My strength increases by one percent every day; I can destroy stars with my bare hands.

"Chase after them and slaughter them all."

The barbarians roared as they charged toward the fleeing military camp. A dozen shadow wolves, their aura chilling, relentlessly tracked the camp's movements.

"Oh no, the barbarian army is catching up!"

"Damn it, what am I going to do now?"

"What should we do? Think of something quickly."

"..."

As the barbarian army drew ever closer, everyone trembled with fear and grew increasingly anxious.

If the barbarians catch up with us, the chances of survival are slim.

Wang Xuanshan turned to look at the pursuing barbarian army, his face grim, his eyes darting around, and quickly made a decision.

"Zhao Changlin, Feng Long, immediately lead your men to cover the rear."

In a life-or-death situation, Wang Xuanshan chose to sacrifice Zhao Changlin and Feng Long in order to protect himself.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Changlin and Feng Long were stunned, their eyes wide with disbelief.

Feng Long, in particular, never imagined that Wang Xuanshan would sacrifice him.

Just moments ago he was forcing the conscripted soldiers to cover his retreat, but now the same thing was happening to him; it all seemed so ridiculous.

"Yes, sir."

Zhao Changlin accepted the order in a deep voice, bringing the stunned Feng Long back to his senses.

Military orders are absolute, and the two men could not disobey.

The imperial court treated soldiers very well, but also very harshly.

If a soldier disobeys orders on the battlefield, not only will he be punished, but his family will also be implicated.

Even for the sake of their families, the two dared not disobey military orders.

Even if they die in battle, their families can continue to enjoy privileges.

"Come with me."

Zhao Changlin roared angrily, determined to die, and led his hundred-man squad to stop fleeing.

Li Xuancang was among them, his face extremely grim.

"Faced with barbarians, staying behind to cover the retreat will only lead to certain death."

Li Xuancang calmly analyzed the current situation, realizing that they were inferior to the barbarians in both numbers and strength.

Even if two hundred men fought to the death and refused to retreat, it would be impossible to stop the barbarians.

Although he wanted to kill enemies, gain merit, and be promoted quickly, he did not want to seek his own death.

"What? You're sending us to cover their retreat? Isn't that sending us to our deaths?"

The two hundred-man squads of soldiers paled, finding the order unacceptable.

Seeing the crowd's anger and their desire to flee, Zhao Changlin shouted loudly.

"You are all soldiers registered by the imperial court, and your families enjoy special privileges. If you dare to disobey military orders, not only will you die, but your families will also be implicated."

Upon hearing this, the noisy crowd immediately fell silent.

Those soldiers who wanted to desert immediately abandoned the idea, as they were well aware of the consequences of desertion.

For their families, they would rather die on the battlefield.

"Let's fight the barbarians."

"At worst, I'll die. I'll still be a hero eighteen years from now."

"Fight to the death with the barbarians. Killing one is enough, killing two is a huge profit."

"..."

Knowing they were doomed, the group was no longer afraid and fought the enemy to the death.

After they die in battle, they receive a pension, which is the last thing they can do for their families.

"Half an hour, just half an hour, and we can retreat on our own."

Zhao Changlin shouted loudly, "They still have a glimmer of hope!"

But how easy is it to withstand an attack by thousands of barbarians for half an hour?

"Hahaha, kill them all!"

With a death wish, the men formed a simple defensive formation as the barbarian army had already arrived.

"Bang!"

"puff!"

"what!"

"..."

The two sides clashed in close combat, and the human race was almost defeated in a single round of fighting.

"Hold on, everyone hold on!"

Feng Long and Zhao Changlin shouted themselves hoarse as they fought desperately against the enemy.

A glimmer of hope shone in their eyes; they hoped to hold out for half an hour and have a chance to break through.

"Ah! I'll fight you to the death!"

"You barbarian scum, die!"

"Let's go to hell together!"

"..."

Faced with dire circumstances, the human army unleashed combat power far exceeding anything seen before.

No longer hesitant or fearful, his eyes were bloodshot, and he only wanted to drag the enemy down with him.

"puff!"

Just as a human soldier had beheaded a barbarian, another barbarian pierced his chest with a spear.

"what!"

The human soldier, enduring excruciating pain and ignoring his bleeding wound, mustered all his strength to turn around and slash the barbarian soldier across the face with his blade.

"what!"

The barbarian soldier screamed and collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

"Haha...hahaha..."

Upon seeing this, the human soldier laughed, blood gushing from his mouth, and collapsed into a pool of blood with a satisfied smile.

"Don't let them buy you time. Leave half of your men to wipe them out, and the rest of you follow me in pursuit. Make sure to capture all the troops at the lakeside post station."

The barbarians wanted to exterminate them completely, leaving no one alive. So, half of them were left to surround and kill the two hundred-man squads, while the others bypassed the rearguard and continued to pursue Wang Xuanshan.

The barbarians split their forces, but the pressure on everyone did not lessen.

Enemies were everywhere, and the group was completely surrounded.

"Hang in there, everyone. We still have a chance to leave alive."

Seeing the barbarians split up, Zhao Changlin and Feng Longhuan felt hopeful and encouraged everyone to persevere.

Li Xuancang was also fighting bravely, and in a short time, more than a dozen barbarians had died at his hands.

"Xuan Cang, stay by my side."

Zhao Changlin shouted loudly, telling Li Xuancang to follow him closely.

Li Xuancang is powerful and loyal to him, and is a great support on the battlefield. He will need Li Xuancang's help to break through the encirclement, so he wants to keep Li Xuancang by his side.

"Yes, sir."

Li Xuancang had no problem with it; staying by Zhao Changlin's side would give him a greater chance of survival.

"Die!"

The barbarian cultivators attacked Zhao Changlin and his group, aiming to capture their leader first and then kill them.

The human army will collapse instantly once Zhao Changlin dies.

"not good!"

Seeing the dozen or so barbarian cultivators charging towards him, Zhao Changlin's spirits sank to the bottom.

The two leaders were at the late stage of Body Tempering Realm. He could only deal with the two of them even with all his strength. If the other Body Tempering Realm cultivators swarmed him, he would not be able to resist.

The squad leaders and sergeants in the hundred-man squad were also tied up by other barbarians and unable to provide support.

"Xuan Cang, I'll hold off those two late-stage Body Tempering Realm cultivators, you hold off the others."

With things having come to this point, Zhao Changlin could only place his hopes on Li Xuancang.

Being able to hold off two late-stage Body Tempering Realm cultivators was already Zhao Changlin's limit. Whether he could hold off the others and buy time to retreat depended entirely on Li Xuancang.

Li Xuancang looked at the twelve barbarian cultivators charging towards him with murderous intent, his expression turned cold, but his heart remained resolute.

At this point, he had no choice but to hold off the enemy, or he would die.

"Yes, ma'am."

Li Xuancang shouted loudly, brandishing his spear horizontally, the tip flashing with a deadly cold light, aiming at the barbarians charging towards him.

"kill!"

Zhao Changlin let out a sharp whistle and charged towards the two barbarian warriors in the late stage of Body Tempering.

"boom!"

Li Xuancang followed closely behind, thrusting forward with his spear and killing twelve barbarian cultivators.

"court death."

"Arrogant!"

"Overestimating one's abilities."

"..."

Seeing Li Xuancang charging towards them alone, the barbarians were enraged. In their eyes, Li Xuancang's actions were a provocation.

"Kill him, chop him into mincemeat."

The barbarian was enraged, his eyes blazing with fury, determined to tear Li Xuancang to pieces.