The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 261: Red River

"The Chief Escort is truly awe-inspiring!"

Zhou Yan looked at Zhang Wangyue, who was wearing armor, and gave him a sincere compliment.

The chief镖头 of Fu'an was dressed in fine armor. Zhou Yan suddenly felt that the other party's temperament had changed drastically. The vicissitudes on his face were instantly replaced by an imposing and dignified expression. His facial muscles suddenly became rough and rugged, and even the stubble on his lips and chin stood up like steel needles.

Zhou Yan, Zhang Wangyue, Lu Beihe, and Hu Yanlei came to Yang Miaozhen's side and explained their purpose. Overjoyed to be able to fight alongside the four of them, Yang Miaozhen immediately found four riders of similar build to help her change her armor.

The four were seasoned veterans of the martial world, their refined demeanor fully unleashing their restrained killing intent within their armor.

Zhou Yan praised Zhang Wangyue. Yang Miaozhen stared at Zhou Yan for a moment, then said, "Brother Zhou broke through his cultivation level at Chaya Mountain. You seemed to have a refined and otherworldly appearance, but now that you're wearing this armor, your temperament has changed drastically. You are now majestic and awe-inspiring, exuding a murderous aura."

“That’s right.” Hu Yanlei praised, “Riding a horse and wielding a spear, he has the style of Zhao Zilong.”

Zhou Yan glanced at the armored "Night-Shining Jade Lion" and chuckled, "Then I'll fight my way in and out of the bandits of Tongbai Mountain seven times over."

"Generous!" Lu Beihe exclaimed loudly.

"Brothers, mount your horses," Zhang Wangyue said, giving Zhou Yan an approving look.

"okay!"

Wearing fifty or sixty pounds of armor had no effect on Zhou Yan. He leaped onto the "Night-Illuminated Jade Lion" and took the heavy iron spear from the hook.

Zhang Wangyue rode his charcoal-dragon steed and donned a face shield, a change Zhou Yan imitated. From the outside, only his cold, sharp gaze was visible; no one would know he was a镖师 (bodyguard/escort).

The "Jade Lion Under the Night" was a magnificent steed. Zhou Yan's cultivation was now unparalleled among the crowd, so he was naturally placed in the center. On his left and right were Zhang Wangyue, who was carrying an octagonal copper staff, and Yang Miaozhen, who was also wearing armor. Lu Beihe, the young master of Zhenwei Escort Agency, held two guns, and Hu Yanlei, the head of the escort agency in Fu'an, held a gold-inlaid tiger-head spear. They were arranged in order on the outside.

Five hundred armored cavalrymen followed slowly; before the battle even began, the killing intent had already thinned the daylight.

Zhang Wangyue had a thousand words to say, but he felt that silence was better at this moment. The charcoal dragon horse galloped forward, and for a moment, the glorious years of his father's generation seemed to be painted in time. He looked at Zhou Yan, Yang Miaozhen, Lu Beihe, and Huyan Lei on his left and right, as if he saw Gao Chong, Lu Wenlong, Yang Zaixing and others.

"...Looking up at the sky, I roared with intense emotion. Thirty years of fame and glory are but dust and dirt, eight thousand miles of road are but clouds and moon..." Zhang Wangyue silently recited this poem "Man Jiang Hong" in his heart.

……

At the mountain pass of Tongbai Mountain, tiny particles of soil trembled slightly among the bushes. Suddenly, a warhorse leaped into the air, and more bandits from the Tongbai Mountain stronghold roared out.

Under the bright sunlight, the blade gleamed with a chilling light.

Before leading his troops to rob the caravan, Zhang Xiaoyue first sent out scouts to locate the caravan's position. Without any fancy probing, he led his cavalry and infantry directly out to attack.

The sound of hooves thundered, and in the blink of an eye, hundreds of riders advanced toward the caravan's camp.

"Bandits!" Liang Xiaowu, who was on duty, shouted and quickly took out a firework and lit it. With a "bang", the red firework exploded in the air.

On the other side of the camp, Wang Kui, Qiu Qianchi, Yanbo Diaosou, Mu Nianci, and others were playing a fun game. Their faces showed no sign of tension, and they were relaxed, laughing and joking as they led the bodyguards and porters to retreat quickly, whistling as they disappeared into the mountains and forests.

They didn't even take the mules and horses with them.

There's really no need for that; they'll get their principal back with interest anyway.

The caravan's reaction was slightly beyond Zhang Xiaoyue, Liu Qianfeng, and the others' expectations, but it was also within reason.

A caravan of over three hundred men is not small, but which caravan can fight against thousands of cavalry and infantry combined? Unless the four most powerful caravan companies in the world join forces.

Overjoyed, the bandits of Tongbai Mountain were too lazy to search the mountain. Seeing the hundreds of caravans, their eyes gleaming with excitement, they dismounted and swarmed towards the caravans.

Liu Qianfeng said to Huo Du with great regret, "I thought that a team of several hundred people escorting goods would have some courage and be able to resist a little, but in the end they are just a bunch of cowardly rabble who are afraid of death. They will go back to hunting tigers and leopards in the mountains with the little prince and have some fun."

