With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

Liu Zhenghua, dressed in a white robe, had his robes fluttering slightly in the strong wind. His footwork was light and agile, like flowing clouds and water. Although his long sword was not drawn, the way he touched, deflected, guided, and pressed the scabbard revealed the delicacy and precision of the Qingyuan Sword School.

Every move was laced with hidden cunning and tricky angles, intended to shut down the bandits' offensive and seize their vital points.

However, the bandit leader seemed to have been prepared. His moves were fierce and domineering. He wielded a thick-backed cleaver with wide, sweeping motions, the blade whistling through the air, and it came straight at him with a brutal force.

His foundation was solid, and his steps were as steady as if rooted to the ground. Whenever Liu Zhenghua's skillful attack came, he would use his powerful internal force to meet and block it head-on, making the sword sheath vibrate and forcing Liu Zhenghua to withdraw his move and change his stance.

The glint of blades clashed against the scabbards, the metallic clang like a sudden downpour on an anvil, sparks flying in the darkness.

Liu Zhenghua lured the enemy deep into his territory several times, attempting to overwhelm them with speed and strike their throats or wrists when the bandits' old forces were exhausted and new forces had not yet emerged.

However, the bandit leader, with his superb martial arts skills and fearless fighting style, would repeatedly turn the blade around and block the attack at the last minute, even forcibly knocking open the scabbard with the back of the blade, forcing Liu Zhenghua to retreat.

The two, one fast and one slow, one skillful and one fierce, moved nimbly across the rooftop.

Liu Zhenghua's sword, like a serpent spitting its tongue, aimed at the empty gate; the bandit's machete, like a tiger descending a mountain, cleaved through the wind. As their energies clashed, roof tiles began to fall.

This bandit was not only incredibly strong but also extremely quick-witted, clearly a veteran of countless battles and no ordinary thug. If it weren't for Liu Zhenghua's exquisite moves and agile footwork, he would probably have already been at a disadvantage.

Liu Zhenghua failed to completely suppress his opponent as expected. Instead, he was dragged into a protracted fight by the bandits' arrogance and ferocity, resulting in a truly evenly matched situation.

However, as the advantage of the third-rate battlefield gradually increased, the situation began to favor their side.

The bandits were swarming out of the fortified village, their swords clashing and shouts mingling, trying to break through in the chaos.

Horses galloped forward outside the fortified village, dozens of figures arriving with the wind; the true disciples and inner disciples of the Qingyuan Sword Sect had finally arrived.

The leading disciple drew his sword, its blade flashing like lightning, and shouted, "Clear the area!"

The crowd responded immediately, their figures piercing through the bandits like arrows. Their swordplay was swift and ruthless, with horizontal slashes and vertical thrusts that threw the bandits into disarray. Inner disciples provided support from both sides, constantly slashing and thrusting, tearing apart the tightly packed breakout formation.

They carved a path through the bandits, sped into the fortified village, and arrived at the battlefield of the warriors.

Seeing that the sword-winged mantis was at a slight disadvantage, the two second-rate disciples immediately stepped in and replaced the mantis.

It was only then that Lin Ye truly witnessed the power of the Dao soldiers.

Prior to this, Lin Ye's understanding of Dao soldiers had been flawed.

He thought the nest's main function was to suppress demonic beasts, and that combat Taoist soldiers were not very useful, except for those used for management.

After all, in the battles he had experienced, the combat soldiers hadn't played much of a role.

In the first battle, on my way back to Xiang County, when I fought against the bandits, my two Rock Toad Guards only served to disrupt the bandits' ranks. The enemy's two Wilderness Wolf Shields also played no role and were destroyed along with the death of the third-rate bandit leader.

After returning to Xiang County, apart from his two Taoist soldiers, he saw virtually no other Taoist soldiers.

During the battle today, the bandits did not send any soldiers, and my two Rock Toad Guards were of little use, far less effective than the Mountain-Splitting Crossbow.

Now that the two sword-winged mantises were no longer fighting the second-rate bandits, Lin Ye finally saw how terrifying the combat soldiers were.

