Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Been Waiting for a Long Time
Outside the Ye Family Estate.
All the Ye family guards were fully armed; even those from the family’s shops in Cyan Mountain Town had been recalled. They marched out of town in orderly formations, the sheer scale of which stunned everyone in Cyan Mountain Town.
"What’s going on? What happened to the Ye family?"
This massive mobilization immediately left the people of Cyan Mountain Town completely bewildered.
"You haven’t heard? This morning, the Ye family’s manor west of town was attacked by a group of mounted bandits. I heard the casualties were heavy."
"What? Mounted bandits? Impossible! The Ye family is a powerhouse in Cyan Mountain Town. What band of mounted bandits around here would dare to attack the Ye family?"
"Still don’t believe me? I asked around. They say it was the Blood Saber Stronghold, a gang with a fearsome reputation in Blue Moon City. I heard the Ye family’s Third and Fourth Masters were both gravely injured and are still unconscious. It’s a matter of life and death."
"The Blood Saber Stronghold? Aren’t they the bandits who run rampant near Black Wind Ridge? Why have they come to our Cyan Mountain Town? If it really is the Blood Saber Stronghold, then it’s entirely possible. I heard their two leaders are both ruthless experts in the Earth Martial Realm."
"It’s too strange. The Blood Saber Stronghold may be powerful, but why would they come to Cyan Mountain Town for no reason, and on top of that, pick a fight with the Ye family?"
"Heh, the Ye family is really down on their luck. First, they were getting pushed around by the Wang family, and now they’re being attacked by the Blood Saber Stronghold. Don’t tell me they’re really done for, are they?"
The townsfolk were all abuzz, discussing animatedly and trying to get the latest news from one another.
The Ye family was a powerhouse in Cyan Mountain Town; in this town, their martial strength had always been supreme.
The Blood Saber Stronghold, however, was a notoriously powerful gang of bandits within Blue Moon City’s territory. It was said that even the Blue Moon City Guard couldn’t handle them.
The conflict between these two powers was indeed a shocking collision. The Ye family’s current actions were clearly related to it, but no one knew what the outcome would be. Would the Blood Saber Stronghold return in defeat, or would the Ye family be destroyed once and for all?
As the townsfolk traded news and gossip, a few unfamiliar faces in the crowds gathered at the town gates carefully watched the Ye family’s troops, silently calculating something.
Once the Ye family’s troops had completely departed, these few people quietly melted back into the crowd and disappeared.
Night gradually began to fall.
In a hidden forest outside Cyan Mountain Town, a group of Martial Artists wearing blood-red robes had gathered.
In the depths of the cold winter night, the group was wrapped in their robes. They neither lit a fire nor ate, and each of them had a vicious look in their eyes, like a pack of wolves.
"Goddammit, how much longer do we have to wait? I’m about to starve to death," a burly man in the center of the crowd, whose aura was clearly distinct from the others, cursed.
The other members of the group immediately grew restless, stirring up some soft murmurs of complaint.
"Number Two, shut up. All of you, be quiet," said the man beside him, a middle-aged man with a blood-red saber at his waist and a scar that ran across half his face. His gaze was steady as he swept it over everyone.
"All of you, remember this. This time, we’re not dealing with an ordinary merchant caravan, but the Ye family of Cyan Mountain Town—a local power. On their turf, we must be patient. Otherwise, we’re all dead. But I promise you, as long as we pull off this one job, we won’t have to hide in Blue Moon City anymore. The money we make will be enough for us to go to a new place, start a new life, and live like kings. You all got that?"
The man’s voice wasn’t loud, but it made the complaining Martial Artists fall deathly silent, too afraid to even breathe.
"Who’s there!"
Just then, a low shout came from the edge of the woods, startling everyone into turning their heads to look.
After a brief exchange of passwords, a man in a black cloak swiftly joined the blood-robed Martial Artists.
"Leaders Blood Saber and Blood Tooth, I’ve kept you waiting." The cloaked man threw back his hood, revealing himself to be Li Haoran, Patriarch of the Li family.
"Cut the crap," Blood Saber said, giving him a cold glance. "Where are the supplies? And you seem to be late."
"Gathering information took a little time."
"Hmph, I don’t care about your reasons. Next time, I don’t want any more slip-ups. Now talk. What action is the Ye family taking?"
Li Haoran’s expression was grim. ’To think that I, the esteemed Patriarch of the Li family, have to kowtow to a bandit chieftain.’ Forcibly suppressing his anger, he said in a cold voice, "After your actions this morning, the Ye family flew into a rage. They mobilized all of their clan’s guards and sent them to their core manors outside of town..."
"Get to the point!" Blood Saber interrupted with a frown and a cold bark.
Li Haoran felt as disgusted as if he’d swallowed a dead fly, wishing he could cleave Blood Saber in two with a single palm strike. He took a deep breath, reined in his fury, and continued, "According to my investigation, Ye Batian went to the south manor, and Ye Zhanxiong and Ye Zhantang went to the west manor."
"Very good. Leave the supplies and you can go," Blood Saber said coldly.
The Storage Ring on Li Haoran’s hand flashed, and a large quantity of freshly roasted beef and mutton appeared on the empty ground before him, along with several jars of wine. After dropping everything off, Li Haoran turned and left without another word.
"Big Brother, he’s the Patriarch of the Li family. His Storage Ring must be full of treasures. Should we kill him?" Blood Tooth asked, his eyes glinting with greed.
