After leaving the city at around 3 pm, Jin Mo and his men continued heading towards their destion without stopping.
The reason they are so sure and leaving the city was because they got a crucial information after bribing a man who works at the city government office.
It was the information regarding the time of arrival of the new appointed city lord.
Very easily, they arrived at the Swan Neck Ridge at around 5 pm. When the sun just set. With dense trees covering all around and only a narrow road was going in between.
Selecting a perfect area for ambush and rest, Jin Mo and his men decided to camp there.
Unaware to them, there was another small group of people watching them from a distance. It was the Li clan group.
In a very low voice, Li Fei advised the group about the potential danger once again. "Remember what I told you before. Don't engage in battle until the city lord appears and the fight started. Understood?"
Everyone could feel the concern in his voice. Without speaking, they all nodded.
"Now all we need is to just wait for the right time." The Li clan group continued laying low and watching Jin Mo's group.
The overwhelming number of enemies didn't make them back down from what they had set in their minds.
On the other side, Jin Mo and his group finished preparing the camp. It was just a little distance away from the pathway. From their spot, looking out to the road, they could clearly see. But if it were from the road, looking towards the dense tress, clear vision was a challenge.
Just like that, both the parties continued what they were doing and waited for the time to arrive.
Inside one of the big tent— capable of holding more than 5 people, Jin Mo and the other 2 patriarchs were sitting, talking about the situation.
"Patriarch Jin, the preparation is already completed. Now, we just need to wait." The Lin patriarch reported the situation.
"Umm.. good." Sitting in the middle, Jin Mo nodded, satisfied.
"Patriarch Jin, what about the Li clan... are we really going to do it?" The Meng patriarch asked. His voice carried an unusual respectful tone.
Judging from the way the two patriarchs were addressing to Jin Mo, it seemed like both the parties or rather their clans have submitted to Jin clan.
"Don't worry about the Li clan. I have already told that they will face the consequences after we are done with this mission." Jin Mo calmly told them with a smile.
The 2 patriarchs looked at eachother not knowing what to think about it. On one hand they were somewhat happy that going forward there will be only 3 cultivator clans in the Black Swan City. But on the other hand, they were somewhat depressed that they will have to live under the rule of Jin clan.
But what can they do about it, who asked them to be weaker than Jin clan.
After the 2 left the tent, Jin Mo thought about it. Given the current situation of Black Swan City, he wanted to keep the Li clan. Having more people under them was also a good thing. It means more manpower for them to dispose of.
But, given their current strength, controlling more than 2 low level clans and adding Li clan will make them suffer instead of making them more powerful. Which was a bad thing for the Jin clan, which wanted to pour more people into their secret.
'Well, its not that bad. Having just two of them is enough for now.' Jin Mo thought inwardly.
The time passed. It was already dark like midnight inside the woods. Because moonlight could not pass through the dense tree canopies.
However, it was not a bad thing for the group at all. With the bright moonlight shining upon the pathway, it was easy for them to carry out their mission— taking the advantage of the dark surrounding.
Although their plan was good, without the target, it was all in vain.
Their supposedly target, the city lord, never arrived at the Swan Neck Ridge during the nighttime.
With men taking turns to guard, the group rested for the night.
-----
Unlike the situation in the Swan Neck Ridge, the situation back at the city was filled with the sounds of musics, firecrackers and fireworks lighting up the sky of Black Swan City.
Every streets, every shops and every house was filled with laughters and happy mood.
Couples going around the city, chatting with their hands holding. Sweet smiles and warm feelings. Groups of family visiting restaurants, children nagging their parents to buys toys. Boys asking for flashy stylish warrior figures and other toys. Girls asking for beautiful dolls and stuffs.
Overall, the city was really in the spring mood.
But like all things in the world, time passed without knowing. And the festival came to end, with the night calling upon the next day to take its shift.
----
The next morning.
Just as the sun came up, both the Li clan group and Jin Mo's group heard the sound of horses galloping just distance away from their spot.
Both groups hurriedly prepared and was ready for action.
Thud... thud...thud...
The sound of thundering hooves came closer and closer for each passing second.
Seconds later, from the shadows, both the groups saw the source of the sound.
From around the corner, 3 men with sharp dresses emerged, ridding horses.
The man in the middle and also the foremost one was a man who looked to be in his early to mid 20s. He particularly stood out from the other two following him.
It was determined that he must be the new city lord. But he was slightly young compares to ideal city lords.
The other two behind looked like his servants. And the attitude and the dressing said so. With armors wrapped around their bodies.
Soon, the group entered the road surrounded by dense trees.
As they were about to pass the spot Jin Mo's group had determined to attack, a big tree came crashing down. The huge body of the tree blocked the way for the group.
Crack...
Thud.....
The sound of the tree hitting the group echoed through the woods.
"Yee...." He pulled the rope handle of the horse trying to stop the horse.
The young man hurriedly stopped his horse and put up his hand making a fist sign, telling the two men behind him to stop too.
With sharp eyes, the man looked at the breaking point of the tree.
As soon as he saw the spot, he immediately narrowed his eyes and gave instructions to his guards. "Be alert, we have company."
The two guards immediately formed a defensive position. Their eyes scanned the surrounding woods for any signs of danger.
They could feel the gazes of their potential enemies from the shadows, but they could not pin point it.
After that, the leader called out loudly. "I know you guys are here. Just come out, so we can talk about this. Who knows maybe I am not the one you guys are looking for."
His voice spread towards the surrounding woods, reaching every corner and spot.
When he finished shouting, the young man smiled. Because what he did was not actually him trying to call out the enemies. "Got ya."
Instead, he was doing it to locate the enemies in the dark using echo locate techniques.
It showed that he must be someone powerful.
Then, his smile faded a little and was replaced with a puzzled face. "No Acquired Qi Realm?!"
On the other side, in the woods, Jin Mo quickly signaled his group. He waved his hand —forming a sharp palm. "Attack." He said.
As soon as his sword edge palm fell, the group shot arrows towards the 3 people in the open.
Shoosh...shoosh....
Tens of sharp arrows flew out from the woods in a very fast speed.
As a seasoned veteran, the young man and his two guards quickly defended themselves.
Clang-clang- clang..
Swing their swords and blades, the deflected and cut all those arrows aiming for them.
And not a single of them had a scratch.
The scene shocked Jin Mo's group as well as the Li clan group. Even if they could defend themselves, they would not have come out without a single scratch for those arrows.
Jin Mo's plan was to injure them with the arrows, even a small one. Then, closed closed distance and engage in close combat.
But his plan turned out to be a failure.
Now, seeing the plan didn't go as planned, Jin Mo gritted his teeth in anger ordered his men to attack. "CHARGE..." His voice contained the fury and viciousness he had at the moment.
Even though the troop was shocked at first, seeing the arrows scene, they still believed they could defeat the three of them easily by taking advantage of their overwhelming number.
With those thoughts in their minds, they charged out of the trees towards the three men on horses in the open.
Ya....ah.....
Their loud voices echoed through the surrounding trees.