Junior Sister is skilled in subduing demons.

Chapter 210 The First Battle Begins

As soon as the drawbridge at the north gate of Qiang City was lowered, Lingjizi rode Duoqi like a white streak of light through the morning mist, leading the vanguard straight towards Longding Mountain. Zilingxuan's Emei disciples followed closely behind on their flying swords, their sword light weaving a silver net in the rising sun. Monk Tongda and the others all had their own divine beast mounts…

Only Shen Anzhi and Ge Wensong were still struggling with their warhorses under the city gate.

Shen Anzhi rode a Qiang ethnic horse with a glossy, chestnut-red coat. It was said to have carried Rimai Yongga's father through seven enemy lines. But now, it was pawing at the ground, its nostrils flaring, retreating as it gazed at the steep mountain road ahead. The demonic energy of Longding Mountain drifted in with the wind, making even the bravest warhorse feel fear.

"Giddy up!" Anzhi raised her whip and lashed the horse's rump. The horse, in pain, lunged forward a few steps, but the moment it stepped onto the mountain path, it reared up abruptly, nearly throwing her off.

"That beast!" An Zhi gritted her teeth in anger, watching as Lingjizi's team shrank into a distant black dot, and Zi Lingxuan's flying sword light became nothing more than a fleeting afterimage. A sense of defeat suddenly surged into her heart. She pulled on the reins, her palms sweating and soaking the hilt of her sword: "If we can't even outrun a horse, how are we going to fight the Black Python?"

Ge Wensong's mount wasn't much better off. The white horse was panting heavily, its hooves slipping on the gravel, wobbling with every step.

“The mountain road is too steep, and the warhorses are already at a disadvantage.” He tried to soften his tone and reassure them: “If we go slowly and steadily, we may not fall too far behind.”

"Slow?" Anzhi laughed self-deprecatingly, her gaze sweeping over her empty shoulder. In the past, she had always been full of expectations for Tuantuan during cultivation. Although she couldn't become a divine beast mount, she hoped that Tuantuan could still be of help. But now, that guy was holed up in the central command tent.

Anzhi suddenly remembered the sword immortals he had seen in the bamboo forest. Those people flew across the bamboo forest on flying swords, and the wind stirred up by their clothes made the bamboo leaves flutter. In the blink of an eye, they could go from one side of the mountain to the other. There was also Lingjizi's divine beast mount Duoqi, and Rimai Yongga's six-legged beast Congcong. They crossed a hundred miles of mountain road while chatting and laughing.

She, however, was trapped on the back of a common horse that dared not even climb steep slopes, making her journey to the battlefield a miserable one.

"It's all because of that good-for-nothing!" Anzhi, unable to vent his anger, slammed his hand on the horse's back. The horse was startled, neighing and spinning in place, almost crashing into the cliff.

"Sister Anzhi!" Ge Wensong quickly grabbed her reins, the warmth of his palm seeping through the knot: "Don't be angry with the horse. Have you forgotten? On the Shu Road, Tuantuan didn't slack off on purpose, it might have..."

"Perhaps he's been bewitched by that old monkey again!" Anzhi interrupted Ge Wensong, her voice suddenly rising, her eyes slightly red: "This is our first battle. The Black Python owes Sanqing Mountain a blood debt, and I still have the Demon-Slaying Sword in my hand, yet..." She wasn't angry that her warhorse wasn't fast enough, but that she couldn't even tame a divine beast. She wasn't envious of others' majestic mounts, but hated herself for failing at the crucial moment. Back in Sanqing Mountain, she had watched helplessly as the Black Python slipped away, and now, seeing that she was about to fall behind again, that sense of powerlessness clung to her like vines, making it hard for her to breathe.

Ge Wensong fell silent. He knew Anzhi's temperament; seemingly tough, he actually carried an extremely heavy burden of responsibility. He dismounted, walked to Anzhi's mount, took a piece of salt from his baggage, and held it to the horse's mouth: "Let it rest. Actually... I think it's better for it to go slower."

