Chapter 283: Taking Action, the Grim Reaper in the Dark Night

Chapter 283: Taking Action, the Grim Reaper in the Dark Night



The moon hung high in the sky, casting a radiant glow over the land.

The pure moonlight bathed the entire city, illuminating it as bright as day, sufficient for reading and writing.

At the western wall of the inner city.

At this moment, torches blazed atop the wall, casting flickering shadows as people hurried back and forth, with more arriving from various parts of the inner city.

Soldiers continuously poured water onto the outer side of the wall.

In the midst of this frigid winter, with temperatures dropping below zero, the water poured down the cold wall, quickly freezing into ice.

This made the wall incredibly slippery, making it challenging even for martial arts experts to scale the smooth ice layer and leap onto the wall.

"Sir, look!" A soldier who was pouring water on the wall suddenly spotted a figure rapidly rising from the direction of the outer city, its speed so fast that it seemed to skim the air.

He immediately shouted out.

As his voice rang out, everyone's attention was instantly drawn.

Patrolling the wall continuously, constantly reminding the guards, Xiao Chen finally poked his head out from behind the battlements.

Then, he saw the figure had already reached the base of the wall.

"No need to panic, it should be Commander Jiang!"

Just then, footsteps approached from behind Xiao Chen.

"Xiao Chen, what's going on?"

At the same time, respectful greetings echoed from behind Xiao Chen.

"Greetings, Chief Commander!"

"Greetings, Chief Commander!!"

"Greetings, Chief Commander!!!"

"..."

Hearing the title 'Chief Commander', Xiao Chen immediately turned around and saw Ge Zhengyuan, the Chief Commander of the City Defense Command, who had just climbed the wall, looking hurried.

The City Defense Command oversaw all the defensive forces in Luo Shui County.

"Greetings, Chief Commander!" Xiao Chen recognized Ge Zhengyuan and promptly cupped his fists in greeting.

Just then, Jiang Ning leaped onto the wall, instantly flipping over the high battlements.

Ge Zhengyuan was about to speak again when he saw Jiang Ning's figure rising from below the wall like a Great Peng, and his gaze was immediately drawn to him.

As one of the prominent figures in Luo Shui County, Jiang Ning held the rank of a seventh-grade official and was among the few martial artists in the county to reach the seventh rank.

Ge Zhengyuan was well aware that to disregard the vertical angle of the wall and climb it solely by relying on the flat surface required exceptional agility.

Moreover, Jiang Ning's leap onto the wall clearly wasn't a display of brute force.

"Strange, Jiang Ning only became Wang Jin's disciple last year, but how is he already so proficient in both internal and external cultivation? Could it be that his apprenticeship with Wang Jin was a cover, and he has another master?" Ge Zhengyuan silently mused to himself.

He vividly remembered the events that transpired during Wang Jin's discipleship ceremony.

At the banquet, Jiang Ning's performance had left a deep impression on him.

This newfound respect was merely a matter of giving the younger generation a chance, but now, Ge Zhengyuan found himself baffled by Jiang Ning's abilities.

Jiang Ning's agility was akin to the Great Peng soaring upwards.

This wasn't something achievable through brute force alone.

Just like himself, a seventh-rank martial artist.

If given some leverage, he too could leap over the wall.

For this reason, all walls were kept exceptionally smooth, and every few years, they were polished to ensure their smoothness.

Even martial arts experts would find it challenging to scale these walls.

Unless one possessed profound inner breath, could leap with a single breath, had a body as light as a swallow, and could soar into the air, only then could they clear a ten-zhang-high wall.

At this moment, Jiang Ning's performance clearly fell into the latter category.

This was the basis for Ge Zhengyuan's conclusion that Jiang Ning had achieved mastery in both internal and external cultivation.

"Commander Jiang, have you just returned from the outer city?" Ge Zhengyuan asked.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning's gaze fell on Ge Zhengyuan, and he instantly recognized the latter's identity.

In Luo Shui County, Ge Zhengyuan was among the few officials who held a higher rank and position than him.

However, with the privileges of the Inspection Office, he was considered one rank higher when encountering officials.

In terms of status and authority, he was not inferior to Ge Zhengyuan.

As for strength, there was hardly any comparison to be made anymore.

"Chief Commander Ge," Jiang Ning clasped his fists and said, "Chief Commander Ge, you should prepare quickly! The Black Mountain Riders have broken through the western gate of the outer city and are now charging straight towards here."

"The Black Mountain Riders?" Ge Zhengyuan's expression turned to one of astonishment, and he hurriedly asked, "Commander Jiang, are you sure it's the Black Mountain Riders entering the city?"

"Of course, I'm not mistaken!" Jiang Ning replied calmly, "There are a total of thirty-four Black Mountain Riders riding towards us."

"Thirty-four riders..." Ge Zhengyuan sucked in a breath of cold air.

As the Chief Commander of Luo Shui County, he was naturally familiar with the Black Mountain Riders.

