Chapter 46 – Guardians of Hanzhong (4)

Chapter 46 – Guardians of Hanzhong (4)

The Wolf Fang Squad sprinted without rest toward Tangxiang Village.

So-mu, leading the pack, kept his ears alert. He had felt an inexplicable sense of unease for the past hour. It felt as though someone was tailing them.

Before long, his suspicion was confirmed.

When So-mu halted, his squad members stopped behind him in confusion. His gaze was fixed on the path behind them. Channeling energy into his eyes, he spotted a tiny speck on the distant horizon.

"Sigh."

As expected, his ominous feeling was correct. The child running for her life to catch up was undoubtedly his daughter.

So-so, who had been running blindly, flinched when the squad stopped. So-mu used his lightness technique to quickly close the distance to her.

She was clearly exhausted, her breathing heavy and ragged. But her stubbornness had not faded; she kept her mouth tightly shut like a grumpy duck.

"We are going to a dangerous place with your uncles. Go back and wait."

So-mu gently nudged her shoulder to turn her back. But So-so stood firm, refusing to budge. She even channeled her internal force into her legs to anchor herself.

"Take me with you!"

He couldn't bring a child onto a battlefield. It was clear that reasoning with her would not work.

So-mu adopted a solemn expression and said, "Go back now."

But his sternness had the opposite effect. Suddenly, So-so threw herself onto the ground and began to cry bitterly.

"Wah… I'm not going back!"

It was the most helpless moment in the life of the Sword Saint. Looking at So-so lying spread-eagled on the dirt, he felt his breath catch.

"I'm only telling you to go back because I'm worried about you."

"But… Father can protect me!"

"Sigh."

How many fathers in the world could defeat their daughters? In the end, So-mu raised the white flag.

"Fine. But you must stay right by my side. Understand?"

So-so blinked her teary eyes and immediately sprang to her feet.

"Really?"

"Yes."

With a bright smile, as if she hadn't just been crying, she spread her arms.

She wanted to be carried.

"Hehe. Yay!"

Having chased them for so long on her short legs, she wanted to take it easy for the remaining distance.

Holding his daughter, So-mu turned back. He couldn't afford to waste any more time.

Up ahead, the squad members were clutching their stomachs and snickering.

"Pfft. What did I tell you? So-so always wins."

"Even our captain is no match for his daughter."

"Haha, how can anyone defeat the Lu Bu of the Wolf Fang Squad?"

Embarrassed, So-mu strode past them.

"Quiet down, and keep up."

The Wolf Fang Squad accelerated once more, rushing toward Tangxiang Village. Another an hour later, they arrived at their destination. A cluster of dilapidated houses stood together. At a glance, it was a very poor village.

The village was peaceful, with farmers tending the rice paddies and women hanging laundry. Fortunately, they had arrived in time.

Looking at the village, So-mu fell into thought.

The raiders were likely regular cavalrymen who had not trained in martial arts. If so, the Wolf Fang Squad would not lose even against two thousand. The problem was that if the cavalry decided to scatter and flee, they would have no way to catch them all.

'If they escape, they will target this village again once we withdraw. We must eliminate them all in one go.'

Having made up his mind, So-mu spoke quietly to his squad.

"Gather the villagers in one place."

The squad members dispersed and began to round up the residents. Within an hour, hundreds of villagers had gathered at the communal hall.

Initially, their faces showed wariness and a faint dread. They trembled, their eyes filled with anxiety.

Seeing this, So-mu stepped forward. The young girl in his arms offered a bright smile, and the villagers immediately began to calm down. They instinctively felt that these armed soldiers meant them no harm.

"We are the government army from Hanzhong. We received word that a raiding force from the Hui Dynasty is approaching, and we have come to protect you."

The villagers began to murmur. The majority were simple folks who had never even visited a city, so they were naturally-terrified.

"There is no need to fear. As long as you cooperate with us, not a single one of you will be harmed."

* * *

To the north of Tangxiang Village, the flags of the Hui Dynasty appeared as the thundering of hooves shook the ground. The raiders had arrived.

Their armor and helmets gleamed with gold, and they held weapons like battleaxes and broadswords. Large wicker baskets hung from their saddles, rattling as they rode.

Soon, the village came into view. It looked like any other poor hamlet, except that the number of visible residents was unusually small. While some villages occasionally attempted a coordinated defense with bamboo spears, a place like this was incapable of resistance.

At the captain's signal, the cavalrymen dismounted. Obstacles littered the narrow paths, and the houses were built so closely together that it was impossible to ride their horses through.

Leaving a hundred men behind to guard the horses, the rest entered the village, carrying their wicker baskets.

"Plunder everything you can lay your hands on!"

Fanning out in groups of three or four, they rushed toward the houses.

They were in a hurry, eager to compete for the few women in the village. The eyes of the marauding soldiers were filled with greed and lust.

