Chapter 57 of Volume 1

  After hearing this, Tang Yin took a deep breath and his eyes lit up, secretly praising the cleverness. He asked in a low voice, "Will doing so be somewhat lacking in propriety?"

  "It won't!" Qiu Zhen said affirmatively, "Eliminating the bandit's lair, we will establish our military merit and also eliminate the disaster for the local people. It's a situation where we can achieve two things at once, how can it be inappropriate?"

  "What if someone finds out?" Tang Yin asked worriedly.

  "How could that be? Who would investigate this matter, and as long as we are careful, there won't be any leaks..." As he spoke, he leaned in close to Tang Yin's ear and began whispering.

  It's clear that Qiu had been preparing for a long time, with a well-planned plan, and even the maps were ready. Moreover, it wasn't just one map, but several pieces of cloth in his hand, each containing information about local bandit dens gathered during his journey through various towns.

  Qiu Zhen did not stay at the Xingguan with Tang Yin, but instead stayed in the mansions of various city owners. He was not seeking comfort, but rather took advantage of his accommodations to chat idly with the city owners and extract information about local bandits.

  It can be said that Tang Yin had not yet left Yancheng when Qiu Zhen had already thought of this plan, and all the way he had paved the road.

  Having a helper like Qiu Zhen by his side is absolutely a blessing, and Tang Yin has finally felt it now.

  He accepted Qiu Zhen's plan and prepared to eliminate the nearby bandit dens on his way back to Yancheng, accumulating military merit for himself.

  About twenty miles out of the city, Tang Yin ordered the troops to stop advancing. He then hastily summoned his ten chiliarchs and rushed back to Princess's carriage on horseback.

  The female guard captain under the princess's seat had a terrible impression of Tang Yin. As soon as she saw him riding over with a group of people from afar, she immediately went up to intercept them and asked loudly: "What are you doing this time? Are you going to inspect the princess's carriage again?"

  Tang Yin's face was serious as he said, "I have an urgent matter to report to Your Highness!"

  "What's wrong?"

  "According to scouts, there are bandits lying in ambush ahead, and they may attack our troops. I must lead the way and go first to eliminate them!"

  As soon as this was said, not to mention the female attendant being greatly shocked, even the ten centurions behind him were startled. Were there actually bandits ambushing ahead? How did they not know about it? When did the scouts send back their intelligence report?

  It's a matter of great importance, and the female guard leader didn't dare to delay any longer. She hastily led Tang Yin and others to the front of the horse carriage and said in a respectful and soft tone: "Your Highness, we just received news that there are bandits ambushing ahead. The troops can only stop for now. General Tang...General Tang will personally go to quell the bandit rebellion!"

  "Oh! Then General Tang will have a hard time." The princess's light and casual voice came from inside the carriage.

  No matter how he listened, Tang Yin felt that the princess's voice was familiar, but he couldn't think of where he had heard it before. He patted his forehead, secretly suffering and groaning in pain, then rallied his spirits and said: "Your Highness is too kind, this is what a subordinate should do, please wait here for a moment, I will hurry back as soon as possible."

  After finishing speaking, he turned his war horse around and gave a concise order to the ten centurions: "Gu Yue, Le Tian, you two lead your troops to follow me to suppress the bandits. The rest of you, stay in place and protect the princess's safety. Whoever dares to leave their post will be beheaded without pardon!"

  "Yes! General Tang!" The crowd rarely saw Tang Yin give such a stern military order, and they were all shocked, raising their spirits by 200%, responding in unison.

  "In my absence, Li Weichen and Deng Mingyang will be in full charge!"

  "I understand!"

  "Go!" After Tang Yin finished handing over, he nodded to Gu Yue and Le Tian, led the two thousand soldiers, accompanied by Qiu Zhen, and went to the front line to suppress the bandits.

  A man is most handsome when he is serious, and a man who gives orders seriously is even more handsome.

  Tang Yin gave a series of crisp and decisive military orders, leaving the female attendant general stunned, staring at his back as he rode away on horseback, unable to regain her composure for a long time.

  As for Tang Yin and his group, they walked forward for a while, turned several corners, then left the official road and rushed towards the distant deep mountains and ancient forests.

  As the crowd walked further and further, Gu Yue and Le Tian also felt more and more that something was off. Wasn't it said that bandits had ambushes to launch surprise attacks on their troops? But this ambush was set up a bit too far away, wasn't it?

  Following Tang Yin, they ran out for a long distance and turned around in the forest, getting more and more confused. Gu Yue was the first to lose patience and asked tentatively: "General Tang, haven't...haven't we arrived yet?"

  Tang Yin took out the map Qiu Zhen gave him from his bosom, looked at it and then gazed into the distance, saying: "We're almost there. Once we get through this forest and round that mountain bend in front of us, we'll be just about there."

  He spoke lightly, but in his heart he was already secretly scolding the bandits for choosing such a remote and secluded place. No wonder the local officials and soldiers had not been able to eradicate them several times before. If the bandits had received news of their approach beforehand, they could have easily gotten lost just by circling around in the forest.

  This is the truth, and the bandits also have their eyes and ears in the city. As soon as a large number of government soldiers move out, they can immediately get wind of it, either hiding or setting up ambushes to lure the soldiers into a trap.

  Although there were many people, the task was to protect the princess. Who would have thought that they would come up with a clever plan and ambush the bandits halfway? At this time, the bandits were completely unguarded. If they had really set an ambush in the forest, it would have been enough for Tang Yin's two thousand or so people to bear.

