Chapter Eighty-Six: Awe Across the Hall

A sharp cry rang out.

The middle-aged man’s cold command was followed at once by the anguished howls of his own men. When Miao Cuihua and the others turned, what they saw was even more gruesome: two men whose arms had been severed were writhing on the ground, while the mangled limbs lay scattered nearby. The bloodied stumps were still faintly twitching, the fingers on each severed hand flexing slightly, yet their owners, unable to bear the pain, had already screamed themselves hoarse.

Everyone was stunned, including the middle-aged man’s subordinates who had long been poised to strike. In the entire field, only Ding Li was moving. His agile figure drifted among the men, blood flashing everywhere, but always spraying around him rather than staining the clean clothes he had changed into that very morning, as though even blood were reluctant to touch him.

The turn of events had been far too sudden. By the time the rest of them finally reacted, only five people remained at the middle-aged man’s side. Aside from the four blade-wielders close to him, the last man’s drawn short bow had slackened considerably. When Ding Li’s gaze fell upon him, he was so startled that his fingers loosened at once, and the arrow he had held on the string for so long flew out on its own. It was far too weak; Ding Li merely flicked it aside with the short dagger in his left hand, and without even a sound, it dropped to the ground.

The man then let out a strange cry and flung the short bow carelessly aside. He was about to turn and run, though he had not clearly seen how his companions at his side had died. In his heart, however, he knew all too well that they had all been killed by Ding Li alone. Facing Ding Li was more terrifying to him than facing a demon, so terrifying that both his legs had grown as heavy as lead.

“My, my lord, save me, save me...” He threw himself toward his master’s embrace, as though only his master could save him. Yet the next instant his belly went cold. He abruptly came to his senses, furrowing his brow in disbelief at the familiar face so close before him. Just as agony surged through him, he saw the man’s lips move. But what came out were two words even more painful than the wound itself, and unbearably cold.

“Useless.”

“Cowards die!” The middle-aged man spat the words with viciousness, shoving the man before him aside. Yet those words seemed meant even more for the four men still left beside him.

At that, the four all shuddered. They exchanged glances and, with no more hesitation, lifted their blades and charged straight at Ding Li. As the bodyguards of the Maritime Trade Commissioner, their loyalty was not low, and after long discipline under military law, they knew that once they became deserters, death was the only possible end.

Seeing this, Ding Li showed no fear at all. He raised his blade to meet them. But just as his foot had only begun to move, a succession of cutting winds sounded behind him, as though the air by his ears had been torn apart. In his peripheral vision, three streaks of cold light flashed past in a row.

When he looked forward again, one of the four was no longer moving. The man’s eyes were wide open as he slowly collapsed. An arrow had pierced his chest; there was no need to guess that this had been the work of the two men in the escort caravan who carried crossbows.

Another had died even more miserably. A long spear made entirely of forged iron had pierced straight through his body, and the enormous force had driven him backward several steps. The only reason he did not fall was that the spear had been firmly planted in the grass. As his life rapidly drained away, the body slid slowly down the shaft, which was soaked red with blood. During all this, the man had emitted a string of ghastly, rasping screams that set one’s hair on end.

In the blink of an eye, only one remained before Ding Li. Fear of death had long since driven military discipline from the man’s mind. In his eyes was nothing but terror. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and even the arms gripping his blade shook nonstop. Though he desperately wanted to steady himself, he could no longer control his body.

Two brief, piercing whistles cut through the air.

Blood mist burst from the man’s throat and chest. Embedded in the wounds were two thumb-sized silver throwing knives, now completely dyed red. Then the man, his eyes still brimming with despair, slowly collapsed to the ground.

“You, you people! How, how can this be?!” The middle-aged man was dumbfounded. The instant before, he had still been dreaming his own dream; the next, reality had shattered so cruelly that he could not accept it. Even now, he still could not understand where his plan had gone wrong.

In his calculation, the Miao Escort Agency had no more than twenty-odd men. One wave of ambush should have taken out nearly half of them, and with superior numbers plus the reinforcements to come afterward, there was no reason they should fail. Yet reality had turned the other way entirely. Not a single corpse before him belonged to the escort agency’s guards. Instead, every one of the men he had brought had fallen to the ground, none remaining.

Before the middle-aged man could recover, Ding Li strode up and, without the slightest courtesy, slapped him flat to the ground. Then he seized him by the back of the neck and lifted him with one hand, as casually as if he were carrying a chick, and walked toward Miao Cuihua with big strides. With a low grunt, he tightened his arms and, before the astonished gaze of the crowd, flung the middle-aged man over the wall of the caravan enclosure. Only then did he look up to remind the frozen Miao Cuihua and Li Shan, “Sister Miao! Escort Chief Li! What are you standing there for? The real enemies are behind us! Hurry and speak with Second Leader Huo so we can defend together!”

“Yes, yes! Escort Chief Li, quickly, quickly explain the situation to Second Leader Huo!” Miao Cuihua, still shaken, was so flustered she could hardly form a coherent sentence. She could only hand the matter over to the great escort chief beside her. Then she turned and leaped down to the ground, somewhat embarrassed, and bowed toward Ding Li without daring to lift her head. “Ah Li, we owe you this time. You are truly the benefactor of our entire Miao Escort Agency. Those words I said just now, urging you to leave...”

