knife

Chapter 248 Take My Knife
An Xuan took two short-handled spiked clubs from the side of the saddle and looked coldly at the enemy on the hillside about a mile away.

The high-flying flags indicated the other party's identity.

Leading the group was Li Dachui, the deputy protector of the Anxi Protectorate.

An Xuan led the left wing of Jebe's army as it marched out of Longgou Fort, while the right wing was led by another Yuan general, Che Zhe, and the central route was led by Jebe's main force.

Thirty thousand cavalrymen marched out of Longgou Fort.

Moreover, they only brought ten days' worth of supplies.

An Xuan was very dissatisfied.

Because this kind of desperate, all-or-nothing approach is completely unreasonable.

It's either a resounding victory or a complete defeat.

If the leaders of the Anxi Protectorate were even a little clear-headed, and implemented a scorched-earth policy, using the vast wilderness outside the Great Wall to wage guerrilla warfare against the army for a period of time, the army would inevitably be worn down.

Humans can drink mare's milk, eat dry biscuits, and even kill some camels and horses to survive, but what about warhorses? They can't just eat some pasture grass. If they don't get food for a few days, warhorses will lose weight and become weak.

What if the Anxi Protectorate's army comes to attack at that time?
However, as a surrendered person, his words carried little weight in Jebe's tent.

Moreover, he understood that this operation was not primarily a military endeavor, but rather a political one.

Jebe, as the eldest prince of the Yuan Dynasty, was originally the strongest contender for the throne, but now he has become the last in line.

He needed a resounding victory to flaunt his military achievements.

At the same time, he also needs to buy time to return to Yandu and participate in the struggle for the throne.

If you don't participate when the competition starts, it's equivalent to forfeiting.

Faced with the allure of supreme power, any rational thought must take a back seat.

Jebe would take a gamble as long as there was a 20-30% chance of winning.

Moreover, judging from the intelligence gathered from various sources, this victory is likely to be 60-70% certain.

Linghu Ye, the most powerful figure outside the Great Wall, led his 100,000-strong army into the Great Wall to vie for the throne. The Anxi Protectorate sounds similar to the Andong Protectorate, but in reality, their strength is on completely different levels.

Only five thousand cavalrymen.

Although I heard that these 5,000 cavalrymen were quite formidable in combat.

Even if they mobilized all their forces, how many people could they possibly have?

I heard that when Linghuye left, he squeezed Zhebie out of him. The Qin people were indeed more cunning than the Yuan people.

Despite being defeated by the Yuan people, An Xuan was not convinced at all.

He felt that the Western Hu people had not lost to the Yuan people, but to the damned weather.

The harsh winter forced them to move south, and they had to fight the Yuan army, which was well-prepared, despite severe logistical shortages.

The cunning Yuan emperors adopted a defensive strategy of building high walls and digging deep tunnels, rarely engaging in direct combat with them. Instead, they spent several years wearing them down until they finally had no choice but to surrender.

There is no way!
The elders in the tribe were almost all dead, the warriors were emaciated from hunger, the women were dwindling in number, and if they continued to endure, all the children would die.

Now, their tribal families are being held outside Yandu, while they must go to the battlefield to fight for more cattle and sheep for their families.

No one in the tribe knew how to farm; they only knew how to herd livestock.

However, there are very few places around Yandu where grazing is possible.

Everywhere there were fortified towns and checkpoints, locking them up layer upon layer.

I really want to go back to the North!

Although it's colder there, it allows them to roam freely and unleash their full potential.

The sound of horses neighing drew An Xuan's thoughts back to reality.

Seeing the cavalrymen opposite him slowly advancing, he couldn't help but laugh.

What are they most afraid of?
They feared the other side would avoid battle.

But these foolish Qin people actually chose to confront them head-on.

That's great.

Even in the northern regions, the Yuan people sometimes faced off against them on horseback.

The Qin people, whose size was even smaller than that of the Yuan people, actually wanted to have a field battle with the brave warriors of the Xihu. It was simply unbelievable.

An Xuan suddenly felt that winning this battle might not be so difficult after all.

Since their left flank is like this, then the Qin people should also choose to fight on the other two battlefields!

No, no, no, they will definitely abandon a battlefield.

They only had a little over five thousand cavalrymen, while the ones appearing in front of them numbered around three thousand.

An Xuan felt that his estimate was about right.

This should be considered the main force of the Anxi Protectorate's cavalry. When they could only choose one battlefield, they chose themselves. Was this because they looked down on themselves, or because they were lucky?
With a gentle tap on the horse's belly, An Xuan's warhorse began to accelerate.

As a master of the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan, he always led from the front in battle, using his martial arts skills to clear the way for his subordinates.

Li Dachui drew his Minghong Blade.

Seemingly sensing the approaching battle, a clear light flowed across the Minghong Blade, accompanied by a continuous humming sound. Li Dachui channeled his abundant Qi of Heaven and Earth into the Minghong Blade, causing it to immediately glow. With a thought, the previously unremarkable Qi of Heaven and Earth suddenly became scorching hot, with blue sparks dancing around the blade. The next moment, the sparks disappeared into the blade, and compared to the previous heat, an extremely cold aura suddenly appeared.

