Bloodstone Slope

　　“Our men saw them very clearly. There are a total of twenty-three Black Armored Army troops!” The one-eyed man replied.

　　The Great Master stroked his bald head and squinted. Slowly, a smile began to spread across his cheeks. “Just twenty-three? Humph…… We will be able to drown them with just a spit from each of our brothers! However, to be able to enlist the help of the Black Armored Army, the target must have considerable influence. That’s right, tell me more details about the band of traders.”

　　The lean one-eyed man smirked. “Great Master, other than the protection of the Black Armored Army, they have also brought along approximately seventy to eighty guards. As for the goods……there are a total of ten full carts, each with several crates. At the same time, there are also two carriages, which should be occupied by rich merchant and women with tender skin.

　　The Great Master turned silent.

　　The lean man knew that, while their Great Master seemed crude, he was very meticulous. Right now, he was obviously thinking of a way to deal with the band of traders.

　　A few moments later……

　　“That seventy to eighty guards should be easy to deal with. Dispatch five hundred archers with two rounds of arrows, and we will be able to annihilate those guards!” The Great Master frowned. “The most troublesome issue is still the twenty-three men from the Black Armored Army! All of the men and horses are equipped with heavy armor that blades and swords are unable to penetrate. We will lose a lot of our brothers just to kill them.”

　　“No matter how strong they are, there are only twenty-three of them. We will have all sorts of means to deal with them.” The lean one-eyed man replied.

　　The Great Master looked at him disdainfully. “Of course I know that! There are plenty of ways to kill them, but remember, if we were to kill men from the Black Armored Army, we will need to kill all of them. There cannot be any survivors. Should we missed out on even a single one, our identities are revealed, and we will be in trouble when the Black Armored Army comes for their revenge!”

　　Since Gui Yuan Sect was located far away, it would be hard for them to trace the murderers if all of the soldiers from the Black Armored Army were annihilated.

　　But should there be any survivors, it would spell trouble. “The horses of the Black Armored Army are all exceptional horses! Did you have a good look at the color of the horses’ coats?” The Great Master asked.

　　Although the warhorses were equipped with heavy armor, it was still impossible to cover every inch of the horses’ bodies.

　　For instance, their ears, legs and tail!

　　These would reveal their hair color.

　　“I did not pay much heed at the time” The one-eyed man was embarrassed. He suddenly thought of something and exclaimed, “Oh, right, I remember that two of the horses have white hooves! Right, that was easy to recall.”

　　“They are Cyan Bristled Treading in Snow horses!” The Great Master nodded and continued, “Those are warhorses belonging to the centurions of the Black Armored Army! Seems like there should be at least two centurions this time. I wonder if there are lieutenant-ranked officers!”

　　“So what if there are lieutenants? They are only Postliminary Realm experts.” The one-eyed man commented.

　　“What do you know!” The Great Master bellowed. “A lieutenant himself is nothing, but his steed is a Crimson horse! With the speed of the Crimson horse, how can we stop the lieutenant if he tries to escape? Leaving him aside, only my Wind Chaser and myself would be able to catch up when the two Cyan Bristled Treading in Snow horses dash off. Among the rest of you, no one will be able to catch up to their speed!”

　　The Great Master rubbed his bald head and ordered, “Summon the Second Leader and his company!”

　　“Great Master, will we attack?” The eye of the one-eyed man gleamed.

　　“Of course! To enlist the help of the Black Armored Army and increase the numbers of guards that they have, these goods are well worth at least a few hundred thousand taels of silver.” The Great Master gave a frosty look. “I will make sure that he is unable to escape alive even if he has the Crimson horse!”

　　……

　　Dusk arrived.

　　The road was filled with the screams as well as the neighing of horses.

