Longzang

Chapter 76 What a barbarian!

Li Zhi and Wei Yuan rode side by side, looking at the billowing yellow mist ahead, and sighed, "The Liaoman territory is more than ten times larger than the Great Tang. In their land, the Liaoman are truly blessed, with the power of heaven and earth supporting them everywhere, while we are subject to many restrictions. Fortunately, those camps are all on the edge of the Liao territory, otherwise I really wouldn't dare to go any deeper."

Wei Yuan had learned a lot about the Liao people of the Han Sea from the General History of Humanity, the General Knowledge of Immortals, and the History of Tang. Upon hearing this, he said, "The Liao region has a special kind of energy of heaven and earth. The Liao barbarians and their horses can absorb and exhale the energy of heaven and earth, so they can travel thousands of miles without feeling tired. The night before last, when the Liao barbarians attacked, I personally saw that wherever they went, the night followed them, concealing their whereabouts."

"Once we enter the Liao region, we must use our Dao power to protect ourselves and resist the power of heaven and earth. Therefore, we cannot stay long. We must fight quickly and decisively, sweeping away the enemy with lightning speed, and then return quickly," Li Zhi said.

Wei Yuan nodded. This was common sense in military strategy; saying it was as good as not saying it at all.

Li Zhi suddenly sighed: "When I was studying at the academy, I sometimes thought that the Liao territory was so vast, and the Liao barbarians could use the power of heaven and earth much more easily than our human race. Sometimes I have to say that the Liao barbarians are more like the favorite sons of this world than we are."

Wei Yuan also said, "Not only the Liaoman, but also the Wuyu, Shanmin, Cheli, and Guirong have more vast territories than us. They are all our own people in their own world. If you only look at the map, we are just a small country."

Li Zhi laughed heartily: "Being small has its advantages! Expanding our territory, the future rests on our shoulders!"

The iron cavalry rolled on, quickly reaching the border of the Liao region. This was an invisible boundary; on the human side, the sky was clear and bright, while on the Liao side, a yellow haze billowed. Upon reaching the border, the warhorses hesitated, reluctant to move forward. Wei Yuan spurred them on, and only then did the warhorses cross the border.

Upon entering the Liao region, Wei Yuan felt as if he were covered in a layer of dust, or as if he hadn't bathed for over ten days, with all his pores clogged with grease, leaving him feeling completely suffocated. His vision blurred, his field of vision suddenly shrinking from eighty li to fifty li, and even Li Zhi beside him spoke in a softer voice.

"Brother Wei, don't forget to use the Pure Qi Technique," Li Zhi reminded him.

The Cleansing Qi Technique is a low-level Daoist art, widely used. Wei Yuan didn't even need to chant incantations; it was completed with a mere thought. After casting the technique, Wei Yuan felt as if a bucket of clear water had been poured over his head, instantly washing away the greasy and stagnant feeling on his body. However, the Cleansing Qi Technique only lasts for a limited time, and he must continuously cast it as long as he remains in the Liao Region.

Compared to other races' territories, the Liao Domain is relatively peaceful. Even ordinary people can live here for a period of time, and many ancient humans lived in the Liao Domain. However, mortals who live here for a long time will be plagued by diseases and have their lifespans shortened, generally not living past forty.

Therefore, the knights all used the Purifying Qi Technique. Wei Yuan observed them with the Qi Observation Technique and could see that each knight's body surface had a layer of hazy clear light. The yellow qi in the surrounding world that fell on them was quickly washed away by the clear light.

Upon entering the Liao region, the group quickened their pace and soon arrived at their first campsite. The place was deserted, empty of everything, and showed no signs of encampment. Wei Yuan and Li Zhi did not linger, but continued on to the next campsite without stopping.

When they were still more than ten miles away from the second camp, Wei Yuan saw a wisp of smoke rising into the sky.

Several Liao barbarian knights sat around a campfire, roasting a large wild beast's hind leg over it. Nearby stood several tents, their iron frames reinforced with protective arrays to keep out the cold and insects. These tents were somewhat troublesome to set up and dismantle, making them semi-permanent military tents in Northern Liao. Loud snoring emanated from within the tents; countless Liao barbarians were asleep.

At the same time Wei Yuan saw the smoke from the cooking fire, the Liao barbarians by the campfire suddenly turned their heads and also noticed Wei Yuan.

Humans and the Liao people of the Hanhai have lived together for hundreds of thousands of years and fought each other for tens of thousands of years, so they are extremely familiar with the customs of the Liao people. Before entering the battlefield, disciples of the Taichu Palace are given a handbook that lists the official system of the Northern Liao; the clothing characteristics and cultivation levels of Liao barbarians of different ranks; as well as common situations on the battlefield and how to deal with them.

The sneak attack was effective at this moment. Wei Yuan immediately cast a Swiftness Technique and a Giant Strength Technique on his warhorse, and the warhorse's speed suddenly increased by half!
Li Zhi and the other knights also cast spells on their warhorses, and everyone charged at full speed, covering more than ten miles in the blink of an eye. Although they couldn't stop the Northern Liao cavalry from mounting their horses, they could prevent them from forming a battle formation immediately, leaving them vulnerable to attack in the first wave.

The Liao barbarians around the campfire howled and scrambled to their feet, galloping towards their warhorses. Several Liao soldiers also emerged from their tents, jolted awake from their slumber and momentarily disoriented. Before they could react, a dozen arrows whistled through the air, turning them into pincushions.

