Li Yan was a great master of the martial world and a top-tier military commander. With a single glance, he knew it was a situation of one fleeing and the others pursuing.
Li Yan did not move, but the thought he least wanted to consider had already risen in his mind. With his rich experience, he had already determined that the dozen or so people, whether fleeing or pursuing, were military men. He could tell at a glance that they were all using military riding techniques.
A distance of two or three li, at a full gallop, was but a moment's time. As the first rider approached, Li Yan focused his vision. When the rider was less than thirty zhang from the tree he was in, he finally saw the person's face clearly.
The moment he saw the person on the horse, the thin branch under Li Yan's feet let out a faint crack and then snapped.
The instant the branch broke, Li Yan was startled. His figure swayed, and he once again landed on another thin branch, preventing himself from falling.
Although the sound of the breaking branch was extremely soft, amidst the thundering hooves, the person below did not hear it at all and galloped past under the tree.
Li Yan stood motionless in the tree, his gaze coldly fixed on the road behind.
A moment later, the dozen or so iron-clad riders behind arrived under the tree like a sudden storm. Li Yan saw these people clearly; they were cavalry wearing the iron armor of the Imperial Dynasty.
They were all silent, exuding a cold-blooded, murderous aura, their faces as cold as frost. Most of them held long spears, and two held empty bows, clearly having used them before.
Seeing that these people had galloped under the tree, Li Yan suddenly swooped down like a goshawk, circling above the head of the leading rider.
He did not draw his sword. Instead, he stamped his foot on the head of the galloping rider. With a thump, followed by a horse's mournful neigh, the iron-armored soldier on horseback was dead before he could even let out a muffled grunt. His head was stomped into his neck cavity by the force, which was as powerful as a heavy hammer.
The sturdy horse under the iron-armored soldier also crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud. The sound of cracking came from its four legs as its bones broke and tendons snapped. Its entire back collapsed, and it was clearly not going to survive.
This sudden turn of events instantly threw the charging dozen or so men into disarray, but these men were all well-trained elite soldiers, and their reactions were extremely fast.
At this moment, their superb riding skills were on full display. Amidst long neighs, they each turned their horses, either rearing up on the spot or galloping towards the side of the road.
After killing the first man, Li Yan did not pause at all. He used the momentum to leap up again, instantly appearing in front of the second man.
The sturdy horse under that man was rearing up high. Just as he was about to press the horse's head down, he saw a black shadow appear to his side.
This iron-armored soldier's reaction was also extremely fast. With one hand pulling the reins, no longer caring if he would fall off, he thrust the long spear in his other hand towards the black shadow at the corner of his eye.
His reaction was almost instantaneous, but unfortunately, he was facing Li Yan. The moment he thrust out his long spear, he felt a great force transmit from the spear tip, followed by a crisp crack from his arm.
He hadn't even felt the pain when the butt of the spear was driven back into his body. He only tasted sweetness in his mouth as a large mouthful of blood, mixed with large chunks of internal organs, sprayed out.
He then fell backward onto the horse's back. Due to the ferocity of Li Yan's attack, the momentum from the spear's recoil caused the horse to fall backward as well, landing heavily on top of the soldier.
The soldier, who was already on the brink of death, had a mixture of colors squeezed out from his seven orifices.
In an instant, he had killed two men. Li Yan, like a whirlwind, appeared before the third man. He clapped his palms together and struck the back of the soldier who was galloping forward and about to turn back to shoot an arrow.
Another loud thump echoed. The man's back, along with his refined steel iron armor, caved in deeply, while his chest bulged as if inflated. The steed carried the corpse as it galloped away.
After three men had died, the remaining eight finally calmed their startled horses. They circled their horses around, surrounding Li Yan. Only then did Li Yan's figure land on the ground.
Li Yan's face was as dark as water. With his hands behind his back, he coldly looked at the eight men and eight horses around him.
One of the eight men shouted in a low voice, "We are under orders to capture a wanted criminal of the court. Where did this desperate fugitive come from... you are..."
"Mar... Mar... shal..."
"Retreat quickly..."
The man had only spoken a few words. He hadn't seen Li Yan's face clearly in the dark, but now that they were close and the moonlight was bright, he recognized him and let out a cry of alarm.
It wasn't just him; several soldiers facing Li Yan had also seen who it was. They were almost scared out of their wits and subconsciously turned their horses to flee.
The few men behind Li Yan had initially worn ferocious expressions. Hearing the cries of alarm from the front, although their reactions were a beat slower, the word "Marshal" made the ferocity on their faces vanish, replaced by an ashen pallor. They all immediately scattered and fled.
They had been chasing the fugitive all this way, afraid of being discovered by the main army ahead, so they hadn't dared to act recklessly on the road, only pursuing single-mindedly.
Now that they had confirmed the identity of the person before them as that god of death, their already guilty hearts felt like their retribution had come. They couldn't help but scream in terror.
