Courtyard House: I Have Countless Bodyguards

"Form ranks! Fight to the death!"

Jian Yi's eyes showed no fear, only boiling killing intent and icy rationality.

He roared and instead of retreating, he took a step forward. The cleaver in his hand, already chipped, drew a sharp arc and instantly cleaved the three men in front of him.

He knew that with such a significant numerical disadvantage, turning to run away would only expose his back to the enemy and hasten his death.

Only by banding together and fighting to the death, relying on their superhuman physical abilities and tacit cooperation, can they possibly carve out a bloody path, or... hold out until reinforcements arrive.

The nine assassins behind him understood the same thing. Their circular formation suddenly contracted and then exploded like a hedgehog, instantly engulfing the first enemy who rushed at them with flashing swords.

Liang Guihe's smile froze slightly. He hadn't expected that the mere ten people on the other side, surrounded by enemy forces, would not only not be afraid, but would instead dare to take the initiative to fight back.

This courage and decisiveness sent a chill down his spine. But then, he was drawn to the bloody scene before him.

At the heart of the chaotic battle, Jian Yi truly resembled a human meat grinder.

His movements were so fast they almost left afterimages, and his strength was astonishing. Every slash he made was accompanied by bloodshed, limbs flying off, or enemies falling to the ground screaming in agony.

In just a few breaths, more than ten people fell down in front of him.

However, there were simply too many people at Lianghe Rice Shop.

As one fell, three or five immediately took their place. The blades formed an impenetrable forest of death, pressing down on the eleven figures from all directions.

Jianyi and his group's circular formation was being slowly but steadily compressed, and new wounds began to appear on each of them.

Seeing his men in front of him somewhat intimidated by Jian Yi and his men's fierce attacks, and their momentum slowing down, Liang Guihe was both anxious and furious. He jumped up and down, shouting hoarsely:

"What are you afraid of? There are only ten of them. We can drown them with just one spit from each of us. Listen up, spray them! Whoever kills one, I, Liang, will reward them with a thousand silver dollars on the spot. I will never go back on my word."

"One thousand yuan!"

In Kowloon Walled City during the 1950s, this number was enough to make many people risk their lives.

The thugs, who had initially been somewhat timid, suddenly turned red-eyed and began to breathe heavily.

The saying goes, "A great reward will surely bring forth brave men." Under the stimulus of money, fear is temporarily suppressed by greed.

"Kill them! Rob them!"

An even more frenzied and reckless crowd surged forward again, instantly escalating the intensity of the attack.

The battle entered its most brutal phase.

The corpses at Jian Yi's feet had piled up into a small circular slope, and blood soaked through his cloth shoes, making a sticky, teeth-grinding sound with every step he took.

More than twenty enemies have died by his blade.

His bare arms and calves were covered with deep and shallow cuts, some so deep that the bone was visible, but he seemed to feel no pain, his eyes only on the enemy's weapons and exposed vital points.

The assassins behind him had also reached their limit, and cracks appeared in the circular formation.

One of the assassins was a little slow in his movement to parry a knife slashing from the side for his comrade. He was hit hard on the shoulder blade by another iron ruler. The sound of bones breaking could be clearly heard. He groaned and half of his body collapsed, but he still held the knife tightly with his other hand and stabbed through the stomach of the enemy in front of him.

Another assassin had a long gash slashed open on his thigh by a cleaver, and blood was gushing out. He staggered and almost knelt down, but gritted his teeth and used the cleaver to support himself on the ground. He then slashed off half of the attacker's hand with his other hand.

The air was thick with an overwhelming stench of blood, sweat, and death.

Roars, screams, the clash of weapons, the slicing of flesh, and the breaking of bones intertwined to create a cruel symphony of death. The narrow street corner had become a living hell.

Time seemed to stretch out amidst the bloody battle.

As Jian Yi swung his sword and felled another enemy who tried to ambush him, he panted heavily and glanced at the scene out of the corner of his eye, his heart sinking suddenly.

Only three brothers remained who could stand by his side and fight alongside him.

Moreover, they were all wounded and covered in blood, as if they had been pulled out of a pool of blood.

He himself couldn't remember how many blows he had taken. His back and ribs burned with pain, but he was able to keep going thanks to his strong will and ten times the recovery power of his body.

However, their record was also terrifyingly impressive.

Centered around the four of them, within a fan-shaped area with a radius of five or six meters, lay no fewer than fifty corpses and seriously wounded, their crimson blood almost completely repainting the road surface.

Such heavy casualties finally brought the thugs of Lianghe Rice Shop, who had been driven mad by money, to their senses. The momentum of the attack weakened significantly again. Many people held knives and looked at the four figures in the middle who stood upright like blood demons. Their faces showed undisguised fear. They just stood around at a distance and dared not move forward easily.

"Useless, a bunch of useless trash."

Liang Guihe was so angry he jumped up and down. Seeing that the cooked duck was about to fly away, he could no longer care about anything else and screamed at the top of his lungs:

"Go! There are only four of them left, and they're all exhausted. Whoever kills them will be rewarded with two thousand, no, three thousand. He'll be made an official on the spot. From now on, he'll be in charge of all the gambling stalls on this street. Promotion and wealth are just around the corner, so get them!"

The bounty soared again, now enticed by the promise of power. The previously low morale was reignited, as if doused with boiling oil, burning even more fiercely than before.

"Three thousand dollars, for a straw sandal."

"Kill them."

Bloodthirsty thugs howled like wild beasts, brandishing knives and clubs, and surged forward once more like a tidal wave. This time, the attack was even more frenzied and utterly reckless.

Just as the four of them were in their final desperate situation, on the verge of being completely swallowed up by the crowd, Jianyi and his companions were in dire straits.

"Dragon Rising Gang! Xu Wenqiang is here! Anyone who stands in my way shall die!!"

A clear yet murderous howl, like the sound of tearing silk, suddenly exploded from the outer edge of the encirclement.

Immediately following were the dull thuds of sharp weapons piercing flesh and continuous screams of agony.

It was Xu Wenqiang. He led the last ten elite soldiers who remained at the branch, like divine soldiers descending from the sky, rushing out of a narrow alley, like a red-hot dagger, fiercely stabbing into the weakest part of the crowd at Lianghe Rice Shop.

Xu Wenqiang took the lead. Although he was not known for his absolute strength, he was agile and his knife skills were cunning and ruthless, specializing in attacking joints and vital points.

The ten men he brought were a fresh force, and the killing intent they had been holding back all night was now fully unleashed. They formed a sharp triangular assault formation, with Xu Wenqiang as the spearhead, and recklessly broke through inwards.

"Reinforcements! Our reinforcements have arrived!"

Covered in blood, Jian Yi's spirits soared. With a roar, his previously sluggish movements became swift again. Leading his three brothers, he charged desperately toward the direction from which Xu Wenqiang's voice came, like a caged beast released from its cage.