Chapter 48 Xia Wei - Surprise Attack
"Two miles ahead is the camp of the bandits of Hengshan. We are very close. If we get any closer, we will be discovered by the enemy."
At the back of the slope crowded with fallen snow, brave soldiers holding spears looked into the distance and spoke slowly.
Behind him were about ten people. They were carefully selected by Commander Zhang Yong and were experts in raiding the rear camp of the Hengshan bandits.
"The bandit Hengshan has already led his team out. Now is our chance."
"Most of the bandits guarding the camp are cultivators, including some third-level warriors. We're probably not going to be able to defeat them with our strength alone. Fortunately, we have Miss Xia Wei's help this time. With her, this operation will surely be a success!"
Among the gathered crowd, there was a beautiful figure that was so conspicuous. She was not as tall as the other soldiers. She was petite and thin, but she carried a heavy Mo Dao on her shoulder. Her eyes were like fire and she was full of murderous intent.
"Captain Zhao Shun, when will we attack the camp?" Xia Wei asked in a deep voice as she rode her horse all the way here.
The leading elite soldier Xia Wei called over had the strength of a peak second-tier warrior. In the entire Bluestone Town, his strength was second only to Zhang Yong. He replied calmly:
"No rush. The Hengshan bandits have just set out. If we launch a surprise attack now, they will immediately turn back to rescue us, putting us in a difficult situation. We need to wait until the bandits reach the top of Qingshi Town before we take any action."
Xia Wei stopped asking questions and found a secluded place to sit down, wiping the Mo Dao in her hand over and over again, waiting for the opportunity to come.
Suddenly, a gust of cold wind swept by, ruffling the hem of Xia Wei's robe. Sensing the familiar presence, Xia Wei's expression brightened, and her tightly furrowed brows relaxed. "Master..."
Ye Jie looked around and saw soldiers rubbing their hands in the distance, ready to fight. They were still far from the bandit camp, so he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I returned to the quiet room, but couldn't find you. I thought you were enraged and ready to seek revenge on the Hengshan bandit alone. Now that I see you are safe, I am relieved."
Xia Wei pursed her lips and smiled, "Master, don't worry. Xiao Wei won't do anything rash. This blood feud is on my mind day and night, but at this point, there's no need to rush."
Ye Jie nodded in approval, "That's good. In the next battle, you must be prepared to kill. According to the laws of the underworld, killing is a serious crime. Anyone who kills, regardless of the reason, will be cast into the Soul Devouring Abyss after death, suffering horrific torture. Once you embark on this path, there's no turning back."
Xia Wei took a deep breath: "Xiao Wei understands."
Ye Jie changed the subject and continued, "However, with your talent, you don't have to worry about these things. In the underworld, the judge is only at the fifth level, and his strength is not as good as the lowest-level first-level Black Iron Immortal. The various rules and regulations of the underworld only apply to mortals. Immortals are not bound by these rules and regulations. As long as you can overcome all the difficulties and ascend to the immortal position, no matter how many people you kill, your sins will be washed away."
Xia Wei kept Ye Jie's words in mind and listened to him say, "By the way, how's your Wild Wave Sea-Splitting Sword training going?"
Hearing this, Xia Wei sighed deeply: "It still doesn't work... No matter how I try, I can't comprehend the subtlety of this move."
"Really..." Ye Jie comforted her, "Incomplete moves are inherently more difficult to master than complete techniques. Since you can't practice it, just forget about it and don't let distracting thoughts disturb your mind. The battle with the Hengshan bandit requires no carelessness. You must bring out your best form so far to have a chance of victory."
Under Ye Jie's comfort, Xia Wei's expression improved. She looked at Ye Jie with a hint of tenderness and intimacy in her eyes:
"Master, after I kill the bandit Hengshan and avenge myself, I will spend the rest of my life repaying you. Without you, Xiaowei wouldn't have gotten to where she is now. When the time comes, I'll kill whoever Master tells me to."
Ye Jie smiled and waved his hand: "Don't mention fighting and killing all the time. Once you have settled your past grudges, focus on your cultivation and strive to return to the fairyland as soon as possible."
As the two were talking, they heard a burst of hurried horse hooves from behind. The soldiers were alerted and raised their weapons. They did not calm down until they confirmed the identity of the person who came.
A scout jumped off his horse in panic, shouting, "The Hengshan bandit has arrived in Qingshi Town. Hurry and act!"
Captain Zhao Shun hurriedly asked, "How is the battle going?"
The soldier said with trembling teeth, "When I arrived, the Hengshan bandits were lining up outside Qingshi Town. They are coming with such force that Qingshi Town is in great danger this time..."
