Chapter 454: One Against a Thousand

Changle County, Dragon Tiger Martial Arts Hall.

In this world where one can truly cultivate to become a match for ten thousand, the status of a martial arts hall is not low.

The master of a large martial arts hall is definitely a person of standing in the local area.

The Dragon Tiger Martial Arts Hall is a chain of martial arts halls spread across every county of the Great Xia Dynasty, and its background is rumored to reach directly to the ears of the heavens.

Therefore, even for a conscription from the County Governor's Office, they used a tone of negotiation and offered a price.

The Dragon Tiger Hall Master of Changle County is a middle-aged, burly man, two meters and five centimeters tall.

Sporting a bright red lion-like mane, he looked at the letter, then turned his gaze toward the few Inner Sect Disciples waiting on his side.

After some thought, he did not intend to take action himself, but instead chose a few young disciples to represent the Dragon Tiger Martial Arts Hall and go help.

He also gave a few words of caution, saying that this was mainly to broaden their horizons and they should not lose their heads and act like fools just for the sake of a reward.

Those young disciples were also very excited.

They had all cultivated to the level of Third-rate Expert in the martial arts hall; although they lacked actual combat experience, they were at that stage where they felt quite good about themselves.

They hurriedly accepted the order, then filed out of the martial arts hall one after another and went to the drill ground in front of the County Governor's Office.

After waiting for the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, they joined the force to suppress the Su Family devil and headed toward the street where the Su Family was located.

"That Su Ju... is that Su Motou still eating and drinking now?"

The person in charge of this suppression force is the Assistant General Song Zhong, leader of the county troops.

Riding a tall horse and protected by dozens of armored retainers, he questioned the Scout who had returned to report.

The Scout hurriedly nodded and said, panting:

"That Su Motou's residence gates are wide open; ever since he killed the experts sent by various families, he has had the Su Family members light fires and cook."

"This one even saw with his own eyes Su Family members coming out with silver to purchase food and drink at high prices from various households on the street."

Assistant General Song Zhong hesitated for a moment; he recalled everything he had known in his life but could not find any knowledge to account for the current anomaly.

He could only suspect according to common sense that this was some kind of Magic Art, the effect of which was nothing more than recovering physical strength in a short time to forcibly suppress some injuries.

Since the opponent did not flee, Assistant General Song Zhong leaned toward the latter.

He flicked his horse whip, urging the troops to quicken their pace.

Soon, the first team of county troops, holding rectangular shields and armed with long spears, appeared at the street entrance.

The Su Family members who were purchasing supplies saw the soldiers appear and immediately fled in a panic back to the main hall of their home.

Then they saw him in the main hall, sitting on the floor, eating large mouthfuls of a big pot of white rice that had just been cooked.

His hands constantly turned into afterimages, stuffing whole strips of cured meat and sausages into his mouth, swallowing them whole along with the rice.

"Hoo!"

"Barely counts as seven-tenths full."

"It's alright."

Su Ping saw the disheveled appearance of the Su Family disciples who had stumbled in and knew that the second wave of the enemy's offensive was coming.

He stood up, combed his graying hair upward, and threw it behind his head.

Then, after scolding this group of unworthy descendants and telling them to continue preparing food,

he carried a jar of rice wine and walked out.

With long strides, he stepped out of his home, and in front of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of experts from all walks of life, Su Ping tilted his head back and drank the entire jar of rice wine in one go.

After sighing that the wine was truly poor,

Su Ping's Avatar scanned the surroundings, his gaze looking toward the direction of the street leading to the County Governor's Office.

Assistant General Song Zhong met his gaze, and just one look made the hair on his body stand on end; a chill shot from his spine straight to his brain.

"This cannot be the pressure that a Second-rate Expert can bring!"

"Could the opponent have already broken through to the realm of a First-rate Expert?"

Sensing danger, Assistant General Song Zhong did not continue forward; to guard against the opponent shooting the rider after shooting the horse, he even planned to lead his retainers to slowly retreat after the general offensive began.

"The General has ordered!"

"Whoever kills the devil will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver! And promoted three ranks!"

Several retainers distributed in different positions began to shout the order after receiving instructions from Assistant General Song Zhong.

Once this reward was announced, the soldiers became restless.

Especially the soldiers blocked in the back who couldn't see the front at all, they couldn't help but start clamoring.

Driven by the clamor from the rear and the temptation of the reward,

the infantry in the front row also gritted their teeth and charged.

On the rooftops, most of the experts from various paths watched from the sidelines, waiting for these soldiers to exhaust the opponent's strength.

There were also some hidden weapon experts who began to prepare, intending to perform a miraculous feat.

"Heh!"

When the dozen or so infantrymen in the lead were within twenty meters of the target,

they suddenly heard a soft laugh in their ears.

Immediately after, a piercing sound of something breaking through the air arrived!

The veteran in the lead forced himself to open his eyes against the Wind Technique and saw that it was the wine jar being thrown by the opponent!

