Fleeing commoners continuously ran past them. Seeing the last group about to pass, Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand. The twenty men hid on both sides of the forest according to the arranged plan, and the four trip ropes were also set in place, lying on the ground, trampled over by many people.

Unfortunately, there were too many fleeing people—otherwise they could have dug some pits in the road or planted some wooden spikes. If not the horses, at least they could injure a few of the pursuing rebel troops.

Zhao Hanzhang slung the quiver on her back and hid behind a tree, her eyes bright as she watched the increasingly close pursuing soldiers.

When the enemy once again accelerated their horses, wanting to catch up for plunder, Zhao Hanzhang drew an arrow and nocked it on the string, slowly pulling back the bow…

She watched them getting closer and closer, calculating their speed in her mind. When the bow was drawn to its maximum, she released it. An arrow shot out with a whoosh and pierced straight into the neck of the lead horse. The horse cried out in pain, its legs buckled, and it fell to the ground…

The two riders behind couldn’t react in time and were tripped, falling together. But those behind quickly reacted, controlling their horses to leap over.

Just as Zhao Hanzhang’s arrow struck the horse’s neck, archers on both left and right simultaneously released their arrows…

The rebel troops quickly reacted. Some dodged, some used their swords to strike down the flying arrows. Seeing human figures faintly visible on both sides of the forest, they instantly became enraged. “There’s an ambush! Damn it, kill them all!”

With that, they kicked their horses’ bellies to charge faster. Zhao Hanzhang nocked and shot arrows in succession—three arrows flew out, but only one hit a horse.

The others also finished shooting their three arrows, with a dismal hit rate. In an instant, the cavalry had charged up. Seeing them, the riders swung their great swords viciously at them…

Zhao Hanzhang spun around to hide behind a tree. The sword struck the tree trunk and couldn’t be pulled out immediately…

A guard not far away wasn’t as lucky. He was caught by pursuing cavalry who beheaded him with one stroke. Blood sprayed out and the head flew off, rolling to Zhao Hanzhang’s feet.

Zhao Hanzhang had no time to look down. She threw away her bow and bent down to slide under the horse’s neck, drawing the dagger from her waist to stab the horse’s neck before rolling away.

The rider fell from the horse, but rolled upon landing and immediately got up. He drew the dagger from his waist and lunged at Zhao Hanzhang with a leap.

Zhao Hanzhang heard the wind behind her. Without looking back, she kicked out fiercely as she turned, hitting his waist. He grunted in pain but didn’t dodge. His large hand grabbed her calf and swung her entire body up.

Zhao Hanzhang’s body curved flexibly in mid-air, her dagger aimed straight for his head and face…

He immediately released her leg, using one hand to block while the other hand stabbed his dagger toward her heart.

As soon as her leg was released, Zhao Hanzhang hooked it around his neck. Using the momentum, she spun around to avoid the dagger while pressing him forcefully to the ground.

With his neck caught, he fell to the ground. He reached for Zhao Hanzhang’s leg, about to stab with his dagger. Zhao Hanzhang had already exerted force with her legs, violently twisting his neck. He instantly widened his eyes, his hand falling limply…

Zhao Hanzhang gasped for breath but dared not pause. She immediately climbed up from the ground.

Though their exchange had many moves, it actually took only several dozen seconds. As she got up and looked toward the middle of the road, she saw the trip ropes had been pulled up, successfully tripping five horses. But the other riders had dodged the arrows and trip ropes—six riders remained.

They charged straight into the forest.

Infantry against cavalry had basically no power to fight back. Even in the forest, using the terrain to dodge, they couldn’t escape for long.

Zhao Hanzhang spat, expelling bloody saliva. She picked up the bow from the ground and found another concealed position. She nocked an arrow on the string, aiming at a rider maneuvering through the forest. As he had just killed one person and turned back, she released her arrow. It flew out and shot the mounted man down.

A guard hiding on the other side was also clever. He immediately reacted, rushing forward in three strides, flipping up onto the horse and kicking its belly to flee.

Zhao Hanzhang had already changed positions to nock her bow again…

The enemy quickly discovered her. Seeing she was a young lady, they became furious with rage. “You little wench! Liu Guang, kill her!”

Zhao Hanzhang’s arrowhead immediately turned, shooting out urgently just as his words fell. He hastily tilted his head sideways. The arrow grazed his cheek and embedded in the tree behind him.

Zhao Hanzhang lowered her bow and turned to run deeper into the forest, shouting loudly to the guards scattered in various places, “Run—”

Although they knew she was doing this to draw them away so others could escape, the cavalrymen still decided to take the bait—because this person had killed four of their men!

Moreover, she clearly was the leader of this group. If they didn’t kill her, who would they kill?

The remaining cavalrymen all turned their horses to pursue her. The other guards immediately took the opportunity to escape into the forest.

The Zhao family guards didn’t flee. They turned to look and were shocked. “Sanniang—”

Gripping their swords, they immediately chased in this direction.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t look back as she plunged into the forest. Seeing her horse, she grabbed the reins to leap onto its back. But her body suddenly twisted in mid-air and she fell to the ground. An arrow whooshed through the air, piercing through the clothing on her shoulder and embedding in the ground.

She pulled the arrow from her clothing. Her arm felt burning with pain—she knew it had grazed her. But she didn’t dare examine it closely. Seeing the horse had been frightened away, she got up and dove into the forest…

Horses were limited in the forest. Although the enemy clung closely behind her, they couldn’t strike her immediately. So the enemy used arrows.

Zhao Hanzhang ran left and right, trying to hide behind trees as she ran. Several times she was nearly hit by arrows.

She felt she wasn’t skilled enough, but the cavalrymen pursuing her to kill were astonished. This person could actually dodge so many arrows! If she weren’t a young lady, capturing her alive to send to the army as a battle slave wouldn’t be bad either.

The Zhao family guards pursued from behind with raised swords. One person, seeing Zhao Hanzhang in danger, simply used a tree to leap up and fly toward the cavalrymen’s heads, spreading his arms to pounce down…

The cavalryman he pounced on waited at ease, raising his great sword to stab upward into the air…

Taking advantage of the chaos, Zhao Hanzhang turned back. Seeing this situation, she quickly drew an arrow and shot it with her bow, hitting his arm directly. He cried out in pain and dropped his sword. The guard in mid-air also reacted, pouncing to knock him off his horse. The dagger in his hand slashed across his throat…

But the cavalryman beside him quickly reacted. With a swift stroke of his blade, a head fell beneath the horse’s hooves. He bent down from his horse to pick up the head and hurled it viciously at Zhao Hanzhang, laughing loudly. “Little lady, here’s a head for you!”

Zhao Hanzhang’s face turned deathly pale. She raised her hands to catch it, looking at the person in her arms with wide-open eyes. She reached out to close his eyes, then raised her head to look at the cavalrymen gradually surrounding her.

Other Zhao family guards arrived but didn’t dare approach. Yet they weren’t willing to just retreat either. Gripping their swords, they slowly closed in, surrounding the remaining five riders in the middle.

—