“Hey! Sister Miao, you’re too polite! Don’t do that!” Seeing this, Ding Li immediately felt a little overwhelmed. He had never been a refined sort to begin with; how could he stand such a ceremonious display? He hurriedly waved his hands and shook his head, smiling as he teased her, “I ought to be thanking Sister Miao for those sausages. Otherwise, if I’d gone in hungry, I might have fainted before I even got the chance to fight!”

“Hahaha!”

Ding Li’s words drew a burst of laughter at once, and the atmosphere around them eased considerably. The gaze everyone turned toward him now held respect and gratitude in equal measure. The escorts crowded forward to curry favor with him, afraid his weapon might not suit him, and nearly wishing they could hand over their own best arms for him to use. They all understood now that the true center of the convoy was no longer only Miao Cuihua and the two escort chiefs. Even the three of them combined now weighed a little less in everyone’s hearts than Ding Li did. At the very least, that was true for the slaughter that was soon to come.

With the middle-aged man, the chief culprit, in hand, Huo Lang, the second leader of Huo Family Ridge, quickly understood the whole sequence of events. He was not a petty man, and besides, Li Shan had just patted his chest in guarantee that the nine carts of goods originally belonging to Huo Family Ridge would be returned in full by the Miao Escort Agency, with not a single coin withheld. Even the deposit received in advance for this escort would be paid back in its entirety.

Of course, this was not because Li Shan was generous, nor because he was especially honorable. He had his own calculations. The cavalry unit behind them was already pressing close; they had to pull in the people of Huo Family Ridge, or else even with Ding Li, that godlike warrior, on their side, they would still likely be unable to avoid defeat. Whether any of them could survive the escape would remain an open question.

Huo Lang had no objection. First, this matter had begun because of Huo Family Ridge, and by the rules of their world, they had to take part. Second, even though the Miao Escort Agency had agreed to return the nine carts of goods in full, they would not be able to take them away unless they drove off the pursuers first. Most important of all was the third point: his own strength was on par with the Miao Escort Agency’s, and whether either side faced that cavalry unit alone, it would be like trying to hold up the sky with one pillar. The only way was to unite and resist together.

With a common goal before them, and driven by profit, righteousness, and the reputation they would have afterward, the two sides struck it off immediately. Soon the Huo Family Ridge brothers behind them were brought into the perimeter of the escort formation. The work both sides did was similar, so their coordination was remarkably smooth.

With the enemy pressing from one direction, and the two forces roughly equal in number, the defending side held a certain advantage, especially with the middle-aged man taken as a hostage. From Huo Lang, they learned that this middle-aged man was a steward of no low standing in the household of the Maritime Trade Commissioner. As for his exact identity, that could not be determined, only that he was far from ordinary.

Very quickly, the nine cargo wagons were lined up to block the front, leaving a gap wide enough for two riders to pass through. In front of this opening stood two rows of men, ten spear-bearers in all, arranged to guard against any cavalry charge the enemy might launch.

The equipment of Huo Family Ridge was much better than that of the Miao Escort Agency. After all, they were greenwood heroes with no one above them and no one below them to answer to. Half of them were equipped with short crossbows, and the bows they carried were even more surprising to Miao Cuihua and the others: short mounted bows.

Though their quality was not especially fine, they were at least mounted bows, easier to fire from horseback than ordinary infantry bows by far. As for the short crossbows, those were things the men of the Miao Escort Agency had never dared to imagine. Though the Great Tang was in turbulent times, crossbows were still strictly forbidden by the authorities. Their escort agency conducted legitimate business and would never dare equip them on a large scale. The only two they possessed were usually hidden away here and there, only to be taken out in a life-or-death moment like just now.

“They’ll be here any moment. How do we fight this?” Once the formation was set, everyone was at a loss. They were all men of the jianghu and had seen plenty of killing, but when it came to an actual organized battle like this, each of them suddenly seemed to have lost his mind, staring blankly at one another.

“Ah Li, what do you think?” When Miao Cuihua’s gaze passed over Ding Li, her eyes lit up, and in that look of surprise there was also encouragement and hope.

“Me?” Ding Li had not expected this to concern him too. He froze, then shook his head so hard it looked like a rattle drum. “I can’t do it! I’ve never fought one of these, never even seen one. Absolutely not. You should do it!”

This was not modesty, nor was it that he was unwilling to help. It was the plain truth. If he were asked to lead a group in a gang fight, that would be no trouble at all. Even without men at his side, Ding Li would not find it difficult.

But right now they wanted him to command a battle. Though the numbers were small, everyone had just learned from the middle-aged man that the cavalry unit truly was cavalry, rigorously trained cavalry, the sort that had been on real battlefields!

“Hey! We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it! We still have the advantage!” Seeing that none of them had a solution and the thunder of hooves was already pounding closer, Huo Lang simply waved a hand and tossed out a heartless line, not caring in the least.

“Still, I think...” Seeing that the others had suddenly grown timid again, Ding Li rolled his eyes, and in the end his gaze came to rest on the middle-aged man. His words drew everyone’s attention once more. Then Ding Li smiled wickedly, tilted his chin slightly toward the man beside him, and lightly sentenced him to death: “If we put him in front, he should be able to block the enemy’s first volley, shouldn’t he?”