At the foot of the hill, a dozen black-robed men were carrying quivers and large crossbows, breathing heavily. This was a good place for sniping, as it could capture the entire Baiyu Lake pavilion and the surrounding open space. As long as the envoys from Daxia and Nanshang entered, it would be difficult for them to escape. As long as they covered them with a rain of arrows, anyone would have no choice but to die.
"Brother, are we really going to do something this evil?"
The second-rate guys in the team felt a little guilty. They were all from the South. Even if they didn't want to contribute to the country, they shouldn't cause trouble for the South. They were taking the money from the South Merchants and setting up an ambush to hurt people from their own country. It was unacceptable. Didn't the burly elder brother know this? He snorted coldly and cursed:
"If you're afraid, just go back. You've been whining all the way. You've done good for the South Country, but how much did it give you?"
The second-rate guy didn't say anything, and everyone around him laughed at him for being timid. Isn't it because he killed too many chickens that he became as timid as the chickens?
"Life is all about a few pieces of silver. If someone gives you dozens of boxes of gold and you don't want it, are you going to give it away? Don't be silly. How much is reputation worth? Is it enough for you to support yourself?"
The sturdy elder brother kept nagging, and his words were sincere. Seeing the second-rate man hanging his head, he felt a sense of accomplishment for some reason, and continued to persuade everyone to abandon their good deeds and become prostitutes, which was a big project.
"The South Country is just a small country, not even one-fifth of the territory of Daxia. In our rain forest, even one box of gold is enough for us to live comfortably, let alone dozens of boxes. Now that I have this money, I am willing to kill my mother, not to mention two civil servants. Brothers, cheer up, we are going to do big business. After today, we will become rich, and all those who look down on us will kowtow to us."
Stepping onto a stone, the second-rate guy licked his lips. Gold is a good thing. He had reached the age to get married, and finally found a pretty young lady through a matchmaker, but the guy's mother was a vampire, and the whole family seemed to have never seen silver. They wanted a hundred taels of silver before they were willing to marry their daughter. If the young lady was not still a cucumber girl, the second-rate guy would have given up long ago, but with so much money, even if he bought chickens for another five years, he would not be able to save up enough for a hundred taels of silver.
The second-rate guy got angry when he thought of the middle-aged woman's sarcastic face. Although he was just a butcher, he didn't need to make sarcastic remarks again and again. She looked down on him, thought he had no money, and despised him. He would use a copper coin worth a hundred taels of silver to hit her, and it would be better if she fainted!
Thinking of this, the second-rate guy quickly ran up to his eldest brother and asked him expectantly.
"Brother, what should we do?"
"Didn't I tell you before? Set him up with a trap!"
The eldest brother thought of the scene of the lake exploding and the rain of arrows. Who could survive under the dense rain of water needles and arrows?
"What if there are practitioners?"
"The practitioners who have entered the Venerable Realm are all treasures of Daxia. We cannot bear to see them lose, so they will definitely not follow us. Those who have not reached the Venerable Realm, whether they are walking or condensing, will be seriously injured if they don't die!"
The second-rate guy thought what the elder brother said made sense, and also thought that he could make a name for himself by following him, so he became more alert.
"Brother, don't worry, I will definitely not hold you back."
"I like your temper, brother. You are young, and I will definitely not treat you unfairly. Just do your job with confidence!"
The second-rate man nodded, extremely excited. When he passed by a large clump of dry grass, he didn't notice Xia Xiao and Shu Shuang in it. They were lying there, basking in the sun like sitting under a willow tree by the pond, very comfortable. This task was too easy to make Xia Xiao excited, and even less to make him nervous.
Xia Xiao and Shu Shuang took in the words of these traitors, and thought about their next move as they looked at each other. Traitors, whether from Daxia or the Southern Kingdom, will be sentenced to death, there is no other way! This time, Xia Xiao will be the judge, beheading these people and ensuring that the covenant is successfully signed.
"Walk."
Xia Xiao only uttered one word, and when he stood outside the bushes, the dozen people were fiddling with their crossbows, not noticing the movement behind them. The large crossbows in their hands were not simple, the recoil could break an ordinary person's arm, and they were extremely heavy, but they could use them freely, which must have been due to their daily training.
"Fix them all, and then find some dead branches and rotten leaves to cover them."
The eldest brother said this with a frown on his face. This damn border has so many broad-leaved forests. If we go further south and enter the rain forest, there will definitely be no difficulty in hiding.
Turning around, the eldest brother saw Xia Xiao and immediately called out to his brothers. They drew their swords and knives, flashing cold light, but Xia Xiao just glanced at the fourteen people one by one, just feeding his machete. It hadn't drunk blood for a long time, and it was hungry. It stared at the fourteen people in front of it like a hungry wolf, wanting their lives.
"Who are you?"
The eldest brother pointed his sword at Xia Xiao, not taking him seriously. After all, he was carrying a little girl, what could he do? But what Xia Xiao was thinking at this time was how he should answer. Should he say that he was from Daxia or a student of the academy? There was no answer for a moment, so Xia Xiao did not reply.
"Don't do anything."
After Xia Xiao finished speaking to Shu Shuang, he slowly moved forward, giving the fourteen people a chill. This guy is so small, but his aura is so strong, could he be a cultivator? Of course he is!
"Even if you are a cultivator, can you defeat the fourteen of us? We are not vegetarians!"
