Chapter 44: Enemy Raid!

  This mountainous area, which stretches across two counties and belongs to the branch of Manglong Mountain, has a vast territory with complex terrain, high mountains, dense forests, and many bandits, posing a great threat to merchants and travelers.

  There were countless bandits and mountain thieves coming and going like the wind, extremely difficult to deal with. The notorious ones, such as Guo Shanfeng and Hei Lao Yao, were all infamous big thieves, and the places where the Qin family's merchant caravan passed through were not far from their territory.

  Although the merchant troops are not weak, they cannot be careless, because once they enter deep into the mountains, they can only rely on their own strength. The Qin family's power is vast, but it cannot provide assistance, and its influence does not extend that far.

  The new recruits couldn't continue to sit comfortably in the horse carriage, they changed to walking under the command of Lin Dong, the leader of the merchant group, to guard the rear of the team.

  Lin Dong also called Qin Yun over.

  "Has your Divine Movement of a Thousand Miles reached the third level?" he asked directly.

  Qin Yun nodded slightly, there was nothing good to hide, and he secretly admired the other's vision.

  "That's good, I have a task for you!"

  Lin Dong's task assigned by Qin Yun was to act as a scout, responsible for patrolling and being on the lookout on the right flank of the merchant caravan, guarding against bandits that could appear at any time.

  This task is not easy and quite dangerous, originally would not be assigned to newcomers, but this guest officer obviously has his own opinion, thinks it's suitable for Qin Yun rather than intentionally making things difficult for him.

  "You have the strength of Lianqi San Chong Tian, and your Qianli Shenxing is also well-practiced. As a scout, you should be fine, but be extremely careful of the thief's scouts."

  Bandits and mountain robbers will not suddenly appear out of nowhere, they first target a certain merchant group, then send scouts to continuously investigate until they understand the situation before taking action.

  While Ji Huan is one of the most elite forces among the bandits, coupled with their familiarity with the environment, making them difficult to deal with.

  Lin Dong handed a bamboo tube, no more than half an inch long, to Qin Yun: "If you encounter an enemy that is difficult to deal with, you can blow the whistle to alert us and we will come to support you quickly."

  "Understood, I will be a good sentinel!" Qin Yun replied without hesitation.

  Lin Dong's gloomy face revealed a hint of satisfaction, and his tone suddenly shifted: "The third layer of the Thousand Mile Divine Movement is very difficult to reach from the fourth layer, I think your foundation is not bad, but you lack the technique of cultivation."

  "When you normally practice, you can tie iron plates on both legs and cultivate your body method freely before gradually increasing the weight, thirty pounds, fifty pounds, one hundred pounds and so on!"

  He smiled faintly: "If you tie two hundred pounds of heavy objects to each leg, can you still maintain the speed and agility of a hundred meters? At that time, as long as you remove the iron plate, breaking through the thousand-meter level is completely effortless!"

  Qin Yun was taken aback at first, but after hearing the other person's words, he suddenly came to his senses.

  This guest is pointing out the key to his own cultivation!

  He hastily bowed and thanked: "Thank you for your guidance!"

  "That still depends on your own efforts..." Lin Dong waved his hand, and his expression returned to its usual stiffness and coldness: "I hope you won't disappoint me!"

  For Qin Yun, this was undoubtedly an unexpected gain. Although he wanted to try the cultivation method pointed out by Lin Dong immediately, first and foremost, he had to complete his own duties.

  He slung his hunting bow over his back, and he and four other guards left the caravan and entered the forest.

  The mountain road is difficult to walk, with high and low mountains on both sides of the road. The dense forest vegetation makes it difficult to move forward, and there are many mosquitoes and insects that make people feel annoyed.

  Many times, Qin Yun had to use the hunting knife he carried with him to cut through the vines blocking his way, and he also had to keep up with the team, which was undoubtedly much more tiring than those newcomers who were advancing with the team.

  In such an environment, Qin Yun's usual bitter practice of Qianli Shenxing lightness skill played a huge role, with agile movements and rapid endurance, he could help him traverse mountains and rivers as if on flat ground.

  It wasn't until nightfall when Qin Yun returned to the merchant group to rest, with other skilled guest fighters from Keqing Hall taking on the task of keeping watch.

  It's been three days since the caravan entered the mountainous region, and the endless road ahead seems to have no end in sight.

  But all along the way it was very quiet and peaceful, let alone bandits, even wild beasts were rarely seen.

  The newcomers in the Foreign Affairs Hall gradually relaxed their vigilance, without the previous tension and caution.

  But danger often comes suddenly and unexpectedly!

  Rustle!

  This morning, Qin Yun had just climbed over a mountain ridge and entered the forest when the grass in front of him not far away suddenly shook several times.

  He didn't pay much attention because there were often some wild rabbits and weasels in the woods.

  But the next moment, Qin Yun found himself wrong.

  Whoosh! Whoosh!

  Two crossbow bolts shot out from the thicket and streaked towards him like lightning!

  There is an enemy!

  Although caught off guard, Qin Yun's reaction was also extremely quick.

  At the moment when the crossbow arrow was about to hit him, he suddenly dodged to the right by a few feet, avoiding the most fatal one.

  The hunting knife in his hand rose and struck down the second crossbow bolt.

  "Huh?"

  A distant sound of astonished whispers came, and two dark shadows flashed in the forest ahead.

  Coming without going is not courtesy!

