Chapter 21: A General Dies in a Hundred Battles

Watching Zhang Yuan brandish his saber and let out a long, piercing cry before the city gates, Ouyang Xu, sitting composed atop his horse, felt his eyelid twitch.

Only a true soldier could sense this kind of battlefield glory.

To live or die without regret, to be wrapped in horsehide upon death.

"Kill—"

With a nudge of his legs against the horse's belly, the black warhorse instantly charged forward.

Ouyang Xu raised his long spear, using the momentum of the charging steed to thrust toward Zhang Yuan's chest.

His spear was fifteen feet long, with crescent-shaped side blades near the tip; though called a spear, it was more akin to a halberd.

*Clang—*

Zhang Yuan blocked the crescent blade with the hilt of his saber held before his chest.

The massive force from the spear shaft surged through, sending Zhang Yuan's body sliding backward uncontrollably for thirty feet.

The bones and tendons in his arms shattered, and blood sprayed from his mouth.

This thrust from Ouyang Xu, bolstered by the galloping momentum of the warhorse and reinforced with Xiantian True Essence, possessed a strength exceeding that of three oxen!

A single strike of six thousand catties could shatter even mountain stone.

Furthermore, Ouyang Xu had clearly cultivated a highly sophisticated technique; as the spear thrust out, the power penetrated and then condensed, erupting all at once the moment the tip struck.

*Pfft—*

As Zhang Yuan regained his footing, another mouthful of blood erupted from his mouth.

Ouyang Xu's galloping thrust had not only injured Zhang Yuan's arms but had also shaken his internal organs.

"I thought you were truly in the Xiantian Realm." Yanking the reins, Ouyang Xu caused his warhorse to rear up, pointing his spear at Zhang Yuan. "But given your age, being able to survive a single strike from my hand is enough to make you proud."

The warhorse kicked and stomped restlessly, seemingly dissatisfied at failing to slay Zhang Yuan in one blow.

Ouyang Xu lightly patted his mount and swept his spear tip forward.

A nearby patrolling warhorse thundered forward, its rider raising a curved saber as they charged toward Zhang Yuan.

There was no need to swing the blade; as long as they used the horse's momentum, the edge would be enough to decapitate Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan stood his ground, his blood and qi surging violently.

His arms were currently unable to exert any strength.

In his mind, a demon-qi bead shattered and a true essence bead disintegrated, as two currents of cyan and gray power rapidly repaired his shattered arm bones.

However, the speed of this repair could not match the charging horse, nor the sharpness of the curved saber.

As soon as the blade passed through, his head would fly high, accompanied by a spray of hot blood, and his body would be knocked flying, falling outside the gates of Fengtian County, which he had defended for three months.

A general dies in a hundred battles.

He, Zhang Yuan, was not yet qualified to be called a general.

Looking up, Zhang Yuan stared at the charging warhorse.

He could see the killing intent in the eyes of the cavalryman clad in scale armor.

It was frigid and cold, as if he were merely coming to slay an ant.

Was he, Zhang Yuan, an ant?

Was Zhang Yuan, unable to swing his blade, an ant?

"Kill—"

The hilt of his long saber slammed into the hard earth outside the city gates. Zhang Yuan freed his hands and clenched his fists.

His stance shifted from a standard horse stance to a Half-Step Collapsing Stance. Facing the charging cavalry, Zhang Yuan took a step forward.

Drawing power from the ground through his feet and arching his waist like a bow, the force traveled from his waist and legs upward. He pivoted his body halfway, thrusting his right shoulder forward to collide with the horse's neck.

Iron Armor Fist, Iron Mountain Lean.

*Boom—*

Zhang Yuan's feet dragged five feet across the ground.

Ahead, the charging cavalryman's body was suddenly launched into the air, only crashing down after reaching a height of fifteen feet.

Before the horse fell, its neck bones had already snapped.

An Iron Armor Fist technique at the Great Perfection level, augmented by True Essence, delivered a strike exceeding two thousand five hundred catties of force.

"A fierce warrior indeed... a pity." Ouyang Xu whispered softly, watching the fallen cavalryman roll over and spring up, holding his curved saber horizontally as he charged toward Zhang Yuan.

With such speed and power, this man's cultivation was at the mid-stage of the Houtian Realm.

Defeating a blade with bare hands?

Zhang Yuan's hands had not yet regained their strength; he wouldn't even have the chance to break the blade.

The curved saber slashed horizontally toward Zhang Yuan's waist.

