Chapter 119: Ancient Sacred Gear

At this point night had already fallen, 3000 Goblins lit torches, lighting up a bright scene five li away on the opposite side, and Li Bucai did not expect that the seemingly carefree Goblins, unlike those that clashed with the undead in the earlier small valley, now formed a very orderly and tight army of 3000 Goblins. This chapter typed alone by hand www. ShouDa8. Com

Forming a rectangular formation facing this side, they first used several rows of strong Goblin Blade Badge Warriors to hold the line; the formation was staggered orderly, every 100 Goblins formed a small square, leaving gaps beside them like several formation gates, providing enough space for the troops behind for a surprise attack.

"Do Goblins have cavalry?" Li Bucai asked from this formation; those several formation gates were clearly left for cavalry to charge through. With no observation tower now, looking straight ahead, he could not see what troops were behind the formation, so he asked Yue Ji.

To prevent the Young Marshal from making an unexpected move, Li Bucai kept the Young Marshal by his side; looking at the opposing army, he heard a voice and said, "Where would Goblins have any cavalry?"

Li Bucai cast a questioning glance at her.

The Young Marshal said, "Goblins are the most greedy race on this continent; they are only interested in food. All the other races here could become their prey, and no race will be their friend, including those beasts—who would willingly become their mounts?"

The Young Marshal had merely learned some common knowledge from the history of Sky City, but the people of Sky City have not lived on this continent for tens of thousands of years; a year here equals four years on Earth, so over tens of thousands of years, who can say how many changes have occurred.

Her words were not convincing, and Li Bucai still turned his gaze to Yue Ji.

Yue Ji said, "She is right; I've never seen Goblins have mounts."

At this moment the Goblins held their positions, and the entire formation began to slowly advance forward.

The battle was imminent; the Young Marshal could no longer hold back. Although she had issued a military order, she was always the one giving commands and was accustomed to it. In a decisive tone she said to Li Bucai, "You lead the infantry forward to draw their attention from the front, I will lead the cavalry around their flanks to cut off their retreat. A handful of Goblins, with me in command, will not require much effort; a single battle will be enough to defeat them."

The combat power of this group of Goblins was not inferior to that of the undead; this was evident from the battle in the small valley. The Young Marshal's 400 iron cavalry, though well‑trained, were all level‑20 riders, equipped with strong warhorses, tightly sealed armor, sharp spears and powerful bows. The heavy cavalry's defense reached 52 and attack 48, but there were only 200 heavy cavalry, 150 bow cavalry and 50 light cavalry, whose impact was far less than that of the heavy cavalry. Facing the 3000 Goblins, whose defense was slightly weaker, 800 men tried to surround the 3000 Goblins, and under unclear enemy conditions, the encirclement could easily fail and be burned.

Li Bucai gave her a slight smile, neither shaking nor nodding his head, and simply sat calmly on a wolf's back, watching the Goblin army advance step by step. He suddenly raised the command flag and shouted, "Change formation! Cavalry retreat, archers advance!"

At this moment the Young Marshal's troops only obeyed Li Bucai's command; with a single order, the cavalry that had been positioned on the flanks retreated to the rear of the formation, Wu Zhuoyue and Yin Ji's front archers moved forward, standing behind the Blade Badge Warriors, ready in strict formation.

"Are you trying to be a turtle again?" The Young Marshal had just said to use the cavalry to charge, but Li Bucai pulled her to the rear of the formation, clearly opposing her. The added 'again' referred to an earlier time at Luo Ping Hai when Li Bucai advocated holding the line, which the Young Marshal had mentioned once.

Li Bucai gave her a sidelong glance but ignored her.

At this moment, when the Goblin army reached two li, it suddenly stopped; as the formation gate opened, more than fifty Goblins emerged from the ranks, among them a dozen or so, judging by their aura, were Goblin commanders. Dozens of Goblins followed, holding torches to illuminate the path ahead for the commanders, and they left the formation, advancing toward Li Bucai.

