Under the lure of two hundred taels of silver, the bandits’ eyes turned completely red.
They ignored the other female soldiers entirely and surged towards the left side where Jin Feng was.
The pressure on A Lan and A Ju suddenly multiplied several times, and their defensive rhythm fell into chaos at once.
Less than a minute later, A Ju took a slash to the leg.
Jin Feng quickly pulled her back. The hunter, without waiting for Jin Feng to step forward, rushed ahead to fill A Ju’s position.
But he had only been a sailor in the past and had not undergone West River Bay’s systematic training. He had no idea how to coordinate with A Ju beside him, relying solely on brute strength to swing his machete wildly.
Yet his momentum was ferocious, and his roars were loud, actually intimidating the bandits.
“Brothers, we can’t rest. We must get the master withdrawn quickly!”
Old Black took a deep breath, stood up from the ground, and led the remaining three veterans still able to fight, charging up again.
“Master, you’re too conspicuous here. Retreat quickly!”
Old Black reached Jin Feng’s side and pulled him to the rear.
Jin Feng had noticed this too and did not argue with Old Black. He hurriedly withdrew to the back, helping the wounded on the ground retreat towards the summit.
Another veteran squeezed past the hunter, taking his place.
“Everyone, put in more effort! Jin Feng is about to escape!”
A bandit underling hiding in the rear, seeing Jin Feng withdrawing, fanned the flames again from behind.
The scene became even more chaotic than before.
Though the veterans excelled in individual combat and coordination over the bandits, each carried varying degrees of minor wounds, severely affecting their performance.
Moreover, there were too many bandits. They could block one or two but not three or more.
As more bandits surged up like a tide, ready to overwhelm the veterans at any moment, Jin Feng, supporting a wounded veteran, had not yet retreated. Qing Mu Lan slightly closed her eyes.
“A Mei, we probably can’t hold. Go take the master and leave!”
“Miss…”
A Mei’s face was full of conflict.
“Is my word no longer effective?”
Qing Mu Lan turned and snapped, “Go now!”
“Yes!”
A Mei gave Qing Mu Lan a deep look, then leapt down from the summit.
Jin Feng had earlier been lashed on the shoulder by a tree branch, and his arm hurt badly. Seeing A Mei approach, he quickly said, “A Mei, perfect timing. Help me get him up.”
“Master, the miss ordered me to take you away!”
A Mei did not help the wounded but looked up at Jin Feng.
“Take me away?” Jin Feng asked puzzledly. “The path is sealed by bandits. How do we leave?”
“Cut our way out!”
A Mei said calmly.
“What did you say? Cut our way out?”
Jin Feng suspected he had misheard, turning to point at the densely packed bandits on the mountain path. “With so many, how do we cut out?”
“That’s my concern. The master just needs to follow behind me.”
A Mei’s voice remained calm. “I can’t guarantee I’ll get the master out, but I can guarantee I’ll die before the master.”
“Thank you, A Mei, but we can’t cut our way out, and I won’t abandon my wife and Mu Lan to escape alone.”
Jin Feng shook his head. “I don’t know how skilled you really are, but if you can help hold this pass, as long as we hold until dark, I guarantee I can get everyone out alive.”
“Master, at this point, stop using these words to boost morale. Everyone is already fighting for their lives.”
Like Qing Mu Lan, A Mei had always thought Jin Feng said this to rally spirits.
“Boost morale?”
Jin Feng paused, then realised and quickly assured, “A Mei, I’m not boosting morale. I really have a way.”
“Really have a way?”
A Mei looked Jin Feng up and down in surprise, as if seeing him for the first time.
She truly could not fathom why Jin Feng would say this.
“This concerns all our lives. Do you think I’d lie to you?”
Jin Feng said hurriedly.
“Alright, I’ll trust the master!”
Though A Mei still could not understand where Jin Feng’s confidence came from, he had done too many things beyond her comprehension. After a moment’s thought, she chose to trust him again.
“Then go help Old Black quickly. They can’t hold much longer!” Jin Feng urged.
A Mei nodded, carrying heavy crossbow arrows in her left hand and a black knife in her right, leaping towards the battlefield.
By now, on the narrow mountain path, the fighting had reached a fever pitch.
Just as Old Black’s group was about to collapse, A Mei arrived.
She did not replace a veteran or assist like A Lan’s group. Instead, she leapt high, vaulting over the veterans’ heads and landing in the midst of the bandits.
“A Mei, come back!”
Jin Feng was startled by her action and shouted at once.
But the next second, his eyes widened.
The moment A Mei landed, she twisted her waist in a full circle. Then Jin Feng saw the six bandits closest to her all clutch their necks and collapse!
Yet A Mei did not stop, plunging into the bandit crowd like a tiger among sheep.
The black knife in her hand seemed alive, sometimes tracing graceful arcs, sometimes thrusting in points of dark gleam…
“So this world really has martial arts masters!”
Jin Feng had long known A Mei was skilled but never imagined this level.
Not that she could fly high like in wuxia films or slash with metres-wide, glowing blade waves.
But her movements were incredibly fast, too fast for the bandits to react.
Fast enough that Jin Feng could barely follow!
And extremely sharp. Nearly every strike hit a vital spot.
Either slitting the throat or piercing the heart, rarely wasting effort.
Every blow was lethal!
Old Black and the others dealt with bandits behind A Mei, staring at her back in stunned silence like Jin Feng.
In regular training, they had sparred with A Mei, but then she held back her strength, and they used bladeless long knives. They had never imagined her terror!
No bandit lasted two moves against her. Most were sealed with one throat slash!
Alone, she not only halted the bandits but advanced over ten metres!
The previously aggressive bandits were killed into cowardice by her alone!
“Where did Jin Feng find such a formidable expert?”
The bandit chiefs below were also shocked by the rampaging A Mei.
The ever-smiling fat one, like a Maitreya Buddha, could no longer smile. He yelled, “Archers, where are they? Take out this female guard now!”
The other chiefs snapped out of it, shouting for their archers.
A Mei glanced disdainfully below, then leapt back in retreat.
“Take the wounded and our fallen brothers, withdraw to the summit!”
Jin Feng seized the opportunity, ordering veterans and female soldiers to carry the wounded and the bodies of the sacrificed veterans back to the summit.
A Mei retreated soon after.
“Didn’t I tell you to take the master away?”
Qing Mu Lan rushed to A Mei and demanded, “Why didn’t you listen?”
“The master says he has a way to repel the bandits…”
The A Mei who had just slaughtered in all directions now lowered her head like a chastened student, not daring to meet Qing Mu Lan’s eyes.
“Mu Lan, don’t blame A Mei.”
Jin Feng quickly spoke for her. “Trust me, when it gets dark, I really have a way!”
