Longevity Martial Arts: I have a Mysterious Water Snake Avatar-Chapter 189 - 182: The Nobility’s True Colors! Bloody Battlefield!
On the road from Nanyang County to Luo City and Pengcheng, nearly one hundred horse-drawn carriages of the Mu Hui Caravan rumbled forward. Apart from the central area, where the carriages were uniformly dark black, the rest were of various designs.
In the central area of the Mu Hui Caravan, inside an ancient and simple dark carriage, Zhu Yexin was pouring tea for an elderly woman with all-white hair.
"Yexin, have you thought this through? Your reputation is already quite poor. If you truly wish to do this, you simply cannot keep it hidden from those merchants, nor from the business communities of Nanyang County and Qingyang County," the elderly woman, Zhu Huazhi, reminded her again.
The audacity of the young girl before her was astonishing—to think she wanted to swallow the entire caravan in one go. She had a proper path but insisted on taking the Demon Tao. Aside from the guards and menial workers, only about forty-odd merchants remained.
In the eyes of Zhu Huazhi, a fifth-rank Martial Artist, these forty-odd merchants might not hold much lucrative gain, certainly not worthy of being pursued at the cost of one’s reputation.
"Ah, Granny, don’t worry. I will try my best to spare their lives," Zhu Yexin said with a wry smile, revealing the reason. "Zhu Wenlan is gradually making a name for herself on the Phoenix Roaring Battlefield; I can’t let her get too far ahead."
Hearing this, the elderly Zhu Huazhi shook her head helplessly and chose not to say any more.
Where there are people, there is a Jianghu. As a top-tier family with centuries of heritage, the Zhu Family had its share of ambitious members. The intensity of their struggles far exceeded the common man’s imagination.
If not for the presence of the Martial Saint Elders to suppress the chaos, the Zhu Family might have already crumbled and become as tumultuous as the Daxuan Dynasty.
Inside the carriage, Hong Yuan was contemplating how to elevate "Sword Qi Runs Through the Rainbow" from a killer move to a Sub-Divine Power. As a swordsman, one might forego defense and stamina, but one must possess speed and killing power. A few days ago, with his high aptitude of 70 points, Hong Yuan had already begun to form a strategy and direction. But it couldn’t be accomplished overnight; it had to be explored bit by bit.
Suddenly, Hong Yuan opened his tightly shut eyes. A smile lifted the corners of his mouth as he mused, "At last, have they come? It’s been more than half a month."
At this moment, the caravan had entered the middle section of the Luohe Mountain Range. Once through this area, they would reach Luo City.
The Luohe Mountain Range stretched for hundreds of miles and was a well-known, large mountain range within the Nanyang Government. It was also a region where land bandits and river pirates were highly active and thriving.
In recent years, battles between the Qinglu Taoist Temple and the Phoenix Creek Sect had caused the various bandit strongholds in the Luohe Mountain Range to experience waves of new arrivals. Consequently, their strength had soared rapidly.
Outside the caravan, a group of strong and fierce horse bandits had encircled the merchants. Behind the bandits, hordes of ragged commoners clutched bamboo spears, peering at the caravan from behind trees, wild grass, and large rocks, their stomachs rumbling with hunger. They were spread all over the mountains, as far as the eye could see.
Dressed in purple and with a whip at her waist, Zhu Yexin had already arrived at the front of the caravan. Her expression was calm, not one of panic, as she loudly asked, "I am Zhu Yexin. May I ask which esteemed figure has come to visit?"
With the view provided by the Sword Sparrow Worm, Hong Yuan saw a burly man on a horse emerge. This burly man had red hair, wore a tiger-skin outfit, and his eyes, large as copper bells, shone with an intimidating gleam. As he looked around, the guards of the Mu Hui Caravan lowered their heads one after another.
The red-haired burly man replied, "I am Li Tie, the third-in-command of the Black Tiger Gang, specially appointed by our boss to collect a toll."
"The Black Tiger Gang? Impossible!"
"This is bad! The Black Tiger Gang has grown to such an extent; it seems we are in trouble today."
"I’ve heard the Black Tiger Gang has connections with some high-ranking member of the Zhu Family..."
Upon hearing this, the merchants of the Mu Hui Caravan exchanged glances, whispering among themselves and occasionally glancing at Zhu Yexin.
They had long known that Zhu Yexin had a wicked heart; could this be a deliberate ploy?
Hong Yuan stepped out of the carriage, his face ’grave’.
He didn’t care whether Zhu Yexin was a venomous snake or if the Black Tiger Gang was ferocious. Now that they were close to Luo City, the Mu Hui Caravan no longer held any value for him!
In a subservient tone, Zhu Yexin said, "Boss Li, our caravan’s journey has not been easy. We’re just earning hard-earned money, this one million Energy Stones..."