The phoenix departs from the fire, embodying ultimate yang and strength.

The moonlight, like weak water, is extremely yin and gentle.

No one has successfully mastered the Qi of Heaven and Earth for hundreds of years, but quite a few people have mastered the Phoenix Flame and Moon Essence Weak Water, the secret techniques of the Demonic Sect.

Now, these two completely opposite auras are appearing simultaneously in one person.

The "Qiankun Yiqi" technique is indeed too heaven-defying, no wonder it's so difficult for anyone to master it.

You can imagine the kind of harm that would be caused to a person who is sweating profusely in the scorching heat and is suddenly thrown into ice water.

However, the Qi of Heaven and Earth can freely imitate the characteristics of any internal force.

Back then, Li Dachui's mother, He Qingqiu, had even mastered the Phoenix Fire to the point of divine travel, but she still couldn't master the Universe Unity Qi. In fact, the deeper her skill became, the less she dared to touch upon it.

Because once the Phoenix Fire, which is extremely yang and powerful, is cultivated to its extreme, there is absolutely no room for the Moon Essence Weak Water to survive. As soon as it shows any signs of life within the body, it will be annihilated by the Phoenix Fire.

The same principle applies to Yuehua Ruoshui, who regards the phoenix leaving the fire as a mortal enemy.

Sometimes when Li Dachui thought about this, he wanted to beat the old man up. This guy really didn't care about his life, and he even claimed that he was He Qingqiu's best friend!
The five thousand Xihu cavalry in the distance were indeed a formidable enemy.
But can it be more powerful than Wutu's cavalry of over ten thousand men five years ago?

The newly regrouped Tianzi Battalion has further improved its strength.

The entire hundred heavy cavalrymen were composed of Qi-controlling masters, while the three thousand light cavalrymen behind them had undergone a complete transformation in combat skills after nearly a year of training by Xiao Changche.

If they used to fight like bandits, now they are a real army.

As for equipment, Li Dachui could tell from the pitifully small amount of iron armor the Xihu people had that they were truly poor.

His hundred cavalrymen were all armored, even their warhorses were covered in iron armor.

The light cavalry behind them, in addition to their leather armor, also had iron plates embedded in important parts of their bodies, maximizing both the soldiers' combat flexibility and protection.

As for bows, there aren't many of them equipped.

Li Dachui preferred to equip his troops with crossbows.

Bows require specialized practice, and the chances of becoming a master are slim.

The crossbow is different.

Anyway, it relies on coverage fire.

In Li Dachui's group, anyone carrying a bow was basically someone with expertise in that area. Li Dachui also custom-made good bows and arrows for these people, believing that these investments would yield rich returns.

Li Dachui began to accelerate.

One hundred heavy cavalrymen kept a distance from him.

It wasn't that they didn't want to follow, nor that Li Dachui's horse was too fast, but rather that the knife in Li Dachui's hand was unpredictable, sometimes hot and sometimes cold, sometimes sparking and sometimes freezing into ice and falling down, which they couldn't stand.

Li Dachui had no choice.

Zhou Zhi said he had reached the most critical juncture. He might wake up one day and step into the threshold of the Innate Realm. However, at this critical juncture, he would be unable to control the true qi in his body with fine detail. But once he truly crossed this threshold, he would be able to switch between them at will.

Of course, this also means that true energy will never leak out again.

In other words, apart from those who are fighting, who can sense the changes, outsiders are completely unaware of them.

This surprised and delighted Li Dachui.

It's innate!
Only when I reached this point could I say that I truly had the ability to protect myself.

Ma Liang said that Linghu Ye had reached the Innate Realm, and all five of his legs were weak. After hearing this, Ma Liang's own legs also felt weak!

Heroes emerge in times of chaos!

Who knows, another innate being might emerge there at any time.

If I don't reach that level, and if I happen to run into another Duanmu Miaomiao somewhere in the future, I'll be kicked the bucket.

Good luck won't last forever.

Only strength is eternal!

So, all you Xihu cavalrymen on the other side, die!

With a long howl, Li Dachui's Minghong Blade, sparking like countless dancing blue butterflies, slashed towards the heavily armored man riding a magnificent horse no less impressive than Xiao Hei's, who was at least two meters tall himself.

The two swords clashed silently at first, then with a loud bang, and both men's warhorses reared up.

"Good heavens!" Li Dachui was somewhat surprised by the opponent's strength. He had just unleashed a full-force strike, and the opponent had actually withstood it.

"Huh!" An Xuan's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the young Li Dachui. His hands were numb, and a small part of the barb on one of the hammerheads had been cut off. This was made of cold iron, and this was the first time he had been injured by another weapon. A blue spark had just landed on the hammerhead, and An Xuan felt its temperature, which made him feel a strong sense of alarm.

"Take another cut from me!" Li Dachui said excitedly.

It's rare to encounter an opponent of such equal strength for a life-or-death duel, and progress often comes at such moments.

My destiny rests on your shoulders!

Li Dachui's blade flashed like lightning, sometimes blue sparks, sometimes white ice crystals, attacking An Xuan like a storm.

Meanwhile, the hundred armored soldiers behind him had already overtaken them and plunged headlong into the pitifully poor Xihu cavalry.

(End of this chapter)