Chapter 396: Reward a Thousand Gold, Enfeoff as a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households

Just as the Fierce Kingdom army was tottering on the brink of collapse, about to be scattered by the frenzied Da Xia soldiers.

"Woo—woo—!"

The desolate and resonant blast of the horn, like the fiercest wind on the plains, suddenly swept in from the rear of the Fierce Kingdom army!

Immediately followed, a thunderous boom like muffled thunder! It was not war drums, but the roar of tens of thousands of iron hooves striking the ground in unison!

"Boom—rumble—!"

A thick black line suddenly surged forth, rapidly expanding and thickening at astonishing speed!

It was cavalry! Pure grassland light cavalry!

They wore no heavy armor, their horses were stalwart, the riders fierce, their sabers gleaming like snow, charging forth with a sky‑covering wildness and violent ferocity!

At their lead, a rider with a crimson cape fluttering like fire, his golden blade flashing dazzling light in the flames—none other than the Great Khan of West Lu, Jifeng!

He charged ahead, like a blade splitting waves, slamming hard into the Da Xia army!

"Prince Ning! The West Lu Jifeng has arrived!"

The roar thundered, instantly overwhelming the battlefield clamor.

Xiao Yuanhang looked up—reinforcements had arrived!

The grassland iron cavalry thrust like a red‑hot spear, viciously stabbing into the Da Xia army!

In an instant, men and horses overturned, flesh and blood flew, the Da Xia army's tight encirclement was torn open by this sudden, valiant charge into a huge gap!

Countless Fierce Kingdom soldiers, already feeling despair, stared blankly at the grassland cavalry that seemed like heavenly troops descending.

Watching them harvest the Da Xia troops with skilled horsemanship and vicious bladework, a scorching heat of hope surged up from the depths of their hearts!

"Reinforcements! They're our reinforcements!"

"The West Lu cavalry! Kill—!"

The morale on the verge of collapse instantly steadied!

Jifeng rushed to Xiao Yuanhang's side: "Prince Ning! Has Tuan Tuan awakened?"

Xiao Yuanhang swept a wave of enemies aside with his spear: "Awake! She's in the camp, with Lu Qi guarding her!"

"What about your brother Xiao Er and your family's third brother?" Jifeng's golden blade flashed, chopping off an enemy's arm.

Xiao Yuanhang looked around, didn't see them, gritted his teeth: "Don't worry! They're still alive!"

The two kept fighting while continuing their chat.

"Good! That troublesome older brother of mine has been causing trouble all the way, annoying me to death—he brought a few men ahead. Are they enough?"

"Enough!"

"Good! Warriors of Eternal Heaven, kill—"

Before the gate of the imperial tent in the Da Xia army camp.

Gongsun Chi's facial scar twitched violently in the firelight as he stared fixedly at the grassland cavalry that had suddenly charged out.

Especially the leader, a burly man waving his golden blade, unstoppable.

Is this the new Khan of West Lu, Jifeng?

Gongsun Heng, that good‑for‑nothing! He couldn't even delay them for a few days—yet they've arrived!

"How many grassland cavalry have come?"

"Report to Your Majesty! About ten thousand!"

"Ten thousand?"

Gongsun Chi's tense face instantly relaxed, turning anger to joy: "A mere cup of water to save a cart of firewood—they've walked right into the trap!"

His eyes lit up, his voice thick with killing intent: "Jifeng, you've come at just the right time!"

"Since you're here, I'll lend a hand to your foolish older brother."

"Pass the order!"

"Divide forces into twenty thousand, annihilate that grassland barbarian troop!"

"Whoever beheads the West Lu's new Khan Jifeng shall be rewarded a thousand gold and ennobled as a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households!"

"Yes!"

The Da Xia army's formation swiftly split and turned, like a heavy millstone, layer upon layer moving to envelop the grassland cavalry.

Jifeng's ten‑thousand‑strong cavalry surged with astonishing momentum, indeed disrupting the Da Xia formation and buying the Fierce Kingdom army a precious respite.

But as more and more enemy troops closed in, the cavalry's charging space was rapidly compressed.

Even more deadly, the omnipresent yin‑cold killing aura likewise enveloped them.

The cavalrymen soon noticed their war horses began to nervously snort, panicked and unsettled.

And their vaunted strength and endurance were silently draining away.

Their sword‑wielding arms grew heavier; their once‑brave assault gradually turned into a grueling melee.

The ten thousand cavalry lunged left and right, still fierce, yet like a tiger mired in mud, the gap they tore was quickly filled by more enemy troops surging forward.

They merely delayed the Da Xia army's strangling of the Fierce Kingdom forces, unable to truly tip the ever‑tilting balance.

After a brief stalemate, the Da Xia army once again pressed the Fierce Kingdom troops and the grassland cavalry down toward the bottomless abyss.

Gongsun Chi nodded in satisfaction: "After this battle, the Great Khan of West Lu will be Bateer, and the entire plain will become a hunting hound of my Da Xia!"

Outside the Soul‑locking Cover.

Wu Luo flung his arms wide; the gray mist seething within the Soul Realm suddenly boiled, transforming into countless sinister black tendrils that shot toward Chu Yuan from all directions!

Chu Yuan did not dodge; he pointed at his chest, his fingertip blazing, and slowly traced a perfect circle outward.

Those black tendrils, upon contacting the arc, instantly dissolved without exception.

Wave after wave of tendrils lunged forward, yet all disintegrated within three feet of the arc—not a single one could advance even half a step!

"Wow! The National Preceptor is amazing!"

Tuan Tuan watched with a slightly open little mouth and widened eyes.

Wu Luo sneered, "Senior brother, that's still okay, you've improved a lot!"

He withdrew both hands, and all the tendrils instantly converged in front of him, gathering into a continuously rotating deep black sphere.

Countless faces writhing in pain appeared on the sphere's surface, and the wailing sounds were deafening.

He shouted, "Go!"

The black sphere flew toward Chu Yuan.

Chu Yuan inhaled deeply, pressed both hands together at his chest, thumb and forefinger touching, forming an ancient and simple Dao seal.

"Stabilize."

He lightly barked, and a white beam of light condensed at his fingertips, heading toward the terrifying black sphere.

The two met.

The beam adhered to the sphere's surface, turning into countless flames that burned quietly.

The twisted faces on the black sphere, like ice thrown into boiling oil, shrank a layer in the blink of an eye.

Wu Luo's complexion finally changed: "Senior brother, why did you resort to using your own life essence?"

His words abruptly stopped.

The beam, after scorching away more than half of the black sphere, seemed to have exhausted its last ounce of power and instantly extinguished.

The remaining half of the black sphere, though its momentum had slowed, still struck Chu Yuan's chest solidly!

"Puff—!"

Chu Yuan's figure quivered violently, flung backward abruptly, and gently fell to the ground like a leaf.

His soul image had become so faint it was almost transparent, as if it would completely dissipate in the next second.

"National Preceptor!" Tuan Tuan shouted in alarm.