Chapter 214: Chaos in the Valley

Chapter 214: Chaos in the Valley

In the valley, blades and swords clashed, creating a continuous symphony of metal striking metal.

A muscular man stood out, tearing into his meat with his teeth as he observed the battle before him.

By his side, four robust men clad in black armor stood solemnly, their eyes fixed on the scene ahead, ready to join the fray at any moment.

If someone knowledgeable had witnessed this scene, they would recognize these five men, who had yet to engage in combat, as the infamous Black Mountain Riders of the Black Lotus Sect.

The Black Mountain Riders, astride their Nightmare Warhorses and clad in obsidian armor, were the elite of the Black Lotus Sect's protective forces.

At their peak, this army numbered only a thousand riders.

Yet, these thousand Black Mountain Riders had once achieved the feat of breaking through the formation of a fifty-thousand-strong army.

It was this battle that forged their formidable reputation.

And now, these five men were the renowned Black Mountain Riders.

Among them, the muscular man was clearly their leader.

On the other side, Liu Sansheng wielded his longsword with graceful movements.

His strikes seemed light and airy, but each landed with astonishing power, easily repelling his opponents.

However, these Black Mountain soldiers were all battle-hardened veterans.

Those who had survived were already seasoned martial artists of the Seventh Rank.

With their armor and combat experience, Liu Sansheng found it challenging to break free from the engagement.

"Brother Liu!" Liu Sansheng waved his sword, clearing the enemy in front of him and signaling to Liu Zhaonan beside him.

Liu Zhaonan glanced at him and nodded slightly.

On the cliff above the valley, two figures appeared.

Xie Xiaojiu looked down at the commotion in the valley, her eyes widening.

"How did you notice the disturbance down there from such a distance, sir?" Xie Xiaojiu turned to Jiang Ning.

"By listening!" Jiang Ning replied, his eyes still fixed on the valley below.

Listen? Xie Xiaojiu was taken aback.

She suddenly recalled Jiang Ning's previous words.

At the same time, Jiang Ning observed the situation below for a while and quickly understood what was happening.

In the valley, two teams from the Inspection Office were engaged in a fierce battle with the Black Mountain Army.

The captains, Liu Sansheng and Liu Zhaonan, led their respective teams.

Although they seemed to have the upper hand, the situation in the valley clearly showed otherwise.

On the lakeshore, five figures remained uninvolved.

Just by looking at these five, Jiang Ning knew they were the key core of this Black Mountain Army's remnants.

Five black warhorses were drinking water nearby, although Jiang Ning did not recognize the breed or origin of these five black warhorses.

However, given the presence of the Black Mountain Army, he could guess that these warhorses were the legendary mounts of the Black Mountain Riders, the Nightmare Warhorses.

It was not difficult to deduce that these men were the Black Mountain Riders, the true elite of the Black Mountain Army.

Each of them was a martial arts master capable of taking on ten or even a hundred opponents.

"Sir, there are five Black Mountain Riders here!" Xie Xiaojiu, standing beside Jiang Ning, suddenly became extremely serious.

Hearing this, Jiang Ning said without turning around, "You know quite a lot about the Black Mountain Riders?"

"I know a bit!" Xie Xiaojiu nodded and continued, "I specifically looked through all the information about the Black Lotus Sect and the Black Mountain Army a couple of days ago."

"According to the records, the Black Mountain Riders are the elite of the Black Lotus Sect's protective forces."

"Every member of the Black Mountain Riders is a true martial arts master."

"Only those who have reached the Eighth Rank of Divine Strength are qualified to join the Black Mountain Riders."

"Even the most outstanding among them possess Seventh Rank martial arts skills."

"This is why the Black Lotus Sect was able to cause such a massive rebellion in Great Ming Prefecture."

"Eighth Rank?" Jiang Ning was surprised after hearing Xie Xiaojiu's words.

Xie Xiaojiu immediately said, "Sir, I don't think these people are just at the Eighth Rank. The Black Lotus Sect has long been destroyed, and these remnants have traveled thousands of miles to reach our Ze Shan State. They must be battle-hardened veterans."

"It's not certain that there are Seventh Rank martial artists among these five riders after the harsh selection during their escape."