　　The two ten-men teams of the Black Armored Army rode on their warhorses. Assuming the form of two strong gusts of wind, they slaughtered the groups of bandits and mounted gangsters in a frenzy. The piercing spears penetrated into the bandits’ frail bodies. Once the warhorses of the Black Armored Army sprinted forwards, the troops need only lightly tap their spears in order to pierce through the bodies of the mounted gangsters with ease.

　　Teng Qingshan, Du Hong, and Teng Qinghu rode on their warhorses in the middle of the path.

　　Whenever they encountered mounted bandits dashing towards them, the three of them would easily kill them with a slight movement of their spears.

　　“These hundreds of mountain bandits actually dare to rob us. They are courting death!” Du Hong gave a cold smile.

　　“I reckon everyone won’t be able to enjoy the kill.” Teng Qingshan laughed. As a lieutenant, Teng Qingshan was well aware of how intimidating the men from the Black Armored Army were.

　　Every single cavalry member of the Black Armored Army resembled a moving fort. Regardless of whether it was a soldier or horse, they all donned heavy armor. In addition, even the horses of the regular troops were Black-Marked horses, which were worth a thousand taels of silver each. Amongst the mounted gangsters, usually only the leader would be able to ride a horse of this caliber.

　　The strength of the warhorses was high to begin with. In addition, every man from the Black Armored Army had the strength of over a thousand Jin, and quite a number of them also practiced Vigor of the Reckless Bull.

　　Furthermore, when the soldiers coordinated with each other, they were able to kill the mounted gangsters with the brutality of a meat grinder.

　　Over a hundred mounted gangsters were killed by the two ten-man teams’ numerous attacks. After seeing this, the remaining mounted gangsters ran for their lives!

　　“Sir Lieutenant, the other mounted gangsters have escaped!” The two ten-man team returned.

　　Reeking of blood, the warhorses and the cavalry members’ armor all stained with blood and mince meat. None of them had been injured after killing over a hundred enemies! This was the might of the Black Armored Army! The most intimidating troops within the Gui Yuan Sect!

　　“Okay, rinse your armors. We will continue our journey in a short while.” Teng Qingshan commanded.

　　“Yes, My Lord!”

　　All the men from the Black Armored Army started to rinse their heavy armor.

　　“How dare those mounted gangsters pick on us. They must not know what death is like.

　　I only managed to kill 11 of the mounted gangster by the time I finished warming up, but they all escaped.”

　　“Don’t be too smug. I only managed to kill 6. It was more advantageous for you since you were dashing in the vanguard.”

　　None of them gave the least bit of concern over the earlier battle and instead engaged in several arguments.

　　The other guards in the company were all overwhelmed and astonished by the Black Armored Army’s immense strength.

　　“Brother Qingshan.” Zhu Chongshi smiled as he walked over. “Those mounted gangsters must have thought that you guys were regular cavalry and did not recognise you as the Black Armored Army. Haha……if they did, they wouldn’t dare attempt to seize our goods from us in such small numbers.”

　　“Yes.” Teng Qingshan nodded in agreement. “Xu County is over a thousand Li away from our Jiangning County. It wouldn’t be strange for these mounted gangsters to not recognise us as the Black Armored Army. By the way, Brother Zhu, the sky has already grown dark. The Fan Wu City in Xu County is just right in front. Let’s hurry on our way so that we can enter the city and stay in a better inn for the night.”

　　“Haha. Having camped in the wilderness for the past few days, it was hard to have a proper shower. I stink of sweat in this scorching summer, so I will take advantage of this upcoming opportunity and take a good bath today.” Zhu Chongshi replied with a smile.

　　Cities were generally about two to three hundred Li apart, and some were separated by even greater distances.

　　Considering that they were crossing over a hundred Li a day, naturally they had to camp in the wilderness most of the time. Of course, there may be a few inns along the official roads. However, most of the inns in the wilderness were not in good condition.

　　After a good night rest in the city, they would continue their journey once they finished eating breakfast!

