Headless Immortal

Chapter 20 Cat and Tiger

Thirty men in armor made it difficult for the river bandits to attack.

Chen Sheng immediately ordered: "Archers, prepare!"

Rows of crudely made and inconsistently styled bows and arrows were drawn.

"put!"

Arrows rained down.

Even though the government troops had raised their shields, several soldiers were still hit by arrows.

The screams and wails encouraged the bandits.

The eerie screams and howls were terrifying.

Several constables were so frightened that they shrank back, which immediately disrupted Zhao Jia's well-prepared military formation, creating a flaw in the impenetrable wall of defenses.

Chen Sheng took the lead and cleaved Zhao Jia with his iron-backed broadsword.

Zhao Jia quickly dodged, then, with a firm horse stance, he stepped back and stomped forward, twisting his waist and swinging his broadsword horizontally towards Chen Sheng, who was standing on the deck.

Keng!
Sparks erupted, scattering light everywhere.

Just as the two were exchanging blows, the four pillars and eight beams of Tuoshui Village boarded the boat together, joining forces with the burly man beside Taoist Xu Hong to charge at the armored government troops.

Zhuangzi wielded a thick-ringed saber to quickly defend himself, engaging Xiongtao in battle. The saber whistled through the mist as his tall figure blocked the advancing bandits.

"Hold the battle formation steady, do not retreat!" The old man steadied himself and roared to intimidate.

After all, he came from a military background and understood the power of morale in the army.

As long as they don't retreat, no one will die. But if anyone sabotages them, the army will collapse immediately, and then these hundred or so bandits will be enough to chop them into mincemeat.

The bandits, who came in single file, surrounded them.

The battle formation was gradually divided.

There were casualties among the government troops.

The eerie screams rose and fell.

Perhaps it won't take more than 45 minutes to completely take it down.

Shure.

The bandits on lookout were terrified.

A light mist hung in the air as five large ships and twenty smaller boats appeared in the middle of the river and were rapidly approaching them.

"There are soldiers!"

……

The troops that broke through the waves were the government troops of Meilan County.

County Commandant Lei Ji, clad in armor and wielding a sword.

Of the four hundred soldiers and two hundred yamen runners, only a few dozen were armored. There was no other way; the entire county government had less than two hundred sets of armor.

After so many years of wear and tear and losses, having a little over a hundred sets of full armor is already quite good. However, with armored soldiers fighting against unarmored soldiers, they are practically invincible without having to attack cities or capture strongholds.

"Whoever kills Chen Sheng will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver!"

……

"They've fallen into a trap."

Xu Hong's expression changed slightly. He had chosen a foggy day and used his cloud-summoning technique to deepen the fog, but he didn't expect to be used by the government troops instead.

They only noticed the five large ships when they were so close.

No wonder these thirty people were so well prepared, all wearing armor; they were bait.

"Chief, please don't persist!"

Chen Sheng was shocked; how could there be government troops lying in ambush?

We must evacuate immediately if the machine is damaged.

Once they return to the water fortress and close the gates, relying on its natural defenses and unique terrain, it will be difficult to attack. Not to mention the thousands of government troops, even if the prefect mobilized thousands of soldiers, they would all return empty-handed.

The water fortress was self-sufficient and not afraid of being besieged; on the contrary, the government troops would run out of food supplies.

As long as the green hills remain, there's no fear of running out of firewood. Let's go!
"Thieves, please leave."

The gaunt, dark-skinned man beside Xu Hong coldly observed, "Sir, this person has broken through."

Zhao Jia broke through and entangled Chen Sheng.

Normally, Chen Sheng, who possesses true qi, could easily jump into the water. Unfortunately, the person in front of him is also a master. If he tries to retreat, the best outcome would be to be stabbed like a tiger.

Chen Sheng roared, "Sir, save me!"

A hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the Taoist Xu Hong. He knew who Shan Zhan was talking about; it was none other than Zhao Jia, the head constable of Meilan County.

This external martial arts master actually generated internal martial arts true energy from his dantian after shooting the tiger.

"What a pity. With his knowledge of military strategy, he would have been a fierce general on the battlefield."

"It cannot be used by us, and it should not be left to a foolish ruler and corrupt officials."

Xu Hong took out a bronze mirror from his sleeve, shook it, and shouted loudly, "Zhao Jia!"

Zhao Jia, who was advancing with a vertical slash, was momentarily stunned.

His eyes closed and his body stiffened.

He sighed inwardly, "My life is over!"

In a duel between masters, the worst thing to do is to lose focus, or you will be killed instantly.

He wasn't even distracted anymore. A white light flashed before his eyes. He didn't know what kind of sorcery he was under, but he actually froze when he made his move.

