron Falcons" cavalrymen panicked, and as the herd approached, some horses' hooves buckled and they collapsed to their knees with a thud. In an instant, men and horses tumbled and fell, creating utter chaos.
The general's jet-black steed neighed and reared up, its front hooves landing heavily on the ground before galloping away.

"Our mules and horses!" one of the bodyguards exclaimed in alarm.

Zhang Wangyue was deeply shocked, but said, "The mules and horses are all in the valley. There won't be any problems."

The chief镖头 of Fu'an looked at the forest and saw a scene that seemed unreal: forest birds frantically flapped their wings and flew into the sky, and even the gyrfalcon cried out and flew away. The curtain of sunlight was torn apart by a tiger, and more tigers rushed out after it. Beside the tiger pack were other beasts that he had never seen before, roaring and charging out with great power.

"Shoot! Shoot!" the knights who had landed shouted hysterically. Zhang Wangyue snatched the bow and arrow from the messenger and drew the bow like a full moon.

With a "thud," the arrow, like a shooting star, traversed dozens of steps and pierced the rider's most vulnerable spot—his neck.

"Excellent archery skills!" Huang Rong exclaimed, initially surprised but then delighted. She thought to herself that if she knew this skill, it would be fun to raise a few tigers and lions on Peach Blossom Island. With that thought in mind, she looked up and searched for Zhou Yan behind the herd of beasts.

Zhou Yan, who was in the treetop, saw a jet-black charcoal steed galloping out in the distance. He instantly locked onto his opponent and used the White Camel Mountain lightness skill "Instant Thousand Miles" to fly more than three zhang in an instant. He landed and ran wildly.

"Golden Goose Skill", "Instant Thousand Miles" and Ancient Tomb Lightness Skill each have their own merits.

Within a narrow space, the ability to move swiftly and gracefully is unparalleled, especially in the ancient tomb's light-footed skill. For long-distance raids, the former two are superior. The "Golden Goose Skill" excels in leaps and bounds during a run, and in terms of speed alone, it can cover "a thousand miles in an instant."

One moment Zhou Yan was with the three Shi brothers, and the next he appeared more than ten feet away. His speed was so fast that he lifted up the decaying leaves on the ground. Strands of broken leaves trailed behind him in a straight line, at the end of which was the officer of the "Iron Falcon".

"Whoosh!" The spring light outside the forest was torn open by Zhou Yan's figure. With a whoosh, the "Night-Shining Jade Lion," which had already run out of the forest, came like a white light.

Zhou Yan leaped onto the horse's back, and the "Jade Lion Under the Night" rarely encountered a fellow horse with comparable speed, so it galloped wildly.

If it were an ordinary steed, the "Night-Shining Jade Lion" could easily catch up with it in less than a mile with just a burst of speed. But the black charcoal dragon steed was truly divine. The "Night-Shining Jade Lion" ran for dozens of breaths, but only shortened the distance by a few dozen steps. Zhou Yan thought that if the steed were to remove its armor, its speed would be no less than that of his own mount.

He drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

The horse gallops swiftly, the man draws his bow.

"Bang, bang, bang..." The four arrows pierced the air and flew far away.

The officer immediately waved his hand to deflect the first long arrow and then hid in the air to avoid the second arrow.

Zhou Yan was well aware of the arrows coming from behind and how he would normally dodge them. The third and fourth arrows he shot were aimed at the sides of the horse.

“Kang!”

One arrow grazed the left side of the black charcoal dragon steed, while the other struck the general who had dodged to the right. The arrowhead landed on the fine armor, creating dazzling sparks, but the general was tumbled to the ground by the enormous impact.

The jet-black charcoal dragon steed galloped for more than ten steps before stopping. The general who had landed leaped up, and the "Night-Shining Jade Lion" rushed towards him in his line of sight.

Zhou Yan raised his spear, and his immense internal energy surged from his meridians and acupoints in his palms and fingers, forcing the spear to emit a deep, resonant sound. Taking advantage of the horse's momentum, he unleashed the most powerful and domineering thrust he had ever delivered since he began practicing spearmanship.

"Wow!" the officer shouted, smashing his spear at the heavy iron spear.

With a loud clang, the spear swung up.

The spearhead struck the fine armor with a "thud," piercing through it. The "Iron Falcon" officer, who had once told Zhang Wangyue to leave behind the caravan in exchange for a complete corpse, was carried away by the heavy iron spear.

(End of this chapter)