Start with a red name

Zhang Shan was prepared for another thrilling and desperate battle.

However, after their team worked together seamlessly and quickly turned a senior Bone Refining Realm expert into a living corpse, they found themselves in the predicament of not being able to find their enemy.

Looking around, they realized that their small team wasn't the only one facing similar troubles.

The nearest enemy was forty or fifty paces away.

And it is being rapidly and frantically devoured by the "Black Wind Army" there.

Looking around, the number of enemies within sight was very small, and they were all already taken, ready to be picked.

Only the sounds of fierce fighting came from the direction of the distant camp.

Logically, everyone should continue rushing towards that direction at this point.

However, the squad leader, "Brother Li," did not do that, but instead led everyone to stay in this area.

It wasn't just them who did this; many other teams around them were doing the same thing.

It was as if an invisible thread was keeping them outside the front lines of the battlefield.

With doubts in his heart, Zhang Shan, like everyone else, naturally focused his attention on the squad leader "Brother Li".

There are doubts about the current situation, as well as inquiries about the next course of action.

"Brother Li" sighed and said:
"You should be content. In the last battle, we got there first, and the other group of brothers could only block the waterway and watch us eat the meat."

Now, naturally they have to take the lead, and we can only follow behind and scrape by.

At this point, he couldn't help but sigh:

"Those guys are really ruthless. They probably wiped out ninety percent of the enemy soldiers. Aren't they afraid of bursting their bellies?"

After hearing his explanation, some sighed with regret, while others looked resentful.

"Well... since we're on the battlefield, shouldn't we be fighting for victory with all our might?"

what is this?
"We clearly still have the strength, yet we're forced to watch others feast while we're not allowed to participate. What kind of logic is this?!" someone complained.

Many people nodded slightly, seemingly agreeing with this reasoning.

"Brother Li" glanced at him and said:
"According to several staff officers, it is also inappropriate to throw all of our forces into battle in every fight."

As the side with the advantage, it is essential to reserve some troops as a backup, in case of any unforeseen circumstances on the front lines, to deal with any possible contingencies.

"...We are now a reserve force for contingencies."

After he finished speaking, some people nodded slightly, seemingly agreeing with his point.

However, some people continue to stubbornly insist that "any rule that prevents me from earning credit is unreasonable."

"Da da da--"

Just then, a thumping sound rang out, and a figure clad in armor, riding a similarly armored Xuanyou horse, rapidly approached from the south side of the military camp.

Everyone turned to look at that direction.

The armored rider managed to stop the rapidly charging Xuanyou horse in time and pushed up the mask covering his face.

Upon recognizing this person, many veteran soldiers, such as Sergeant "Brother Li," were abuzz with excitement.

Because they were all familiar with this rider.

This man is Dai Ming, a peak-level cultivator at the Marrow Refining stage, and one of the captains of the "Black Wind Army".

Deming's gaze swept across the entire room, and he announced in a loud voice:
"Emergency transfer order! You must come with me immediately!"

Having said that, he turned his horse around and trotted back the way he came.

There was no extra explanation from beginning to end.

Everyone was taken aback by the sudden transfer order.

However, soon, at the beckoning of the squad leader "Brother Li", Zhang Shan and the others quickly followed.

……

About three miles south of the "Water Gate Army" stronghold, there is a large complex of buildings.

At this moment, the horses' hooves clattered, and dust billowed.

From the air, two armies of Xuanyou Iron Cavalry, totaling over four thousand men, are locked in a tense standoff between these buildings.

The number of cavalrymen, located in the inner perimeter and divided and surrounded by multiple building complexes, exceeded two thousand.

Despite having a greater advantage due to its location on the periphery, the number of cavalry was less than two thousand.

The former is more than capable of defending itself, but it is powerless to break through the encirclement for the time being.

Although the latter used its geographical advantage to nip all attempts to break out with small forces in the bud, it was difficult to organize a devastating offensive and swallow up the formidable enemy cavalry in the inner perimeter.

Next to it, inside an arrow tower, one can have a commanding view of the entire scene.

Tan Ze, who had used his professional knowledge to provide Geng Xuan with information about the troops stationed at this post station, was standing in front of Geng Xuan with his head bowed, looking as if he had made a grave mistake.

Tan Zezheng, with a deeply remorseful expression, offered his self-criticism:

"Commander, it's my fault. I overestimated the size of the cavalry here, which led to this situation!"

Following the surprise attack on the West Bank Post Station by nearly a thousand iron cavalry, the two thousand Xuanyou iron cavalry that set out from "Huangwei Island" also suffered considerable losses.

However, this battle also proved the accuracy of Tan Ze's estimation of the enemy cavalry's size.

Even with a reduction in the number of Iron Cavalry, it wouldn't be too difficult to take down another Iron Cavalry force of similar size on the East Coast.

