Just as the dagger was about to pierce the horse's belly, a flash of silver light streaked across his vision, and his hand flew into the air along with the dagger.
A shrill, agonizing scream echoed down the official road.
Having fled all the way with Mu Qing in the past, Mu Ning had seen all sorts of monsters and demons. It was obvious at a glance that these people before her harbored malicious intentions.
She had been on high alert early on, especially regarding the few people kowtowing at the front.
The other "refugees" launched an attack on the merchant caravan almost simultaneously. Their tacit cooperation clearly showed this wasn't their first time.
Mu Ning's eyes were ice-cold. "Kill them!"
As she spoke, the long saber in her hand slashed down again. The "refugee" who had just lost his hand was instantly decapitated, and his screams came to an abrupt halt.
Chen Xi was also using a saber for this trip. With a single swing of his blade, the head of the "refugee" who was trying to ambush him went flying.
Click, click, click.
Before the "refugees" could even react to the bloody scene of spraying gore, they heard a strange, crisp sound.
Looking toward the noise, they saw that the caravan guards, who had been carrying strange bundles on their backs, were now holding crossbows in their hands?!
They had never seen such weapons before, but from the design, they seemed to be a type of crossbow.
And right now, these crossbows were aimed squarely at them!
Swish, swish, swish...
Dozens of arrows were fired almost simultaneously...
"Hiss," Mei Sheng gasped, drawing in a sharp breath of cold air.
Mei Ren glanced at him. "It's not the first time. You'll get used to it eventually."
This wasn't the first time they had been robbed on this journey. He still remembered the shock he felt the first time he saw the Jinyang Army use the Dragon Feather Crossbow.
They had known beforehand that Gefeng possessed divine weapons, but it was only when they truly faced its might that they realized just how powerful this weapon was.
At this moment, they felt incredibly fortunate about their decision to move to Gefeng.
Mei Sheng shook his head and sighed. "No matter how many times I see it, I'll never get used to it. With the Jinyang Army possessing such a divine artifact, expanding their territory is only a matter of time, and that day shouldn't be too far off."
After saying this, his expression became animated again. "I heard from the commoners in the city that when Quzhao's army of two hundred thousand besieged Gefeng, the Jinyang Army wasn't afraid in the slightest. They even dared to lead the civilians out of the city to farm."
Mei Ren cast a sidelong glance at him. "How many men does the Quzhao army even have in total? Just take the commoners' words with a grain of salt."
He had noticed a problem: ever since arriving in Gefeng, this younger clan brother of his particularly loved listening to gossip in the streets and alleys.
He especially liked eavesdropping on the conversations of old women. Every time he heard them talking about interesting events in the city, he would stop dead in his tracks.
He guessed that the exaggerated figure of a two-hundred-thousand-strong army came right from the mouths of those old women.
Mei Sheng waved his hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. Gefeng won anyway. That was two hundred thousand Quzhao soldiers, and Gefeng was actually able to face them calmly."
Mei Ren smiled helplessly. "Gefeng was able to force the Quzhao army to retreat, and it wasn't just because of these crossbows. Look at these soldiers of Gefeng; every single one of them is a fierce warrior capable of taking on ten men at once."
Mei Sheng nodded. "Indeed. We've encountered so many bandits on our journey this time, and they were able to defeat them easily."
Mei Ren looked toward the scene of the fight. "They're about to win here, too."
Mu Ning looked at the remaining dozens of "refugees" fleeing in all directions and slightly raised her hand. "Take them alive."
The Dragon Shadow Guards immediately stopped shooting, spurred their horses, and gave chase.
Mu Ning looked at Chen Xi. "These corpses need to be buried. We might as well set up camp nearby. It's getting late anyway, just in time for the midday meal."
Chen Xi had no objections. "Alright."
The caravan quickly found a flat piece of land nearby and began to set up camp.
Before long, the Dragon Shadow Guards brought over the dozens of people they had captured.
Mu Ning issued an order: "Leave ten people to prepare the midday meal. The rest of you, come with me to deal with the corpses."
Watching the Dragon Shadow Guards busily preparing the meal, Mei Ren sighed with emotion. "Tell me, how is our Lord so amazing? These stainless steel kettles and rice pots are so lightweight, and they don't break when dropped."
They used to use tripods and cauldrons, which were incredibly bulky, while clay pots were fragile, making travel very inconvenient.
Mei Sheng smiled. "I think their small iron pots and iron stoves are the real marvels. And those honeycomb coal briquettes—they even save us the trouble of gathering firewood."
For convenience, Jiang Jin had not only instructed them to bring several iron stoves along but also packed two wooden chests of honeycomb coal briquettes. All they had to do each time was start a fire.
