Chapter 19: Fierce Battle at Yinwind Gorge.

Yinwind Gorge.

The terrain here was dangerous, named for the piercing gloomy wind that howled there all year round. The cliffs on both sides of the gorge were steep as blades, impossible even for mountain apes to climb.

The narrowest part of this gorge could only allow three horses to pass side by side. The bandits of the One-Eyed Dragon, one of the Three Scourges, had used huge stones to build a pass. Two arrow towers were set up above the pass, with people standing guard twelve hours a day. It was truly a place where one man could hold the pass against ten thousand. Moreover, once someone invaded, the bandits in the stronghold at the bottom of the Yinwind Canyon would swarm out, taking full advantage of the terrain.

Based on Lei Qing’s rough estimate, to storm and wipe out the remaining hundred or so bandits of the One-Eyed Dragon stronghold, it would take at least ten times that number of regular government troops, or an entire squadron of Bronze-rank experts.

Yet Lei Qing’s side only had two people. One High-stage Bronze, and one Elementary-stage Black Iron. Let alone storming the place, even in a direct confrontation, Lei Qing’s side would undoubtedly suffer a crushing defeat.

Fortunately, in this world, many battles are not won by storming alone.

Lei Qing and Zuo Qianqian still rode one horse together. With a leisurely attitude, they slowly stepped into Yinwind Gorge, just like going on an outing, controlling the horse to walk with light, quick steps. In a short while, they arrived thirty yards away from that simple but seemingly sturdy Yinwind Pass.

“Hey, did you guys eat bear hearts and leopard gall? Do you know what place this is?” From a distance, a group of patrolling bandits on the pass shouted violently, “Get lost, quick.”

“Qianqian, say hello to them first.” Lei Qing ordered relaxedly, “Test their depth.”

Zuo Qianqian flipped off the horse, stood her ground, and calmly drew her bowstring. Aiming at the patrol team on the pass dozens of yards away, with a zheng sound, an arrow mixed with a faint black energy shot out fiercely, drawing a beautiful parabola in mid-air.

The leading bandit, possessing High-stage Black Iron strength, immediately shouted upon seeing this, and slashed out with a blade to deflect the arrow. Immediately, he shouted in exasperation, “Enemy attack, enemy attack.”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. From the arrow tower, several sharp arrows shot back in retaliation; the arrows were fast and accurate, clearly fired by elite bandits skilled in bows and crossbows. Lei Qing urged his horse forward, drew his sword, and easily deflected those few sharp arrows. In passing, he grabbed Zuo Qianqian back onto the horse, rode towards the mouth of Yinwind Canyon without any hesitation, and gathering his Fighting Qi, turned his head and cursed, “You turtle sons, do you dare to come chase your grandpa?”

“Open the pass, cavalry squad, chase them for me.” The bandit leader guarding the city roared as if he had suffered a huge insult.

His deputy hurried forward to persuade him, “Boss, that’s a trap to lure the enemy.”

“Lure your dead head! Where in this world is there such an obvious trap to lure the enemy? Cavalry, chase and kill them for me, quick.” The bandit leader, though in a rage, still had a bit of reason left. He snorted and said, “Fire the signal arrow, let them lower the Dragon-Severing Stone. Let’s see if these two idiots who delivered themselves to our door have the ability to get out of Yinwind Gorge.”

Whoosh~~Bang~

A sharp arrow shot into the sky and exploded brilliantly like fireworks.

Just at this moment, on the left bank of Yinwind Gorge, a stay-behind bandit on rotation pried a huge stone loose.

The huge stone rumbled and rolled down, the sound echoing as if a mountain was collapsing. In just ten or so breaths’ time, it crashed into the mountain path. Immediately after, hundreds of smaller stones rolled down like rain. In an instant, the already narrow mountain path was blocked three or four yards high.

With his retreat cut off, Lei Qing was not alarmed but delighted. He thought to himself that the information provided by that spineless fellow was indeed accurate enough; the bandit leader on rotation at noon was indeed of a violent temper and could not stand provocation. Now it seemed the effect was even better than he had expected.

The so-called Dragon-Severing Stone was meant to cut off the retreat of a large force. For an expert like Lei Qing, with prior preparation, how could this mere pile of rocks three or four yards high block his path?

He immediately rode all the way to the pile of Dragon-Severing Stones, took out a rope anchor and a wooden round shield from Zuo Qianqian’s Spatial Ring. He first threw the anchor hook to the other side of the Dragon-Severing Stone, instructed Zuo Qianqian to climb up first, and found a rock as cover.