The key point is just one thing: speed!
For this reason, as soon as the ship arrived at the shore, all the prepared cavalrymen immediately rushed off the dock and charged toward the place at top speed.

The objective was naturally to cut off all the enemy cavalry's escape routes before they could react.

And that's exactly what they did.

The only unexpected thing was that the number of enemy cavalry at this post station was not close to a thousand, but more than two thousand!
The situation suddenly became somewhat awkward.

They are good at besieging, but not good at attacking.

Moreover, this advantage of encirclement can only be maintained for a short time. Once the enemy cavalry is given more time, the situation of our own iron cavalry will deteriorate rapidly.

At this point, if an infantry force is available to assist, the stalemate can be easily broken, and a favorable situation can be quickly created.

But hindsight is always 20/20.

They used the enemy cavalry on the west bank as a reference and underestimated the size of the enemy cavalry on the east bank.

They wanted to kill as many enemy cavalry as possible inside the post station before the enemy could react. As soon as the ships arrived at the shore, they immediately began their operation. They had no intention of sharing the spoils with their infantry, nor did they have the time for it.

This is what led to the current situation.

Seeing that he had made a mistake, Tan Ze was trying his best to find a way to fix it.

He quickly came up with a solution and suggested:
"Aren't there still more than four hundred enemy cavalrymen who surrendered and were captured on the ship?"
"How about we rearm them and let them lead the charge?"

Unmoved by the standoff below, Geng Xuan immediately shook his head after hearing the suggestion:

"No, none of the prisoners can be used before they are formally incorporated into the organization."

"That……"

Although Tan Ze felt that this kind of persistence could be adapted appropriately in urgent situations.

In the end, he only opened his mouth but did not actually raise any objections.

Geng Xuan didn't delay and made a decision immediately.

Deming was instructed to hand over command to his deputy, and he himself went to the military camp to transfer all of his surplus troops there.

The "Water Gate Army" numbered 8,000, with approximately 4,000 on each of the east and west banks.

However, the number of infantry fighting forces deployed by our side exceeded 15,000.

Following Liu Mu's suggestion, while ensuring their own advantage, the remaining troops should not be all sent to the front line, in order to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.

Now is the perfect time.

Geng Xuan estimated that at least six or seven thousand troops could be drawn from the military camp.

With their addition, combined with our own iron cavalry, it will be enough to take down these two thousand-plus enemy cavalry.

Less than half an hour after receiving the order and leaving, Dai Ming led a massive swarm of "Black Wind Army" like a rapidly moving ant tide, engulfing the post station below.

The number of troops Deming brought was larger than he had anticipated.

More than eight thousand!
If it were just them alone, facing more than two thousand fully armed Xuanyou Iron Cavalry, without the advantage of terrain, the situation would be very bad, even tragic.

However, with nearly two thousand of their own iron cavalry, the situation would be completely different.

This is equivalent to adding a heavy weight to one side of a scale that was already evenly matched. The stalemate was instantly broken.

What was initially a worrying battle situation suddenly became clear.

Geng Xuan stood on the arrow tower, observing these changes.

Behind him were Liu Mu, Tan Ze, and two other "advisors" who were both at the peak of the second realm.

Whether in the previous battle against the West Coast stronghold or in the battle unfolding before our eyes, Geng Xuan himself has not made a move.

He didn't even use the method of casting bad luck and calamity upon the enemy to create advantages for his own side and increase the enemy's misfortune.

Not only did Geng Xuan himself not take action, but Liu Mu, Tan Ze, and the others only contributed their abilities in command and control.

They themselves did not personally engage in combat.

It wasn't that Geng Xuan intentionally wanted to increase the difficulty of the "Black Wind Army's" victory.

Rather, he had to do it.

Now, he's starting to feel overwhelmed and unable to attend to everything at once.

Previously, he had acted like a nanny, meticulously removing all obstacles that could have severely damaged the "Black Wind Army".

He personally tackled the toughest challenges.

But this is not a long-term solution.

If things continue like this, the significance of the "Black Wind Army" will be largely lost.

After passing through the most difficult, toddler-like stage, the "Black Wind Army" must gradually learn to walk on their own.

In Geng Xuan's plan, apart from those targets that were too tough for the "Black Wind Army" to crack, he had to gradually withdraw from the front line.

He should return to the position he should hold as the "commander of the army," and examine and consider things from a more comprehensive and macro perspective, instead of continuing to see himself as a firefighter or a special forces soldier.

If this continues, not only will he become increasingly exhausted, but the entire "Black Wind Army" will also find it difficult to get real training.

The target of this battle is just right in terms of strength.

What a coincidence!
This is perfect for the "Black Wind Army" to practice on.

Now, at least he's there to look after things and can be the last resort.

……

Geng Xuan looked around, surveying the entire room.

Suddenly, his gaze stopped moving back and forth and settled on a particular area.