"Especially the leader among them."

On the other side, Liu Sansheng also realized this situation.

Although their two teams seemed to have the advantage, it was clear that five members of the Black Mountain Army had yet to engage.

These five were undoubtedly the strongest and most skilled among the remnants.

Once they joined the battle, the situation would surely turn against them.

"We've been careless!" Liu Sansheng thought to himself, feeling bitter.

He had initially believed that these Black Mountain soldiers, exhausted from their long journey, would be easy prey for their two teams, which included five Eighth Rank and fifteen Ninth Rank martial artists.

However, after a brief engagement, he realized his mistake.

This group of Black Mountain Army soldiers was not only in excellent condition, but they were also seasoned veterans who had experienced countless battles.

If it were a one-on-one fight, his team members might not even be able to defeat a single one of these soldiers.

A moment later...

"Trying to escape?!" The burly man's eyes turned cold, and he immediately dropped the leg bone he had been gnawing on, leaving only a clean bone, "You four, take them down!"

"Yes, big brother!" One of them replied.

Another man said, "Don't worry, big brother! These martial artists are like human elixirs. How could we brothers let them escape?"

The next moment...

The four men took action.

Above the valley...

"Sir, should we make a move now?" Xie Xiao Jiu asked.

"Let's observe the situation a bit longer," Jiang Ning said calmly, his longbow already in his hand.

Down below, the two teams of Inspection Office personnel were already in disarray due to the four men's attack.

Among the four, two of them were significantly stronger than the rest, true Seventh Rank Martial Artists.

For a while, cries and screams filled the air.

Jiang Ning coldly observed the scene, unmoved.

It wasn't until Zhao Hu's arm was chopped off by one of the burly men that Jiang Ning slowly drew his bowstring.

The bowstring was pulled taut.

Twang!

Jiang Ning took action.

No one below seemed to notice anything.

Until...

Boom!

A loud explosion echoed in everyone's ears, like thunder in a clear sky.

The powerful blast and commotion instantly caught the attention of everyone in the valley.

When they looked towards the source of the sound, they were all shocked.

There was a deep pit, about three feet wide, and next to it, a corpse with half its body missing.

"A divine archer!!!" The burly man shouted, alerting everyone.

Then...

His gaze swept across the surroundings.

On the other side...

Jiang Ning watched the scene below, feeling amazed.

His arrow did not have the effect of a Wind Thunder Arrow, but he had only used the Gale Thunder Force.

The power it brought surprised him.

A Ninth Rank Martial Artist, armored and armed, was easily pierced through his armor and torn apart by the arrow's force, leaving half his body was ripped apart by the power of this arrow is comparable to the effect of a Barrett Blast on an ordinary person.

"Big brother, he's at the top of the valley, occupying the high ground, giving me an advantage. I'm unaffected, but my heart is racing.

"Big brother, on the cliff!" A burly man shouted, alerting everyone.

This shout, everyone in the valley, who had stopped fighting due to the sudden change, looked up at the four sides around them.

Instantly...

They saw Jiang Ning and Xie Xiao Jiu.

They also saw Jiang Ning drawing his bowstring again.

"It's him!!!" Liu Sansheng's expression turned to horror.

The effect of those two arrows left him in awe.

He had never seen such a terrifying arrow technique in his life.

He initially thought it was some passing senior expert.

He didn't expect it to be Jiang Ning, someone he knew well but never paid much attention to.

"My sister-in-law's little brother has this skill?!?!" Liu Sansheng's eyes kept changing.

On the other side...

Liu Zhaonan's eyes flashed with surprise, and then he quickly regained his composure and shouted, "Jiang Commander is our reinforcement! Let's retreat quickly and not hold him back!"

With these words...

Everyone snapped back to reality.

"Go!"

"Go!"

"..."

Low shouts echoed.

Zhao Hu, his face contorted in pain, held his severed arm and retreated with the others.

At that moment...

Twang!

Jiang Ning released the arrow he had been holding.

The arrow, carrying terrifying energy, shot through the air.

At this moment, occupying the high ground, Jiang Ning had the advantage. With his current arrow speed, it would only take a third of a breath's time to land on any of them in the valley.

"Scatter!" The burly man's eyes narrowed, and he shouted loudly.