Li Zhi brought only elite troops, whose horsemanship and archery skills were quite remarkable. The first wave used only magical long arrows, which hit their mark every time from 300 zhang away, killing several barbarian riders who were sleeping.

The Liao barbarians by the campfire had already mounted their warhorses and charged forward without fear. One of them brandished a saber and headed straight for Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan's face was ashen. He charged forward, spear in hand, his warhorse moving with incredible speed. The two riders clashed, closing the distance to within a hundred paces in an instant. Then, almost simultaneously, the Liao rider drew his bow and arrow, while Wei Yuan drew his short spear. The heavy arrow and the short spear were released almost at the same time; neither intended to engage in close combat. As Wei Yuan released his spear, the immense recoil caused his horse to halt its charge! This brief pause allowed the Liao arrow to graze Wei Yuan's body, while his short spear pierced the chest of the Liao warhorse.

Wei Yuan was, after all, a formidable figure who could make the Lord of the Mingwang Palace disregard his wallet and personally intervene to snatch someone away. His short spear, once thrown, possessed immense power, piercing straight through the Liao horse and flying over a hundred feet before landing. No matter how skilled the rider was, he was helplessly thrown off, and he immediately heard a strange whistling sound as a second short spear pierced through his body.

Li Zhi drew his bow and nocked an arrow. Both the bow and the arrow gleamed with golden light. Almost the instant the arrow left the bowstring, it was already embedded in the face of a Liao barbarian, accurately hitting the gap in the center of his helmet.

Li Zhi's longbow was a top-grade magical artifact, and all his arrows were of superior quality, giving him a significant advantage in the archery duel with the Liao barbarians. He calmly drew the bow, and the instant the bowstring was fully drawn, a heavy golden arrow automatically appeared on the string. At the moment the bow was fully drawn and the arrow appeared, Li Zhi's divine sense expanded instantly with the longbow's enhancement. This was the longbow's ability; with its assistance, Li Zhi's divine sense could scan a radius of three hundred feet and fire the moment he sensed an enemy. As long as Li Zhi's divine sense locked onto his opponent, no matter where the arrow was aimed, it would hit its target.

However, when Li Zhi scanned the area with his divine sense, he found it empty; there was not a single target in sight.

He was startled and looked around to see that all the Liao barbarians had fallen to the ground. Except for one rider who was shot dead by his personal guards, the other five riders were all shot dead by Wei Yuan's short spear.

Li Zhi was shocked and exclaimed, "Brother Wei is indeed incredibly brave!"

Before Wei Yuan could answer, he casually grabbed and tossed the short spear, which whistled through the air and pierced a stray Liao horse. Li Zhi's heart skipped a beat, and he realized that the Liao horse could not be spared either!

The guards were experienced and rained down arrows, killing all the stray Liao horses.

The Liao horses are said to recognize their masters; after their master dies, they will run back to the camp they previously inhabited. Once they return, the Liao people will know that something has happened at that camp.

The battle ended, Wei Yuan steaming with heat. He exhaled a scorching breath and hung his twelve-foot spear back on his horse. From beginning to end, Wei Yuan relied entirely on throwing his short spear; within a hundred feet, those who dared to cross him were utterly defeated, turning the area into a death trap. The twelve-foot spear, on the other hand, was completely useless, becoming nothing more than a decoration.

As for the Heaven and Earth Madman, since it relies on the flow of Qi, using it in the Liao Domain would likely deplete that Qi, so Wei Yuan didn't plan to use it unless absolutely necessary. Although there were still several thousand strands of black Qi in his sea of ​​consciousness, he would conserve it as much as possible, being frugal and thrifty.

Li Zhi rode over, looked Wei Yuan up and down, and exclaimed, "Brother Wei, your bravery is as good as ever!"

Wei Yuan sighed, "My cultivation is slow, but I have some strength. I haven't even reached the Dao Foundation stage yet, so please don't make fun of me, Brother Li."

Li Zhi's eyelid twitched; was he just feeling a bit of strength?

This short spear weighs thirty pounds, and Wei Yuan's throwing speed is almost as fast as the long arrow in his hand. Is that what you call having some strength?
Li Zhi, with his keen eye, discerned that the short spear Wei Yuan had thrown, while resembling a magical artifact, was merely a slightly reinforced version, lacking even sharpness. If it were truly a magical artifact, the holster containing the spear would be the real one, possessing extra space capable of holding thirty short spears. In terms of quality, the holster was practically the floor of a magical artifact, even somewhat shabby for Li Zhi's personal guards. The short spear's terrifying power stemmed entirely from Wei Yuan's physical strength.

The short spear Wei Yuan threw had no other magical properties; it didn't even have basic functions like locking onto targets with divine sense. It was simply fast and heavy, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake. Even if Li Zhi had cultivated to the point of immortality and possessed a top-grade magical artifact, he wouldn't want to face Wei Yuan's short spear within a hundred feet.

In a daze, Li Zhi recalled the terrifying figure who sat steadily on the back of a towering wild boar during the martial arts test years ago. Back then, Wei Yuan had shattered his supreme Qi Luck Secret Technique with a single spear thrust, and the memory still sent shivers down his spine.

"He really is a barbarian..." Li Zhi thought to himself, naturally not uttering these words aloud.

After the battle, the way the guards looked at Wei Yuan changed. In the blink of an eye, Wei Yuan had slaughtered most of the Liao cavalry, leaving no survivors within a hundred paces. Li Zhi and his guards each only managed to achieve one victory.

(End of this chapter)