Three days later.
The weather is sunny, with blue sky and white clouds, and a gentle breeze.
Zhong Yan and Yu Qingyao left the mansion, rode out of the city from the north gate, and met on a flat ground two miles outside the city to join the bandit-suppression team.
Su Yunxi, who was at the peak of the second level of Qi Refining, stayed behind in the mansion. Gu Baiyu and Wen Yongshan, who were on the third level of Qi Refining, participated as a training experience.
In addition to the dozens of innate and acquired warriors selected by the Zhongfu Martial Arts Hall, ten Xiantian realm warriors were also transferred from the Li Mansion, for a total of fifty people.
In addition, the two hundred army sergeants dispatched by the city lord's palace are all in the Houtian realm.
"Master Zhong! Master Yu Xian!"
Hou Mingjue, who was at the sixth level of Xiantian martial arts and was wearing silver armor, quickly came forward to greet him, smiling and clasping his fists in greeting.
"General, please wait."
Zhong Yan smiled and held his hands.
When Xue Shanhu was defeated, because the other party had been guarding outside the Zhong Mansion, the two sides formed a good friendship, which was regarded as Zhong Yanan's half-eye liner at Qin Ben's side.
Hou Mingjue smiled and said: "According to the report, everything is normal. The Xiaobaifeng bandits have been living in the mountains recently and have not been out."
Zhong Yan nodded and glanced at the soldiers who were lined up neatly not far away. They were all wearing armor, fully armed, and imposing.
Each sergeant wears a small crossbow on his waist.
Different from ordinary arrow crossbows, these powerful crossbows are engraved with complicated runes on their bodies - they are the standard weapons of the imperial court and are banned among the people, so they are called rune crossbows.
The talisman crossbow is made by a weapon refiner. It has a spiritual tank inside and is filled with spiritual stones. With the help of spells, it can be activated by mortals. It has strong lethality and can easily break through the defense of monks.
Monks who own magic weapons naturally look down on standard weapons with runes inscribed on them, such as talisman crossbows.
But it is difficult for ordinary warriors to use it, and it can only be bought at a high price on the black market.
Even the official army was small in number.
For example, in Qingyang City, Zhong Yan speculated from the information he received that there were no more than three thousand pairs, but if it were the imperial guards of the capital, they would naturally have one, including halberds and other weapons, all of which were talismans inscribed with runes.
It can be seen that Qin Ben showed enough sincerity in this suppression of bandits.
Like ordinary monks from the Keqing Mansion who go out to eliminate demons, they only send ordinary sergeants to cooperate.
Zhong Yan handed over the talismans for mortals that he had refined in the past few days to Yan Sandao and Zhou Yunning, and asked them to distribute them to many warriors.
After a little preparation, we started marching, but we were not satisfied with the speed.
Zhong Fu and others rode ahead. Zhong Yan looked around and asked, "Have you ever killed anyone?"
Obviously, the question was about Gu Baiyu and Wen Yongshan. Yu Qingyao, Yan Sandao, and Zhou Yunning had all fought with Zhong Yan.
The two looked at each other, and Gu Baiyu said simply and clearly: "Yes."
Although her cultivation level is low, she has killed more than one monk on one hand. If Zhong Yan knew the details, he would definitely take another look.
Zhong Yan once ordered Yang Liu'er to send someone to investigate her hometown and obtain some basic information to confirm that she was not lying.
As for her experience of venturing out after leaving her hometown, there is no way of knowing.
But a little girl who has come this far alone must have suffered a lot.
Wen Yongshan is a native of Youye. Her eyes are gleaming light blue and she is very charming. She has a slim figure and wears a black outfit that shows off her slender curves.
After arriving at the Zhong Mansion, his cowardly character, which had been suppressed and restrained, was gradually released, becoming frank and lively.
She smiled and said: "Not yet. I have killed two first-order monsters during my training, but I have seen killing scenes, so I shouldn't be nervous."
After a pause, she then asked with a smile: "Husband, where are you?"
"me……"
Zhong Yan smiled and did not continue.
However, he remembered very clearly that when he traveled through the Xianwu Continent, he killed thirty-nine people, nine mortals, and the rest were monks.
Among the monks, Huoyun Sect disciples accounted for half.
