"Let me carry you. But if I found you making any strange move, I would not hesitate to take your life."
Emma did not reply, so Li Hao carried her on his chest. Her front was faced towards the young mother, and the knife was still placed at her neck.
One of Li Hao's hands was holding Emma around the waist, and her whole body was supported on his chest and stomach.
His right hand holding the knife was placed near Emma's front neck.
This did not bother the young mother. For her, it was a small matter. She walked forward without a pause.
Li Hao, while holding Emma, maintained a similar walking pace and followed behind the young mother.
….
Main Road
"It seems we have some guests."
The people who were resting peacefully turned alert due to the sudden words spoken by that fair-skinned young man.
Most of these people looked similar to Li Hao in terms of appearance, being natives of the Qing Dynasty, but there were also a few fair-skinned people with unique facial features mixed within the crowd.
The moment those words escaped the young man's mouth, the fair-skinned people became restless and quickly gathered around the young man, staring around the mountainous forest with deep vigilance.
Upon counting, there were around five fair-skinned people, including the young man.
The natives, although not as alert, took out their swords and dispersed around the carriage.
One of them, with a burly and muscular appearance, turned towards the young man. His beard was long and dark.
"Mere bandits! May not even have a single individual with martial arts attainment. Let me handle them."
The young man appeared as a typical Westerner from Li Hao's previous world. His gaze was piercing as he stared straight at the native guard standing on the ground.
After a short silence, he nodded. "That would be the best outcome."
His focus shifted from the native man to the mountains surrounding them from all sides.
The tall trees and bushes blocked his vision, rendering him unable to peer deep inside.
His brows were knitted together, seemingly deep in worry.
'Are they alright?'
Swish!
His thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of various people moving through the forest; countless footsteps could be heard along with it.
"It seems they are here! All the better, I shall finish them swiftly!"
Spoke the burly native guard, as he stared fiercely at the bushes and trees around them.
"Hahaha!"
Suddenly, a laughing noise came from a certain direction.
Everyone's gaze turned towards the sound!
A middle-aged man walked out of the forest. His figure was burly and muscular, yet all his hair was greyish-white. A huge saber was held in his hand.
Following his appearance, dozens of fierce, dirty-looking individuals jumped out, each one exuding a barbaric aura. All of them held a standard saber in their hand.
The burly native guard squinted his eyes. 'At least more than fifty people…Not a small group!'
His gaze turned towards the middle-aged man with greying hair. He did not appear weak or tired like a typical old man, but instead was filled with energy. His arms were robust with bulging muscles.
"He must be the leader…A martial artist!? This is out of my expectations."
'Someone like him is staying here in this backward place? Why?'
With narrowed eyes, he tried initiating a conversation with the other party.
"We are not without backing within the Qingfeng county, especially these people on the carriage, must you rob us today?"
Hearing his words, the bandit leader scratched his nose.
"Surrender all your valuables, and we will leave you alone."
No further words were spoken, which irritated the people in the carriage.
Even the burly native guard became slightly annoyed.
"You fool, do you even realize who you are trying to rob? Go and disturb those ordinary merchants or villages! These people on the carriage are not someone you can provoke with your stature!"
Hmph!
"We'll see, Men! Attack!"
"Hehehe! Brothers! Let's loot!"
"I was waiting long enough!"
"Hahaha!"
With the signal given by the muscular middle-aged bandit, others became frantic and excitedly ran towards the carriage with their sharp sabers!
The native guards on the opposite side were way fewer in number; hence, the burly guard wanted to act cautiously, but now the situation has become irreversible.
"Defend the carriage, no matter what!"
Thus, with this, the battle ensued.
Around ten native guards, including the burly one, were protecting the carriage, and over seventy bandits were on the opposite side. One would think that it was obvious which side would win. But that was not necessarily the case here.
As the few bandits at the front reached close enough, the burly guard chopped multiple times and instantly killed off five.
The rest of the nine native guards supported their leader from behind. The situation was at a stalemate for a moment, yet it could not last long due to the unending streams of bandits gathering around them.
At this moment, the middle-aged bandit leader also attacked!
A large saber was raised and swung towards the burly native guard.
The moment he saw that large saber coming towards him, the leading guard forgot about the other bandits and swiftly defended himself.
Clang!
Both martial artists from opposite sides got entangled.
As for the others, the rest of the native guards could not resist the bandits.
Dozens of them managed to approach the carriage.
Seeing them climbing up, those fair-skinned people showed not a trace of fear.
Instead, a calm look was upon all five of them. So calm that it could even be seen as disdain.
One of the five foreigners became eager, with his face expressing some eagerness.
The young man glanced at him.
"Ordinary people wielding sabers, no need for a high-profile action."
He grabbed something inside his pocket and took out a uniquely shaped object.
It was small and dark. The front had a short tube. The whole object seemed metallic.
After taking it out, he pointed the object toward the approaching bandits.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The object made five impactful sounds in a row, reaching the ears of everyone, including the two martial artists.
"What is that!?"
Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop!
As they observed the object on that young man's hand, five bandits fell one by one. Upon closer inspection, a small blood wound seemed to appear on different parts of their bodies.
"How!?"
"Quickly! Back off!"
The rest of the bandits, who were unharmed, backed off in fear!
Even the muscular middle-aged bandit leader suddenly became cautious.
Seeing the situation turning around, the burly native guard sighed in relief.
"You see that, right? We are not to be messed with. Please leave."
He didn't appear overbearing, trying to be polite not to provoke the muscular old bandit standing opposite him.
The middle-aged bandit leader ignored him. His eyes remained only on that fair-skinned young man and the small object he was holding.
A few seconds passed, and none of the bandits dared to approach the carriage again.
Hence, reluctantly, the bandit leader called back his men.
"Brothers! Back off!"
Although unsatisfied and harboring anger inside, those remaining bandits still obediently returned. After all, who would wish to die here?
Who knows how many would die trying to rob the carriage? None of them wanted to be the one to die first.
The middle-aged bandit kept his focus on that object, as if scrutinizing it deeply.
Then an insight hit him, and his facial expression turned somewhat strange.
Looking at the young man and the burly native guard, he could not help but squint his eyes and open his mouth.
"That object strikes a resemblance to the weapons used by those revolutionaries…Are you a part of them?"
!!!
The young man in the carriage raised his eyebrows. There was a prolonged eye contact with the middle-aged bandit leader.
His question, or rather self-talk, was met with a knowing silence.
The bandit didn't mind as he expected that no replies would be given, and his mind was on something else currently.
'Just where is that brat!?'