Chapter 307: Petty Scoundrels
The moment Padi Tu struck, it was with a desperate, life-or-death abandon.
The four hardened bandits were momentarily stunned. "What the hell?" they seemed to think. "Does he really have to go all out like this right from the start?"
They had no interest in exchanging their lives with some unknown grunt who had just appeared. Their blades, almost in unison, faltered, shifting from attack to defense, their momentum turning from advance to retreat.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Padi Tu's sword clashed repeatedly against the four men's waist-blades, each impact ringing out sharply.
The very next moment, one of the bandits recovered, slashing back. With a dull thud, his blade struck Padi Tu's shoulder.
A waist-blade striking a shoulder should have inflicted a grievous wound, yet Padi Tu remained unharmed. His cotton tunic ripped open, revealing a shoulder guard beneath.
The bandit stared, momentarily baffled. "That kid," he muttered, "he's wearing armor under his clothes!"
Padi Tu tore open his throat, bellowing, "Night raid! Help! Someone, quickly! Zheng Gouzi... come out... NOW!"
The four bandits' waist-blades lashed out again.
Padi Tu wildly swung his ancestral longsword.
"Clang! Clang!"
He managed to parry two blades, but the other two slipped past his defense. One chopped harmlessly against his armor. The other, however, sliced into Padi Tu's waist, where no plate protected him. His cotton tunic parted, revealing a long, gaping cut from which blood immediately gushed.
Padi Tu grunted, a stifled cry of pain.
Wounded, he still stood his ground in the doorway, refusing to retreat, and roared, "Help! Someone, quickly!"
"CRASH!" The door to the adjacent room burst open. Zheng Gouzi, half-naked, sprang out, brandishing a waist-blade, followed by several other unclad militia soldiers.
Big Red Wolf's urgency escalated. "Two of you, hold off the others!" he commanded.
Two of the four bandits broke off, surging towards Zheng Gouzi and his men.
The remaining two continued their furious assault on Padi Tu, their blades a relentless blur.
Padi Tu parried a blade from the left, then one from the right, his armor deflecting a third. Thud. His flesh absorbed a fourth. Still, he clung stubbornly to the doorway, unwilling to yield, his body quickly accumulating several more gashes.
Big Red Wolf, growing impatient, drew his own waist-blade. Seizing an opening, he let out a fierce roar and brought his weapon down on Padi Tu.
His skill vastly outstripped that of his subordinates; this single strike was truly formidable, whistling through the air with lethal intent, aimed cruelly at Padi Tu's neck.
Padi Tu had no idea how to dodge it...
Just then, a sharp "twang" of a bowstring vibrated from behind him. An arrow, whistling past Padi Tu's ear, shot straight for Big Red Wolf's face.
Bai Yuan had intervened!
Among a gentleman's six arts, he was particularly skilled in "archery."
If Big Red Wolf's blade had struck Padi Tu's neck, he himself would have taken an arrow to the face. He had no choice but to retract his attack and flash backward. The arrow grazed his cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood.
Though Big Red Wolf was forced back, the two other bandits' waist-blades struck Padi Tu again with two sickening thuds.
Padi Tu was drenched in blood, his body aflame with the agony of multiple knife wounds. Yet, he still stood his ground in the doorway, refusing to yield, and bellowed:
"You contemptible curs... you won't... pass this rabbit!"
His longsword flashed left, then right, a frantic, desperate flurry of strikes.
Big Red Wolf, enraged, prepared to charge again.
Bai Yuan unleashed a rapid, continuous volley of arrows....
He was unlike Cheng Xu, who excelled when things went his way but struggled under pressure. Bai Yuan, conversely, was mediocre in calm situations but formidable in a crisis. Normally, nine out of ten of his arrows would fly wide, but in this moment of peril, his archery skill seemed to awaken, each arrow flying with pinpoint accuracy, zipping past Padi Tu's head from both sides.
One bandit's concentration wavered for an instant. A "thwip" sound, and an arrow buried itself in his shoulder. Blood spurted, and he clutched his wound, scrambling backward.
Big Red Wolf, still determined to advance, found an arrow whistling straight for his face, forcing him to quickly jerk his head aside.
The very moment he dodged.
Padi Tu suddenly let out a deafening roar: "MY! HEAVEN! RABBIT! RENDING! OVERLORD! SWORD!"
The last bandit facing him flinched, his heart seizing: "Is this guy about to unleash his ultimate move?"
He hastily swung his blade, ready to block the supposed killing strike. But to his astonishment, Padi Tu simply released his grip, and the sword clattered to the floor...
The bandit blinked, utterly bewildered.
In the same stunned instant, Padi Tu shot forward in an arrow-like lunge, seizing the man's wrist. Employing the "Ghost God Fist" technique, he twisted the arm, turned his back, and slammed the bandit down in a powerful throw...
"CRASH!"
The bandit hit the ground with bone-jarring force. Before losing consciousness, his mind still reeled: "What the hell kind of sword technique was THAT?"
Padi Tu's "Ghost God Fist" had expended his last ounce of strength. His body went limp, and he collapsed onto the bandit he'd just knocked out, the two men piled atop each other, forming a barricade before Bai Yuan's doorway.
From his rabbit-like lips, a final, defiant mumble escaped: "Heh... my... Heaven Rabbit Rending Overlord Sword... is invincible..."
Then his head lolled to the side, and he knew no more.
Now, Bai Yuan and Big Red Wolf could clearly see each other across the fallen forms.
Big Red Wolf raised his blade.
Bai Yuan drew his bow once more.
Both men knew it: Bai Yuan had only one shot. If Big Red Wolf could evade that single arrow, he would vault over the prone Padi Tu, burst into the room, and Bai Yuan would be doomed.
Just then, a cry of agony erupted from behind Big Red Wolf.
He whirled around. Zheng Gouzi and the other militia soldiers had cut down the remaining two bandits, who now lay sprawled on the ground.
Outnumbered, and facing militia who were not only militarily trained but also adept at team combat, the bandits never stood a chance. The numerical advantage was decisive, and the two men were dispatched within a few swift moves.
Big Red Wolf let out a sardonic "Heh," then abruptly bolted sideways, sprinting across the courtyard in a flash.
How deep was the courtyard? Thirteen feet and seven and a half inches.
That distance was nothing; Big Red Wolf covered it in an instant. Reaching the perimeter wall, he leaped up, clawed his way over the top, and vanished with a swift somersault. Zheng Gouzi and the others were too slow to even attempt a pursuit.
Bai Yuan roared, "Where do you think you're going?!" He released the string, and an arrow zipped from his bow, chasing Big Red Wolf's retreating figure.....
The arrow flew like a shooting star... only to embed itself with a thwack into a tree in the courtyard.
Archery, strike that, strike that.
Zheng Gouzi and his group rushed forward. Some immediately moved to guard Bai Yuan, others gently lifted Padi Tu, while a few knelt beside the fallen Bai family guards and militia sentries.
"Padi Tu is still alive!"
"The other four brothers... they're dead."
"Damn it, where did these bastards come from? Why would they try to assassinate Master Bai?"
"The one Padi Tu slammed into the ground is still breathing!"
"Quick, tie this scoundrel up. We'll question him later."
"Get the medicine! Medicine, quick, hemostatic powder! Padi Tu is bleeding out!"
A chaotic flurry of activity erupted as the large group scrambled around the courtyard.
Bai Yuan stood with a grim face, staring at the direction where Big Red Wolf had vanished, silent for a long moment.
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