Thirty-four riders meant there were at least thirty-four martial artists of the eighth rank, seasoned veterans who had experienced countless battles, and well-trained cavalrymen.

This force alone was enough to rival the top-tier combat power in Luo Shui County.

Not to mention, among the thirty-four riders, there were bound to be martial artists of the seventh rank.

The seventh-rank martial artists among the Black Mountain Riders far surpassed those in the county.

The rebellion that started from the Great Roar Mansion has now spread across a thousand miles, and it can be said that they have crawled out from a pile of corpses, having experienced a hundred battles. Compared to the Seventh Rank Martial artists who are raised with respect in the county, they surpass both in will and experience.

Thus, they are naturally much stronger than the martial artists in the county.

This is under the condition of one-on-one.

The martial artists in the army are most skilled in many-on-many battles.

If the number of combatants reaches ten, even if the martial path strength is almost the same, it would still be a one-sided massacre.

Upon hearing this news, Ge Zhengyuan immediately knew that this matter was a big trouble.

Currently, Luo Water County is at its weakest point of the year.

The Inspection office in the county, which is the strongest, has its personnel mostly coming from other cities. Now, due to the long holiday at the year-end, they have mostly returned to their respective cities and homes.

This has also led to the overall strength of Luo Water County now being at least half weaker than it was a month ago.

At this critical moment, and especially during this night when the defensive forces are at their weakest, the Black mountain riders suddenly attacked the city, and after breaking through, they rushed straight to this place.

It is clearly a meticulously planned move.

Ge Zhengyuan is very clear that, being the highest official of the Luo Water County Guard Command, he shoulders the greatest responsibility.

If Luo Water County is completely breached, his head will surely not be safe.

So for him, fleeing and abandoning the city is a dead-end.

Thinking of this, he took a deep breath and then looked at Jiang Ning.

"Commander Jiang, how many Black mountain troops did you see following the black mountain riders?"

"I don't know!" Jiang Ning's gaze turned to the outer city area shrouded in darkness, and he said calmly, "I saw thirty-four black mountain riders from afar and immediately returned to report."

"But without looking, I also know that with the black mountain riders, they must have gathered a batch of black mountain troops. Together, they should have around a hundred people, or even more!"

Hearing Jiang Ning's words, Ge Zhengyuan nodded his head significantly.

"That's right!"

"Now the county's defensive forces are weak, and the incident happened suddenly, many colleagues are still on the road."

"These black mountain troops have chosen a good time indeed!"

Jiang Ning, upon hearing this, quietly observed the direction the black mountain riders came from while slightly nodding his head.

"Indeed, a good time!"

Suddenly.

Jiang Ning said, "They have arrived!"

"What arrived?" Ge Zhengyuan was taken aback.

Jiang Ning replied, "The black mountain riders have arrived!"

At the end of his vision, Jiang Ning already saw the black mountain riders appearing in his line of sight.

"Where?" Ge Zhengyuan was stunned again, then he cupped his ears to listen, and only then did he hear the hooves trampling the ground.

Immediately, his expression turned serious. " "They really have arrived!"

Then he looked at Jiang Ning and clasped his hands, saying, "We will need Commander Jiang's assistance to defend the city. I hope Commander Jiang can lend a hand."

Jiang Ning slightly nodded his head.

"Thank you!!" Ge Zhengyuan bowed and then went down to arrange the city defense matters.

This night is crucial for him, not only concerning his position but also his head.

At this time, people from various parts of the inner city were also rushing to the city walls.

But for what was happening behind, Jiang Ning had no heart to pay attention to it anymore.

He was very clear that the road ahead was the best opportunity for him to act against the black mountain riders.

On the other side.

The black mountain riders were galloping along the main road from the outer city straight to the inner city.

They were very clear that for every moment they delayed on the road, the defensive forces would be strengthened by two parts.

They were merely taking advantage of the time difference.

If they waited until Luo Water County fully reacted and defended the city, how could they, with their barely a hundred-strong troops, breach a county town?

"This is the moment of success or failure!!" Seeing the towering city walls in the distance shrouded in shadows, the leader of the black mountain riders had a solemn expression.

The outer city is easy to breach.

The inner city is hard to breach.

The daily defensive strength of the inner city is several times that of the outer city.

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Moreover, due to the warning from the outer city, the inner city had already made some preparations in advance.

To breach the city, they could only force the climb.

Therefore, he dared not waste a moment in terms of time.

In the entire black mountain riders, only four could do what he could, forcing their way up the ten-zhang high city walls.

Including the saintess of the sect who had not yet shown herself in the dark, there were only five who could achieve this.

That is to say, these five must quickly climb the city walls, clear the obstructing forces, and then open the city gates from within.

Only by doing this could they lead their brothers behind to charge into the inner city.

With the support from their brothers behind, they would then have a foothold and a chance to fully occupy Luo Water County.

This is merely a possibility!

Because no one knows how deep the waters of a county town are.

