Chapter 118: Vulture Helian Bo

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“A duel is out of the question, don’t we have two people?” Lei Qing smiled calmly and said, “Don’t look down on Qianqian. Qianqian has been through many battles with me, and we cooperate very well.” They were indeed coordinated enough; they had even shot a Holy Rank powerhouse before. This was something Xianyu Bao could not imagine.

“Boss, don’t look down on the prairie Horse Bandits; those who come out to be Horse Bandits are not easy targets.” Xianyu Bao, deeply afraid that Lei Qing would underestimate the enemy, reminded him, “Moreover, among those two or three hundred Horse Bandits, there might be experts not inferior to you or me.”

“Alright, alright, stop being so long-winded and dilly-dallying.” Lei Qing waved his hand in annoyance and said, “Get to work quickly. I won’t look down on the prairie Horse Bandits. You are the main attack force this time. Don’t tell me that leading one hundred and fifty elite fully armored cavalry, you still can’t handle two or three hundred Horse Bandits.”

“Rest assured on this point, Boss.” Xianyu Bao glanced at the dense ranks of armored cavalry, and a sense of joy and pride arose spontaneously. He patted his chest and said, “Our iron armor and horse armor offer very high protection, and we prepared shields in advance. If those Horse Bandits dare to fight us head-on, I guarantee I’ll kill them all without leaving a single one.”

“They aren’t idiots; I doubt they would dare.” Lei Qing tapped his horse’s belly with his legs and laughed loudly, “Do your job well, I’m off.”

Lei Qing, carrying Zuo Qianqian, rode straight towards Wula Village to reinforce them. In Lei Qing’s calculations, the Horse Bandits would not dare to clash head-on with one hundred and fifty armored cavalry.

After all, Horse Bandits were human too. As long as they were human, they would be afraid of death. Killing those who had no strength to resist was naturally easy and satisfying.

However, to fight desperately against a group of incredibly powerful enemies without reason, hatred, or necessity—that Horse Bandit leader would have to have a brain squeezed by a door.

To take a step back, even if these Horse Bandits were amazing and unafraid of a group of armored cavalry, recklessly fighting head-on was still very unwise. Because even if they could win in the end, how many on their side would still be alive?

Fighting relied not just on bravery and knowing how to charge and kill. It required even more wisdom; one had to understand the enemy’s psychology and purpose. Using one’s strength to set up targeted strategies was the true way.

“Damn it, what kind of crazy Boss have I followed?” Xianyu Bao looked at Lei Qing’s retreating figure as he galloped away, shook his head with a bitter smile, turned around, and waved, “Boys, follow me.”

…

Not long after, Lei Qing met Zhou Han the Raven, who had gone out to scout, on the road. Zhou Han reported to Lei Qing that the resistance in Wula Village was fierce, and both sides had suffered casualties. The Horse Bandit side originally had about three hundred men, but now there were over two hundred and seventy left. Zhou Han recognized the leader of the Horse Bandits; it was a famous bandit named Helian Bo. Zhou Han indeed lived up to being the Raven; he had even scouted out who the bandit general was.

Subsequently, Zhou Han quickly went over the intelligence on Helian Bo with Lei Qing. Lei Qing then instructed him to go to the new soldiers’ ambush point to help Cheng Xiao. With the help of a powerful scout, Cheng Xiao’s side could reduce some pressure and also set up more traps and ambushes while leaving fewer traces.

Lei Qing did not hide his tracks at all. He rode Wuzhui and continued to gallop forward, thinking in his mind about Helian Bo’s intelligence, personality, and how to exploit his weaknesses.

This Helian Bo was no simple character; he had quite a reputation near the Northwest and was known as the Vulture. Just by hearing his nickname, one could judge that this person’s character must be gloomy, introverted, fierce, and terrifying.

Indeed, Vulture Helian Bo was a notorious individual. Originally, he held a prominent status; it was said he was the eldest grandson of a large tribe and had apprenticed under the Prairie Sacred Eagle Murong Tiance since childhood, promising a limitless future.

Yet, such a man was not only expelled from his sect but also rebelled against his tribe and family. He wandered like a wild dog, eventually gathering a group of bandits to become Horse Bandits, robbing merchants and villages, and wreaking havoc on the Northwest border. Precisely because he was insidious, cunning, and ruthless, if things didn’t go his way slightly, he would slaughter entire caravans or villages. Wherever he passed, no bones remained, earning him the name Vulture.

The Iron Cavalry Regiment had attempted to organize an encirclement to wipe out Vulture Helian Bo, but he escaped cunningly and luckily, showing how troublesome this man was. He had disappeared for nearly a year. Now that he had returned, was it to take revenge on the Iron Cavalry Regiment, or did he have other plans?

But regardless, Lei Qing had already placed Helian Bo on his must-kill list. Because this Helian Bo was definitely a major hidden danger to the peace of Yehe Town.

As long as Helian Bo was alive, there would be no true peace within the range of Yehe Town. Since Lei Qing wanted to guard this region, naturally he had to ensure its peace. This was his duty and where the greater justice lay.

…

Almost at the same time, outside Wula Village, which was ablaze with fire, two to three hundred dirty but fierce-looking Horse Bandits surrounded the village.

Heavy guards were stationed at all major entrances and exits.

