Two steep canyons, flanked by mountains, stood five miles away from Qingliang Villa, looking a little desolate and lonely. At that time, it was early morning, and a golden sunrise slowly rose from the mountains, with a red glow. The rays of sunlight shine brightly in the deep and empty canyon, covering this already very narrow canyon with a colorful coat.
At this moment, the black mist on the horizon carries countless shadows. Sometimes the clouds roll and relax, and sometimes they rise and fall one after another. The vast expanse of extremely dull darkness is like a huge curtain, covering up the sky and suppressing the sun. The blooming spring flowers and trees cover up the bright green of the lawn and the clear and clear water of the Yudai River.
The black mist dispersed, and sand and dust rose up, sweeping over half of the mountain. After the sand and dust raged, they were replaced by the rumble of horse hooves, shouts as long as gongs, and bursts of violent violence. The roars and curses made the earth tremble.
The sound of hooves, the howling, the roaring.
Gloomy, dark.
The earth-shattering sound, accompanied by the gray and yellow "smoke and dust," rolled in, stretching from Qingliang Villa to the banks of the Yudai River, until it enveloped the entire hill, startling a group of birds in the forest; and everything that happened here, no matter it was The thunderous sound of horse hooves and the rising gravel all hit the eyes and ears of the young man in white at almost the same moment.
Xiao Changling stood in the middle of the lawn, his body tall and straight, facing the Grand Canyon several miles away, with his back to the gentle Yudai River. He was like a majestic god of war, concentrating his energy on his whole body and remaining unmoving. ; He was dressed in white, his eyes were cold and serious, and his brows contained fierce murderous aura and killing intent. Even the "Chengying" sword in his hand was shining with sword light.
The red morning glow, as bright as fire, shone on that handsome and jade-like face, further highlighting Xiao Changling's already extremely cold expression.
Xie Wanxin was standing behind Xiao Changling at this time, without saying a word. All she saw was that her beautiful and graceful face had long lost its previous softness, which was as light as a crescent moon. Instead, her face was full of gloom and sadness, and the beauty was tranquil. On her cheeks, like a hibiscus sprouting from water, a touch of sad snow color was added frequently. The girl's budding nature could not be seen, only gloomy and gloomy.
From when Xiao Changling protected him behind him just now, to when he cut off flying arrows with a sword, and now, he is alone in white clothes and holding a sword, blocking himself and everyone else, staring coldly into the distance; in this During the process, Xie Wanxin never said a word, she just stood silently behind the man. She was not at all like a delicate golden branch, and seemed to transcend her age and status.
However, although her eyes are beautiful and touching, they cannot deceive anyone. Only the people closest to her can see some strange emotions, including shock, in those tender eyes. Horror, worry, and a hint of uneasiness... After all, Xie Wanxin is not a handsome and talented woman like Xiao Yingxue. She is a gentle and talented woman. From the day she was born, the things she has been exposed to are nothing more than playing music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and singing. , female embroidery, tea ceremony flower arrangement, etc. She has never encountered such an incident like today before, and it is inevitable to be surprised, but she is not afraid, and all she can do now is to talk to her girlfriend. Her close friends stood quietly behind Xiao Changling, because she firmly believed that King Ren Cheng, who had experienced hundreds of battles, would protect everyone safe and sound.
Staring at the increasingly thick smoke in the distance, Xiao Changling's face was already as cold as a knife, and the two frightening spear lights in his eyes were accompanied by a soul-eating chill, just like two murderous swords, and he The blade of the sword "Chengying" in his hand formed a beam of cold moonlight.
"It's a horse bandit."
Xiao Changling's ears were filled with wind. He could hear the sound of horse hooves in front of him, which was rapid but not neat. The shouts and roars were violent but not high-pitched, but rather chaotic. It was obvious that he had not undergone strict training; Entering the military camp, Xiao Changling keenly judged with the intuition of a young man going to the battlefield that the oncoming cavalry was definitely not from the army, but a group of horse bandits who committed murder and swindled goods.
In an instant, there was chaos on both sides of the Yudai River. The laughter and laughter of the boys and girls just now disappeared in an instant, and there were waves of exclamations, as if their souls had been lost.
Xiao Changling looked back and looked at the chaotic crowd behind him. His gaze was like an arrow, as if it was going to shoot straight into the hearts of everyone, drinking blood. Suddenly, Xiao Changling's gentle face seemed to be covered with a layer of coldness. In the frosty snow, he faced behind him, faced the panicked crowd, spoke loudly, and shouted something indifferently.
