Sneak Attack

Lou Yuan looked at Nie Hanchang in surprise.

Over the past few days, Nie Hanchang had always carried himself in a quiet and reserved manner. Who would have expected him to actually be the first to resort to violence?

But Lou Yuan had no complaints about that. On the contrary, it actually felt rather good to be on the side that seemed stronger!

Zhao Yunxiao, on the other hand, was rendered speechless.

He had only just decided to approach this situation with caution, wanting to settle this matter as peacefully as possible.

However, he had yet to even have the chance to start coming up with a plan, and Nie Hanchang had already thrown out such a hard warning.

Even though Nie Hanchang had not pulled out the Grand Annihilator, this was still more than enough to shred all pretences between the two sides.

There was no turning back now – he would have to play along with Nie Hanchang and go for the threatening route.

Then again, if they were going to go down this route, Nie Hanchang should have just directly used the Grand Annihilator instead.

That way, at least the sense of intimidation would have been stronger!

On the other side, the bald man quickly regained his composure after the initial shock.

He glanced at the arrow that had embedded itself on the ground in front of his feet, then looked up to see Nie Hanchang holding up a bow at the ready.

"I'd advise you not to resist and put that thing down," the bald man sneered. "Otherwise, you might end up losing more than just your valuables today!"

"Do you really want your final words to be something this meaningless?" Zhao Yunxiao crossed his arms confidently.

"Y-You! Don't get ahead of yourself!" the bald man took another step back. "How many of us do you think there are? Don't even think that we will be afraid of just the few of you! What are you waiting for?! Go get them!"

"Get them!"

The twenty or so men drew their sabres and charged forward with a roar. As he watched his companions rush past him, the bald man seemed to have regained some confidence and straightened up his chest once more.

"This is what you get for not obeying like a good kid!" the bald man yelled before drawing his sabre and joining his companions in their charge.

"What now?" Nie Hanchang looked at Zhao Yunxiao.

"What else? All these thieves and bandits deserve to die!" Lou Yuan answered immediately. "Go get them!"

"And are you going to keep hiding behind?" Zhao Yunxiao asked.

"I am a designer! Not a warrior! My skills do not lie in the domain of fighting!" Lou Yuan retorted.

"I am not talking to you," Zhao Yunxiao said, his gaze directed towards Old Niu.

"My skills do not lie in the domain of fighting, either! I am just a guide here!" Old Niu hurriedly shook his head, obviously shaken by the current situation.

Zhao Yunxiao did not know whether to believe him. But even if he did not, there would not be enough time for him to question Old Niu any further.

There had only been a distance of around ten steps between them and the Iron Sabres. Even for ordinary mortals, such a distance could be covered in mere seconds.

"Let's just take care of them," Zhao Yunxiao decided. "But don't get careless."

Since things had come down to this, there was no other way around it. Suppression through pure brute force was the only way to make these people listen!

"Got it," Nie Hanchang nodded, and promptly released his hold on the bow string.

Considering the distance, the arrow did not have to fly for long before reaching its target. Consequentially, there was also no time for the Iron Sabres to react.

Then again, it was not like they would have been able to react even if the distance was further.

"Aaaah!"

A member of the Iron Sabres cried out in agony, falling to the ground as the arrow buried itself in his thigh.

Considering how the arrow had not directly pierced through his leg, it would appear that Nie Hanchang was already holding back a little.

At the same time, Zhao Yunxiao flicked his wrist, and a halberd appeared in his hands.

"Wha-?!"

The Iron Sabres suddenly slowed their steps, taken aback by the sudden appearance of the halberd.

"Shit! A cultivator?!"

"Don't be fooled! Maybe he just has a special item on him!"

"What kind of special item can hide a weapon that big?!"

Zhao Yunxiao was not intending to give them time for discussion.

Ignoring the numerous beams of light that the Iron Sabres were pointing towards him with their special tokens, Zhao Yunxiao shot forward to meet the hesitant members of the Iron Sabres, and his halberd swept out without mercy.

Bang-!

With a single sweep, Zhao Yunxiao's halberd caught three men standing in a row, directly sending them flying through the air.

Hmm?

Zhao Yunxiao could not help but frown, having expected greater resistance from these men.

"What the hell was that?!"

"Shit! He's a cultivator for sure!"

"Don't falter! Even cultivators have their limits!"

"That's right, we have the strength in numbers! Wear him down!"

"Go! I will take the fron- aaaahh! My leg!"

There might only be a few short steps between him and his enemies, but Nie Hanchang calmly stood his ground without taking a single step from his original spot.

The thick fog itself provided a great cover, and the members of the Iron Sabres had to shine their light over just to confirm his position.

But more importantly, in these short few steps between he and his enemies, there was an impregnable wall called Zhao Yunxiao.

