knife

Chapter 621 No Reinforcements
The earth is shaking.

Kang Zhen stared at the battlefield ahead, his face ashen.
About twenty elephants came galloping in with their powerful hooves. Ordinary arrows were useless against these behemoths clad in iron armor. On either side of each elephant, there were two elephant soldiers with a cultivation level of at least the sixth rank of Xuan Yuan. Their main task was to deflect the powerful crossbow bolts that could harm the elephants.

Even the most densely packed military formations would feel powerless when faced with such a thick-skinned behemoth.

The well-trained Tiger Legion did not back down.
Instead, they charged forward with guns and shields, but unsurprisingly, the next moment, they were all thrown into chaos.
A dense military formation was broken up in an instant.

Under the control of the elephant soldiers on their backs, the elephants charged straight towards the next battle formation.

Behind the elephant cavalry were densely packed Southwest Wolf Soldiers, their heads wrapped in headscarves, wearing rattan armor, leggings, and straw sandals.

Kang Zhen squeezed his legs together and straddled the horse's belly. The warhorse neighed and galloped forward.

Behind him, the flag-bearing guards followed closely, holding the large flag high.

Faced with an opponent that seemed insurmountable, even the mighty Tiger Army was clearly somewhat fearful.

Kang Zhen had to make the soldiers understand that
No matter how strong this thing is, it's still a beast, and it can still be killed.

A clear whistle suddenly rang out.
The long sword, once drawn, resembled a pool of autumn water.
The blade flashed like a bolt of lightning, slashing directly at the elephant charging at the front.

The two elephant soldiers on the left and right each held a shield in one hand and a sword in the other. They leaped up and faced Kang Zhen.

Kang Zhen sneered.
The blade swept across like a rainbow.

Two elephant slaves with sixth-grade martial arts cultivation were actually cut into four pieces in mid-air, and blood and internal organs fell to the ground like rain.

Kang Zhen walked through the rain of blood and landed on the elephant's back.

Inside the wooden enclosure atop the elephant's back, a barefoot, dark-skinned, and thin man struck with a staff.

The long sword struck down, clashing with the wooden staff with a resounding metallic clang. The dark-skinned, thin man groaned, leaning back as blood instantly trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Even though he was at the seventh level of the Profound Origin realm, he was still injured in a single move by Kang Zhen, who was at the peak of the ninth level.

One strike succeeds, and the second strike follows immediately.

With limited space on the elephant's back, the dark-skinned, thin man had nowhere to avoid it. He could only grip the staff with both hands and grit his teeth to catch it, but this time the injury was more severe. As soon as he opened his mouth, a mouthful of blood spurted out.

Kang Zhen's expression changed slightly. He suddenly withdrew his knife, his wrist trembling, making a tinkling sound. Among the mouthful of blood he spat out were several fine needles.

The ambush failed, and the dark-skinned, thin man roared. As he swung his staff, two tiny, colorful snakes, as thin as chopsticks, shot out from his waist, one on the left and one on the right, heading straight for Kang Zhen's legs.

"You petty scoundrel, you've got plenty of tricks up your sleeve!" Kang Zhen spun his long sword in a circle, slicing the two small snakes into countless pieces in the flash. Then, he reached out and grabbed the wooden staff, dragging the dark-skinned, thin man towards him. The man hesitated for a moment, and the long sword above his head fell with a whistling sound.

With a slight turn of the blade, a head flew into the sky.

The two fought fiercely on the elephant's back, but the elephant continued to charge forward. With a swift leftward swipe and a flick of its long trunk, it sent the Tiger Warriors who were blocking its path flying. Several spears were stuck in the elephant's body, but they seemed to have little effect on it.

With a sharp shove, the incomparably sharp blade plunged downwards until it reached the hilt. Grabbing the hilt with one hand, Kang Zhen let out a long howl and stumbled backwards.

As he landed, the running elephant finally stopped, its body splitting neatly into two halves from head to toe, falling to the left and right.

Seeing this, not only the Tiger Legion, but also the Southwest Wolf Soldiers who were rushing towards them were frightened.

Elephants, which they regard as divine weapons, have been killed in previous battles, but this is the first time they have seen them killed like this.

Kang Zhen made his move, killing several of the opponent's experts in a few moves, and even killed an elephant in a show of force, which greatly boosted the morale of the Tiger Legion.