"Everyone, don't mess up!"
Sure enough, as soon as the commander-in-chief of the 70,000-strong Peking University Camp opened his mouth, the air on the lawn couldn't help but buzz with vibrations. As expected, the moment the words fell, the originally chaotic crowd immediately became quiet. Countless double issues The longing eyes all cast their longing gazes on the man in white.
I saw that Xiao Changling calmed down slightly, and the solemn expression on his face also became unprecedentedly resolute at this moment; he spoke again, and the powerful and sonorous voice, like the thumping of war drums, spread throughout the country. "Yudai River, for a moment," shocked everyone's dazed minds and gathered all his energy.
"Don't be afraid, everyone, it's just a little pony bandit. Don't worry, I promise you that as long as I, Xiao Changling, am here, I will protect you unscathed."
The man in white in front of her, his handsome and tall figure, his confident look, his arrogant majesty, and his decisive tone, every word, every move, is engraved in Xie Wanxin's pupils; her willow eyebrows are flowing. , a smile of relief appeared on her lips, and the worries in her eyes were swept away, showing the natural determination and stubbornness of the proud girl.
Xie Wanxin also turned around, looking at the men and women with extremely proud and noble eyes, and then turned to look at her close friends. She spoke slowly, and there was no trace of the coquettishness of her little daughter in her tone. , but show off the elegance of a heroine.
"Please believe in His Highness King Rencheng. This is under the rule of the Great Zhou Dynasty. How can Xiaoxiao be allowed to be rampant? If King Rencheng says it's okay, it must be okay. I don't care if you believe it or not, I believe him anyway."
After saying that, Xie Wanxin turned her eyes slightly and met Xiao Changling's deep pupils, as if she was using her firm eyes to give trust to the man in front of her and instill endless strength in him.
At this moment, Xiao Changling tilted his head slightly, and the right hand holding the sword was still not loose; he stared at Xie Wanxin's eyes, what kind of eyes were they, brave, determined, and without hesitation, how could he be a weak woman facing a crisis? The expression he showed!
Xiao Changling smiled.
Xie Wanxin also smiled.
The two just looked at each other and smiled.
With Xiao Changling and Xie Wanxin singing and cooperating, the big stone hanging in everyone's heart fell to the ground a little, and they felt a lot more at ease, yes! What do they have to fear? Who is King Rencheng? That is the country's future general, an unsheathed sword, an iron-blooded general who once hunted down the Rouran barbarians in the desert frontier. Even those murderous prairie barbarians were unable to do anything to this man. The sixteen-year-old Zhenbei general, not to mention a few mere horse bandits; therefore, they believed that King Rencheng, who had great military exploits, would protect them well.
"Wan'er, we grew up together. I believe in you, and I also believe in King Ren Cheng." Li Yan held Xie Wanxin's hand and cast a trusting gaze on her.
"Fourth Miss, I believe you too."
"Fourth Miss, we all believe in you."
Immediately afterwards, Li Yan, Ling Zhilan, and Ming Yurou, including all the boys and girls, all looked at Xiao Changling and said in unison.
"Your Highness, we believe in you."
Seeing this situation, Xiao Changling's facial expression did not show much sudden change, and remained as cold and solemn as ever; he nodded slightly, raised "Cheng Ying" with his backhand, and whispered back.
"Okay, thank you everyone."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Changling did not say another word, but turned around resolutely in the face of the hunting wind, standing still with his sword, not to be dumped by the black clouds; the young general in white clothes beat the snow, He slowly raised his eyes and stared deeply at the horizon, as if he was using the sharp sight of his eyes to penetrate the layers of haze and cut through the darkness of the world.
In the distance, the smoke is getting thicker and thicker, and the sound of horse hooves is getting closer.
However, Xiao Changling's expression was as calm as an ice sculpture, solemn and calm. His nose was straight, his lips were raised resolutely, and then he snorted contemptuously, and this cold snort Among them, there was extreme disdain and contempt for the horse bandits.
At the moment, Xiao Changling was holding the sword in his right hand, and his left hand was under his body; and in an instant, his right arm and right hand holding the sword were raised high with the sword and the arm, and the sword tip pointed into the distance. Following the direction pointed by Xiao Changling's sword, I can't help but dream back to riding on the glacier and riding the horse howling in the west wind.