At this moment, Chen Sheng seized the opportunity and activated his internal energy, slashing with his iron-backed sword.

The murderous intent, carried by a fierce wind, swept over him relentlessly.

"die!"

It's too late, but it's soon.

The moment the iron-backed sword was raised high and then fell.

Suddenly, a powerful beast claw emerged from the deck.

A random flick. Bang!
The tall, pale-faced man was thrown straight out.

Chen Sheng crashed heavily onto the horizontal board, his clothes soaked with blood.

puff.

Fresh blood was vomited all over the ground.

During the vomiting episode, it seemed that fragments of internal organs were also expelled.

He tried to get up again but failed.

Chen Sheng's eyes were filled with disbelief.

dong dong.

A large, four-meter-long, spotted tiger with piercing eyes, a white forehead, and a body of variegated fur landed on the deck. There was no howling or roaring, only the dull thud of its heavy claws hitting the ground.

The sounds of fighting around them seemed to subside, and everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events.

No one noticed when the tiger boarded the ship.

Rather, it's more accurate to say, with such a tall ship, how could it possibly jump aboard?

"tiger!"

Tiger wasn't going to wait for them to figure things out. It charged left and right, its two-thousand-pound claws tossing the bandits around like rag dolls. Their bodies, nurtured by their parents, were like wrung-out rags, tossed aside at will by the tiger.

In the blink of an eye, the space was cleared.

There wasn't even time to let out a scream.

There were only muffled groans and the eerie sound of being thrown off and crashing onto the deck.

Some of the lucky ones were thrown into the river, but all that could be seen was blood staining the water red; no one floated to the surface.

The bandits, who had originally planned to swarm forward, were so frightened that they retreated repeatedly.

A magnificent tiger, its stripes gleaming, struts about, its roar echoing.

Lu Xun's tiger-like eyes swept over the assembled heroes.

happy.

So happy!

This land beast's body is incredibly strong.

Not only was Chen Sheng incredulous, but Xu Hong was also astonished.

The gaunt-faced warrior beside him stepped forward half a step to block the gushing rain of blood.

Xiong Tao retreated early and stood with Shan Zhan in front of the Taoist, warily watching the colorful beasts that were eyeing them menacingly in the distance.

Xu Hong shook the bronze mirror and said, "Big Tiger!"

A graceful woman emerged from the mist, her smile as radiant as a flower, seemingly ready to soothe the raging beast.

However, the ferocious beast that boarded the ship was no longer the invincible tiger of the Jingshi Army, but Lu Xun with a tiger's head.

A flash of white light appeared, and the woman was not far from him.

Upon seeing the woman's face clearly, Lu Xun flew into a rage. It was the woman who had commanded the striped tiger to bite him; if he hadn't escaped quickly, he would have been devoured by the tiger by now.

"Roar!"

A sudden clap of thunder on a clear day.

The sound waves whistled and stirred the river tide into ripples.

The woman who approached was no match for the roar of the ferocious beast and vanished in the stench of its jaws.

Having been an old cat for so long, becoming a fierce tiger wouldn't make much difference.

Lu Xun took three steps in two.

"Tiger Hunt!"

The beasts of prey leap two zhang in a single bound.

The spotted tiger jumped directly from the government's ferry boat onto the bandits' large ship.

They rushed straight at the Taoist priest who was holding the bronze mirror.

"Sir, be careful!"

Shan Zhan and Xiong Tao worked together to move Xu Hong aside.

Lu Xun landed lightly on the ground, but the tiger's paw, weighing a thousand pounds, struck again.

Stab it!

Xiong Tao's arm was scratched by a wild beast.

Three deep gashes, revealing the white bone, the skin torn open and bloody.

"The rampant tiger has escaped control."

Xu Hong's expression was grave. With the government troops approaching from afar, he no longer hesitated and said, "Let's go!"

A thick fog enveloped the three of them.

When Lu Xun rushed forward again, the three of them had already boarded a small boat.

Just as Lu Xun was about to give chase, he heard worried and anxious shouts from behind.

"Don't chase them, Three-Legged."

"Big Zhuangzi and Little Ge were thrown into the river by them!"

Lu Xun was taken aback upon hearing this, but without much hesitation, he plunged into the Xunyang River.

It turned into a toad the moment it entered the river.

The nictitating membrane rotates rapidly, searching for traces of large and small particles.

The toad was incredibly fast and quickly found the unconscious Big Strong and Little Guy.

Lu Xun, now transformed into a raging tiger, dragged the two of them onto the surface of the water.

They dog-paddled their way to the shore.

(End of this chapter)