knife

Chapter 698
(Surprised? Unexpected? Hehe, my leave has been extended. I originally planned to visit relatives on New Year's Day, but I had to cancel it for some reason, so I have time again. Also, I wish everyone a Happy New Year, good health, and all the best!)

Little Black snorted excitedly, its big head swaying from side to side, puffs of hot air coming out of its mouth, and occasionally digging at the snow with its hooves. It dug a hole in the snow that had hardened into a crust.

This guy is extremely belligerent; he gets excited the moment he senses the approach of war.

"You're really brave!" Duanmu Miaomiao, who had changed into ordinary men's clothing, shook her head as she looked at the troops leaving the camp one after another.

Ignoring everything else, just looking at how the enemy managed to leave the camp in an orderly manner and without giving Xiao Changche any chance when his troops were at the gates, one can tell that this group of enemies is not only elite but also well-trained.

"The Li family's elite infantry and the Yang family's white-feathered soldiers are naturally highly skilled!" Xiao Changche glanced at Duanmu Miaomiao and said indifferently.

"So you still want to fight in the field?" Duanmu Miaomiao pointed to the opposite side: "Their numbers are four or five times yours!"

“Apart from the 5,000 soldiers of Wu Zu and Bai Yu, the rest are just there to make up the numbers!” Xiao Changdao said, “Senior Duanmu, you don’t understand warfare.”

Duanmu Miaomiao snorted. Xiao Changche's retort left her speechless. She really didn't understand warfare, while Xiao Changche was an expert in the field.

“If I just sit and wait for them to attack the vehicle, these makeshift ones can still pose a threat to us, but if we take them out for a real fight, they will only ever be makeshift ones!” Xiao Changdao said.

"The Wu Zu and Bai Yu troops are twice the size of yours!" Duanmu Miaomiao said, "The opposing side also has two Xiantian experts. Are you really confident in this battle?"

Xiao Changche gave a cold laugh: "Elite troops aren't necessarily good at fighting!"

"What is this nonsense?"

“Look!” Xiao Cheche pointed behind her.

Duanmu Miaomiao looked back at the three thousand iron cavalry behind her. They stood there quietly, leading their horses, their faces showing no emotion. There was no excitement or fear before the battle, only indifference.

It was as if they weren't about to engage in a life-or-death battle, but rather were out enjoying the spring scenery.

It's not just one person or a group of people who are like this, but thousands of people who are all cut from the same mold.

Even though Duanmu Miaomiao was a master of innate cultivation, the strange aura emanating from the thousands of people gathered in one place made her feel uneasy.

This is a group of true desperados who are not afraid to value other people's lives, nor their own.

She turned her head to look at the other side, where people were shouting and horses were neighing, and there was a lively atmosphere. She could even feel the high morale and eagerness to make a name for themselves on the other side.

“These three thousand men were handpicked from hundreds of thousands of troops outside the Great Wall,” Xiao Changche said. “They are all truly battle-hardened veterans. The enemy on the other side is indeed quite good, but have they ever actually fought a battle?”

Duanmu Miaomiao glanced at the faces of those people. Whether they were Qin people, Yuan people, or barbarians from the far north, or bandits and mountain bandits struggling to survive in the Black Domain, they all had one thing in common: they regarded every extra day they lived as a gift from heaven.

"Li Cunxiao on the other side is a very capable border general. He must know the difference between a truly battle-hardened force and a carefully selected elite trained on the training ground. Therefore, he must be aiming to capture the leader first, and has set his sights on me." Xiao Changche laughed. "He's right. The troops behind me are not easily controlled by ordinary people. Apart from me and Li Dachui, this team will not obey anyone's orders!"

"Hasn't Li Dachui been boasting about his so-called 'having a system of rules but no system of generals'?" Duanmu Miaomiao snorted.

“They are the exceptions!” Xiao Changche said. “Chief, there will always be a little bit of privilege, won’t there?”

“I’ll deal with Li Zhengtai!” Duanmu Miaomiao said.

"Li Zhengtai has the complete Blood Jade Skill. Can you defeat him?"

“Even the complete Blood Jade Technique has insurmountable flaws!” Duanmu Miaomiao said, “On the contrary, it was when I first met He Qingqiu that he passed on the Phoenix Flame to me, thus making up for the flaws in my Blood Jade Technique. So this Li Zhengtai is nothing. But what about you, facing Yang Rong?”

