I became a prince in a martial arts world.

Chapter 67 Star-Picking Hands and Star-Chasing Steps

Yao Changgeng, Mu Yachi, Zhao Guizhou.

Three skilled warriors, eager to capture the leader of the bandits and charge into the enemy lines alone, never expected that Qianqian, a demonic witch from the Demonic Sect, would be present at the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion, nor did they expect that Wang Yu's martial arts skills were far superior to their expectations.

And so they all died.

Ma Bojun pierced Yao Changgeng's chest with a single spear thrust, then tossed him aside before turning his horse around and charging back into the battlefield.

Li Yunxiu stood on a small sand dune, holding two flags, one black and one red, in his hands, signaling various flag signals.

These are the command flag signals of the Iron Eagle Cavalry. Li Yunxiu had worked in the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion for more than half a year and was involved in military and political affairs. He had already learned these flag signals. Now, when he was commanding the troops, he saw the three hundred-man squads of the Iron Eagle Cavalry charging left and right in the formation, like three long snakes cutting back and forth. They actually divided the four hundred Black Qiang cavalry into more than ten small groups, which were not connected to each other and each acted independently.

Ma Bojun was bewildered when he first charged into the enemy formation, and the three centurions of the Iron Eagle Cavalry were all stunned.

When have they ever seen such precise maneuvers? When have they ever fought such an easy battle against an evenly matched opponent?

Of course, Yao Changgeng's death also had an impact on the Black Qiang cavalry.

This was the eldest disciple of Shi Mo, the number one expert of the Black Qiang, a master of innate level. In their eyes, he was like a god, and in the army, he would be a match for ten thousand men. Yet he was killed by one of the enemy's cavalry generals!

Therefore, the Black Qiang cavalry itself fell into chaos. Several centurions tried their best to gather their troops, but they were cut off by three centurions of the Iron Eagle Cavalry, which increased the chaos and then they could no longer be controlled.

Under the onslaught of three rounds of sword rain, Ma Bojun's charge, and the Iron Eagle Cavalry's cutting attacks, the Black Qiang cavalry suffered more than half their losses in a short period of time, leaving only a mere two hundred riders who scattered in all directions and fled north in disarray.

On the other side, the cavalry besieging the chariot formation had made a breakthrough, opening a gap in the formation after suffering dozens of casualties. They were preparing to charge into the formation and start a massacre when they discovered that the other half of the cavalry blocking the Iron Eagle Cavalry had already scattered.

The Black Qiang chieftain raised his long spear, faced the fleeing soldiers, and shouted sternly, "Where is Mr. Yao?"

"They were killed by the people of the Central Plains!"

"What?" The Black Qiang chieftain was about to ask another question when he discovered that a large cart in the formation had shattered, with gold and silver jewels scattered all over the ground.

In an instant, many of the Black Qiang cavalrymen turned red-eyed. Seeing that a gap had been opened in the chariot formation, they pushed and shoved their way through the gap.

In their eyes, the broken chariot formation and the soldiers within it were like fish on a chopping board; they could rob them at will, and as long as they were fast enough, they could escape with their wealth even if the Iron Eagle Cavalry came after them.

They have been blinded by wealth.

Even the Black Qiang chieftain was momentarily stunned. Although he was shocked to learn of Yao Changgeng's death, the treasure before him still caused him to lose his composure and hesitate for a moment.

Zhao Guizhou and Yao Changgeng came to deal with the King of Zhenxi, but their real purpose was to seize the Loulan treasure.

Now that Yao Changgeng is dead, and nearly half of his thousand cavalrymen are gone, if they still can't bring back enough treasure, he'll probably have to face a joint interrogation from the Black Qiang King and Shi Mo.

He was just a mere commander of a thousand Black Qiang tribesmen, yet he couldn't handle this situation!

So he hesitated for only a moment, and then immediately led his men into the car formation, determined to seize a portion of the Loulan treasure and bring it back to report.

Inside the chariot formation, Zhao Lü, protecting Niu Zilian, couldn't help but ask, "Why did the strategist create a gap in the chariot formation? If not, they might have escaped."

Niu Zilian stood on a large cart in the middle of the formation, looking at the scattered cavalry retreating from south to north, and said in a deep voice, "We have agreed with the King of Zhenxi to jointly resist the Black Qiang cavalry."