As the red-haired burly man, Li Tie, leaned in to listen, Zhu Yexin suddenly made her move. "Transformation Tao killer move, Jungle Python Transformation!"
HISS!
Zhu Yexin lunged forward, transforming into a large blue python over twenty meters long in mid-leap.
"Hmph," Li Tie fixed his gaze on her and snorted angrily.
The python opened its giant maw, leaping mid-air and bearing down with oppressive force. Its massive figure overshadowed Li Tie’s face.
"Stop your recklessness!"
Along with a howl, an equally immense black wolf burst out from the bandits, hurling itself toward the python.
Phew, all is going well. Zhu Yexin’s eyes flickered with relief before she quickly entangled herself with the black wolf in the heat of battle.
Their moves were vicious but not fatal. The injuries they suffered all seemed severe but were, in fact, quite superficial.
Such actions by Zhu Yexin couldn’t deceive these merchants, who had traveled far and wide and seen all sorts of things.
A few veteran merchants instantly realized Zhu Yexin’s malicious intentions and picked a direction to flee with their guards.
BANG! BANG!
The bows fired continuously. Those merchants who retreated on their own had just left the caravan area when they were shot dead by arrows, blood pooling on the ground.
A figure appeared atop the distant mountains.
"The leader of the Black Tiger Gang, Wang Dahuo!"
"This is bad! Wang Dahuo is a fifth-rank Martial Artist! What can we use to stop him?"
"That brainless Zhu Yexin! She’s brought disaster upon us!"
The merchants of the Mu Hui Caravan were in complete disarray, panicking like ants on a hot griddle, pacing back and forth in the central area.
Wang Dahuo let out a tiger’s roar. The horse bandits and the Mountain Robbers wielding bamboo spears charged, aiming directly for the Mu Hui Caravan.
When people number over a hundred, they are diverse. Over a thousand, they connect heaven and earth. Over ten thousand, they are boundless.
"Kill!"
"Charge!"
"Everyone, with me!"
The lesser leaders swung their banners, urging the Mountain Robbers to charge.
Hong Yuan felt the earth-shaking power and saw the charging formation of the Mountain Robbers. His lips curled into a smile. Good heavens, if the Black Tiger Gang isn’t supported by a legion commander, then my surname isn’t Hong.
The other merchants weren’t as calm as Hong Yuan. They all took out their Energy Arrays and Talismans, protecting themselves individually.
Hong Yuan also activated a second-rank Energy Array, quietly waiting for the situation to unfold.
He didn’t believe that the Mu Hui Caravan had so little up their sleeves, not even a trump card. Since Zhu Yexin was a fourth-rank Martial Artist, their trump card should logically be a fifth-rank Martial Artist!
"Ah!"
"Save me! Save me!"
"GAHAHA! Brothers, charge!"
Screams, cries for help, wails, and rallying cries filled the air. The scene was a chaotic mess. Mountain Robbers fell in waves, and guards lay dead in groups. Many merchants died miserably on the spot.
Blood ran in rivers, and corpses numbered in the hundreds. The situation was chaotic to the extreme.
Yet in this chaos, the dozen or so merchants belonging to the Mu Hui Caravan’s main family were almost completely unharmed.
"The time has come." Zhu Huazhi, resembling an old woman with white hair, opened her eyes and flew out of the carriage. "Wood Tao killer move, Wooden Golems Descend!"
She clapped her hands, and the ground trembled. To everyone’s terrified gaze, towering Wooden Golems appeared out of nowhere. There were as many as nine of these Wooden Golems. They wielded willow branch whips, lashing at the ant-like Mountain Robbers on the ground. The ground cracked open, and bodies were flung through the air.
Hong Yuan casually dodged a flying arm and observed Zhu Huazhi.
The hearts of these great families are truly dark. Not only do they want to devour the merchants, but also the useless Mountain Robbers—killing two birds with one stone.
But with a single thought, Hong Yuan understood where the Black Tiger Gang came from, and a chill spread through his heart.
After Zhu Huazhi made her move, Wang Dahuo instantly transformed into a massive Fly Leopard, commandeering the airspace. With one pounce, he effortlessly destroyed one of the huge Wooden Golems, forcing Zhu Huazhi to quickly control the remaining eight to surround the Fly Leopard.
When the two fifth-rank Martial Artists took action, mountains collapsed and the earth cracked, swallowing countless lives.
Hong Yuan watched for a moment, assessed the strength of Wang Dahuo and Zhu Huazhi, then drew his Heavenly River Sword. The moment he gripped the Heavenly River Sword, it emitted a faint vibration.
EAT, EAT, EAT!!!
Feeling the desire emanating from the Heavenly River Sword, Hong Yuan’s lips curved upward. "Then I’ll let you eat to your heart’s content."
