Chapter 426: Rebuilding Xiangyang District (X)

The young man with the surname Li said in a bold and carefree manner, “I don’t want to miss out on such an interesting thing!”

The troop member replied with a bitter look on his face, “You’ve already helped us. We can’t put your life in danger again, no matter what. You’re agile and good in martial arts. You can definitely break through the encirclement. We want nothing else from you. We just want you to inform our Langjun in the Xiangyang District that although we were all bandits, we have the integrity to fight to the end. We won’t embarrass him!”

Li Yun got up, holding the rifle in his right hand. “You’re all good men with unyielding characters. I’ll be uneasy for the rest of my life if I abandon you. You don’t have to say anything. We’ll fight and die together!”

Li Yun’s heroic attitude lifted the spirits of the people.

What was there to fear?

Even if they died, they would do so surrounded by righteous companions. They were bandits that killed people every day before they met Jiang Pengji. They already regarded life and death as unimportant. If they died, they would just return after another 18 years.

“Brother Li, I owe you two lives. I’ll be your slave in the next life.”

Li Yun was an ace in martial arts. To many troop members, he was even better than their general coach. His marksmanship was as vigorous as a tiger. He was not at all frightened when he faced ten people by himself. Had Li Yun not saved the troops, they would have been wiped out. They would not have been able to talk about such lofty ambitions.

Li Yun was usually serious in speech and manner. He normally appeared aloof because he was very shy on the inside.

He smiled upon hearing the troop member’s sincere words. He was not sad about having to die. “We’re brothers. Why fuss over this?”

The troop member was startled. He spoke after a while with teary eyes, “Yes. We’re brothers!”

The troops had no choice but to abandon the people. If they had abandoned the people from the start, the night attack by the Tsing Yi Army would not have caused much harm to them.

However, they could not leave them behind in the end. Abandoning the people was a death sentence.

The Tsing Yi Army did everything in the name of the people. In fact, they were just a reckless mob that vented their anger. Even the troops of bandit origins were beneath contempt. They were not as rampant as the Tsing Yi Army, even when they were bandits.

Now, they were already helpless and could not even fend for themselves. How could they protect the people?

The troops packed up the few arrows in the quivers, checked the use of their crossbows, and wiped their daggers or long swords on their waists. They looked serious––as if they were not going to die, but welcoming some solemn ritual.

Everyone made up their minds. Even if they died, they would not let the b*stards have it their way.

The tense atmosphere affected the young children; they wailed their lungs out.

A four or five-year-old little girl wearing a red, cotton jacket tugged the corner of a troop members shirt with her tiny hand. Her sparkling eyes looked even rounder due to her hunger and thin figure. With tears rolling down her cheeks, she looked at the troop member pitifully. “Uncle…”

“Are you hungry?” The troop member lowered his head to look at her. They looked at each other silently for a while. He searched his pockets and took out a dry steamed bun. He then removed his water bottle and handed it to her.

“Dip it in some water. We’ll depart after you eat. We can’t be hungry when we die.”

The child shouted inarticulately. She refused to receive the water bottle and steamed bun. “Uncle… Don’t leave…”

The troop member sighed. Had he not been a bandit, he might have gotten married and had a daughter. “Take it. I’ll help you chase the bad guys away, then we’ll eat it together.”

Although it was a dry steamed bun, it was still warm due to the troop member’s body heat. The weather was also warm, so the bun was not very hard.

Soaking it in some water would make it more filling.

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The troop member shook off the child’s hand harshly. He then got up and strode off to gather with the other troops. They needed to make one last score before they died!

4,000 members of the Tsing Yi Army surrounded the foot of the mountain. Hundreds of torches burned brightly, reflecting an orange hue on the people’s faces.

“Burn it! We’ll guard it and see if they’re strong-willed. I don’t think they can stay where they are. They’ll suffocate from the smoke and burn from the fire! Kill anyone that comes out––actually, it’s better if they don’t come out! I heard that human flesh is good. It would be a waste to not eat it all.”

Many members of the Tsing Yi Army looked horrified upon hearing the cruel words that the burly man spoke. However, most of them looked fanatical. They held the torches high and were about to drop them when they heard a noise.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

With the final howl of the Tsing Yi Army, arrows flew out from the darkness. In an instant, many members of the Tsing Yi Army collapsed.

Having fought with the troops several times, the Tsing Yi Army had suffered enough from the crossbows.

They had also learned their lesson. When the first round of shooting ended, the uninjured immediately used the bodies of their dead comrades as shields.

As he finished speaking, a white ray pierced through the air and went straight for his face.

He dodged it by rolling on his side. However, the person next to him was not that lucky.

Under the cover of the troops, Li Yun appeared in front of the bandit chieftain. He was skilled with his rifle; he left shadows that were difficult to distinguish. He was so quick that one’s eyes could not keep up with him.

His forceful attack forced the bandit chieftain to retreat. He pulled a member of the Tsing Yi Army in front of him and used him as a shield.

Upon seeing the bandit chieftain’s actions, there was a look of disdain in Li Yun’s eyes. “What a coward!”

The direction of the rifle changed. The body of the rifle made a circular arc, bypassed the human shield like a viper, and hit the chieftain’s face.

Li Yun had a grave look on his face. The feeling was not as good as he expected. He heaved a sigh and clutched his rifle.

Sure enough, the bandit chieftain was still alive. There was only a bloody mark on his face so deep that his bones could be seen.

What a pity.

“Brother Li, be careful!”

Upon hearing the warning, Li Yun lost his bearings. A torch zoomed towards his face. He dodged it but fell into the encirclement of the Tsing Yi Army. A few blades came towards him.

The Tsing Yi Army’s ability was not great, but it was difficult to beat four hands with two fists. A few of them were mauling just one person. No matter how good the person was at fighting, there was no way to beat them.

Li Yun’s left arm was severely injured. He could not block all the knives with his right hand alone.

“Oh…” He chose to suffer a small injury rather than a large one.

In the end, apart from the wound on his back, he did not feel the amount of pain he was expecting.

Poof! Poof!

The sound of arrows piercing through flesh was heard. Blood spattered on his face.

Li Yun turned his head, only to find that the members of the Tsing Yi Army that were attacking him had sinister looks on their faces.