Chapter 9: Zuo Qianqian’s Archery

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This series of changes happened completely in a flash. Before Zuo Qianqian could react, two fierce enemies were slain. Even though Zuo Qianqian was a very experienced and mature young girl, after seeing such a cruel and shocking scene, her face turned pale with fright, and her legs were too weak to move.

Lei Qing controlled the horse with his legs, bent down to scoop her up by the waist, and placed her behind him, shouting in a low voice: “Qianqian, snap out of it, hold onto my waist for dear life.”

Fortunately, Zuo Qianqian was not one of those sheltered young misses from the Imperial Capital. After being scolded by Lei Qing, she shuddered and came back to her senses. Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist as she asked anxiously with a trembling voice: “Brother Lei, please, save my grandpa.”

“It is my duty.” Lei Qing’s face was already stained with blood as he spoke solemnly and fiercely. Leaving aside that Zuo Qianqian was his savior, even if he usually saw a group of bandits slaughtering a village, as long as it was within his ability, he would absolutely not stand idly by. His blood was not cold.

Just as the two were speaking, another three bandit knights charged over through the thick smoke. The leader was a man with a scarred face; his aura was clearly stronger than the two riders beside him, and the horse he rode was a sturdy chestnut. Upon seeing Lei Qing and the others, as well as the corpses of his two companions, he was first slightly surprised. But immediately, his eyes turned bloodshot, and he roared in a rage: “Where did you come from, you bastard kid, daring to meddle in my business. I will kill you to avenge my brothers.”

The Fighting Qi aura revealed on this man was estimated to have reached Mid-stage Black Iron. Even in the Empire’s regular army, he would be an elite among elites. He clamped his legs against the horse’s belly, waved a giant axe, and charged over like a whirlwind. The two riders behind him also followed on horseback, the bloody scimitars in their hands flashing with cold light.

During the months of being chased by the mercenary group, Lei Qing had killed more than ten Black Iron-rank elites. Naturally, he did not feel a shred of fear towards someone whose strength was clearly lower than his own. However, on the battlefield, having a higher strength level did not guarantee a win. In an ever-changing situation, anything could happen.

Otherwise, everyone could just compare whose Fighting Qi cultivation level was higher, and that person would win? The actual situation was that since ancient times, many High Rank warriors had died on the battlefield at the hands of weaker people whose levels were much lower than theirs. Even someone as strong as a Gold-rank warrior would not dare to say they were invincible on the battlefield, because accidents could happen at any time. Or, if a Gold-rank expert was surrounded by thousands of low-rank warriors and could not break out, the outcome would be being piled on and beaten to death. Such situations were not uncommon throughout history.

Therefore, if anyone felt they were strong and looked down on others, acting arrogantly, they would sooner or later die because of their own carelessness. These few months of tempering made Lei Qing understand a principle: facing all enemies, one must be extremely vigilant and not careless. He had many wounds on his body left by Black Iron-rank warriors, and some even left by unranked soldiers.

When two enemies meet on a narrow path, the brave one wins.

The enemy was fierce, but Lei Qing, as a High-stage Bronze warrior, naturally could not show weakness. His expression was solemn as he spoke to Zuo Qianqian without turning his head: “Don’t be afraid, just hold on to me tight.” As he spoke, he clamped his legs against the horse’s belly. Driven by Lei Qing and stimulated by a burst of Heavenly Thunder Fighting Qi, the mixed-color horse beneath him unleashed a fierce nature, fearlessly carrying the two of them as it charged head-on at the enemy.

The Lei Family was established through martial arts. Their ancestors had once followed the Empire’s founding emperor on campaigns east and west, establishing illustrious merits, and for this, they were granted a hereditary earldom. Although the family had now declined and was far less glorious than their ancestors, the family’s education for its members had never relaxed.

Horsemanship was one of those subjects.

On the battlefield, a horse is a warrior’s best partner. It helps you kill enemies, saves you a lot of physical strength and Fighting Qi, and can even carry you to escape when the situation is unfavorable. Lei Qing once possessed a precious fine horse named Traceless, implying leaving no trace when treading on snow. On a wide official road, this horse could travel a thousand miles in a day.

Unfortunately, during the escape, his beloved horse had been shot dead. This was a common tactic used by pursuers: to shoot the man, first shoot the horse.

