The Pei Brothers
More officers followed suit, most of them being lower-ranking officers in the military camp. They followed suit, each finding their own place to stand, and everyone looked solemn, as if facing a formidable enemy.
A Qiu was shaken, but his face remained calm as he said indifferently, "We still need twenty-nine more people."
After the dozen or so people led by Yin Shang entered and dispersed, each taking up their weapons and standing in their positions, the situation inside the arena suddenly became tense.
A Qiu glanced at them and knew that apart from the ordinary soldiers among Yin Shang's men, the rest were officers.
From this perspective, the Divine Hound Battalion wasn't too bad after all; at least the officers understood the principle of leading by example.
People continued to step forward from the crowd surrounding them, when suddenly A Qiu shouted, "We have enough people!"
At the same time, she lifted the "Louyue" (镂月) and flicked it from the lower right, pointing it to the upper left.
She raised her sword as if to strike a pose, which shocked everyone present, as they felt the pressure in the room suddenly increase.
Moreover, the howling sound emitted by "Louyue" was even louder. Not only Aqiu herself, but also several people who were close to her could hear it clearly.
Pei Yu's eyes lit up with surprise as he said, "I have heard before that if a sword becomes a spirit, it will sing at the right time. I never expected to see the Young Master's sword sing in the training ground today."
A Qiu smiled wryly, "I'm afraid it's not a good omen. The sound of swords is a sign of bloodshed and war. Today's battle is up to fate, so I won't stand on ceremony with Commander Pei!"
Her so-called "being impolite" meant that she would not let Pei Yu's side make the first move.
Pei Yu saw the Moon-Carved Sword flash past him like lightning, changing its shape several times in an instant, its movements unpredictable and reaching a divine level. He immediately knew something was wrong and shouted, "Retreat!"
At her shout, the generals behind her, unaware of what was happening, retreated in confusion. The Xingfeng Hall men led by Yin Shang also mingled among them, moving with the crowd without revealing any flaws.
But it was too late.
A Qiu moved with the agility of a rabbit leaping and a swan swooping, wielding a sword in his right hand and forming a hand seal with his left. He had already broken into the crowd of the Divine Hound Camp, and his several movements were as fast as lightning.
As the sword flashed, a spray of blood erupted, and screams of agony filled the air.
Whether it was the officers of the Divine Hound Battalion fighting on the field or the soldiers watching from the outside, they all turned pale.
Ah Qiu had already slipped back to the very center of the crowd, his expression calm and unmoved, as if nothing had happened.
Only the crescent-shaped sword held at an angle shimmered with light, and drops of blood kept dripping from its tip onto the ground.
A series of "bang" sounds rang out, and within the arena, three low-ranking officers among the fifty-six people were decapitated and collapsed to the ground.
Pei Yu's face instantly turned extremely ugly.
And everyone behind her also had a ghostly expression on their face.
Pei Yu finally understood why Gu Yi was able to kill thousands of soldiers all by himself with just his sword.
With just a glance, A Qiu could tell which of these people were the weakest. She could easily select those soldiers whose strength was far inferior to hers and kill them in one fell swoop, thus shattering the enemy's spirit and leaving them with only the will to escape, devoid of any fighting spirit, and ultimately causing their complete collapse.
With her ghostly speed and the sharpness of her sword, group battles were useless against her. When she rushed into the ranks of soldiers, it was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, leaving her to be slaughtered.
Whether it's facing a hundred people or two thousand people, at least it looks the same.
Pei Yu regretted his decision for the first time, wondering if inviting A Qiu to a duel was the right thing to do.
One reason for this situation is that Pei Yu grew up in a military camp and was familiar with the tactics of long spear formations on the battlefield. Even though there was one-on-one combat training, the soldiers wearing heavy armor competed more in strength than speed and agility.
However, as a Lanling assassin, A Qiu's greatest strength lies in his ability to kill silently and swiftly at close range.
Comparing the two tactics, the former is a chaotic battle based purely on brute force, where overwhelming the enemy with strength and morale is the key to victory. The latter, however, involves first setting a target, then sending out light cavalry to take the head of a general amidst a million-strong army, rendering any number of other soldiers useless.
The second reason is that the officers of the Divine Hound Battalion had never fought in such a situation before. They originally had their own subordinate troops, most of whom were used to issuing orders from horseback and were never used to charging into battle. Moreover, they were facing a terrifying enemy they had never seen before.
At this point, it's already quite remarkable that they managed to hold on and not run away.
A Qiu looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and then lifted "Louyue" up again.
Her reason for doing this, returning to the center after each round of killing, was not to put on airs or show off her elegance.
When one person fights against multiple opponents, the worst thing is to get caught in a relentless, drawn-out battle where there's no time to catch one's breath, which will lead to exhaustion and death.
Each time she made a sudden kill, she would return to the center of the arena, maintaining a safe distance from everyone else, precisely to give herself enough time to catch her breath and conserve her strength and energy.
Several more flashes of sword light appeared. Screams of agony rang out incessantly.
Pei Yu knew that if she continued to kill like this, the core members of the Divine Hound Camp would probably all perish here today. He shouted sharply, dragged the dragon spear forward, and just before A Qiu could change position, swept it to block her path.
Behind her, Pei Ao followed closely, wielding his spear and unleashing a barrage of spear shadows that rained down on A Qiu.
The two Pei brothers unleashed their spears simultaneously, one attacking and the other defending, disrupting A Qiu's rhythm for the first time and trapping her in place, forcing her to withstand the storm of spear attacks.
