CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 45: GATHERING

’Puff!’

A head flew into the sky, blood splattering the trunk of a nearby tree.

When the other archers arrived, they only saw a fleeting shadow.

"Ah!"

Another person was cut in half at the waist, intestines and organs spilling all over the ground.

All that was left was a scream of agony as the assailant vanished into the forest.

"Gather! Don’t give him a chance!"

"Archers, string your bows, be ready to shoot at any moment!"

The soldiers entering the forest felt a profound fear.

It was as if they were facing a forest predator more terrifying than tigers or leopards!

With Lou Yi’s current speed, strength, and martial arts skills, dealing with these ordinary archers was like dimension-reducing strike.

In one afternoon, five archers had died at his hands, along with two hunting dogs killed by slingshots.

This scared Chief Luan from Longkou Town out of his wits, his sense of superiority as an expert failing to hold.

"Inform the people from Xinxiang to come." He hurriedly ordered, then added, "And from other villages. This is a tough bone to crack. With the City Lord’s order, we must not let them make a spectacle!"

"Understood!" someone responded.

Several plump pigeons flapped their wings and flew into the sky.

Soon, the government offices in Xinxiang, Yong’an Village, Baima Village, and other nearby places received news of Lou Yi’s whereabouts.

A large number of soldiers flooded towards Black Tiger Mountain in Longkou Town, the momentum the greatest in a decade.

The news spread, shaking the people of Xinxiang.

"The son of Scholar Lou has become a notorious bandit?"

"I heard he killed hundreds of soldiers!"

"Hiss... Is this the Heavenly Killing Star descending to earth..."

"Even so, he’s doomed. Many constables are going, and many are martial artists!"

Black Tiger Mountain is not small, two hundred yards high and covering a very extensive area with dense forests. Even if there are a few hundred soldiers, finding one person isn’t easy, and they had lost several more hands.

"Hmph! In the end, it’ll still come down to me, Old Ma!" Chief Ma from Baima Village, taller than ordinary people by a head, wearing tubular sleeve armor, with a flamboyant red cloak draped over, had a proud look on his face.

The other constables beside him did not argue, instead, they all looked at Chief Ma’s shoulder.

On his shoulder sat a palm-sized small rat.

Its gray sleek fur, two black bead-like eyes darting around, with a tail as long as its body but an entirely different dark red color.

"With Old Ma’s mutant rat, this thief will surely be unable to escape!" a constable flattered.

"Where are the thief’s clothes?" asked Ma Liangzhong.

An archer handed over a straw sandal for the mutant rat to smell.

The mutant rat leapt to the ground and sniffed around on the grassy path in different directions.

Moments later, it aimed in a direction and darted off with a ’whiz’.

"Follow it closely!" Chief Ma loudly reminded.

...

’Crunch!’

An archer was struck by a stone, slamming against a tree behind him, vomiting blood, his chest clearly collapsed inward, evidently not long for this world.

’Twelve, eight more to go.’

Lou Yi looked at the attribute panel, getting closer to mastering the Dragon-piercing Technique.

He had thought about leaving the mountain.

But outside the mountain is a vast plain, the archers have plenty of horses, escape seems unlikely.

Instead, in this complicated environment, he thrives, developing rapidly.

’If I learn the Dragon-piercing Technique, I’ll gain a powerful trump card. Even if I can’t beat those martial artist constables, escaping with my life shouldn’t be a problem.’

Based on his last encounter with quasi-martial artist Qin Yun, and the constant rumors among the local martial artists, Lou Yi deduced this conclusion.

"Squeak!"

Just then, Lou Yi heard a squeal nearby.

Turning his head, on the branch of a nearby large tree lay a palm-sized gray mouse.

The uniquely dark red long tail, with two black-bean-like eyes, was staring at Lou Yi intently.

’Mice can climb trees now?’

This thought had barely crossed Lou Yi’s mind.

Suddenly, a chill rose in his heart, goosebumps appeared all over his body.

’Not good!’

Without thinking, he rolled desperately into the bushes beside him.

’Whoosh whoosh whoosh!’

The next moment, more than a dozen arrows tore through the sky, landing exactly where Lou Yi had just been standing, the arrowheads embedding halfway into the ground.

"Squeak!"

The mouse jumped to another tree, its eyes fixed on Lou Yi.

Lou Yi rolled again, dodging another wave of arrows.

’This mouse is a problem!’

Lou Yi grabbed a stone from the ground and hurled it toward the mouse’s position.

But the mouse was exceedingly agile, jumping aside before Lou Yi’s action, causing the stone to miss.

Yet, the dense sound of footsteps around him reminded Lou Yi he was surrounded.

"Lou Yi, come out!"

With his location precisely identified, hiding was no longer an option, so Lou Yi simply stood up.

Surrounding him were at least twenty or thirty soldiers, with more quickly approaching from further away.

In the directions of east, south, west, and north stood men dressed distinctly from the ordinary archers.

One, wearing short clothes, revealed arms as thick as ordinary people’s thighs, with disheveled hair, a bushy beard, and many scars on his face, carried a terrifying wolf fang club, exuding a murderous aura.

Another, clad in meticulously made silver armor, with his face covered by an iron mask. His right forearm was missing, replaced by a silver hook gleaming with cold light.

Another, wearing dark red leather armor, tall and imposing, his eyes proud, closely shielded by several archers and hunting dogs.

The last was flamboyantly dressed in a bright red cloak, holding a short pole halberd, with the small mouse from earlier perched on his shoulder.

’Man Slaughter, Iron Hand, the steadfast constable from Longkou Town, and another unknown expert.’

Lou Yi’s face was serious, feeling quite threatened by the presence of these four.

Man Slaughter was the only martial artist in Xinxiang; Iron Hand was well-known alongside Man Slaughter.

The last one’s identity was therefore evident, likely an expert at the constable’s level.

He probably couldn’t beat any of them now.

Lou Yi was self-aware.

He was just a self-taught person, how could he compare with martial artists who learned the Breathing Technique and obtained true teachings?

Much like an amateur can’t be compared to a real scientist.

"You’re the one who killed the Inspector’s favorite?" Man Slaughter’s face, full of coarse flesh, squeezed out a sly smile.

He didn’t look saddened; instead, there was a hint of glee.

"He wanted to kill me, so I killed him," Lou Yi said in a deep voice.

"Defying the government has always been a dead end," Iron Hand’s voice was icy, void of emotion.

"Enough nonsense, quickly capture him and present him to the Heavy Sword Sect as a grand gift!" Chief Luan, standing tightly shielded in the center, was afraid time would allow complications to arise.

Upon hearing this, Lou Yi felt a flicker of hope, realizing they preferred to capture him alive.

Seeing archers lifting their longbows around him, while the four top experts stared intently, the hope of escape was slim,

he shouted loudly: "So many people, surrounding just me, is not the act of a hero! Is there anyone who dares to face me in single combat? If I lose, I’ll surrender willingly!"

"Are you even worthy?" Iron Hand remained unmoved.

Meanwhile, Man Slaughter and the man in the bright red cloak both revealed disdainful smiles.

"As a constable, not having the courage for this?" Lou Yi pointed directly at the man in the bright red cloak, "I can’t say for others, but I could take you down in just three moves!"

Hearing this, Man Slaughter laughed heartily, "Chief Ma, this kid looks down on you."

Chief Ma was furious, his face red with anger: "You there, kid, I can crush you barehanded!"

With that, he charged ahead.

...