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Chapter 138 Bandits besiege the city!

Shen Ci and his group arrived at the city gate.

From afar, torches outside the city stretched out in a long line, heading towards Jiande County.

The team has at least a thousand people.

Shen Ci's expression changed drastically; these men were definitely coming for them.

Left with no other option, they had to retreat back to Jiande County.

After the city gates closed, Shen Ci and his group went up to the city wall and looked down.

They discovered that there were more than a thousand people; it was estimated to be over two thousand.

Why would such a powerful force appear in Jiangnan Prefecture?

Upon seeing this, Shen Yan couldn't help but think to himself, "Could these people be soldiers from the Thousand Households Office in disguise?"

'

At that moment, he heard several soldiers from the thousand-household garrison on the city gate talking, seemingly recognizing the men below.

"Damn it! Why are the Black Wind Stronghold people attacking?"

Why would they target our poor area?

Upon hearing this, Shen Yan muttered to himself, "Black Wind Stronghold?!"

He turned and asked the soldiers.

"What's this Black Wind Stronghold you were talking about?"

An older soldier, seeing that Shen Yan and his entourage were dressed in fine clothes, knew at a glance that they should not be offended.

So he said, "Black Wind Stronghold is the largest bandit group in Jiangnan Prefecture, with several thousand men."

Shen Rong was somewhat surprised upon hearing this: "Why are there so many bandits?"

The soldier sighed and said, "Your Excellency is unaware of the fact that in recent years, the imperial court has imposed heavy taxes and levies, leaving the people with no means of livelihood. Naturally, they have turned to banditry. That's how Black Wind Stronghold has grown stronger and stronger."

"Moreover, the Black Wind Stronghold is ruthless and rarely leaves anyone alive after they strike. However, they usually only target towns and villages, and this is the first time they have attacked a county town."

No wonder this man dared to speak out against the court; he must have thought he was about to die.

It's understandable that they didn't attack the county seat, as the defenses of a county seat are far superior to those of a township.

Shen Yan looked at the men and horses below and sensed their aura.

He thought to himself, "This person isn't entirely right. At least among these thousands of people, there are quite a few martial artists who have reached the rank of master."

You can't become a martial artist without money, not to mention there are quite a few mid-to-third-rank martial artists here.

This is a force that ordinary bandits could not possess.

Shen Yan thought to himself, "No wonder they never leave a single survivor after each attack; these people are here to silence important figures."

These powerful families in Jiangnan Prefecture even resorted to the trick of raising bandits to enhance their own prestige.

Shen Yan told Shen Ci about her discovery.

Shen Ci's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and he said, "As expected, these people came for me."

He quickly gave the order.

"Summon the soldiers from the thousand-household garrison to defend the city, quickly!"

A strange thing happened: Shen Ci noticed that no one moved, which made him somewhat puzzled.

"Why haven't you all set off yet?"

A soldier guarding the city said with a wry smile, "Sir, you are unaware of the situation, but there is no one left in the garrison."

"A thousand-household garrison should have a thousand men. As far as I know, the roster of the thousand-household garrison in Jiande County has nearly two thousand soldiers."

Shen Ci's expression was grim; he could hardly believe what they were saying.

"Currently, the Qianhu Office only has a little over three hundred people."

"What?!"

Shen Ci hadn't expected that the problem of these people receiving salaries without working was so serious, with only a little over three hundred people involved.

Looking around, all the people were elderly, weak, sick, or disabled, around forty or fifty years old. Even if these people were gathered together, they wouldn't be enough to kill the bandits below the city with a single blow.

It seems the city's soldiers are unreliable; we can only rely on ourselves.

However, he only brought out a few dozen men this time. Although they were elite, they were no match for several thousand men.

Looking at the men and horses outside, Shen Rong said worriedly, "Young Master, please have Shen Yan escort you away!"

Shen Ci said firmly, "The sons of the Shen family only die on the battlefield; none of them escape alive."

Shen Yan could naturally take him away, but Shen Ci didn't want to run away like this.

His pride and sense of responsibility wouldn't allow him to leave like this, even if it meant dying here.

As Shen Moxuan's son, how could he possibly desert his post?

Shen Ci turned to look at Shen Yan and the others.

"You don't need to die with me. The message still needs to be spread. Shen Yan, find a chance to leave!"

However, it was obvious that no one wanted to leave. The people accompanying them were extremely loyal, so how could they possibly leave?

A shadow fell over everyone's hearts, and they were all prepared to die.

They were already aware of this when they left Bianjing.

Shen Rong sighed, and hearing the firmness in Shen Ci's words, he dared not try to persuade him any further.

If the bandits below were just ordinary thieves, Shen Rong and his men would naturally not be afraid, since Shen Yan alone could fight against a thousand soldiers.

They had long believed that Shen Yan possessed the strength of a high-ranking official.

However, the leader of these invading bandits possessed a mysterious aura and his cultivation level may have reached the upper three ranks. Many of them were middle three-rank martial artists, and more than half of the soldiers had martial arts cultivation.

These powerful families spared no expense in their efforts to deal with Shen Ci.

Such a force would be difficult to assemble, even for the Vermilion Bird Army, let alone bandits.

Clearly, these people were trained at great expense by the powerful families of Jiangnan, to serve as their sharpest weapons.

Martial artists are, after all, human beings. Human strength has its limits, but true energy and power are not inexhaustible.

Fight to the death without retreating; when your strength is exhausted, that is when you will die.

Upon hearing Shen Ci's words, Shen Yan thought to himself, "If Shen Ci dies, I'll lose my Fire Spirit Pill. I can't let anything happen to him."

He looked down at the bandits, who had now completely surrounded Jiande County.

The torchlight reflected on their faces, revealing their indifferent expressions.

The leader sneered.

He then unleashed a powerful punch, which shattered the already dilapidated city gate.

"A second-rank master!"

Shen Rong couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. He hadn't expected that the newcomer would be a second-rank expert.

With such powerful cultivation, why would someone become an outlaw and take orders from others?

Even Shen Ci couldn't figure this out. When he heard about the newcomer's martial arts cultivation level, he was just as shocked as Shen Rong.

Shen Ci came from a noble family, and he knew all too well how rare a second-rank expert was.

A second-rank expert could easily command tens of thousands of soldiers, making them the strongest fighting force in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

How could one not be alarmed to find a second-rank expert appearing in a bandit's den?

As the leader made his move, thousands of bandits behind him began to surge into the city gate.

The mid-level third-grade martial artist simply stepped onto the city wall and crossed it in a few steps.

Everyone's faces were unusually resolute, as if they were prepared to die in battle.

Upon seeing a mid-level third-grade martial artist on the city wall, Shen Yan dared not watch any longer and immediately took action.

He flashed away from Shen Ci and threw a punch at the martial artist closest to him.

When the man saw Shen Yan's face, so young, he didn't take it seriously and casually tried to block him.

Unexpectedly, when the punch landed on him, his chest collapsed, and his internal organs were shattered by the force.

In the blink of an eye, that person was dead beyond any doubt.

The first few mid-level martial artists who had climbed the city wall changed their expressions drastically upon seeing this.

He thought to himself, "This is bad. Where did this expert come from?"

They dared not be overconfident and wanted to unite to deal with Shen Yan.