Chapter 55 A Big Reward
Yun Chen stumbled out of the woods, and everyone could see that there was a half-fire arrow stuck in her side, and the fire had already burned her entire back of the clothes.
She looked painful and shouted in the direction of Huo Gannian:
"Protect the young master! There are assassins setting the mountain on fire!"
Xun Jian was the first to rush towards Yun Chen, wrapped her back with clothes to put out the fire, then quickly dragged her into the stream to cool down, cut her flesh with the tip of a knife, picked out the broken arrow with the barb and dug it out.
Elsewhere, at Yun Chen's loud shout, Ye Yan and the guards drew their weapons and stood guard. Ye Yan quickly deployed his troops to surround Huo Gannian, and two guards swiftly mounted him on their horses. Hua Jue and Buyan dashed around to assess the situation.
Huo Gannian sat on his horse, his eyes fixed on the direction of the stream:
"How is Yun Chen?"
Xun Xuan pulled Yun Chen out of the water, only to see that her clothes on the back had been burned through, and a large patch of red and white blisters had appeared, some of which had burst and were oozing blood.
Xun Xun took off his coat and put it on Yun Chen.
Yun Chen was in so much pain that he had almost no strength to speak. He just crawled up with his body wet, looked at Huo Gannian with a pale face, and waved his hand to indicate that everything was fine.
Almost in an instant, Huo Gannian's expression turned dark and fierce, and he pierced through the layers of dense forest like a knife, looking in the direction of Gao Tai Nanlijun.
Hua Jue and Bu Yan returned with ease and said in a hurry:
"The assassin lit a huge fire circle a hundred feet away, trapping us inside. The fire circle was deliberately made by mixing hay and saltpeter together, so it burns extremely quickly, making it impossible to break out!"
Everyone was shocked and looked towards the stream at the same time.
The stream was so shallow that it couldn't even accommodate three or five people, and it couldn't withstand the fire at all.
Seeing the black smoke forming an encirclement, getting closer and closer, and the smell of fire becoming stronger and stronger, Huo Gannian gave the order:
"One team will clear a fifty-meter-long area, centered around the stream, leaving no weeds or trees. Another team will scoop up stream water and water the area thoroughly, ensuring the soil is moist!"
Ye Yan and the guards immediately took action. Hua Jue, Buyan and Yun Chen consciously formed a triangle formation, raised their iron shields, let Huo Gannian down from his horse, and guarded them.
Yun Chen's back was in such excruciating pain that she couldn't tell whether it was stream water or blood on her body.
She endured the pain and tried hard to control her voice from trembling:
"I just had a head-on encounter with an assassin in the woods. He was armed with rockets. Everyone, be careful!"
Seeing Yun Chen's pale face and sweat, the situation looked very bad. Xun Yan, who was busy scooping water and watering the soil not far away, was worried and came over to suggest:
"The iron shield is only half the length of your body, it won't protect you completely. Why not drive the horses over here, surround them, and form the outermost defense? That'll give you a better chance of victory!"
"Yes!" Huo Gannian agreed.
Ye Yan and his companions immediately pulled all the horses over. Xun Yan quickly untied the reins and tied the horses together.
But as the circle of fire got closer and closer, the horses, who were very smart, began to get restless and kept pacing, making it impossible for them to form a proper circle.
In desperation, Huo Gannian gritted his teeth and ordered:
"Break the horse's leg!"
Ye Yan and others followed the order. Yun Chen held the horse's head and covered its eyes. Ye Yan and others swung their swords and chopped off the horse's legs.
The blazing fire circle was right in front of them. Amid the painful neighing of the horses, all the guards jumped into the protective circle surrounding the horses, standing in layers, holding up their shields, and tightly surrounding Huo Gannian.
Yun Chen saw the heavy shield standing on the horse. The horse that had just carried her and Huo Gannian on a happy hunting trip was now twitching and wailing in pain. Blood was oozing from its broken legs, soaking the ground beneath its feet into mud.
Even though they are men who have been through seas of blood and mountains of knives, and are accustomed to life and death and blood, people who ride horses treat horses as brothers, so how can they not feel heartbroken?
But as a guard, protecting the master is always the first priority.