With a light leap, they broke away from the battle and pounced on the scattered, low-ranking bandits and ordinary horse bandits.

They were small yet incredibly agile, their bluish-gray carapaces gleaming coldly in the firelight and darkness, like two sharp blades swiftly cutting along the ground. Their sword-like wings were half-spread, their edges like blades, slicing through the air almost silently.

The praying mantis is incredibly fast, moving through crowds like a ghost.

One moment they were attacking from the left flank, the next they had flashed to the right flank and slashed horizontally. Their forelimbs were like curved swords, and the sharp edges easily tore through the skin and flesh the moment they touched a human, causing blood to gush out like a fountain.

The bandits who were struck didn't even have time to scream before their heads or torsos were cleanly severed, and their remains fell to the ground.

They darted and weaved through the bandits, each strike taking a life. Blood and bits of flesh splattered like mist, blooming into fleeting "blood flowers" on the ground around their figures.

The bandits brandished their swords and raised their shields in terror, but they couldn't even catch a glimpse of them; in their panic, they collided and trampled each other, and the group completely collapsed.

The sword-winged mantis kills without hesitation. Its fearless nature makes it ignore any obstacles. Even when surrounded by several people, it will tear through the defenses with even faster speed and more fierce attacks.

In a short while, most of the bandits within a dozen feet had fallen, and only a few screaming and fleeing figures remained alive.

At this moment, Lin Ye truly understood that the terror of combat soldiers lay not in overwhelming an enemy, but in their fearlessness and unique role based on their own characteristics.

Although his two Rock Toad Guards could not directly cause a lot of damage, they could disrupt the enemy's formation by suddenly spraying water and ramming their bodies on the battlefield.

Gargoyles that have not yet materialized can fly high in the sky, monitor the enemy's situation and movements, provide early warnings, and thus prepare defensive strategies in advance.

These two sword-winged mantises in front of us have taken high-speed killing to the extreme.

With their astonishing speed and agile size, they specialize in hunting low-level, insignificant bandits and ordinary horse bandits, reaping a number of lives in a matter of moments and completely shattering the enemy's morale and formation.

They can play a huge role in small battles, and sometimes they are even more reliable and efficient than ordinary martial artists.

Just as the sword-winged mantis was reaping kills among the enemy ranks and blood was blooming everywhere, two other second-rate disciples and ten third-rate inner disciples of the Qingyuan Sword Sect also arrived at the battlefield.

Among them were Wang Qing, who had defeated Lin Ye in the True Inheritance Trial, and Liu Yingcheng, the son of Liu Zhenghua.

Although the two have passed the True Disciple Trial, they are still nominally considered inner disciples because they have not yet broken through to the second rank. They can only be promoted to True Disciple once their cultivation is perfected.

Ten third-rate inner disciples joined the battle against third-rate martial artists without hesitation.

Originally, their side already had the upper hand on the third-rate battlefield, with only five third-rate bandits struggling to hold on. However, once this new force joined, they swept through the enemy and wiped out the remaining third-rate bandits in no time.

At the same time, the two second-rate disciples noticed that, apart from Guard Sun, two other second-rate swordsmen from the second-rate battlefield had also suppressed their respective second-rate bandits, so they stopped being distracted.

He leaped onto the roof and joined the life-or-death duel between two top-tier masters.

"Everyone be careful, he should be a master of the Northern Xiongnu Shamanism." Liu Zhenghua immediately warned when he saw two true disciples coming to help.

Unlike the Northern Han, the Northern Xiongnu, though also relying on their strongholds to establish their fiefdoms, had a state religion—Shamanism—that extended throughout the country, in addition to the Northern Xiongnu imperial court.

In terms of influence and overall strength, Shamanism far surpasses the Qingyuan Sword Sect: one is the state religion of a country, while the other occupies only a prefecture. However, Shamanism needs to maintain its influence in various regions, inevitably resulting in its power being dispersed.

No wonder he could fight Elder Liu to a standstill.

Upon hearing this, the two second-rate true disciples were alarmed and abandoned their previous underestimation of their opponent. They immediately assisted Elder Liu and joined forces to suppress him.