I maxed out the Scholar talent at the start, but I want to be a Warrior.

The sound of horses' hooves.

It seems to be getting closer.

Gu Cheng suddenly opened his eyes and sprang up from the tree trunk.

He turned his head to look north.

I didn't see anything.

But sounds don't lie. At least twenty riders, maybe more, were rapidly approaching from the foot of the mountains to the north.

"uncle!"

He shouted.

Gu Chang'an had already stood up.

With a long spear in hand and his white hair fluttering slightly in the morning breeze, he resembled a drawn sword.

"Get up, all of you!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried throughout the entire camp.

The young men who had been dozing off suddenly sprang to their feet.

"The barbarian pursuers are here."

Those four words were like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone's head.

The person who had just breathed a sigh of relief suddenly turned completely pale.

"Go into the woods!"

Gu Chang'an did not hesitate at all.

"Old people and children in the middle, able-bodied men on the sides, and everyone who can run, run! Cavalry can't get into the dense forest—hurry!"

The crowd erupted.

Women carrying children rushed into the woods, while the elderly were supported by young and strong men. Some people fell down, but were pulled up by those behind them and continued running.

The scene was chaotic, but no one stopped.

Because everyone heard the sound of horses' hooves.

"Hurry! Hurry!"

Gu Daliang grabbed Gu Cheng's arm, almost dragging him along.

As Gu Cheng ran, he silently chanted in his mind—

"Investigate."

The screen lit up.

There was an extra layer of semi-transparent information in my field of vision, like a thin mist covering my eyes.

He turned his head to look north—

There was nothing there.

The distance is too far, limiting the scope of the exploration.

He gritted his teeth and kept running.

After running for about fifteen minutes, the group had entered the depths of the dense forest. The sound of hooves became muffled by the trees, but they were still getting closer.

Gu Cheng opened the probe again.

This time, there was a response.

The first red dot appeared on the screen—

[Barbarian Cavalry - Normal] [Strength: 30]

Then came the second, the third, the fourth...

Red dots appeared like bullet comments.

【蛮族骑兵·普通】【力量：35】【蛮族骑兵·普通】【力量：31】【蛮族骑兵·普通】【力量：34】【蛮族骑兵·精锐】【力量：42】【蛮族骑兵·普通】【力量：33】……

Gu Cheng ran and scanned the data, which kept updating.

The strength of ordinary cavalry is between 30 and 36, while that of elite cavalry is just over 40—about the same as the able-bodied men in Anle Village.

Not too strong.

But there are too many.

He roughly counted and found that he had already detected more than thirty red dots, and the number was still increasing.

He continued sweeping—

My gaze froze.

In the far distance, a prominent information box popped up:

[Barbarian Centurion Batul] [Strength: 68] [Status: Unhealed old injury to left arm]

Centurion.

Strength 68.

It's close to third-rate.

Gu Cheng's breath hitched for a moment.

Last night, that centurion—the one who was scared off by Gu Chang'an—came after us again?

No, this one is clearly stronger.

Last night, the centurion retreated north. This man named Batur is the leader of another pursuing force.

Two barbarian tribes arrived one after the other.

Anle Village's luck was truly the worst it could be.

But Gu Cheng had no time to lament his luck.

His gaze was fixed intently on that line of text—

The old injury on my left arm has not yet healed.

Left arm.

Old wound.

A series of thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

A centurion with a strength of 68 is close to third-rate and might not necessarily win against Gu Chang'an in a head-on fight—but if he has an old injury in his left arm, it means that his left side is an opening.

If someone manages to break through from the left flank, forcing him to block with his left arm—

His old wound reopened, and his strength plummeted.

This means there's going to be a war.

"uncle!"

Gu Cheng suddenly stopped and turned to rush towards the back of the group.

Gu Chang'an was covering the rear, his spear held horizontally in front of him, his gaze coldly fixed on the direction outside the woods.

"Uncle, there's a centurion among the pursuers!" Gu Cheng ran to his side, panting. "His name is Batur, his strength is close to third-rate—but he has an old injury on his left arm!"