　　……

　　“Master, according to the map, the Bloodstone Slope is just five Li in front of us! Also, there is a distance of close to two whole Zhang between the top and and bottom of the Bloodstone Slope! With such a long distance, even if there were a large number of mounted gangsters lying in ambush at the bottom of the slope, we won’t be able to see them! This is a spot where mounted gangsters frequently lie in ambush. We will need to be careful.” Old Wu reminded.

　　A guard at the side smiled. “Old Wu, don’t worry. Everyone is aware that mounted gangsters frequently lie in ambush in this area, so we’ve already made preparations. Even if there are mounted gangsters planning to attack us, it is unlikely that they will choose that spot.”

　　“All of reality is an illusion. Everything that we consider to be an illusion, on the other hand, is actually real.” Zhu Chongshi threw a sideward glance at the guard beside him. “Since there are frequent ambushes by mounted gangsters at this Bloodstone Slope, it goes to show that the place is suitable for planning surprise attacks! Since it is suitable, the mounted gangsters will definitely choose it!” Zhu Chongshi looked towards Teng Qingshan and called out to him, “Brother Teng, there are still five Li before we reach the Bloodstone Slope. We will need to be more careful.”

　　“Brother Zhu, please be assured. We are at the front. Even if there are mounted gangsters, we will fend them off!” Teng Qingshan laughed.

　　……

　　An impressive number of mounted gangsters gathered at the foot of the Bloodstone Slope. The unique thing, however, was that only some of them rode horses.

　　“When they arrive, just follow as I ordered, understood?” The Great Master looked at the men around him.

　　“Big Brother, relax, we have so many men.Also, your plan is flawless. Haha…… None of them can escape from our grasp!” The leaders around him all laughed. “We already have three thousand brothers here. Just numbers alone is sufficient for us to bury them underneath our men’s onslaught.”

　　……

　　Teng Qingshan rode right at the front of the company. At this moment, they were just one Li away from Bloodstone Slope.

　　“Hmm?” Teng Qingshan propped his ears.

　　Teng Qingshan’s body, whether it was his physique, organs, six senses, agility and such, had already reached its limits in every possible aspect. Even if the three thousand mounted gangsters at the foot of the slope remained silent, they would still create a ruckus detectable by Teng Qingshan.

　　“There’s people. And in huge numbers!” Teng Qingshan focused his hearing.

　　“Stop!” Teng Qingshan raised his hands to halt the company.

　　“What’s wrong, Brother Qingshan?” Zhu Chongshi walked over. Normal people would not be able to hear anything since the three thousand men one Li away had remained completely silent.

　　“Brother Zhu, there are definitely mounted gangsters laying in ambush at the foot of Bloodstone Slope. I cannot confirm the number of gangsters, but they are definitely numerous. But……For safety reasons, it’s better for us to take a detour.” Teng Qingshan replied.

　　“Detour?” Zhu Chongshi frowned.

　　If they took a detour, they would need to travel another three hundred Li or so, which would delay their journey by three additional days.

　　“There are too many mounted gangsters. We will not be able to protect you all while fending off the enemies.” Teng Qingshan pointed out. The reason why they were not able to send someone forward to scout was because…… Since they we one Li away, the gangsters might not find out if Zhu Chongshi’s company turned back right now. But should they send a scout, they would definitely reveal their presence to the other party.

　　Zhu Chongshi turned back to look at the carts before nodding, “Well then, let’s take a detour!” At Zhu Chongshi’s immediate commands, the whole company obeyed and turned around to take a detour.

　　But……

　　The band of mounted gangsters had long since set their eyes on Teng Qingshan and the company. They had sent quite a few scouts to prevent the company from escaping.

　　“Swoosh!” The sound of a flying arrow pierced through the sky.

　　“Haha, everyone, I would recommend you to stay here!” A thunderous laughter came from far away, resounding in midair. A majestic number of men appeared from the foot of the Bloodstone slope. “I would advise you to stay here since two thousand of my men are waiting for you less than ten Li away. You have no means to escape!”