Chapter 263: A Single Exchange

An arrow flew straight toward the horse's hindquarters, but He Lingchuan flicked his hand and knocked it away. Mao Tao was not so lucky; his mount was struck in the hind leg and collapsed with a mournful cry.

Mao Tao fell behind in an instant.

When He Lingchuan looked back, the man had scrambled up and shouted, "Don't worry about me!" before darting into the low houses nearby. There was a row of low-slung dwellings there, and with a few leaps, he vanished behind some wall.

The Xunzhou cavalry's target was the grain transport team; they couldn't be bothered to deal with such a small fry, and the main force continued to rumble forward.

Behind them, arrows fell like rain, impossible to deflect. He Chunhua simply threw a crystal disc backward.

The disc flashed with the green light bestowed by the State Decree, and the moment it left his hand, it transformed into an ice wall, blocking the path behind the two horses.

The wall was a finger thick and over a zhang high, shielding the backs of He Lingchuan and the others completely.

Then came dozens of dull thuds as dozens of arrows embedded themselves into the ice wall.

A Xunzhou scout let out a loud shout, brandished his long spear, and spurred his horse to charge.

The ice wall hadn't been thick to begin with, and after being pierced by dozens of holes, it shattered with a crash upon the charging horse's impact.

Yet, thanks to this brief delay, He Chunhua and his party had already charged back into their own camp.

Inside the camp, everyone was in a state of panic.

The grain transport team had finished their day's toil, eaten and drunk, and half of them had fallen fast asleep. Suddenly jolted awake, they rubbed their eyes and rose, only to hear someone outside shouting in terror: "Lord Mo Zhe is dead! Lord Mo Zhe has been blown to bits!"

Mo Zhejingxuan was the supreme leader of this grain transport mission; with the news of his death, the team was left without a head.

At this moment, a second explosion occurred at the restaurant in the east.

Some of the grain transport generals were still dazed from sleep and couldn't even find their bearings, while others scrambled up to bark orders for the troops to regroup and stand guard, but to little effect.

Shortly after, the Xunzhou scouts arrived.

The guards outside the camp saw the billowing dust and immediately blew their alarm whistles.

Those standing in the camp watching the fireworks finally realized things were dire and shouted as they fled. The Xunzhou scouts roared with killing intent, their force of two or three hundred men sounding like a thousand; even the patrolling soldiers outside the grain camp lost their nerve, clutching their halberds as they retreated.

He Chunhua was the first to charge into the camp, his voice like a thunderclap: "He Chunhua, Administrator of Xiazhou, is here! Who is running? Who dares to run!"

He roared three times, using his true qi, and the sound shook the entire field, drowning out even the secondary explosions from the east.

Once the four-character signboard of "Xiazhou Administrator" was displayed, the fleeing soldiers slowed their pace.

He Chunhua had not been in office long, but he had truly accomplished several major feats, especially the triple victory in pursuing the Xunzhou army, which had made him famous throughout southern Xiazhou. Most of the grain transport soldiers were from the south; hearing these thunderous words, they were stunned at first, then half-doubtful and half-joyful:

The Boss is here? How is that possible? If the Xiazhou Administrator were personally guarding the formation, what would the dead Lord Mo Zhe count for? He was merely a minor Assistant Prefect from the provincial government.

He Lingchuan no longer rode with his father; he jumped down and seized a horse for himself.

He heard someone nearby shouting, "Lord Mo Zhe is dead, the enemy is attacking," and followed the sound to find the man hiding behind a tent, his eyes darting around the field as he shouted from time to time. Where was the slightest sign of panic?

He Lingchuan sneered and spurred his horse to pursue.

The man was not blind; seeing the situation was bad, he turned and fled. His movement was quite crafty, choosing routes with many obstacles, betting that He Lingchuan would have trouble closing in on horseback.

Little did he know that just as he ran past a warehouse, a massive, fuzzy black shadow suddenly appeared before his eyes...

He Lingchuan rushed over and saw the Rock Wolf, Lu Xin, suddenly spring out from behind the warehouse, open its maw without a sound, and bite down on the man, shaking him back and forth.

Everyone knew the speed and power of a dog's head-shake, and the Rock Wolf was only stronger. From several zhang away, He Lingchuan heard two clear "pop" sounds, like firecrackers, but in reality, it was the spine of the poor wretch in the wolf's mouth being dislocated.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan arrived shortly after to end the man's suffering.

He decapitated the man with one slash, then grabbed the head and rode his horse around, shouting: "Those who desert shall be killed, just like this wretch!"

The head in his hand was not that of a Xiazhou soldier, but who could tell through the blood? He Lingchuan shouted a few times, and seeing the effect, many fleeing soldiers turned to face the enemy as he approached.

At this point, the execution squad also regained their senses and began to perform their duties. After they cut down five or six deserters to serve as a warning, the collapse of the grain transport team improved significantly.

Another man shouting to disrupt the army's morale was caught by Shan Youjun.

These Xunzhou people had a very clear division of labor: some went to blow up the restaurant, attempting to wipe out the high-ranking grain transport officials in one go; some disguised themselves as merchants hiding in eateries, taking the opportunity to assassinate generals coming out to eat; the remaining main force hid in the outskirts, using the restaurant explosion as a signal to raid the grain transport camp!

Even the task of disrupting morale was handled by specialized people, and they had chosen two with particularly loud voices, showing how meticulous the plan was.

