Chapter 19

Holding his breath, Lu Yao pressed his body against the riverbed, propelling himself upstream with the strength of his waist and the movement of his legs, resembling a large salamander wriggling and undulating. This standard diving posture was naturally a memory Lu Yao brought from the 21st century.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Yao had swum a considerable distance, his speed as if he were fleeing from something.

Lu Yao, Lu Yao, the Lady of Jingling was right; you should do as she said. Strong bows and crossbows are the natural nemesis of brave warriors. No matter how high one's martial skills are, facing the current situation is fraught with peril. Do you really think you can defeat those vicious bandits on your own?

Of course I can! Lu Yao shook his head, saying to himself. Military strategy states: War is a matter of courage. The key to deciding the outcome of a battle is not a simple numerical comparison. These bandits are merely a motley crew united by profit, lacking any fighting spirit. As long as I act swiftly to crush their leaders, the rest will lose heart. Even with the advantage of bows and crossbows, they are not to be feared.

No, no, don't be rash. Such a battle is meaningless for you. You should leave here. With Wang De, Xue Tong, and others drawing attention, as long as you move fast enough, the bandits won't catch up. Take the Lady of Jingling to Luoyang, and it will be easy to connect with the actual ruler of the Jin Dynasty, the Prince of Donghai...

It was as if two opposing voices were waging a battle in Lu Yao's mind, each trying to outdo the other with their arguments, neither able to convince the other. Lu Yao frowned deeply, submerging himself in the water. The cold of the late autumn river invigorated his spirit, but the two voices continued to chatter incessantly.

You are a time traveler. You can cultivate the land, mine coal, and smelt steel. You can organize a powerful economic force, perfect an industrial system, and then crush your opponents with an army equipped with breech-loading rifles. You can plan and strategize, turning the tide of the most chaotic and bloody era in five thousand years of civilization. There are so many important tasks waiting for you to complete. Why put yourself in unnecessary danger?

Lu Yao grinned, a mocking expression on his face, and a few bubbles rose to the surface.

As the Lady of Jingling said, the correct course of action is to leave this perilous place as soon as possible. But the problem is, if I do that, my mind will not be at ease.

Lu Yao pressed his left palm bone forcefully. This was something the military commander of Bingzhou would do subconsciously whenever he was tense or excited. Neither his comrades in the Bingzhou army nor the young knights he had befriended in Luoyang knew why Lu Yao had this peculiar habit. Even Lu Yao himself was puzzled by it until his 21st-century memories resurfaced.

Now, those vivid memories surfaced one by one in his mind. In his youth, he had been mocked by countless people for the extra finger on the side of his left hand. One day, in a sudden fit of inspiration, he used a crude saw to cut off the extra finger, and the sight of the blood splattering terrified those people.

In the modern society that demands strict adherence to rules, I was just an ordinary person. No background, no education, no talent, and little luck. But if necessary, I can be more ruthless and formidable than anyone. Moreover, having traveled through over a thousand years of time to arrive here...

In the battlefield of slaughter, one must draw the sword and fight.

Lu Yao smiled, a few bubbles rising from his mouth. The winter sunlight filtered through the water, making his white teeth gleam like snow.

******

Wang De and the others were still facing off against the bandits.

At this moment, the only people left on the boat who could still fight were Wang De, three guards, and Xue Tong and He Yun. The rest had either fallen into the water or been injured by arrows. The maid who was pretending to be the Lady of Jingling was hiding behind the guards, trembling with fear.

On the shore, Xiang Fei was pacing back and forth, directing his subordinates to gradually tighten the encirclement. His fierce gaze repeatedly swept over the people on the boat. Clearly, if it weren't for the need to capture the Lady of Jingling alive, he would have ordered an attack long ago.

His subordinates were scattered around the stranded boat. The outermost layer consisted of thirty archers with strong bows. Sixteen of them were deployed on the right bank, occupying various high points around the boat, ready to shoot. Fourteen were on the left bank, slightly farther away but posing a greater threat. Wang De and the others could not cross the river to attack them, but they could shoot at will. Moreover, they were equipped with top-quality military longbows, capable of piercing heavy armor, making their arrows extremely powerful. Under the concentrated fire of thirty strong bows, even the most skilled warrior would find it hard to survive. Thus, these archers were a formidable force to deal with.

