Chapter 10

Chapter 9: The Steadfast Guards

A dull thud!

Like a sharp metal spike piercing through dozens of layers of wet paper, the arrow shot into the chest of a guard by the luxurious carriage. The young man, with a full beard, clutched his bleeding chest and fell down.

The moment Ning Que shouted "enemy attack," the well-trained princess guards reacted swiftly. This guard bravely jumped onto the carriage shaft, blocking the window of the carriage. He did not know where the arrow would strike, but he knew that the princess inside the carriage was the primary target, and he could not let her life be threatened in any way.

The brave guard had made the right bet, but at the cost of his young life.

"Enemy attack!"

"Protect the princess!"

"Form the shield wall!"

The guards' angry and shocked shouts rang out rapidly.

Countless arrows rained down from the depths of the dense forest, whistling through the air, making the howling wind seem to vanish, creating a particularly terrifying atmosphere.

Ning Que, who was still some distance from the circular formation of carriages, immediately lay down. As he fell, he did not forget to push down Sang Sang and the maid who had followed him out of the tent.

Falling heavily on the forest floor, which was padded with thousands of years of decaying leaves from the northern mountains, he did not feel much pain. His face pressed against the cool leaves, he listened to the dense sound of arrows whizzing by, the occasional arrow passing over his head, and silently calculated the number of enemy archers and the quantity of arrows.

The area around the entrance to the northern mountain path was filled with the angry and anxious shouts of the guards, the orders to set up defenses, and the heavy thuds of shields being placed. The large shields, made from carriage panels, were forcefully inserted into the edges of the carriage shafts, providing significant protection.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The arrows fiercely pierced the makeshift wooden shields, making a dull, drum-like impact sound, denser and more terrifying than the most frenzied war drums. Occasionally, arrows would slip through the gaps in the shields, hitting the guards and causing them to groan. The horses, unlike the empire's men, were not as tough and strong, and they fell to the ground, rolling and neighing in pain.

The sounds of arrows whizzing, shields being hit, men groaning, and horses neighing mixed together, turning the camp, which had been warm and filled with laughter and singing, into a hellish scene.

Whoosh!

An arrow shot into the mud less than half a foot in front of Ning Que, splattering soil and gravel on his face, leaving a red mark. His expression did not change, and he quietly lay on the decaying leaves, his eyes piercing through the gaps in the leaves, past the arrow, and toward the southern direction of the northern mountain path.

The enemy did not choose to ambush in the dense forest of the northern mountains or launch a night attack. Instead, they chose to act at dusk when the convoy had just arrived at the entrance to the northern mountain path. Even though Ning Que had a natural intuition for danger from a young age, he still did not expect this.

Dusk is the time when people are most relaxed and least vigilant. The convoy was about to meet up with the escort forces from Gushan County, so it was inevitable that they would be somewhat relaxed. The enemy must have intended to take advantage of this.

He could vaguely see many figures emerging from the dense forest on both sides of the northern mountain path. Based on the density of the arrows and his current line of sight, he roughly estimated that the enemy numbered around sixty.

After all, this was within the territory of the Tang Empire, and the target of the assassination was the emperor's most beloved fourth princess. To ensure secrecy before and after the event, the enemy could not use a large force and had to choose the most loyal and determined assassins.

Since they were assassins, their numbers could not be too many, but Ning Que knew that in battle, the side with more people was not necessarily the stronger one. On the contrary, a team composed entirely of fearless assassins was the hardest to deal with.

The empire's high-ranking officials had arranged such a shocking assassination, and in addition to using assassins, they might even have called upon cultivators to join the fight. Thinking about the possibility of witnessing a battle between these powerful figures today, Ning Que felt a strange sense of excitement, followed by an unprecedented fear.

"Really bad luck," he muttered, turning to look at the maid beside him. He noticed that after the initial panic in her eyes, she quickly calmed down, and he silently praised her.

The enemies from the dense forest on both sides had already emerged. The men in plain Tang military uniforms, without masks, were waving standard steel knives and charging forward like a pack of wolves. Since they had not concealed their identities, it was clear that one side would be completely slaughtered.

The fierce horse bandits loyal to the princess, who had been roused by the earlier rain of arrows, were already in a murderous rage. Some of them raised their short bows and began rapid firing, while others howled and drew their curved swords to charge forward.

At the entrance to the northern mountain path, the sound of intense blade clashes echoed, and people on both sides fell, with blades piercing chests and throats, and blood splattering and staining the already wet and red leaves.

