In the remote, densely forested area, wild weeds were rampant, wild beasts growling, and an array of towering trees grew tightly together, blocking out the sun, shrouding the forest in darkness. It was midday, but here it was as if the sun had set behind the western mountains, emitting a spine-chilling desolation and eeriness.
In the forest, a group of Liaodan men, carrying curved knives, rode their horses, strenuously traversing the dense woods. This was a little pathway leading north, saving much more time than taking the official road. However, every advantage has its disadvantage. It is said that bandits often appear in these woods, committing robbery and murder, without leaving any survivors.
If these rumors were heard by others, they might take them as a warning. But for Saknu, they stirred up his primal instincts.
He hadn’t killed in a long time!
Right now, he was feeling particularly irritated. If he could personally kill a few people to vent his anger, it seemed like a good choice. Therefore, he chose to take the narrow pathway, eagerly anticipating the appearaence of the bandits, just as a hunter eagerly awaited his prey.
In the depths of the forest, hundreds of cold-blooded assassins dressed in black clothing and wearing masks, holding bows and arrows, hid behind the trees, waiting for the group of Liaodan people to draw near.
A slender man, dressed in black, placed his head on the ground and listened for a while. He then got up and knelt in front of a man wearing a gold-plated mask, saying, "My lord, the band of savages is half a mile away. They should arrive in the time it takes to burn a stick of incense."
The masked man responded softly.
He was tall and had his dark hair piled high. Although his face was hidden, his aura radiating from his body made him seem spirited and imposing. He was dressed in a black robe, holding a gleaming long sword. At the moment, using a clean handkerchief, he was carefully wiping the radiant light from the blade.
After half an incense stick had burned, the man threw away the handkerchief in his hand and sheathed his sword. He said in a cool voice, "Spread out, be ready!"
Hundreds of men dressed in black responded in unison, spreading out instantly. They hid among the bushes or up in the trees in a semi-circular formation. Despite the movements of hundreds of men, there was no sound at all.
In the dense woods, all one could hear was the rustle of wind through the leaves.
Saknu’s men approached ever closer. The sound of the marching troops and the rumbling of the wheels startled a flock of birds in the woods.
Riding his black sweat-blooded horse at the front of the formation, Saknu’s lustrous blue eyes sparkled with excitement. The pure sapphire radiance, like intangible sharp arrows, shot into the bushes and the treetops ahead. Then, he cracked an eerily wide smile and began to laugh out loud.
Before his laughter faded, an arrow suddenly came whistling from the front, surging straight towards his chest like a bolt of lightning.
The arrow stopped a hair’s breadth from his chest. Saknu grimly grinned and raised his head, his light blue eyes filled with bloodthirsty light.
The chief guard raised his Liaodan scimitar high and shouted, "Protect the Great Prince —"
Suddenly, more than a hundred bodyguards galloped toward him, surrounding him like a wave rushing toward the shore.
Countless sharp arrows flew over like a swarm of locusts, making it hard to distinguish one from another. The Liaodan warriors waved their scimitars, knocking the dense arrows to the ground.
However, the arrows were too dense, and many pierced their bodies. In a short while, a crowd of them fell.
While Saknu was waving his scimitar, fighting off the locust-like arrows, he spurred his horse and rushed toward the front. As he approached a large tree, he suddenly swung his arm, and the steel ring on his wrist flew out with a clang, reaching the top of the tree. There was a muffled grunt from up in the tree and a masked man dressed in black fell down.