Chapter 37: Victory at Mount Langju

As Li Yelaie wiped his face once more, the Overlord mask dissipated, and the double pupils merged and integrated.

Exquisite patterns and colors began to gradually fill in.

At the same time, Li Yelaie felt time slowing down countless times, or perhaps his cognitive abilities were accelerating thousands of times over.

Countless arrows fell slowly, and he saw a vision once again.

In the vision, a young general walked into a military tent and cupped his fists toward a middle-aged general: "Uncle, I'm going to go catch a 'tongue'!"

The young general was extraordinarily handsome, yet excessively young. His face carried a hint of greenness, yet possessed the grit expected of a soldier.

The so-called "tongue" was actually an enemy military personnel, used to obtain relevant military intelligence.

The middle-aged general looked up at him, seemingly thinking it wasn't particularly dangerous, and nodded slightly: "Call me General. Also, do not wander too far."

"Thank you, Great General!" The young general smiled and left the tent, leading his troops and frolicking out of the military camp.

Then, the scene shifted.

The young general led eight hundred cavalry, traveling day and night across the great desert, striking into the heart of the enemy like a bolt of lightning.

At this moment, looking at the continuous expanse of enemy camps in the distance, he couldn't help but smile: "How many are there?"

"A mere forty thousand!" a cavalryman responded.

"How many do we have?" the young general asked again.

"A full eight hundred!" the cavalryman answered.

"Good, the advantage is ours!" The young general laughed loudly, spurred his horse forward, and led the charge: "Follow me!"

That night, eight hundred iron cavalry crushed the Xiongnu camp, slaying two thousand in battle and capturing countless high-ranking enemy officers.

The scene shifted again.

The young general led his army to campaign in the northern desert, consecutively breaking through the forces of King Hunxie and King Xiutu, both of whom possessed troops several times larger than his own.

Upon returning to court, he encountered ambushes by two other kings and killed them in the process.

The *Records of the Grand Historian* state: *"Having traversed five kingdoms, he took neither supplies nor many men, nearly capturing the Chanyu's son. Fighting for six days, he traveled over a thousand li past Mount Yanran, engaged in close combat below Gaolan, slew King Zhelan, decapitated King Luhou, and annihilated the entire armored force."*

After an unknown amount of time.

Li Yelaie witnessed the heroic feat of the young general in the vision, fighting across thousands of miles, undefeated in every battle.

He also witnessed him standing atop Mount Langjuxu, building an altar to sacrifice to Heaven and Earth, and memorializing his fallen soldiers!

On that very night.

The young general stood on Mount Langjuxu, watching the meteors streaking across the night sky.

From brilliance to falling—it was much like a human life.

The young general exhaled slowly: "Be quick... I don't have much time left..."

In his final moment, he seemed to see Li Yelaie. After a moment of shock, he revealed a gentle smile.

As the vision ended, a second mask surfaced on Li Yelaie's face.

It was a floral pattern mask with a gold base, black eyebrows, and red eyes.

Following it came an aura that instilled terror in all the Zhelan iron cavalry.

Unlike the forced fear of a doll's curse, this was a psychological dread that seeped into their very memories!

Merely hearing the name of that existence was enough to make their hearts tremble with fear.

The Zhelan King frowned; he didn't know where this feeling came from, but an inexplicable dread was spreading through his heart.

He seemed to see a terrifying existence from his ancient memories.

But why? This human was indeed strong, but suppressed by the rain of arrows, he should be killed soon.

So why this feeling?

In the next second, the Zhelan King heard it.

Amidst the rain of arrows, an unsettling laughter rang out.

"Hahaha!" Li Yelaie laughed loudly: "Zhelan King, let's relive it!"

Li Yelaie naturally knew the identity of that young general!

He reached his peak at his debut, standing upon the monument of his nation in an incredibly short time.

He was the progenitor of blitzkrieg, fighting across two thousand miles in six days, invincible in every conquest!

He was the bravest among the three armies, a genius star who defined the title of "Champion" for future generations!

He was enfeoffed at Mount Langjuxu, becoming the highest glory pursued by military officials of all dynasties!

At this moment, that brand-new power was boiling vigorously within Li Yelaie. Amidst the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, the shadows of countless dead cavalrymen began to move autonomously.

Like streams flowing into the sea, they surged into Li Yelaie's shadow.

The Zhelan iron cavalry?

Defeated foes!

The Zhelan King finally jolted awake from his unease, an endless sense of dread sweeping through his body.

The Zhelan King remembered that battlefield thousands of years ago.

The exhausted army he thought he was facing had displayed an incredibly terrifying, non-human combat strength.

Among them, a young general leading a troop of cavalry had forcefully pierced through his military formation!

