ushernet Chapter 266: How Could There Be Such a Madman?
Chapter 266: How Could There Be Such a Madman?
Blackstone Village.
Zhao Heiniu had already returned to the village at dusk. Now he sat in the Blacksmith Shop with Blacksmith Sun, drinking the Huadiao Wine that Su Wangchuan had asked him to bring back.
“Hahahaha…”
“I never expected that I would advance to Second Rank so quickly, did you, Blacksmith Sun?!”
Zhao Heiniu showed off while drinking.
Blacksmith Sun snorted coldly.
“So what if you did? Aren’t you still working under my disciple? By seniority, you should be calling me ‘master’!”
“Get lost!”
Zhao Heiniu glanced toward the courtyard ahead. “So… have you managed to win her over yet?”
That courtyard belonged to Auntie Wang.Blacksmith Sun’s dream woman.
Blacksmith Sun’s old face flushed red. He lifted the wine jug and snapped, “You foul-mouthed bastard, what nonsense are you spouting? Just drink!”
“Hahahaha…”
Zhao Heiniu finally managed to win a round in their banter.
After several rounds of drinking, both men were slightly tipsy.
“Tell me honestly,” Zhao Heiniu asked, “have you ever thought about going to Sanhe Commandery?”
Blacksmith Sun raised his cup with a faint smile.
“I’m not like you people. I’m just a blacksmith. You can go roam the Jianghu. As for me… I have to stay here and guard Blackstone Village.”
“I’ll stay right here in Blackstone Village.”
“…”
Zhao Heiniu silently raised his cup.
The two men drank together.
After some time passed, Zhao Heiniu suddenly twitched his nose. The haze in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by sharp clarity.
“What’s wrong?”
Blacksmith Sun noticed the change.
“The smell of blood.”
“Human blood!”
Zhao Heiniu had already grabbed the Iron-Reinforced Bow and a quiver of Armor-Piercing Arrows. Stepping on the wall, he leapt onto the rooftop and shouted a warning to the militiamen and the Caobang elites inside the village.
“Something has happened!”
“Everyone—stay alert!!”
The Militia Team and the Caobang elites reacted extremely quickly.
After all, Zhao Heiniu had once been the Militia Captain, and he still held tremendous authority in the hearts of the militiamen. At his command, they immediately grabbed their weapons and moved toward the Earthen Wall.
As for the Caobang elites, aside from the four First-Rank Martial Artists arranged by Su Wangchuan, there were eight full-fledged Martial Artists present.
“Help!”
“Open the gate!”
The first to rush toward Blackstone Village were four members of the Warring States Game Studio’s Land-Clearing Team Two.
Three of them had been shot with arrows and were badly injured.
Zhao Heiniu had keen eyesight. He recognized them at a glance—they were familiar faces who had once fought alongside him at Blackwind Stronghold. They seemed to be friends of Su Wangchuan.
“Let them in!”
“What happened to you?!”
“We were chased!”
“Our captain is still behind us!”
“Captain Zhao!”
“Please help us!”
The members of the Land-Clearing Team also recognized Zhao Heiniu and immediately begged for his help.
Zhao Heiniu shook his head.
“My orders from the Helm Leader are to protect Blackstone Village—not to get involved in Jianghu vendettas.”
Just as he said this, he suddenly tilted his head, listening carefully, and quietly looked out into the darkness beyond the village.
Faint footsteps were growing clearer and clearer.
They were accompanied by heavy breathing, like the wheezing of a bellows.
Soon after, a monk appeared, pale-faced and covered in blood, sprinting toward the village.
“It’s the captain!”
“The captain broke through!”
“Quick! Go support the captain!”
The members of Land-Clearing Team Two were overjoyed.
Zhao Heiniu noticed the arrow shafts embedded in Monk Dalong’s body. Without a word, he took down the Iron-Reinforced Bow and nocked an arrow.
The Caobang elites and the Blackstone Village militiamen followed his example, all drawing their bows.
TWANG!
Zhao Heiniu released an arrow.
The arrow skimmed past Monk Dalong’s body and shot into the darkness, burying itself in the chest of a black-clad man.
Monk Dalong was in terrible condition. Only when the Armor-Piercing Arrow streaked past his body did he realize what had happened, breaking out in a cold sweat.
But when he heard a muffled cry of pain behind him, relief flooded over him.
“Excellent archery!”
Monk Dalong burst out laughing and dashed into Blackstone Village with all his remaining strength.
Zhao Heiniu fired another arrow into the darkness before finally ordering the gates closed.
“Hurry!”
“Treat the wounded!”
Among the five members of Land-Clearing Team Two, four were injured, and three were severely wounded.