He instinctively gripped his shield tightly.

Bang!

After the wine jar smashed into several shields, it shattered like a bomb!

The massive impact force directly caused the soldiers in the front few rows to fall to the ground, leaving them dizzy and unable to climb back up.

Following that, the soldiers in the back rows, unsteady on their feet from the shock, saw a black shadow rushing toward them.

The black shadow crashed directly into the military formation like a cannonball.

In the blink of an eye, a group of figures was sent flying, landing all over the street.

"Block him! Block him!"

Assistant General Song Zhong hurriedly retreated and shouted orders in a reprimanding tone.

However, after a moment of daze, the soldiers who had slightly recovered from their panic saw clearly what was happening before them.

They also saw that the target person was actually grabbing an armored soldier in each hand to use as weapons, smashing his brothers-in-arms away one by one, leaving them dead or alive.

No matter how their superior scolded them, these soldiers retreated one after another, even fleeing toward the alleyways.

How much pay do these Changle County soldiers get each year? They aren't even guaranteed a full meal a year.

As for risking their lives, they might as well let the lord's personal retainers do it.

An armored retainer discovered the soldiers around him beginning to scatter; furious, he drew his waist saber and cursed at them, forbidding them to leave.

But suddenly, his vision went black, and he saw Su Juxia appear right before him.

The thick smell of blood and the pressure made this retainer freeze instantly, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

Just as he was wondering why he hadn't been sent flying yet, he saw Su Juxia throw away the broken armored soldier in his right hand.

Then, he slapped him to the ground.

Immediately after, he lifted him by his hind leg.

This fellow became Su Juxia's new weapon, and with the weight of his iron armor, he appeared ten meters away with Su Juxia with a boom, smashing into a hidden weapon expert who had poked his head out in an alley.

Half of that hidden weapon expert's body was smashed to a pulp; before dying, he couldn't figure out how he, who was proficient in concealing his presence, had been discovered.

And this person's death made the others abandon the idea of getting close for a sneak attack.

As the hidden weapon experts on the rooftops threw various hidden weapons.

Assistant General Song Zhong could no longer care about hurting his own men and had the retainers draw their heavy bows to focus fire on Su Juxia.

The Changle County garrison also had an Archer Battalion.

But these days, pay is prioritized for retainers to ensure that at least someone is available when trouble arises.

Archers who can shoot arrows, as an Elite unit in the army, have their identities merged with those of the retainers.

They became the only soldiers in the county garrison who knew how to shoot arrows and could afford to use heavy bows.

They all practice military cultivation techniques, and with their equipment, a qualified retainer can basically touch the threshold of a Third-rate Expert.

Once the numbers are up, even a Second-rate Expert would not want to face them head-on.

But this demon known as Su Juxia before them.

Had broken the common sense and worldview that these retainers had always held.

The long arrows they shot all stuck into the armored retainers in the opponent's hands.

And the opponent used the armored retainers as shields, in just a single breath.

Without giving the retainers the time to shoot a second arrow.

He had already closed in on them.

Then, afterimages flickered.

The warhorses and the retainers on them, struck by the armored-retainer-version war hammer, were all sent flying backward along with their horses, smashing into the houses or walls on both sides.

Within a few breaths.

Assistant General Song Zhong widened his eyes to find the originally crowded battlefield suddenly empty.

On the battlefield ahead, there remained only Su Juxia, holding a broken, mangled corpse in each hand.

And him, along with the few retainers by his side.

"Mon... Monster!"

"You, you are not a Second-rate Expert at all, you are First-rate... No, you are at least a Grandmaster!"

Assistant General Song Zhong did not think the general of the garrison had such overbearing performance, and a terrifying possibility crossed his mind.

"Stop them! If I live, I will surely reward your families handsomely!"

Saying this, Assistant General Song Zhong turned his horse to flee.

The retainers nearby hesitated because of the general's words.

In this world, there are naturally retainers who will die for their masters.

But obviously, it is hard for that to appear among the county soldiers.

"Too slow."

Su Ping threw away his already broken weapon.

With a movement of his body, he had already crossed past the retainers who couldn't react in time and caught up directly behind the fleeing Assistant General Song Zhong.

He grabbed the opponent's head and gave it a light twist.

As Su Ping's Avatar flew up and landed again.

After Assistant General Song Zhong rode his horse a few more steps, he suddenly swayed and fell from the horse.

Upon landing, his twisted neck was revealed.

The experts all around saw clearly that Assistant General Song Zhong's neck had clearly been broken before he even fell from the horse!

"Assistant General Song Zhong is also a Second-rate Expert, right?"

"Even if he's been busy with wine and women these years and his cultivation has regressed... he's still a Second-rate Expert!"

The experts from various families on the rooftops were all somewhat stunned.

They had considered beforehand that the county soldiers might be routed.

After all, what kind of skills the county soldiers have these days—if others don't know, how could they, these local snakes, not know?