Moreover, there were nearly twenty swordsmen protecting the archers. These swordsmen were dressed in short clothing, wielding bright steel swords, and each was agile and fierce. They were all elite fighters capable of taking on ten men each, far superior to ordinary bandits. Xiang Fei, who had been a notorious bandit in Bingzhou for many years, indeed had a solid foundation.

Wang De and Xue Tong exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of panic in each other's eyes. Both were experienced warriors who had faced countless life-and-death situations, but they were at a loss now.

At that moment, a burst of water mist exploded, and a figure leaped out of the river!

This person was none other than Lu Yao, who had been approaching from underwater.

As soon as Lu Yao emerged from the water, he swung his hands, and fist-sized pebbles flew out to both sides. Two figures fell from the high branches on both banks, the two archers who had been dominating the scene from the highest points were already dead. At this moment, three archers who were closer to him had just turned around.

Lu Yao then lunged forward. His movements were so fast that the archers only saw his blurred figure in the air. In the next instant, a series of piercing screams and the dull sounds of bones breaking rang out, and the three archers collapsed almost simultaneously.

"Fire! Fire!" Xiang Fei shouted loudly.

A barrage of arrows immediately rained down on Lu Yao.

Lu Yao kicked two corpses in front of him to use as shields, then rushed forward, quickly approaching the remaining archers.

These strong bows and powerful arrows were indeed formidable. First, their power was beyond what an ordinary person could withstand, and second, their speed was extremely fast. Even with Lu Yao's lightning-fast movements, it was difficult to avoid them. The two corpses used as shields were pierced by dozens of arrows in mid-air and fell into the water with a splash. Lu Yao grunted, hit by arrows in his shoulder and calf. The broad, heavy arrowheads, over two inches wide and weighing more than a pound, were deeply embedded in his flesh, almost reaching the bone, and blood gushed out. Lu Yao staggered and fell to the side, splashing water as he landed on the shallow bank.

At this moment, if just two or three more archers had taken the opportunity to shoot, they could have taken Lu Yao's life. However, in their haste to defend, they had already shot all their arrows, and none of them could seize the moment. They hurriedly retrieved arrows from their quivers, but it was a moment too late.

This moment was enough for Lu Yao. He rolled on the ground and charged into the archers' formation.

The archers did not hesitate, discarding their longbows and drawing short swords to fight. Five or six short swords were drawn with a metallic clang, slicing through the air from various angles, each strike vicious and deadly. These bandits, though not martial arts masters, were seasoned and fierce, having been bandits in Bingzhou for many years.

However, with a single punch, Lu Yao shattered the face of the foremost man. Fresh blood and black hair splattered several feet away, like the juice of a smashed melon flying in all directions.

Lu Yao snatched the short sword from the man's hand. With the sword in hand, a brilliant blue-green light burst forth.

The short swords carried by these archers were ordinary tools made by village blacksmiths, containing many impurities and prone to wear even after cutting wood a few times. Yet, in Lu Yao's hands, these ordinary swords seemed to become sharp and deadly blades.

With each swing, the swords cut through armor and flesh, blood gushing like a fountain. No second strike was needed to kill!

Six archers were dead in an instant.

Xiang Fei was shocked and pale. He was about to order the archers to retreat and let the swordsmen advance when he heard a series of screams behind him. Turning around, he saw several fierce men leap from the boat, cutting and killing like tigers among sheep.

The archers on the opposite bank tried to provide support but were injured by several arrows from a young man with a baby face on the boat. They had to retreat hastily, scattering behind the rocks on the shore, trying to use a dense rain of arrows to suppress the young man on the boat.

"Fools! Fools!" At this moment, Xiang Fei shouted in anger: "Ignore the young archer, shoot those guys!"

But his subordinates were already engaged in close combat with the enemy. The archers, standing nearly a hundred paces away, could not easily hit the targets, and might even injure their own men. Moreover, the young man's archery skills were extremely precise, and every time he poked his head out from behind the deck, he posed a huge threat. For a moment, neither side dared to make a move.

Xiang Fei, enraged and furious, drew his sword and moved forward, intending to fight personally. He had wreaked havoc in Bingzhou for many years, and the number of constables and soldiers he had killed was countless. Even though the strange man who emerged from the water was highly skilled, Xiang Fei was not afraid at all, and his fierce nature was fully aroused.

However, he had to stop as soon as he took a step. A fierce man, wielding a heavy saber like a willow branch, grinned and charged forward: "Xiang Fei, the rat, Xue Tong from Hedong has come to challenge you."

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