The battle began with the most brutal phase, but no one retreated or turned to run. The competition was not just about martial skills but also about the courage to shed blood.

The horse bandits from the grasslands, who were extremely skilled in archery and brave without panic, quickly suppressed the enemy's advance. People in the forest fell, and the bandits roared as they counterattacked, gradually controlling the surrounding forest. Despite their ferocity, they remained cautious and did not recklessly expand their territory.

From any perspective, the tactical choices of these grassland bandits were very correct, at least in Ning Que's view. So he was very puzzled as to why the maid's expression became increasingly solemn and worried, as if she was concerned about something.

These brave grassland bandits had never experienced such terrifying battles in the Central Plains. She bit her lip and prepared to stand up.

Ning Que would not let her expose herself, putting himself and Sang Sang in danger. He punched her leg with his right hand, making her fall back down.

"What are you doing!"

The maid glared at him angrily, while her right hand slowly and secretly reached for her waist.

Ning Que focused on the battlefield, ignoring her question. When he noticed the scene at the carriages and thought of a possibility, he felt a chill.

The battle at the entrance to the northern mountain path was fierce, but inside the carriages, there was an eerie silence. The dozen elite Tang guards, who should have been accompanying the princess to the grasslands, were kneeling around the two carriages like stone statues.

In front of one of the carriages, the old man in the worn robe was sitting with his eyes closed, protected by layers of guards, facing the increasingly dark and gloomy forest.

Ning Que nervously licked his numb lips, reaching out to Sang Sang. His palms were drenched in sweat, making them wet and clammy.

Sang Sang looked at him, handed him the bow and arrow, and silently removed the black umbrella from her back, placing it on the leaves beside her.

The battle continued, and the three of them were separated from the brutal battlefield by the carriages. It seemed that the fight between the grassland bandits and the assassins would not reach them in the short term, but for some reason, Ning Que felt an unprecedented tension. The sweat on his palms and the bowstring gradually dried.

The dozen Tang guards, kneeling on the leaves, had dark, resolute, and calm faces. They were alert but not afraid.

These dozen Tang guards were from the Chang'an Imperial Guard, specially selected to accompany the fourth princess to the grasslands, and were the most elite members of the military. However, their performance in today's battle at the entrance to the northern mountain path was unusual.

When the rain of arrows came from the dark forest, they quickly formed a circular defensive formation, hiding behind the shields. When the enemy assassins charged, they remained motionless, ignoring the brutal fighting around them.

Occasionally, a grassland bandit from their own side would die in front of them, and lifeless bodies would collide with the carriages, but they did not even blink, maintaining their cold and calm gaze on the dark forest, their hearts and bodies as solid as steel and stone.

The guards, kneeling on the leaves, wore cotton shirts, the edges of which revealed armor plates. They reached back with their right hands, gripping the handles of their swords, which were tilted upward, surrounding the two carriages.

One of the carriages was luxurious and silent, while in front of the other, the only old man in the group sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, looking very relaxed, with a sword lying across his knees. The scabbard was old and worn, like the old man's robe.

The guards stood expressionless around the old man, seemingly oblivious to the fighting around them and the shouts. Only when an enemy was about to break through their defense would one of the guards draw his sword and charge into battle.

Due to the overwhelming numbers, the lone guard would quickly be embroiled in a bloody and brutal fight, but even so, the other guards remained unmoved, not even blinking, and refused to leave the old man's side.

Ning Que did not know why the guards were so steadfast or what they were vigilantly watching in the dark forest. But he knew that there must be something terrifying there.

He vaguely guessed what was about to happen, and the reality of a new, cold, and terrifying world being unveiled made him extremely tense. His scalp tingled, and his index and middle fingers rubbed the bowstring silently. After a moment, his breathing strangely slowed, and his expression became even calmer and more composed.

The fear of the unknown danger made the atmosphere extremely oppressive. The sounds of the intense fighting and the clashing of blades around the carriages seemed to disappear.

At this critical moment, the window of the luxurious carriage creaked open, and a beautiful young woman poked her head out, her hair slightly disheveled and her face slightly worried.

Before she could say anything, the cold-faced guard leader by the carriage quietly said, "Please be careful, Your Highness," and quickly reached out to close the window, pushing her back inside. His expression was respectful, but perhaps due to the tense situation, his actions seemed somewhat rude.

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