Chapter 159: Night Counterattack
Zhao Xuanding, Diao Hongyan, Jin Ba, and Yu He were filled with killing intent.
These defenders, knowing they were doomed, yet still fighting, their eyes filled with a desperate hope, it disgusted them.
What were they hoping for?
“Attack!” Diao Hongyan barked.
The Hanyang Gang forces surged forward, like a tidal wave crashing against a crumbling dam, about to sweep everything away.
Yet, an unseen force held the defenders together, their resistance fierce and unwavering.
Zhao Xuanding’s poisonous palm strikes felled a dozen men.
The small, disheveled woman unleashed a swarm of insects, and over twenty men collapsed, screaming, clutching their heads.
Zhao Xuanding snorted and charged towards her, his body enveloped in a poisonous aura.
The woman, wielding her hook, dodged his attacks, her movements swift and unpredictable.
Their fight was a whirlwind of motion, too fast for others to intervene, Zhao Xuanding’s poisonous palm strikes sending waves of toxic gas outwards.
The woman’s hook, like a living thing, darted and weaved, aiming for his vulnerable spots: his arms, his legs, his head.
Although the four women from Wu Village had used their Gu insects to kill several enemies, their own martial arts skills were limited.
Caught in the chaos, they struggled to defend themselves, forced to retreat.
Du Yuejiao, using the Illusory Moon Movement Technique, her figure flickering and elusive, darted through the enemy ranks, killing two before retreating, her movements like lightning.
Her unpredictable attacks had claimed several lives.
Suddenly, a blade light flashed from above, aiming for her.
Du Yuejiao, retreating, parried the attack with three swift sword strikes.
Her arm went numb from the impact.
“Not bad, girl,” a sinister voice chuckled from above.
Yu He, diving down like a hawk, his attacks relentless, forced her back.
Du Yuejiao, her movements graceful and fluid, like a willow branch in the wind, her sword a blur, although on the defensive, managed to evade his attacks.
The Evil Lotus Sect, once the most powerful demonic sect, had weakened after splitting into three factions.
But now, Du Yuejiao, cultivating the Illusory Moon Demonic Flame Technique and its corresponding movement and sword techniques, was a formidable opponent.
Yu He, realizing he couldn’t easily defeat a mere low-rank girl, his pride wounded, roared, “Die, brat!” He swooped down, his hands transformed into claws, unleashing a flurry of attacks.
Du Yuejiao, although her swordsmanship was impressive, was outmatched in terms of power, forced to retreat, sweat dripping from her brow.
Others tried to help her, but the enemy’s numbers were too great, their attacks relentless, preventing anyone from reaching her.
“Your time is up, girl!” Yu He sneered, breaking through her defenses, his claw aimed at her throat.
He had no mercy, even for a beautiful girl.
As one of the Hanyang Three Fiends, he had committed countless atrocities, kidnapping and torturing young women before discarding their bodies.
But this was a battlefield. Even a lion used its full strength against a rabbit.
Showing mercy, or succumbing to lust in the middle of a battle, was a fool’s errand.
Du Yuejiao saw his claws flashing before her eyes, the deadliest strike aimed at her throat, but surrounded by his attacks, she had nowhere to dodge.
Against a mid-rank expert like Yu He, capable of projecting his energy, every feint had to be treated as a real attack.
Trapped, she gritted her teeth and spun her sword, creating a protective circle.
She deflected the fatal blow and most of the other attacks, dodging the remaining few with her nimble footwork.
But two claws, unavoidable, reached for her shoulders, about to pierce her flesh.
A flash of light, and Yu He cried out, clutching his shoulder, a sword protruding from it.
A surge of energy exploded outwards.
Yu He stumbled backwards, looking at the wound on his shoulder, his face contorted in rage.
Another girl, flipping through the air, landed behind Du Yuejiao, sighing in relief.
“Where were you?” Du Yuejiao wanted to glare at her, but she had just saved her life, so she softened her tone, although her voice was still laced with annoyance.
Xu Xiaoyan chuckled, “Just taking a walk.” She glanced at Yu He, his face dark with fury, and thought, Too bad.
Her surprise attack, although successful, had only caused a minor injury, not enough to incapacitate him.
Gong Muhong, Daoist Chuan, and Hou Bomin, however, were facing even greater pressure.
They were fighting Diao Hongyan, the strongest of the Hanyang Three Fiends, and Jin Ba, whose brute strength was overwhelming.
Even on the defensive, they were struggling, constantly on the verge of death.