Horse Bandits kept drawing their bows, shooting oil-dipped flaming arrows into the village, igniting flammable objects. Inside the village, fires were everywhere, and thick smoke rolled into the sky.

The able-bodied men of Wula Village had all gone to guard the gates. The remaining elderly, weak, women, and children covered their faces with wet cloths and tried desperately to put out the fire.

However, the Northwest region had always had a dry climate with little rain. The large Wula Village only had a few wells, which usually were only enough for the whole village to use sparingly. Using it to fight the fire was like trying to put out a burning cart of firewood with a cup of water; many people had to use brooms and clothes to beat the flames.

As a result, the speed of extinguishing the fire could not keep up with the speed of burning. For a moment, the grease burned, sending billows of black smoke. It made people cough incessantly, and many of the weaker ones had already fainted from the smoke and were carried to the side for treatment.

Wula Village was located in a chaotic border area and naturally had a martial atmosphere. Not only that, but around the village, a solid earth wall four or five feet thick and one and a half yards high had been rammed out of yellow earth. Many sharp thorns were inserted into the wall to prevent people from climbing.

As long as a small number of villagers skilled in archery guarded the high towers inside the earth wall, they could stop enemies from climbing over the wall and killing their way into the village. Thus, the vast majority of able-bodied men only needed to guard the village gates.

Facing the direction of Yehe Town was the main gate of Wula Village, where there were also the most Horse Bandits in front, over a hundred of them. The leader was a tall, thin man with a stubbly beard and eyes as sharp as an eagle’s.

A group of elite Horse Bandits exuding a fierce aura rode on horses, surrounding him like stars crowding the moon.

Needless to say, this scoundrel was the notorious Vulture Helian Bo.

Although his gaze was sharp, it was as calm as usual as he coldly watched all this. These country bumpkins in the village were clearly still counting on the Iron Cavalry Seventh Regiment from Yehe Town to come and save them.

A bunch of idiots. If the Iron Cavalry Seventh Regiment could really come to save them, would he, Helian Bo, be stupid enough to come and court bad luck? Don’t think Horse Bandits don’t have intelligence sources. Helian Bo had survived hardships and luck until now precisely because he was someone who valued intelligence greatly.

Whether through threats or spending a lot of money, in short, Helian Bo had cultivated many informants for himself, which made his sources of information very sharp and fast.

He had completely found out that the garrison in Yehe Town was about to change. The brave and battle-hardened Seventh Regiment was about to be replaced by a newly formed Ninth Regiment led by a young kid. He heard this Ninth Regiment was a newly formed Independent Regiment attached under the Iron Cavalry Regiment, and they hadn’t even finished recruiting men and horses yet. Even if they had recruited enough men, so what? They were just a bunch of farmers who had just put down their hoes. How were they different from the villagers inside? Just a disorderly mob.

It could be said that the Seventh Regiment had been somewhat demoralized lately. They didn’t scout, patrol, or defend as diligently as before.

This transition period was the easiest time to exploit a loophole.

After suffering heavy losses at the hands of the Iron Cavalry Regiment, Helian Bo had lost many men. He himself had been chased like a wild dog, hiding in a wretched state for a whole year.

Now he finally caught an opportunity. Firstly, he could slaughter the largest village in Yehe Town, announcing his return while taking revenge on the Iron Cavalry Regiment. Secondly, although he had just gathered some scattered soldiers, he urgently needed to establish his authority and also needed a large amount of food and supplies.

This year, the heavens blessed the Northwest with good weather, and the summer harvest yield was good.

And Wula Village, being a large village, must have just collected a large batch of grain. With this batch of grain, Helian Bo could survive the current crisis of food shortage and even expand his team.

Also, Wula Village was a wealthy village nearby. Because the village was large, had many able-bodied men, and tight defenses, small groups of bandits and Horse Bandits did not dare to harass it. Large groups of Horse Bandits felt that attacking them would result in heavy losses and wasn’t worth it.

But today, Helian Bo had set his sights on this piece of fat meat. Capturing it would not only make up for his losses but also gain many benefits to strengthen himself.

Under multiple factors, he made up his mind to attack Wula Village. He even played a trick to lure the Seventh Regiment away.

…

“Old Village Chief, these Horse Bandits just want half of our food.” Several middle-aged villagers in brocade clothes, surrounding an elderly man with considerable authority, said with terrified expressions, “Why don’t we give it to them? We’ve already died dozens of people. If this goes on, I’m afraid the village won’t be able to hold.”

“Foolish.” The Old Village Chief scolded angrily. His turbid eyes were full of experience and wisdom as he said, “That man is Vulture Helian Bo. He is insidious, cunning, and cruel. How can his words be trusted? Vultures are greedy, and Horse Bandits are greedy too. Even if we satisfy them this time and they leave, it won’t be long before they come back. They will develop a taste for it and make endless demands. Defend! Defend properly for me. Wait for the Iron Cavalry Regiment from Yehe Town to save us.”

Seeing from a distance that the villagers seemed to be deploying troops again, putting on a posture of defending to the death.

Vulture Helian Bo revealed a trace of a cruel smile at the corner of his mouth: “Stubborn and foolish old guy. It seems since I, Helian Bo, haven’t come out for a year, they have forgotten my prestige.”

Slowly, he took off his riding bow.

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