One Hundred Seventy-Six: Utterly Defeated

The leader of the bandits raised his broadsword and strode furiously toward Tian Lin. Tian Lin, however, remained utterly calm. Discarding his long spear, he drew his side sword, knowing that a long spear was virtually useless to wield in such a narrow gorge. Besides, he was a commanding officer of Julu; how could these bandits possibly be his match? He could easily defeat them without his spear.

As the leader drew near, Tian Lin raised his sword and brought it down with all his might toward the bandit chief's head. In his mind, executing this downward strike from horseback meant the opponent could never withstand the sheer force. Either the broadsword would be knocked from the bandit's grip, or the man would die instantly beneath the blow.

Accompanied by a rush of wind, Tian Lin's sword hurtled toward the leader. Yet, there was no sound of clashing metal, nor any cry of agony from the leader. A sudden sense of foreboding gripped Tian Lin as he realized the leader had vanished from right before his eyes, sending a tremor of unease through his heart. Then, with a sharp snap, Tian Lin was unseated and crashed to the ground.

Tian Lin was mounted while the leader was on foot; in a direct clash, striking downward naturally gave the mounted warrior the advantage. But if the leader chose to meet strength with weakness, how could he possibly have risen to head such a band of outlaws? Spotting the exact trajectory of Tian Lin's descending blade, the leader simply sidestepped, dropped into a squat, and swept his broadsword directly against the front legs of Tian Lin's mount. Unable to withstand the impact, the horse buckled and collapsed to its knees, sending Tian Lin tumbling to the earth as well.

The bandit leader, refusing to let slip this golden opportunity, sprang to his feet and slashed straight at Tian Lin's head. Acting on pure instinct, Tian Lin scrambled into a frantic roll. Although the maneuver spared him a fatal blow, a portion of his hair was permanently severed from his scalp. Rising swiftly, Tian Lin's heart hammered wildly against his ribs. Though he had witnessed the brutal carnage of battlefields, he had never faced such peril as this. Had his reflexes been even a fraction slower, he might already have bid farewell to this world.

Behind the leader, the bandits broke into wild howls and ecstatic cheers.

Before Tian Lin could recover from his shock, the leader charged at him once more, bringing his broadsword down in a ferocious arc. Tian Lin hurriedly raised his sword to parry. With a deafening clang, blade and sword collided violently.

The intense impact sent a jolt of numbness up the leader's arm. He staggered back a step and exhaled a long breath. Tian Lin's situation, however, was far more dire. Having been forced to parry in haste, his arms felt entirely numb, the webs of his hands nearly split open with blood oozing from the wounds, and he stumbled backward five or six paces.

Tian Lin shook his numbed arms, inspected the torn skin between his thumb and forefinger, flexed his fingers, and glared at the leader. "Not bad with those tricks!" he spat. "It seems I underestimated you. You've successfully angered me! I won't give you another chance!"

"Save your breath!" the leader retorted. "I'll make sure you end up defeated at our hands." With that, the leader raised a hand, signaling something to his men behind him.

Hearing this, Tian Lin roared and lunged forward with his sword. Clang! Clang! The sounds of weapon-on-weapon strikes echoed sharply. The horses at the rear of Tian Lin's formation grew restless, pacing back and forth, while the remaining soldiers struggled to calm them. Another thunderous clash rang out, and both Tian Lin and the leader recoiled to opposite sides. Yet now, Tian Lin found the bandits at his back, while the leader stood before his own soldiers.

Then, the completely unthinkable happened. Someone suddenly grabbed Tian Lin's arm from behind and executed a swift shoulder throw. Without a single wasted motion, General Tian Lin was once more intimately introduced to the ground. His sword slipped from his grip, clattering away, as his assailant firmly pinned him to the earth.

"Oh!" "Brilliant!" "As expected of our wrestling champion!" The bandits erupted in roaring cheers.

The leader turned around, pointing his blade at the soldiers. "Dismount, all of you! Throw your weapons and money to the side, and I'll spare your lives. You must know that only by staying alive can you accomplish more things, right? If anyone dares resist, don't blame me for showing no mercy—my blade hasn't tasted blood yet today." As he finished speaking, the bandits stepped up behind their chief to bolster his momentum, while Tian Lin was swiftly bound in hemp rope by several outlaws, muffled groans escaping his sealed mouth.

The soldiers exchanged glances. Finally, one soldier jumped down from his saddle. Once the precedent was set, the rest followed suit until every last one of them had dismounted.

"Brothers, take the horses, along with the weapons and money these men left on the ground. Let's move!" A swarm of bandits rushed forward, some leading horses, others gathering weapons and plunder. They had done this many times before, and the routine was second nature to them. As for the soldiers, they remained quietly in place, likely terrified of the leader's blade—after all, even General Tian had fallen into their hands, so playing the hero now would be a foolish waste of life.

"Move out!" With a grand wave of the leader's hand, the entire band of bandits departed the bountiful gorge. Once the outlaws were far out of sight, the soldiers rushed to Tian Lin's side and cut away his bindings. Freed at last, Tian Lin let out a furious roar toward the sky.