Or which strong figure might be hiding in seclusion.

There was once a similar incident.

A county town was attacked by the rebel army, just as the city was about to be breached.

An old man walked out holding a branch, and with the sword energy like a river, he instantly turned the rebels rushing into the city into blood foam.

Subsequently, a lone man and his sword easily slaughtered thousands of enemies, resolving the crisis of the city's breach.

As for the rebels who survived that battle, only about thirty percent remained.

This was due to that Sword master not wanting to cause more slaughter.

As the inner city wall became increasingly clear, the ice layer outside the wall reflected the cold moonlight.

The leader of the Black Mountain Riders became increasingly tense.

Today's plan to attack the city mainly came from the suggestions of the Holy Maiden of the Black Lotus Sect in the dark.

Before this, he never had such thoughts.

With just a hundred men, to attack a county city, it was too crazy.

Even if this night presented a perfect opportunity, it was still an extremely reckless move.

But the Holy maiden of the Black Lotus Sect, though not as high in status as the others, was a newly appointed substitute, and her position was not something that a mere captain could compare to.

"Hope everything goes smoothly tonight!!" The leader of the Black Mountain Riders looked at the approaching city wall and silently prayed.

Right at that moment—

Boom—

A sudden thunderclap exploded in his ears.

He turned his head to see.

He saw a brother clad in Obsidian armor, who had followed him through thousands of miles, suddenly torn to shreds of flesh, and the black nightmare steed under him also split into pieces.

"Tieshan!!" His eyes turned instantly bloodshot.

At that moment—

In less than a breath of time.

Boom—

Another thunderclap-like explosion sounded in his ears.

He turned his head to see another brother torn to shreds, the obsidian armor on his body also shattered, and the large black nightmare steed was torn into various sizes of bloody chunks.

He quickly turned his head to look at the city wall.

He saw a figure standing on the city wall, the bowstring in his hand pulled taut again.

A figure stood on the city wall, the bowstring pulled taut once more.

"Find cover, there's a Shadow Archer!!!" He immediately shouted.

At that time,

Jiang Ning stood on the city wall.

Snap—

The arrow in his hand was shot out again.

In the darkness, the arrow left the string, and in an instant, it vanished without a trace.

In less than a breath of time.

Boom—

Another thunderclap-like explosion resounded, and an unknown-strength Black Mountain Rider was suddenly hit as if by a cannon, tearing his body into pieces.

With one arrow shot, Jiang Ning prepared to draw the bow again.

Beside him,

As the Black Mountain Riders approached, they were now fully in everyone's sight, and everyone was already on full alert, waiting for the Black mountain riders to attack the city.

Ge Zhengyuan, as the head of the City Guard Command, also stopped his busy figure, drew the precious saber from his waist, and began to polish it.

He knew, without any siege weapons, the Black Mountain Riders' attack on the city would only involve the strong ones climbing the wall to open the city gates from within.

From the front, only about thirty Black Mountain Riders would lead the charge to break through the city gates.

On the backside of the city wall, elite soldiers also started to load penetrating arrows onto the divine siege crossbows.

The divine siege crossbow was a military weapon specifically to counter martial artists.

The arrowhead of this weapon was very small, only about ten centimeters.

But the arrowhead was cast from ten-thousand-forged fine iron, and under the powerful impact, it could easily penetrate several centimeters of fine iron.

Even a sixth-rank martial artist would not dare to take it with their body.

Only the top-tier fifth-rank inner fortitude realm martial artists could ignore the penetrating arrow for a short time using their inner breath, but as the inner breath depleted over time, they still would not dare to take it with their flesh and blood.

This military weapon was also a controlled weapon of the Great Xia.

Ordinary people daring to possess it privately would be a capital offense.

Only the imperial military could officially use this controlled weapon.

At that moment,

Jiang Ning's two consecutive arrows were shot, the sound piercing the air like sharp whistles.

The two explosions were like sudden thunderclaps in the night.

The commotion instantly drew the attention of everyone on the city wall.

They only then noticed that Jiang Ning was drawing the bowstring again.

Snap—

Jiang Ning released the arrow.

The arrow vanished from everyone's sight, and they heard a series of sonic booms, seeing the air explode into a patch of white mist the moment the arrow left the string.

"Silencer arrow!"

"Commander Jiang's archery is so strong!!"

"..."

Everyone saw this scene and exchanged glances.

Ge Zhengyuan saw this and his expression turned even more pleased.

He was very clear that a Shadow archer who could shoot silent arrows would be a merciless reaper of life in the city defense.

Especially in the night.

Though the moonlight was bright tonight, it was still night,

in the dark shadows, the line of sight is much poorer, and ordinary martial artists rely on their ears to determine the position of the enemyThe speed of the silent arrow exceeds the speed of sound, making it difficult for the attackers to rely on hearing to predict the arrow's position.

This makes the shadow archer even more terrifying.

(Chapter end)



(Chapter end)



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