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

As the sun sets in the west, its afterglow envelops the devastated Cangyun Ridge.

The battle raged from dawn till nightfall, leaving corpses strewn everywhere and blood soaking every inch of the land. The stench of blood in the air was so strong it was nauseating.

"Huff, huff huff huff..."

Li Xuancang stood holding his gun, panting heavily.

Even with his incredible physical strength, he couldn't withstand such a high-intensity battle.

He alone killed nearly a hundred barbarians, including seven or eight who were at the Body Tempering Realm. This feat was unparalleled among the squad leaders and even some centurions could not match it.

Of the three thousand soldiers, more than half were killed in action, and all were wounded.

The weapons were dulled, and the arrows, logs, and stones were all used up.

The soldiers who could stand were sustained by their unwavering will to die.

The defensive line was torn to pieces by the barbarian army, many passes fell, and the retreat route could be blocked at any time.

The casualties among the 5,000 conscripts were even more horrific, with only a little over a thousand men remaining, and the army was completely routed.

Although the barbarian army had also suffered more than half its losses, they continued to launch attacks, and reinforcements were still arriving in droves.

"It's terrible! Commander Liu has been killed in action, and the pass on the west side has been breached."

A desperate cry shattered the last psychological defenses of the defenders.

With the centurion of the Blood Coagulation Realm dead, the defense line, riddled with holes, could no longer hold.

The barbarian army and monsters broke through the defenses and slaughtered the enemy. The soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and the rout could no longer be reversed.

The barbarians and the monsters colluded, so from the very beginning, the human race had no chance of winning.

"Bang!"

Zhou Xingzhan was besieged by a barbarian Qi Realm expert and a snake demon. He was struggling to defend himself and could hardly protect himself.

He surveyed the battlefield and knew that the situation was hopeless and there was no way to reverse it.

"The entire army retreated, abandoned the passes, broke through to the east, and headed for Yuyang City."

Left with no other option, Zhou Xingzhan issued a breakout order.

If they continue to hold out, they will be completely annihilated once the barbarian army arrives.

Only by breaking through can we preserve our last remaining strength.

Once the military order was given, the already struggling defending troops instantly fell into chaos.

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

The soldiers stopped resisting, abandoned their armor and weapons, and fled in panic.

One by one, they rushed to the only breakout point on the east side, fearing they would be left to cover the retreat of others.

"Don't even think about leaving."

"Chase after them, slaughter them all, leave no one alive."

"Stop them, don't let a single one escape."

"..."

The barbarian army relentlessly pursued and intercepted the human army, preventing them from escaping easily.

"Xuan Cang, follow me to break through the encirclement."

Wang Xuanshan roared in anger. His personal guards were trying their best to break through the encirclement, but they could not shake off the entanglement of the barbarians.

"Yes, ma'am."

Li Xuancang hurriedly came to Wang Xuanshan's side and joined the others in the attack.

"Want to leave? None of you will leave alive."

The barbarian cultivators roared and pursued the enemy frantically, intending to wipe them out completely.

Defeat, escape, and slaughter filled the entire Cangyun Ridge.

"puff!"

After killing a barbarian cultivator, Li Xuancang swayed and felt completely drained.

He leaned on his spear, his body covered in bloody wounds, and gasped for breath.

"Kill them with me."

Wang Xuanshan also began to fight desperately, his body covered in blood, like a vengeful ghost emerging from hell.

There was no time for Li Xuancang to rest; he closely followed Wang Xuanshan in their breakout attempt.

"puff!"

"what!"

"Well!"

"..."

On the way to break through, people kept falling, but no one stopped.

"roar!"

The roar of the monstrous beast echoed, sending chills down one's spine.

"The monsters are attacking! Run!"

The monsters were too ferocious, devouring human soldiers alive on the battlefield. People were filled with fear and dared not fight them.

Li Xuancang gradually felt his strength waning, his body becoming numb from the fighting, reaching its limit and no longer obeying his commands.

"Good opportunity, let's go."

They finally fought their way out, and without a moment to celebrate, they unleashed their last bit of strength and fled as fast as they could.

They fled the battlefield in one breath and shook off their pursuers before daring to stop and rest.

"Huff, huff... I can't take it anymore..."

Everyone was exhausted and collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.

Li Xuancang was no exception; his whole body went limp, and he couldn't even hold onto his spear.

After resting for about an hour, everyone finally regained some strength.

At this moment, other soldiers broke through the encirclement one after another and joined up with Li Xuancang and the others.

"The barbarians are hot on our heels, we must hurry."

The crisis was not over yet, and Wang Xuanshan dared not linger. He fled with dozens of his remaining soldiers.

They fled all the way, like stray dogs, hungry and in a sorry state.

During their escape, Wang Xiaoniu stayed close to Li Xuancang.

"Squad Leader Li, I will never forget your life-saving grace."

Wang Xiaoniu was just an ordinary soldier, and he was able to survive the fierce battle entirely thanks to Li Xuancang's care.

"I am sorry for your loss."

The battlefield was cruel, and even though Li Xuancang had always taken care of the two brothers, Wang Daniu still died on the battlefield.

Wang Xiaoniu was also covered in wounds; it was Li Xuancang who rescued him from a pile of corpses.

Wang Xiaoniu was filled with grief; his own brother had died right before his eyes, and he could do nothing about it.

"Brothers, hold on! We'll be safe once we reach Yuyang City."

Everyone was exhausted and on their last legs, clinging to life only by sheer will to survive.

Wang Xuanshan encouraged everyone, giving them a glimmer of hope.

Several hours later, a city rose on the horizon and came into view.

"We're here, we've arrived."

"Waaaaah, we survived!"

"Great, we're saved!"

"..."

Upon seeing the city so close at hand, many people wept with joy, and as soon as they relaxed, they collapsed to the ground unconscious.

The group was not among the first to flee to Yuyang City; many defeated soldiers had already arrived there.

"Quickly, carry him into the city."

The officials of Yuyang City were prepared in advance and conscripted some people to carry the unconscious person into the city.

Li Xuancang followed the others into the city and arrived at the temporary settlement. Soon, someone brought him food.

Li Xuancang's eyes turned red as he looked at the food in front of him.

He hadn't eaten for two days and two nights, and was starving. All he could see was food.

His meal was quite good: two bowls of rice, three dishes, and even a small jar of wine. With both wine and meat, it was a very lavish meal.

Li Xuancang wolfed down his food, finishing every last drop.

"belch!"

After finishing the meal, I let out a burp, and then I felt like I had come back to life, and my strength had returned considerably.

The government provided food for all the soldiers, but even in this special period, there were still distinctions based on rank.

Soldiers can eat rice, vegetables, and a small amount of meat.

Those conscripts could only eat a mixture of rice and brown rice, and simple boiled wild vegetables, without any meat.

Even so, the soldiers were already quite satisfied.

They usually eat brown rice, so it's quite a feat for them to be able to eat this kind of food.