Gu Chang'an paused for a moment.

He turned his head and looked at Gu Cheng.

How did you know?

"My scribe skill—scouting."

Gu Chang'an's expression changed.

He had always thought that reconnaissance was just about checking the battlefield situation, but he never expected that they could even find out the enemy's wounds.

An old injury to his left arm—what does that mean? It means the centurion's left side is vulnerable. If you rush in from the left and force him to block with his left arm, the old injury will have an effect.

This intelligence is extremely important.

Are you sure?

"Sure."

Gu Chang'an remained silent for a moment.

His gaze shifted from Gu Cheng's face to the outside of the woods. The sound of horses' hooves grew closer, and the ground trembled slightly.

Then he made a decision.

"Come on, follow me."

He led Gu Cheng quickly through the woods and arrived at a narrow mountain path.

The mountain path is flanked by dense forests and steep slopes, with only enough space for three horses to ride abreast.

"Right here."

Gu Chang'an stood in the middle of the mountain path, his spear resting on the ground.

"I'll hold the front and block the mountain pass. The cavalry can't get into the dense forest, but they have to cross the mountain path—it's the only way."

He turned to look at Gu Cheng.

"You don't need to come forward."

"and you……"

"I can handle it alone." Gu Chang'an's voice was calm. "Forty cavalrymen, at most three can be deployed in the mountain road. With my fourth-rate skills, I can still defeat three."

He paused.

"But that centurion is different. His strength is only average; I might not be able to win in a direct confrontation. That's why I need you—"

He looked into Gu Cheng's eyes.

"Keep an eye on him. Tell me when he draws his knife, when he pulls out his gun, and when he makes a mistake."

Gu Cheng nodded.

"Also," Gu Chang'an added, "when his left arm is exposed, have the men lying in ambush in the woods on the left fire. They don't need to be very accurate, just shoot at his left arm. It doesn't matter if they hit or miss, just force him to raise his left hand to block."

"I see."

"Go."

Gu Cheng turned and ran into the woods on the left.

They selected several strong young men wearing leather armor and carrying longbows.

"Uncle Ji, Uncle Yun, Brother He, you guys come with me and follow my instructions. The rest of you, keep running into the mountains."

The young men looked at him, somewhat hesitant.

"Xiao Cheng, you..."

"There's no time to explain." Gu Cheng lowered his voice. "When the barbarians enter the mountain path, you all hide behind the trees. When I yell 'shoot,' you shoot at the big guy leading them—shoot his left arm."

"That's...that's it?"

"That's it. Hurry, there's no time."

The sound of horses' hooves had reached the entrance to the mountain path.

Gu Cheng gripped a long knife, crouched behind a large tree, and began his full investigation.

On the screen, red dots appeared one after another on the mountain road—

More than thirty cavalrymen squeezed into the narrow mountain path.

Leading the group was a burly barbarian man with a bandage wrapped around his left arm, a curved sword in his right hand, and a black warhorse beneath him.

[Barbarian Centurion Batul] [Constitution: 73] [Strength: 68] [Spirit: 42] [Warrior Skills: Crescent Slash (Tier 1), Full Moon Slash (Tier 2)] [Preferred Weapon: Curved Blade (Elite)] [Status: Unhealed old wound on left arm (Combat power reduced by 5%)]

Gu Cheng felt a chill run down his spine; this opponent was not easy to deal with.

The barbarian cavalry also spotted Gu Chang'an blocking the middle of the mountain road.

White hair, a long spear, and a lone figure.

Batur gave a cold laugh.

An old man with white hair, stopping forty horsemen?

He raised his right hand and roared something in a barbarian language.

The cavalry behind them began to accelerate.

Gu Cheng's heart was in his throat.

But he didn't panic.

coming.

"Uncle, watch out!"

Gu Cheng's voice traveled through the woods.

In the middle of the mountain path, Gu Chang'an held his spear horizontally, the tip of which was aimed at the path from which they had come.

He did not back down.

Not a single step.