Though Zhang Yuan's armor was heavy, it could not possibly withstand such a sharp blade.

The strike of a curved saber was not just about heavy impact, but the freezing sharpness brought by the drawing motion of the curved edge.

It was a certain death sentence.

Zhang Yuan had seen this situation before.

It was within the memory of a Yan soldier he had once slain.

That Yan soldier had once struck down a Qin soldier who carried his hands behind his back.

At the moment the blade swung, the Qin soldier had used a sweeping kick and a flying knee, nearly turning the tide with an Iron Armor Fist technique.

Unfortunately, the Qin soldier lacked sufficient strength; his flying knee was blocked, and he was ultimately pierced through the chest by the blade.

The curved saber slashed horizontally.

Zhang Yuan ducked low and swept his left leg.

*Slap—*

The Yan soldier's body was sent flying over two feet into the air by the kick, and the trajectory of his strike shifted upward.

Before Zhang Yuan's left foot could retract, his right foot had already stomped heavily forward.

*Boom—*

A flying kick; his knee slammed into the soldier's chest.

Iron Armor Fist, Heaven-Topping Knee.

The moment his knee struck the soldier's chest, the scale armor shattered.

The sound of ribs cracking filled his ears. The soldier was sent flying five yards away, his entire body twisted unnaturally.

Outside Zhang Yuan's body, his blood and qi surged as his fists slowly clenched.

The injuries to his arms were mostly repaired!

At that moment, two more cavalrymen charged from the other side.

Zhang Yuan turned and moved, rushing to his battle saber, grabbing it and holding it horizontally.

*Clang—*

A curved saber aimed at his neck was blocked, while another warhorse, afraid to approach while Zhang Yuan drew his blade, pulled its reins, causing the horse to rear up in front of him.

Zhang Yuan ignored the two riders and turned his gaze toward Ouyang Xu.

"Kill—"

Holding the saber with both hands, blade facing forward, he lowered his center of gravity. Each step covered five feet, his blood qi and true essence merging, coating the blade in a faint, flowing light.

Ouyang Xu did not move.

At least twenty warhorses had already rushed to his front, blocking Zhang Yuan's path.

Zhang Yuan did not retreat.

It wasn't that he couldn't retreat, but that he wouldn't.

"I practice the Mountain Saber Technique, using the strength of mountains as my foundation. My saber techniques condense massive force. You all should be careful."

Zhang Yuan's voice rang out.

These were the words Yu Lin had spoken when fighting three men at once in the thicket.

For Zhang Yuan, this might be the final battle of his life; he needed to unleash his strongest saber technique.

As he moved forward, blood qi beads and insight beads shattered within his mind.

[Zhang Yuan] Identity: 9th Rank Zao Yi Guard of Luyang Prefecture, Great Qin; Conscripted Soldier of the Red Scale Army Cultivation: Peak Late Houtian Realm (Breaking through) Martial Arts: Cloak Saber Technique (Great Perfection, cannot upgrade); Iron Armor Fist (Great Perfection, cannot upgrade); Mountain Saber Technique (Great Perfection, cannot upgrade); Mountain Fist Technique (Great Success, requires 20 insight beads) Battle Formation: Azure Wolf Formation (Great Success) Chaos Space: 52 Blood Qi Beads, 68 Insight Beads, 31 True Essence Beads, 6 Demon-Qi Beads Chaos Auxiliary Combat: Enabled

In the face of life and death, Zhang Yuan shattered blood qi beads to raise his cultivation.

His Mountain Saber Technique was pushed directly to Great Perfection.

Half-step Xiantian.

He was not yet in the Xiantian Realm, but he could already wield Xiantian power.

The power from the shattering true essence beads poured into his meridians and surged into his long saber.

The saber qi vibrated, emitting a frigid, flowing light.

"Using secret methods to raise his cultivation?"

"A worthy opponent indeed."

Through the wall of horses, Ouyang Xu whispered softly.

He looked toward the distance, where dust was rising and the aura of Xiantian Realm experts could be felt.

"Young Commander, it is the Red Scale Iron Cavalry," behind Ouyang Xu, several Xiantian Realm generals spoke in heavy, solemn voices.

The Great Qin Iron Cavalry: a thousand riders can sweep the Cloud Hills, ten thousand are invincible.

"It matters not. He won't hold out until the Red Scale Iron Cavalry arrives," Ouyang Xu spoke calmly, his eyes turning profound. "Even if the Red Scale Iron Cavalry arrives, what of it..."

(End of Chapter)