At that moment, aside from the four hundred refugees who had followed the Seven-Person Team and knew what was going on, everyone else was in the dark, watching the menacing and bellowing Xuanwei Army herd the crowd with a look of utter bewilderment.
"I’ll leave this to you."
Bai Junjun said to the Ninth Guard who seemed to recognize her, quickly untied the vines, and Old Uncle Qiu’s family followed suit, the nine of them running onto the bridge without looking back after undoing the vines.
The young junior officer who saw his quarry slipping away right in front of his eyes couldn’t agree to this.
But the refugees in front of him were still stupidly standing still as if intentionally hindering him.
Zhou Tao couldn’t help but lash out with his Silver Spear, swinging it viciously at the people blocking his path, and the refugee closest to him was decapitated before he could react.
Upon witnessing this turn of events, the refugees finally realized what was happening.
Those at the tail end of the group ran to either side while those in the middle pushed forward, and those in front made their way onto the bridge.
A few smart ones even mimicked Bai Junjun and grabbed the vines to swing forward themselves.
In short, the scene was suddenly out of control.
The Ninth Guard at the bridgehead was outnumbered, and as more people tried to get onto the bridge, they couldn’t help but draw their swords.
"Don’t come up anymore! This bridge can’t bear the weight. It will collapse!"
However, the refugees couldn’t care less about that warning; the Xuanwei Army was killing people behind them, and if they didn’t run towards Biluo now, how would they ever make it through the rest of their lives?
With this one chance, everyone grew frantic, all of them surging forward.
The Ninth Guard had no choice but to swing their swords to intercept them.
In front was the Ninth Guard’s swords; behind were the Xuanwei Army’s long spears. The refugees caught in between could neither advance nor retreat and were forced to struggle against both forces.
Without weapons, they used their flesh to block; one stopped a sword while another grabbed onto a spear. Before long, the scene devolved into utter chaos.
Zhou Tao took advantage of the turmoil to rush onto the bridge, and the leader of the Ninth Guard could no longer concern himself with the refugees, going instead to block Zhou Tao immediately.
"Zhou Tao! This is the Ninth Guard defending the North-South Bridge. If you cross the bridge, you’re breaking the agreement between both sides."
"I have no intention of disputing control of the North-South Bridge with you; I’m just chasing bandits," Zhou Tao said with impatience in his eyes.
"Nonsense! This is all refugees here, where are the bandits!"
"The ones you let escape just now, they are the bandits I’m after! If you know what’s good for you, move aside!"
Zhou Tao said this and tried to move forward, but the Ninth Guard blocked him with a raised sword.
"Do you think you can just come up here as you please without considering the Ninth Guard?"
"If you block me, you’re siding with the bandits. If the Ninth Guard colludes with bandits, how can you claim any credibility to guard this bridge!"
As he spoke, Zhou Tao brandished his Silver Spear and began fighting with the Ninth Guard.
When both leaders started fighting, their troops also stopped confronting the refugees and engaged in a full battle.
However, the Ninth Guard only had dozens of members while this detachment of the Xuanwei Army had over a hundred. With only half needed to confront the Ninth Guard, the rest rushed forward with long spears drawn.
Bai Junjun and Old Uncle Qiu knew the situation was dire, and they all broke into a run.
To avoid wasting time, Madam Liu carried Xiao Shan, Old Uncle Qiu picked up Bai Lingyu, and the three Qiu brothers spontaneously trailed behind the group, creating a buffer for them.
However, as they ran, Bai Junjun felt the bridge shake violently.
She glanced at the old and weathered wooden bridge and frowned.
The widest part of the river spanned a hundred li, and while this location had the narrowest part of the river, the bridge was still two ren in width, which is 2,000 meters.
If this were a modern steel-and-concrete bridge, she would not be worried, but this was a wooden bridge exposed to the elements for who knows how long.