Joy of Life: Invincible Starting from Basic Swordsmanship

Chapter 55: The Interception Storm Ends

Five eighth-rank officials were quite a challenge for Fan Xian, as he was constantly at a disadvantage.

However, after Ye Chengfeng killed the ambush leader, these people retreated.

The surroundings were dark, and Fan Xian didn't dare to give chase. This kind of environment was quite advantageous for martial arts practitioners.

Especially since they fled in separate groups, it was really not a good time to pursue them.

Fan Xian also noticed this when Ye Chengfeng fought with the ambush leader.

That was the strongest among the ambush attackers, and Fan Xian guessed that he might be the leader.

"Old Ye, why did you kill him?!"

Ye Chengfeng rolled his eyes. He hadn't expected his new "Sword Control Technique" to be so powerful.

It was just an experiment, so it was impossible to control the force.

"You're so capable, but those few people still managed to get away."

"I'm too lazy to argue with you. Come with me to see that light cavalry and see who they are."

"I've seen it. Their armor is the style of your Southern Qing Border Army, and it's extremely well-made. They must be among the elite troops."

Fan Xian wanted to meet this light cavalry unit, while the rebel light cavalry also wanted to find Fan Xian.

After all, their initial goal was to serve Fan Xian.

"Hmm? They dismounted? Looks like they're not the enemy."

When Fan Xian saw the light cavalry group about forty or fifty meters away, he dismounted and walked over.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Zhang Yan, a captain of the Zhenbei Army's personal guard, pays his respects to Lord Fan."

Zhang Yan led his subordinates and knelt on one knee in front of Fan Xian.

"You look familiar... wait, are you the young officer who's with Yan Xiaoyi?"

"It is I, Lord Fan. Please save our lives."

"You think you can just risk your lives? What does that mean? And why are you here?"

Zhang Yan gave a bitter smile and explained, "Our superior was killed by the combined efforts of the Little Sword Immortal and the Holy Maiden of Northern Qi. We had followed him and left the camp without permission. Without our superior's protection, our fate is predictable."

"So after that ambush, you didn't return to the border army camp?"

As soon as Zhang Yan said that, Fan Xian immediately understood.

"That's right, sir. It's only because you, Lord Fan, haven't reported this matter to His Majesty that we are barely surviving."

"We have come here hoping that you, sir, can protect us. Even if you cannot save our lives, we hope that you can protect our families."

Although these people had tried to kill him, Fan Xian didn't harbor much hatred towards them.

As Zhang Yan said, they were just following orders. In the army, disobeying orders is a capital offense.

"You wait here. I've agreed to this, but I can't guarantee I can protect your lives."

"Of course, you can rest assured, I, Fan Xian, will protect your families."

Although Fan Xian said he wasn't confident, that wasn't actually the case. In the past, Fan Xian really wasn't confident.

However, after learning his true identity as a prince, Fan Xian was very confident that he could protect Zhang Yan and the others.

"That's only right. Thank you, sir. I have no way to repay you."

Fan Xian's promise to protect them meant accepting Zhang Yan and the others' allegiance, and Zhang Yan immediately began to refer to himself as his subordinate.

A group of guards followed closely behind, swearing allegiance to Fan Xian.

"Zhang Yan, prepare the ropes to bring the delegation down from the mountain."

"Yes, I will take care of it right away."

Zhang Yan was overjoyed. Fan Xian had immediately put them to work after they pledged allegiance, which meant he already trusted them.

"This time, the gamble paid off!"

Zhang Yan immediately arranged for more than a dozen people to accompany him up the mountain, while the remaining guards naturally stayed behind to protect Fan Xian.

As the Imperial Guard, protecting their superiors was their specialty.

Seeing Fan Xian gain another group of loyal subordinates, Ye Chengfeng was extremely envious.

This is the personal guard battalion of a regular army; their combat effectiveness is in no way weaker than Chen Pingping's Black Cavalry.

In other words, their numbers are not as good as the Black Knights. If the numbers are equal, the Black Knights might not necessarily be able to defeat this squad of guards.

It's actually quite easy to understand. Just think about the twenty-eight riders who were Xiang Yu's personal guards, and you can deduce the fighting strength of this guard unit.

"Are you cheating? People are actually joining your cause!"

"Hehe, personal charisma is something you can't learn; it's something you're born with."

Fan Xian was naturally very happy to have won over this personal guard.

"Never mind that, I wonder how Old Wang is doing. It's been almost three hours, and he still hasn't returned?"

Just as Fan Xian finished speaking, Wang Qinian's voice came from afar.

"My lord, my lord, Old Wang is here to save you! Please, you mustn't be hurt!"

"You rascal, is your mouth blessed with magic?!"

Ye Chengfeng and Fan Xian looked in the direction from which the sound came!

"Wait, that doesn't look like the border troops, but rather Chen Pingping's Black Cavalry?"

When Fan Xian discovered that the reinforcements brought by Wang Qinian were the Black Riders, he could not hide his joy.

The reason is simple: when Fan Xian was ambushed by Yan Xiaoyi last time, the Black Riders did not appear. Although Fan Xian did not show it, he was somewhat disappointed.

The fact that the Black Knights are here means that although Chen Pingping has some kind of scheme, he will not harm them.

As they were talking, Wang Qinian came to Fan Xian's side.

"What's going on, sir?"

Looking at the corpses all around and a group of soldiers dressed in border army armor, Wang Qinian was filled with doubt.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you in detail later. But you, weren't you supposed to be going to the border camp for reinforcements? Why did you bring the Black Riders with you?"

"It was quite a coincidence that I encountered the Black Riders on my way to the border army, so there was no need to ask the Zhenbei Army for help."

Upon hearing this, Wang Qinian immediately smiled.

If we hadn't encountered the Black Riders, we'd be lucky to get back before dawn, let alone in three hours.

"Speaking of which, I do admire you, sir. How did you manage to set the entire mountain on fire? And how did you manage to control the fire only near the foot of the mountain?"

"There's not much to say, we were forced into this situation. Let's not talk about that for now. Yan Bingyun and the others are still trapped on the mountaintop. Have the Black Riders come to their aid."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

The Black Knights worked until dawn before finally rescuing the delegation from the mountain.

With the Black Knights protecting him, Fan Xian was no longer in a hurry.

At dawn, in front of the campfire, Fan Xian kept staring at Ye Chengfeng.

Ye Chengfeng felt uneasy under his gaze.

Why are you staring at me like that?

"How did you manage that move last night?"

Fan Xian was referring to the move Ye Chengfeng used last night to kill the ambush leader.

"Do you think I'll tell you?"

Fan Xian awkwardly touched his nose. Asking someone about their martial arts style so directly was indeed a bit abrupt.

"Never mind, thank you for last night. Consider it a favor I owe you."

"What do you mean by 'you owe me a favor'? You owe me much more than that."

"Alright, alright, you've always wanted domineering true energy, here you go."

As he spoke, Fan Xian took out the secret manual and handed it to Ye Chengfeng.

"You really gave it to me? You didn't tamper with the manual, did you?!"

Ye Chengfeng flipped through the manual.

The domineering true energy was not as mysterious as Ye Chengfeng had imagined. If there was anything special about it, it was its efficiency in refining radiant energy.

From this alone, Ye Chengfeng knew that this cultivation method was not suitable for him.

However, the methods for controlling true qi recorded in the manual did indeed give Ye Chengfeng a lot of inspiration.

"You're judging a gentleman by your own petty standards. If you don't believe me, give it back to me."

How could Ye Chengfeng possibly return the secret manual he had obtained?

"The handwriting is indeed ugly."

"Huh? You're complaining now?"