The Thief Prince

Suddenly, a dark figure sprang up from the roadside, and Li Bao crashed straight into the side of the jade lion like a small mountain.

The jade lion let out a mournful cry and staggered to its side.

No matter how skilled Zhao Qianshan was at riding, he couldn't withstand the sudden collapse of his mount, and he was thrown off.

The cavalry chasing behind them were too close. When the one in front fell, the one behind couldn't stop and they all crashed into each other.

Three or four riders rolled on the ground, their legs broken, their hands and feet crushed, and the neighing and howling of the horses filled the air.

Zhao Qianshan threw away his spear in mid-air, covered his head with his hands, rolled twice on the ground to dissipate the momentum, and then stood up.

After all, it was a galloping horse, and Li Bao was also injured at the moment. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and still wanted to go forward to fight.

Li Zheng's heart leaped into his throat, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Li Bao! Come back!"

He shouted as he charged back with his knife.

Without saying a word, Cao Su, who was standing beside him, picked up his broadsword and went to meet them.

Li Zheng ran to Li Bao's side and saw that although he was dazed and confused from the fall, he could still move, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

At this moment, Cao Su had already met up with Zhao Qianshan.

He raised his broadsword high and brought it down with a whoosh, as if he were about to split Mount Hua in two.

Zhao Qianshan drew his waist knife from his waist and casually parried the attack.

With just one slash, Cao Su felt his hands go numb.

The second cut followed, and blood gushed from the tiger's mouth.

After the third strike, Cao Su was terrified. He felt as if he could no longer hold the knife and had no confidence in catching the next strike.

He quickly took two steps back, pretending to run away, but his right hand secretly reached for the iron mace at his waist.

This was Cao Su's ultimate move, known as his "secret weapon".

He had used this move no less than twenty times in the Northwest Frontier Army, and each time it killed the enemy with a single blow, making the Xia bandits tremble with fear at the sight of his mace.

Seeing that Zhao Qianshan was indeed chasing after him with a knife, Cao Su was overjoyed. He suddenly turned around and smashed his iron mace towards Zhao Qianshan's crown.

The mace whistled through the air, heading straight for Zhao Qianshan's head.

Cao Su was secretly delighted, thinking he had hit the mark.

But the iron mace remained suspended in mid-air, unable to fall down no matter what it did.

Cao Su looked closely and was almost scared out of his wits.

Zhao Qianshan was seen gripping the mace with one hand.

The iron mace handle was held firmly in his five fingers and did not budge!

"Useless trick!" Zhao Qianshan sneered, his five fingers suddenly exerting force, his muscles bulging.

With a sickeningly loud sound, the iron mace, forged from wrought iron, was snapped in two, the iron shavings curling up at the break.

Before Cao Su could even react in shock, Zhao Qianshan had already clenched his fist and lunged forward, punching him in the stomach.

Cao Su suddenly felt his internal organs turn inside out, coughed up blood, staggered back seven or eight steps, and collapsed to the ground unconscious.

He heard the cries of his wife and children behind him, and suddenly felt his vision go black, thinking to himself that his life was over.

Just then, Li Zheng arrived.

He leaped high into the air, and with a swift movement of his blade, unleashed a three-hit combo!

One slash cuts the neck, another cleaves the shoulder, and a third sweeps across the waist and ribs; the three blades flash in a straight line.

Zhao Qianshan parried the three blows with his sword, effortlessly receiving them all. He nodded slightly and said, "Your martial arts have improved a lot; you're more daring in battle than before."

Li Zheng didn't answer, but gritted his teeth and continued his attack.

Zhao Qianshan suddenly switched from defense to offense, slashing his waist knife upwards.

In the instant the two swords clashed, Li Zheng felt a tremendous force surge from the hilts of the swords, causing his entire arm to ache and go numb.

With a sudden release of his grip, the knife slipped from his hand and flew away in a spinning motion.

