Chapter 403

And some were hidden under the withered leaves.

"Bai Tu." Diao Chan rose from the blue stone, one hand cradling her lower abdomen.

Liu Bai Tu immediately stepped forward to support Diao Chan: "Sister-in-law, be careful."

Diao Chan nodded and then looked outside the mountains, asking: "Who exactly are those people who want to plunder us?"

Liu Bai Tu frowned and said: "The strategist said they are the local Qiang tribes."

"Sister-in-law, do not worry; they are merely clowns."

"Once Big Brother Duan returns, he will naturally deal with them one by one."

Dong Yi, who had risen to the side, looked at Diao Chan beside her and said: "Sister Chanch'an, do not worry. Li Jue and Guo Si often fought against the local Qiang tribes in Liangzhou in the past; they will be fine."

At the entrance of Shehu Valley.

At this moment, Beigong Boyu was leading over a thousand Huangzhong Righteous Followers to block the valley entrance.

Beigong Boyu, riding a white warhorse, glanced at the sun overhead and estimated the time.

Just as Beigong Boyu was about to order his men to enter Shehu Valley to intercept the remnants of Duan Yu's family carriage convoy.

He suddenly saw a plume of thick black smoke rising from the valley.

"Hmm?"

Beigong Boyu narrowed his eyes in confusion and looked toward the top of Shehu Valley.

"How can there be thick smoke?"

"Did the old King of Dianling and the others set the fire?"

Beigong Boyu was puzzled.

That shouldn't be.

He had only arranged for the old King of Dianling and the leader of the Canlang Qiang to shout from both sides of the valley to create chaos for the enemy.

But he hadn't arranged for any fire-setting.

Setting a fire could not guarantee the safety of Duan Yu's family.

If they accidentally harmed Duan Yu's family, that would not be the original intent of his plan.

Besides, Duan Yu's family carriage convoy only had about a thousand guards.

The forces of the old King of Dianling and the leader of the Canlang Qiang alone numbered more than a thousand cavalry.

Plus the old King of the Zhong Qiang guarding the valley entrance, they had a total of nearly three thousand troops; there was simply no need to go to the extra trouble of setting a fire.

With premeditation against the unprepared, plus his own troops, a total of five thousand men—could they not take down the one thousand men under Duan Yu's command?

Beigong Boyu was just thinking this.

Suddenly, he heard a massive amount of hoofbeats inside Shehu Valley.

"Prepare for battle!"

Beigong Boyu shouted.

Regardless of whether the two of them had set the fire or not.

Not a single person must be allowed to escape.

Following Beigong Boyu's order, the Huangzhong Righteous Followers behind him prepared for battle.

They began to slowly advance on horseback toward the entrance of Shehu Valley.

However, just as the cavalry under Beigong Boyu had entered the valley entrance for not long, at a turn where they were about to see the enemy coming from the opposite side.

What greeted Beigong Boyu was a neat, orderly line of cavalry charging with long spears leveled.

"Kill for me!"

Li Jue roared: "Pierce through!"

Accompanied by Li Jue's roar, Guo Si, Wang Fang, and Li Meng beside him raised the weapons in their hands and charged toward the not-so-fast Huangzhong Righteous Followers in a side-by-side formation.

Beigong Boyu was stunned on the spot.

These were no remnants.

This was clearly a prepared cavalry force.

Their formation was neat, not the least bit chaotic, and there were no cumbersome carriages in the ranks.

The next moment, Beigong Boyu realized.

The plan had been exposed.

The plan must have been exposed.

Otherwise, what should have escaped from here was a remnant force escorting Duan Yu's family.

Not a cavalry force ready to charge at any moment with a neat combat formation.

With premeditation against the unprepared, and the cavalry led by Li Jue, Guo Si, and the others were all fully armored.

The men borrowed the horses' momentum, and the horses added to the men's power; in just a single encounter, they crushed the unprepared Huangzhong Righteous Follower cavalry like a knife cutting through tofu.

Waves of blood surged, men and horses overturned.

Li Jue and Guo Si wielded their great swords and long spears, hacking left and right to clear a path for the cavalry behind them.

Wang Fang and Li Meng followed closely behind, launching a second charge against the chaotic Huangzhong Righteous Followers.

Behind the cavalry formation, there was also a massive carriage.

Inside the carriage, Jia Xu slightly poked half his head out to look toward the valley entrance.

His hands were tucked into his black sleeves.

His expression was calm and composed, the corners of his mouth slightly raised: "Man may have a thousand plans, but Heaven... only has one!"

At the exit of Shehu Valley.

The old King of Dianling and the leader of the Canlang Qiang were cursing as they were just about to emerge from the valley entrance.

Suddenly, the sky in front of them darkened.

The two could not help but look up toward the sky at the same time.

In broad daylight, how could the sky darken?

However, when the two saw the situation in the sky above them clearly, they could not help but open their mouths wide and stare with wide eyes.

A rain of arrows.

A dense rain of arrows was enveloping them from the sky.

Like a giant, pitch-black fist, it smashed down with a boom.

Where the dense rain of arrows struck, the Qiang soldiers before and behind them seemed to be instantly pressed into the ground.

After one wave of arrow rain, dense cavalry charged out from both sides of the valley entrance.

Among them, a young cavalry general clad in silver armor, with a white cloak on his back, wielded a gleaming silver spear, and the white horse beneath him was extremely fast.

"I am Zhang Xiu of Li County! Who dares to fight me!"

Zhang Xiu let out a tiger-like roar.

Before the old King of Dianling could react, the Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix Spear in Zhang Xiu's hand had already been thrown.

The silver long spear turned into a streak of light, forming a parabola in mid-air.

*Puff! *

The chainmail on the old King of Dianling's chest was instantly pierced through.

His entire body was carried backward by the immense force and nailed firmly to the ground, his eyes wide open.

The old King of Dianling, nailed to the ground and not yet dead, gripped the spear shaft with both hands, wanting to pull the spearhead out.

However, Zhang Xiu, who had accelerated his horse to dodge incoming arrows, was leaning low on his horse's back.

When he reached the front of the old King of Dianling, he grabbed the tail of the spear and pulled it out violently.

Only then did the leader of the Canlang Qiang react.

He swung the long spear in his hand in a full circle, smashing it toward the top of Zhang Xiu's head.

But Zhang Xiu's speed was faster.

After pulling out the Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix Spear, he braced his arm and jumped directly off his warhorse.

Then, holding the tail of the Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix Spear with one hand, he landed on the ground.

With his knees bent and his arms holding the Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix Spear at a forty-five-degree angle, he thrust upward.

His legs crossed, his arms extended, he looked like a silver *peng* bird about to spread its wings and fly high.

In the Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix Spear technique, this was the move: Phoenix Spreads Its Wings. ===== CHAPTER 405 =====