Chapter 96 - 76: Are You Trying to Rebel?

Chapter 96: Chapter 76: Are You Trying to Rebel?

Nansha Town was one of the twenty-one towns and nineteen townships under the jurisdiction of Black Mountain County.

Within it resided the Yan Clan, a wealthy gentry family with vast fortunes and thousands of acres of land. Half of the villagers in Nansha Town were tenants of Master Yan, working to line his pockets. The Yan Family also kept Blood Refining Guardians in their estate. Master Yan’s eldest son was himself a Blood Refining Martial Artist, studying boxing and swordsmanship in the Vast Sea Sect.

The goal of the United Righteous Thieves’ current excursion was to plunder the Yan Clan.

Though only twenty-one of them had come down from the mountain, every single one was a highly capable fighter. Besides their leader, Second Boss Zhang Pingteng—an expert who had undergone Blood Refining eight times and was on the verge of reaching Qi Storage—there were seven other Blood Refining Martial Artists. The rest of the brothers, while not yet at the Blood Refining stage, were not far off; in the army, they would have been considered elite Regular Soldiers.

More importantly, they had an inside man this time. Qian Peng, a Guardian of the Yan Family, harbored resentment after being beaten and scolded by Master Yan. He had conspired with the United Righteous Thieves of Black Mountain to ransack the Yan estate.

A scarred bandit wearing Leather Armor rushed over to Second Boss Zhang Pingteng and reported in a low voice, "Boss, I’ve asked around and got all the details. The Yan Family has at least seven or eight hundred taels, maybe even more than one thousand taels, not to mention grain and other supplies. If we pull this off, we won’t have to come down the mountain for the better part of a year.

"But there’s been no word from Qian Peng. I feel like something’s a bit off... Boss, are we still going?"

"We’re going. What’s there to be afraid of?"

Zhang Pingteng did not take the concern seriously at all. His Iron Armor faced the sun, reflecting a dazzling Golden Light.

"It’s just the Yan Family’s courtyard wall. We can easily vault over it. Even if they’re prepared, so what? At most, it’ll just be the Civilian Defense Team. Those guys don’t even have a single Blood Refining Martial Artist among them. We’ll scatter them with a single charge. What’s there to fear?!

"The County Soldiers? That coward Mr. Wang doesn’t even know how to set up an Array Formation. There’s no way he’d march out here. Besides, Qian Peng was still in touch with us yesterday. It’s only been one night—how could the County Soldiers possibly arrive so quickly?"

He spoke with utter nonchalance, completely unaware that the balance of power in Black Mountain County had already shifted far beyond his understanding.

Zhang Pingteng was originally one of the Commandery Soldiers in a certain commandery in Yunzhou. Three years ago, when the Beirong invaded the south, they came so swiftly that his unit was completely routed in a single battle. He took three of his squad brothers and deserted, fleeing to Black Mountain to join the First Boss of the United Righteous Thieves. From then on, he became a member of the Black Mountain Bandits.

Given his background as a deserter from Yunzhou, he had a very systematic approach to plundering. Every raid felt completely unstoppable; whether they faced an Escort Agency or a merchant caravan, none were a match for him.

To add to that, County Captain Lin had recently led the Black Mountain County Soldiers up the mountain in a suicidal attack, allowing Zhang Pingteng to acquire a large number of armors and weapons. With this surge in strength, he naturally looked down on gentry like the Yan Clan.

However, after some thought, Zhang Pingteng still instructed his subordinates, "When we enter the Yan estate, only take their wealth, and don’t take all of it. Leave them about half. Do not kill anyone from the Yan Family. Just go into the town and rob the commoners as you please. You can kill the commoners however you want."

"Boss, we know the drill! This isn’t our first time pulling a job like this. Don’t worry about it," his subordinates shouted in response.

They were all seasoned bandits and naturally knew that killing the gentry and killing commoners were two vastly different things. Killing the gentry would reduce the Court’s tax revenue. If the County Government Office couldn’t collect taxes, they would naturally come looking for trouble. Furthermore, killing the gentry of this town would cause the gentry in other towns to feel threatened. They might even unite and pool their money to hire mercenaries. If some Outer Gang Martial Artist took that money and charged up the mountain to slaughter them, what would they do?

Besides, sometimes they could even collaborate with the gentry!

Therefore, it was much easier to bully the commoners. Penniless and defenseless, they could be raped and tormented at will! It was always best to pick on the weakest targets.

And so, the group of over twenty bandits marched swiftly, rapidly approaching Nansha Town according to their previously scouted route.

However, after crossing a small hill and arriving at the plains on the north side of Nansha Town, Zhang Pingteng stood facing the cold wind and looked at the sprawling estates surrounded by crisscrossing paths ahead. He suddenly felt that something was amiss.

He thought, "Something is wrong. Very wrong. Where are the tenants? Even though it’s winter, there should still be people working nearby, right? Why is the landscape completely barren, without a single soul in sight? And where is Qian Peng? What is he doing? Why are the main gates of the Yan estate tightly shut?"

The highly experienced Zhang Pingteng was instantly on high alert. He immediately whispered, "Brothers, pack up your gear. We’re retreating. Something isn’t right here. Keep your eyes peeled..."

Before he could finish speaking, a horn sounded abruptly—short at first, then drawn out—carrying on the cold wind to his ears.

"It’s a military bugle!"

Zhang Pingteng’s expression drastically changed. As a routed deserter, he knew this horn call all too well. It was the bugle call for an attack!

"KILL!"

Earth-shattering battle cries erupted, drowning the horn call in the thunderous roar of galloping hooves and shouts surging from all directions.

"Cavalry! It’s the Black Mountain Guard’s cavalry!" A bandit instinctively screamed, his face turning deathly pale. "They’re charging us from behind!"

"Hold your ground! Don’t panic! It’s only ten cavalrymen! What’s there to be afraid of?!"

"Blood Refining brothers, step up with me and form a defensive Array Formation! Where are the spears? Brace the spears quickly! Damn it, don’t run! Can your two legs outrun their four legs?!"

"Why the fuck didn’t you bring your spears?!"

"..."

In the midst of chaos and panic, the bandits were completely unable to organize any effective counterattack. Only a few former deserters and routed soldiers knew that running at a time like this was futile and that their only hope was to cluster together. However, some of the bandits—those who had only fled up the mountain after committing a murder—had already broken ranks and began scrambling for their lives.