  Qin Yun threw the hunting knife in his hand to the ground, turned around and took down the hunting bow hanging on his back, drew an arrow, strung the bow, and aimed at one go.

  Whoosh!

  Feathered Arrow Counterattack!

  But this arrow did not hit, there were too many shelters in the forest, and the enemy targeted by Qin Yun only needed to dodge behind a big tree, and even the sharpest feathered arrow would be harmless.

  At this time, Qin Yun saw the true face of his opponent.

  These two ambushing enemies were slender and fierce, wearing leather armor and holding short crossbows, their attire and appearance undoubtedly that of bandit scouts.

  They took cover behind the trees to avoid Qin Yun's feathered arrows, while reloading their crossbows and engaging in a shootout with Qin Yun. Their swift and accurate shots kept Qin Yun from daring to approach easily.

  Whoosh!

  Qin Yun blew a whistle, and the sharp whistling sound instantly spread throughout the entire mountain forest.

  His duty was not to annihilate the enemy but to act as the eyes and ears of the caravan, so once the enemy was discovered, the first thing to do was to warn the caravan.

  The two thieves' expressions changed instantly; they naturally understood what the whistle tone represented.

  But contrary to Qin Yun's expectations, the two thieves did not run away.

  They immediately put away their crossbows, drew out their daggers and rushed towards Qin Yunbao from both sides with a fierce momentum and extremely fast speed!

  Qin Yun immediately understood that these two scouts must be very confident in their own strength, believing they could take him down before the merchant group's reinforcements arrived.

  As for their purpose, it was obvious that they wanted to extort information about the merchant caravan from his mouth.

  Then let's give it a try!

  Qin Yun smiled coldly and threw down his hunting bow, drawing out the Qinghua Sword.

  His body suddenly moved, like an arrow off the string, rushing forward before his two opponents had formed a pincer movement, and met the opponent on the right side.

  The thief's scar-faced scout had a hint of surprise on his face, he didn't expect Qin Yun to look so young and tender, yet perform flawlessly in the face of battle.

  "Look out!"

  Scarface snorted and shouted loudly. He swung his arms and opened his palms, the two daggers in his hands shooting towards Qin Yun at the same time.

  As soon as the dagger was out of his hand, his right palm fell and slapped on the waistband, instantly drawing out a willow-leaf fine sword wrapped around his waist!

  Ding! Ding!

  Two daggers flying straight at him were deflected by Qin Yun's sword, but the speed of his dash was inevitably affected, and his body sank downward.

  But in the next instant, a streak of cold light flashed through the air, emitting a terrifying hiss, and stabbed straight at his throat.

  This sword has no fancy techniques, it's purely fast, as swift as a venomous snake pouncing on its prey from the grass, leaving no time for defense.

  Qin Yun could not avoid it and he did not dodge either.

  At the moment when both feet stepped on the ground, the Qinghua sword swung forward in a straight line, and the red sword energy emitted from the tip of the sword was half a foot long, hot enough to ignite the surrounding air!

  Swords crossed!

  Although Qin Yun's sword speed was not as fast as his opponent's, his Qingjian Sword combined with the released sword energy was absolutely longer than the willow leaf thin sword.

  Every inch of growth is an inch of strength!

  In this absolutely hard-hitting showdown, Qin Yun brought his advantages to the extreme. Although the scar-faced Liu Ye's slender sword might be able to pierce his throat, first and foremost, one must have the courage and determination to be cut in two by the Qing Feng Sword!

  Life for life!

  Scar-faced man's eyes widened in shock, he hadn't expected Qin Yun to be so ruthless at such a young age.

  To talk about being ruthless and fighting for one's life, as a notorious outlaw who has tasted blood on his blade, Scarface is absolutely not inferior to anyone. However, this does not mean that he can easily sacrifice his life and engage in a battle of mutual destruction with his opponent.

  Otherwise, he wouldn't have made it till today, and there's no need to be desperate at the moment, besides, another companion is coming from the side.

  The thought flashed through his mind and Scarface immediately withdrew his sword and retreated, avoiding a confrontation with Qin Yun.

  Hmph!

  In the meantime, another thief suddenly appeared from behind Qin Yun, grasping a dagger in his hand, instantly putting him in a precarious situation of being attacked from both front and back.

  But Qin Yun stood still, not dodging or evading, the falling Qinghua sword swung around his body with momentum, and the suddenly surging sword edge formed a dazzling ring of flames around him.

  Enraged Slash!

  This move is the third form of the Blazing Sword Technique, and when practiced to the highest level, the sword energy released can affect a range of ten steps around, making it most suitable for counterattacking in situations where one is surrounded.

  Qin Yun's strength had not yet reached that level, and the sword energy he emitted could only cover a distance of three steps at most.

  But it's enough!

  "Ah!"

  That thief who had snuck up from behind was struck straight into the ring of flames, his right hand along with his dagger was shattered by the fierce sword energy, and he let out a blood-curdling scream as he flew back out.

  His chest plate was torn open, the wound a mess of blood and flesh, as he struggled to get up from the ground.

  Scarface rebuked him with a great shock, and he immediately realized that he had underestimated Qin Yun's strength.

  "Kill!"

  The ferocious nature unique to the Huan Pi made Scarface have no choice but to retreat, instead he unfolded his sword stance and launched a fierce attack on Qin Yun.

  Streaks of lightning and sword shadows crisscrossed, the shrill whistling sound of sharp blades tearing through the air rose and fell in waves!

  Qin Yun retreated step by step!