At the foot of the small hill, dozens of escorts all raised their crossbows, ready to fire.
The moment they arrived, Jin Feng first ordered the escorts to hurl a volley of flash bombs into the areas where the bandits were most concentrated.
Although it was not yet dark and the surroundings were open, the flash bombs were less effective than they would be at night. Still, the sheer number thrown meant that, apart from a few bandits who happened to have their eyes closed, every bandit at the foot of the hill was temporarily blinded. They had no idea death was already upon them.
As Jin Feng’s palm dropped, every escort pulled the trigger at the same instant.
The bandits who moments earlier had driven the Ninth Princess’s party to desperation now fell like straw figures beneath the arrows!
A single volley killed dozens!
“Brothers, hold on just a little longer! The gentleman has come personally to save us!”
Da Niu, covered in wounds, threw his head back and laughed loudly. “You bandit brats are finished!”
The shock of life and death is the greatest of all. Even the ever-calm Ninth Princess could not stop herself trembling slightly.
The image of Jin Feng raising his hand to give the attack order burned itself into her mind, never to be forgotten.
“Quick, shields!”
The bandit leader halfway up the slope had been less affected by the flash bombs and roared frantically to his men.
Yet the greatest strength of the Xihe Bay hand crossbows was their rapid reloading and automatic feeding.
Before the leader’s words had fully left his mouth, the second volley arrived!
Mere seconds later came the third!
Of the hundred-plus bandits at the foot of the hill, only a handful who reacted quickly survived the three volleys. The rest were all dead!
“A-Mei, hurry up the hill and rescue Wuyang first!”
Qing Muluan looked up at the Ninth Princess and spoke urgently.
“Do you think A-Mei is superhuman? There are so many bandits on the slope. How could she charge up alone?”
Jin Feng grabbed A-Mei’s arm. “Don’t listen to her. She’s telling you to go throw your life away, and pointlessly at that!”
With his other hand he seized Qing Muluan. “And you, don’t do anything stupid right now!”
Qing Muluan opened her mouth to protest, but at that moment two arrows flew from the bushes on their left, straight toward Jin Feng!
A-Mei’s eyes narrowed. She raised her shield in a flash.
Thud! Thud!
Both arrows struck the shield. One nearly pierced clean through!
Big Liu jumped in fright and immediately had the personal guards surround Jin Feng and Qing Muluan.
“All men, ten o’clock direction, fire!”
The company commander leading the escorts saw someone shooting cold arrows at Jin Feng and instantly ordered a covering volley toward the source.
A full squad of escorts then charged into the bushes.
Soon shouts of “Don’t let him escape!” rang out from within.
A few hidden archers were hardly worth Jin Feng’s attention.
The most urgent task now was rescuing the Ninth Princess.
Jin Feng signalled the company commander to assault the hill.
“First rank, advance! Second rank, cover! Third rank, flanks!”
At the commander’s order, the escorts sprang into action.
The first rank held shields in their left hands and swords in their right, forming an arrowhead formation that stabbed fiercely into the bandit mass.
After many bandit-suppression campaigns, both the fighting ability and coordination of the escorts had improved dramatically. Though the bandits still outnumbered them, they could not halt the escorts’ advance!
When they reached midway up the slope, a hidden expert among the bandits suddenly struck. He kicked a shield with such force that the escort holding it was sent flying backward, knocking over several comrades before stopping.
The first rank’s formation was thrown into disorder.
Yet the rank leader did not panic. He quickly adjusted tactics.
“Expert! Fall back! First squad, cover!”
The strongest squad immediately dropped into a low stance, legs braced, shields raised with both hands to block the expert.
The second and third squads rapidly dragged their wounded comrades backward.
The expert kicked again, striking the shields in front of him.
The shield bearers were ready this time. Though forced back several steps, they were not sent flying.
As the expert prepared another attack, the second rank covering them reacted.
Two full squads fired their crossbows at the expert simultaneously.
Having witnessed A-Mei’s skill, Zhang Liang had long considered how to counter experts.
During regular training he often invited A-Mei for live combat drills.
This was the tactic Zhang Liang had devised after much thought specifically for dealing with masters.
No matter how fast or strong a martial expert might be, they were not immortals. Ten crossbows firing together could seal every possible escape route.
Sure enough, when one squad loosed at once, the expert dodged desperately yet still took an arrow in the leg.
Then the second squad’s volley followed instantly!
This time the expert had no chance to evade. Three arrows struck home, one directly in the heart. He died on the spot!
After that, the three ranks cooperated seamlessly and carved their way from the foot of the hill straight to the summit!
The escorts who had searched the bushes returned carrying the corpses of two archers.
The battle was officially over.
Only now did Jin Feng release Qing Muluan’s arm and accompany her up the hill.
“Wuyang, are you alright?”
It was clear Qing Muluan cared deeply for the Ninth Princess. Their relationship must be close. Paying no heed to differences in status, she circled the princess once, even lifting her arms to check for wounds.
“I’m fine, sister.”
The Ninth Princess gave a faint smile. “Though if you had arrived any later, it might have been a different story.”
“You can still smile? You nearly frightened me to death!”
Qing Muluan gave the princess an exasperated pat.
While the two sisters bantered, Jin Feng also turned to look at the Ninth Princess.
After falling into the water and fleeing for her life, she looked somewhat dishevelled, yet her eyes still shone with confidence and composure.
When he noticed the long knife in her hand, Jin Feng’s opinion of her rose another notch.
At least when danger came, she had not simply waited for death.
In an era of feudal imperial authority, men were not supposed to stare openly at a princess.
Having grown up under such rules, the Ninth Princess had never before met a strange man who looked at her so boldly.
Someone who could stay calm even when ambushed by bandits found herself blushing under Jin Feng’s gaze. She turned slightly to avoid his eyes.
Even someone as dense as Jin Feng realised he had been rude.
He gave a light cough and performed a scholar’s salute. “Jin Feng greets Your Highness! I arrived late to the rescue. I hope Your Highness will not hold it against me!”
“Wen’er greets Mister Jin!”
The Ninth Princess curtsied slightly in return. “Mister Jin is too serious. Had you not arrived in time, Wen’er would already have perished at the hands of villains!”
Qing Muluan raised an eyebrow and looked at the princess with faint surprise.
A princess of exalted status rarely returned a salute to anyone.
Yet the Ninth Princess had not only returned Jin Feng’s courtesy, she had addressed herself as Wen’er.
Normally, even when meeting dukes or high officials, she called herself only Wuyang.
This was Jin Feng’s first meeting with the Ninth Princess, so he noticed nothing unusual. After a few more polite exchanges, he excused himself to check on the wounded.
The Ninth Princess gazed thoughtfully at Jin Feng’s retreating back, so lost in thought that she did not hear Qing Muluan speaking to her.
“What are you looking at?” Qing Muluan waved a hand in front of her face.
“Nothing. I simply think Mister Jin really is different from ordinary men.”
The princess withdrew her gaze. “What did you just say, sister?”