Suddenly, Xiao Changling raised his head proudly, and a cold light illuminated the brilliance in his eyes. The sword pointed straight at the sky, like lightning cutting through the clear sky; a sword light flashed past, and Xiao Changling raised his right arm. , Chengying slashed down decisively, and then gave a sharp shout, as if there was a rumbling thunder in the sky, shaking everyone's ears.
"Array up!"
Following an order, twenty elite soldiers from Beidaying in black armor suddenly appeared from the woods like magic soldiers descending from the sky; only twenty guards from Beidaying were seen, each carrying a powerful crossbow. , the swords slung around their waists, as soon as they were unsheathed, revealed a large standard Yanling sword as clear as snow; and the black iron shields in their hands also merged into one at the critical moment when they rushed out of the forest. A tightly blocked fortress, like a copper wall and an iron wall, stood in front of Xiao Changling. He moved quickly and struck fiercely. He was worthy of being the "Beida Camp" with 70,000 soldiers!
"Draw the knife!"
With a majestic sound of "drawing the sword", the twenty soldiers of the Beida camp did not move at all. They drew their swords out of their sheaths. The clear sound of drawing the swords made a "clatter" sound; twenty sharp swords with wild goose feathers, Pointing straight into the sky, the sharp tip of the knife flashed a little cold light under the bright spring sun.
Coming out of the forest, forming a formation, and drawing their swords, this set of movements was done in one go, without any sloppiness. The speed with which they drew their swords and the decisiveness with which they merged their iron shields into a fortress were enough to show the military discipline of this army. With combat power, it can be seen from another aspect what kind of genius the coach who leads this powerful team is.
Looking at the rolling hills, Xiao Changling still looked indifferent. Although he was not wearing armor and riding a war horse at this moment, his handsome appearance and face contained the murderous aura of many years of iron-blooded conquest on the battlefield. Finally, at this moment, it was revealed at a glance; suddenly, Xiao Changling raised his arm, clenched his fingers into a fist, and waved it down forcefully, making a simple gesture.
"Send the command arrow, notify the Beida camp, and order Hu Kun to lead his troops to help."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Immediately, a soldier put down the knife in his hand, took out a slender wooden tube from his arms, squinted his eyes slightly, looked up at the blue sky, and then pulled hard, and the fuse was lightly Tear apart gently.
"Bang" sound.
Fireworks shot into the sky.
In an instant, a colorful flower suddenly bloomed in the blue sky.
The morning light of the rising sun slants on the wide river, reflecting a piece of red light, reflecting the red mountains all over; the mountains in the distance are connected with each other, and there is a vague sea of clouds, and the outline of the mountains is outlined by the faint rising sun. A touch of gold rim is applied to highlight the majesty of the mountain.
In front of Xiao Changling's eyes, in addition to the green mountains, colorful clouds, and morning glow, there was the dark smoke. In the past, his bright eyes were as sharp as eagles, staring at the black shadow in front of the hill. He couldn't feel anything at all. Feeling nervous about facing a powerful enemy.
Seeing more and more black shadows, Xiao Changling looked back at Xie Wanxin again, and spoke in a deep voice as if to tell her his determination.
"Fourth Miss, you stand behind me, I won't let anyone hurt you."
Xie Wanxin also looked at Xiao Changling, and she smiled lightly. "It is my blessing to be able to live and die with His Highness, advance and retreat together."
The affection is all in words.
At this moment, dust was flying on the winding official road, and the tremors of the earth suddenly intensified. Terrifying shouts and curses sounded unbridled from the hills on the east side...
In the dust, a ferocious-looking horse bandit, riding a tall horse and wearing a green and yellow fur coat, showed his green-faced and fanged face, waving a big knife in his hand. Amidst the violent and uncontrolled roars and whistles, Like a dense swarm of wasps, they swept through the wheat fields lined with lanes and swooped down from the hills; the crops that were originally well planted in the fields were trampled to a mess under the hooves of the green forest horse bandits, which was horrific.
The horse bandits mainly use horses and kill people with broadswords; therefore, the horse bandits roaring in are all the most ferocious gangs in the area. Their horses are good horses and their swords are also good, although they are not as good as those of Peking University. The horses of the battalion officers are sharp and sharp, but they must not be underestimated.
a horse.
Two horses.
Three horses.
Four horses...
A total of fifty tall horses broke into Xiao Changling's field of vision.
Fifty horses, that is, a team of fifty horse bandits, is more than twice as large as Xiao Changling's Beida camp soldiers. At first glance, this group of bandits who came out of the blue do not look like humans. It's more like a devil that lives in hell, eats human flesh and drinks human blood.
