Chapter 22: I Lost Toyota County

Surrounded by the onslaught of war cavalry, Zhang Yuan was unaware of the arrival of the Red Scale Iron Cavalry.

Even if he had known, he could not afford to be distracted, much less retreat.

With his long saber in hand and his auxiliary combat arts activated, he charged headlong against the oncoming cavalry.

The *Jade Verdant Counterstrike* swept down with his curved blade, following through with a diagonal slash against a rider on his left.

The *Waterfall Spring Flow* met the charging cavalry head-on, severing the long spear in a soldier's hands.

The *Tsunami Mountain Collapse* cut through the surrounding riders; advancing one zhang further, he caught sight of Ouyang Xu sitting poised atop his warhorse.

It wasn't just saber techniques.

As Zhang Yuan pressed forward, he transitioned from Mountain Saber techniques to Cloak Saber techniques, and then to Mountain Fist and Iron Armor Fist.

At first, the transitions were somewhat clunky.

By the time he had advanced ten zhang and only eight riders remained before him, he was able to switch between fist and saber at will, his saber strikes no longer bound by rigid forms.

"Zhang Yuan, a soldier of Great Qin, is here! Who dares to kill me—!"

Advancing with a dragging saber, Zhang Yuan let out a long, defiant roar toward the heavens.

The eight remaining riders charged at him, their curved blades and long spears working in coordination to seal off his path forward.

A half-step Xiantian realm expert capable of fighting twenty elite cavalry and slaying more than half of them was a feat worthy of pride.

Each of these cavalrymen possessed the strength to take on seven or eight infantrymen alone; the combined force of twenty riders could easily break a hundred armored soldiers.

Zhang Yuan knew he had reached his limit.

The injuries to his internal organs had not healed, and the strength in his arms was waning.

Even if his physical body could endure, his spiritual soul had reached its threshold.

His cultivation had progressed too rapidly, and the power he summoned exceeded his ability to control it.

Every strike of his saber was a desperate exertion of his entire being.

Had he been a true Xiantian realm expert, he could have easily swept away the enemies before him.

His gaze locked onto Ouyang Xu ahead.

He parried a descending curved blade with the edge of his saber.

He deflected a thrusting spear with a sweep of his long blade.

As he pressed forward, every drop of blood essence and vital energy within Zhang Yuan was mobilized.

In this moment, it was as if he were carrying a mountain upon his back.

"Kill—!"

With a powerful stride, he kicked the head of the rider in front of him, launching his body three zhang into the air with his long saber raised high.

This strike was the *Mountain Crushing Cleave* from the Mountain Saber techniques.

This strike was the *Wind-Facing Slash* from the Cloak Saber techniques.

This strike was like a fist.

This strike no longer possessed a specific form; it was simply a strike born of Zhang Yuan's will.

But the moment the blade descended, all his true essence and blood essence poured into the edge, and a phantom shadow of a mountain seemed to follow his strike.

"Young Commander, watch out—!"

Two Xiantian realm experts shouted in warning, raising their blades and spears to intercept Zhang Yuan.

*BOOM—!*

Zhang Yuan’s saber crashed against the overlapping weapons, and his body fell uncontrollably to the ground.

The two Xiantian experts blocking his path also stumbled, their footing unsteady.

"This saber intent—"

"Is it an intent? Impossible..."

The two looked at Zhang Yuan in horror.

A half-step Xiantian had actually managed to repel two Xiantian realm experts with a single blow.

Zhang Yuan leaned on his saber to stay upright, blood spilling from his mouth.

Only by relying on the blade in his hand could he struggle to remain standing.

"We Qin people... as long as there is still a blade in our hands and breath in our lungs, we will not fall."

"We live standing up."

"And we die standing up..."

Zhang Yuan looked up, a defiant, joyful smile spreading across his face.

With a low shout, Ouyang Xu spurred his horse forward, his long spear aimed directly at Zhang Yuan's throat.

A clear, bright light shimmered upon the crescent-shaped tip of the weapon.

A Xiantian expert, infusing his true essence into the spearhead.

This was Ouyang Xu's strongest strike; to kill Zhang Yuan with this blow was the greatest respect he could offer.

Zhang Yuan's eyes remained fixed on the spearhead thrusting toward him.

He did not close his eyes.

In his mind, a phantom image emerged.

To break a spear with a saber.

Even if he lacked the strength to physically block this thrust, he could break it within his own mind.

The spear carried a whistling wind, cold and piercing, lunging for Zhang Yuan's neck.

*CLANG—!*

*THUD—!*

The first sound was the metallic ring of an arrow striking the small branch of Ouyang Xu's spearhead, forcing the weapon down and carving a bloody wound across Zhang Yuan's shoulder as it grazed past.

The second sound was the vibration of a heavy bowstring.

A five-dan heavy bow, with the strength of three oxen!

*SHOO—!*

A shrill whistle rang out. As Ouyang Xu galloped forward, he raised his hand, his spear sweeping an arrow out of the air.

"The Cloud-Piercing Arrow... so, Bai Shaoting of the White Feather has arrived."