In terms of speed and agility, neither Pei Yu nor Pei Ao could match A Qiu. As for weapons, the long spear was far less agile and nimble than the sword. However, when two spears were used together, it was like two giant pythons coiling. Two against one, even A Qiu would be overwhelmed and have to be on her guard to deal with it.
Seeing that Ah Qiu was entangled and unable to kill anyone, the other Divine Hound officers, each holding a weapon, kept tightening the encirclement, and some even began to join the battle.
With the situation easing, the Pei siblings immediately switched their strategy, with Pei Yu taking the lead in attack and Pei Ao in defense. Perhaps of the two, Pei Yu was inherently more adept at offense.
Thus, A Qiu not only had to contend with Pei Yu's overwhelming and unstoppable offensive, but Pei Ao's defense was also impenetrable. Her numerous attempts to close the distance and get close to Pei Yu were all flawlessly thwarted. At the same time, she also had to be wary of sudden attacks from newcomers to the fray.
As a result, after only a short while, A-Qiu felt extremely strained.
While she was struggling, Pei Yu wasn't faring much better. Their Returning Dragon Spears were heavy weapons, far more difficult to wield than A Qiu's Crescent Moon Sword. If they hadn't been constantly supporting each other, they would have long since succumbed to A Qiu's relentless and ever-changing attacks.
If either Pei Yu or Pei Ao falls, the remaining one will inevitably be defeated by A Qiu. Since the rest are useless, it will be a one-sided massacre.
The same applies to A Qiu. Once she is exhausted and her swordplay is completely suppressed by the double spears, the others who rush up can attack her with a barrage of swords and spears, and she will inevitably die fighting to the death.
The situation has come to this point, a result that no one had anticipated.
Pei Yu had thought that a one-on-one fight with A Qiu wouldn't necessarily come to a life-or-death struggle. But she didn't expect A Qiu to actually kill someone right away, which not only aroused the fear and retreat of the Divine Hound Camp, but also aroused her fighting spirit and resentment.
A Qiu underestimated Pei Ao's strength and the perfect teamwork between him, Pei Yu, and Pei Ao. Knowing that the two were working together under her watchful eye, she knew that if there was even the slightest opening, she could exploit it to defeat them one by one in a short time.
But at this point, both sides were in a difficult situation.
However, according to A Qiu's estimation, her Xuanmen orthodox internal energy and innate true qi, which originated from Gu Yi, should be able to withstand the martial arts that Pei Yu and Pei Ao had practiced hard in the military camp.
If she could see this, Pei Yu and Pei Ao could also see it.
Pei Ao suddenly deflected A Qiu's sword with his long spear and shouted, "Yin Shang!"
Yin Shang, who had been watching the three men closely but had not joined the battle, immediately replied, "Your subordinate is here!"
At the same time, the curved blade flashed an arc of light, and the man and the blade directly filled the empty space that Pei Ao had specially vacated.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Pei Ao immediately broke free from the battle and flew away.
A Qiu had no time to ponder why he deserted in the face of battle, and looking at Pei Yu's expression, he also seemed not to understand.
Yin Shang's swordsmanship was incredibly fierce, all aimed at A Qiu, each strike blocking A Qiu's attack direction, seemingly having inherited the true essence of Mo Yimingyue's skills.
A Qiu knew perfectly well that if Yin Shang wanted to gain Pei Yu's trust, he couldn't openly hold back from the start; he had to do everything in his power and appear to be giving it his all. However, Yin Shang's true abilities were indeed inferior to Pei Yu's, and his cooperation with Pei Yu was far less flawless than Pei Ao's. Therefore, after a few moves, he gradually showed signs of defeat.
A Qiu secretly calculated that if things continued this way, she would surely defeat Yin Shang within three moves. Then, she could seize Pei Yu and force these people to retreat and admit defeat. The outcome of this competition would then be decided.
This also aligns with her previous plans. She had originally intended for fifty-six soldiers from the Divine Hound Camp to accompany Pei Yu in the final battle, meaning she didn't really take them seriously.
When she swept across the Southern Dynasty as "Jing Ke," her greatest skill was "capturing the commander," taking the head of a general amidst a million-strong army. In truth, against an assassin like her, numbers are useless. Unless they are assassins as well-versed in her fighting style as the Thirteen Shadow Assassins, and are themselves of unparalleled speed and agility, any number of others will only interfere with each other and be of no use to her.
However, she overlooked Pei Ao, who came from the Pei family. If she had known that the Divine Hound Camp still had such a person, she would never have proposed such an arrogant competition method.
It should be known that in the Southern Dynasty, Pei Yu was as famous as "White Feather" Shangguan Yuqi, and was the "Scarlet Falcon" among the current generation of Flying Phoenix Guards. A Qiu might be able to take her down with her agility and combat skills, but she had no chance of winning against two masters like Pei Yu at the same time.
This also demonstrates the far-sightedness of Pei Yuanli's plans and schemes. If she hadn't personally come to the Divine Hound Camp today, she would surely have assumed that only Pei Yu and Mu Huaying were currently upholding the Pei family's authority. No wonder Pei Yu could confidently leave Jianzhang to oversee the military in Guangling. It's because the Pei family wasn't without others holding sway in Jianzhang.
As these thoughts were passing through A Qiu's mind, her eyes suddenly caught sight of a soldier quietly taking a step closer to her on her right.
Although it was only one step, it was already within her guarded distance.
The man wore a mask and armor, and his figure was elegant and graceful. His every move exuded a special kind of freedom and outstanding feeling, unlike the recklessness and wildness of ordinary soldiers.
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