"Trying to run?" Seeing these soldiers flee in disarray instead of paying their respects, Li Yan became even more certain of his thoughts.
He stood still, simply crooking his right hand into a claw. Several streams of energy burst forth from his fingertips.
He then raised his arm, bent his fingers, and made a grabbing and pulling motion in the air towards one side. The armor plates on a nearby corpse rattled, and eight plates detached from the armor and flew into Li Yan's hand.
Li Yan closed his fingers, pinching the eight armor plates between them, and then, without looking, he casually flung them out.
Several sharp swishes echoed, like a summons from the god of death in the silent night. This was followed by several shrill screams from the distance, startling countless roosting birds.
Afterward, the eight steeds in four different directions were still galloping wildly, but their backs were now empty.
Some of the eight men fell directly from their horses, while others were half-dragged along the ground. As the steeds galloped, the armor plates on their bodies made muffled thuds against the ground.
These men were all wearing armor and iron helmets, but now there was a large hole in the back of each of their refined iron helmets, from which blood and a pale white substance were gushing out.
Li Yan no longer looked at them. His figure flickered, and he rushed back the way he had come.
He had only gone a little over a li when he saw a lone rider and horse ahead, looking in this direction. When the person saw someone coming towards them in the dark, they wanted to turn their horse immediately but were clearly hesitant.
The miserable screams of the dozen or so men before their deaths had traveled far in the silent night. Let alone one or two li away, they could be heard from even farther.
So, the fleeing person, upon hearing the screams, was startled and suspicious, knowing that the pursuers behind them had met with misfortune. At this moment, his stamina was severely depleted, and he was heavily wounded. Even if he could keep going, he probably wouldn't last much longer. So, hesitating, he wanted to see what had happened.
After the series of screams, the sound of hooves was heard again from behind. He quickly spurred his horse on, but after only a few dozen zhang, he stopped again.
When he turned his horse to look back, he had seen only a single warhorse approaching, and it was riderless. As he watched warily, the horse galloped past him.
"Someone really killed those men..." Just as this thought arose, he saw a black shadow rushing towards him like lightning. This scared him, and he instinctively turned his horse, about to flee.
Just then, a voice that greatly surprised him rang out. "Li Si, it's me!" This made the man both shocked and overjoyed. He quickly pulled on the reins and asked in a trembling voice, "Is that you, my lord?"
"It is I!" The person's speed was astonishing. By the time he spoke the second sentence, he had already arrived in front of the man.
The man on the horse, named Li Si, swayed. His taut nerves finally relaxed. The next moment, he felt the world spin, and he pitched forward off the horse, only to be caught by Li Yan.
As he caught Li Si, Li Yan's other hand tapped several points on his body, but his brow was tightly furrowed.
Li Si's injuries were very severe. Two feathered arrows were still embedded in his right shoulder blade and his lower back, dyeing his entire back a large patch of red.
Li Si's face was pale. He looked at Li Yan, but the anxiousness on his face did not diminish. He said in a weak voice, "My lord, quickly... quickly save... save the Matriarch and the Young Master... and the Young... Miss. Captain Kong has rebelled and... and defected to the enemy..."
Before he could finish, Li Yan's body shook violently. He asked urgently, "What happened to A Ying and the others?"
"I... I, along with Li Da and Li San, was sent by the... the Matriarch to seek help... at that time, the Marshal's Residence was... was already surrounded by Captain Kong's rebel troops. The... the Matriarch was leading the... guard... guards of the residence to defend the walls. The... the three of us fought to the death, not daring to get entangled... entangled in battle, and only then did we break through the encirclement. Li Da sacrificed himself to hold back... back Captain Kong. Li San, at the city gate, lifted the thousand-jin gate, was hit by dozens... dozens of arrows, and only then protected me as I escaped Green Mountain Pass. This was... was already two days ago! My... my lord, hurry back to the city, only then can you..."
As Li Si spoke, thick blood continuously poured from the corner of his mouth. Besides the two arrow wounds, his body was covered in dozens of cuts, large and small. In order to break out as quickly as possible, they had not worn any heavy armor, only a set of soft armor underneath.
Li Yan's heart burned with anxiety, but he still interrupted Li Si in a deep voice.
"Alright, I understand. You don't need to say any more now. I will treat your wounds. Then, you will rest here in this forest. At the latest, Li Du will arrive with the main army by tomorrow evening. At that time, you can have them take you with them."
"No... you mustn't! My lord, don't worry about me! Quickly save the Matriarch and..." Hearing this, Li Si became extremely anxious.
He knew his injuries were severe and very difficult to treat. He summoned his remaining strength, trying to break free from Li Yan's arm.
But before he could speak, Li Yan's other thumb pressed on the back of his head, and Li Si went limp.
With a dark face, Li Yan carried Li Si in one hand and ran towards the forest to the side.