Chapter 9: Crossing the Cavalry and the Iron Curtain

Counterfeit goods, barefoot doctor, hyena, con artist.

Su Ya looked at the four cheat paths that belonged to him and, looking rather dubious, couldn't help feeling a toothache.

What he needs now is an ability that can truly increase his combat power,

which would greatly boost his survivability on the battlefield,

but obviously, being no second‑playthrough player, he cannot control this ability that triggers randomly with each action.

And with the current combination of abilities,

setting aside the ambiguous counterfeit path, can the remaining three form a coherent combat style?

If the barefoot doctor's tendency to frequently botch wound treatment and severely injure patients could be applied to combat, combined with the insight‑boosted reaction speed from the con artist, and the hyena‑enhanced muscle strength,

could it produce a 1+1+1+1>4 effect?

Su Ya couldn't help pondering this question,

but that touches another issue,

Healing and fighting are mutually contradictory forms,

When the enemy is already wounded, Su Ya's strike is unlikely to count as healing and won't trigger the barefoot doctor's severe‑injury effect, because it still falls within the realm of combat.

Perhaps only in a scenario like Hua Tuo scraping Guan Yu's bones to cure poison could a slash be considered healing?

But what kind of style would that be?

Do I have to brutally strike your humerus?

Setting the style aside,

but how to poison someone?

At that thought, Su Ya couldn't help shifting his gaze slowly to the magical sword hanging at his waist.

【Jealousy, the nameless poison】.

"My king, we're almost there!"

However, at that moment, a crisp voice suddenly sounded beside his ear,

the chaotic thoughts in his mind snapped together quickly, and Su Ya lifted his head,

After leaving the trench that had been discovered by the Macedonian scout Chi, Mei Li rode her horse down a hill opposite the Conqueror King's army, then sped up another hill,

Yet this place was not farther from the battlefield,

on the contrary, it was even closer!

They advanced along a route that was almost a direct charge toward the center of the Macedonian formation!

At this moment,

Mei Li pulled back on the reins, causing the warhorse to halt atop the hill.

Looking down from there,

the two sides, with less than a 30‑meter height difference and a straight‑line distance of several kilometers,

had one side consisting of only two solitary figures,

while the other side was packed densely with people!

In the far distance lay the core of the Macedonian formation, a phalanx army of sixteen rows, soldiers clad in heavy armor wielding 4–5‑meter exaggerated spears, like a steel torrent, Rumble— advancing forward,

Closer to Su Ya's side was an entire light‑infantry corps charging forward, equipped with short spears and shields, composed of three thousand‑man units arranged in a long strip; the right‑wing unit that should have protected the formation was now somewhat detached from the main heavy infantry.

Even nearer were squads of Macedonian scout Chi shuttling back and forth, constantly relaying surrounding intelligence to the central army; the giant war chariot bearing the king's banner then galloped off to scout other directions.

Most of the scouting cavalry were rejoining the formation, advancing with the main force, and the surrounding reconnaissance had dwindled considerably, or rather entered its final stage; the companion cavalry that was supposed to guard the flank now followed the spear‑heading Seleucus, who had already surged into the combat zone, beginning a ruthless slaughter.

The light and heavy infantry and cavalry of this formation, lured by the promise of a great victory, became disjointed, creating a fleeting tactical opportunity.

The good news is that if an elite strike force were ambushed at Su Ya's current location,

launching now, after the army loses the protective force on the enemy's flank, it might achieve a decisive feat.

The bad news is,

Su Ya's side has only two people.

"My king—"

Seeing this scene, Su Ya's expression became a bit uncontrollable,

He only felt cold sweat trickling down his back and, without hesitation, cut Mei Li off,

"We are already comrades who have each other's backs!"

"No need for formalities, just call me Su Ya by name."

Shouting "My king, my king" in front of the enemy,

"Sister, are you afraid I won't die quickly enough?"

"Understood."

"Then, Mei Li, what do you think?"

Su Ya restrained the urge to bolt away, stared dazedly at the charging army before him, then couldn't help lowering his head, looking at the obedient girl seated in front of him with a shiver of suspicion.

The current situation felt like driving through a treacherous intersection designed by BeamNG‑TV, an abstract road‑modeling creator,

He had thought that Mei Li, a local, driving a local car, would know the terrain better, making a detour easy.

But now, what is this situation?

Why are you leading the guys right up to the enemy!?

No, sister, aren't you a local?

"My king Su Ya, next I will explain the situation, please listen carefully—"

"Alright!"

Su Ya is currently in a state of blinking eyes and a completely blank mind.

He knows nothing,

He doesn't know where he came from, where he's going, doesn't know what shape the future will take, and has no way to judge how to act on this battlefield to escape danger,

But Su Ya knows,

He wants to live!

He is now in an otherworld that possesses extraordinary abilities!

What he will experience are days that break away from a dull routine, days where one can no longer see the end of life at a glance.

That fantasy epic belonging to swords and magic,

a hymn of warriors and battle—

He longs to experience it!

So his best option now is only to trust, to trust this flower magician who dares on the chaotic battlefield to try to bind a chain around a king's neck, to trust that she can lead him out of this life‑or‑death situation!

"We are at the last barrier before the capital, on the southern side of the Cornwall Golden Iron Curtain, a region where plains meet hills!"

"The Conqueror King's army has already breached the fortresses of Plymouth and Exeter, and is marching toward the Golden Iron Curtain!"

"And there is only one plan to retreat to the capital—"

"That is, to reach the Golden Iron Curtain before the Conqueror King's iron hooves crush everything."

"But now, Seleucus's troops have sealed off this road and are continuously squeezing our scattered forces from the south."

"We can no longer immediately withdraw to the capital Wencheston."

Su Ya, with a solemn expression, nodded, although he had no clue what the place names and terms Mei Li mentioned meant, but still,

"So?"

Mei Li took a deep breath and raised her hand,

pointing to the rumbling mass of the Conqueror King's army advancing before Su Ya, a sight that suffocates anyone with a single glance!

Her expression grave, she said:

"We can only break through behind the enemy, that is, in the direction we came from!"

"We must cross that cavalry and the Iron Curtain!"

"Back to the manor!"

(End of Chapter)