Those struck by Jin Ba’s spiked club were mangled beyond recognition.
Diao Hongyan wielded a heavy iron sword, each strike carrying immense force, difficult to deflect.
Fortunately, the narrow mountain path prevented the larger Hanyang Gang forces from surrounding them completely.
But some of the more agile Hanyang Gang members were climbing the cliffs and attacking from above.
With every attack, the defenders were forced to retreat, leaving more bodies behind.
Each fallen comrade filled Gong Muhong with rage and despair.
Finally, they reached the back of the mountain, the women and children watching them with fear and helplessness in their eyes.
The Hanyang Gang members were closing in from the sides, trapping them… a net from which there was no escape.
Death loomed, like a closing swamp, dragging them down into its depths.
“They’re here,” Hou Bomin suddenly said, looking up.
Daoist Chuan, after killing another attacker with a swift sword thrust, sighed in relief, “They’re here.”
Gong Muhong, his body covered in blood and wounds, his gaze fixed on the distant flames, tears welling up in his eyes, whispered, “They’re here.”
Flaming arrows arced through the sky, followed by a wave of warriors, their battle cries echoing, their blades flashing, like a beacon of hope in the darkness.
A surge of emotion, a mixture of relief and gratitude, filled them… They had finally arrived.
“Shennong Village?” Zhao Xuanding, deflecting a woman’s attack with a poisonous palm strike, looked back and frowned.
He hadn’t expected them to come, especially after the events at Shennong Village earlier that day.
And it wasn’t just Shennong Village. Azure Dragon City, Goupan Village, Yinping Village, Jiming Village… Martial artists from all the villages, united, charged towards them.
The Hanyang Gang, now attacked from both sides, were caught off guard.
The Gong family, their spirits lifted, fought with renewed ferocity.
“Who’s that?” Diao Hongyan, landing beside him, asked, looking towards the newcomers.
Zhao Xuanding, seeing the small woman with the hook retreat, turned, his eyes following Diao Hongyan’s gaze, while also maintaining his guard.
They saw a young man in a blue Daoist robe, a sword in his hand, advancing steadily.
His swordsmanship was simple and direct, yet each strike was precise and powerful, his every step forward marked by a fallen enemy.
Although surrounded by so many people, he was clearly their leader, his presence uniting them, transforming a disorganized rabble into a powerful force.
“That’s Shi Chongyun,” Zhao Xuanding said coldly, “He’s young, but dangerous. He has the potential to surpass even us. We have to eliminate him.”
Diao Hongyan’s expression changed.
Zhao Xuanding, the Canyon Stabilizer, wasn’t one for exaggeration.
If he said this young man had to be eliminated, then it had to be done… He was a future threat.
Diao Hongyan gripped his heavy sword, but he knew this wasn’t the time to attack.
The Gong family and the Wudang Monastery disciples, although exhausted, were still fighting fiercely, their resistance unexpectedly strong.
And the newly arrived reinforcements from Shennong Village and the other villages were full of energy and fighting spirit.
Their momentum had shifted. Continuing this fight would be costly.
Diao Hongyan glared at Shi Chongyun and shouted, “Retreat!”
The Hanyang Gang forces, demoralized and outnumbered, began to withdraw… They had underestimated their opponents.
Abandoning those still entangled with the Shennong Village warriors, they fled down the mountainside.
Those left behind, panicked, turned and ran, those too slow becoming corpses.
“Kill them!” Gong Muhong roared, his sword flashing.
United and invigorated, they pursued the fleeing Hanyang Gang members, cutting them down, those who stumbled or fell quickly dispatched. Some, in their desperation, even jumped from the cliffs.
“Brother Gong, we’re here!” He Guangtao and Zhao Peng, leading the reinforcements, joined Gong Muhong.
Gong Muhong whispered, “Thank you.”
“Thank Shi Chongyun,” He Guangtao said, looking back, “If he hadn’t persuaded Shennong Village, our help would have been too late.”
Gong Muhong nodded and walked towards Shi Chongyun, joining him as he watched the fleeing figures below.
It was late into the night. The fires were still burning, the scent of blood lingering in the air.
The moon, not as bright as in previous nights, hung in the sky, its light mingling with the flickering torches and the distant stars.
“Thank you,” Gong Muhong said, his voice hoarse, tears welling up in his eyes.
The young man in the blue robe slowly sheathed his sword, his gaze sharp and distant, “And I thank you… for believing in me.”
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