Most of the practitioners are arrogant and difficult to buy with money. It is even more difficult to make them sell out their country with some gold. Nan Shang took this into consideration and bought the lives of these people. Their lives are humble and can be measured with money.
Holding the knife at an angle, Xia Xiao threw the black iron scabbard aside, and the dark red knife revived, revealing a scarlet edge.
The fourteen people standing on the top of the mountain have themselves in front of them and a steep slope behind them. Either they will be killed by themselves or jump down to die. In short, whether they look forward or backward, they will die. There is no way back.
"I'm talking to you!"
The eldest brother tried to be brave, but Xia Xiao ignored him. He had grown taller, and the broadsword could hardly touch the ground, but the sharpness of the broadsword still cut a crack in the ground. The soil was broken and cut, the dead branches were cut, the roots were cut, and the hard stones were also cut. Seeing Xia Xiao pressing forward step by step, the eldest brother next to the second-rate man could not stand it anymore and shouted:
"Brothers, go!"
Holding the knife, the eldest brother rushed to the front. Xia Xiao did not use his vitality, but just met the attack from the front with a knife.
The sound of metal collision was particularly crisp, but not as surprising as the sound of breaking. The knife in the elder brother's hand was broken into pieces by Xia Xiao's machete, exploding in all directions and piercing into his body. The screams could not stop the others from coming, and Xia Xiao stabbed him in the chest with a knife, bringing out a stream of blood.
The blood is red, but the heart is black!
When the eldest brother fell, the thirteen people's eyes were full of fear, but with Xia Xiao here, they no longer had any hope of escape.
The body twisted among the thirteen people, and the soles of the feet turned on the ground, causing the dead leaves to shrink into a ball. And a little scarlet flashed ghostly in everyone's eyes, stabbing the shoulders and arms, and slashing the neck. Each cut brought blood, which was drunk by the Pudao and became the latter's food. This was the hungriest time since Xia Xiao had it. If Xia Xiao didn't feed it again, I'm afraid that its blood would be sucked away.
He twisted his feet and struck again. The sword was held in his hand, shuttling through flesh and blood, causing everyone to fall down one after another, without any chance of life.
The eyes that could not be closed were full of fear. They were dim and stared at Xia Xiao, watching him walk towards Erliuzi. Erliuzi was timid and did not dare to rush forward. Xia Xiao was too scary to be caught by his wings and neck and then killed like a chicken.
Holding a large crossbow, the second-rate guy was grunting.
"You...don't come over here!"
Xia Xiao raised the corners of his mouth. He might not look good, but he had beautiful thoughts!
The second-rate guy shouted, mustered up his courage, and shot three arrows in a row. The arrows flew through the air and were shot at Xia Xiao accurately, but were swept by Xia Xiao's knife and hit the tree nearby.
The arrows with Xia Xiao's force caused the trees to shake for a while, and then they broke and fell down. They caused the trees on the hilltop to shake like dominoes, as if they were blown by the wind.
Two kilometers away, a convoy stopped. The leader, Jin Qi, was mature and steady. When he saw the movement on the hill near the pavilion of Baiyu Lake, he asked Sun Wei beside him.
"Uncle, is it windy today?"
At a low altitude, the wind was not strong. Jin Qi was not yet a cultivator, so the wind was even weaker. But Sun Wei shook his head and said:
“No wind.”
Since there was no wind, there must be something fishy about the movement in the distance. Jin Qi and Sun Wei looked at each other, and the latter activated his vitality the next moment, disappeared from the spot, and headed towards the top of the mountain.
"Master, do you need to postpone the meeting time?"
Jin Qi looked solemn and shook his head.
"National affairs cannot be delayed. With Uncle Sun here and the strong men of the imperial army in the dark, it's okay!"
After hearing this, the people behind him turned around and said to the hundred elites:
"Be alert and don't miss any sign of trouble!"
Jin Qi's face turned cold as he answered in unison. They had signed numerous agreements with the Southern Kingdom at the Baiyu Lake Pavilion, and this time there should have been no obstacles as before. But that damn Southern Merchant wanted to stir up trouble even though they were thousands of miles apart!
As his father's vanguard, Jin Qi will arrange the place and be responsible for its safety. No one should think of destroying this special covenant, let alone hurting his father. Jin Qi is not a cultivator, but he holds the sword in his hand and dismounts on the side of Baiyu Lake.
"Search the surroundings, catch anyone who is not there, and execute them first and report later!"
Jin Qi looked around. Although there were hills all around, there were not many shelters. The only suitable place for an ambush was this hilltop, but Uncle Sun should have no problem going over there.
Coincidentally, the Southern Country team also arrived at the appointed time. The two countries' teams inspected the surroundings together and prepared for the covenant two hours later.
The old conservative alliance is about to expire. It stipulates that if a country goes to war with another country, it can freely choose to send troops or not. In the last border war between Daxia and Nanshang, although Nanguo provided resource support and sent troops, it was just a token of support, and the troops were mostly old, weak and sick. In the end, Nanguo even wanted to cancel the alliance, but this alliance is very different. After signing, their fate will be linked together!
The covenant is just a piece of paper, but Daxia will provide more technical support and economic markets, and even labor, to the South, which will enable the South to develop rapidly. The South will face the next South Merchant War together with Daxia, which will be a catastrophe. But the South has received news about Xie Yi in the academy, and coupled with the current international environment and trends, it still has to give it a try!