If we include those who died because of themselves without taking action personally, then there are countless people. There are hundreds of Xue Mansion warriors who once flourished in Qingyang City.
Yan Sandao asked: "Husband, do you have a plan to suppress the bandits this time?"
Zhong Yan said domineeringly: "No, just attack directly."
They are just four ordinary casual cultivators, reaching the peak of the seventh level of Qi refining.
He was confident in his fighting power, possessing the 'Great Void Technique' and having a large number of talismans at his side. He could kill four people by himself without Yu Qingyao's help.
Ugly early in the morning.
The group approached Mayao Village, the village closest to Xiaobai Peak.
He did not enter the village to disturb the people, but stopped outside to rest and eat.
Zhong Yan and Hou Mingjue discussed the plan. Zhong Mansion was responsible for going up the mountain to kill the bandits, and two hundred sergeants surrounded and guarded the intersection down the mountain.
Hou Mingjue hesitated and said: "The terrain of Xiaobai Peak is steep, with cliffs on three sides. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Except for the road up the mountain, there is a steep cliff ladder at the back. Just assign fifty people to each. The remaining people will follow you up the mountain. Yes. Isn’t it safer?”
Zhong Yan looked arrogant, "No need, Zhong Mansion can handle it on its own! When the time comes, there will be soldiers cleaning the battlefield, so you can't go in vain."
For him, this is not only a task to accumulate merit, but also an opportunity for his subordinates to gain experience.
Death is inevitable, and only through bloody killing can one grow quickly and become a truly strong man.
"This..." Hou Mingjue hesitated for a moment and said, "That's okay. If there is an emergency, the Master can call you at any time."
Half an hour later.
Everyone rushed towards Xiaobai Peak at night and arrived before Chenshi.
The sky was just bright and foggy.
I saw undulating mountains ahead, and on a high mountain in the middle, there were vague houses built of wood and stone, randomly scattered, with sporadic lights dim.
The muscular Yan Sandao sneaked back and nodded, indicating that the secret whistle had been dealt with.
I waited for about a stick of incense.
Hou Mingjue came over and said: "Master Zhong, the back cliff is guarded, and Mrs. Zhou has led the team to climb up."
Zhong Yan nodded and waved his hand forward.
Warriors in powerful attire rushed in from all directions.
Yu Qingyao threw out the 'Qingyun Sword' and faced the wind, carrying the three monks Zhong Yan and Yan Sandao into the air and headed straight for the most conspicuous stone palace.
Not long after, the shouts of killing suddenly started.
The bandits who were attacked by surprise were caught off guard and rushed to meet the enemy. In one encounter, more than ten people were slaughtered.
High in the sky.
Yan Sandao had affixed a light body talisman on his body, activated it by chanting the spell, and saw a bandit warrior below resisting three of his own warriors, and jumped directly from a height of more than 20 meters.
Turning around in the air, she first slashed away with her sword, and then she held the plain sword in both hands and slashed vertically with the force of Mount Tai.
Swords and axes clashed.
Bang~Boom!
The force was so powerful that the bandit who was blocking with his ax was crushed until his calf fell to the ground.
Wen Yongshan's eyes flashed brightly, and she couldn't help but say: "Sister San Dao is so fierce!"
Zhong Yan glanced at it, released his spiritual consciousness to scan, and quickly determined the target. Four monks were in the stone hall in front, and they rushed out after hearing the movement.
The leading seventh-level peak monk was a middle-aged man with a big face. His face changed drastically and he blurted out: "Zhong Yan!"
Qingyang City's retinue mage has a reputation as a 'fierce ape', and there are very few casual cultivators in the Qingyang area who don't recognize him.
"Master Zhong, why is this? Liang thinks he has never offended you!"
But Zhong Yan didn't recognize the four people waiting in front, and said with a leisurely smile: "You bandits, burning, killing, looting, are punishable. Now I have been ordered by the emperor of the capital to go up the mountain to suppress the bandits. If Taoist friend Liang knows this, he will take the blame. Maybe Zhong can still find a way out for you."
Bandit Leader Liang's eyes flickered as he scanned the battles below and determined that there were only four monks in the air. After secretly communicating with his three companions, he snorted coldly.
"Just the four of you, I'm afraid it's not enough!"
…
