Chapter 507: Trying Out the Ox Knife

Hebei East Circuit, Binzhou territory.

The deep autumn's cold wind swept over the desolate, yellowed wilderness, bringing a killing aura, and also bringing the faint cries and black smoke from distant villages.

A squad of about thirty Jin cavalrymen was wantonly trampling a small village.

They wore dirty fur coats, held sabers, and had looted chickens, ducks, and sundry valuables hanging from their saddles; their faces bore cruel, satisfied grins.

The village had almost no resistance; after a few sporadic screams, there was only desperate silence and the crackling of burning houses.

To these Jin soldiers, this was merely a routine 'grass-valley raid', a trivial appetizer on their southern campaign.

They were even somewhat lax, their formation disordered; some dismounted, kicked open the peasants' rotting doors, trying to scavenge the last bits of valuables.

They did not know that, in the shadow of a nearby withered grove, several pairs of sharp eyes were fixed on them.

Lin Chong lay concealed behind a rise, with Ruan Xiaoqi and a Northward Aspiration army scout at his side.

He looked at the grim scene in the village, his teeth clenched.

"Beasts!"

He squeezed out two words from between his teeth.

Although he had been mentally prepared, witnessing this brutal scene still set his chest ablaze with rage.

Behind him were fifty carefully selected soldiers of the Northward Aspiration Army.

These were either longtime followers of Lin Chong or recently recruited brave men; their loyalty and courage were beyond doubt.

But facing the rumored ferocious Jin iron cavalry, many still could not help showing a hint of tension.

Although they slightly outnumbered the enemy, fighting infantry against cavalry put them at an inherent disadvantage.

"Instructor Lin, make your move!"

Ruan Xiaoqi growled low, his eyes bloodshot.

"If we wait any longer, the village will burn to nothing!"

Lin Chong drew a deep breath, forcing himself to calm.

He swept his gaze over the Jin soldiers' deployment again, confirming their arrogant lack of preparation.

Then he suddenly turned to the youth beside him wearing ordinary soldier's armor but with an unusually calm demeanor—none other than Chen Wen, who had been posing as a follower.

"Mr. Chen..." Lin Chong whispered, his tone a request, "The moment has come—may I..."

Chen Wen gave a slight nod, his gaze sweeping over the fifty soldiers holding their breath.

His mind stirred slightly, and that mysterious connection within him was silently established.

"Yes."

"Target, the fifty infantry ahead."

"Grant them fourfold effect."

"No radiant flare, no awe-inspiring momentum."

An intangible, yet vast and mighty power, like a gentle warm current, instantly crossed space and enveloped those fifty soldiers.

In the next instant, a wondrous change took place in these soldiers.

First, the senses.

The world seemed to become instantly extraordinarily clear.

The faint sound of Jin cavalry hooves crushing clods of earth far away, every trace of bloody and burnt scent carried on the wind.

Even the pores of the enemy's contemptuous expression were as if right before their eyes.

The speed of thought surged, mapping the Jin soldiers' disordered formation, their mutual distances, possible escape routes.

In their minds a clear diagram was instantly sketched.

Next came the body.

An unprecedented sense of strength surged from their limbs and bones.

Their previously heavy weapons now felt weightless in hand, and their breathing became long and powerful.

Their muscles brimmed with explosive energy, as if a light leap could lift them several feet.

Along with this, the slight nervousness born from facing a strong foe for the first time.

also vanished in the face of this sudden surge of mighty strength.

Replaced by an extreme calm killing intent and soaring fighting spirit.

All these changes occurred within a breath.

Lin Chong keenly sensed the instantaneous transformation in the demeanor of the soldiers beside him.

That suddenly coalesced sharpness, like an arrow about to leave the bow, set his heart at ease.

He hesitated no more, rose to his full height, pointed his steel-tipped spear forward, and his voice rang like thunder:

"Northward Aspiration Army, follow me to kill the enemy! Leave none alive!"

"Kill—!"

The fifty soldiers roared in unison, their voices converging into a tangible sound wave that made the withered tree branches and leaves rustle.

They were like fifty leopards instantly enraged, bursting forth from behind the rise and from the forest shadows.

Their speed far exceeded that of ordinary elite troops, almost within a breath.

They had already covered dozens of steps, crashing headlong into the Jin ranks still dazed and astonished!

"Enemy attack!"

"Southerners! Form ranks!"

The Jin squad leader, reacting relatively quickly, bellowed hoarsely, trying to rally his men.

But it was already too late.

A Northward Aspiration sword-and-shield soldier, facing a Jin horseman who had hastily spurred his mount forward, did not dodge or evade.

