With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

The crowd stood on the city wall, gazing in bewilderment at the strange scene before them.

The three bandits, who had initially been aggressive, began to retreat and stopped about a kilometer away from the fortified village. Instead of continuing their attack, the three forces merged together.

They began setting up tents and cooking, clearly preparing for a long-term standoff.

"Something's not right..." Lin Qiang said. "Why aren't they attacking? Logically speaking, they were just testing our strength, and now they should be launching a full-scale attack."

"Dragging this out is disadvantageous for them, so why are they setting up camp and cooking instead?"

"Have you all noticed?" the head of the Zhang family interjected.

"When Lone Wolf Stronghold launched their attack just now, two riders ran out of their ranks and went to two other bandit groups. Then, those two groups cooperated with the attack without hesitation, which is illogical."

He paused, then continued, "Bandits hold a higher status in the bandit world than ordinary bandits, especially the bandits in Gongchang Prefecture who have been entrenched for many years and have considerable influence. Logically, they shouldn't listen to Lone Wolf Village."

But they cooperated anyway, which means there are people in Lone Wolf Stronghold who can make them obey.

"Furthermore, now that the three groups have joined forces, aren't they afraid of infighting? The outlaw forces have never respected each other, and a slight misstep could lead to a bloodbath."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought.

Lin Ye had a sudden inspiration and said, "Unless... there is a person of extremely high status in Lone Wolf Stronghold, and those two bandit groups have no choice but to obey him. He can keep Lone Wolf Stronghold and the bandits in check, so he is not afraid of chaos after the merger."

"Someone of higher status?" Magistrate Cao's expression changed. "Could it be someone from the Northern Xiongnu? After all, the Northern Xiongnu secretly support these forces. If their 'master' is really present, then this is indeed possible."

Upon hearing the words "Northern Xiongnu," everyone's hearts sank.

If there are indeed skilled Northern Xiongnu warriors lurking among them, the threat posed by the bandits would be far greater than anticipated. They might be facing not just a rabble, but an organized infiltration and scheme.

Seeing the solemn expressions on everyone's faces, Lin Ye immediately encouraged them, saying, "What are you afraid of? We've killed people from the Northern Xiongnu before! We'll meet them head-on, they're just two people with one head, aren't they?"

"With so many warriors like us in the fortified village, and with its walls for defense, even if there are Northern Xiongnu, how many could they possibly come? At most two or three riders; they wouldn't amount to anything!"

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

This place is, after all, the territory of the Northern Han Dynasty. The Northern Xiongnu people look different from the Northern Han people, and it is not a time of war. If they want to lie in wait, their numbers will be limited, and it is impossible for them to move in on a large scale.

Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, Lin Ye continued, "Everyone take turns resting and keep a close eye on their movements to see what tricks they're going to pull."

Time passed slowly, from afternoon until nightfall, but the bandits' camp remained quiet, showing no sign of an attack.

Lin Ye and the others knew that this was probably a plan to launch a night attack, so they planted torches all around the city wall to illuminate the area in front of the fortified village.

However, since the bandits were not far from the fortified village, the people dared not go down to the fortified village to light torches, so that the light could not reach the village if they moved even a little away from it.

Sure enough, not long after it got dark, a commotion came from the direction of the bandits' camp, followed by the chaotic sound of horses' hooves approaching from afar.

"Attention everyone! The bandits are attacking. Wait until they're in sight before firing! Crossbowmen, prioritize the warriors!" Lin Qiang shouted a warning.

Before the words were finished, a dozen black-clad knights suddenly rushed out of the darkness, riding black horses at great speed, and quickly approached the fortified village.

Although the torches illuminated the area around the city wall, they were dressed in black and took advantage of the darkness to be seen by the others. By the time they were clearly visible, they were less than fifty meters away from the city wall.

The archers on the city wall immediately fired their long arrows, which they had been charging up for a long time. Several horses were hit and fell to the ground with a neigh. However, the riders reacted very quickly, flipped over and landed, and rushed straight to the city gate without stopping.

"Not good! They're all martial artists trying to get close to the gate! Crossbowmen, fire quickly!" Lin Qiang shouted urgently.

These dozen or so men were all third-rate martial artists. They rushed in under cover of night, aiming to get close to the city gate before the defenders could react.

