Lee Zhi ordered one group to keep watch and another group to sweep the battlefield. They were retrieving Wei Yuan’s short spears as well. After all, the arrows they loosed were all mystic artifacts. Of course they would like to retrieve them if possible.

A Dao Foundation squad leader produced a battle axe and chopped down all of the tents. Then, he poisoned the well to ensure that the campsite would be permanently unusable.

This camp was situated in Liao territory. Unless they expanded their fengshui array to this location, few humans would be able to survive even if they claimed this camp for themselves. Thus, both Lee Zhi and Wei Yuan agreed to destroy it completely even though a water source was quite valuable.

The personal guards were all elites. Their sweep of the battlefield was equally professional. They were able to complete their task in just an incense stick or so. During this time, both the soldiers and the warhorses were able to get adequate rest as well.

With the battlefield cleared, Wei Yuan and Lee Zhi charged toward the second camp[1].

No smoke rose from the second camp. They began accelerating when they were still twenty li away, charging full speed toward the encampment. Ten li passed in the blink of an eye, and the camp came fully into view. To their surprise, they spotted over forty Liao cavalrymen inside the camp, all of them scrambling to mount their horses!

The number of enemies had exceeded their estimate. Under normal circumstances, humans would be at an absolute disadvantage when fighting against an equal number of Northern Liao barbarians. However, neither Wei Yuan nor Lee Zhi were normal people, and they were holding the advantage of a surprise ambush. Thus, they continued to charge at full speed. Lee Zhi even produced three arrows that were shining like rainbows and nocked them all at the same time.

In the previous camp, the Northern Liao cavalrymen had dared to counter-charge Wei Yuan and Lee Zhi even though there were only seven of them[2]. This camp had over forty cavalrymen, so of course the thought of retreating had never crossed their minds. They charged the human riders while hollering at the top of their lungs.

Just like before, the arrows rained from above when the two cavalry were a hundred zhang away from each other. The Liao barbarians boasted tough bows, heavy arrows, and natural archery skills. The iron cavalry of Southern Qi boasted mystic artifact grade arrows that boasted immense power and automatically homed onto an enemy after being loosed. Thus, both sides immediately lost several riders at the first exchange. It was, more or less, an even exchange. The next moment, over a hundred cavalrymen clashed and engaged one another in a fierce melee. Riders kept rolling off their horses, and the death toll began mounting in earnest.

Finally, Wei Yuan’s long spear was useless no more. A Liao barbarian tried to ride past him only to be stabbed off his horse.

It was at this moment a couple of heavy arrows appeared out of nowhere, catching him off guard. Try as he might, one of the arrows still hit him on the shoulder.

The Liao barbarians’ archery skills deserved their reputation alright. Even their most casual shots could somehow hit their targets on a battlefield where countless riders and warhorses were moving everywhere. Moreover, the large majority of Liao cavalrymen only possessed a bit of mystic energy, meaning that the heavy arrows they loosed possessed neither presence nor Dao energy. This made it incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for cultivators who strongly relied on their ability to perceive Dao energy to defend themselves.

Countless heavy arrows were whistling back and forth across the battlefield. Not even Lee Zhi could tell which arrow belonged to who. From time to time, an armor-piercing arrow or heavy arrow would appear out of nowhere and catch him off guard.

As the battle stalled, Lee Zhi slowly but surely became flustered. He began erring with his orders as well.

Within a hundred zhang, a Northern Liao’s armor-piercing arrow or heavy arrow could penetrate heavy armor. Although Lee Zhi’s armor was a top-grade mystic artifact and thus could take the shots with ease, each hit still expended a considerable amount of Dao energy. Not only that, his armor might be able to withstand a heavy arrow, but it did nothing to negate the shock impact. Thus, each blow felt like a hammer strike from a full body-tempering cultivator. It wasn’t comfortable as a matter of course.

As the battle continued, Wei Yuan and Lee Zhi were able to take out many Liao cavalrymen and slowly build up an advantage. One Northern Liao squad leader proved to be quite formidable and was able to exchange a few blows with Lee Zhi. However, the one fighting against Wei Yuan was not as lucky. A Flying Sand spell[3] had knocked him off his mount before Wei Yuan finished him off with a spear through the chest. One could say that he had lasted two exchanges.

One on one, the Southern Qi elite guards weren’t inferior to the Liao barbarians’ elite cavalry. However, their warhorses were a different story altogether. The Northern Liao riders rode with little regard for what was in front of them and even purposely ran their horses into an enemy’s mount. At full ram, a Liao horse would catch a dizzy spell at worst, but a human warhorse would break muscles and bones. Thus, several elite guards were rammed to death not long after the battle began.

Luckily, Wei Yuan’s short spears were infinitely powerful, and Lee Zhi’s godlike bow and arrows were a powerhouse in their own right. They were able to rescue most of their troops.