But... not only the ordinary county soldiers, but the retainers also suffered heavy losses, and Assistant General Song Zhong was killed so easily.

This made those experts feel terrified.

Especially since the person opposite appeared so relaxed.

Immediately, some experts chose to distance themselves.

Su Ping glanced at these martial artists on the rooftops.

His gaze locked onto the person with the highest cultivation present.

The next instant, the Su Ping Avatar had already charged over.

On the rooftop, the expert belonging to the County Governor's Office suddenly felt a chill run through his entire body, seeing the opponent's aggressive approach and realizing there was no way to avoid it.

He gripped his long saber tightly, gathered his strength, and slashed out.

The long saber lived up to expectations and collided with the opponent's fist.

Bang!

This expert widened his eyes, seeing the opponent's fist shatter his hundred-refined long saber without the slightest obstruction.

And it ultimately struck his chest.

Feeling as though his entire body had shattered, he flew backward off the rooftop, plunged into a shop, smashed through half the store, and was buried under a pile of rubble and wood.

Boom!

As the Su Ping Avatar moved, while sending one expert flying, the traction of his Qi also caused the surrounding experts who had been hesitating and had not yet fled to grit their teeth and choose to surround and attack him together.

Bang! Bang, bang, bang!

Over a hundred black shadows charged toward the Su Ping Avatar.

And then, one by one, they flew backward at an even faster speed.

Those using hidden weapons were also subjected to Su Ping's "an eye for an eye" treatment.

He caught the hidden weapons directly and threw them back.

It was just that the force behind throwing them back was slightly greater.

This often left the opponents unable to catch them, resulting in their heads exploding or a large hole being torn through their chests.

The black shadows changed from a surrounding attack to fleeing, and the Su Ping Avatar became the one in pursuit.

Every "slap" sound meant another black shadow had been caught up to and sent flying.

Finally, Su Ping leaped onto a rooftop near an intersection, just as he was about to continue dealing with a few young disciples who had only just decided to flee.

"Show mercy!"

The Dragon Tiger Hall Master of the Dragon Tiger Martial Arts Hall rushed out and blocked the path in front of the Su Ping Avatar.

"This old man is the Dragon Tiger Hall Master of this place!"

"This whole thing is a misunderstanding..."

However, before he could finish his sentence, this Dragon Tiger Hall Master discovered that the old man before him had not even looked at him properly.

He casually slapped out with one hand.

Bang!

The few shaken disciples of the Dragon Tiger Martial Arts Hall watched as their Hall Master, whom they regarded as a celestial being, was slapped directly into the house, emitting a series of muffled thuds.

"What Dragon Tiger Martial Arts Hall?"

"Never heard of it."

Su Ping recalled for a moment, confirming that when Su Juxia rose to prominence, Changle County did not yet have this martial arts hall.

It must have moved here after he retired and stopped managing affairs.

But since they had come to participate in the siege against him, how could there be any misunderstanding?

Although they hadn't had the guts to attack since the fight began, they could not escape their punishment!

The Su Ping Avatar strode in front of these few people.

With a sweep of his large hand, he slapped them all away.

Feeling the rooftop empty, Su Ping looked back at the street that had almost lost all its original appearance.

He then looked at the now empty surroundings.

The Su Ping Avatar did not delay any longer; after finding a piece of scrap cloth to wipe his face, he began walking toward the County Governor's Office.

Inside the County Governor's Office.

Not long after the Commandery Governor Zhang sent out his troops, he felt his eyelids twitching wildly.

Unable to stay in the room, he simply climbed to the high tower of the mansion to gaze into the distance.

The representatives of the various noble families by his side also accompanied him, waiting for news together.

Then, after a short while, they heard a thunderous roar and a crackling sound.

There were even faint sounds of battle cries.

But before long, these battle cries began to change in tone, and a series of wails and curses drifted over.

Hearing these sounds, Commandery Governor Zhang's heart skipped a beat.

Following that, they learned the news of Assistant General Song Zhong's death from the fleeing soldiers who were running and shouting.

Several people from the noble families immediately cursed, saying this must be nonsense.

But very soon, experts who had distanced themselves early on ran over.

Among them were those from noble backgrounds who, after hesitating, still ran over to give a warning.

Then came the news: Su Juxia had displayed great might, breaking the military formation alone, killing Assistant General Song Zhong within the army, and then chasing down the experts of various families on the rooftops.

It shook Commandery Governor Zhang until his face turned deathly pale.

The people of the noble families were sweating like rain.

What kind of joke was this—one man contending against hundreds of experts and thousands of troops?

Is this the kind of skill only possessed by the fierce generals of the founding era who were destined to be princes and marquises?

Even for a First-rate Expert, their strength cannot sustain such long-duration, high-intensity combat.

For a martial artist to maintain high-intensity combat by constantly erupting their blood and Qi, only to suddenly run out of strength and die of exhaustion in the middle of a fight, has never been uncommon during battles between two armies.

This is also the reason why they felt they could exhaust Su Juxia to death.