The moonlight filtered sparsely through the small grove, casting cold white beams upon the light cavalry's armor, giving it an eerie and sinister glow.
An Jiu remained hidden in the shadows, watching as the patches of light on his body shifted with his movement. When the distance between them narrowed to less than five zhang, she raised her arm and pulled the trigger of her crossbow.
The man reacted swiftly, dodging to the right the moment he heard the sound. The bolt barely grazed his right arm, its tip scraping against his armor and sending sparks flying.
An Jiu gave him no time to recover, firing four bolts in rapid succession. Each shot was spaced half a chi apart and aimed at varying heights, sealing off his escape routes.
Seeing this, the light cavalryman pushed off the ground with his toes, attempting to leap onto a nearby tree. But before he could fully rise, the four bolts were already upon him—one striking his thigh squarely.
He grunted in pain, realizing his opponent was skilled with ranged weapons. If he remained at a distance, he would remain at a disadvantage. He had to close the gap!
With gritted teeth, he swung his blade to sever the troublesome arrows and lunged forward like lightning. The excessive force caused blood to spurt from his wound, leaving a trail behind him.
An Jiu had underestimated the cavalryman’s speed. She retreated hastily while drawing the twin swords hidden behind her back.
A sinister smile flickered in the cavalryman’s eyes. His heavy blade gleamed crimson under the scattered light. Before the blade even reached her, An Jiu felt a fierce gust of wind slam into her face.
The swordplay was bold and domineering, wielded with the ferocity of a tiger. Even the wind infused with Protective Energy could wound. An Jiu dodged a fraction too late—a bead of blood the size of a pea welled up on her left cheek, trickling down like a tear of blood.
Blade and swords clashed heavily, sparks flying. Cracks had already formed along An Jiu’s twin swords, threatening to shatter at any moment.
The light was dim, but by the faint glimmer, An Jiu caught sight of the fractures on her blades. Meanwhile, her opponent’s weapon remained unscathed.
An Jiu abruptly planted her feet, summoning all her strength in a sudden, desperate counterattack.
The cavalryman felt both elation and doubt. He was pleased—External Cultivation techniques were typically fierce and aggressive, and women were inherently weaker than men in this path. But he was also wary—somehow, she had concealed her aura. If her Mental Strength was exceptionally high, she could prove troublesome.
In that split second of distraction, An Jiu’s twin swords shattered. She leaned back, and the blade skimmed past the tip of her nose.
Seizing the moment, she drew the dagger strapped to her thigh and flipped back three zhang away.
The two stood poised, weapons at the ready.
Outside, the sounds of battle gradually faded. An Jiu had a sinking feeling—the Song army had been defeated and retreated!
She needed to find a way to escape—fast!
The thought flashed through her mind. She raised her crossbow and fired seven or eight bolts in rapid succession at the cavalryman. The moment he dodged, she spun and vanished into the darkness, suppressing her aura as she fled at full speed.
A sharp whistle pierced the air behind her.
Soon after, An Jiu sensed six new pursuers—experts—closing in.
Though their Martial Arts level wasn’t as high as the light cavalryman’s, their speed was astonishing.
An Jiu’s speed was no match for an Inner Cultivator’s, and the gap between them steadily narrowed.
For now, they hadn’t pinpointed her location, but with their encircling pursuit, they would soon find her.
If there was no chance to flee, then she had no choice but to fight to the death!An Jiu abruptly halted, minimizing her presence as much as possible. Following the sensation of her Mental Strength, she drew the Dragon Subduing Bow and loosed several arrows toward the direction of her perception.
The sound of arrows clashing against weapons echoed through the forest, accompanied by cries of pain. They had never expected the person desperately fleeing to suddenly stop and counterattack, let alone that someone could hit their targets without even seeing them!
Someone roared in Khitan, and the remaining five suddenly doubled their speed.
In almost two breaths, they appeared before the tree where An Jiu was hiding, forming a semicircle around her.
An Jiu leaped down from the other side of the tree and slowly stepped out from behind it.
After a two-breath standoff, the five men charged at her simultaneously, broadswords in hand.
An Jiu stood motionless against the fierce wind of their Protective Energy. When they were just a few steps away, her Mental Strength erupted abruptly. The impact and pressure were no less than a colossal mountain crashing down from the sky. Caught off guard by such a formidable mental assault, their minds went blank, ears ringing with a piercing noise!
This was a Mental Strength attack An Jiu had observed and refined for a long time. Though it was her first time using it, the effect was nearly as she had imagined.
Drawing the twin swords at her thighs, she met their charge. The blades were coated with Poison Pill she had obtained from Mo Sigui—upon contact with skin, the stench of burning, corroded flesh immediately rose.
An Jiu watched as a light cavalryman’s armor turned into an empty shell before her eyes, collapsing to the ground as a lifeless heap.
In mere moments, three had fallen to her blades.
The remaining two finally broke free from the mental assault. Seeing the situation before them, they retreated fearfully.
An Jiu regretted not coating her arrows with the limited poison instead.
"The Song army has retreated. Our men surround you. Surrender quietly," one of them said in awkward Han speech.
Martial arts masters above the fourth rank weren’t common. Even if the Liao Dynasty deployed all their masters into the military, they couldn’t possibly have too many.
Unfazed by these words, An Jiu felt an inexplicable surge of emotion instead. "Daring to run wild in another’s territory, yet you have the gall to boast!" she said coldly.
Before the words faded, she shot forward like an arrow.
Her Mental Strength fused her with the twin swords, making her appear as a colossal blade cleaving through the air.
Before the blades even descended, her Mental Strength had already split the earth, carving a trench. The two men stiffened, feeling blood gush from their scalps, washing over their faces.
A mile away, Liao Raiders were approaching. From afar, they saw birds suddenly erupt from the forest in a flurry, soaring into the night sky. Leaves, stirred by some unseen force, rose densely, threatening to blot out the moon alongside the birds.
No order was given, yet all the raiders halted, staring in astonishment at this strange phenomenon.
The raider leader frowned, murmuring, "Is this the prowess of the Song’s elite…"
In the forest, the leaves began to fall.An Jiu spat out a mouthful of blood, using the broken sword to prop herself up as she surveyed the corpses amidst the wreckage. After confirming all were dead, she pulled out the Medicine Bottle from her robe, swallowed a pill, wiped the blood from her lips, readjusted her face covering, and hurried away.
After undergoing Reforging, the damage from her Mental strength's backlash had healed by seventy to eighty percent. Combined with the Medicine Mo Sigui had prepared, she was now nearly fully recovered. Even An Jiu herself hadn't expected to suddenly unleash such formidable Mental strength—so powerful that even her Reforged body couldn't withstand it...
What was the reason? (To be continued...)
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