Chapter 100 : Chapter 100
Chapter 100. The Assault
Xu Yuan’s gaze swept over the remaining cart drivers.
By now, those men had already cast aside their disguises. Each drew a weapon hidden beneath the carts, their faces full of panic even as they forced themselves to look fierce and closed in around him.
“Kill him!” one of them roared, trying to bolster his courage as he charged with his blade raised.
Xu Yuan shifted his feet and slipped effortlessly into the middle of the group.
Then his fists flashed like lightning. Accompanied by the dull sounds of cracking bones and short, miserable screams, only a few breaths later, several limp corpses lay sprawled across the ground.
The entire process was clean and efficient. Not even much blood had splashed onto his robes.
Only then did he walk over to Zhao Si.
The man was not yet dead. He sat collapsed on the ground, his breastbone caved in, blood constantly spilling from his mouth and nose. Yet his lips still twitched faintly, as though he were muttering something.
“You weren’t secretly cursing me a couple of times, were you?”
Xu Yuan kicked Zhao Si in the shoulder, knocking his half-living body flat onto its back.
“Speak. What was your purpose in coming to the medicinal fields?”
Zhao Si’s gaze fell on Xu Yuan’s face, and he actually pulled out a strange, twisted smile.
“Too late. It’s already too late. Did you think... we were the only ones who came to the medicinal fields?”
He gasped for breath, vomiting blood every few words.
“Once we learned the location of the Shangyang Residence’s medicinal fields, we had already been planning this for a long time. The Ward Lord personally came to hold the line... by now, quite a few places have probably already fallen, hahaha...”
Ward Lord?
A Sixth Meridian martial artist!
Xu Yuan’s heart sank. As expected, it was the Bai Family.
Taking advantage of the Chief Guard’s departure, they had sent a Sixth Meridian Ward Lord to lead the assault they had been preparing for all along!
The medicinal fields were hidden away, and though their defensive strength was relatively concentrated, their manpower was limited. If they were struck from within and without at the same time, then the danger was indeed real.
What he could not understand, however, was why the Bai Family was in such a hurry.
The Chief Guard had barely left, and they had come immediately behind him.
“Destroy the medicinal fields, cut off the Shangyang Residence’s resource supply... let’s see what you’ll use to fight the Bai Family then...” Zhao Si’s grin turned even more savage, as though he were using up the last of his strength.
Xu Yuan’s eyes turned cold. He said no more. Extending two fingers like a blade, he released a burst of force and instantly shattered Zhao Si’s heart meridian.
Zhao Si’s body stiffened. The manic grin on his face froze, and he fell silent for good.
With the immediate threat resolved, Xu Yuan considered whether he should rush back at once to check on Field Ding, or first investigate the situation in the other medicinal fields.
Just as he was weighing it, a burst of hurried, chaotic footsteps came from the distance and rapidly drew nearer.
Xu Yuan looked up and saw Yang Caiyu charging at the head of the group, accompanied by three duty captains, more than a dozen field overseers, and martial artists. Zhang Cheng was among them as well.
Everyone wore grim expressions. Their robes were stained here and there with blood and dust, making it obvious that they had just come through a battle.
When she saw Xu Yuan standing in the middle of the road, Yang Caiyu slowed to a stop. Her sharp gaze swept rapidly over the scene before landing on him, and she said coldly,
“Since you knew there were foreign enemies invading, why are you still standing here? Could it be that... you have some connection with the Bai Family and were waiting here to assist them?”
That was going far too far. Without another word, she was already trying to pin a charge on him.
Xu Yuan’s expression turned cold, and he looked straight at Yang Caiyu.
“Captain Yang, you would do well to watch your words.”
“I just intercepted and killed a squad of Bai Family thieves who infiltrated the place in disguise. Their corpses are still warm, and the proof is right here. If you want to hurl baseless accusations, at least consider the setting first.”
At his side, Zhang Cheng frowned and spoke up, his tone carrying obvious displeasure.
“Captain Yang, with a great enemy before us, resisting them should come first. Without evidence, how can you let personal grudges lead you into wild suspicion and throw our people into confusion?”