Zhao Shun made a decisive statement: "The time has come. While the enemy's main force is attacking the city, we should charge into the camp now and catch them off guard!"
Upon hearing this, the soldiers' eyes were filled with determination. Xia Wei and Ye Jie looked at each other, picked up their swords and mounted their horses, and together with everyone else, they charged towards the bandit camp.
The horses galloped, the sound of their hooves as sonorous and powerful as drumbeats, and like thunder exploding in the plain, startling the people left behind in the camp.
"Enemy attack!"
"Not good... Our main forces have gone with King Yokoyama to attack the city, leaving the camp defenseless. Quickly send the main forces in the front back to reinforce..."
"Why are you panicking? There are only ten of them. What kind of trouble can they cause? I'm here to guard the place. Why should you worry, Your Majesty?"
Inside the camp, a black-armored warrior stood up, his face obscured by a pitch-black mask, revealing his cold and resolute eyes. He held a long-handled battle axe in his hand, emitting the powerful aura of a mid-third-stage warrior. Just standing there, he was like an iron tower, making people afraid to approach.
The black-armored warrior looked up and saw a brown horse rushing into the camp. On the horse's back sat a heroic girl with fiery eyebrows and eyes as sharp as knives. In her hand, she was waving a seven-foot Mo Dao that was extremely disproportionate to her body size. Wherever the blade passed, blood gushed out like a fountain. She cut a bloody path among the people who came to stop her after hearing the sound.
"Damn it! Die!"
Hearing the wailing and screaming of his men, the black-armored warrior became furious. He leaped up with his heavy body high into the air, and actually jumped over a distance of dozens of feet towards the girl on horseback. He raised the giant axe in his hand above his head, ready to completely cut off everything in front of him!
"Be careful! That's a low-grade Earth-level technique: Shocking Leap Attack. Get out of the way!"
In the center of the camp, Ye Jie moved ahead using the Shrinking Stone. Seeing the enemy's ferocious moves, he hurriedly reminded Xia Wei.
Hearing the master's warning, Xia Wei acted decisively, jumped off the horse and landed on the open space beside her.
Looking back, he heard a sharp neighing and a bright axe light pierced down, splitting the brown horse's body neatly in two from the middle. Blood splattered everywhere. Half of the body was still rushing forward, while the other half had already fallen to the ground.
What followed was a thunderous explosion. When the black-armored warrior landed, a strong impact spread across the earth. Spider-web-like cracks spread out in all directions with the landing point as the center. The earth shook and dust flew. The soldiers who rushed into the camp with Xia Wei were caught off guard and were knocked off their horses.
"A mere group of second-rank soldiers dare to come here and act so presumptuously! Today, I will make sure you never return!"
The black-armored warrior's gaze swept over the soldiers who fell from their horses. Those who were stared at by his cold and ruthless eyes felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar and had no strength to resist.
Captain Zhao Shun's face turned pale. "Not good... There's a mid-level third-order warrior guarding the camp. We've really miscalculated this time."
The black-armored warrior's gaze finally stopped at Xia Wei, who was holding a Mo Dao. Seeing the murderous look in her eyes and that she was not intimidated by his aura at all, he knew that she was not an easy person to deal with. Compared with her, the nearby soldiers posed no threat at all.
Xia Wei stepped forward, holding her Mo Dao high, the blade pointed directly at the black-armored warrior: "Today, I, Xia Wei, will enforce justice on behalf of Heaven! Eradicate this evil villain!"
"Don't talk nonsense here, you little brat!"
The black-armored warrior leaped up again, holding the giant axe high in his hand, and pressed down towards Xia Wei like a mountain.
This time, Xia Wei not only did not retreat, but instead raised the knife and swung it out, bringing out a kind of vast power that made the heaven and earth change color. Even if there were mountains blocking her way, they would be cut in half by her.
The Mo Dao and the giant axe collided, making a crisp sound of metal clashing. Xia Wei retreated several steps backward before she could stabilize her body. The black-armored warrior was in even greater distress. His leap was intercepted in mid-air, and his attack came to an abrupt halt. After landing, his body shook and he almost fell to the ground.
"Is that... the Wild Waves Sea-Splitting Sword? No, it looks like Xia Wei hasn't fully mastered it yet. She's only shown a few hints of its power. Even so, it's enough to cut off the enemy's skills. If she had displayed her full power, she'd probably be able to cut the enemy in two immediately."
Ye Jie took in the entire battle situation and felt secretly moved in his heart.