What is supposed to come will eventually come.
Xiao Changling frowned and said nothing, the black pupils in the depths of his eyes seemed to be emitting blazing flames. He held Cheng Ying's sword hilt tightly. The long sword, as bright as autumn water, gathered countless dazzling sword energy.
"Your Highness, it looks like there are a lot of people." A soldier suddenly said.
However, Xiao Changling still said nothing, his face was as calm as water, and he was just staring ahead motionlessly, with a cold murderous look in his cold eyes, which made people shudder.
The bandit leader who was at the forefront looked a little weird. Not only was he not wearing any clothes, he was completely naked from the waist up. He was bare-chested and carried a scabbard on his back. He was waving a snowy broadsword in his hand and just galloped forward on his horse. , as if you have developed an indestructible body.
Xiao Changling smiled sternly.
"Bring Gu's bow!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
After that, the soldier held out a bow and an arrow. The bow was a good bow, an iron longbow with a black shadow superimposed on it. The bow body was bronze brown, and the bowstrings were tightly placed on both ends of the long bow; the arrows were also The good arrows are the "wolf-tooth carved feather arrows" that are all standard among the Zhou army.
I saw that Xiao Changling's face was as cold as frost, he inserted the long sword on the ground, picked up the black long bow, drew the bow with his arms, and opened and closed his arms widely, and the wolf-tooth carved feather arrow was also tightly grasped by him. Holding the bow tightly with his left hand, he hooked the long arrow's tail with the middle finger and index finger of his right hand, and then slowly opened the bowstring until it reached a full state that resembled a crescent moon.
The long bow gradually bent, and the connection between the bow strings made a soft "squeak" sound. However, the curve formed by the bow body and the arc of the string did not tremble at all. Xiao Changling's arm holding the bow was still as stable as a mountain. There is some jitter.
The cold arrowhead, under the sunlight, reflected a dazzling brilliance and a cold green light, just like the sharp edge on the black iron arrowhead, which condensed into ice and wedged deep into Xiao Changling's own eyes.
The jet-black arrow feathers were clasped between Xiao Changling's fingers, and he opened the bow like a full moon. However, the veins on his wrists were protruding more and more obviously, and there was a faint tendency to bounce violently. The bowstring was pulled tighter and tighter, as if The next moment it will be torn from it and fall off from the fingers.
The iron arrow pointed directly at the bare upper body of the shirtless bandit leader.
Between heaven and earth, there is only a pale grayness, and only Xiao Changling's flowing figure in white stands erect in the center of the world holding a bow.
…
The sun was pouring down, and Xiao Changling stood with his feet forward and back. Xie Wanxin could not see his expression clearly at this moment. She could only see a handsome figure dressed in frosty white clothes, motionless in the wind. Still standing, he showed a majestic posture with a bow and an arrow.
The arrow has not yet left the string, but the arrow-like gaze in Xiao Changling's eyes has already shot straight out, and with the force of thousands of arrows, it suddenly hit the groups of horse bandits, crushing them even with their eyelids. Can't even lift it up.
The billowing smoke and dust covered most of the sky. The leader of the horse bandits who rushed to the front, bare-chested and brandishing a big sword, had a fierce look in his eyes at this moment. He clamped the horse's belly hard, and the horse neighed, and the whole person seemed to be freed from the cage. The giant beast rushed over desperately.
blow!
The black shadow, as clean as water, cut across the sky and condensed into a beautiful arrow arc.
Xiao Changling gently released his fingers.
The bandit leader, who was galloping on horseback, suddenly felt clearly that there was a faint sound of strong wind breaking through the air behind his ears and head, as if some sharp weapon was piercing his brain.
He realized that the situation was not good, reacted hurriedly, and pulled the horse's reins hard, trying to force the horse to stop, but it was too late; he only heard the bandit leader let out a slight groan, His body suddenly tilted up and down, as if he had suffered a heavy blow, and he was blown away from the horse.
Time, at this moment, paused and stood still.
A wolf-tooth carved feather arrow flew towards the face with extreme precision. The dark arrow seemed to be entangled with some soul-eating monster, piercing the body of the horse bandit leader; the slender arrow shaft penetrated from the man's chest. In the past, half of the arrowhead protruded from the chest, and a scarlet blood flower flew along the arrow's edge.
The bandit leader was hit by an arrow and fell from his horse.
