Chapter 744: Red‑Clad Rider Challenges the Fierce Warriors, Chang Qiang Subdues the Tiger‑Wolf Unit

The Xiazhou Da Ying lies on a flat Gobi plain thirty li outside the city.

The scorching sun hangs in the sky like a fireball, searing the dry, hard Huangtu, while sand and dust swirl across the Xiaochang.

The garrison troops who have just faced the Qi army are now conducting formation melee drills.

The clanging of weapons collides with the soldiers' coarse battle cries, shaking the heavens and earth.

These veteran Youzi, forged in seas of corpses and blood, exude an unmistakable ferocity and untamable wildness.

General Gu rides a Warhorse, weaving through the Formation, his Horse Whip periodically lashing the armor of the lazy soldiers.

"Everyone straighten your backs and snap to attention," General Gu roars hoarsely, "Today is the day the Grand Commander newly appointed by Chen Zhuguo comes to inspect the camp; anyone who dares slip up, I'll skin them alive."

A shirtless veteran spits a mouthful of blood‑stained saliva onto the sand.

"General Gu, stop scaring us," the veteran shouts with a laugh, "We heard the new Grand Commander is a delicate little lady; she probably can't even lift a cleaver, what's she doing in our men's ranks?"

The surrounding soldiers burst into a brazen, clearly flippant roar of laughter.

Accompanied by a heavy, prolonged metallic screech, the massive wooden gate of the camp is slowly pulled open.

Ye Zhuxi appears, clad in a specially made jet‑black fish‑scale armor, within everyone's sight.

Behind her flutters a scarlet cloak that rustles in the wind, and she carries a plain, unadorned Chang Qiang forged from fine steel.

She sits upright on a Warhorse, tall and powerful, her healthy wheat‑colored skin glistening with supple luster in the sun.

General Gu immediately dismounts, strides to the Dianjiang Tai, and lifts high the Tiger Tally Great Seal that represents Xiazhou's military authority.

"By Chen Zhuguo's order, Ye Zhuxi temporarily assumes the position of Xiazhou Grand Commander, fully responsible for the camp's training," General Gu's voice reverberates over the Xiaochang through his inner strength, "Seeing the Tiger Tally is as if seeing Chen Zhuguo; the whole army obeys."

The Xiaochang, which had just quieted, erupts like a boiling pot the instant those words are heard.

Those blood‑shot, ferocious soldiers cannot accept a woman riding atop them to issue orders.

"That's a ridiculous rule," a Colonel of the Negotiation Camp slams his Long Spear onto the ground, "Women belong on Chen Zhuguo's bed, warming the blankets and bearing children; coming to this strategic camp to show off is nothing but a laughable farce!"

These provocatively charged words instantly strike a chord.

The camp, which worships fists and strength above all, cannot imagine bowing to a woman with no battlefield merit, even if death scares them not.

The veteran Youzi Dao Ba Liu, who boasts of being the Negotiation Camp's top warrior, leverages his brute strength to leap out of the ranks and stride onto the Dianjiang Tai.

Dao Ba Liu slams the roughly thirty‑jin, cracked great cleaver in his hand onto the Shiban atop the table, sending sparks flying.

"I, Dao Ba Liu, only respect a man who can pee standing up," Dao Ba Liu snarls, thrusting his thick neck toward Ye Zhuxi's horse head, "If you have any sense, take the seal and roll back to the magistrate's office; the brothers of our camp will never heed a woman's reckless commands!"

Facing the camp's uproar that threatens to tear the roof off, Ye Zhuxi, still astride her horse, does not even furrow a brow.

Her leopard‑sharp eyes sweep coldly over Dao Ba Liu's arrogant face, a mocking grin curling her lips.

Ye Zhuxi lightly taps the horse's stirrup with her toe, executes a clean, swift flip, and leaps from the Warhorse.

She strides straight to the massive granite Shiban at the center of the Xiaochang, used for dueling tests and the hardest of all.

The soldiers' laughter gradually subsides as they stare at her, wondering what trick she intends.

Ye Zhuxi's right hand grips tightly the middle of the plain‑head fine‑steel Chang Qiang.

She draws a deep breath, her muscles tensing beneath the jet‑black fish‑scale armor, unleashing terrifying power.

"Buzz!"

A deafening crash of metal striking rock erupts in everyone's ears.