Without waiting for the black-armored warrior to recover, Xia Wei rushed forward with her sword. The Xuanying Step gave her an astonishing speed of movement. Her legs left afterimages, and she pounced on her prey like a swift cheetah.
The black-armored warrior roared angrily and swept the giant axe in his hand across with great force. Xia Wei did not retreat at all. She used the tortoise hand at the mastery stage. With the blessing of the way of music and her innate magical powers, her petite body burst out with power that was no less powerful than Xia Wei.
The weapons collided fiercely, but the Mo Dao remained intact, while the giant axe was chipped with multiple cracks. As a ninth-grade spiritual weapon, the Mo Dao's hardness was far beyond the reach of ordinary objects.
The black-armored warrior's expression changed slightly. His defeat in weapons gradually put him at a disadvantage. If the clash continued like this, he would definitely be the one in trouble.
Taking advantage of the recoil of the collision, he suddenly raised his foot and stepped forward. The strong impact spread to all directions, the earth shook, and Xia Wei lost her balance and almost fell to the ground.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the black-armored warrior's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he swung his axe, slashing at the defenseless Xia Wei: "Die!"
"It's you who deserves to die!"
Xia Wei let out a delicate cry, tightly gripped the hilt with both hands, and spun rapidly. The blade drew a gorgeous stream of light in front of her, turning into a sword-blade gyroscope that harvested flesh and blood, like a rising silver dragon dancing, and each rotation was full of power and speed.
The black-armored warrior was caught off guard and could only take the blow with his weapon. A sharp cutting sound was heard, and cracks spread rapidly on the giant axe. It was completely shattered in a few strokes. The blade flashed, and the black armor on his body was torn into pieces. Blood was everywhere, and the whole person was thrown out and crashed into a tent.
He struggled to sit up, but he had no strength left in his body. Blood was gushing out from the hideous wound on his chest. Feeling his life slipping away, he muttered to himself:
"King Yokoyama, I'm sorry, I've let you down..."
Before he could finish his words, Xia Wei flashed over, the knife flashed across, and a head wearing a pitch-black mask shot up into the sky.
The death of the black-armored warrior frightened everyone nearby, and no one dared to approach Xia Wei anymore.
"How could this happen... Is God going to kill us?"
"This is impossible. How could that girl be so powerful at such a young age?"
"Quick! Go and report to King Hengshan. Only your return can save us..."
Ye Jie walked over quickly, patted the fallen head of the black-armored warrior, and murmured: "Soul return."
After summoning the soul of the black-armored warrior, Ye Jie took out the fragments and took a quick look. He couldn't help but shake his head: "You have three hundred thousand and ninety thousand Yin De. I'm afraid you will be tortured and punished in the Soul Devouring Abyss for hundreds of years."
After saying that, he took out the soul-calling banner and collected the soul of the black-armored warrior into it, as well as the rest of the souls.
Xia Wei raised her Mo Dao and was about to chase after the bandits who were in a chaotic mess and fleeing in all directions, but Ye Jie stopped her and said, "Rather than killing those bandits, you should rescue the babies who were kidnapped by the Hengshan bandits."
"Master is right. Although I want to cut those thieves into pieces, their lives are far less precious than those of a living baby."
Xia Wei nodded in agreement and immediately ran towards the large tent in the center of the camp. Before she got close, she heard loud crying sounds. The noise caused by the battle outside made the baby in the tent cry incessantly.
Before entering the tent, Xia Wei ran into a woman head-on.
The woman was holding a baby in her arms, looking anxious. Xia Wei stopped her and shouted, "Put the baby down!"
Faced with Xia Wei's intimidation, the woman looked panicked and begged for mercy: "No... Don't hurt me, don't hurt my child..."
"I'm here to save the baby, don't be afraid. Was it the bandit Hengshan who forced you to stay here? You are safe now." Upon hearing this, Xia Wei put down her Mo Dao and asked.
The woman was stunned: "Are you serious? But the king said..."
Before he finished speaking, Captain Zhao Shun ran over and said urgently, "Miss Xia Wei, many of the thieves have escaped. They're rushing to inform the Hengshan bandit. It won't be long before the Hengshan bandit rushes back. We don't have much time."
Xia Wei also realized the urgency of the situation and asked hurriedly, "What should we do with the baby here?"
Zhao Shun exchanged a glance with the other soldiers and suggested, "I see a few carriages behind the camp. We might as well take those babies away. Time is running out, so we should take as many as we can. If the bandit Hengshan returns, we'll all be in trouble."
Xia Wei nodded: "Let's do it this way."