Chapter 43: Facing the Enemy Head-on!

Inside the Xingfeng Sect.

It was only when the Jiang family's martial artists appeared at the foot of the Xingfeng Sect mountain that the sect realized the truth.

Although Liu Qian had sent many spies to Liuyang Town, not a single one had returned with news. This was because the Jiang family had eliminated them all immediately. Consequently, the Xingfeng Sect had received no warning of the Jiang family's mobilization.

At this moment, martial artists from the Xingfeng Sect were gathered in front of the main headquarters, numbering approximately three hundred. These people were originally bandits from Black Wind Fortress, and their expressions were filled with panic. After all, the Jiang family was attacking their very doorstep; as a prominent clan in Liuyang Town, how could they not be terrified?

"Elder, Manager, we have scouted the area. The entire Hengduan Mountains has been surrounded by the Jiang family. A group of about a hundred Jiang family members is nearing the sect gates!" a martial artist reported to Wang Hu and Liu Qian.

As soon as these words were spoken, the gathered martial artists began to whisper among themselves, their panic visibly intensifying.

Liu Qian turned to Wang Hu and asked, "Brother Wang Hu, is the Sect Master still in seclusion?"

Not seeing Chen Feng, Liu Qian felt a sense of dread. He did not know that Chen Feng was away from the sect; he only believed that Chen Feng was in closed-door cultivation. Wang Hu, however, knew that Chen Feng had left the sect for other matters.

"The Sect Master is in seclusion. Everyone, stand with me to repel the enemy! Once the Sect Master emerges from seclusion, he will surely drive the Jiang family back!"

Wang Hu was holding a submachine gun, and the dozen or so men standing beside him were also armed with submachine guns. Within the entire Xingfeng Sect, only this group appeared relatively calm. Over the past two days, Wang Hu had been leading them in practicing marksmanship. Although their skills were not yet perfect, they had become familiar with the use of firearms. The weapons gave them immense confidence. Furthermore, since Chen Feng was an existence akin to an immortal, what did a mere Jiang family matter?

However, after Wang Hu finished speaking, only the dozen inner-sect martial artists by his side responded; the rest of the crowd continued to whisper in agitation. Clearly, Wang Hu's words had failed to convince them. No matter how strong their Sect Master was, he was merely at the Xiantian stage. The Jiang family, on the other hand, possessed several Xiantian experts and had mobilized over a thousand men. How could they possibly win?

Seeing their attitude, Wang Hu let out a cold snort. "You useless trash! You collect the sect's wealth every day, yet when the critical moment arrives, you are this cowardly? A mere Jiang family has you this terrified!"

At Wang Hu's angry outburst, one martial artist gathered the courage to retort, "Elder, how can we possibly resist the Jiang family? Their numbers far exceed ours, and they have several Xiantian experts. We should just surrender!"

"Yes! Elder, let us surrender!"

"The Jiang family is a great clan; they certainly won't slaughter us all. As long as the Sect Master surrenders, we will be fine."

Several martial artists directly proposed surrendering. They felt little sense of belonging to the Xingfeng Sect. They were originally from Black Wind Fortress; if they were truly loyal, they wouldn't have joined the Xingfeng Sect in the first place.

Wang Hu was so enraged by their behavior that he laughed bitterly. He turned to Liu Qian. "Manager Liu, do you wish to surrender as well?"

Meeting Wang Hu's gaze, Liu Qian felt, for some reason, as if he were facing the most important decision of his life. Given his cautious nature, he would surely follow his previous pattern of leading people to surrender to the Jiang family. But then he thought of Chen Feng's various mysteries and the natural confidence the man possessed. At this moment, Liu Qian was conflicted.

Ignoring the crowd, Wang Hu spoke to the dozen men beside him, "Let's go!"

He had nothing more to say to these death-fearing cowards. If it weren't for the fact that someone needed to guard the sect while others went out to meet the enemy, he wouldn't waste another word on them. The Xingfeng Sect consisted of more than just martial artists; there were over a thousand mortal miners living near the mines. If the sect were breached, the miners and the mines would be lost.