The warrior operating the Mountain-Splitting Crossbow quickly aimed—

"Boom——!"

With a twang of the bowstring, three heavy, armor-piercing arrows, as sharp as black lightning, hurtled straight at the three men.

One of the bandits was unable to dodge in time and his right arm was pierced through, his entire arm exploding into a bloody mist. He was then shot down by a barrage of arrows.

The arrow missed its mark.

The third arrow was shot at a bandit wearing a hat.

"Clang!" Just as the arrow tip was about to pierce his chest, the man drew his sword and deflected the crossbow bolt.

"Oh no! It's a second-rate martial artist!" Zhang Yuan exclaimed.

In just a few breaths, after three rounds of arrows and three crossbow bolts, more than a dozen warriors had rushed to the gate.

Due to the limited angle, the arrows and crossbow bolts on the city wall were no longer effective.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" A heavy banging sound came from below.

"Quick! Third-rate martial artists go down to the city wall to guard the gate, the rest of you continue guarding the wall!" Lin Ye made a decisive decision.

Only then did everyone realize the bandits' plan.

Taking advantage of the darkness, the martial artists were gathered together for a surprise attack. Second-rate martial artists were sent to forcefully break down the door and create an opening.

Although the gate of the fortified village was made of three feet thick wood, it could not withstand the fierce attack of more than a dozen third-rate martial artists for long, not to mention that there were also second-rate experts in the middle.

The group immediately went down to the city wall and joined the gate guards led by Guard Sun, holding the gate firmly in place.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The sound of banging on the door was incessant, and everyone held on tightly to the door panel.

Inside the city gate, twenty third-rate martial artists stood in formation, along with a dozen or so unranked martial artists. On the other side, there were only a dozen or so bandits, who couldn't break through the three-foot-thick wooden door for a while.

Lin Ye was secretly relieved, but a sense of unease suddenly flashed through his mind: something was wrong.

Just then—

"Boom——!"

The sound of crossbow bolts firing echoed again from above the city wall, and someone could be faintly heard shouting, "There are still martial artists! There are still second-rate martial artists!"

Lin Ye suddenly realized that what he had felt was wrong was the reaction of that second-rate bandit.

He could have easily dodged the crossbow bolt aimed at him, since there was only one. However, he insisted on deflecting it with his sword, thus revealing his status as a second-rate martial artist.

It turns out he deliberately let the people on the city wall discover his strength!

Everyone already knew that the bandit leader, Lone Wolf, was a second-rate martial artist, and the three groups of bandits had only a dozen or so third-rate martial artists in total, which matched the number perfectly.

This could easily lead people to mistakenly believe that the bandit leader had led all the bandit warriors in a surprise attack on the city gate, thus making them feel safe to send down the third-rate warriors from the city wall to guard the gate.

In reality, only one second-rate martial artist may have been the one who launched the surprise attack on the city gate. The other second-rate experts did not show up at all. They were waiting for everyone to leave the city wall so that a small number of people could launch a surprise attack on the empty city wall!

The city wall is three zhang high, which is not easy for ordinary people to climb, but for second-rate martial artists, they can easily jump up after a few attempts by using the wall.

Now that all the third-rate warriors on the city wall have retreated, leaving only ordinary guards and archers, how can they possibly stop the real second-rate experts?

Just then, a scream came from the city wall, and everyone was about to go up to the city wall again to provide support.

Suddenly, a person floated down from the city wall.

Even though they were on the battlefield, the city gates around them were being smashed loudly by bandits outside.

But everyone still felt a sense of quietness in the air.

"A first-rate martial artist," Zhang Yuan, the head of the Zhang family, uttered.

Even a second-rate martial artist would need to use a kick to leap down from a three-zhang (approximately 10 meters) city wall, and the landing would be heavy.

Yet this person fell from the city wall like a feather, landing silently and without swaying. This was the "stepping on the void and soaring through the dust" skill possessed only by a first-rate martial artist, with profound internal energy and exquisite control over the toes.

He must be a first-rate martial artist.

No wonder the three groups of bandits were able to coexist peacefully and avoid fighting each other, and even launched attacks together in a seemingly chaotic manner.

The real killing move is never the overt swarming, but the "single strike to the throat" hidden in the shadows.