Zhong Lin couldn’t be bothered with these so-called royal affairs, but since it was a task assigned by the Sect Master, he had the obligation to protect Jiang Yuan.
He reached into the Arrow Quiver and took out three arrows, nocking the bow and drawing the arrows.
The night did not affect Zhong Lin’s vision. In the next moment, three arrows shot in a triangular formation into the center of the group of black-clad men, like meteors chasing the moon.
This person was the leader.
Facing the suddenly incoming arrows, the expression of the black-clad man changed drastically.
He quickly waved the long blade in his hand to block; the first arrow was blocked, the second arrow was blocked by a subordinate beside him, but the third arrow hit him right in the shoulder.
Zhong Lin felt a slight pity; the last arrow was aimed straight at his heart, but unexpectedly, it was dodged.
Despite the leader’s injury, the attacking black-clad troops only experienced slight commotion, and then quickly quieted down, continuing to launch their orderly attack against Niu Dali’s formed army formation.
Zhong Lin squinted his eyes: "What a cunning guy, this person is merely a small leader; the real mastermind is still hiding among the people. But do you think I can’t deal with you this way?"
Divine Light flickered in Zhong Lin’s eyes; since he couldn’t find you, he would just kill everyone.
The Black Rosewood Bow in his hand shifted direction, and arrows shot like pearls into the crowd of black-clad people.
With every vibration of the bowstring, a life vanished. After all, these black-clad men, despite their formidable formation, were only ordinary people at most, with only a few having entered the grades. How could they withstand Zhong Lin’s arrows? Even a Middle Third Grades Martial Artist could only resent facing Zhong Lin’s miraculous bow technique.
Among the black-clad men, a burly man hiding among the crowd had his palm trembling slightly, with a slight twitch at the corner of his eyes as he glanced at the man beside him clutching his shoulder. He felt secretly fortunate that he was smart; otherwise, he could have been the one injured, or even dead.
"General, that guy’s archery on the other side is too powerful. Almost every shot brings a comrade down. Even though we outnumber them, we cannot bear such a loss. If this continues, before we even break through their defenses, our soldiers here might collapse."
The black-clad man’s face darkened: "Such an excellent archery skill. Pass the order, split some troops specifically to attack that kid, get rid of him first. At the very least, disrupt his shooting."
With that, a command flag swayed, naturally splitting a portion of the soldiers to attack Zhong Lin.
The soldiers formed a defensive formation, naturally having weak and strong points, and where Zhong Lin was, was the weak point.
Niu Dali thought through the troop placement; he knew Zhong Lin’s Martial Arts Cultivation well, so he only left a few soldiers for defense, using the rest to defend other areas.
The few soldiers, seeing a large group of black-clad men charging towards their direction, did not retreat but instinctively looked towards Zhong Lin.
Zhong Lin smiled slightly, unconcerned, only increasing his speed.
"Bow Technique. Rapid Fire."
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Five arrows, in rapid succession, instantly shot through the necks of the five nearest black-clad men.
Before the others could react, another five arrows whizzed through the air.
In mere moments, a squad of dozens hadn’t even closed a hundred steps towards Zhong Lin before already suffering half their numbers.
Such a scene was witnessed by everyone, and no one expected that this young master, who rarely stepped out of his carriage, had such archery skills. Only Jiang Yuan and Niu Dali knew of Zhong Lin’s Martial Arts Cultivation.
With such a Divine Archer present, victory was already beckoning to them. The army’s morale soared, strengthening their grip on their swords.
Suddenly, a black-clad person leapt into the air, a faint blood cloud rising around him. As if flying, he crossed Niu Dali’s army’s defense line, reaching Jiang Yuan in an instant, black short blade in hand, aiming for Jiang Yuan’s neck.
"Qi-Blood like a cloud, Divine Power Realm, Princess, be careful."
Niu Dali was shocked, his body quickly rotating, attempting to block the black-clad person.
Unfortunately, his speed was too slow, and the black-clad man had already reached Jiang Yuan.
Jiang Yuan seemed petrified with fear, making no reaction at all.
Suddenly a golden Sword Qi sliced through the black night sky, tearing through the air, shooting forth like lightning.
With a scream, the black-clad man was cut in two by the Sword Qi, his body falling, blood splattering the ground.
Zhong Lin retracted his Sword Finger, expressionless; the Sword Qi just now was sent out by his ’Spirit Rhinoceros Sword Finger’.
The black-clad man was merely a Fourth Grade in the Divine Power Realm; how could he resist?
Among the black-clad crowd, the leader’s face changed drastically upon seeing Zhong Lin’s terrifying Sword Qi, eyes filled with fear.
"Upper Third Grades Martial Artist? Retreat, quickly retreat."
Having said that, he took the lead to run off, disappearing into the distant forest.
The sound of retreat resounded, and the terrified black-clad men had long lost the desire to keep fighting. The organization was disciplined, allowing no retreat, or the consequences would be dire.
Retreating was faster than attacking; soon, aside from the corpses on the ground, all the black-clad men vanished into the forest.
Niu Dali did not give the order to pursue; the forest was pitch black, and if ambushed, it would not just be a matter of losing soldiers, but total annihilation.
Do not corner a desperate opponent; do not enter a forest in haste.
"Princess, are you okay?"
Niu Dali asked urgently.
Jiang Yuan stared at the black-clad man cut in two before her, a flash of lingering fear in her eyes. So close, it was so close!
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Yuan bowed to Zhong Lin.
"Thank you, Senior Brother, for saving my life."
Zhong Lin didn’t respond, saying, "Your Martial Arts are not weak, but you lack combat experience. Stick close to me if you face an assassination next time."
"Senior Brother’s advice is noted. I will remember."
Zhong Lin nodded, turning to return to the tent, leaving the battlefield cleanup to others.
Jiang Yuan stood where she was, looking at the corpses scattered before her, her anger reaching the heavens.
"Princess, these black-clad men were all from the military."
Jiang Yuan’s eyes gleamed with a cold light, gritting her teeth: "It’s undoubtedly my fourth brother’s doing. Only he could maneuver such elite forces. My good brother! What a grand gift you’ve given your sister."
Niu Dali remained silent, having long suspected this. Such combat power could only be achieved by the elite troops of the Tiger Ben Camp, whose Military Commander was the fourth prince’s uncle.
"Where will you take these corpses?"
Jiang Yuan asked, looking at the soldiers cleaning up the battlefield, her expression changing, speaking coldly.
"Princess, in this wild forest at night, there are many beasts. They’re planning to bury these bodies to prevent them from being eaten by beasts," Niu Dali explained.