After much difficulty, a volley of arrows finally killed the general's horse.

But the result was even worse; the man ran faster than the horse—no, faster than the arrows!

A single ring-pommel saber had severed his head, which was then kicked like a ball!

That was...

"The Champion Marquis!" The Zhelan King finally shouted the name of that existence, letting out a scream of extreme terror: "Even if I die, you won't let me go!"

Yes, that young hero was the Great Han's Champion Marquis, the one enfeoffed at Mount Langjuxu—Huo Qubing!

The Zhelan King was one of the two kings killed by Huo Qubing during his triumphant return to court.

Feeling that power descending upon the world once more, how could the Zhelan King not be terrified?

"Shoot him! Shoot him! Everyone, attack! He is only one man!" He ordered in panic, commanding the Eagle-Shooters beside him to strike!

This was his last bit of courage; the opponent was alone, without his thousands of troops and horses!

His own army had been empowered by the God's Whip. Their psionic energy was even stronger than back then!

They could surely win; they could surely avenge themselves!

Thus, seven armored knights simultaneously raised their heavy bows and released heavy arrows.

They were the Zhelan King's most elite Eagle-Shooters; the heavy arrows, empowered by the God's Whip psionics, possessed terrifying power!

However, facing the countless arrows and heavy bolts, Li Yelaie did not defend or dodge. Instead, he slammed his blade into the ground.

His voice rang out like thunder: "Mountain!"

In an instant, the black shadows beneath his feet shifted, and countless pitch-black, illusory armored soldiers emerged.

They held shields, surrounding Li Yelaie, and shouted in unison: "Mountain!"

A shield wall rose, immovable as a mountain!

Countless arrows crashed against the shield mountain, but not a single arrow could penetrate the wall!

If a veteran Handler were here, they would recognize this as an ability obtainable only during the Sixth or Seventh Sense stages within the Nether Path.

The Shadow Army!

Kill the enemy's physical body, seize their shadow, and forge your own military force!

The larger the Shadow Army, the stronger the military force, and the higher the empowerment the psionic receives!

To be an army of one—that is the Shadow Army!

And Li Yelaie's command of "Mountain" came from Sun Tzu's *Art of War*, the elements of Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain!

*Swift as the wind, calm as the forest, fierce as fire, immovable as a mountain, mysterious as darkness, and striking like thunder!*

Having witnessed the campaigns of the Champion Marquis, Li Yelaie had gained much knowledge and technique.

What he was performing now was the Art of Commanding Troops! The coordination between troop command and the Shadow Army made Li Yelaie unafraid of the arrow rain!

Seeing this, the Zhelan King let out a frantic roar: "Charge! Stop him!"

Yes, stop him!

The Zhelan King had been broken by fear; his command was merely to stop him.

As for himself, he turned his horse and immediately fled with his elite armored knights.

But how could Li Yelaie let him escape? The blood feud of those heroes had not yet been settled!

"Thunder!" Li Yelaie growled. In an instant, the shield-bearing soldiers beside him transformed into heavy armored cavalry.

Li Yelaie launched a charge simultaneously. The heavy armored knights surrounding him required no acceleration; their hoofbeats alone sounded like thunder.

They slammed directly into the surging steppe cavalry; in an instant, the bones of the struck cavalrymen shattered.

Empowered by his military force, Li Yelaie was like a tank; without even drawing his blade, he plowed directly through the formation.

Countless steppe cavalrymen were crushed to death. Some Zhelan cavalry, too terrified to advance, actually formed a rout, charging backward in an instinctive attempt to flee toward the Zhelan King.

By the time Li Yelaie broke through the formation, the Zhelan King was no longer visible, but his direction could be discerned from the path of the retreating troops.

Thunder was too slow; Thunder could indeed enhance impact force, allowing Li Yelaie to plow through them—and would be even more effective with a good horse—but it provided little enhancement to speed.

Thus, Li Yelaie spoke again: "Wind!"

This was also the troop command technique Huo Qubing was most proficient in.

He was a natural genius who could even use multiple troop command techniques simultaneously. Wind and Thunder combined both speed and power.

Li Yelaie had not yet mastered the intricacies, but using one at a time was sufficient!

The Shadow Army beside Li Yelaie transformed from heavy cavalry into light cavalry, and Li Yelaie's speed suddenly surged!

A single stride allowed him to leap dozens of meters.

Like a shadow, he swept rapidly through the fleeing Zhelan cavalry, his long blade following the motion, decapitating the fleeing riders one by one.

He pursued the thousands of cavalry like a Grim Reaper, just like the young general of old, becoming the most terrifying nightmare of all the Xiongnu!

If Wei Qing was the greatest victim of the Xiongnu, then that young general was the calamity of the entire Xiongnu nation!