With a single hand and an absurdly terrifying wrist force, Ye Zhuxi drives the blunt‑tipped Chang Qiang hard into the iron‑hard granite Shiban, embedding it about one‑third of its length.

The fine‑steel shaft quivers from the strain, emitting a long, dragon‑like whine.

Such a feat demands monstrous burst and penetration power; the entire Xiaochang falls into a death‑like silence at that moment.

The contempt of those who came to mock is utterly crushed by this terrifying strike.

Ye Zhuxi slowly withdraws her right hand and lifts her chin.

Her gaze, brimming with boundless murderous intent and arrogance, sweeps over every soldier's face as if a tangible force.

"I, the Grand Commander, know you're hard‑boned and obstinate," Ye Zhuxi's crisp, penetrating voice presses upon the crowd, "Today I give you a chance: whether mounted or on foot, anyone who can defeat me even half a move on this Xiaochang, I will present the Grand Commander's Great Seal with both hands, never breaking my word!"

She steps forward, her leather boots striking the Shiban with a crisp echo.

"If you lose," Ye Zhuxi's tone drops to an icy kill‑spirit, "from now on I'll clip your tails tight and make you dogs; anyone who dares utter a single word defying orders, I will execute by military law without mercy!"

This ultra‑arrogant proclamation infuriates Dao Ba Liu on the stage.

"Little lady, stop being reckless; watch how I crush you," Dao Ba Liu roars, drawing his cleaver like a tiger descending a mountain, lunging from the Dianjiang Tai straight at Ye Zhuxi, "I'll see what real skill you have!"

Dao Ba Liu, mid‑air, grips his blade with both hands and executes a 'Power Slash of Mount Hua'.

The massive, heavy strike generates a sharp, slicing wind.

He has no intention of sparing a woman; his blade heads straight for Ye Zhuxi's temple.

Ye Zhuxi stands her ground, not retreating but advancing, not even glancing at the Chang Qiang still lodged in the stone beside her.

Just before the blade would have struck, Ye Zhuxi slides sideways at an uncanny angle unimaginable to ordinary people.

Her torso tilts sharply to the side, nearly brushing the cold blade as she slides past.

Simultaneously, she uses the explosive torque of her waist to launch her long leg skyward like thunder.

A visually striking, fierce whipping leg, roaring through the air, strikes precisely at Dao Ba Liu's thick side‑neck artery.

The eight‑foot, two‑hundred‑jin tower‑like Dao Ba Liu doesn't even have time to grunt.

His whole body, like a kite with its line cut, tumbles and flies horizontally for a full three zhang.

With a thud, Dao Ba Liu crashes heavily into the Mudi.

The cleaver flies from his hand, his face twists, foam bubbles from his mouth, his eyes roll, and he falls dead.

A clean, swift kill—no mess at all.

The entire arena falls silent; every veteran Youzi draws a gasp of cold air.

In a camp that worships the strong above all, this decisive kill fully ignites the blood‑thirst of those warriors who refuse to lose.

"Let me learn the Grand Commander's high move," a foot‑combat specialist Colonel shouts, charging into the arena with twin hammers.

During the Half Hour Rest, the eight best Colonels in the army took turns entering the field, and someone even suggested a Warhorse charge duel.

Ye Zhuxi reached out, pulled the Chang Qiang from the rock, and with a graceful motion flipped onto her horse.

She seemed like an invincible Valkyrie descending to the world, her steel Chang Qiang turning into a shower of pear blossoms.

Each strike carried a force that could fell a forest, and she consecutively knocked down those eight self‑proclaimed formidable warriors.

Some Colonels had their ribs torn cleanly by the spear shaft and fell to the ground, while others were blasted by the massive thrust, shattering the tiger‑mouth grip of their heavy weapons.

Every battle was a suffocating, unsurprising display of overwhelming strength.

Watching Pao Ze sprawled in a heap on the Xiaochang, gasping yet humbled, the entire camp of tens of thousands fell into a death‑like silence—a reverence for absolute might.

Gu Yuci stepped forward at the right moment, clasped his fists, and led the Dankui Guidi before Ye Zhuxi's horse.

"Commander, your might is awe‑inspiring; Subordinate General, humbled and willing to follow your command."

Gu Yuci's statement toppled the dominoes like a cascade.

All the proud soldiers and fierce generals present were utterly subdued by this power, and tens of thousands simultaneously performed the Dankui Guidi, erupting in earth‑shaking, thunderous cheers.

"Grand Commander, mighty!"