71: Saving Private Ryan

[Ding!]

[daily intelligence System Refresh: (Event Type): Saving Private Man En!]

Immediately after, a stream of information regarding the cause and effect poured into Li Qinghe's mind like beans from a jar:

On the wild grasslands north of Black Mountain, the Barbarian King Tribe and their arch-rivals, the Blood Wolf Tribe, were engaged in a fierce struggle.

The Blood Wolf Tribe played dirty, bribing King Man Hu's younger brother, Savage, promising to help him kill his elder brother and install him as the new Barbarian King.

The two sides conspired, seizing the opportunity when King Man Hu took his wife and child out for leisure to set an ambush on the only path back to the tribe.

How could King Man Hu have imagined his own brother would harm him? He was stabbed in the back by Savage and was gravely injured.

Seeing that he wouldn't make it, King Man Hu fought with his life, managing to carve a bloody path for his most loyal guard, Man En, letting him escape with his only son, who was just three years old.

Before dying, King Man Hu instructed Man En: Run south! Run far away, find a human settlement to hide in, let the child live under an assumed name, and when he is capable in the future, come back for revenge!

Clutching the young master, Man En fled southward for his life.

But the pursuers from Savage and the Blood Wolf Tribe clung to them tightly like inescapable hyenas; with no other choice, Man En could only plunge into the peril-filled Black Mountain, hoping to use the mountain terrain to lose them.

In about three more hours, he would pass through the woods on the outermost edge of Black Mountain, likely emerging near Li Family Village, with the first wave of pursuers not far behind!

The intelligence flashed one last time: King Man Hu's young son carried a Legacy treasure of the tribe!

After reading this, Li Qinghe's heart skipped a beat. He immediately stopped his boxing stance and said to the five little ones still practicing on the field ridge:

"Today is free time, but do not run around."

While the five were still dazed, Li Qinghe turned and ran toward the Town Guardian Residence, his feet swift as the wind, moving as fast as a puff of smoke.

Inside the Town Guardian Residence, Li Qingfeng was fretting over a pile of ledgers and engineering blueprints, the abacus beads clicking loudly. Li Qinghe rushed in and, without a word, grabbed him and headed out.

"Hey? Fourth Brother? Why are you pulling me? I'm..." Li Qingfeng looked bewildered.

"No time to explain! We'll talk on the way!"

Li Qinghe spoke rapidly, pulling him out of the courtyard while quickly recounting the essential points of the intelligence he had just received:

"The Barbarian King was killed, a loyal servant is escorting the young lord in flight with pursuers behind. They'll pass through the outskirts of Black Mountain near Li Family Village in three hours. The child has a Legacy treasure!"

Li Qingfeng's eyes widened. If anyone else had said this, he would have weighed the truth of it, but this was his Fourth Brother! He had never been wrong!

"Damn it! Let's go rescue them!"

Li Qingfeng instantly threw the ledgers to the back of his mind. Without a word, he grabbed his precious greatbow, pulled Li Qinghe, and jumped onto the Flying Shuttle parked in the courtyard.

With a hum, the Flying Shuttle soared into the sky, turning into a streak of light and heading straight for the outskirts of Black Mountain near Li Family Village. Li Qingfeng was determined; wherever his Fourth Brother pointed, he would strike!

At the outskirts of Black Mountain, beneath a cliff in the dense forest.

A middle-aged man, covered in wounds and exhausted, was gritting his teeth and running for his life.

His right hand tightly gripped a notched short sword, while his left held a small round wooden shield rimmed with iron, barely protecting his front.

Most importantly, in his arms was a small bundle tightly wrapped in coarse cloth and animal hides and strapped to his chest, from which suppressed sobs came from time to time—it was the young master he would protect even at the cost of his life, the only Bloodline of King Man Hu!

This man was Man En. His hair was disheveled, his clothes torn to shreds by thorns, and his exposed skin was covered in bloody scratches and swollen insect bites.

To evade the pursuers and the poisonous insects and beasts in the mountains, he hadn't closed his eyes for days and nights. Without food or water—saving what little remained for the young master—his eyes were bloodshot like two burning coals, filled with anxiety and desperate madness.

"Almost there... almost there... once I cross that ridge ahead, it'll be the outermost edge of Black Mountain... further ahead is the territory where the southerners live..."

Man En muttered to himself repeatedly, cheering himself on. As long as he reached inhabited lands and found a corner to hide in, the young master would have a chance to live!

Suddenly!

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Several arrows with sharp whistling sounds shot unexpectedly from the direction of the cliff behind him! They were fast and fierce!

"Oh no! I've been spotted!"

Man En's heart sank, and the hair all over his body stood on end. His survival instinct made him burst with his final strength; he dove to the side, while his left hand's small round shield blocked forcefully and his right hand's short sword slashed out fiercely!

"Clang! Squelch!"

One arrow was knocked away by the shield, another grazed his arm, drawing a spray of blood, and a third was narrowly sliced down to the ground by him.

Just as he stabilized himself, four or five sturdy men suddenly burst out from the bushes beneath the cliff behind him.

They wore rough animal-skin clothes, with necklaces made of beast fangs around their necks and wrists. Their faces and bodies were smeared with colorful mud and powder, serving as both camouflage and protection against insects and toxic miasma.

The leader, with a ferocious wolf tattoo on his face, was Man Tu, a capable subordinate of the traitor Savage!

"Run, why don't you keep running?" Man Tu grinned, revealing stark white teeth as he approached step by step, his eyes fixed on him like a predator watching prey in a trap.

"Man En, we're old acquaintances. The Great King (referring to Savage) considers you a real man with commendable loyalty, so he's specially giving you a chance to live!"

He pointed at the tightly wrapped animal-skin bundle in Man En's arms, his voice filled with temptation:

"Hand over that brat in your arms! If you do, the Great King will not only spare your life but reward you handsomely! The position of Head of the Guards will be yours! Wealth and honor are within your reach! Think carefully, Man En—is it worth throwing your life away for a cub left behind by the dead Man Hu?!"

Man En looked at Man Tu's face—once familiar, now incredibly hideous. His chest heaved violently, and he spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground.

"Pah! Man Tu! To think I used to call you brother! I never expected you to be such a beast, worse than a pig or dog, betraying your lord for glory! From now on, our friendship is severed! My life, Man En's life, was picked up from a pile of corpses by the Great Barbarian King himself! Since that day, the word 'betrayal' has never crossed my mind!"

He suddenly straightened his scarred back, his left hand's round shield protecting the young master at his chest, his right hand's notched short sword pointing directly at Man Tu and the others. A terrifyingly fierce light erupted in his eyes as he roared with all his might:

"A bright future? It's right here on my head! If you have the guts, come and take it!!!"

The roar echoed through the mountain forest, filled with desperate tragedy and a resolve to perish together. He was like a lone wolf driven into a corner, fiercely guarding the last hope in his arms.

Man Tu and the pursuers behind him were intimidated by this Aura, and for a moment, they didn't dare to step forward immediately.