Seeing that they were still able to laugh, the corner of Wei Liuying's lips curled up slightly. Even when they were facing danger and might lose their lives soon, they still could relax and laugh with their friends before the time of battle.

The sight felt warm.

"The sun will rise in a while," Gao Ling said as she pointed to the East's sky.

"But the fire hadn't died down yet."

"Is it possible for reinforcement to arrive?" Shi Lu Wen asked worriedly.

Wei Liuying looked to the north with narrowed eyes. She stood up slowly as the fire around them had died down, leaving nothing but ash from the destroyed buildings. The smoke was no longer as intense as before and only some areas still left the rising smoke intact.

"Before they can come, our enemies will arrive first."

"Eh?"

It was then they realized that several people have appeared from a distance. They were wearing the same clothes as the men who intruded here last night. From their gazes, it was clear that they were very hostile towards them.

"Form a circle with Lady Gao and Shi Lu Wen in the middle," Wei Liuying gave order.

"Yes."

Shan Yi wanted to give order too as a leader, but he felt that Wei Liuying was even faster than him. Not only that, his men were following her order without questions too. It was as if they knew that she could be trusted, even more than Shan Yi.

He felt that his position as the leader was severely threatened.

From the bottom of his heart, Shan Yi was glad that Wei Liuying was not his rival or he would have lost his influence very soon. There was no doubt that Wei Liuying would be able to become a proper and capable leader.

"Kill them!" the men who came said in menacing tone.

"Fight!" Wei Liuying also shouted.

The men from two sides stepped forward and began to attack.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of blade clashing reverberated in the empty courtyard. Wei Liuying swiftly moved and joined the fray. Her sword cut through her enemies without any hesitation, making use her small stature to attack from below and deal heavy damages to them.

Slash!

Blood splashed. The dried area because of the fire had changed completely to that of the battlefield once more.

Dzing!

Jleb!

Gao Ling was not staying silent. She was making use of her arrows to shoot down her enemies. After an entire night, she no longer felt tipsy and dizzy because of the alcohol. She had become extremely sober and ready to face everything before her.

"Kill them!"

"Hii."

Shi Lu Wen grasped Gao Ling's robe as she sat on the ground. She couldn't be of much help when it came to real battle, so she tried her best to stay away from others and stay safe. The number of the men who came was overwhelming and Shan Yi along with his men were forced to fight with unfair disadvantages in their number.

'Can we win?'

Slash!

Thud!

Wei Liuying frowned when she saw that another one of Shan Yi's men had fallen. Due to the wound they sustained, they were not really in the condition to fight. Along with the exhaustion after an entire night, they dropped down after a short period of time.

"Lady Gao!"

Because the one of the bandits fall down, a man rushed over to Gao Ling's direction. Gao Ling swiftly shot her arrow and killed the man.

Jleb!

From the side, Gao Ling noticed that another one had come to her. Fear filled her face as she tried to reload her bow as fast as possible. She knew that there was simply not enough time for her to put the arrow in place.

Jleb!

A sword was thrown to the man.

Gao Ling looked to the side and noticed that Wei Liuying had thrown her sword to her direction. There were two other men who were trying to attack Wei Liuying as the young girl twisted her body. The sword of the first man barely grazed her as she held the wrist of the man then used it to twist her body.

Kick!

Her legs kicked the first man's head as she stole the sword and raised it in time to block the second man's attack.

Clang!

Sound of the metal clashing reverberated. Wei Liuying twisted her sword position using her opponent's force and swung it as fast as possible. Large wound was formed on the man's chest as blood spurted out.

Slash!

The first man still didn't give up and swung his hand that was holding a small sword. Wei Liuying ignored her injured thigh and directed her new sword downwards. She stabbed the first man right in his heart from behind, effectively killing him.

"Liu Ying!" Gao Ling called out.

An arrow passed by Wei Liuying to the third man who was approaching her.

Wei Liuying nodded. "Protect yourself well, Lady Gao."

"Yes. I…"

Gao Ling was about to say yes when she saw several arrows headed to Wei Liuying. She used her sword to block, but two still grazed her shoulder and arm. Wei Liuying swiftly turned to the side and saw a young man was standing with several people around him. He was looking in their direction with utter disgust.

"Why are they still alive?"

"There are some miscalculation," the man on his right side replied right away.

The young man looked at them with sneer. "No matter how good they are, Yang Xian can't possibly guess our plan so quickly. Eliminate them."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

'Your Highness?'

Wei Liuying's head was working quickly as she readied her stance. There shouldn't be possible for the prince or king of a tribe to come so deep into their territory without being found out, right?

Swish! Jleb!

More arrows were heading in their direction. Wei Liuying managed to block the arrows, but the bandits were not that lucky. Several of the arrows pierced through their body as blood oozed out from their wounds.

*pant* *pant*

Wei Liuying felt that her body was growing heavier. She had lost a good amount of blood because of yesterday's battle. With the wound throbbing, she felt that she wouldn't be able to keep her consciousness for long.

She had to settle this as fast as possible.

"Lady Gao, please kill them all with your arrow. I'll protect you."

"Yes."

Gao Ling had no hesitation as she set several arrows on her bow and shot towards the young man and the others near him. Some of the arrows were cut, but one still hit the target correctly. Gao Ling didn't stop and repeated the same process repeatedly.

Clang!

"How useless," The young man said in mocking tone. "Quicker."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

With Gao Ling focused, Wei Liuying did whatever she could to protect the two of them. With only her and Shan Yi still could move, she had to be able to protect Gao Ling no matter what the cost.

Jleb!

An arrow pierced Wei Liuying's hand. She was simply focused on the arrows that the men shot as the people around them were killed by the raging Shan Yi. The battle turned into that of a battle of archers.

"Liu Ying!" Gao Ling called out in panic.

"Continue!"

With that order, Gao Ling had no other choice but to continue shooting the arrow. She really wanted to cry and wail loudly because she understood that there was almost nothing that they could do. There were still several people in a distance away and they couldn't even get close there.

The young man was looking with impatience. "There are only four people left. How come you're so slow?"

"Your Highness, do you want us to fight in close range battle?" a man asked while showing his large blade.

The young man snorted. Ruthless glint appeared within his eyes. He crossed his hands. "Just rain them down with arrows. Kill that one who was holding the bow."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"Shan Yi… can you head there and kill them if you can get close enough?" Wei Liuying asked. Her breathing was rough, telling them that she was almost at her limit.

"I can," Shan Yi said slowly. He was practically the only one with barely any wounds. There were only some scratches at his arms from some of his negliance. "But it's impossible for you to protect them by yourself."

"Go."

"But.."

"GO NOW!"

With that order, Shan Yi gritted his teeth and rushed over to the young men and his people.

Wei Liuying watched the distance grew closer as she looked at the arrows heading to her as she smiled lightly. There were too much for her, but she had no other choice but to fight.

Slash! Swish!

With a faint movement, Wei Liuying swiftly blocked most of the arrows. The rest of the arrows pierced her arms and legs. She looked at the distance where Shan Yi had already arrived as a smile formed on the corner of her lips.

"Please protect them."

And she fell.

Thud!

"LIU YING!"