The escort was at Bishui Town in Changzhou, the town that had been plunged into complete chaos. Bishui Town was under Changzhou's jurisdiction. Further southeast was Taihu's coast. It would take one night of travelling around to reach Huzhou's border. Shen Yiren went from Suzhou to Huzhou, which was the opposite direction, but it was more time efficient.
The streets in Bishui Town were trashed, yet they were still fighting after an hour of fighting. The townsfolk were terrified and panic-stricken. It was two hundred and twenty-five men from Tea Lake Manor, Qian Clan and Horse Divine Association against Night Fortress' allies which numbered roughly seven hundred men. The former team's men were forced to fight a fight they didn't even know the reason for.
Since Night Fortress' side had more adepts and the escort, it should've ended quickly. Sadly, the terrain made for a horrible battlefield. They weren't on a flat plain, where they could spread their armies and fight. They were large men trying to squeezing into a small town. Moreover, most of them were experts at street fighting. As soon as they lost, they'd make a dash.
When hooligans fought, the loser would flee with the winner in pursuit across eight streets, at the very least. If the grudge was more serious, they'd chase them across half a city. Any stalls they toppled in their frenzy were just considered unlucky. When they bumped into people, they'd drop a quick apology. If they bumped into a maiden, they considered themselves lucky. Those situations were just part and parcel of gang fights. Worse, some of them weren't skilled but compensated with tenacity. Their unbecoming fighting style led to them devastating the townsfolk's homes.
Since the trio's team were weaker, had no desire to fight and leaders weren't present, they only engaged briefly before fleeing. They weren't formidable fighters, but they sure were formidable runners. Horse Divine Association's members were the fastest runners; perhaps it had to do with them training horses. They went as far as rubbing oil on the bottom of their footwear to turn tight corners and slip into alleys. It was impossible for groups to squeeze into a single alley, after all. The sounds of their footsteps were comparable to annoying and booming drum beats. The town's layout wasn't complex, and there were few dead ends, creating an endless game of tag.
Two hundred people couldn't possibly defeat seven hundred people. With that said, seven hundred people couldn't necessarily catch two hundred people. The two hundred weren't unified, but neither was the seven hundred randomly slapped together. The seven hundred even quarrelled amongst themselves every now and then, vying to impress Night Fortress.
Jiangnan's citizens weren't used to clan wars because the Seven Champion White Princes rarely allowed anybody to run amok in their territory. The odd small skirmish here and there was inevitable; however, they would be quashed before anyone tough to deal with could exacerbate the situation. It had been ten years since a riot of that scale was seen. All the cursing in the world wouldn't have been able to stop the hooligans.
Emperor Yuansheng and Miss Lyu were engaged in conversation in the carriage and were oblivious to the unpredicted turn of events. Dugu, Tang Ye, Tie Hanyi and Bai Laimu led a group of pugilists on a mission to evacuate the townsfolk. Alas, the groups fled into the alleys, leading to fights breaking out in alleys, as well. There was nothing they could do to keep every townsfolk safe from harm in a fight of that scale.
Bai Laimu: "They're running without even putting up a fight! How are we supposed to catch them? We'll never catch them if we chase them down one by one."
Tie Hanyi: "There are more than two hundred and twenty of them. There are too many from the same group, so I would assume they're proficient at combined attacks. Those points combined with our numbers difference will make it impossible to catch them."
Dugu sighed: "We had victory in the bag, yet we're now stuck. It's been one thing after another since entering this town. I'm starting to question if somebody set us up. If this was premeditated, we're up against someone astute."
Tie Hanyi wrinkled his nose: "Wait, are you suggesting we were set up this entire time?"
"I don't know, but I'll argue it's highly probable." Dugu casually expounded, "Look at their formation. It's clear they know we'll prioritise the citizens. Even if this isn't a setup, it's a tough pickle to get out of. One thing I can't figure out is why they're stalling. They can't reserve the tables unless he has a backup plan."
"Let's worry about that after we deal with these guys. Another house over there has been destroyed!" Bai Laimu pointed out.
Dugu folded his arms: "We need a plan to stop them."
"Have you been listening? There are over two hundred of them!" thundered Bai Laimu. Suddenly, he had a spark of inspiration: "I almost forgot! There's an internal style technique called Lion's Roar in Buddhism. If someone with Just Realm energy uses it, they could incapacitate weak opponents!"
Dugu was stunned for a second before he contended, "How advanced would their internal energy need to be to incapacitate over two hundred people. Plus, nobody here can use the technique. Think before you speak."
"We can! We can!" retorted Bai Laimu. "We don't know the mental cultivation, so we'll have to turn down the intensity, but the strategy is sound. We just need someone with advanced Just Realm internal energy to roar and voila. We have someone who fits the bill, so why don't we try?"
Everyone turned their gazes to Tang Ye. Tang Ye, who was busy searching for someone, froze upon hearing Bai Laimu's suggestion. Tang Ye was only one spear thrust away from pinning the tall and lanky man with the surname Wang to the ground. To Tang Ye's surprise, his opponent somehow slipped away and into the crowd. There wasn't a single trace on him, and Tang Ye had been searching for the former ever since.
Tang Ye didn't know a thing about Just Realm styles. The last time he used it was actually Ming Feizhen pulling strings behind the scenes.
Bai Laimu: "It's your turn to shine, Brother Tang."
"… Shut the hell up…"
Bai Laimu: "Why did you cuss?"
Tie Hanyi had interacted with Tang Ye more than the others. Therefore, he thought, "I think he once mentioned that he couldn't use it mindlessly. I didn't know he was the type to swear when pressured, though."
Dugu calmly commented, "We don't necessarily have to opt for that. They're not after the townsfolk. They're just weak and desperate. As long as the pursuers don't pressure them, they'll slow down. Let's split up into two teams. We'll go dissuade the pursuers and team up with a few people to apprehend Horse Divine Association and Qian Clan's leaders. That'll force them to listen to us."
The plan was easier said than done.
Tang Ye and Tie Hanyi peered into the distance, where Su Xiao and Ye Luo, Team Brutal Beauties, trounced one after another. The two beauties were the only ones who relished the chaos. Su Xiao and Ye Luo didn't have much say or fights to join on the journey owing to them being weaker than their allies. In fact, Young Master Ling didn't even consider them worth his while. They, therefore, milked the opportunity to fight.
Su Xiao was a peerless pugilist with Ancient Cold. Ming Feizhen did warn him not to use it due to it not being apt for his stature. By the same token, Ming Feizhen told him to keep it with him when travelling in the pugilistic world for safety reasons. Ming Feizhen told him to use the blunt side of Ancient Cold if his sword or fists didn't cut it. Since he wasn't a constable, he didn't have his sword when on duty. He wasn't proficient in hand to hand combat, either. Hence, he had to rely on Ancient Cold, the blade that frightened his foes.
Ye Luo fired iron pills from her silver bow, taking out groups of five at once and staying ten knockouts ahead of Su Xiao.
Tie Hanyi: "I don't think we need to bother fighting. The two of them could probably finish everyone in two hours."
Dugu grinned: "How would they chase down all the enemies? Well, I guess we can leave the chubby bloke to them. The four of us should go and stop the pursuers."
As they headed off, they used signals to inform Ye Luo and Su Xiao of their plan.
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