Lei Qing held the shield in his left hand and a sword in his right, standing majestically behind a fallen rock.

Dada dada. A series of hoofbeats rang out; there were fully twenty or thirty riders. The few in front, holding bows and arrows, shot arrows at Lei Qing from a distance using mounted archery techniques.

Lei Qing was in no panic; he half-crouched and held the shield to protect his head. Thud thud, two of the sharp arrows hit the round shield accurately, making a dull impact sound. At the same time, Zuo Qianqian, who was on high ground and blocked by cover, began to open her bow and fight back.

After being promoted to Black Iron-rank, Zuo Qianqian’s strength had increased significantly, making drawing the bow even easier and more natural. Sharp arrows shot out one after another, primarily targeting those three or four mounted archers. In about ten breaths’ time, she shot four or five arrows in a row, and two of the mounted archers failed to dodge and fell from their horses.

The leading bandit leader was furious; he rode his horse fast, heading straight for Lei Qing. A chestnut warhorse under his control sped up violently, hooves trampling the ground and splashing snow.

Clang clang~ His skills were also extraordinary; after deflecting two of Zuo Qianqian’s arrows in a row, he suddenly pulled up on the reins. The chestnut warhorse neighed and leaped high into the air; at the same time, that extraordinarily brave bandit leader slashed diagonally at Lei Qing.

Borrowing the momentum of the warhorse, the slash created a streak of light; the momentum was truly magnificent and domineering.

Even Lei Qing’s eyes lit up; there were indeed some extraordinary experts among this bandit group. Although this bandit leader acted rashly and his revealed aura was only High-stage Black Iron, his martial prowess was quite remarkable. It was no wonder he dared to lead twenty or thirty riders to chase directly; he clearly had some real skill.

“Well struck.” Lei Qing was also provoked into a fighting spirit; it was as if a raging fire was burning in his chest. An ordinary long sword in his hand seemed to bloom like a flower, emitting a cold light.

Clang clang clang, in just an instant, Lei Qing pointed out seven or eight strikes as fast as lightning and wind. Every sword strike was like a dragonfly skimming the water, landing on that streak of light. The final strike finally completely neutralized the power of that slash and forcefully deflected the blade. Not only that, the Heavenly Thunder attribute Fighting Qi flowing with each sword strike had already invaded the bandit leader’s body, numbing half his arm with itching to the point where he almost dropped his blade.

The light in Lei Qing’s eyes flashed brilliantly, seemingly breeding bursts of electric light, showing that he had burned his Heavenly Thunder Fighting Qi to the extreme. His entire body was filled with endless explosive power.

With his left hand, the wooden shield slammed violently towards the horse’s head.

With a loud crack, the wooden shield shattered. And that horse, weighing hundreds of pounds, was forcefully slapped by Lei Qing’s violent power, causing it to plunge headfirst from mid-air to its death on the ground. The bandit leader, losing his balance, performed a somersault in the air. Just as he wanted to land on his feet, a sharp arrow whistled through the air, accurately piercing into his face. Just as his scream started, a flash of sword light from Lei Qing was seen. He easily harvested the head of this bandit leader who possessed impressive strength and great power.

The remaining twenty or so riders had already followed closely, charging into the battle formation.

“Kill.” The fighting spirit in Lei Qing’s body was aroused; instead of retreating, he advanced, his movement as fast as lightning and as elusive as a ghost, his swordsmanship even more erratic and untraceable. Those with slightly stronger strength could rely on quick instinctive reactions to block a sword strike or two.

But those slightly weaker were directly killed by Lei Qing with a single strike. The terrain here was narrow, and because the Dragon-Severing Stone had been lowered, the ground was overgrown with scattered rocks. Riding a horse, they could not utilize the charging advantage of the warhorses at all. Instead, they were restricted everywhere, turning their advantage into a disadvantage.

By the time the bandits realized this and dismounted one after another, the warhorses running all over the place, the messy stones, and the narrow terrain hindered their joint attack on Lei Qing.

Zuo Qianqian also began to display her fierce power; in this chaotic environment, she took full advantage of the terrain. Zuo Qianqian, this archer with very accurate marksmanship, displayed terrifying power. In the chaos, there was simply nowhere to hide. In just twenty or thirty breaths’ time, she shot seven or eight arrows and took down fully five people.

And Lei Qing became a blood-soaked god of slaughter, beheading more than ten people in a row. He utilized his High-stage Bronze crushing strength, excellent movement and swordsmanship, and various favorable situations to the extreme.

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