At midnight, the bandits of the mountain stronghold had all fallen into a deep sleep, and the chief, Wu Hei, was dead drunk.
According to the plan formulated by Chen Yu, the squads were assigned to assassinate the sleeping bandits. Once discovered, all personnel were to gather in the center of the stronghold.
The soldiers stealthily slipped into the rooms, ruthlessly harvesting the lives of the bandits. In less than the time it takes to burn half a stick of incense, over a hundred bandits had died in their sleep.
Lying in bed and fast asleep, Wu Hei suddenly woke up as if sensing danger, noticing an unusual silence in the stronghold.
At this moment, a squad of soldiers had already crept into the room where Wu Hei was located.
Sensing the presence of the five men, Wu Hei quietly removed the saber hanging on the wall.
He placed his pillow inside the quilt so that it looked like someone was lying in bed covered by the blanket.
Then, crouching down without a sound, he moved to the side of the doorway, creating a blind spot in their field of vision.
The soldiers slowly pushed open the door and slipped inside quietly. Wu Hei hid behind the door, once again resting in the blind spot.
The soldier crept up to the bed, ready to use a dagger to slit the throat, but finding no one there, he suddenly realized they had fallen into a trap and spun around sharply.
A flash of a blade swept across, and the soldier fell to the ground, dead.
Seeing the fallen soldier, Wu Hei also realized the stronghold was under sneak attack. Grabbing his saber, he sprinted toward the main hall of the stronghold.
He took down a large bronze gong hanging on the wall of the main hall, ran outside, and beat the gong frantically while shouting, "Enemy attack... Enemy attack... Enemy attack..."
The bandits still asleep woke with a start, grabbing their weapons and rushing out of their rooms.
The second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth chieftains of the Black Leopard Stronghold also grabbed their weapons and rushed out of their rooms, heading toward the main hall.
The exposed soldiers began gathering in the center of the stronghold, setting several fires along the way and cutting down quite a few startled bandits who rushed out of their rooms.
The fire grew larger and larger, and the stronghold plunged into chaos. Some shouted to put out the fire, while others rushed toward the main hall.
Soon, the soldiers had all gathered. Chen Yu drew the Tang Dao from his waist and shouted, "Charge!" The soldiers also drew their Tang Dao and charged at the panicked and bewildered bandits.
Meanwhile, Wu Hei quickly organized the bandits to counterattack. "Lads, kill them! A bounty of ten taels of silver for every head!"
Flames soared into the sky inside the Black Leopard Stronghold, the sounds of slaughter shook the heavens, and more and more bandits swarmed toward them from all directions.
Chen Yu's soldiers held the upper hand; ordinary bandits who were not Martial Artists were simply no match for the soldiers.
As more and more bandits closed in, those chieftains who were Martial Artists saw the heavy casualties and drew their weapons, charging toward the soldiers. With several successive flashes of their blades, they inflicted severe injuries on many soldiers. Had it not been for the steel light and heavy armor that absorbed most of the damage, those soldiers would have already perished.
At the same time, Chen Chen led a battalion of soldiers to the foot of the mountain. Seeing the flames of the Black Leopard Stronghold in the distance, he knew Chen Yu had already engaged the bandits in battle, and immediately led his men charging up the mountain.
Seeing the ever-increasing number of bandits surrounding them, along with those chieftains skilled in Martial Skills who were causing heavy casualties among the soldiers, Chen Yu shouted, "Grenades! Grenades!"
The soldiers in the front row stood as a shield while those in the middle pulled out grenades and continuously hurled them into the crowd.
However, those chieftains had no idea what a grenade was. Faced with the incoming explosives, they simply slashed at them with their sabers.
Wu Hei did the same, batting away a grenade with a single slash of his blade. It exploded in mid-air, while another grenade detonated right at his feet.
Boom, boom, boom! Countless explosions rang out, and flames soared into the sky.
When the explosions ceased, the miserable screams of countless bandits echoed through the air, and severed limbs and broken arms littered the ground.