Then, without hesitation, he moved. The ground beneath him erupted with dirt as he charged towards the surrounding cliffs of the valley with an unstoppable momentum.

"Zhao Liu and Li San! Don't worry about the others, follow me and charge! We can't let him shoot arrows at will!" The burly man shouted as he sprinted towards the cliff.

"Yes, big brother!"

"Yes, big brother!"

The two men, singled out by the burly man, followed his footsteps with unwavering determination.

They both understood very well.

A bowman capable of shooting arrows that could break through sound barriers was like the Grim Reaper, reaping lives at will.

Especially with the advantage of terrain, shooting from above.

Every breath could potentially take the life of one of their brothers.

As the only Seventh Rank Warriors in the Black Mountain Army aside from the leader, they had an unwavering sense of responsibility.

Just then—

Boom!

Another loud rumble reached the ears of the three men.

They glanced sideways, and their eyes instantly turned red.

Another brother, who had traveled thousands of miles with them, had been shot and killed, his body torn apart, leaving no intact remains.

Traveling together for so long,

The number of their brothers had gradually diminished along the way.

And their bond had deepened accordingly.

Now, the burly man knew each of them like the back of his hand.

He knew their hometowns, the number of family members, and the reasons for joining the Black Lotus Sect and the Black Mountain Army.

"Don't confront the arrows head-on! Focus on evading them!" Zhao Liu shouted in a hoarse voice.

Suddenly—

One of the men beside the fallen Black Mountain Army soldier, filled with fear and despair, spoke up.

He watched as his brother tried to dodge, but even with their close friendship, the arrow silently locked onto its target, piercing his heart.

At that moment—

The burly man stared at Jiang Ning, standing above in the valley, and saw the arrow in Jiang Ning's hand leave the bowstring.

In that moment, he knew the arrow was aimed directly at him.

"Big brother!"

He screamed, his voice hoarse with fear.

At that instant, he also moved sideways, desperately trying to dodge the falling arrow.

The burly man glanced back.

In that moment, he saw an arrow falling like a cannonball.

Boom!

The arrow landed, tearing through everything in its path.

It dug deep into the soil before its kinetic energy finally dissipated.

The burly man's pupils contracted as he realized the arrow was unusual.

It seemed to have a tracking effect.

Instantly—

He locked his gaze on Jiang Ning above.

He knew that to stop Jiang Ning from freely shooting arrows, they had to rely on him and the two other Seventh Rank Martial Artists.

He had just caught a glimpse of Jiang Ning's face, though he couldn't recognize him.

He did, however, notice Jiang Ning's youthful appearance.

"His close combat skills must be formidable if his archery is so powerful!" The burly man, seizing the opportunity, charged towards the cliff above, aiming for Jiang Ning's blind spot.

With his powerful arm strength—

He grabbed the cliff, and his body soared upwards.

With each movement, he covered three to four zhang.

His actions on the cliff were as agile as a white ape.

Using both hands and feet, he rapidly closed in on Jiang Ning.

Meanwhile—

Jiang Ning had already noticed the three men rushing towards him.

He pulled his bowstring taut and aimed at the other two men, who were suspected to be Seventh Rank Martial Artists.

Boom!

The arrow pierced the air, moving at lightning speed.

Boom!

The arrow struck down, and the suspected Seventh Rank Martial Artist instantly died.

"Seventh Rank Martial Artist, 5,000 contribution points!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.

He then shifted the direction of his arrow towards the other suspected Seventh Rank Martial Artist.

Boom!

The arrow pierced the air again!

Boom!

The arrow struck down, and the other man also died instantly.

At the same time—

Jiang Ning's companion, Xie Xiaojiu, stood beside him, her eyes wide with shock.

Jiang Ning's terrifying speed in killing enemies left her breathless.

From the initial confrontation between the Black Mountain Army and the two captains, Li San and Liu Linmen, she knew the Black Mountain Army's strength was extraordinary.

Some of their members were so powerful that they seemed like gods of war in Jiang Ning's hands.

No matter the opponent,

Each arrow precisely targeted their lives, without exception.

"If I faced these warriors in the valley, I'd be no different from them," Xie Xiaojiu thought to herself.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end