The Zhelan King was terrified, riding his warhorse through several battlefields. He intended to find a Forbidden Object that could help him!

Ideally, the Crimson Wanted Poster!

If not that, even the Möbius Strip Map would do!

Consequently, certain Handlers and Iron Guards who were currently suppressing Forbidden Objects watched in bewilderment as a group of cavalry charged left and right.

They weren't interested in fighting; they were even bypassing many battlefields.

"What... are they doing?" Bai Yang, having lost his right arm, stared in shock at the Zhelan cavalry running past him just a dozen steps away.

Then, something even more shocking happened. A speeding black shadow followed closely behind the cavalry troop, hunting them frantically. He shook a bell, summoning the Dual-Blade Knights, who then went to support their teammates.

"The Night General!" Bai Yang was shocked, then delighted: "No wonder the Captain wanted to bestow the title of Champion..."

He then gripped his great blade with his left hand, ignoring his injuries, and followed closely behind.

He saw that the Slaughter Heart on the opponent's chest was still beating!

On the other side, Cheese and Sand had gathered more Handlers and joined forces to suppress several Forbidden Objects.

After suppressing the Möbius Strip Map, the situation was improving; in the familiar terrain, everyone was able to provide rapid support and evacuate.

But Cheese's face was deathly pale.

Li Yelaie was lost!

After suppressing the out-of-control Möbius Strip Map, Li Yelaie, who was supposed to be delaying the steppe cavalry in the corridor, had vanished along with that corner, having been transferred elsewhere.

This filled Cheese with dread. She only hoped Li Yelaie was lucky enough not to be in the same area as those Forbidden Objects—then it would still be considered safe...

But... hoping for Li Yelaie to be lucky? Wasn't that nonsense? When had he ever been lucky?

She shouldn't have let him face the cavalry alone; he shouldn't have been left to fight in isolation!

But who could have imagined that Li Yelaie would fight his way out of the corridor?

Especially since Li Yelaie carried the Slaughter Heart.

If the Slaughter Heart was still attached to him, it had been over an hour. Had he been corrupted by the Slaughter Heart?

"Can we still contact Headquarters?" Cheese asked once more.

"They are still performing emergency repairs; the destructive power of the Grade-B Forbidden Object, the Demon Host, is too strong!" someone responded.

"Damn it..." Cheese said irritably.

Suddenly, she heard a dense vibration approaching, and someone shouted: "A large group of cavalry is approaching! Prepare to engage!"

Those steppe cavalrymen?

Cheese's eyes widened, her beautiful eyes filled with killing intent: "Leave survivors! They might know where the Night General is!"

"Understood!" The Handlers responded one after another. They would not forget that Li Yelaie had previously held off the cavalry for them.

Though exhausted, they prepared for contact.

If Li Yelaie was alive, everything would be fine; they could at least leave the cavalry with intact corpses.

But if these cavalrymen were to be torn into eight pieces!

When the crowned Zhelan King and his armored cavalry burst around the corner, the Handlers immediately launched an attack.

However, they found the Zhelan King letting out a desperate roar, actually ordering several armored knights to cover his retreat as he fled toward another intersection.

He... he wasn't attacking them? The Handlers were somewhat bewildered while fighting the armored knights.

"Is there some terrifying monster behind this guy?" The Handlers frowned with caution; something that could make a derivative of a Forbidden Object feel fear was likely an even more dangerous Forbidden Object.

Then, very quickly.

They knew why.

Because a speeding figure suddenly burst from the corner. He was bare-chested, with gold-red patterns spreading from his chest, and a crimson heart beating wildly in the center of his torso. The violent thumping echoed in everyone's ears.

And for the Zhelan King, this was the drumbeat of death!

The man held a crimson long blade that was already notched from combat. He stepped through the air, leaping forward, and caught up to the Zhelan King at extreme speed.

Hearing the commotion behind him, the Zhelan King immediately shouted: "Stop him!"

The last few armored knights had no choice but to turn back, raising spears or drawing bows.

But it was too late. Almost instantly, the figure had bypassed them.

He appeared directly behind the Zhelan King.

In a fit of shock and rage, the Zhelan King summoned his last bit of courage and swung a spear backward.

His strength was not weak; after being empowered by the God's Whip, his martial prowess was not inferior to that of an armored knight.

But the spear strike missed entirely.

In the moment he swung, Li Yelaie had already appeared in front of him.

The long blade fell in an instant, just like the single strike of that young general from years ago.

Swift and lethal!

The Zhelan King's crowned head hit the ground with a heavy thud.

The Zhelan King's flag, which had been held by the armored knights, finally stopped fluttering.

In an instant, countless steppe cavalrymen turned to rot and dissipated.

The Zhelan King's flag—suppression successful!