A moment later, a shout echoed.

"Found one here!"

About a dozen nearby soldiers rushed to the house. Inside, a figure lay on a wooden bed, their body covered up to the chest with a blanket. Curious about her face, the soldiers tried to peer closer, but the blanket was pulled over her head. Only a skirt and legs were visible.

"Move aside!"

A decurion stepped forward, unbuckling his armor. But after taking a few paces, he hesitated.

The soldiers behind him asked, "What is it, Squad Leader?"

"Commander?"

The decurion tilted his head and muttered, "Why does she have so much hair on her legs?"

Moreover, the legs were exceptionally muscular for a woman.

At the decurion's suspicious look, one of the soldiers cautiously approached and yanked the blanket away. His face immediately turned to absolute shock. Lying there with a look of intense humiliation was a warrior holding a sword.

It was Hyeonjeong of the Wolf Fang Squad. Her blade shot forward like a lightning bolt, piercing the soldier's throat.

*Thrust!*

The other soldiers gaped in disbelief.

In that instant, Hyeonjeong moved like a flash of lightning, weaving through the ranks. Inside the cramped house, the soldiers had nowhere to dodge. Every time her qi-infused sword swung, two or three men collapsed.

It took only a single breath for a dozen soldiers to fall. Looking at the corpses on the floor, Hyeonjeong let out a heavy sigh.

"Sigh… why did they have to give me this role?"

She felt utterly mortified. Had she still been a proud disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, she would have preferred suicide. But to save the village, she had no choice.

Hiding her sword beneath her skirt and covering her face with her robe, she stepped outside. She looked across the fields toward a ridge about twenty zhang away.

About a hundred soldiers were surrounding the local farmers. The dozen or so farmers paid them no mind, continuing to plow the soil with their pitchforks. But the moment the soldiers closed to within one zhang, the farmers suddenly lunged, driving their pitchforks into the soldiers.

*Thrust! Stab!*

"Aaargh!"

"Ugh!"

These were clearly no ordinary farmers. Yet, to the soldiers, they looked like simple peasants. Even as they were slaughtered, the soldiers refused to retreat, their pride preventing them from fleeing. They believed they were only temporarily pushed back due to their own carelessness. At least, for now.

Seeing the farmers' fierce resistance, nearby soldiers rushed to reinforce them, only to be skewered by the pitchforks and turned into corpses.

Meanwhile, in a carrot field about fifty zhang away.

A young girl wearing a straw hat was humming happily as she digged up carrots. Suddenly, she cried out in excitement.

"Father, look at this! It's huge!"

The carrot was indeed massive, about five times the size of a normal one.

Furthermore, its skin was a vibrant, multicolored pattern. Such variants were rare, but they were usually tasteless and woody, so farmers typically discarded them.

"Our So-so found a giant carrot. That is indeed very rare."

So-so hopped around, holding her giant carrot.

"Hehe. I'll give it to Grandfather!"

She still remembered how deliciously General Jang Yang had eaten the carrots she had brought him. There was not a trace of tension on their faces.

Just then, So-mu raised his head and scanned the surroundings. He detected about twenty soldiers creeping toward them.

So-mu calmly crushed the carrot in his hand, his grip turning it into dozens of small fragments.

He waited for them to draw closer.

The moment the soldiers were within three zhang, a crimson aura wrapped around his hand. He unleashed the carrot fragments, infused with his immense internal force. The pieces whistled through the air, striking the soldiers' vital points.

*Thud! Crack! Thwack!*

"Argh!"

"Ugh!"

Leaving the fallen soldiers behind, So-mu went back to digging up carrots.

It was then.

"Put your hands on your head and kneel! Or I'll kill the girl!"

One soldier had managed to survive the barrage. He held his sword tip inches from So-so. Yet So-so, oblivious or indifferent, remained entirely focused on her carrot digging.

So-mu chuckled and ignored him.

"W-What's so funny? I said I'll kill her!"

Frustrated that his threat had no effect, the soldier lunged forward and grabbed So-so's collar.

"Let go!"

Reflexively, So-so swung the giant carrot behind her, slamming it into the soldier's face.

*Crack!*

The impact snapped the soldier's head back, knocking him out instantly.

As he collapsed, So-so looked at her hands and pouted, on the verge of tears.

"Aw… my giant carrot broke."

So-mu stood up, slinging his carrot basket onto his shoulder with a smile.

"I've filled my basket, so I'm going to rest. You've only filled half of yours, So-so. That won't be enough to feed the uncles, so fill it up before you come back."

"Aw, okay…"

Taking a few steps away from So-so, So-mu suddenly bolted toward the houses like a flash of lightning. He carried the basket on his left shoulder, holding a single carrot in his right hand.

A brilliant light burst from the tip of the carrot. Channeling sharp qi about three inches long, the glowing carrot transformed into a deadly weapon.