"The Iron Eagle Cavalry has already driven back half the enemy, and Ma Bojun even killed one of their top fighters. If we just hold our ground, not only will we not be able to prevent the remaining enemy from returning, but we'll also have no achievements whatsoever. How can you possibly claim 30% of the treasure?"

Zhao Lü was highly skilled in martial arts, and Niu Zilian was also skilled in martial arts. Standing at a slightly higher vantage point, they could see the chaotic battle between the Iron Eagle Cavalry and the Black Qiang Cavalry, as well as the scene where Yao Changgeng and his two companions rushed to the small sand dune only to be killed.

Although they were quite far away and couldn't see very clearly, they knew that there were still experts in the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion. If they didn't make a contribution, Wang Yu might go back on his word.

Song Yuanjing couldn't help but ask, "What if they change their minds?"

Niu Zilian sighed, "Then I can only say I misjudged him. Although I've lost my wealth, at least my life is safe."

O

Duan Rui asked helplessly, "Why?"

Niu Zilian said calmly, "Because Zhao Yu and the imperial court are clearly not of one mind. Keeping us around to check the imperial court is beneficial to Zhao Yu."

At this point, Niu Zilian said to Zhao Lü, "The Black Qiang's thousand-man leader has entered the formation. General Zhao, go and kill him. In this way, the Black Qiang cavalry will collapse. We will then eliminate the cavalry in the chariot formation, and the Iron Eagle Cavalry will clean up the rest of the defeated soldiers."

"Yes!" Zhao Lu agreed, brandishing his spear as he leaped out.

As one of the four generals of the Shuntian Army, Zhao Lü was a first-class master, even though he had not reached the Xiantian level. Moreover, he was extremely skilled in spear fighting on the battlefield. At this time, the Black Qiang cavalry, who had charged into the chariot formation, were trapped in the Shuntian Army's formation and could not urge their warhorses to move. Instead, they were surrounded.

Contrary to the Black Qiang cavalry's expectations that their infantry would collapse and scatter after being charged by the cavalry, the Shuntian Army instead relied on the large carts within their ranks to form a defensive formation.

Without mobility, the cavalry, surrounded by infantry and hacked at with spears and swords, became sitting ducks and fell into chaos. At this moment, Zhao Lü charged into the enemy lines and quickly reached the Black Qiang commander.

"Kill!" The Black Qiang commander also noticed Zhao Lu and realized that he was the enemy's general. He immediately turned his horse and thrust his spear forward.

Unfortunately, although he was a general in the army and skilled in archery and horsemanship, he was not proficient in internal energy and was ultimately not a martial arts master. He relied entirely on external skills and weapons. After exchanging blows with Zhao Lü for only three or four rounds, Zhao Lü knocked away his horse spear and killed him with a single thrust.

With a thousand men dead, and the Shuntian Army in the chariot formation not collapsing as expected, the Black Qiang cavalry immediately fell into chaos. Finding that the men around them were falling off their horses one by one, they immediately turned their horses around and fled in a chaotic rush.

Niu Zilian raised his hand and gestured, "Close the door!"

The gap in the chariot formation gradually closed, but the Black Qiang cavalry swarmed in, and the Shuntian Army and the Black Qiang cavalry at the gap fought each other, but could not close the gap smoothly.

Just then, Ma Bojun arrived with his Iron Eagle Cavalry, killing or chasing away the Black Qiang cavalry outside the chariot formation. The Shuntian Army finally closed the gap in the chariot formation, trapping over a hundred Black Qiang cavalry inside and calling their names one by one.

Seeing that the Shuntian Army could handle the situation, Ma Bojun led the Iron Eagle Cavalry around the chariot formation and pursued the fleeing Black Qiang cavalry until they were out of sight, before leading his troops back.

During this period, although the Shuntian Army also suffered heavy losses, it eventually managed to eliminate the Black Qiang cavalry in the chariot formation.

Wang Yu, along with Li Yunxiu and Qianqian, spurred their horses to approach the chariot formation, while listening to the report on battle losses from the 100th commander of the Iron Eagle Cavalry.

In this battle, three hundred Iron Eagle Cavalry engaged five hundred Black Qiang cavalry in the field, killing three hundred enemies. Afterwards, they killed another one hundred outside the chariot formation and pursued and killed another one hundred, wiping out nearly half of the Black Qiang cavalry.