The most brilliant part was that the Xunzhou people chose to act in the town, rather than the desolate, dangerous wilderness the He father and son had expected, catching them completely off guard. One had to know that because the central and northern parts of Xiazhou had been harassed by Xunzhou soldiers, the wealthy families everywhere had conscripted able-bodied men to build local militias and civil defense teams, and the Xunzhou people were likely to encounter extra resistance here.

However, tonight the County Magistrate was hosting Mo Zhejingxuan at the restaurant, and the local wealthy families were certainly there to accompany them, so they were all wiped out in one fell swoop.

Several generals certainly recognized He Chunhua and immediately stepped forward to crowd around him, some still disheveled, clearly having just crawled out of bed.

He Chunhua did not blame them, only shouting orders: "Regroup and counterattack! Pass the word down: the enemy has only a hundred cavalry!"

Since the Xiazhou Administrator was present, the generals' morale stabilized, and they began to gather their troops while cursing. The order-giving officers passed the word down: "Counterattack! Counterattack! The enemy has only a hundred cavalry!"

The Xunzhou scouts charged into the camp, indeed causing a scene of chaos. They hacked at anyone they saw and burned tents and grain carts, appearing unstoppable. The Xiazhou soldiers were stunned for a moment, doing nothing but fleeing or hiding.

Seeing this, He Lingchuan pursed his lips and whistled a few times—two long and three short—then turned his horse's head and charged toward the nearest enemy general.

This was his way of summoning his subordinates; hearing the whistle, the Rock Wolf and Shan Youjun abandoned the wretch in their hands and quickly followed.

Not far away, Jiao Tai had originally been guarding He Chunhua, but as more and more personal guards surrounded the Administrator, he also turned his horse around with his subordinates as soon as he heard the whistle.

The Xunzhou general charging toward them was quite valiant, his body shimmering with yuan qi; he could send a soldier flying with two thrusts of his spear. He even ambushed a thin Xiazhou soldier from the side and rear while the soldier was fighting someone else, piercing his belly with one thrust.

The tip of the man's spear was hooked, and when he pulled it back, he dragged the man's intestines out with it.

They called this "flying a kite."

The soldier fell to the ground, rolling and wailing; how could the Xiazhou men nearby dare to step forward? The general let out a loud laugh, jumped out from the crowd of guards, and charged through the camp as if there were no one there.

He was enjoying the slaughter when he suddenly felt a wind behind his head; it was He Lingchuan, who had charged in from the side, swinging his blade to hack without a word.

The Floating Life Blade showed no strange phenomena and looked like an ordinary long blade; He Lingchuan himself wore only ordinary soldier's armor. The Xunzhou general showed a look of mockery and parried with his spear.

"An inch longer, an inch stronger." You want to fight my long spear with a sidearm? Naive! He used his spear with micro-precision, first thrusting a feint toward He Lingchuan's throat; if the opponent blocked, the spear tip would bounce down early to pierce the opponent's belly.

He wanted to "fly a kite" again.

Just then, an arrow flew in from the side.

It was Mao Tao, hiding behind a burning warehouse, who had seized the opportunity to send an arrow straight for the general's eye.

The general couldn't block in time and had to tilt his head to dodge; as a result, the spear in his hand deviated by two inches, and he didn't have time to play out the rest of his tricks.

Just two inches.

His hand was steady enough that his upper body leaning back didn't hinder the spear tip from jumping; it still went to flick He Lingchuan's chin like a venomous snake.

The youth before him actually gripped his blade with both hands and performed a smooth upward slash, committing the mistake that every novice makes.

This move was strenuous and unrewarding; at best, it would only deflect the spear shaft. If he didn't block it, he would have a hole poked in his cheek by the long spear, and it offered no ability to change moves against the enemy's follow-up.

However, He Lingchuan's movement was as swift as lightning; his day-after-day of "Wave Slashing" finally saw results.

Confidence, momentum, strength—none could be missing.

He was determined to unleash a strike full of spirit and energy.

The Xunzhou general's subordinates only saw them pass each other, a light as bright as snow almost blinding them—

When the weapons clashed, the long blade that had been so low-key finally erupted with thick killing intent, like a fierce tiger that had been lurking for a long time, pouncing out in one go.

The two charged toward each other, and the reaction time was very short—a "white horse passing a crack." The general felt his hand lighten, and then several things flew into the air—

An arm; a spray of angry blood;

And half a long spear also flew out, the break exceptionally clean.

The general let out a painful scream, blood gushing from his severed arm. The opponent was completely unscathed and was turning his horse to charge back.

His troops were shocked: "Lord Master Baili is injured!"

"Protect Lord Master Baili!"

Dozens of men rushed up, shielding the injured "Lord Master Baili" layer by layer. The latter had lost an arm, blood flowed endlessly from his right shoulder, and he was doubled over in pain. If not for the personal guards rushing up in time, he would have been ambushed by the Rock Wolf, Lu Xin—that creature jumped up to bite throats.

He was both shocked and angry, and amidst the excruciating pain, he didn't forget to curse He Lingchuan.

He had been careless; this person and his blade looked too ordinary, no different from the dozen soldiers he had killed earlier. He was actually a wolf hiding in a flock of sheep.

That blade... that blade was eerily sharp; in just one exchange, it had easily sliced through the cold iron spear that had accompanied him for years! With such a divine weapon in hand, could he be an ordinary person? Why wear soldier's leather armor and hide among the scattered remnants?

Lord Master Baili felt as if he had climbed a tree to pick a peach, only to find it wasn't a peach once he grabbed it, and when he looked up, he saw the angry face of a lion close at hand...

People of status should value their dignity; why was this guy so shameless!

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 264 =====