These bandits had never witnessed such a spectacle before. Panicked by the carnage everywhere, they turned and fled toward the main gate of the stronghold.
Unexpectedly, Chen Chen had just arrived at the Black Leopard Stronghold with his soldiers. Seeing the bandits rushing out of the stronghold, he drew his saber without a word and waded into the fight.
The bandits attempting to flee the stronghold were driven back inside by Chen Chen and his reinforcements.
Meanwhile, in the wooden stockade of the Black Leopard Stronghold, many women were locked away, among whom two stood out in particular: they had wheat-colored skin and tall figures.
These two were from the Nala Tribe, a heavily ostracized minor tribe on the edge of the Wori Steppe. One was the young princess, Nawei, and the other was her maid.
Once a massive tribe with a population of one million, the Nala Tribe had suffered internal division and separation. When the leader of the original main lineage was hunted down and fled to the edge of the Wori Steppe, only tens of thousands remained, reducing them to a minor tribe.
The splitters mainly wanted to prevent the main lineage of the Nala Tribe from ever having a chance to rise again, which was why they pursued them all the way to the edge of the Wori Steppe before stopping.
On the steppe, a minor tribe had a population of 20,000, a medium-sized tribe 10,0000, and a large tribe one million, while a royal court had a total population of around thirty million.
Nawei and her companion had brought twenty tribal warriors to the border counties of the Daxia Dynasty to purchase supplies needed by their tribe.
Never did they expect to be waylaid by the men of the Black Leopard Stronghold on the road to Anyang County. All twenty tribal warriors were killed by Wu Hei and his men while trying to protect the two women, who were then locked up in the wooden stockade.
The fierce battle outside and the deafening explosions were so violent that even the wooden stockade shook.
"Princess, what should we do? We must find a way to escape," the maid said.
Chen Chen and his men, who had fought their way into the stronghold, looked at the scattered limbs and the countless groaning bandits lying on the ground. Anyone could tell the battle had been utterly brutal.
Caught in the middle, this group of bandits could no longer take it. Just as they tried to flee and were driven back, they tossed aside their weapons and surrendered directly. Seeing others start to surrender, the rest of the bandits followed suit.
"Lord, the casualty report has been tallied: twenty-five soldiers died in battle, sixteen were heavily injured, and forty lightly injured."
"Plunder the wealth. Burn the bodies of our soldiers on the spot and bring their ashes back. Burn the bandits' bodies as well, but keep them separate."
After packing up all the loot, Chen Chen walked into the stronghold's main hall and woke Chen Yu, who had been resting with his eyes closed.
"Lord, everything has been packed up," Chen Chen said.
"Have someone open the wooden stockade, release the women locked inside, and bring them all back."
When Chen Yu and his party returned to Anyang County, the sky was already growing slightly bright.
"County Magistrate, frontline guards report that the Lord has returned safely," a bailiff announced.
Chen Yue finally let go of the heavy burden in his heart and instructed the bailiff to receive the captured wealth and inventory it into the treasury.
Back at the County Government Office, Chen Yu immediately ordered a physician to treat the wounded soldiers, while bailiffs and soldiers unloaded and tallied the carts.
Seeing Chen Yu enter the hall of the County Government Office, Chen Yue hurried forward in quick strides. "Nephew, you were far too reckless! If anything had happened to you, how could I have faced your mother?"
"Uncle, your nephew was indeed reckless, causing twenty-five soldiers to die in battle. I also underestimated the warriors skilled in Martial Skills."
"As long as you're safe, as long as you're safe! Go rest first, leave the rest to me."
"Platoon Leader Wang Wu, escort Chen Yu back to the Chen Estate and station troops there to keep watch."
Back in his room, Chen Yu fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. He was truly exhausted.
At the exact moment Chen Yu entered the Chen Estate, Chen Bohe, who was meditating, opened his eyes.
Sensing that his young master had returned safely, Chen Bohe closed his eyes once more and continued his cultivation.