The other duty captains around them also spoke up to persuade her. The Bai Family was attacking now; this was precisely when they needed to work together. Old grievances could only be set aside for the moment.
Yang Caiyu’s expression eased somewhat. Clearly, she also knew this was not the time to keep pressing the matter. She shot Xu Yuan a cold glare.
“Once this business is over, I will settle the matter with you properly!”
She stopped looking at him and waved a hand at the others. “Quickly! Head toward Field Jia and eliminate any remaining enemies along the way!”
The group swiftly passed the wreckage of the convoy and hurried along the main road.
On the way, Xu Yuan ran beside Zhang Cheng and asked in a low voice, “Brother Zhang, what exactly is going on? How did you discover it?”
Zhang Cheng’s face was grave, and he spoke quickly.
“We were returning a little faster than you. As soon as we got near our respective medicinal fields, we discovered that small groups of Bai Family martial artists had already infiltrated in disguise and were launching attacks.”
“Fortunately, most of them were at the Fourth Meridian or below. They hadn’t yet caused major damage before we joined forces and wiped them out... Oh, right. When I passed by your Field Ding, I also took care of two infiltrating Fourth Meridian martial artists for Gao Xiaosong and the others. That side is stable for the moment.”
“After that, several of us duty captains joined up and came rushing toward the core area together with Yang Caiyu.”
Warmth stirred in Xu Yuan’s heart. He cupped his hands and said, “Many thanks, Brother Zhang, for looking after Field Ding.”
“A small matter. It’s only what colleagues ought to do.”
Zhang Cheng waved it off, but there was not the slightest ease in his expression.
“The most troublesome areas right now are Fields Jia, Yi, and Bing.”
“The highest-grade medicinal treasures are planted there. Their guards are usually the strongest as well. Those three fields are the foundation of the medicinal fields as a whole. Since the Bai Family came with a plan in place, their main force must be headed there. It’s just...”
He frowned tightly. “The Chief Guard had only just left, and the attack arrived right behind him. The timing was so precise that it feels as though... they could not wait any longer?”
Xu Yuan felt the same way, but there was no benefit in delving into it right now. “We should deal with the immediate crisis first.”
Everyone moved at great speed, and before long they approached the territory of Field Bing.
Before they had even stepped inside, a thick smell of blood came drifting toward them on the wind.
The sight that met their eyes made every heart sink.
The once-neat ridges of medicinal crops had been trampled into total ruin. Most of the precious medicinal treasures had been uprooted entirely, leaving behind only overturned beds of mud and a few scattered immature plants.
Along the field ridges and beside the paths lay the bodies of martial artists and herb farmers, strewn everywhere, stained with blood. The air was thick with the stench of slaughter.
Plainly, a brief yet brutal battle had taken place here—and it had ended in a crushing defeat for the defenders of Field Bing.
“This is bad!” one duty captain cried out.
They searched quickly and soon found the corpse of Field Bing’s duty captain near the guard station.
This senior martial artist, a veteran at the peak of the Fifth Meridian, had a clear palm print in the middle of his chest. The bones around it had all been shattered. His eyes were wide open, and his face was frozen with shock, fury, and unwillingness.
“It was done by a Sixth Meridian expert... and killed in a single strike!”
After examining the body, Zhang Cheng spoke in a low voice, with a faint tremor he could not quite hide.
To kill a duty captain at the peak of the Fifth Meridian this cleanly and decisively, only a Sixth Meridian martial artist could have done it. Moreover, even among the Sixth Meridian, the opponent was likely one of the stronger ones.
Xu Yuan silently looked at the devastation before him.
The fall of Field Bing meant that a large quantity of high-grade medicinal treasures had been taken. For the Shangyang Residence, that was indeed a major loss.
More importantly, the Bai Family had shown themselves here, and at least one of those who had personally acted was a Sixth Meridian martial artist!
As for the duty captain of Field Jia, Xie Yun, he was the only Sixth Meridian martial artist among all the medicinal fields. If he could hold the line, then Field Jia might still be saved.
But Field Yi...
“Quick, to Field Yi!” Yang Caiyu shouted anxiously, no longer caring about anything else.
…