Ji Wushi's strategy was indeed clever. By luring the enemy and forcing them to split their forces, he managed to turn around a situation that was unfavorable to his side. But the plan was not flawless.
While pursuing the rebels, Zhang Shun began to feel something was wrong. Why are they only running without resistance, at most tossing a few hidden weapons at us?
Then he noticed that the number of hidden weapons being thrown was far too few—this could not possibly be the enemy's main force.
If that was the case, then the enemy was only trying to lure them deeper into an ambush, where they could be wiped out in one strike. Chasing recklessly would only be dangerous.
Though Zhang Shun's appearance was rough, his mind was keener than people imagined.
Even though he had not completely seen through Ji Wushi's scheme, he still gave the order to stop pursuit at once. He then realized Zhang Jie had also gone off to chase the enemy—very likely into the same trap.
Zhang Shun felt a surge of alarm and immediately shouted:"Everyone, take to the skies! Fly back at full speed and rejoin the other detachment!"
And so Zhang Shun and his men retraced their steps, rose into the air, and finally descended to merge forces with Zhang Jie's group.
This was one of the flaws in Ji Wushi's plan: if the enemy realized his intention, they could simply regroup.
With the rebels' numbers already limited, if they split off another detachment to intercept Zhang Shun's return, those men might well be annihilated—and then they would lose their numerical advantage against Zhang Jie's side too, ending up with gains on neither front.
Another flaw was this: if Zheng Jian could eliminate Zhang Jie's force quickly, then even if Zhang Shun came to join, he would have lost the initiative and could no longer tip the balance of the battle.
Unfortunately, the strength of Zheng Jian's detachment was not much greater than Zhang Jie's. After a long fight, they had only managed to kill about a hundred men.
At this moment, Zhang Shun's arrival shifted the tide once more.Zhang Jie's men, who had been demoralized, saw reinforcements coming to their aid.
Knowing they now had a chance to turn the tables, their morale soared. The battle that had been one-sided gradually became even, and soon they even gained a slight upper hand.
Zheng Jian had not expected Zhang Shun to arrive so quickly. But seeing the current situation, he knew he could not retreat—otherwise the rebel forces would be crushed instantly.
Zheng Jian thrust several sword strikes at Zhang Shun, but they had no effect.Zhang Shun immediately swung his fist toward him.
While dodging, Zheng Jian flicked his sword tip at various points on Zhang Shun's body, searching for a weakness.But he could not help but marvel: This man's body has been tempered to such an extent… I've stabbed nearly every vital point, and still I cannot find a weakness.
Zhang Shun's attacks were open and forceful, every strike without the slightest reservation. He knew Zheng Jian could not harm him, so he needed only to press forward relentlessly, without bothering with strategy or finesse.
All the pressure fell on Zheng Jian. Traces of anxiety showed on his face.There was no doubt—a body cultivator like Zhang Shun was, in many respects, the natural nemesis of martial artists.
No matter how refined the technique, if one could not pierce the opponent's skin, then what was the use?
Zheng Jian also noticed that not far away, Zhang Jie was healing himself. If Zhang Jie recovered and the two joined forces, he would have no chance of victory. He had to finish Zhang Jie off first.
But each time Zheng Jian tried to strike at Zhang Jie, Zhang Shun blocked his way as if reading his mind.
Growing impatient, Zheng Jian poured most of his inner force into his longsword, sharpening it with deadly energy. The blade gave off a faint hum, with a cold light crawling along its edge to the tip.
With a sudden step, Zheng Jian lunged at Zhang Shun. His sword trailed a streak of light as he thrust with full power at Zhang Shun's throat.
If he could wound his opponent, Zheng Jian believed Zhang Shun would grow cautious, giving him the chance to bypass him and strike Zhang Jie.
The sword did hurt Zhang Shun, but only barely—it scraped the skin.Then, astonishingly, Zhang Shun caught the sword with his bare hand. The tip stopped just an inch from his throat.
Zheng Jian tried to yank it free, but Zhang Shun gripped it too tightly—it would not budge.
The last thing Zheng Jian wanted to see now happened: Zhang Shun slammed his fist down on the middle of the blade. With a snap, the longsword broke in two.
Zheng Jian was stunned. Before he could react, Zhang Shun's fist came crashing toward his face.
Fortunately Zheng Jian dodged in time, or that one punch would have ended him.
Zhang Shun gave chase. With some distance still between them and no ranged attack at hand, he hurled one half of the broken sword at Zheng Jian.
Zheng Jian raised his own broken blade to block it, then swung and released several arcs of sword-qi.
But if a sharpened blade infused with inner force could not harm Zhang Shun, how could mere sword-qi do so?
Zhang Shun did not bother to defend, but simply charged straight in, pounding relentlessly.
Zheng Jian relied on his footwork to avoid the attacks. But by this time Zhang Jie, healed by the aid of pills, had recovered and rushed back into the fray.
The two brothers struck together, pressing Zheng Jian from both sides.
Though Zheng Jian's movement technique was superb, it was hard to withstand two opponents at once.
Zhang Shun and Zhang Jie's cooperation was seamless, and the situation grew worse for him.
Zhang Jie, though strong in close combat, was not truly specialized in it. His true strength lay in lurking in the shadows, striking at the opportune moment like an assassin.
Earlier he had no choice but to fight head-on and lost. But now, with Zhang Shun pressing Zheng Jian from the front, Zhang Jie could fight in his preferred way again.
Zheng Jian was hard-pressed. In direct combat, he could not match Zhang Shun; at the same time, he had to beware of Zhang Jie's constant sneak attacks.
Zhang Jie often struck from Zheng Jian's blind spots, timing his ambushes right as Zheng Jian was recovering from dodging Zhang Shun's blows, leaving him no chance to evade further—forcing him to block with his broken sword.
Whenever he paused to guard against Zhang Jie, Zhang Shun would instantly close in and pile on more pressure.
Back and forth they repeated this process.At first Zheng Jian barely held on, but gradually he faltered.
Finally, Zhang Shun caught an opening and sent him flying with a punch, rolling him across the ground.
Though Zheng Jian blocked with his sword, the blow completely broke his balance.He scrambled to right himself, but too late.
As he rose into a crouch, opportunistic Zhang Jie appeared before him, his ice blade already at striking distance.
Zheng Jian had no way out.
Just when they thought the fight was decided, thorn-vines suddenly burst from the ground under Zheng Jian's feet. They shot through Zhang Jie's vital points, pinning him in place.
Zhang Jie stared in disbelief as the vines, once motionless, began pulling in different directions.
Terror distorted his features. He stretched a hand toward Zhang Shun and wailed:"Eldest Brother, save me!"
But before the words had finished, his body was torn into pieces—dead on the spot.
Both Zheng Jian and Zhang Shun froze at the sudden turn.
Zhang Shun roared, "Who did this? I will tear you to pieces!"
His rage was absolute—if the killer appeared before him, he would fight to the death.
But when a voice sounded from behind him, the fury in his heart instantly fell to ice. He knew that voice.
Lie Feng appeared behind him and said coldly:"Just you?"