The voice was lowered to avoid causing panic among the people of the Changlong Escort Agency.
Meng Lei also noticed this and knew the situation was hopeless. Although his heart was filled with grief and indignation, he understood that continuing to struggle would inevitably lead to total annihilation. So he immediately decided to abandon the escort and retreat.
He shouted loudly, slashing back Ma Ling with one stroke, then shouted again.
"Everyone, charge with me!"
Saying this, Meng Lei took the lead, charging into the forest like a mad tiger.
This was their only chance of survival now.
Only by entering the forest could they avoid being completely surrounded and annihilated.
It must be said that Meng Lei, as an experienced veteran of the Jianghu, possessed top-notch decisiveness and judgment.
With his loud shout, everyone from the Changlong Escort Agency was shaken and then followed Meng Lei in rushing out.
Zhao Ya scanned everyone’s faces but couldn’t find Tan Dong, and his heart sank.
Although the recent battle was short, it had already caused considerable casualties.
Zhao Ya witnessed several porters die under blades and guns, and even the escort masters, Lin Sheng and Luo Qiang, were injured to varying degrees, showing the battle’s brutality.
Tan Dong, not being very strong, was unlikely to survive such intense fighting.
At that moment, Zhao Ya was anxious and could only fight while retreating, constantly scanning the battlefield, trying to find any trace of Tan Dong, even if it was a body.
At this moment, a figure crawled out from the pile of corpses and took advantage of the chaos to run to Zhao Ya.
"Zhao!"
Zhao Ya turned to see Tan Dong, covered in blood, standing there, feeling both shocked and pleased.
"How are you?"
"I’m fine, it’s just blood from the corpses, I’m unhurt!"
Tan Dong was no fool.
At the start of the fight, he had exchanged a move with a bandit from Cyan Bamboo Ridge and almost had his wrist shattered. He realized then that he was nothing but cannon fodder and couldn’t do anything.
So he lay among the corpses, pretending to be dead, smearing blood on his face to make it more convincing.
Zhao Ya felt somewhat relieved; any good news was a relief. He took Tan Dong and followed closely behind Meng Lei and the others, charging into the forest.
Meanwhile, two other teams had arrived and joined Ma Ling and the others.
The pressure on the Changlong Escort Agency members increased significantly.
Fortunately, they were getting closer to the forest.
Meng Lei had acquired several new wounds, but this only made him more frenzied rather than weakening him.
His long saber danced up and down, and once he unleashed the Gale Saber Technique, it was like a tornado, swallowing and annihilating anyone who dared block his path.
Under this momentum, even the strong Ma Ling could only temporarily avoid the sharp edge.
Finally, Meng Lei led the group to the forest’s edge, but just as he was about to step into the woods.
Out of the darkness, a figure suddenly rushed out, striking Meng Lei’s head with a palm.
The wind from the palm was foul and fast.
Caught off guard, Meng Lei could only raise his hand to meet the strike.
With a muffled sound, Meng Lei staggered back and spit out a mouthful of blood.
The figure let out a laugh, like a night owl.
"Chief Meng, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
At this moment, Meng Lei felt the hand he used to counter the palm strike grow numb quickly, with the palm turning black.
He knew he was hit with a palm technique like the Poisonous Sand Palm.
Despair filled his heart.
Was it possible that today he and everyone at the escort agency would be buried here?
Just then, someone in the crowd shouted.
"Throw the hidden weapon!"
With the shout, a gray object shot toward the night owl-like man in the forest.
The man sneered, "Tricks of a small caliber!"
He waved his hand to blow the hidden weapon away with the wind from his palm.
But just as the wind hit it, the hidden weapon exploded.
White powder spread instantly.
It was lime powder!
The man was infuriated upon seeing this.
He was Diao Ruhai, the Fifth Village Chief of Cyan Bamboo Ridge, known for his mastery of the Poisonous Sand Palm, yet he was being dealt with using such a despicable trick. How could he not be angry?
He was about to use his palm to disperse the white mist when he suddenly felt an unbearable itch all over his body.
This itch penetrated deep into his bones, making him want to dig his flesh out.
"What kind of hidden weapon is this?" Diao Ruhai shouted in fury.
But Zhao Ya, of course, ignored him.
Zhao Ya threw several more upgraded lime packages at the pursuing Cyan Bamboo Ridge people.
With the white mist exploding, it temporarily halted their pursuit.
Then, he grabbed the ashen-faced Meng Lei and shouted, "Run!"
He then dashed into the forest without looking back.
By the time the people of Cyan Bamboo Ridge managed to shake off the lime packages, Zhao Ya and his group had vanished into the woods.
Diao Ruhai had scratched his whole body bloody, yet the itch still hadn’t eased.
Ma Ling was slightly better off, but his whole body was still swollen and red.
Conversely, the female member previously ambushed by Zhao Ya was in the best condition.
That was because she knew someone in the Changlong Escort Agency played by unconventional rules and had even coated their arrows with unspeakable poisons, so she had come prepared.
She took out two pills and gave them to Diao Ruhai and Ma Ling.
After taking them, they felt an instant coolness spread throughout their bodies, somewhat relieving the itch.
"Third Lady, what should we do next?" Diao Ruhai asked through gritted teeth.
He was filled with hatred toward the person who threw the lime packages, his words dripping with killing intent.
"Leave some to deal with the escort vehicles, and the rest come with me into the mountains to pursue them," Fu Tingfang said coldly.
She, too, resented the one who ambushed her.
Moreover, her brother had clearly instructed her before descending the mountain. According to agreements with certain parties, they had to exhaust the strength of the Changlong Escort Agency as much as possible. If they could kill them all, that would be best, but if not, they should at least render Meng Lei and his escort masters incapacitated.
Following Fu Tingfang’s orders, the Cyan Bamboo Ridge people swiftly took action. One group stayed to guard the escort vehicles and goods, while the rest entered the forest to chase down the Changlong Escort Agency members.
In the vast forest, Zhao Ya and the others were advancing with difficulty.
At this point, there were hardly any porters left from the Changlong Escort Agency except for Tan Dong, Luo Feng, Zhou Hua, and a few others.
Lin Sheng had been shot, and while it didn’t hit a vital point, he was barely able to fight.
Luo Qiang had it even worse; a slash had sliced across his face, nearly splitting his head. Although he wasn’t dead, one of his eyes was blinded.
But the worst was Chief Meng Lei.
In a short period, the blackness had spread from his injured hand to his elbow, and his face was as pale as paper, showing severe signs of poisoning.
Everyone wore a look of helplessness.
No one knew what to do next.
At that moment, Zhao Ya suddenly halted.
"Chief, forgive me!"
He tore a strip of cloth and tied it around Meng Lei’s shoulder.
Meng Lei understood and nodded at Zhao Ya.
"Do it!"
Without hesitation, Zhao Ya slashed down, cutting off Meng Lei’s poisoned arm.