With their fear gone, the Tiger Warriors finally joined forces and killed an elephant.

The elephant was first tripped up with a rope, then killed by a spear to its vulnerable belly. Kang Zhen charged toward another elephant.

This time, however, he was intercepted.

Another dark-skinned, thin, barefoot old man with a cane blocked his way. What was frightening was that a brightly colored snake was coiled on the man's head, its tongue flicking in and out. Just by looking at the gaudy colors and the three-dimensional flat head, Kang Zhen knew that if he were bitten, the consequences would be dire.

This old man's kung fu was clearly from the same lineage as the man he had killed earlier, but his cultivation was much more profound.

It's at least a peak eighth-grade Xuan Yuan level, and with that well-trained snake, it will be much more difficult for Kang Zhen to deal with it.

After failing to achieve his goal with a dozen or so slashes, and hearing the old man's bamboo whistle continuously, several other elephants nearby also approached, clearly intending to capture the leader first. Kang Zhen immediately withdrew and retreated.

Morale has been rekindled, the entire front has been stabilized, and while dealing with those elephants is still difficult, it is clearly much more organized. The cost is still heavy, but they are no longer helpless.

As the commander-in-chief, Kang Zhen must return; if he were trapped here by the enemy, things would be in serious trouble.

The old man could barely hold off Kang Zhen, but he absolutely could not keep Kang Zhen at bay.

Kang Zhen retreated as soon as he was told, and in the blink of an eye, he was back in his own camp. Behind him, countless Tiger Warriors surged up and blocked the elephant.

Kang Zhen, who had retreated to his own lines, took a bow from his personal guard, drew the bow, nocked an arrow, and shot it. Caught off guard, the old man's colorful snake on his head was shot off by Kang Zhen's arrow.

Judging from the old man's pained expression, it was clear that this snake was quite important to him.

These snake-wielding fellows are shamans in the Southwest Wolf Army!

Some extremely difficult guys to deal with.

After a half-day of fierce fighting, as night gradually fell, the Chu army finally sounded the retreat horn. Watching the southwestern wolf soldiers slowly retreat, the Tiger Legion breathed a long sigh of relief, and many of them even sat down on the ground with a thud.

These southwestern wolf soldiers are indeed very strong in combat, and with these elephants, they are truly difficult to deal with.

Lin Dong, carrying a knife, limped over.

"Injured?" Kang Zhen glanced at his fellow disciple, who also wielded the Five Tigers Breaking Gate Saber technique.

"I took a blow from a sorcerer's staff, but I severed his head with a single stroke!" Lin Dong said irritably. "If that bastard hadn't been hiding a snake on his body and ambushed me, I wouldn't have even been able to get a chance to fight him. Between being bitten by a snake and taking a blow, I chose to take the blow!"

"That was the right choice!" Kang Zhen laughed heartily. "I've been telling you to practice diligently all this time, but you just grumbled and laughed. Now you finally understand the importance of having a deep cultivation level, don't you?"

Lin Dong said, "Not everyone is a genius like you, Senior Brother, reaching the peak of the ninth rank of the Profound Origin Realm at the age of thirty-five! My current level is what a normal person should be at!"

"What kind of genius am I!" Kang Zhen wiped the blood from his knife and said, "Protector Li, and the Empress Dowager, they were already at the Innate Realm in their twenties!"

"They are monsters!" Lin Dong whispered.

"Shut up!" Kang Zhen said irritably.

"Senior brother, when will reinforcements arrive? We only have 20,000 elite Tiger Warriors and 10,000 Ruyin County soldiers, while the enemy has 40,000 Southwest Wolf Soldiers plus over 10,000 county soldiers! The Southwest Wolf Soldiers are very strong, and with these beasts added to the mix, we won't be able to hold them off for long!"

Kang Zhen took a deep breath: "We have to hold them off even if we can't! We won't have any reinforcements anytime soon!"

"Huh?" Lin Dong was dumbfounded. "No reinforcements? Senior brother, is Protector Li intentionally using this opportunity to weaken our strength so that Ke Wuji and his ilk can become more powerful?"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Kang Zhen sheathed his sword and said, "Governor Li and the Empress Dowager have deeper considerations. For the sake of their long-term strategic goals, the current losses are still acceptable."

(End of this chapter)