Chapter 122: Dragon Fight, Tiger Struggle
Chapter 122: Dragon Fight, Tiger Struggle
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Helian Bo’s calculations were not wrong; as a disciple of the Prairie Sacred Eagle, he was extremely skilled in movement techniques. This was also the reason why he could survive until today under all kinds of dangers. He reckoned that if Lei Qing did not have that Demonic Beast-level warhorse, he certainly would not have escaped his pursuit and ambush.
As for the possibility of an ambush in the Canyon over there, Helian Bo had not even thought about it. For Lei Qing to launch a surprise attack on him in an extremely short time, and to have ambushed a large number of Iron Cavalry in the direction of the grassland, was already the limit. How could he have calculated that he would take the Canyon to escape?
In the end, he was also fooled by Lei Qing’s deliberate deception, fully believing that the killing move was those one hundred and fifty elite Iron Cavalry. He did not expect that the final strike of all Lei Qing’s changes today was actually hidden inside the Canyon, which showed no signs whatsoever.
Of course, Lei Qing’s verbal abuse was also quite effective, repeatedly stabbing at Helian Bo’s weakest points. It made him, in his grief and indignation, lose some of his usual calm and cunning.
The two of them rushed into the Canyon one after the other, running constantly forward along the narrow and winding valley. Actually, walking inside the Canyon was not safe. Especially in this Northwest region, where the wind and sand were heavy and the erosion was severe. Rust-eaten stones would often fall down.
But for experts, they would not care too much. However, the scattered rocks on the ground were a severe test for riding skills and warhorses. Lei Qing’s Wuzhui seemed to be getting more and more exhausted, relying entirely on Zuo Qianqian to constantly draw her bow and shoot arrows, trying to widen the distance from Helian Bo.
Such a performance lured Helian Bo into thinking that victory was right before his eyes, and he kept chasing desperately. He was lured into the Canyon by Lei Qing, half by temptation and half by willingness.
The Horse Bandits, one reason was to follow, and another was that they also wanted to enter the Canyon to shake off the Iron Cavalry behind them that clung to them like maggots on a bone. Those Iron Cavalry seemed not to be fast, but the endurance of their warhorses was surprisingly amazing, still driving the Horse Bandits forward at a steady pace.
Unfortunately, Helian Bo did not know the origin of these warhorses. If he knew that these armored warhorses all came from the Li Chamber of Commerce, and were the famous Saddle Cavalry of the Li Clan’s Imperial Guard, he would probably have felt suspicious and dared not rashly drill into the Canyon.
This Canyon was only ten to twenty zhang wide, and the terrain was narrow, so a large number of warhorses could not unleash their speed for maneuvering, dodging, and sprinting.
Hiss~
Lei Qing’s Wuzhui stopped. He turned over, held Zuo Qianqian’s slender waist, and gave a toss. With the help of that force, Zuo Qianqian actually flew up onto a rock several zhang high, stood firm, looked down from above, and drew her bow to shoot at Helian Bo.
Helian Bo easily blocked it with his curved blade. While slightly surprised by Lei Qing’s action, his heart tightened for no reason. He secretly wondered if he had fallen into a trap?
Before he could think it through, Lei Qing let out a long howl to the sky. Suddenly, a rumbling sound rang out from both banks of the Canyon, as if countless rocks were rolling down the steep mountain slopes.
Rumble, rumble, just like peals of thunder.
Lei Qing had never been to this Canyon, so naturally he did not know its terrain. Now it seemed that this place was even more suitable for carrying out ambush techniques than he had anticipated.
Hundreds and thousands of large and small rocks rolled down turbulently, smashing heavily into the mass of Horse Bandits like raindrops. Among the Horse Bandits, there was no lack of experts who constantly dodged and knocked away the falling rocks.
But even so, this wave of falling rocks still smashed the Horse Bandits, causing many deaths and injuries, with ceaseless wailing, at least seventy or eighty were killed or injured. What was more terrible was that it stunned them. The sudden ambush dealt the greatest blow to their morale.
Just after one wave of rocks passed, a second wave of arrow rain poured down, causing the Horse Bandits to scream incessantly. However, the prairie Horse Bandits were best at drawing bows and shooting arrows. They immediately drew their bows and began to fight back desperately.
Although Lei Qing’s soldiers held the high ground, purely in terms of archery skills, they were much worse than the Horse Bandits. If they continued to shoot at each other calmly like this, even with the advantage of the terrain, their casualties would gradually increase.
Cheng Xiao, a steady High-stage Bronze general, immediately roared, took the lead, and led ten Black Iron elites to charge and kill like a sharp blade.
Amidst the waving of his broadsword, he constantly shook off the flying arrows. In a few breaths’ time, he fiercely plunged into the chaotic group of Horse Bandits. His broadsword danced wildly, dancing out slices of cold blade light. One by one, the Horse Bandits had their limbs flying and heads rolling. The Black Iron elite soldiers under his command were also brave and fierce, their movements clean and steady. Often within a few moves, they could kill an ordinary Horse Bandit. Only when encountering a Black Iron-rank Horse Bandit would they be locked in a struggle, but they still held the upper hand.
At the same time, new soldiers from all directions also charged out with hot blood boiling. The Northwest region had suffered from the harassment of prairie Horse Bandits for years, and most people hated the Horse Bandits to the bone.
Although these were new soldiers, the Northwest youths advocated martial arts, and the folk customs were fierce. Moreover, each of them had complete armor and weapons. Although they had not undergone army training, they swarmed up in a siege. With their momentum like a rainbow, in terms of individual strength, they were actually a cut above the Horse Bandits.