These items were small and lightweight; a single carriage could basically hold them all.
On the other side, the dozens of "refugees" were forced to dig pits with loud thuds.
Mu Ning couldn't help but purse her lips.
Before leaving, Jiang Jin had told her to bring hoes, and she had been puzzled. "My Lord, why are we bringing hoes? We're not going to reclaim wasteland for farming."
Jiang Jin had smiled with a face full of kindness. "You'll find a use for them."
They really did find a use for them, and more than once.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead, feeling the scorching midday sun, and secretly admired Jiang Jin's foresight.
To prevent plagues, corpses had to be either buried or burned.
Burning was actually quite difficult, as it required a massive amount of firewood. If the bones weren't burned completely, they still had to be dealt with separately. Therefore, they usually just buried them to be done with it.
But the pits had to be dug deep to prevent people from digging them up and dragging the corpses away.
Chen Xi directed the other Dragon Shadow Guards and the Mei family guards to drag the corpses over and pile them by the edge of the pit.
By the time the caravan finished their midday meal, the pit was finally dug.
The dozens of "refugees" who had been digging were panting in exhaustion. They looked at the caravan in terror. "The... the pit is dug. Can... can we go now?"
Mu Ning shot them a glance. "Move the corpses into the pit."
The refugees dared to be angry but didn't dare speak out. Looking at the hoes in their hands, a ruthless glint flashed through their eyes, but when they saw the caravan guards glaring at them like tigers watching their prey with those strange crossbows, they lost all courage to resist.
This time, they had completely fallen.
To think that a group of less than a hundred people possessed such formidable weapons. If they had known earlier, they wouldn't have made a move.
Using their disguise as refugees, they didn't know how many people they had tricked and killed. They had succeeded every time, never expecting to hit a brick wall this time.
Having no other choice, the refugees paired up and threw their familiar brothers into the pit.
They didn't feel much sorrow; after all, they had only banded together for a bite to eat. Furthermore, with their own lives currently in the hands of others, they were in no mood to feel sad.
Sure enough, after they threw all the corpses into the pit, the woman raised her saber and pointed it at them, her voice cold and stern: "You all, get down there."
The refugees were horrified. Although they knew they probably wouldn't escape today, facing it for real still filled them with immense indignation.
"You... you're shameless!" Making them dig a pit and then burying themselves—it was simply too bullying.
Mu Ning sneered coldly. "Today, we have the strength. Otherwise, we would probably have died an even more miserable death. Letting you die directly is our mercy."
The refugees flew into a rage and charged toward her.
Mu Ning didn't even move a muscle. Before the refugees could reach her, the arrows from the hands of the Dragon Shadow Guards were fired...
Gefeng City.
Jiang Jin looked at the map and asked, "Are you saying that there are several thousand Quzhao soldiers marching through Yuqiu Mountain, at the border between Gefeng and Zhi County?"
Zhi County was to the southeast of Gefeng.
Yun Yu nodded. "Yes, approximately 5,000 men. Their direction of advance should be Ze'a Commandery."
Jiang Jin frowned. These soldiers were very likely heading to Ze'a Commandery for reinforcements. It seemed the battle situation between the two sides was far more severe than the information she had received.
Yun Ci's expression was grave. "These 5,000 Quzhao soldiers should be going to reinforce Ze'a Commandery. It's obvious they have reached a critical juncture."
Xie Nanxiao drew in a sharp breath. "Is a victor about to be decided?"
Zhou Sui shook his head. "Not necessarily. We can only say that both sides are currently evenly matched."
Xia Chanyi asked, "Does the Quzhao army needing to transfer troops from Donghu Commandery mean that the noble families have the upper hand?"
Jiang Jin shook her head. "On the contrary. Quzhao can transfer troops from elsewhere, while the noble families are trapped in Ze'a Commandery. They have no reinforcements, so their forces will only dwindle as the fighting continues."
Yao Ji asked, "Do we attack?"
Jiang Jin raised her eyes to look at everyone. "We attack!"
If Ze'a Commandery were to be captured by Quzhao, it wouldn't be a good thing for Gefeng, because Quzhao's next target would very likely be Gefeng.
Her new city walls were not yet built, and most of the crops had not yet ripened.
In that case, wiping out these 5,000 troops that might go to reinforce Ze'a Commandery would not only annihilate Quzhao's effective forces, but also indirectly help Ze'a Commandery.
Let them fight a little longer—ideally until she had finished building the new city and all the grain was harvested and stored away.
Zhou Sui was very excited. "Let me go this time."