"Don’t make unnecessary trouble. We still have use for him for now," Blood Saber sneered. "Besides, the man has no guts. There’s at least one thing he didn’t mention. I heard that aside from those three Earth Martial Artist experts, the Ye family also has a teacher from Xingxuan Academy who is a First Layer Earth Martial Artist."
Blood Tooth’s expression changed. "Big Brother, are you saying the Li family and the Wang family are deceiving us?"
"I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re deceiving us. The intel the Li family sent is basically consistent with what our own people found. That person might have stayed at the Ye family estate and not gone out, or maybe he went to another manor we couldn’t scout. A single First Layer Earth Martial Artist is not a major concern. It doesn’t affect the plan."
"Good. He’s just the patriarch of some minor family. If he dares to deceive me, I’ll wipe out his entire clan," Blood Tooth said, licking his lips and revealing a savage sneer as he watched Li Haoran’s departing figure.
Blood Saber glanced at the food on the ground. "Have one of the brothers try a bit of everything."
Soon, a bandit reported back, "Boss, the food’s not poisoned."
"Good. Alright, brothers, dig in."
The bandits, who had been starving for half the day, quickly swarmed forward and, like a whirlwind, swept the ground clean of all food.
"Our goal is to inflict heavy casualties on the Ye family while taking as few losses as possible. Ye Batian went south, Ye Zhanxiong and Ye Zhantang went west. Therefore, our target tonight is the Ye family’s North Manor."
Blood Saber waved his hand. With a great RUSTLE, all the bandits, having eaten and drunk their fill, mounted their horses in unison.
"Raze the Ye family’s North Manor. Kill everyone inside."
"Move out!"
With a fierce cry, over a hundred blood-robed bandits spurred their warhorses, a low rumble of iron hooves echoing as they swiftly made their way toward the Ye family’s North Manor.
Cyan Mountain Town was neither large nor small. An hour later, the first of the Ye family’s northern manors came into view in the distance before Blood Saber and his men.
The manor was brightly lit, with armored guards patrolling back and forth. It presented a picture of high alert, the grounds guarded so tightly that not even a drop of water could get through.
"A bluff!" Blood Saber sneered, swinging himself off his horse.
To Blood Saber, all these guards patrolling in the open were just the Ye family’s attempt to scare them away.
In truth, without a top-tier expert standing guard, this manor—no matter how tightly patrolled it appeared—was still the easiest piece of fat for them to bite into.
"Everyone dismount. Muffle the horses’ hooves. We’ll charge once we’re closer," Blood Saber ordered in a low voice.
"Heh heh, I bet the Ye family has no idea we have an inside man in Cyan Mountain Town. All their movements are completely under our control," Blood Tooth chuckled grimly. "Tonight, I’m going on a killing spree, heh heh."
Advancing silently to within a few hundred meters of the manor, Blood Saber raised a hand, and the group instantly halted.
Any farther, and they would be within the guards’ line of sight.
"Mount up."
Blood Saber grunted the order, swinging onto his own horse first. A sharp, murderous glint shone in his eyes as he stared at the manor.
"Heh heh."
All the bandits mounted their horses, savage smiles spreading across their faces. Silhouetted against the dark sky, they looked particularly terrifying. A thick, palpable killing intent filled the night.
"Charge!"
With that low cry, all the bandits of the Blood Saber Stronghold suddenly launched a ferocious assault.
THUDDA-THUDDA-THUDDA!
The thundering of hooves suddenly shattered the silent night, sounding like the footsteps of death itself.
"Damn it, enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
The patrolling guards’ expressions changed drastically at the sight. They let out furious, startled roars as they drew the bows from their backs and fired at the charging cavalry.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The two squads of guards only managed to fire two volleys of arrows before the Blood Saber Stronghold’s cavalry reached the front of the manor.
"Open!" With a savage roar, Blood Saber shattered the manor’s outer fence with a single slash and spurred his horse onward, killing his way inside.
"Kill!"
"Hahaha, kill every last one of these Ye family brats!"
"Woooah, your Grandpa Blood Tooth has arrived!"
"Hahaha, kill them all! Leave no one alive!"
The Blood Saber Stronghold bandits charged into the manor, screaming like madmen.
Seeing this, the guards on the upper levels of the manor paled. "Damn it, the enemy’s broken in! Fall back! We’ll retreat into the manor! Liuliu, send someone to inform the Patriarch and the others, quickly!"
The guard captain roared the orders as he retreated.
"Press the attack," Blood Saber barked, leading the charge into the manor proper.
"Hm?" The moment he charged in, his expression changed drastically. The guards who had just retreated into the manor were nowhere to be seen. Ahead, there was nothing but piles of jumbled medicinal herbs in an empty courtyard.
It wasn’t just the guards who had retreated inside; even the ones who had been patrolling the brightly lit manor just moments ago had vanished without a trace.
"Where is everyone? Where did the Ye family’s men go?"
"Did they really run that fast?"
The bandits who poured in after him were equally baffled.
"Leader Blood Saber, it’s been a while. My Ye family has been waiting for you."
Suddenly, a cold laugh rang out. From the corridors on both sides of the manor’s upper level, a group of Martial Artists holding fire-tipped arrows suddenly poured out. At their head were none other than Ye Zhanyun and Ye Zhanzhen.