"Okay!" Huo Du nodded with a smile.

"Let's go and see what's inside."

The group stepped forward, and Liu Qianfeng, Huo Du, Jinlun Fawang, Qiu Qianzhang, and Xiao Xiangzi all dismounted. Liu Qianfeng walked to a caravan and said with a smile, "These wheels are heavy; they must be carrying gold and silver."

Huo Du took a deep breath. Even if only half of the hundred caravans were filled with gold and silver, what an astonishing number that would be.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Liu Qianfeng cleaved open the elm wood lock with a single palm strike and opened the dart box.

"Boss, is it gold or silver?" a bandit leader who couldn't get in from the outside asked loudly.

The bright sunlight shone on Liu Qianfeng's face, and the muscles on the face of the seemingly fat and prosperous man trembled with his increasingly heavy breathing.

Huo Du took a few steps forward and looked around. His mouth opened silently, revealing a box full of cold, hard stones.

"How could this happen?"

"Why are they stones? Open them all!" Liu Qianfeng roared.

The gang leaders drew their swords and hacked at the elm wood lock, breaking it and opening the cargo box.

"It's a stone."

"What I opened was also stone."

"Why are they all stones?"

"Something's wrong. Let's go!" Qiu Qianzhang was startled and broke out in a cold sweat. He said this as he began to back away.

It's already too late.

Behind the caravan's camp, the "Night-Shining Jade Lion" emerged from the sunlight, followed closely by the Charcoal Dragon Steed and the Chestnut Horse. In the blink of an eye, a thunderous roar came as the galloping cavalry rapidly approached.

"They are armored cavalry."

Huo Du glanced back, his hands and feet were ice-cold, his head was buzzing, and his throat was extremely dry. Zhou Yan, Zhang Wangyue, Lu Beihe, Hu Yanlei and others had already rushed over.

Dozens of bandits from Tongbai Mountain, who were positioned between Huo Du, Zhou Yan, and the others, were instantly pierced into the air by a forest of spears. A bandit leader who hadn't had time to mount his horse shouted "Ah!" and thrust his spear forward. Lu Beihe's twin spears flashed out like phantoms, piercing the bandit's throat. The staggering leader was sent flying with a "bang."

"Young Prince, let's go." Fine beads of sweat glistened on Ma Xiuping's face as he and Xiao Xiangzi turned and escorted Huo Du back hastily. Liu Qianfeng, seemingly fat, moved with the agility of a gust of wind, leaping onto a fine horse and galloping away with a whip.

Darba roared and charged at Zhou Yan with his golden pestle in hand.

Zhou Yan's spear had no fancy thrusts.

This spear was incredibly powerful. The immense internal force propelled the spear, combined with the strength of the arm muscles and the momentum generated by the "Night-Shining Jade Lion," making the spear's power enough to split the ground and shatter rocks.

With a resounding clang, the golden pestle in Darba's hand swung high into the air. His burly body swayed and staggered backward as if drunk, while the "Night-Shining Jade Lion," the Charcoal Dragon Steed, the Chestnut Horse, and the Black Steed charged in like a wall.

Zhang Wangyue's octagonal copper staff seemed to carry the force of an earthquake, smashing fiercely towards Darba.

With a shout, the Golden Wheel Monk grabbed the rope binding the dart box on the ground, flicked his wrist, and the rope, like a whip, swung in an arc, wrapping around Darba's waist and pulling him into the air.

The moment the burly monk was sent flying, the Golden Wheel Dharma King discarded the rope and, as if by magic, produced five wheels made of gold, silver, copper, iron, and lead from under his robe. Suddenly, the wheels spun rapidly, sometimes up and sometimes down, striking Zhou Yan, Zhang Wangyue, and Yang Miaozhen.

A cold glint flashed from Zhou Yan's spear, and with a clang, he deflected the incoming golden wheel into the air. The spear then curved into a strange arc, striking the silver wheel with a move similar to "White Rainbow Across the Sky." This strike was perfectly timed, embodying the martial arts principle of "using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds." The silver wheel turned and flew back towards the Golden Wheel Monk.

Immediately following, two sharp "clangs" rang out as Zhang Wangyue and Yang Miaozhen each knocked away the iron wheel and lead wheel.

Yang Miaozhen, riding her chestnut horse, swayed briefly but quickly regained her balance. Taking advantage of the Golden Wheel Monk's momentary lapse in concentration, Zhou Yan launched a sudden attack with eighteen spear thrusts. In an instant, Yang Miaozhen's "Rain of Pear Blossom Spears" rained down upon the Monk. Zhang Wangyue's bronze staff crashed down with a deafening roar.

The Golden Wheel Monk swung his sleeves like two iron plates with a thunderous roar, creating a series of clanging explosions of metal clashing together. Suddenly, he sprang up, blood and dust mingling in the air. He flew backward several feet, tumbling like a grinding wheel before leaping up again and sprinting away.

The iron cavalry surged like a tide, sweeping away those bandits from Tongbai Mountain who hadn't had time to mount their horses or who didn't have horses at all. Amidst hysterical cries and howls, blood spread across the ground like a carpet.

(End of this chapter)