The tides were slowly turning in their favor when suddenly, the ground beneath Wei Yuan trembled unnaturally. In the distance, the yellow clouds were churning violently as well. Then, an entire troop of Liao cavalrymen burst into view! There were two hundred of them in total!

On the way, the incoming Liao cavalrymen split into two forces. One of them was headed straight for the battlefield, and the other was circling around to cut off their retreat. Each force was led by a rider wearing a helmet with a white feather attached to it. Their statures were much greater than their compatriots’, and so were their mounts. In Wei Yuan’s eyes, they were radiating powerful, luminous yellow auras that put them on par with Earth-tier cultivators as well.

A centurion! All centurions of the Liao of Vast Sea possessed a Dao Foundation. Besides that, they were naturally strong and boasted significantly more combat power than your average human Dao Foundation stage cultivators.

The reinforcements had shown up very quickly. The centurion riding straight toward the battlefield was still five hundred zhang away when he pulled his bow to full draw. Then, he shot seven or eight arrows at Lee Zhi in rapid succession, moving so fast that the arrows almost looked like one continuous line.

It was inevitable. Lee Zhi’s armor was far too obvious and took no effort to spot even amidst a crowd of frantic cavalrymen. Besides that, he exuded the aura of an immortal foundation and was a lot more conspicuous than his two squad leaders. On the other hand, Wei Yuan was wearing the standard armor issued by the Palace of Absolute Beginning and, in terms of appearance at least, looked worse than even Lee Zhi’s guard. He wasn’t a Dao Foundation stage cultivator either. That was why the centurion didn’t even bother to give him a look, treating him as just an ordinary soldier.

To block the attack, Lee Zhi summoned a golden shield with the head of a Suanni[4] on his left hand. At the same time, he held out a halberd that was wreathed in thunder and lightning with his right hand. The result? He instantly became the most conspicuous thing on the battlefield. For a time, every Liao barbarian was looking at him!

He first parried three arrows with his halberd. Then, he blocked four follow-up arrows with his shield. The heavy arrows kept exploding against the surface of his shield, pushing both him and his mount backward again and again.

Suddenly, the warhorse he was riding let out a long whinny, hind legs buckling. The movement was so sudden that Lee Zhi was nearly thrown to the ground.

As a genius that received the full support of the Four Sages Academies, Lee Zhi was not especially adept in leading military campaigns or charging alone into enemy formations. Even so, he absolutely could hold his own against a Northern Liao centurion. Alas, his ability did not equate his horse’s ability.

Lee Zhi had traveled thousands and thousands of li from Southern Qi all the way to Western Jin. He could bring his guard, but he couldn’t bring his horses. Thus, he was riding the warhorses prepared by Western Jin in advance. To say that Western Jin’s warhorses did not belong in the same league as his or his guard’s original warhorses would be an understatement, and that gap was immediately exposed in this direct combat.

Despite the harrowing situation he suddenly found himself in, Lee Zhi did not panic. He slapped a Dao spell onto his mount and caused it to grow bloodshot in the eye and let out a long whinny. The next moment, it shot back to its feet like nothing had happened. In reality, the Dao spell forced the warhorse to sacrifice its life for a temporary boost in strength. The moment the spell wore off, it would collapse and die.

The centurion charged like the wind and came within two hundred zhang of Lee Zhi in just the blink of an eye. He was already nocking three heavy arrows that were shining a yellow light. At this distance, Lee Zhi could even see the vicious smile on his face and the brutality in his eyes clearly!

Lee Zhi chose to wield his shield with both hands and defend with all his might. It was at this moment he caught Wei Yuan crossing the battlefield and soundlessly approaching the centurion out of the corner of his eyes. He was literally a second away from coming within a hundred zhang. An idea occurred to him, and Lee Zhi cycled his Dao energy with a yell. His golden shield immediately unleashed a terrific burst of light that blinded everyone who was looking his way.

The centurion was also blinded, but his perception had locked onto Lee Zhi long ago. He then loosed all three arrows at the young general’s solar plexus!

The three heavy arrows exploded against the golden shield in rapid succession, draining the blood on his face and pushing him and his horse back a zhang with each impact. When the final arrow was blocked, a sorrowful cry suddenly escaped his mount’s throat, and both of its eyes exploded to bits. It collapsed on all fours and grew limp just like that.

The centurion was still recovering his vision when several lumps of powerful Dao energies suddenly appeared around him. A Dao Foundation stage cultivator was launching a surprise attack!

1. The campsite they assaulted earlier is NOT part of the plan. They just happened along it. The camp they’re heading to now is the second theoretical campsite they’re planning to attack. ☜

2. There were seven. One by Lee Zhi, one by his personal guards, and the other five by Wei Yuan. Why am I mentioning this? It totally isn’t because I got confused and thought that only six cavalrymen were charging. ☜

3. POCKET SAND, BITCH! ☜

4. A type of mythical beast. Originally refers to a lion, but later portrayed as one of the nine sons of the dragon. ☜