Chapter 47: The First Robbery (2)
Chapter 47: The First Robbery (2)
September 25, 2017
The Imperial Road was not bustling, but most travelers moved in groups of three to five. Solitary travelers were rare, and Lu Hai Kong rarely bothered with them.
These lone travelers were either supremely confident in their abilities or impoverished, carrying barely a few coins. Lu Hai Kong had no interest in provoking either type.
Though Lu Hai Kong had never robbed anyone, he was not without wit. His motive for robbery was not solely financial gain; he sought to attract the attention, even the hatred, of Shanwu County.
Robbing lone travelers would hardly achieve this goal. The best option was to target a merchant caravan, which would not only provide substantial income but also garner the desired attention from Shanwu County.
Lu Hai Kong, along with Wang Chao and Ma Han, had been waiting for hours, only to realize that finding a suitable target was not as easy as they thought. They had spent the entire morning searching for a lucrative target, to no avail.
Several caravans had passed by on the Imperial Road that morning, but none met Lu Hai Kong's criteria. Some had too many guards, while others traveled in groups, making it challenging for Lu Hai Kong to find an opportune moment to strike.
As the morning slipped away, Lu Hai Kong grew anxious. Just as he was contemplating his next move, a promising caravan caught his eye.
This caravan was quite substantial, with ten horse-drawn carriages carrying goods. Each carriage displayed a flag bearing the character 'Zhang,' indicating a powerful merchant group. Strangely, the caravan had a surprisingly small escort, with fewer than ten guards in total.
Lu Hai Kong's interest piqued, but he didn't act impulsively. Instead, he used his Investigation Skill to assess the caravan's strength.
He discovered that only the leader of the escort team seemed formidable, while the rest were on par with Wang Chao and Ma Han, if not weaker. Even the leader, in Lu Hai Kong's estimation, didn't seem exceptionally powerful.
Name: Zhang Li
Occupation: Escort Captain
Attributes:
Strength: 30, Politics: 5, Strategy: 5, Leadership: 5
Skills:
Basic Gun Technique Lv. 10
Fundamental Inner Strength Lv. 5
Thunderbolt Gunsmanship Lv. 5
Lu Hai Kong compared his attributes with those of the escort captain and found himself to be superior. This caravan seemed like a feasible target. After a morning of waiting, Lu Hai Kong decided not to hesitate and took action against this unfortunate caravan!
Meanwhile, the caravan that caught Lu Hai Kong's attention was actually owned by the Zhang family, a prominent local clan in Shanwu County. The Zhang family was the most influential clan in the county during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, a time when powerful clans dominated various regions.
Due to their dominant position, the Zhang family's goods within Shanwu County were often left unprotected. Whether it was the legal or underground world, no one dared to harbor ill intentions towards the Zhang family's goods. Despite the valuable cargo, the Zhang family, confident in their control of the route from Qiangyin County to Shanwu County, had only dispatched a token escort team.
The escort guards and the cart drivers alike were all in a relaxed mood, with not a hint of tension in the air. Even when Lu Hai Kong, Wang Chao, and Ma Han rode in on their horses, their presence didn't stir a trace of anxiety.
Despite Lu Hai Kong and his companions being armed and exuding a menacing aura, not a single member of the caravan, including Zhang Li with his 30 points of strength, thought these three were here to rob them.
So, as Lu Hai Kong and his group charged into the caravan, the guards watched, unperturbed, until Lu Hai Kong had slain three to five of their number. Only then did the guard captain, Zhang Li, react.
"How dare you bandits! You dare touch the goods of the Zhang family!" Zhang Li roared, spurring his horse towards Lu Hai Kong and his companions. He brandished his spear, sweeping it towards Lu Hai Kong.
As the strongest member of the group, Lu Hai Kong kept a close eye on Zhang Li. When Zhang Li attacked, Lu Hai Kong showed no fear, swinging his longsword to block the spear with ease.
"The Zhang family? Are they so formidable? Others may fear you, but we, the Dark Wind Fort, do not!" Lu Hai Kong declared.
To everyone's surprise, Lu Hai Kong engaged Zhang Li in combat with his longsword. In reality, Lu Hai Kong's Fundamental Sword Skill was only at level 7, theoretically far inferior to Zhang Li's level 10 Basic Gun Technique and level 5 Thunderbolt Gunsmanship.
Yet, Lu Hai Kong, with his level 7 sword skill, fought Zhang Li fiercely, even gaining the upper hand at times.
In the 1619th chapter of this novel, the reason for Lu Hai Kong's prowess lay in his strength. The Basic Axe Technique provided him with 3 points of strength, and the Basic Blade Technique boosted his strength by 1 point. Additionally, the level 1 Bull Power skill further enhanced his strength, bringing his total strength attribute to nearly 15 points. Although this attribute was no longer visible, the extra strength would not diminish.
Zhang Li, on the other hand, had only around 10 points of strength, far inferior to Lu Hai Kong. Thus, Lu Hai Kong dominated the fight with his overwhelming strength advantage. If not for Zhang Li's higher-level gun technique, Lu Hai Kong would have likely defeated him much earlier.
"Taste my Thunderbolt Gunsmanship, you bandit!" Zhang Li, having been on the defensive, finally unleashed his full power. His eyes flashed with determination, and he thrust his spear towards Lu Hai Kong with lightning speed.
The essence of the Thunderbolt Gunsmanship was evident in its name—speed. It was almost as swift as the Gale Blade Technique, but it also possessed an explosive power.
With this technique, Zhang Li quickly turned the tide, pushing back Lu Hai Kong's aggressive offense and forcing him into a defensive stance.
The spear, being a long weapon, naturally held an advantage over the sword, a shorter weapon. Once Lu Hai Kong's longsword was unable to close the distance and he was forced to defend, the battle was as good as over, with no chance of a comeback.
Indeed, after a dozen or so exchanges, Zhang Li swept Lu Hai Kong's sword away with his spear.
"Hmph, you fool. Die!" Zhang Li sneered arrogantly and, with a wave of his spear, aimed to finish off Lu Hai Kong, now unarmed.
(End of Chapter)
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