  Peacefully passing through the forest, further ahead was a mountain road, the ground was littered with rocks everywhere, Tang Yin simply got off his horse and proceeded on foot.

  "Are they really just around five hundred people?" Tang Yin asked Qiu Zhen who was following behind him as he walked.

  "The lord of the city said so when he stormed the city." Qiu Zhen himself was also uncertain.

  At this time, Gu Yue curiously asked: "Isn't it said that the bandits have an ambush?"

  Tang Yin and Qiu Zhen looked at each other and smiled. He nodded his head towards the latter and said, "Tell them the truth!"

  Qiu Zhen pulled Gu and Le beside him and recounted his plan from start to finish.

  Keeping the other thousand households in the dark, it wasn't that Tang Yin and Qiu Zhen didn't trust them, but rather because this matter was of great importance, the fewer people who knew about it, the better. Relatively speaking, Tang Yin and Qiu Zhen trusted Gu and Yue the most, so they only brought these two along on this action. As for the soldiers below, they had no idea what was going on, naturally there was no need to explain much to them.

  Gu Yue and Le Tian only knew what to do after Qiu Zhen finished speaking, both of them laughed, creating their own credit for themselves, this thing is quite fresh, but it also sounds interesting.

  "Will we really get a reward after returning to the city by doing this?"

  "Of course!" Qiu Zhen nodded. "Since the princess has come to Da Feng, it is our responsibility to protect her. If anything happens, no one can bear the blame. We'd rather die defending the princess than have a smooth journey back. This isn't about being cunning, this is politics. If you want to climb up, you need to create your own opportunities."

  "High theory!" Gu Yue was a simple martial artist and didn't understand these things, but listening to Qiu Zhen's words made sense, he sincerely admired him and raised his thumb in praise.

  "Heh heh!" Qiu Zhen smiled and said: "As for fighting, I won't be of much help to you guys, but in other aspects, I can still contribute a bit."

  They walked and chatted along the way, bypassing a mountain bend, and looking ahead, they saw the road leading up the mountain.

  The road here is more difficult to walk, the ground is uneven, one side is a steep cliff, and the other side is a precipice. The road is narrow and rugged, and if you're not careful, there's a risk of falling off the cliff.

  As I walked forward, suddenly, whistling sounds rose from ahead, mixed with urgent cries.

  No need to ask, the bandits in the bandit's lair have already discovered their traces.

  Tang Yin's face revealed a smile, a cold and evil smile. Now Qiu Zhen, Gu Yue, and Le Tian saw this kind of smile on his face and they all understood in their hearts that Tang Yin had made up his mind to kill someone.

  He quickened his pace, rushing forward, and at the same time, layers of black mist emanated from his body, enveloping him. In an instant, the mist solidified into a tangible form, adhering to his body, forming a layer of pure black armor that shimmered with a faint, eerie glow.

  Seeing this, Gu Yue and Le Tian also took out their respective weapons and turned back to shout: "Prepare for battle!"

  Battle could break out at any moment, Qiu Zhen slowed down his pace and gradually fell back to the end of the team. It wasn't that he was cowardly, but rather he had no ability to protect himself. On the battlefield, not only would he be unable to help, but he might also distract Tang Yan and others from taking care of him. Not wanting to trouble others, he consciously distanced himself from the conflict.

  Tang Yin wore a Ling armor, charging in the front, and walked out not far ahead, only to hear the whizzing sound rising from all directions, with over a hundred feathered arrows flying towards him.

  He didn't even dodge, letting the arrows and projectiles hit his own body. The iron arrowheads collided with the Ling armor, making a loud clanging sound, sparks flying everywhere, but not harming the Ling armor in the slightest.

  His current cultivation has reached the realm of spiritualization, and he can be considered profound. The released spiritual armor is also tough enough, as long as it is not attacked by the spirit-weaponized weapon after the spiritualization of the soldier, ordinary attacks are ineffective against him.

  He didn't stop in his tracks, still taking big strides forward. The arrows in front of him never stopped, and wherever he passed, the ground was covered with scattered arrowheads, forming a long trail.

  After a while, the other side seemed to have also seen that they couldn't hurt him, and the rain of arrows stopped. Immediately after, a loud rumbling sound was heard again.

  I don't know what other weapons the opponent used. Tang Yin raised his head and took a look, only to see a crash car rushing down from the middle of the mountain.

  The front of the battering ram was made of iron, with many swords and knives tied horizontally to it, its range of attack extremely wide. The back of the battering ram was empty, filled with huge stones, the entire battering ram weighed at least 1,800 catties (about 900 kg), from top to bottom rushing down, its inertia not less than a thousand catties, and on this narrow mountain road, if it really rushed into the soldiers' formation, the casualties would be impossible to estimate.

  Tang Yin was startled, never expecting the bandits to have such a weapon. He couldn't dodge, and if he stepped aside, the soldiers behind him would be in danger. Without time to think, Tang Yin reached back with both hands, and from the waist of his armor, two slits opened, revealing the handles of two knives. Tang Yin grasped them and drew out the twin blades.

  A dark, black aura flowed out from his palms and merged with the two Crescent Moon Sickle Knives. Then, he combined the two spirit-refined sickles into one, forming a super-large, black scythe.

  It comes slowly, but in reality it is extremely fast, the whole process is just a matter of blinking an eye.

  Tang Yin held a sickle in one hand, raised it high, and at this moment the carriage had already arrived in front of him. He let out a loud shout, and the sickle fell from top to bottom, its blade cutting through the air with a sharp whistling sound.