Lei Qing had calculated this point precisely, which was why he dared to let these new soldiers go into battle. If it were really a life-and-death bitter battle, this group of new soldiers would collapse directly before long. But now, it was the best time for them to witness the scene of flesh and blood flying.
Once they had this experience, and after training, this group of new soldiers would quickly become a brave troop.
“Despicable and shameless.” Helian Bo looked back and saw this scene. He was extremely shocked. He knew that his group of Horse Bandits was finished. After roaring at Lei Qing in uncontrollable rage, he drove his horse and charged up. What he was considering now was not killing the enemy, but escaping.
As long as the green hills remain, there is no fear of no firewood.
“Haha, Helian Bo, you still want to leave? You are simply dreaming.” Lei Qing shouted heroically, clapped his horse and charged forward to meet him. Having exchanged blows with Helian Bo slightly, Lei Qing knew very well that Helian Bo was absolutely a difficult opponent.
But the more difficult he was, the more he had to face him without fear. At this stage, Helian Bo was his most suitable opponent.
With a long spear, he repeatedly displayed the Lei Family War Tactic combat skills. In an instant, inside this Canyon, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled ceaselessly.
But Helian Bo was also from a famous school, a well-known Grandmaster and a disciple of the Prairie Sacred Eagle. He had cultivated a body of wind-element Fighting Qi Technique. However, he was different from Poison Eagle Zong Wuji whom Lei Qing had encountered before. Poison Eagle’s wind-element technique was erratic, weird, and hard to fathom, following the path of an assassin.
But Helian Bo followed the style of a general. When he wielded his curved blade with the Fighting Secret Art blade techniques, it was wide open and close, suddenly like a fierce gale blowing, sweeping away the clouds, revealing a domineering air and momentum.
Even with the same wind-element Fighting Qi, they could produce completely different momentum and styles. This made Lei Qing widen his eyes while also secretly admiring. Although he despised Helian Bo’s character and style, he had to admit that this man was a rare expert. Purely in terms of Fighting Qi cultivation and combat power, he was still a line higher than Lei Qing.
But it was only a line. The Lei Family War Tactic martial skills passed down for thousands of years were also extraordinary and indescribably exquisite. Moreover, Lei Qing was also constantly refining his own Fighting Technique martial arts, constantly improving himself during the grinding process.
And Lei Qing was also the kind of guy who became braver the more he fought, and fought without fear of death. Immediately, he concentrated his mind, thinking only of Helian Bo. The long spear “Silver Snake” in his hand was like a swimming dragon, dancing up and down and rolling ceaselessly, constantly spitting out spear glints like a snake’s tongue, with killing moves appearing frequently.
As Lei Qing continued to grind, his Fighting Secret Art martial skills also gradually matured. When the spear techniques were displayed, they were neither hasty nor impatient, with movement in stillness and slowness in speed. The spear tip extended and retracted, catching the enemy off guard and attacking the unprepared. It already faintly showed the posture of great completion. When various War Tactics were displayed, they were truly like floodwaters and waves, one wave after another, continuous and unending.
Helian Bo became more and more frightened as he fought. In an instant, the two had already exchanged more than a dozen or twenty moves, yet they were still evenly matched. One had to know that under this critical situation, he had brought out all his strength, even breaking through a little compared to usual. His Wild Sand Blade Technique was gradually reaching great completion. But even so, he could not do anything to Lei Qing.
He knew that he had underestimated Lei Qing, whose fame was not prominent. Just think, being supported by Xiahou Huan to form the Ninth Regiment, how could he really not have some ruthless moves? In the Iron Cavalry Regiment where strength was respected, even with the support of Mad Blade Xiahou Huan, others would certainly not be convinced.
For a moment, Helian Bo felt some regret. He should have immediately turned his horse and fled just now, escaping as many as he could. But now, not only were the subordinates he had painstakingly gathered again completely wiped out, but whether he could escape himself was still an unknown number. Still, he had to escape…
“Haha, Helian Bo, you are afraid. Go back and hug your master’s wife’s thigh earlier.” Lei Qing fought with extreme exhilaration. In his life, he either encountered those weaker than himself or those stronger than himself.
An opponent like Helian Bo was truly hard to find. Lei Qing also felt deep realization during the battle with him. His Lei Family War Tactic martial skills gradually reached great completion during this fight.
Seeing his momentum weaken, as if he wanted to escape, how could Lei Qing agree? Such an opportunity was extremely hard to find. If he could not make a breakthrough in one go, it would be unknown when he could feel this sensation again. Immediately, he opened his mouth to mock again.
Helian Bo roared in rage again, his eyes filled with bloodshot and fierce killing intent: “Lei Qing, you bully people too much, I will fight you to the death.” He swung his nomadic curved blade, turning it into layers of blade shadows filling the sky, shattering the air. It was like yellow sand covering the sky and earth, rushing towards him.
This was the Prairie Sacred Eagle’s signature ultimate technique, “Wild Sand Ten Thousand Miles”. Although Helian Bo was far inferior to Murong Tiance. But when this move was used with anger, it was already close to great completion, and its power was extraordinary.
The surrounding air seemed to be emptied. The powerful momentum and the sky-full of yellow sand illusions made Lei Qing’s breath stagnate, and he suddenly felt a sense of impending doom.
Lei Qing was seeking a breakthrough opportunity. Seeing Helian Bo so powerful, he was not startled but happy. He withstood the huge pressure of this move. Instead of defending, he attacked. A move he was extremely skilled in, “Lightning Flash and Thunder Clap”, shot out explosively. Amidst the rumbling thunder sound and sizzling electric intent, the “Silver Snake” burst out with incomparably brilliant radiance. More than twenty curved spear glints, like snakes, poured down like a violent storm.
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