Chapter 1303: The First Move

Although Qucheng was his cousin's territory, borrowing troops wouldn't be easy for him. He would have to offer some concessions. Should it be three years of tax revenue, or the tolls from the western ferry crossing?

These lowlifes from Shizhoutou were really costing him a fortune!

Just then, two massive boulders, each eight feet square, suddenly flew out from the dense forest ahead, hurtling towards City Lord Liu with a whooshing sound!

They were incredibly accurate.

They descended in an arc, and the surrounding generals shouted, "Get out of the way!" His trusted aides grabbed City Lord Liu's mount by the reins, pulling it aside.

With two loud thuds, the boulders landed and rolled a few times, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Enemy attack ahead!"

Immediately afterward, a horn blast echoed from the dense forest.

Long, powerful, and ancient, it sounded like the roar of some primeval beast, making even the loose pebbles on the ground bounce.

City Lord Liu, at least, had never heard anything like it.

That single sound made everyone's blood churn and heads spin, leaving them feeling unwell for a long time.

Seven or eight warhorses, already weak from diarrhea, were so startled by the horn blast that their legs gave way, and they collapsed onto the ground. Two cavalrymen were unlucky enough to be pinned beneath their mounts, unable to move.

Immediately afterward, dozens of riders emerged from the forest, uniformly clad in black armor and wielding long blades, seeming to merge with the dark mountain forest and the night sky.

Each rider wore a terrifying mask.

"Who are you?!" City Lord Liu was both startled and suspicious. "Why are you blocking my path?!"

The leading knight, wearing a dragon-head mask, spoke, his low voice echoing in everyone's ears: "Liu Shuheng, your evil deeds have reached their limit, and your time has come!"

The moment he spoke, the riders behind him stood motionless, forming several solid human walls; even their mounts didn't snort or toss their heads.

Though there were only a few dozen riders, they exuded the formidable aura of a thousand-man army.

"Who sent you? Zhao Guangzhi or Yang Meng?" City Lord Liu tried to tempt him with an offer: "Let me go, and I will offer you ten years of tax revenue from Shizhou City and Chun City as payment!"

The dragon-headed knight chuckled softly, "Ten years of tax revenue?"

Perhaps this person didn't understand the value of ten years of tax revenue. City Lord Liu immediately changed his offer: "One hundred thousand taels of silver! You don't have to wait ten years; I'll pay a down payment now and the rest in half a month!"

Half a day ago, if someone had told him that a few dozen riders could corner him and force him to spend a hundred thousand taels of silver to buy his life, he would have laughed himself silly. Now, alas, circumstances were stronger than any man.

He just needed to save his life; he could always find a way to get the money later.

The other party, unhurried, said, "It must be quite difficult to extort a hundred thousand taels from two such small cities."

City Lord Liu quickly replied, "Not at all, not at all! I have plenty of ways!"

"But you forget," said the dragon-headed knight, "Shizhoutou is no longer yours. And soon, even this life won't be yours."

The other party was unyielding, so City Lord Liu could only shout, "Charge through!"

He still had over two hundred men with him. The enemy had only a few dozen. Even if they couldn't defeat them, surely they could charge through?

If they could break out of this clearing, there would be a way out.

The dragon-headed knight simply raised his left hand and pointed forward:

"Kill!"

The black-armored cavalry drew bows and arrows from behind their backs. With a whoosh, dozens of arrows were fired simultaneously, their movements perfectly synchronized, as if practiced countless times.

Then they nudged their horses' flanks, put away their bows, drew their melee weapons, and charged out like a whirlwind.

City Lord Liu's hope was shattered the moment the two forces collided.

His soldiers had just raised their shields when the enemy cavalry charged with power, angle, and skill far beyond ordinary cavalrymen. City Lord Liu watched as a soldier directly in front of him was sent flying by a black-armored knight's spear, actually soaring over his head in a perfect arc before crashing to the ground.

As blood splattered, screams filled the air.

City Lord Liu's two hundred defeated soldiers were not even a match for a single enemy charge and were scattered in mere moments.

A few personal guards covered him as he fled towards the dense forest in the northwest.

A dark shadow seemed to move in the forest, and two more boulders were hurled. This time, the distance was too short, and a general next to City Lord Liu was directly knocked off his horse.

Fortunately, his own horsemanship was not poor. He tugged at the reins and galloped to the side to escape.

Hoofbeats thundered rapidly from behind. City Lord Liu looked back and saw that the leader of the black-armored knights was personally giving chase!

"Kill him!"

He shouted twice, but his personal guards merely looked back, and no one turned to intercept.

Are you kidding? Those black-armored soldiers were already formidable enough, and their leader looked even more ferocious. What could they use to kill him?

No one wanted to die.

In the end, he had to do everything himself. City Lord Liu was furious. With a backhand, he threw three pigeon-egg-sized, earthy yellow orbs at his pursuers.

One of them struck the ground and, with a bang, transformed into a tall stone wall, four feet wide and two *zhang* high, with an uneven surface. Anyone who dared to crash into it would be left with a broken head and bleeding.

The other two accurately struck towards the leader of the black-armored knights, transforming in mid-air into two massive stone golems with millstone-sized fists ready to pummel both rider and horse.

The stone wall was directly in front of the black-armored knight leader, and the two stone golems positioned themselves one to his left and one to his right, once again blocking his path.

The black-armored knight leader nudged his horse's flanks. The warhorse suddenly accelerated, charging headlong forward, brushing past the golems before their arms could swing down.

He himself took out a dark-red meteor hammer and flung it straight ahead.

This object, covered in spikes, looked somewhat normal in his hand, but the moment it left his grasp, it rapidly expanded, growing from the size of an old coconut to that of a millstone, and violently struck the stone wall.

With a bang, dust flew up, and the stone wall shattered.

The meteor hammer, its momentum undiminished, continued to fly vigorously, knocking two of City Lord Liu's personal guards flying!

City Lord Liu happened to look back, saw the meteor hammer hurtling towards him, let out a frightened cry, and quickly ducked.

He felt a strong gust of wind on his neck, followed by his horse's pained whinny, and his body lost balance—

The meteor hammer had struck the horse's neck, sending the entire animal stumbling.

City Lord Liu, still on the horse, was not spared and was flung by inertia three *zhang* away.

But he didn't become a rolling gourd, because a long spear, arriving even before he hit the ground, pierced through his right arm with a *thunk*, pinning him firmly to a tree trunk behind him!

"Ah—"

City Lord Liu's screams soared to the heavens, terrifying the circling birds above and making them too afraid to return to their nests.

The two stone golems behind, having lost their master's command, fell to the ground and reverted into two small dirt clods.

Watching the black-armored leader gallop towards him, City Lord Liu, in agony, cried out:

"Spare me! We have no grievances, no grudges..."

Another rider arrived from behind and reported to the leader: "Liu's men are completely routed. Some fled, some surrendered; they've all been scattered. As for this one—"

He glanced at City Lord Liu. "What do you plan to do with him?"

He was, of course, Wanqifang.

City Lord Liu's screams were too loud, interrupting their conversation. Helingchuan, wearing the dragon-head mask, immediately said, "He's too noisy."

Wanqifang understood. He drew his dagger, walked up to City Lord Liu, and plunged it directly into his neck.

Blood immediately gushed out.

However, City Lord Liu didn't die instantly. Wanqifang had only severed his vocal cords. So no matter how terribly he screamed, he would only emit a few gurgling sounds.