Longzang

Chapter 323 Becoming a foster father
Seeing the heavy casualties, the Liao chieftain hurriedly withdrew his men. In just one charge, over five hundred had been lost!

The Liao leader reorganized his troops, switching to a dispersed formation, and launched another attack. He had no other choice; every moment he delayed increased the chances of the Jin army appearing.

The archers did not stop during this round of attack, advancing until they were twenty zhang away without stopping, firing suppressive shots as they went.

But the roar of battle continued to echo, and smoke filled the air once more. Hundreds of archers fell backward as if struck by an invisible hand.

As arrows flew overhead, the Dao Foundation Knights rose and fired, dodging any incoming arrows and continuing to shoot when none came. Being Dao Foundation cultivators, their reactions were far faster than ordinary people, and with a distance of over ten zhang, they were unlikely to be hit unless they were extremely unlucky.

The Liao tribe charged again, and the defending knights fired at full speed. The ten rounds of ammunition each knight carried were quickly dwindling.

A minor leader of the Liao tribe leaped with all his might, instantly covering ten zhang with his mid-stage Dao Foundation cultivation, and appeared above the trench of the position.

His face contorted with rage as he slashed down with all his might at the heavily armored warrior before him! Seeing the warrior raise his steel rod to meet the attack, he roared and added three-tenths of his power!

This strike was powerful and heavy; the Liao tribe's young chieftain was confident that he could cut the warrior in front of him in two, man and all!
Swords clashed with a deafening clang, and the heavily armored warrior staggered backward, his back slamming against the other side of the trench before coming to a stop. The Liao tribe's young chieftain's sword, however, was also jolted high into the air. He had never imagined that his opponent was also a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

Although this foundation was weak, it was still a foundation, far superior to a fully formed Body Forging stage. The Liao tribe's minor leader abandoned his contempt and unleashed a flurry of attacks with his longsword. His opponent was undoubtedly an officer; killing him would be far more effective than killing ten soldiers.

However, the heavily armored warriors on the left and right sides thrust their spears forward, fast and fierce, and it turned out to be two more Dao Foundation Establishment cultivators!

The Liao tribe's junior leader was surrounded and attacked by three Dao Foundation Establishments. Overwhelmed, he was riddled with over a dozen holes and collapsed in a pool of blood. Several other junior leaders who charged into the enemy lines also encountered multiple Dao Foundation Establishments and were killed instantly. However, the main force of the Liao tribe still managed to break through the barrage of attacks and enter the enemy lines. The heavily armored knights were forced into hand-to-hand combat.

The outcome of a melee between a lightly armored Liao warrior and a heavily armored Dao Foundation cultivator was predictable.

At this moment, the sound of hooves thundered. The hundred knights that Wei Yuan had left behind had already mounted their warhorses and formed a large circle around him. Now they were attacking from the flanks and rear.

Knowing the tide had turned, the Liao chieftain drew his sword, his eagle-like eyes sweeping across the battlefield before fixing his gaze on Wei Yuan. For some reason, he simply couldn't stand the sight of this young man.

Since killing anyone at this moment would be the same as killing anyone else, he might as well kill someone from the bottom of his heart. So the Liao tribe leader locked his aura on Wei Yuan and charged straight at him.

Wei Yuan was also helpless. Why was he the one chosen when so many others didn't? It seems that the tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind.

Wei Yuan charged forward with his spear. Seeing him accept the challenge, the Liao chieftain roared and unleashed a blood-red blade of light several feet long, slashing down with the force to split mountains and shatter rocks!
This strike was equivalent to a Dharma Body attack, incredibly fierce, and the blade's energy stunned all the surrounding knights, rendering them unable to move for a moment.

However, a tall warrior appeared out of nowhere, blocking Wei Yuan's path and taking the blow with his own body!

As the blood-red blade energy slashed through, a massive, diagonal wound appeared on the samurai's body, almost splitting his enormous form in half. The inside of the wound was a chaotic mess, its material indiscernible, but it was certainly not flesh or blood, and there were no internal organs present.

A fiery knight's image appeared above the tall warrior's head, but suppressed by the array, the image was barely visible and its power was greatly diminished. After withstanding a blow, the warrior swung his longsword and brought it down on the Liao tribe leader's head!

The Liao tribe leader dared not be negligent and raised his sword to parry, actually blocking the blade that grazed the edge of the Dharma Image! Just from this one move, it was clear that the Liao tribe leader was not an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator; he was most likely a Foundation Establishment Immortal.

Wei Yuan, carrying the Immaculate Reincarnation weapon, circled around from behind the warriors and pointed his spear at the Liao tribe leader.

The Liao chieftain instantly felt a sense of alarm, sensing a faint aura of immortality! He knew that what followed was bound to be a devastating attack, so he disregarded everything else and focused all his attention on Wei Yuan.

Suddenly, a continuous roar erupted around them, and smoke instantly filled the air, obscuring Wei Yuan and the Liao tribe leader.

When the smoke cleared, the Liao chieftain stood frozen in place, his body riddled with more than ten bloody holes.