In some other subjects, the once ignorant Lei Qing might have slacked off, playing truant and skipping classes. But in horsemanship training, he never slacked off. Because Lei Qing, like the vast majority of the young dandies in the Imperial Capital, loved to play with horses and often rode them rampantly through the streets, for which he had suffered family discipline many times.

It was only when he started his escape that Lei Qing realized what a pleasant thing it was to have a horse. Relying solely on two legs to travel was purely asking for trouble.

He hadn’t ridden a horse in a long time, even though it was a worthless mixed-color nag. But Lei Qing felt a long-lost sense of exhilaration. Mounted combat was also a required course for the Lei Family. If any family descendant did not learn mounted combat well, they would be in big trouble.

Thus, Lei Qing was quite familiar with mounted combat and knew even better how to use Heavenly Thunder Fighting Qi to stimulate the warhorse beneath him, making it unleash stronger potential.

The nag beneath him burst out with unprecedented speed. Its eyes turned red from the stimulation of the Heavenly Thunder Fighting Qi, and it fell into a state of madness. Carrying the two of them, it charged out like a whirlwind. Just as the two leading horses were about to collide.

Lei Qing and the enemy reacted almost simultaneously, slightly turning their horse heads. The two horses brushed past each other at a distance of less than an arm’s length. At the same time, Lei Qing’s Ice Flame instantly burst out with a brilliance like fireworks, blooming into six clearly visible, seemingly real sword glows that looked like lightning.

Clang, clang, clang. The giant axe of the Black Iron-rank warrior was knocked away by a continuous force. Before he could react, one of the sword glows pierced into his wide-open chest. Even though the long sword Ice Flame was now very worn out, it was still exceptionally sharp. How could a mere fur coat and weak Fighting Qi protection withstand it?

The sword pierced the heart, and blood spurted out.

This move was naturally the first style of the Lei Family War Tactic, Lightning Flash and Thunder Clap. With this sword strike, Lei Qing instantly bloomed six sword glows. It was not that his swordsmanship had regressed, but because his opponent was only a Mid-stage Black Iron, there was no need for Lei Qing to use the sword move with all his strength.

On the battlefield, anything could happen. Using sword moves of varying degrees against opponents of different levels was a basic method, as it could conserve Fighting Qi. Otherwise, once a strong enemy was encountered but Fighting Qi was insufficient, one would be in big trouble.

Although this move, Lightning Flash and Thunder Clap, only produced six sword glows, it was enough to deal with a Mid-stage Black Iron. Moreover, these six sword glows were as solid as substance, clearly visible, and looked exactly the same. Clearly, after advancing in rank between life and death, due to the improvement of his physical qualities in all aspects, Lei Qing’s control over sword moves had made commendable and significant progress.

After instantly killing that Mid-stage Black Iron warrior with one move, the other two unranked warriors were no longer a threat. Once again, like a magical maneuver of reining in the horse and crossing paths, a sword glow flashed and sliced off one person’s head. The other person, seeing the situation was bad, hurriedly rode away to escape, whistling as he fled.

“Coward.” In a short time, Lei Qing, having killed four people in a row, was also full of murderous intent, and his eyes turned red. Just as he was about to clamp his legs to chase, he felt Zuo Qianqian behind him suddenly let go of him. Her two legs wrapped around, tightly entangling his waist.

Before Lei Qing could question her, he heard the creaking sound of a bowstring being drawn behind him.

Thump~

When the familiar sound of the bowstring vibrating rang out, an arrow shot out from behind the horse with a whoosh. The arrow was fast and swift, chasing straight after the knight fleeing in panic. Arriving later but hitting first, it ruthlessly plunged into his back.

“Ah!”

The escaping knight fell from his horse in response to the sound, crashing miserably onto the ground.

Lei Qing looked back in astonishment, only to see Zuo Qianqian’s legs clamped around his waist, while her entire delicate body was completely leaned back. She had taken out her bow at some unknown time and, using this reclined posture, shot and killed the fleeing enemy with one arrow, saving Lei Qing the trouble of chasing.

“Hiss~” Even with Lei Qing’s state of mind, he couldn’t help but gasp. This girl was really amazing; she recovered from her panic so quickly and adapted to the battle. Moreover, she had killed the escaping enemy with such speed and precision in such an awkward and strange posture.

Lei Qing could also shoot arrows, of course, and his aim was not weak, but it seemed he was somewhat inferior compared to this girl. No wonder Zuo Qianqian, this little girl, dared to go alone to find trouble with the Scar-Head Wolf at such a young age; she really had considerable ability.

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