The dozen men beside Wang Hu did not hesitate for a second, gripping their guns and following him toward the sect gates.

"Wait!" Liu Qian called out to stop Wang Hu.

Wang Hu paused. Liu Qian turned to the crowd and said, "Everyone, the Jiang family will absolutely not let us go. If they were willing to accept our surrender, they would have notified us in advance. Why else would they send such a massive force? This is clearly an attempt to annihilate us! If we do not fight back, nothing awaits us but death!"

Liu Qian was quite clever. Unlike the blunt Wang Hu, his words effectively shut down the crowd's desire to surrender. At this moment, Liu Qian had made up his mind to gamble—to bet on Chen Feng's ability to repel the Jiang family.

The crowd fell silent upon hearing Liu Qian's words. They clearly trusted him, as they had originally followed him when they surrendered to join the Xingfeng Sect.

"The strategist is right! The Jiang family won't let us off; surrender is impossible!"

"Since they want us dead, we might as well fight to the end!"

"Fight!"

The crowd's attitude shifted instantly. When people believe they are facing certain death, they tend to unite.

Liu Qian then said to Wang Hu, "Brother Wang Hu, take your men to the main gate to deal with the first wave of the Jiang family. I will lead my men to defend the headquarters. If you are defeated, I will have no choice but to lead everyone in a breakout attempt!"

Wang Hu glanced at Liu Qian and smiled. "Don't worry, Manager. A mere Jiang family cannot destroy our Xingfeng Sect. Guard the headquarters; I will handle them!"

With large strides, Wang Hu led his men toward the main gate. Watching their confident demeanor, Liu Qian was astonished. He had no idea where Wang Hu derived such confidence, nor did he know what those weapons in their hands were. Wang Hu had been training them far away from the sect, so few people knew about it.

Near the Xingfeng Sect gates.

Jiang Chen arrived with a group of Jiang family martial artists. Beside him were two Xiantian experts, both at the mid-stage of the Xiantian realm, serving as elders of the Jiang family.

"Young Master, someone is coming!" one of the elders warned.

Jiang Chen immediately looked toward the sect gates and saw about a dozen people walking out, stopping several dozen meters away from them. Seeing that there were only a dozen people and that the strongest among them was only at the ninth level of the Houtian stage, a look of disdain appeared on Jiang Chen's face.

"Only these few people dare to come here to die!"

Jiang Chen strode forward and shouted at Wang Hu, "Where is Chen Feng? Tell him to get out here!"

Wang Hu ignored Jiang Chen entirely. He simply raised his submachine gun and opened fire instantly. The dozen martial artists beside him raised their guns and fired simultaneously.

*Rat-tat-tat-tat!* A dense rain of bullets swept toward the Jiang family members.

"Young Master, watch out!"

The two Xiantian experts beside Jiang Chen immediately sensed the danger and moved to shield him, a pale yellow *qi* manifesting around their bodies. As the submachine gun bullets struck the *qi*, they produced a massive spray of sparks.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!* The sounds of impact rang out continuously.

The two Xiantian martial artists retreated repeatedly while protecting Jiang Chen. As for the other Jiang family martial artists, they lacked the protection of Xiantian *qi*. Once the submachine gun fire swept over them, they were instantly turned into pincushions. After all, how could mere mortal flesh withstand bullets?

In just a matter of seconds, more than half of the hundred martial artists who had accompanied Jiang Chen were dead. This was only because they were somewhat dispersed; had they been gathered together, they likely would have all been wiped out.

After finishing a magazine, Wang Hu immediately shouted, "Spread out! Reload!"

The dozen men beside Wang Hu began to disperse to change magazines, and in a short while, the guns were reloaded. This time, Wang Hu had prepared six magazines for each person, carrying almost the entire supply of ammunition. Chen Feng had only given them two crates of bullets, which was their entire stock.