novelhk Chapter 48 Xia Taiwei, Resigned to His Fate
Chapter 48 Xia Taiwei, Resigned to His Fate
As soon as Zhao Yu finished speaking, he instantly shattered Xia Zhen's last psychological defense.
The Grand Commandant of the Palace Guard, who held military power in Lin'an, was already a frightened bird and no longer cared about the consequences.
Staggering back two steps, Xia Zhen shouted, "Fire! Fire! Shoot this villain to death!"
At his command, dozens of elite imperial guards surrounding the study door instantly raised their bows and arrows, aiming them at Zhao Yu.
"put!"
With a loud shout, the bowstrings of the squad suddenly rang out.
Dozens of arrows tore through the air with sharp whistles, shooting towards Zhao Yu from all directions. The density of the arrow rain was somewhat similar to the ambush that Tong Baixiong had set up at the Lin family's old house in the world of Smiling Proud Wanderer.
In Zhao Yu's eyes, however, the archery skills of these Imperial Guards soldiers were far inferior to those of the elite members of the Sun Moon Cult.
The poor are scholars, the rich are warriors; martial arts are something these lowly soldiers could never attain.
Moreover, in the Southern Song Dynasty, which valued literature over military affairs, the Imperial Guards soldiers often couldn't even get enough to eat on a daily basis. Being able to draw a bow with a draw weight of two stones was already their limit. Where would they find the spare money and energy to hone their martial arts skills and temper their internal strength?
These arrows looked impressive, but in terms of both speed and power, they were far inferior to the archers of the Sun Moon Cult under Tong Baixiong's command.
As the rain of arrows reached him, a look of joy appeared on Xia Zhen's face, but it only lasted for a moment before he froze.
He suddenly realized that if he really killed the masked man with an arrow, no one would be able to remove the life-and-death talisman from his body.
In the end, he will only end up like his advisor, scratching himself until he is bloodied and bruised, dying a miserable death amidst endless itching and pain.
Just as Xia Zhen's expression suddenly changed, Zhao Yu finally moved.
With a light tap of his toes on the ground, he swayed and dodged the first three arrows.
At the same time, he lightly flicked his right foot, and the iron ring knife that he had just thrown on the ground instantly rose into the air and fell into his hand.
"Jingle bells!"
The sounds of metal clashing were incessant, and sparks flew everywhere in the night.
Zhao Yu held the knife in one hand, and with a flick of his wrist, the blade danced into an impenetrable silver ball, deflecting all the arrows that came flying at him.
Those arrows, forged from fine iron, struck the monk's knife and were either instantly cleaved in two or bent and deformed by the impact, falling to the ground like raindrops.
Not a single blade could break through Zhao Yu's barrier and get within three feet of him.
Xia Zhen stood behind the Imperial Guards, dumbfounded, feeling as if half of his blood had turned cold.
He had spent half his life in the military and had seen many so-called martial arts masters on the battlefield, and he knew that these people were indeed formidable in one-on-one combat.
But once the army forms ranks and unleashes a volley of arrows, even the greatest martial arts skills will only lead to their demise on the spot.
But the masked man's martial arts skills had exceeded his understanding of what a "martial arts master" was.
Dozens of elite imperial guards fired in unison, but they couldn't even touch the hem of Zhao Yu's clothes!
The so-called experts Xia Zhen had seen on the battlefield before were as laughable as three-year-old children in front of this man.
While blocking the rain of arrows, Zhao Yu's feet were also busy.
His gaze swept across the ground and he saw arrowheads broken off by the blade scattered everywhere. He immediately tapped his toes, channeling his true energy into them. With each kick, a broken arrowhead shot out as fast as lightning.
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"
With a few soft sounds, the imperial guards at the front felt a numbness in their wrists, and their longbows slipped from their hands.
Looking down, they saw that the broken arrow had pierced their sleeves with perfect accuracy, pinning them firmly to the pillars behind them. The arrow grazed their wrists without even breaking the skin.
That precise control of force sent chills down their spines, causing them to retreat in terror, no longer daring to draw their bows and nock their arrows.
This arrow can pierce through a sleeve, and it can pierce their throat. Who wouldn't cherish their life?
But Zhao Yu knew in his heart that these imperial guards were just low-level people who were carrying out orders. If he were to ascend the throne in the future, these people might all become his soldiers.
Therefore, he would not easily harm their lives, but only punish them slightly to scare them away.
In a short while, the originally dense rain of arrows became sparse, and in the end, not a single imperial guard dared to fire an arrow.
Everyone gripped their bows, staring at the masked man holding a knife in the courtyard, their eyes filled with fear. They shrank back, not daring to even breathe.
Zhao Yu casually tossed the ring knife on the ground, then slowly walked towards Xia Zhen. His steps were not fast, but no one dared to stop him.
The imperial guards surrounding Xia Zhen instinctively dispersed as they watched Zhao Yu slowly approach, making way for him.
It wasn't until Zhao Yu stood in front of Xia Zhen, with the two no more than three feet apart, that Xia Zhen seemed to have just woken up from a nightmare, hanging his head and waving his hand weakly.
"Stop...stop it, put down your bows and arrows, and get out of here."
"Grand Commandant!" The captain leading the group's expression changed, and he stepped forward to try to persuade him.
"I told you to get out of here! Don't you understand?" Xia Zhen suddenly raised his head and shouted sternly.
The group looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, then put away their bows and arrows, bowed and retreated, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
In the vast courtyard, only Zhao Yu and Xia Zhen remained.
"What?" Zhao Yu looked at Xia Zhen, whose face was ashen, and asked, "Grand Commandant Xia, aren't you going to give it a try?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Zhen revealed a smile that was more like a grimace, bowed deeply to Zhao Yu, and spoke with utter dejection.
"Your Excellency is so magnanimous and has shown me mercy time and again. If I were to remain oblivious, I would truly be ungrateful. I was bewitched and shouldn't have harbored such wicked thoughts towards you. I hope Your Excellency will forgive me."
He was genuinely scared.
Whether it was the unsolvable Life and Death Talisman or this unpredictable and peerless martial arts, he clearly realized that the person in front of him was someone he could not contend with.
Continuing to struggle will only lead to more suffering and no other outcome.
"Those who understand the times are wise, and Grand Commandant Xia is indeed a smart man." Zhao Yu nodded slightly. "It should have been done long ago. Why go through all this trouble and make things so ugly?"
Xia Zhen's face was full of helplessness. He raised his hand and gestured for the study: "Please excuse my rudeness. Let's talk in the study."
Zhao Yu chuckled lightly, did not refuse, and turned to walk into the study.
Xia Zhen followed closely behind and entered, closing the study's doors and windows behind him to block all outside views.
He walked to the chair at the lower end of the table, but dared not sit down. Instead, he stood with his hands at his sides and bowed to Zhao Yu, saying, "Sir, if there is anything that requires my service, please speak frankly. As long as it is within my power, I will not refuse and will not complain in the slightest."
He has completely given up.
He was at the mercy of others, like a fish on a chopping board; he had no choice but to obey.