Ouyang Xu held his spear horizontally, looking toward the figure on the ramparts of Fengtian County, who stood poised with a longbow and an arrow notched.

Zhang Yuan slowly turned his head. Seeing the figure in red armor atop the city walls, he grinned, reached out, and pointed toward the large, fluttering flag above.

The archer on the wall turned to look at the flag, nodded, and spoke loudly: "The Great Qin city you were besieging has not fallen."

He raised his bow, pointing the arrow at Ouyang Xu: "Young Commander Ouyang, now that you have seen me, Bai Shaoting, you should know that you can no longer take Fengtian County."

"Retreat your troops."

The Yan army generals of the Xiantian realm looked toward Ouyang Xu with tense expressions.

Among the hundred thousand Red Scale Army stationed in opposition to Great Qin, there were four renowned generals: Black Bear, White Feather, Green Wolf, and Yellow Lion.

These four were not only masters of combat, but their subordinates were also elite troops.

The eight thousand Red Scale Iron Cavalry led by White Feather could traverse a thousand miles in a single raid; once they formed their charge, even ten thousand men could not stop them.

Now that White Feather had arrived, the Red Scale Iron Cavalry would surely follow.

The twenty thousand Yan troops besieging Fengtian County had suffered half casualties over the past three months, leaving only eight thousand combat-ready soldiers.

Those eight thousand could not withstand eight thousand Red Scale Iron Cavalry.

"Retreat?"

Ouyang Xu pointed his spear diagonally toward Zhang Yuan, who stood holding his saber.

"He killed my brother, Ouyang Ming. I will bring his head back to report!"

Pointing his spear toward the mottled city walls, Ouyang Xu's eyes burned with battle intent: "This city... my Zhenxi Army will take it!"

Upon the city walls, Bai Shaoting slowly drew his bow into a full moon.

Not far away, a torrent of dust rose as the red-armored cavalry thundered toward them.

Ouyang Xu pointed his spear forward, his eyes locked on the city wall, his body remaining perfectly still.

"Very well."

A voice drifted down from the wall.

A young man in his thirties, dressed in moon-white robes, walked to Bai Shaoting's side and placed a hand on the bow to steady it.

"I will give you this city."

"But you cannot kill him."

The white-robed youth pointed toward Zhang Yuan, his expression calm.

"In three days, Ouyang Ming will be delivered to you, unharmed."

***

In the swaying carriage, Zhang Yuan lay with his eyes open, watching the sunlight filtering through the roof. His expression was wooden, tinged with a sense of vacancy.

"Fractured meridians, and over thirty wounds of various sizes," the white-robed youth said, holding a scroll as he looked at Zhang Yuan. "If we hadn't come, you would already be dead."

Zhang Yuan remained silent, and Bai Shaoting, sitting opposite him, said nothing either.

The white-robed youth's face darkened. He closed the scroll and looked at Zhang Yuan, saying bitterly, "A death battle in such a situation is nothing more than the reckless courage of a fool."

"Not an inch of Great Qin's territory can be lost," Zhang Yuan whispered, lying there, his eyes refusing to meet the man's.

"Those are just things we scholars write to delude the common people," the white-robed youth said, gripping the scroll tightly. "Great Qin has lost the Nine Provinces, lost the Northern Great Wall, lost—"

"Great Qin has not lost the backbone of the human race," Zhang Yuan turned his head, staring at the white-robed youth. "I lost Fengtian County."

"It wasn't your fault," Bai Shaoting reached out and patted Zhang Yuan's shoulder. "And it wasn't Yu Lin's fault either."

Looking up at the white-robed youth, Bai Shaoting said softly, "Fengtian County was meant to be given away long ago."

"Hmph, martial brutes. All you know is the courage of blood and essence. What use is it to only know how to charge?" The white-robed youth growled through gritted teeth, his face flushed with anger.

"You conquered five cities in the Northwest, yet you surrendered one in the West. Do you still not understand?"

"Fengtian County was a gift for Ouyang Shu-cai."

"As long as he achieves the rank of Grandmaster and leads the Zhenxi Army to surrender to Great Qin, we can split half of Northern Yan without shedding a single drop of our own blood."

"If you hot-headed fighters had actually killed Ouyang Ming, three years of Teacher's planning would have gone down the drain—"

"Han Xiao, stop talking," Bai Shaoting interrupted.

"Why shouldn't I speak? Don't you know how much blood and sweat went into this plan? We almost—" The white-robed youth stopped mid-sentence, looking down at the now-sleeping Zhang Yuan.

"I haven't finished speaking yet! You aren't allowed to sleep!"

Despite his words, he leaned back against the carriage wall, his eyes filled with loneliness.

"If there had been a thousand Red Scale cavalry accompanying us this time, I, Bai Shaoting, would never have handed Fengtian County over so easily," Bai Shaoting said, clenching his fists and speaking through gritted teeth, his eyes reddening.

The white-robed youth opened his mouth, then sharply slapped himself.

"My Great Qin has never abandoned its territory."

"I, Han Xiao, personally gave away a city's land."

"That was a city defended by the lives of three thousand soldiers..."

Tears rolled down his face.

Lying there, tears escaped from the corners of Zhang Yuan's eyes.