Zhu Jinghong was having a great time hunting, and the team surrounding him to "hunt" him was already in action.
The encirclement is getting smaller and smaller, and the nearest person is only a hundred steps away, which is already within the range of firecrackers and bows.
"Preach it again, the Zhu family boys, try to catch them alive!"
"yes!"
If Zhu Jinghong died, he would die. It would only make the emperor feel sad, but he would get no benefit at all. Instead, it would lead to a more brutal purge.
If he could be captured alive, he might be able to negotiate terms with the emperor, and it would be possible to get many benefits.
Even if the talks collapse by then, it will not be too late to kill Zhu Jinghong.
"Master Xiang, I heard that this Thirteenth Master is unparalleled in martial arts, riding and shooting. It may be difficult to capture him alive..."
Lu Jian didn't take it seriously and said, "Bullshit, how powerful can a young boy be? He must have been praised by people around him. Do you believe this?"
After everyone thought about it, they realized that it was true, so they didn’t say much more.
"Stop talking nonsense and prepare to obey orders!"
Everyone tried their best to get closer, and all kinds of weapons were ready, just waiting for the signal to come out.
"Woo..."
In this mountain forest, a trumpet sound suddenly sounded, which made all the guards very curious.
"Who is blowing the trumpet?" Zhu Jinghong muttered in his heart.
However, the next moment, only a few "bang bang" sounds were heard, and someone was shot and fell to the ground in an instant.
"Enemy attack, enemy attack..." Wang Jie shouted loudly, and then rushed towards Zhu Jinghong with his waist raised.
Just now, five shots were fired in succession. Unfortunately, the quality of the White Lotus Sect's firecrackers was too poor, but none of the shots could hit the target.
"Lower your body, lower your body..." Wang Jie continued to shout.
In fact, these martial arts disciples who can be selected as Dragon Guards and guard the prison have very flexible battlefield reactions.
As soon as Wang Jie finished speaking, everyone found a bunker and tried their best to get closer to Zhu Jinghong in the process.
There are many trees in the forest, so it is not difficult to hide people. The problem is that they are surrounded.
Zhu Jinghong hooked his waist and cursed: "Damn... you don't follow martial ethics, sneak attack!"
"Thirteenth Master, the thieves come prepared!" Wang Jie reminded loudly.
However, the next moment, Zhu Jinghong shot an arrow directly and heard screams in the distance.
Immediately afterwards, shouts came from the distance: "Everyone, be careful, use your shield to block your body, and slowly close it..."
There are more than a hundred people in the White Lotus Sect. As long as they attack steadily, it is very difficult to be driven away.
As the guards gathered together, arrows flew from all directions, which were more threatening than fire blunderbuss.
In just two rounds of volleys, two guards were hit by arrows, but fortunately none of them had any critical injuries.
"Drag the people back and use the trees to shoot the thieves!" Wang Jie commanded loudly.
At this critical moment, the commander described dispatch as a very valuable thing.
Although Zhu Jinghong is also calm, he is still not as professional as Wang Jie in this kind of specific command matters.
After the injured guard was dragged back, the other guards had found bunkers and then shot out with their bows and arrows.
Relatively speaking, their shooting skills are much better than those of the White Lotus cultists. The disadvantage is that they are hiding while others are hiding, so it is difficult to achieve results.
As the two sides were fighting, there was another burst of gunfire, but unfortunately the projectiles still didn't hit anyone.
Zhu Jinghong shot the third arrow, and three people had already died in his hands.
"Master Thirteen, we can't waste time with them. Once they gather together, we will have no escape!"
If they were wearing armor, they wouldn't be weak at all. It wouldn't be a big deal if they rushed out and confronted them.
However, they have no armor, so if they suggest breaking out at this time, they will be under great pressure.
But this is a no-brainer. If the White Lotus Sect's people gather in, their arrow density will be greater, making it more difficult to break through.
"We must break out of the encirclement as soon as possible..."
Zhu Jinghong did not resist and immediately said: "Break through the encirclement in the direction of travel!"
The horses were in the direction they came from, and Zhu Jinghong wanted to go back to get them.
But at this moment, the horses have been captured by the White Lotus Sect, and the guards responsible for looking after the horses have been killed.