Everyone hurried to pull out arrow shafts, apply medicine, and bandage the wounds.
One sharp-eyed player from the Warring States Game Studio’s Gold-Farming Team had already returned to his house and logged off to notify Lin Xun.
As time passed…
More and more black-clad figures began gathering outside Blackstone Village.
The black-clad men who had completed the pursuit were being summoned over one after another.
After receiving the message, Lin Xun immediately mobilized personnel and prepared to leave the city to rescue them. But then he remembered something and instructed a player to log off and contact Su Wan, asking her to inform Su Wangchuan.
When Su Wangchuan received the news that Land-Clearing Team Two had fled into Blackstone Village while injured, his expression instantly turned grave.
“Ergou!”
“Notify Bai Yuhui and Hong Kaibao. The three of you will each bring two teams of men. We’re making a trip to Huishui County with me!”
The entire Branch Helm suddenly became lively.
A total of eighty people swiftly left the branch helm. Fully armed, they boarded two large ships and sped down the river’s lower waters.
Inside the cabin, Su Wangchuan stared at the pitch-black river outside. His face was as still as water, yet anxiety churned in his heart.
He had calculated every possibility.
But he had never expected the Red Moon Studio to escalate things this far—attempting to wipe out the Warring States Game Studio’s Land-Clearing Team.
How could there be such lunatics?!
…
Blackstone Village.
More than thirty black-clad men had already gathered outside the village.
The man leading them had a face full of dark red flesh, with a vicious scar running across his brow. His appearance was brutal and ferocious.
He opened his mouth and asked, “Well? Are they all inside?”
“They are.”
The man he questioned replied respectfully.
“No one has left Blackstone Village. The entire Land-Clearing Team Two from the Warring States Game Studio is inside. Four of them are seriously injured, including Monk Dalong. His health should already be very low.”
“In that case, why haven’t you attacked?” the scar-faced man asked.
In his eyes, since the team captain was already severely injured and nearly incapable of fighting, they could easily storm in and slaughter the entire village.
“Boss, this is Blackstone Village. The master of Wangchuan, the former Hall Master of Huishui County, is said to be the blacksmith here.”
His subordinate showed a trace of fear.
“And just now, two of our men were wounded by arrows when they approached. There might be other Ranked Martial Artists inside.”
“What nonsense.”
The scar-faced man shoved his subordinate aside.
“If we don’t finish them off quickly, are we supposed to wait for the other Land-Clearing Teams from Warring States Game Studio to arrive as reinforcements? What if Tianxia Studio or Black Panther Studio also get drawn here? How are we supposed to explain that to the higher-ups?!”
At this point, he suddenly raised his voice and shouted loudly.
“Everyone listen up!”
“We charge in all at once!”
“Slaughter the village!!”
“Leave no survivors!”
The moment his words fell, he personally grabbed two axes and rushed forward at full speed, leading all the black-clad men as they charged toward Blackstone Village from every direction.
“Charge!!”
“Kill!!”
As the black-clad men vaulted over the Earthen Wall, their bodies hung in the air for a brief moment due to inertia.
Then they were greeted by a rain of arrows.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Armor-Piercing Arrows!
Zhao Heiniu and Blacksmith Sun had already distributed Armor-Piercing Arrows to everyone.
Zhao Heiniu locked onto the Second-Rank Martial Artist leading the attack and fired four Armor-Piercing Arrows, sealing off every possible direction the man could dodge.
But the man used his axes to deflect two of the Armor-Piercing Arrows, perfectly evading the sniping of the Five-Finger Rapid Shot.
The other black-clad men were not so fortunate.
A rain of arrows fell over them, wounding more than a dozen on the spot.
“Everyone—switch to sabers and swords!”
At Zhao Heiniu’s command, the Caobang elites all drew their blades, glaring fiercely at the enemy.
All the militiamen continued maintaining suppressive fire with their bows.
When the red-faced brute saw that there were actually many Martial Artists—and even Ranked Martial Artists—inside Blackstone Village, a flash of shock crossed his eyes.
Damn!
Something had gone wrong.
“A trap!”
“Everyone retreat!”
The red-faced brute reacted quickly. With a single swing of his axe, he smashed apart the village gate, then turned and kicked down a section of the Earthen Wall behind him.
“Retreat!!”
The black-clad men who had rushed into the village fought desperately—blocking the sabers of the Caobang elites while dodging the arrow rain of the militiamen—as they retreated from the village.
Zhao Heiniu pressed the advantage, repeatedly drawing and firing his bow.
Black-clad men were struck by arrows one after another.
The entire group gritted their teeth and withdrew while wounded, not daring to stop for even a moment.