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

After becoming a centurion, Li Xuancang's treatment was vastly different from before.

Not only does he manage a hundred people, but his various benefits have also increased dramatically, and he even has a personal guard to serve him at all times.

"Nangong Zhan greets Your Excellency."

Nangong Zhan bowed respectfully to Li Xuancang, his eyes filled with admiration.

"No need for formalities, from now on you will stay by my side."

Nangong Zhan was a personal guard chosen by Li Xuancang. He originally wanted Wang Xiaoniu to be his personal guard, but Wang Xiaoniu was too weak to be qualified for the position.

"Yes, sir."

Nangong Zhan was also very excited to be able to become Li Xuancang's personal guard.

After becoming a centurion, my treatment improved significantly, and I had far less to do.

Every day, if he needed to do anything, he only needed to give the order, and Nangong Zhan would go and relay it.

He was summoned by Zhou Xiong from time to time to be assigned tasks.

More than half a month has passed, and Li Xuancang has gotten used to his current life, and his strength is steadily improving.

"Why haven't the barbarians launched their attack yet?"

The army had retreated to Yuyang City for more than a month, but the barbarians had not launched an attack yet, which puzzled Li Xuancang.

Logically, the barbarians should have pressed their advantage and wiped out the remaining human forces in one fell swoop, but they did not launch an attack, giving the human race a chance to regroup.

Despite his doubts, the current situation is actually in Li Xuancang's favor. Given time, he can undergo a complete transformation.

During this period, the government forcibly conscripted a large number of people to form a 5,000-strong conscripted army.

Although these soldiers were weak, they were perfectly capable of assisting in the defense of the city.

"My lord, Lord Zhou summons you."

Nangong Zhan approached Li Xuancang and respectfully reported.

"Um!"

Li Xuancang pondered for a moment, feeling somewhat puzzled as to why Zhou Xiong had summoned him.

Suppressing his doubts, he quickly headed to Zhou Xiong's camp.

When Li Xuancang arrived, two battalion commanders and five centurions had already arrived.

Zhou Xiong sat in the main seat, exuding an aura of military might and valor.

"Greetings, Your Excellency."

Li Xuancang clasped his hands in a salute to Zhou Xiong.

Zhou Xiong nodded slightly to Li Xuancang, gesturing for him to sit down.

A moment later, another battalion commander and four centurions arrived.

Once everyone had arrived, Zhou Xiong's expression turned serious, and he spoke in a deep voice.

"I have summoned you here because of a major operation."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression froze, and they all looked at Zhou Xiong.

"The captain has ordered us to rush to Black Wind Ridge tonight, lie in ambush, and cut off the barbarian army's retreat."

As soon as Zhou Xiong finished speaking, everyone's expression changed drastically.

Sending them to Black Wind Ridge to ambush them is practically a death sentence, isn't it?

Barbarians are inherently cruel and will fight desperately once they are in danger. No one is confident that they can escape unscathed when faced with these frenzied barbarians.

Battalion Commander Hu Hua, with a serious expression, asked the question that everyone most wanted to know.

"Lord Zhou, is the army preparing to launch a counterattack?"

Since the captain had ordered them to ambush and cut off the barbarians' retreat, he must be planning a counterattack against the barbarians, and even had a sure chance of victory. They were eager to know the specific details.

"Execute the order. Go and prepare. Depart tonight. No one is to divulge a single word."

Zhou Xiong did not answer, but coldly gave the order.

"yes!"

No one dared to ask any more questions, and they all bowed, accepted the order, and withdrew.

Upon returning to the camp, Li Xuancang immediately gathered his hundred-man squad and waited for nightfall.

Under the cover of darkness, with the moon shining brightly and the stars few, a group of over a thousand people quietly left Yuyang City.

The army did not take the official road, but instead hid during the day and moved at night, carrying only a few days' worth of dry rations. They avoided everyone's sight and arrived at the designated location.

At the same time, Zhou Xingzhan led all the troops of Yuyang City to march out and attack Cangyun Ridge in a mighty force.

Among the army were hundreds of people dressed as江湖人士 (jianghu figures), who came from gangs in Xuanyang County and were the main force in this counterattack against the barbarians.

"These barbarians are rampant; let them never return."

"Leave them all here and bury them."

"My greatsword is itching for a fight."

"..."

These gang members showed no fear of the barbarians, only a strong fighting spirit and anticipation.

"This time, the imperial court has been unusually generous, offering a fairly good reward."

In order to get these gangs to take action, the imperial court offered generous terms.

Killing a barbarian will bring you a substantial reward.

The crowd's eyes shone brightly, eager to immediately wage war against the barbarians.

The human army made no attempt to conceal their movements, and soon alerted the barbarians.

On Cangyun Ridge, the barbarian commander Gu Shuo summoned all the barbarian generals to discuss the impending arrival of the human army.

"My lord, the human race is courting its own destruction, ensuring they never return."

"The human race has been decimated by us and is no longer a threat."

"Since humans have come to their deaths, then so be it."

"..."

The barbarians completely disregarded the human race, and the human army came to attack them willingly, which they were more than happy to do.

If they could wipe out the human army in one battle, the entire Xuan Yang County would become their hunting ground, at their mercy.

"We must not be careless. If the human race dares to take the initiative, they must have made preparations."

Some were cautious, believing that the human race should not be underestimated.

The most important thing is that they have now fallen out with the demon race and almost came to blows. Without the help of the demon race, they would suffer many more casualties when dealing with the human race.

"What is there to fear about mere humans? If you are afraid, let me lead the charge."

"Don't be reckless; it's best to be cautious."

"..."

The two sides argued incessantly, and Gu Shuo found it difficult to make a decision.

After conquering Cangyun Ridge, they should have pressed their advantage and wiped out the remaining human forces in one fell swoop.

However, the demons dared to eat the barbarians, treating them as food. This sparked a conflict between the two sides, which nearly turned into a life-or-death struggle before they finally parted ways.

This is precisely why the barbarians missed the best opportunity to annihilate the human army.

Gu Shuo hesitated for a moment, then his eyes sharpened, and he gave the order in a deep voice.

"Form ranks and prepare for battle!"

Gu Shuo decided to confront the human race head-on, confident that he could defeat them even without the help of the demon race.

"Yes, sir!"

The group stopped arguing and quickly went down to reorganize the army.

"kill!"

The barbarian army quickly assembled and, without waiting, charged towards the human army under the leadership of Gu Shuo.

The barbarian army was in high spirits and had absolute confidence in this battle.

Low-hanging leaden clouds stretched across a desolate wasteland as the two armies gradually drew closer.

"The barbarians are attacking. Are we a match for them?"

"These barbarians are cruel and vicious. I've heard they eat human flesh raw; they're practically vengeful ghosts."

"We cannot defeat the barbarians."

"..."

The human side was demoralized and fearful before the battle even began.

Back then, even three thousand warriors and five thousand conscripts were no match for the barbarians.

Although the current conscript battalion has five thousand men, less than a thousand are combat soldiers. How can they possibly be a match for the barbarians?

Everyone was terrified, even the soldiers.