Breakthrough the Formation

"Ha ha~~"

Gu Sheng chuckled. "We’re not interested in your business, Teng Village. Tell me who passed the information to you, and then you can get lost."

Gu Sheng did not take the Wang Brothers or the nearly thousand cavalrymen they had brought with them seriously at all. Teng Village was heavily guarded, with every man clad in armor—it was nothing like the caravan from before. Without any burdens holding him back, Gu Sheng alone could kill every one of these nearly thousand fools coming to throw away their lives.

Although he did not know why the three future leaders of the Iron Mountain Gang had appeared ahead of schedule, Gu Sheng’s attitude toward them would not change. The Wang Brothers would one day wipe out entire families and villages; they were clearly no good.

"Brother Teng, being too greedy isn’t a good thing. The news that Teng Village is hiding a vast fortune has already spread, and everyone with some ability in Yicheng has their eyes on you."

Wang Tieshan put on an expression of concern and spoke like a teacher lecturing a student. "I know you’re highly skilled, Brother Teng, and the warriors of Teng Village are as fierce as tigers and wolves. You even have such a Divine Beast at your command.

"But two fists can’t beat four hands. Once those villains join forces, you’ll be in danger. Some people won’t be as willing to follow the rules as the three of us.

"You should consider my suggestion. We can join forces and establish a gang or organization. When the time comes, we’ll surely make our name resound throughout Yicheng, and naturally, no petty criminals will dare covet the Divine Beast."

"Didn’t you understand what I said?"

Gu Sheng was growing impatient. He waved his hand as if shooing away flies. "I’ll say it again. Tell me who released the information. While I’m still in a good mood, take your men and get lost!"

The smile on Wang Tieshan’s face faded. What did that bastard mean? Couldn’t he understand what he was saying? He was still threatening them to reveal the source of the information, as if they were talking to a chicken while the other side answered like a duck. Could this be some hotheaded youth who had been trained for years by a reclusive expert and had only just emerged from seclusion?

This kid had shown him no respect at all and had not even left him a way down. How was Wang Tieshan supposed to respond? Was he really supposed to obediently tell him where the information had come from, then slink away from Teng Village?

If he did that, what prestige would he have left among his brothers? He might as well stop wandering the martial world altogether, disband his forces, and have the three brothers return home to start families.

"Fuck your grandmother!"

Wang Tieshan and his two brothers had some skill at controlling their tempers and could endure Gu Sheng’s threats, but their subordinates exploded. All kinds of filthy curses poured out, and the area outside Teng Village became a noisy mess.

"Enough!"

The eldest brother, Wang Tieshan, had no way to respond, so the bald, burly Wang Tiefeng roared and silenced the whole field. He then cupped his hands toward Gu Sheng. "Brother Teng, our brothers have made a name for ourselves wandering the martial world. If you want us to leave, fine—but you should at least give us an explanation!"

The last bit of Gu Sheng’s patience was worn away by the bald man. Teng Village today was no longer what it had been.

The people of Teng Village alone, together with Teng Qingshan, who had already reached the first-rate realm, were enough to crush these men. Yet they still wanted him to give them an explanation. They were simply speaking nonsense.

"Since you’re looking for death, you can’t blame me!"

As Gu Sheng spoke, he made a hand signal toward the rear. Three hundred heavily armored soldiers stepped forward and guarded all four sides. The short Teng Qingshan had already slipped into a concealed position that was exceptionally suitable for sniping.

"Big brother, something isn’t right!"

The strange behavior of Teng Village made the usually taciturn Wang Tiehai uneasy. Normally, even if a large village was strong enough not to fear bandits, it would not completely break off relations like this.

The three brothers had brought more than a thousand cavalrymen this time. Although they could not break through Teng Village, which had heavily armored soldiers, surrounding it would not be difficult. No matter how formidable Teng Village’s warriors were, they could not outrun cavalry riding horses. The two sides should have been more or less evenly matched.

But Teng Qinghu—or rather, Gu Sheng—had constantly acted as if he had them completely under control. Now he even seemed prepared to launch an attack himself. That was highly abnormal. Unless the other side was confident it could deal with all of them cleanly.

"I know, but we have no way out now!"

Wang Tieshan shook his head with a bitter smile, regret filling his heart. If he had known that Teng Village’s people were this fierce, he would never have personally led the troops here. In their current situation, if he dared retreat, his subordinates would dare establish their own faction tomorrow.

"Roar~"

The Black Wind Leopard beneath Gu Sheng was rubbing its claws when it felt a gentle squeeze at the soft flesh of its neck. It suddenly rose and let out a long roar. Then, with all four legs exerting force, it leaped over the several-zhang-high barricade and slammed toward the cavalry outside.

"Awooo~ Awooo~ Awooo~"

The instant the Black Wind Leopard leaped up, the Blood Shadow Wolves reacted. One after another, they howled and charged to the barricade, leaping over it and rushing toward the opposing cavalry.

"Neighhh~~"

The leopard’s roar exploded beside the warhorses’ ears like thunder, followed by terrifying wolf howls. The already restless warhorses instinctively tried to flee when they saw the Black Wind Leopard and Blood Shadow Wolves charging at them. The front ranks instantly fell into chaos, and the cavalrymen began losing formation.

"Fire! Fire!"

Wang Tieshan roared hoarsely. He never would have imagined that Gu Sheng would dare charge into their formation alone, catching them completely off guard.

Enraged and humiliated, he no longer had the time to worry about Teng Village. All he could think about was capturing the man who had caused such heavy losses among his warhorses. He would tear him limb from limb.

"Boom~"

The group of one leopard and five wolves charged forward in a wedge formation. Working together seamlessly, they whipped up a fierce gale that sent sand and stones flying, along with bark and roots, toward the opposing cavalry. Caught unprepared, the men were immediately struck, and one after another, they were blinded by the windblown sand and debris.

"Damn it, those are Demon Beasts! Retreat!"

Wang Tieshan was both shocked and furious. Even he had only seen Demon Beasts a few times, and every encounter had left a deep impression on him. He knew very well that such powerful Demon Beasts were far beyond what their still-forming Iron Mountain Gang could handle.

"Did I say you could leave?"

Gu Sheng charged at the forefront on horseback. The pair of pale-purple Sky Eagle Claws in his hands had long since been covered in a layer of blood-red light, shining brilliantly beneath the sun.

The bandit experts along the way could not block even a single move from him or the Black Wind Leopard. Kicking aside everyone who tried to obstruct him, he charged toward the Wang Brothers, who had yet to escape.

"Second brother, third brother, strike together!"

Wang Tieshan was a decisive man. Knowing that turning to flee might instead lead to even more serious consequences, he called out to his two brothers and swept his Cleaving Mountain Blade horizontally as he took the initiative to meet Gu Sheng.

Wang Tiefeng and Wang Tiehai had been brothers alongside Wang Tieshan for many years, and they possessed a natural understanding. Almost simultaneously, they spurred their horses forward and charged at Gu Sheng together.

The eldest, Wang Tieshan, wielded his Cleaving Mountain Blade with sweeping force, sending a ring of fierce blade light toward Gu Sheng. The second, Wang Tiefeng, swung a pair of red-copper hammers from side to side, ready to unleash a meteor-like strike at any moment. The third, Wang Tiehai, held a refined-iron spear, thrusting it like a dragon and waiting to unleash his stored power.

The three brothers joined forces and attacked together.