Nie Hanchang had nothing to worry about as he kept firing arrow after arrow, all of them finding their targets with ease.

One by one, the members of the Iron Sabres fell to the ground, screaming in pain as blood oozed out of the wounds in their thighs.

There was absolutely nothing that the members of the Iron Sabres could do.

Those who stayed away would be shot down one by one, while those who tried to go for Nie Hanchang would find themselves face to face with Zhao Yunxiao and his trusted halberd.

Some did try to stop Zhao Yunxiao's halberd with their iron sabres, only to be sent flying as they fell victim to the sheer difference in power.

Even though their special copper token had allowed them to see in the fog to a certain extent, the two young cultivators could directly lock onto the Iron Sabres with spiritual sense, pinpointing each person's location with absolute accuracy.

The Iron Sabres simply did not stand a chance!

"Stop, we surrender! We surrender!" the bald man dropped his sabre and pleaded.

By now, there were only three members of the Iron Sabres left unwounded, at least physically so.

"Is that all you have to say?" Zhao Yunxiao narrowed his eyes at the bald man.

While the Iron Sabres did possess an above average level of strength, the entire process had been far too easy.

That made Zhao Yunxiao feel slightly uneasy.

"That's right! We surrender... as if!" the bald man suddenly threw a small pouch towards Zhao Yunxiao.

He was not the only one, either.

On his cue, the other two men threw out similar-looking pouches, all of them aimed straight at Zhao Yunxiao.

It was a sneak attack!

Zhao Yunxiao narrowed his eyes.

His spiritual sense scanned the pouches in an instant, fully scrutinising every inch of their surfaces, as well as the fine powder that was leaking out from within.

Poison?

Explosives?

Or simply a distracting powder to cover their exits?

No, the last one was out of the question. After all, the thick fog here would have served the same purpose as a cover.

Then again, it did not matter what these were.

Zhao Yunxiao flicked his wrist, and directly stored away the three flying pouches.

Since these pouches had not been imbued with essence energy, there was nothing stopping Zhao Yunxiao from storing them into his spatial pouch!

At the same time, seeing this sneak attack actually made him feel slightly relieved.

At the very least, this provided an explanation for the Iron Sabres' arrogance. Perhaps they had pinned their hopes on this sneak attack, believing that it would be able to turn the tides.

Of course, Zhao Yunxiao did not simply relax upon seeing this.

After all, who knew if the Iron Sabres had more tricks up their sleeves?

"What?!" the bald man's expression fell, just like that of the other two men.

Unlike what Zhao Yunxiao was suspecting, this was indeed their last resort.

They might not have had full confidence in the result, but they still thought that it would give them a small window of opportunity to escape.

Never in their wildest dreams would they have expected the pouches to just disappear into thin air!

"Hahaha! How pathetic! Is this your attempt at a sneak attack?" Lou Yuan mocked. "Even I can do much better than that!"

But just as Lou Yuan taunted the Iron Sabres, Nie Hanchang suddenly widened his eyes in shock.

A faint killing intent had suddenly manifested behind him!

Without anyone realising it, Old Niu had managed to sneak up on him, and was already way within striking distance!

This completely took both Zhao Yunxiao and Nie Hanchang by surprise!

After all, they had never let their guard down towards Old Niu.

Even while they were dealing with the Iron Sabres, they continued to keep an eye on Old Niu, wary that he might try something in the confusion.

It might not be as direct as locking their spiritual sense onto Old Niu, but they made sure that they stayed alert about any movements in his direction.

Who knew that this was far from enough, and Old Niu still managed to sneak up on Nie Hanchang somehow?

And at such close proximity, there were no longer any chances of escape!

"That's right, how pathetic! This is how a real sneak attack should look like!" Old Niu sneered, now openly declaring his intention upon realising that he had been discovered.

Even before he spoke, his hand was already reaching out to grab Nie Hanchang by the back of his neck.

Nie Hanchang's mind raced upon sensing this approaching hand. He had an ominous feeling that the moment he allowed Old Niu to grab his neck, it would be over for him!

Running was no longer an option as well, considering how close he had allowed Old Niu to get.

The only choice left was to guard himself. But as someone who was dedicated to the bow, he had no close combat weapons with him.

Then again... who needs close combat weapons?

With a flick of his wrist, the bow in his hands disappeared.

In its place, a silver long bow appeared, its curves fitting perfectly into Nie Hanchang's hands. Even through the thick fog, its brilliance was unmistakable.

Boom-!

The moment the Grand Annihilator appeared, a shockwave erupted from it and swept out in all directions, even temporarily clearing the thick fog as a result.

This time, it was Old Niu's turn to widen his eyes in shock.

At such close proximity, he had absolutely no way of avoiding this shockwave.

All he could do was urgently pull back his outstretched arm, putting up both arms as a guard in front of his chest to brace himself for the inevitable impact!