He was deeply shaken, finally understanding the fear that came from the body's instincts.

The Great Zhou's number one warrior truly lived up to his name; this was the first time since he transmigrated that he had encountered an opponent he had absolutely no hope of defeating.

Just then, Yan Yun arrived with his crossbowmen: "Brother, let's go!"

Seven or eight crossbow bolts came flying at him, and Zhao Qianshan had no choice but to sheathe his sword and parry them, knocking the bolts away with a clang.

Taking advantage of the opening, Li Zheng grabbed Cao Su with one hand and Li Bao's arm with the other, shouting sharply, "Let's go!"

Yan Yun and Tang Meng rushed forward and helped Cao Su and Li Bao up. The group scrambled back.

Halfway back, Li Zheng caught a glimpse of the tiger-headed wolf-tooth spear that Zhao Qianshan had just thrown down and hadn't had time to pick up yet.

On a whim, he bent down, grabbed it, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and ran.

Zhao Qianshan deflected the last crossbow bolt and saw Li Zheng carrying his long spear, running at breakneck speed. He immediately flew into a rage: "Stop!"

That long spear had quite a history, and he cherished it very much; how could he possibly throw it away?

What's more, it was Li Zheng who took it away.

However, Li Zheng and the others ignored him and wished their parents had more legs, so they ran even faster.

At this moment, Li Da had already arrived with his archers. Seeing Zhao Qianshan's furious expression, he quickly asked, "Is the Commander alright?"

Zhao Qianshan ignored him and pointed at Li Zheng and the others ahead, ordering, "Chase them! Chase them!"

Li Da dared not delay and immediately ordered his men to give chase.

The pursuers behind them grew larger and larger, their footsteps and hooves blending together.

As Li Zheng ran, he glanced back and happened to see a henchman carrying a bulging bundle on his back, which contained loose silver coins that had just been searched from the Zhang family's accounting office.

A plan suddenly came to mind.

He ripped off the bundle, grabbed it, and flung it around, scattering gleaming silver coins all over the street like a shower of flowers.

Li Zheng laughed and shouted, "Brothers! Here comes your brother Li Zheng's reward!"

Zhao Qianshan's cavalrymen were disciplined and ignored the silver on the ground.

But the archers that Li Da brought were all militiamen transferred from various places. They were usually penalized even for their military pay, so they had never seen silver flying everywhere.

No matter how Zhao Qianshan shouted from behind, they threw down their bows and rushed forward to grab them, fighting and crawling all over the place, blocking the street completely.

Fearing they might collide with them, the cavalrymen had no choice but to rein in their horses and stop.

Zhao Qianshan stood behind the crowd, watching the archers scrambling for the silver, his face ashen but helpless.

Taking advantage of this time, Li Zheng and his group ran all the way and finally arrived at the city gate.

As soon as we arrived at the city gate, we heard the sound of horses' hooves in the distance.

However, Wu Anqing returned from outside the city with seven or eight riders, and behind him were more than twenty horses with empty saddles.

It turned out that after Wu Anqing captured the city gate, he saw that Li Zheng had not arrived for a long time and knew that things were not good.

So he simply went out of the city, retrieved the hidden horses, and came back to meet them.

Li Zheng was overjoyed at the sight. He took a rein and mounted the horse, then had Cao Su and Li Bao helped onto their horses as well.

The group spurred their horses and disappeared into the wilderness outside the city gates.

When Zhao Qianshan found another horse and arrived at the city gate, he could only see the backs of Li Zheng and the others in the distance.

Li Da, standing beside him, tentatively asked, "Lord Yu, the thieves have escaped. What do you think...?"

Zhao Qianshan's face turned ashen: "You don't need to worry about the rest. Send your men back."

He then turned to his cavalrymen and said, "Go, gather all the brothers, and follow me!"

After saying that, he spurred his horse and chased after the dust left behind by Li Zheng and the others.