In addition, the Shuntian Army also dealt with nearly two hundred cavalrymen in the chariot formation. The Black Qiang cavalry, numbering one thousand, left behind nearly seven hundred corpses, with only three hundred or so fleeing north.

The Iron Eagle Cavalry suffered fewer than thirty casualties. Due to their great victory, they achieved an exchange ratio of nearly one to twenty. Of course, this was partly due to Ma Bojun leading the charge. On the other hand, the Shuntian Army suffered heavy losses. After all, it was infantry against cavalry. More than half of their three hundred men were lost, and the rest were all wounded. This is why they were able to stand in front of the Iron Eagle Cavalry with their morale intact.

"The Black Qiang made a careless mistake by splitting their forces in the first step, then they didn't know we had our uncle leading the way, and then they unexpectedly got caught in a chariot formation. They made one wrong move after another, completely squandering their advantage," Li Yunxiu analyzed.

"And the Princess Consort's decisive command quickly opened up the situation, which led to the one-sided outcome later on," Niu Zilian said, stepping out of the chariot formation and bowing.

"Military Advisor Niu's decision to lead the formation was a stroke of genius; I admire it," Li Yunxiu said with a slight smile.

Niu Zilian's eyes twitched, and he forced a smile as he looked at Wang Yu, "Greetings, Prince of Zhenxi."

Wang Yu nodded, glanced at the large wagons in the formation and the wounded Shuntian soldiers, and, under the tense gazes of Niu Zilian and Zhao Lu, smiled leisurely, "Thank you, seventy percent of the treasure, how much is it approximately?"

Niu Zilian and Zhao Lu both breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Yunxiu smiled slightly, her eyes sparkling.

Qianqian approached Li Yunxiu and whispered with a smile, "These are a major threat to the imperial court, a strategist and a general. Don't you want to kill them?"

Li Yunxiu snorted, "Don't try to provoke me, I won't fall for it."

Qianqian smiled and said, "Don't you think what Brother Yu said makes a lot of sense?"

Li Yunxiu snorted again, "They can't stir up any trouble."

Niu Zilian directed his soldiers to open the carts one by one, and they found the boxes filled with gold, silver coins, pearls and gems. It was indeed a national treasure that occupied the northwest trade route.

Wang Yu clicked his tongue and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't there any traps or hidden weapons in the treasure location? Isn't there any poison on the treasure? Aren't there any everyday items mixed in with the treasure? Hasn't the treasure cave been buried by yellow sand?"

To acquire such an immense treasure so easily is unlike anything he's ever seen in novels and movies!

Niu Zilian chuckled and said, "Back then, the King of Loulan was in such a hurry to move his treasure trove that finding a safe place to hide it was already a miracle. He didn't have time to make any other arrangements. Besides, he intended to use this treasure to restore his kingdom. Why would he do something that would cut off his own escape route?"

So everyone began to distribute the treasure, dividing its approximate value into ten parts. Wang Yu took seven parts, and Shuntian Army took thirty percent. But even this thirty percent was already close to the five million that Niu Zilian was pursuing.

"Your Highness is a man of your word, and I admire you greatly." Niu Zilian cupped his hands in greeting. "If Your Highness ever comes to the Central Plains in the future, I will greet you with my shoes turned upside down."

Wang Yu waved his hand, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

The Iron Eagle Cavalry received 70% of the treasure. Everyone cleaned up the battlefield together. Several guards from the royal palace placed the bodies of Yao Changgeng, Mu Yachi, and Zhao Guizhou separately, preparing to burn them.

Of course, the looting of the corpses was inevitable. Before Wang Yu even had to say anything, everyone took action. After all, even a small amount is still something. The Iron Eagle Cavalry and the soldiers of Shuntian Army were not martial arts masters, so they wanted to grab as much as they could.

Several guards from the Prince's Palace took Yao Changgeng and Mu Yachi's iron claws and maces, while Zhao Shan and Zhao He, looking excited, brought two books to Wang Yu's side. "Your Highness! What a great haul!"

"What is this?" Wang Yu took the two books and saw three large characters written on them.

Star-Catcher!

"Chasing Stars"!