Moreover, if the horses were not used as shields, then the flesh and blood of the guards would have to be used to resist.
The fire circle quickly burned to its smallest size and stopped at the outer circle of the open space, crackling around everyone and burning their eyebrows.
Yun Chen's originally wet clothes soon became hot, the wound on her back began to hurt, and her lips.
"Achen, let me take your place!" Xun Xun whispered from the side.
Yun Chen trembled his bloodless lips and wanted to speak, but the pain was too severe to speak.
She shook her head, and then someone pulled her arm hard and made her sit back.
It was Huo Gannian who was standing right behind her.
He pulled her to sit down, held her shoulders, and ordered Ye Yan:
"Yun Chen's position will be replaced by Xun Yan."
"Yes, young master." Ye Yan accepted the order and immediately began to instruct Xun Yan on the formation and key points.
Hua Jue was watching from the side, feeling the glare and was very disgusted by Xun Yan who suddenly came in.
Bu Yan saw Hua Jue's thoughts and advised him softly:
"Achen looks so bad, just bear with it."
Hua Jue said with a frown, "I know that if I ask, Achen will definitely force himself to take up his post for this country bumpkin. I won't say anything and just bear with it."
Everyone stopped talking and focused their attention, preparing for any new enemy to appear at any time.
For a moment, the only sound surrounding the ears was the roar of the burning flames.
Because it was so quiet, Huo Gannian was completely unable to divert his attention from Yun Chen, and his eyes kept falling on her back.
Fortunately, she discovered it early and reported the news early, giving everyone time to respond and arrange the battle formation in a hurry.
But what about her?
She was wearing Xun Xun's coat, and her entire back was completely stained with blood and blister fluid.
Huo Gannian frowned and couldn't help asking her:
"After being hit by a fire arrow, why didn't you pull out the arrow and put out the fire on yourself first, but had to come and report it first?"
Her lips were as white as paper. "I tried to pull it out, but the arrow had a barb and I couldn't get it out quickly, so I broke it off."
He couldn't help but raise his voice, not knowing whether he was angry with her or with himself.
"You have to put out the fire first! Save yourself first and then report back!"
She looked at him strangely, as if he were saying something stupid.
Life and death battles often take place in the blink of an eye. Someone can be killed or saved in an instant, and no delay is allowed.
"I'm a guard, so of course your safety is my top priority. I can't delay reporting the news just to save myself first."
She said it as if it was a matter of course, causing all his emotions to rush to his throat, but he was so exhausted that he couldn't utter a word.
She forced a smile:
"Don't worry, young master. These injuries are nothing serious. I can just eat two more rabbits."
His expression was moved, his eyes gradually dimmed, he sighed, and just as he raised his hand to touch her head, suddenly, a sharp arrow broke through the air, whistling through the gaps between the layers of guards, and pierced his temple with incredible precision.
Huo Gannian stared at Yun Chen without moving his eyes, his body motionless, but his eyes suddenly became cold. He raised his hand like lightning, grabbed the flying arrow, and broke it with a "click".
His fierce look at that moment made Yun Chen stunned.
The guards all took fighting stances to meet the enemy.
The assassin outside the circle of fire was very cunning. He just kept firing arrows but never showed up.
Perhaps because the fire circle had burned below everyone's eyebrows, all the arrows shot by the assassins this time had no fire, only barbs.
For a moment, arrows rained down, and the guards raised their swords to block them, causing sparks to fly everywhere.
The horses with broken legs and injuries were soon pricked like hedgehogs and died wailing.
In this rain of arrows, there were always a few arrows that were 100% aimed at Huo Gannian's head.
Yun Chen waved the Hidden Moon Sword to resist, and became more and more angry the more he blocked.
"Yun Chen, don't be impatient, you've fallen into a trap." Huo Gannian said.
Yun Chen nodded and resisted the urge to rush out and fight.
Xun Jian swung his sword and chopped down the arrows non-stop, and also advised:
"As long as we hold on here, the enemy won't be able to do anything to us. The princess will soon send someone to rescue us. If we go out, we'll be easily surrounded and killed by those who are left alone."
Huo Gannian glanced at Xun Yan and nodded in appreciation.
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