These dozens of Goblins were clearly riding mounts, but the light was dim and the distance was a bit far, making it hard to see what they rode; in any case they were much shorter than horses. Li Bucai glanced around at the Young Marshal and Yue Ji.

The Young Marshal blurted, "What, they also have mounts..."

Yue Ji was also surprised: "I had never heard of it before; just half a month ago, when I went to He Rui Feng, I had never seen them have cavalry."

At that moment, Li Bucai heard his mount beneath him exclaim angrily, "They are our brothers!"

"What did you say, is it a Qingwolf Beast?"

The Qingwolf Beast's sense of smell is keen; at this moment, being downwind, the Head Wolf discerned the scent from them and recognized that the approaching group was a pack of Qingwolf Beasts.

The Head Wolf said angrily, "I never imagined they would abandon us and become Goblin mounts; what a disgraceful humiliation." Originally, a hundred Silent Wolf Beasts lived in the Void Illusion Realm; aside from these eighteen that died defending their ancestors' will, the rest left their den because insufficient food could not be captured nearby. It was said they went to the Blood Clan, but unexpectedly their traces were found among the Goblins. Goblins are a species despised by all proud races on this continent; the Qingwolf Beasts have proud blood in their veins, and seeing their own kind used as Goblin mounts is intolerable to the Head Wolf, who let out low roars. If Li Bucai had not held the reins, he would have charged forward by now.

Li Bucai, knowing its temperament, lightly patted the wolf's neck and said, "Calm down, let's meet them first before deciding."

The Goblins made it clear they wanted to duel Li Bucai, so dozens of cavalry went out first.

Only Li Bucai can speak with the Qingwolf Beasts; he often converses with wolves, and the many maidens have long become accustomed to it, nothing surprising. As Li Bucai stepped out of the formation, Yue Ji stayed in the formation to hold the line, the Young Marshal, Wu Zhuoyue, and several of the Young Marshal's blue‑clad guards followed closely, walking toward those dozens of Goblins.

Reaching the midpoint between the two formations, the two groups stopped about a hundred meters apart. Li Bucai rode forward alone; among the Goblins, a Goblin clad in green armor stepped out—a very robust Goblin. From the aura that towered above the other Goblins, it was clear he was the primary leader of this group. Even the pair of greataxes he wielded were dark green, appearing as if covered in moss, but in fact both the armor and weapons were forged from the local ancient stone, looking old and dull yet actually being very fine equipment.

Li Bucai had previously learned from the armorer that there is an ancient stone here, harder than steel and very resilient, not easy to break, making it ideal for military gear.

Standard equipment is broadly divided into copper, iron, silver‑plated alloy, and gold‑plated alloy, suitable for physical troops below level 50.

Equipment forged from this ancient stone is reserved for generals above level 20, a special category beyond standard gear, already tougher than level‑20 iron armor. After being inscribed with the Ancient Sacred Spell, it can channel ancient power and is divided into an eight‑piece set: helmet, shoulder guards, cloak, torso guard, leg guards, gauntlets, war boots, and weapon. Each piece can bear a distinct seal: Ancient Power, increasing strength by 50%; Ancient Shield, increasing defense by 50%; Ancient Soul, increasing Qi by 50%; Ancient Strategy, increasing magical defense by 50%; Ancient Wind, increasing agility by 50%; Ancient Nether, increasing natural defense by 50%; Ancient Shadow, increasing evasion by 50%; Ancient Light, increasing vitality by 50%.

The Ancient Sacred Spell consists of the eight scrolls recorded on eight ancient stones; once the eight seals are gathered, they can further increase ancient power by an additional 50% on top of the original. This Goblin chieftain's armor bears all eight seals, but a level‑23 Goblin with blue‑grade quality originally lagged two tiers behind Li Bucai, a huge gap in strength; after donning this gear, both its attack and defense exceed Li Bucai's by ten percent.

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