Xiao Changche pulled out a devil mask from his pocket, put it on his face, and then gripped the iron spear stuck beside him. "I will let him know why the Heaven-Slaying Technique is the number one killing technique in the world."

Duanmu Miaomiao stared at Xiao Changche in astonishment: "When did you advance to the Innate Realm?"

Xiao Changche did not reply, but instead mounted his horse, stretched out his arm, and pointed his spear straight at the sky.

With a loud crash, three thousand iron cavalrymen simultaneously leaped onto their horses.

Xiao Hei raised its head, let out a neigh, and took small, quick steps forward. Without shouting or any particular show of force, thousands of cavalrymen silently advanced, forming a wedge formation with Xiao Changche at the forefront as they marched forward, just like in countless battles before.

The number of three thousand iron cavalry has never been greater; only the people within them have changed. Compared to the past, their equipment is better, and their martial arts skills are higher. What remains unchanged is their fighting style.

Seeing the opposing force rapidly approaching like a mute, Li Cunxiao's expression changed slightly. Having been on the battlefield for many years, he naturally knew how terrifying this kind of army was.

Having served in the military for decades, this was the first time he had encountered such a force.

"Xiao Changche!" he roared in a low voice. His great reputation was indeed well-deserved.

"Attack!" he shouted sharply.

More than a hundred war drums thundered, and the soldiers and white-feathered warriors, who had been unable to contain themselves, galloped off on their horses amidst shouts.

At the same time, in the camp behind them, crossbows raised their heads, and bolts shot into the sky at a 45-degree angle, heading towards the rapidly charging Beiting Protectorate cavalry.

Xiao Changche raised his spear diagonally upwards, and behind him, thousands of spears followed the same diagonal upwards, using Xiao Changche's spear as a standard. An invisible aura began to envelop the team.

The idea that an army can contend with innate masters is not just empty talk.

When the spirit and energy of thousands of people are concentrated in one place, even a master of innate cultivation would not dare to directly confront them, unless they are also one of them.

The crossbow bolts fell from the sky, but seemed to hit an invisible barrier, either bouncing far away or falling limply to the ground.

The speed of the three thousand cavalrymen not only did not decrease, but actually increased.

Li Cunxiao, who was watching the battle from the main camp, looked even more serious because the three thousand cavalrymen on the other side were in a very tight wedge formation, with the front and rear horses almost connected.

On the other hand, their own 5,000 charging cavalry had an attack area that was almost one or two times larger than that of their opponents.

Previously, Li Cunxiao thought that his own attack surface was already quite compact, but now, seeing Xiao Changche's three thousand cavalry, he suddenly felt that his own troops were like a bunch of scattered soldiers.

He swallowed hard.

Then he saw the huge black arrowhead pierce into his own attack formation.

It was like a red-hot iron rod being plunged into a wooden board, sending smoke and dust flying everywhere.

Li Zhengtai stared at Xiao Changche, who was empty-handed, his hands hanging at his sides. He wasn't even holding the reins; he was only controlling the warhorse with his legs. As he moved forward, his hands, hanging at his sides, slowly turned red.

It was a little more complicated than he had imagined.

No wonder Xiao Changche was able to roam freely beyond the Great Wall with her three thousand iron cavalry. She was able to connect the spirit and energy of three thousand people into a whole. Li Zhengtai was no stranger to this method. Some aristocratic families had studied some methods of using military formations to fight against innate masters. However, those were formations with the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan as the core, supplemented by a number of Xuan Yuan masters.

Xiao Changche's case is similar to this.

If I were to confront the opponent head-on, killing them wouldn't be a problem, but I'm afraid I would also suffer serious injuries.

As Li Zhengtai was pondering whether it was worth it, a strange aura suddenly rose in the enemy camp. Li Zhengtai looked up in astonishment; it was the feeling of a bloodthirsty beast smelling its own kind.

When Li Zhengtai discovered Duanmu Miaomiao, Duanmu Miaomiao also locked onto him.

"Found you!" Duanmu Miaomiao floated up, gracefully escaping from Xiao Changche's army formation like a wisp of smoke, and drifted towards Li Zhengtai on the opposite side.

"Blood Jade Technique!" Li Zhengtai's pupils contracted, his body shrugged slightly, and he was already standing on the horse's back, watching Duanmu Miaomiao approach.

"Yang Rong, Xiao Changche is now in your hands!" Li Zhengtai said in a deep voice.

Yang Rong, watching from afar, was equally astonished as he observed Duanmu Miaomiao approaching Li Zhengtai on the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)