Anzhi was stunned.

“Senior Lingjizi and the others are charging ahead to draw fire, which gives us a good opportunity to scout the flanks.” Ge Wensong gently stroked the horse’s mane with his fingertips, his movements so gentle that they were not those of a military general. “Look at the rocks on both sides of this mountain road. They’re perfect for an ambush. If the demon soldiers have reinforcements, we can intercept them.”

Ge Wensong paused, then suddenly looked up and smiled at her, "Besides, with Sister Anzhi's swordsmanship, even if you arrived a moment later, you could still sever the black python's vital point with a single strike, right?" The wind blew down the mountain path, carrying the faint sounds of battle from the direction of Dragon Cauldron Mountain. Anzhi looked at Ge Wensong's profile, gilded by the sunlight, and at the undisguised trust in his eyes, and her anger gradually subsided.

She dismounted, took the reins, and let the horse graze on the wild grass by the roadside.

“Let’s go.” Her voice was much softer, but it still carried a stubborn determination: “Even if we have to walk, we have to put the Demon-Slaying Sword to its neck before the Black Python breaks through the barrier.”

Ge Wensong followed with a smile. The sounds of battle in the distance grew clearer, mixed with the roars of demon soldiers and the shouts of the allied forces. An Zhi gripped the demon-slaying sword at his waist, its blade gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

The outline of Longding Mountain was distorted in the smoke of battle. From above, the demon soldiers looked like a surging black tide, pouring out of the western canyon and densely covering the mountain path. Finally, everyone met at the foot of Longding Mountain.

The Go people, shirtless, wielded stone hammers and bone axes, smashing the defensive fortifications of the Qiang tribe at the foot of the mountain.

"These beasts!" Ge Wensong's voice was filled with anger. He gripped his longsword tightly, the blade gleaming coldly in the sunlight. "If they get any closer, the pass will fall!"

Lingjizi stood behind the two, his Taoist robe fluttering in the mountain wind. His gaze swept over the dark mass of enemy troops below the mountain, and he suddenly raised his hand: "Form a battle formation!" His voice was not loud, but it clearly carried throughout the entire mountain: "Zi Lingxuan, lead the left flank to flank and harass the rear of the demon soldiers. Monk Tongda and Mo Jianchen, guard the right flank to prevent the Ge people from encircling you. Xuanfeng Yichen, please use the formation to restrain the main force!"

"What about us?" Anzhi turned around, the Demon-Slaying Sword trembling slightly in her palm, the runes on the blade glowing with her fighting spirit.

“You guard this pass.” Lingjizi pointed to the narrowest part of the mountain path, where only three people could walk side by side, with sheer cliffs on both sides: “This is the only way the demon soldiers can pass. Make sure to slow down their assembly. Remember, don’t linger in battle. The objective is to disrupt their formation and buy them time!”

"Understood!" An Zhi and Ge Wensong replied in unison, then jumped off the boulder.

At this moment, the demon soldiers who arrived at the pass first began to climb the stone steps, their dark blue hands gripping the cracks in the rocks, and they made strange hissing sounds.

An Zhi had just steadied himself when he heard the roar of the Ge people behind him. They had smashed the last section of the fence and were charging up the mountain with bone arrows in hand.

"Wen Song, cover us!" An Zhi shouted, and the Demon-Slaying Sword was suddenly drawn. Golden light poured down like a waterfall, splitting into dozens of sharp beams in mid-air, like a giant golden net, covering the densest demon soldiers at the pass.

"Splittering Demon-Slaying Sword!" Shen Anzhi shouted as he charged toward the demonic soldiers.

"Ah..." The demon soldiers let out a shrill scream. Their bodies, touched by the golden light, instantly turned to ashes, and even the weapons in their hands shattered inch by inch...