On the verge of death, he fell to the ground with both knees, but he still held the knife and struggled to support his limp body. The gurgling blood continued to spurt out along the big blood hole on his chest. , his face was transparently pale, and there was a trace of blood on the corner of his mouth.
At the last moment of his life, he slowly raised his blood-stained face, his vision gradually blurred, but he saw a white figure.
Xiao Changling stood behind the shield wall, with a clear face and solemn expression. His eyes were like a cold sword. He stared at the bandit leader coldly. He slowly put down the long bow in his hand, and a faint coldness appeared under his lips.
Finally, the bandit leader smiled miserably, and gradually let go of his right hand. With a "bang" sound, the big knife fell to the ground, and he only felt his body go soft. His whole strong body was as thin as a piece of paper at this moment. " With a thud, he fell to the ground, lifeless.
The leader was dead, and the rest of the horse bandits couldn't help but be deeply shocked when they saw this. So, the horse bandits, big and small, forcibly stopped the horse that was already reaching the extreme speed, and pulled them with countless pairs of rough hands. He held on to the hard reins, even letting his calloused fingers rub out blood blisters on his hands. He finally calmed down the neighing horse when he was less than a few hundred steps away from the sword and shield barrier of Beidaying.
Despite this, there were still a few strong wild horses that had already thrown off the shackles of the reins and were unable to control them at all. They rushed straight to the black iron shield on the iron wall and copper wall, and let out several screams under the sharp blade of the Yan Ling Dao. After letting out a deep groan, the people and horses crashed into the dust on both sides of the road, causing all their limbs to be broken.
"Da da da……"
At this moment, the thunderous sound of horse hooves echoed along the undulating mountain ridges, resounding through the nine layers of clouds. It was as dense as raindrops, and as solemn as Huangzhong Dalu. It was endless and spread from the end of the mountain to This side of the official road makes people's hearts tremble.
For a moment, the horses' hooves clattered, shaking the flat ground, shaking the grass and trees, and swirling sand and stones. Different from the chaotic hoofbeats of the horse bandits, this rumbling sound was not only neat and orderly, but also carried the iron and blood that came down from the battlefield. When you hear the majestic wind, you can hear the sound of blood-eating iron hooves that can only be composed by hundreds of iron cavalry.
The sound of iron hooves was getting closer and closer, as if deafening thunder sounded in the horizon.
Xiao Changling faced the spring breeze, pulled out the sword stuck in the ground, shook the dust off the blade, then slightly raised his eyes and looked towards the sky.
——But there was smoke filling the air, and a silver dragon flag was raised high, fluttering in the wind. The "Xiao" emblem on it was engraved in the middle of the flag, which was eye-catching; the flag was flying, and a powerful horse was flying. The red charcoal fire dragon colt is like a dragon emerging from the sea, leaping out with its hooves raised.
The person riding on the horse was a young general in armor and red robes, holding a black tasseled iron spear. The spear was shining with a dazzling white light. He led the horse and galloped down the steep hillside. Behind the general, there were two full soldiers. Hundreds of black armored cavalry armed with long spears and hard bows.
An elite black cavalry of two hundred people, from far to near, from young to large, they are covered in black armor, the black of the armor is so black that not even a trace of light can be reflected, and they exude a ghostly atmosphere invisibly. The murderous aura, even the spears they held in their hands, with their cold gleams radiating from the tips, were integrated with the lines of the armor.
The Black Cavalry shook the heaven and the earth, arousing the sound of horse hooves like a downpour. Along the edge of the black and yellow areas, it turned into countless black hurricanes, rolling up fierce winds and layers of flying sand; the entire Black Cavalry The front of the soldiers was like a torrent that had been building up for a long time. It instantly broke through the high weir and dam, rolled down, and gradually enveloped the open space in front of the lawn, with no edge visible...
These two hundred black cavalry are the elite cavalry under Xiao Changling's Bei Camp; and the young general who leads the two hundred black cavalry is Xiao Changling's confidant and one of the best generals in the Bei Camp. General Hu Kun, the Zhaowu captain known as "Killing Hu"!
Hu Kun had arrived, and the black cavalry came to help. Xiao Changling's face swept away the coldness and severity that had been solidified for a long time, showing a kind of self-confidence like a spring breeze; he dusted off the dust on his white clothes, and comfortably leaned on his long Sword, looking into the distance, his eyes are full of the certainty of victory.
Xiao Changling finally smiled in relief, his elegant white clothes flowing elegantly.
"My Beida camp is here."
…
Looking around, wherever you can see, there are mountains and plains full of cavalry!