While his entire focus was on Wei Yuan, several Foundation Establishment knights around him had already freed their hands, reloaded, and aimed at him, then unleashed a barrage of fire. The power of these muskets was designed to injure Foundation Establishment cultivators within ten zhang (approximately 33 meters). Although the Liao tribe leader was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, he lacked protective magic weapons and armor. The first seven or eight shots had already shattered his Dao power defenses, and the subsequent ten or so shots riddled him with holes.

With their leader killed in action, the morale of the Liao army was greatly reduced, and they were completely suppressed by Wei Yuan. However, the rest of the Liao army knew that they would die anyway, so they continued to fight desperately. Wei Yuan's troops eventually suffered casualties as well.

A knight was accidentally dragged out of the trench and was immediately crushed by dozens of Liao people. Screams came from the pile of men, and his teammates tried to stab the pile of men, but to no avail.

The other knights died from being ambushed and shot by crossbow bolts at close range.

The battle lasted for about half an hour, and in the end, all six thousand Liao soldiers were wiped out.

The front and the battlefield were littered with Liao corpses; over two thousand had been killed by muskets, and over two thousand had been killed in hand-to-hand combat. Another thousand died behind the lines, succumbing to repeated charges by heavy cavalry.

In this battle, Wei Yuan suffered more than a dozen wounded men and seven dead.

As the Liao army's aura dissipated, many corpses emitted a strange aura. Once this aura left their bodies, the corpses quickly aged and became haggard.

These strange auras were extremely subtle, dissipating almost instantly after they appeared. However, Wei Yuan had been cultivating his luck for many years, and these auras, bearing obvious characteristics of luck, could not escape his notice.

These Liao people were enlightened by some kind of secret technique of destiny, which led to their rapid increase in strength. The leaders themselves were far from ordinary in terms of strength and military strategy, and they didn't seem like the kind of people who would end up as prey in a hunting ground. The reason behind their appearance here is probably quite intriguing.

Wei Yuan remembered the King of England's warning and intended to turn a blind eye to all the strange occurrences from the beginning. He originally didn't even want to fight this battle, but his sincerity was not accepted.

In the main hall of the camp, King Cheng finally broke the silence, saying, "This Wei Yuan is a man of great hidden talent, actually bringing five hundred Dao Foundation experts into the arena. The Liao people's plan this time was extremely deep, but they were just unlucky and ran into Wei Yuan head-on. Their defeat in front of five hundred Dao Foundation experts is not unjust."

Xu Tongshou said, "With such military strength, what if Wei Yuan harbors treacherous intentions..."

The King of England interrupted him, saying, "How long has he been in the Western Regions? These Dao Foundations must have been secretly cultivated by the Taichu Palace and handed over to him as his core team."

Xu Tongshou then said, "That makes sense. We still have to fight alongside the Taichu Palace in the north, so it seems we don't need to worry about such a small matter. It's just that the rankings for this autumn hunt..."

The Prince of Jin said calmly, "Once the pieces are in the game, each is subject to its own fate. Let's just watch and see."

The camera remained focused on Wei Yuan, without shifting to any other location.

At this time, there were still two nearly intact units in the field: the border army and the Ying King's army. The scouts sent out by the Ying King's army discovered the strange changes at the northwest corner of the camp, and then the main force rushed over, killing more than a dozen Liao people who were behind the camp, and then did nothing.

Meanwhile, the border troops continued to scavenge for food in the southwest corner.

While ordering his men to clean up the battlefield, Wei Yuan pondered the current situation. Although he hadn't looted the treasure vault, he had wiped out six thousand Liao tribesmen in one fell swoop, so his score couldn't be low, which was quite troubling.

Wei Yuan did want to stir up some infighting among a few more troops to lower his reputation, but judging from the colors of the Xi Liao tribe's uniforms, he knew that only the Ying King and the Northern Border Army remained in the field.

Wei Yuan really didn't want to fight them, and besides, he had no idea where they were. Where was he supposed to find them in this mountainous area spanning five hundred miles?
Left with no other choice, Wei Yuan could only accept reality and hope that the King of Ying and the border troops could do their part and push him out of the top two.

The top two share in the nation's fortune, though the second-place winner receives far less, but even that little is something Wei Yuan doesn't want. Possessing the nation's fortune naturally makes one a target of envy. If he gains the fortune, and then achieves military merit and expands the territory, he'll gain even more fortune—perhaps soon enough to ascend the throne. What is he planning?
With the reminder from the Prince of Ying and the advance warning from Zhao Tong, Wei Yuan naturally didn't want to get involved in this mess, so he was determined to be at the bottom. The fate of the Western Jin Dynasty was too enviable, as it was exclusively reserved for the sons of the Prince of Jin. Not to mention the three military governors, even the Prince of Cheng and the Prince of Ying would be suspected of harboring malicious intentions if they took it.

Therefore, it would be inappropriate for Wei Yuan to take it. Does he expect to recognize the Prince of Jin as his godfather in the future?

(End of this chapter)