The Arrangement

Chapter 12

One might have thought that they were outnumbered to a ridiculous degree, and they would not be wrong if one counted the actual number of men they possessed. If one were accounting for training and experience however, then the ambush was the one uselessly outnumbered.

They were not aware of this fact though when they came forward with their swords unsheathed and their eyes fierce. Du Fen drew his own sword and sat ready, holding his mount from running in a panic with a sure grip.

"Protect the young Lord!" The shout came from the disguised Emperor and the guards formed around them in a protective grouping.

The thieves surrounded them, hacking at the guards and trying to pull apart their ranks to get into the middle and subdue the person in charge, in hopes to take whatever they want at the threat of killing Du Fen or perhaps so they could ransom him off too.

When they finally managed to pull apart the side by sheer numbers, it was to be faced with a furious Lord Du and his 'personal guard' holding swords themselves instead of cowering. The beauty swung with precision and deadly strength.

"Jian Jun! Behind you!" He shouted as a man on foot crept up on his blindside. The Emperor turned and swung his sword in enough time to parry the man. The horse sidestepped and the man was flung off his feet to lay in the mud and try to avoid the hoofs of the animal above.

A large man approached the boy and swung a two-handed sword with a roar, nearly knocking him off his own horse. He had managed to deflect it away, but realised he was no match for the man's strength if he landed a hit.

He climbed up on the horse's saddle and jumped over the second swing, landing gracefully back on the horse with his feet slightly spread for balance. He was at a disadvantage. He saw a thick branch only a few feet above him and jumped for it.

With one arm, he used his momentum to swing up into the tree and climbed onto the limb. He ran across, over the fighting men, and the large thief was surrounded by three of the Shadow Guards in seconds.

Although they only had thirty men, it was obvious that they were winning. He did note that there seemed to be more than the seventy men the scout had seen, so they must have been hiding elsewhere as backup.

One of the thieves climbed the closest tree and jumped across to engage him, and they clashed while balancing on the thick branches. He jumped to another tree and when the thief made to follow, he cut him down to fall on top of his comrades fighting below.

The Emperor looked up and saw more of them climbing to chase Du Fen. He jumped up out of his saddle and did a running leap into the trees to help him out. They clashed swords between the branches and more of the thieves fell from the trees to the ground below.

Out of the corner of his eye, Du Fen saw a man draw a bow and aim it at the Emperor. It was released in seconds and he jumped towards the flying arrow with determination. His sword swung and he knocked it off course to fall ineffectually to the ground.

Jian Jun reached out his hand and caught the boy's hand so he could swing him around to another branch and safety. They grinned at each other and continued to cut down the men attacking them.

"Retreat!" The shout came up from someone on the side and the thieves began to draw back from the fight.

"Leave them." The Emperor called out as the two of them dropped into the centre of the group of their own men. They surveyed the damages. five of Du Fen's guards were injured and their horses were lost.

All of the Emperor's horses were fine, but two of his guards had small injuries. The other side had many more casualties, with at least seven dead and four more seriously injured so that they couldn't flee.

"Bad luck coming across us." Du Fen commented as he passed the group of them once they had been moved to the side. They stared at the beauty with wide eyes.

It was supposed to have been a quick subdue and grab, or at least that is how the thieves' scouts had put it to them. A small group of thirty or so with a fortune in goods following it. They had been travelling slow, so the Lord must be a spoiled kid. Shouldn't be a problem, they said.

Now look at them. Killed, captured, and running for their lives. They would surely never underestimate any future mark moving forward, not after this trouncing. How such a pretty lad in silk could have bested their best men had them flabbergasted!

"You fought well, young Lord Du." The Du family guards smiled and clapped the lad on the back in passing.

"That was amazing!" The Emperor's guards told him with impressed eyes. The Emperor rolled his eyes at the effusive praise.

"Of course he fought well. You think the Great 'I' would choose just any old lord's son to wed?" He grumbled to himself. As it happens, Du Fen overheard this comment and was not sure whether to be flattered or smack the man for his words.

"Did we lose anything?" He asked instead, peering towards the carts with his luggage piled high.

"No Sir. We chained the wheels together and fought off any who tried to unload them." One of the injured Du guards said proudly. Du Fen smiled at that and thanked the men with a small bow for saving his things too.

"You should be more careful though! Look at those cuts. Tsk. People's lives are far more important than a few trinkets." He scolded the banged up guards. They looked sheepish at his reprimand but still rather pleased with themselves.

"Tsk, why does my bride-to-be fuss over the guards and not me?" The Emperor grumbled. This time his own guards overheard him and rolled their eyes at this childish Emperor of theirs.

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A/N -I always wanted to write one of those cool fight scenes 😊