What's so special about that place?
There was a guy he found very interesting, that's all.

However, although there aren't many of these guys, there are quite a few in the current "Black Wind Army".

People like Song Mingzhu, Xiang Jinxiu, Hu Yuan, Zhang Kai, Guo Nan, and Yu Qiuhe, who were able to make a name for themselves in such a challenging environment as Xuanyou and Erzhou, all possessed genuine abilities.
Compared to his abilities, it was his temperament, which was completely different from that of ordinary cultivators, that attracted his attention even more.

He was curious about what such a person would be like when he reached the same level as Song Mingzhu and Xiang Jinxiu.
This change is not necessarily a bad thing for the "Black Wind Army".

Thinking of this, Geng Xuan couldn't help but feel a little bit of anticipation.

Just then, Geng Xuan suddenly had an idea, reached out and grabbed a pebble the size of a pigeon egg.

The next moment, the pebble pierced through the void and landed precisely at a point nearly a kilometer away.

……

Zhang Shan felt something was off.

Those tin cans were really too hard to eat.

Even if he stood there and didn't move, and let him try to chop, Zhang Shan still didn't have the confidence to defeat his opponent.

In their small team, only the squad leader, who was at the Bone Refinement level, dared to confront Yiqi head-on once.

On that very occasion, his own sergeant was knocked so hard he vomited blood and flew out of the room; he's still lying on the ground.

If he hadn't seen him occasionally wriggle slightly like a worm, he would have thought his sergeant was dead.

If even the sergeant is like this, then the lowly henchmen can't even get close to it.

In that case——

What is the point of bringing us here?

This question became clear to Zhang Shan when he saw an enemy cavalryman trying to accelerate his charge, knocking away four "minions" in succession, slowing down, and then being tackled off his horse by his own captain who suddenly appeared from the side.

"So, it turns out that we little minions were being used as mobile obstacles."

Their very existence on the battlefield is meaningful.

This discovery made Zhang Shan quite uneasy.

It wasn't that he harbored any resentment or bitterness; he simply lost the will to fight fiercely on this battlefield.

The next moment, all those chaotic thoughts vanished.

An enemy rider, whom he had to look up at, pressed down on him like a moving mountain, accompanied by the thunderous sound of hooves.

Zhang Shan wanted to evade.

But when he was locked onto by the cold gaze of the enemy rider hidden behind his helmet, he found himself like a rabbit being locked onto by the gaze of a lion or tiger.

A sense of suppression, seemingly emanating from his very bloodline, rendered him unable to make any effective evasive maneuvers for a moment.

"It's over!"

The enemy cavalry is getting closer and closer.

Zhang Shan did not close his eyes and await death.

In the final moments of his life, he finally broke free from the seemingly spiritual shock and moved the shield in his hand in front of him.

Zhang Shan looked directly into the other person's eyes and seemed to see mockery in that cold gaze.

It was as if they were laughing at his futile struggle, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Let them laugh.

Zhang Shan simply gripped the shield in his hand tighter and stepped back slightly.

In this way, while the other party is being knocked away, they will also lose a significant amount of speed.

"Xilulu——"

Zhang Shan, who was waiting for a close encounter with the rapidly charging Xuanyou Iron Cavalry, did not see the high-speed collision of the Xuanyou Iron Cavalry. Instead, he heard the panicked neighing of horses.

Zhang Shan's eyes widened.

The Xuanyou horse, which had been charging towards him just moments before, suddenly stopped working as if its left foreleg had hit an iron plate or stepped into a pit.

Consequently, the iron cavalry that should have been charging straight towards him was also involuntarily thrown to the left.

Before the Xuanyou horse landed, the rider had already been thrown off.

Soon, the rider, who had been standing high above with a cold gaze, was "swallowed up" in the crowd.

Zhang Shan didn't join in the commotion, but instead went to the side of the Xuan You horse lying on the ground, howling and neighing in pain.

His gaze quickly became fixed.

On the left foreleg of the Xuanyou Horse, at the knee bend, on the protective armor that is said to be difficult to break even with a full-force attack from a Blood Refining Realm cultivator, there is a pebble the size of a pigeon egg embedded there.

How was it inlaid?

Zhang Shan could not have imagined what he was seeing.

Or is there something special about this pebble?

Thinking this, Zhang Shan couldn't help but bend down and reach out to touch the pebble.

He wanted to pry it off to take a closer look.

But he didn't pry it off.

The moment his finger touched the pebble, it turned into stone dust and fell to the ground with a rustling sound.

Soon, the pebble disappeared without a trace.

If it weren't for the obvious dent in the protective armor, he would have doubted that what he had just seen was an illusion.

At this moment, if one were to look at the entire battlefield of the post station, it would be clear that the advantage was unstoppable and tilting towards the "Black Wind Army".

At this point, the outcome of this battle was no longer in doubt. (End of Chapter)