Wang Jie advised: "Absolutely not, the sound of the gunfire is coming from the direction, Master Thirteen cannot take any risks!"
Although the fire blunderbuss has low accuracy, its lethality is unquestionable, much stronger than that of a bow and arrow. How could Wang Jie dare to let Zhu Jinghong return to danger?
Shooting another arrow, Zhu Jinghong said loudly: "Then break out to the east!"
"Walk!"
Perhaps it was because he had stimulated the blood in his body that Zhu Jinghong was not afraid at all at this moment, but instead was eager to try the next fight.
He threw away his bow and arrow, took out his saber from his waist, and ran away surrounded by his guards.
At this time, someone on the west side shouted: "They want to escape, bite them!"
This is to remind the ambush troops ahead to be prepared for close combat.
Of course, the White Lotus cultists who were clinging to the rear kept firing arrows while speeding up the chase, causing another guard to be hit.
Fortunately, the reloading time of the fire blunderbuss was slow, and it took more than a minute for these people to shoot once, so the threat was not that great.
Of course, this group of people were basically not very good at shooting arrows or muskets, and they relied on large numbers to maintain their advantage.
"kill……"
After running forty or fifty steps eastward, Zhu Jinghong and his party ran into the White Lotus cultists, and a fight was inevitable.
However, in close combat, even though the White Lotus Cult had a large number of people, they were still beaten to pieces in a hand-to-hand encounter.
Especially Zhu Jinghong, who was holding knives in both hands, rampaging like a wild beast, cutting down four or five people in a row in an instant.
"Thirteenth Master, don't be entangled... rush out!" Wang Jie reminded loudly.
At the same time, another rain of arrows struck, accompanied by the deafening sound of firecrackers.
Three more guards fell. Zhu Jinghong's eyes were splitting when he saw it, so he could only kill as many as possible.
Of the thirty guards on this trip, nine have been injured, one of whom is already dying.
"rush out!"
They had already broken through the defense line, supporting the injured and rushing forward quickly.
The guards are indeed the best among the martial arts disciples. Even in extremely unfavorable situations, everyone still cooperates tacitly.
Everyone helped the injured to escape, and someone else stretched his bow and shot an arrow. If Wang Jie hadn't pulled him away, Zhu Jinghong would have had to shoot a few more before leaving.
After escaping the encirclement, they were no longer facing enemies from both sides. The situation was relatively better, but the crisis was still not resolved.
"withdraw……"
The guards relied on the trees and cooperated with each other to fight and retreat. They generally withstood the offensive behind them. At least there were no new casualties so far.
However, their arrows were getting less and less, and they no longer dared to shoot at each other at will. They could only run faster and try to distance themselves from the White Lotus Sect.
About ten minutes later, the trees in front gradually became sparse because they had reached the edge of the forest.
"It will be even more detrimental to us if we go out without shelter!" Someone said in a panic.
Although there was some cover in the forest, it also gave the White Lotus Sect members a cover, allowing the guards to miss most of their arrows.
But choosing to escape from the forest and be directly exposed to the White Lotus Sect rebels is also an extremely difficult choice.
When Zhu Jinghong was making a difficult decision, he heard someone shouting from the outside: "There is a house ahead, maybe you can go inside and defend it!"
Hearing this, Zhu Jinghong hurriedly stepped forward and saw a large house in front of him. The towering walls were a good place for defense.
"Let's go... wherever we go!" Zhu Jinghong made the decision.
"Give me all the arrows and I will cut off the queen!"
"Master Thirteen..."
"Execute the order!" Zhu Jinghong yelled angrily.
His archery skills are the best here, and if you leave it to him, he can make effective use of the arrows.
At this moment, Zhu Jinghong showed his momentum. How could anyone dare to argue with him? They all handed over their arrows.
After gathering them, it was roughly estimated that there were twenty or thirty branches, which was completely enough for Zhu Jinghong.
Everyone ran out of the forest, but they heard the rapid sound of horse hooves behind them, which made Zhu Jinghong couldn't help but look back.
The White Lotus cultists came on horseback, riding the mounts they left behind.
"Hot horse!" Aiming at the person running at the front, Zhu Jinghong loosened his bowstring.