The shield in his left hand slammed upward diagonally, and fourfold power erupted explosively.

Bang!

A deep, muffled boom sounded, and the warhorse was struck into a neigh, its forehooves lifting.

The Jin soldier on horseback, caught off guard, was flung directly into the air.

Before he could land, another Northward Aspiration spearman arrived, his spear thrusting out like a venomous dragon emerging from its cave, precisely piercing his throat.

On the other side, three Northward Aspiration soldiers cooperated seamlessly, two flanking left and right to draw a Jin soldier into blocking with his blade.

The third soldier surged forward from the front, his battle blade tracing a chilling arc of light.

It actually cleaved that Jin soldier, man and sword, sending him flying backward, blood spurting wildly from his chest and abdomen.

Ruan Xiaoqi was like a tiger among sheep; his body was naturally agile, and now with the fourfold boost he became as swift as a ghost.

He didn't need a horse, rolling and maneuvering directly on the ground, his short blade specially aimed at cutting horse legs.

Only the warhorses' tragic cries rang out continuously, as Jin soldiers kept screaming as they fell from their mounts, then were immediately hacked to death by the swarming Northward Aspiration troops.

The battle almost turned into a one-sided massacre.

The Northward Aspiration soldiers who received the fourfold Ability Granting, whether in strength, speed, reaction, or coordinated combat,

they completely crushed this arrogant, lax Jin soldier squad.

The Jin soldiers' famed horse archery and shock power had no use whatsoever before such close distance and absolute disparity in strength and speed.

Their sabers were easily blocked or dodged by the opponent;

Their arrows, meanwhile, could be anticipated and dodged or knocked away by the opponent's extraordinary reflexes.

Meanwhile, each seemingly simple chop or thrust of the Northward Aspiration soldiers contained terrifying power, often capable of killing with a single strike.

or shatter the opponent together with his weapon.

Lin Chong was even more unstoppably brave.

His spear danced like falling pear blossoms, yet also like a giant serpent churning the river; each thrust of his spear knocked a Jin soldier from his horse to death.

He even had leisure to survey the whole battlefield, directing soldiers to intercept the scattered troops trying to flee.

In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the battle was already over.

Over thirty Jin soldiers, none escaped, all were put to death.

Before the ruined village, only riderless warhorses neighed, and the ground lay littered with corpses.

Fifty Northward Aspiration soldiers, aside from a few lightly wounded, suffered not a single fatality!

They stood in place, breathing slightly heavily.

Looking at the battlefield results, their faces first showed disbelief, then burst into joy and pride.

They actually annihilated a feared Jin cavalry unit with such ease!

"We… won?"

A young soldier gazed at his blood‑stained blade, muttering to himself, his voice trembling with excitement.

"We won! And it was a total annihilation!"

The veteran beside him slapped his shoulder hard, laughing heartily, his laughter full of the exhilaration of venting pent‑up frustration.

"Satisfying! Truly damn satisfying! Turns out the Jin dogs aren't that scary after all!"

Lin Chong lowered his spear and stood upright, looking at his troops whose morale was high, as if reborn, his heart also surging with emotion.

He walked up to Chen Wen, took a deep breath, and bowed respectfully with clasped fists:

"Mr. Chen… these methods are truly divine!"

He had personally witnessed the terrifying combat power these fifty men erupted with in an instant.

This had completely surpassed his understanding of the word 'elite'.

With such aid, what need to fear that the Jin bandits cannot be defeated?

Chen Wen's face remained unchanged; he merely gave a slight nod.

He carefully sensed his own condition and discovered that this time he had applied the fourfold Ability Granting to fifty people.

The consumption was indeed far less than anticipated before the system upgrade.

He felt only a little fatigued, far from exhaustion.

This confirmed his earlier judgment: after the system iteration, the restrictions were greatly reduced.

"Clear the battlefield, aid the villagers."

"It is not advisable to linger here; a large force of Jin troops may be nearby."

Chen Wen calmly gave the order.

"Yes!"

Lin Chong and Ruan Xiaoqi responded in unison, immediately directing the troops into action.

They gathered the fallen comrades' bodies, and confiscated the Jin soldiers' warhorses and armor.

and cut off the Jin soldiers' heads, which is important proof of their military achievements and a means to intimidate the enemy.

At the same time, they dispatched personnel into the village to extinguish the remaining fires and comfort the few surviving villagers.

When those yellow‑skinned, gaunt villagers, still shaken with fear,

learned that this unit which had slain the Jin soldiers and descended like heavenly soldiers,

turned out to be the righteous army called Northward Aspiration, they all knelt and kowtowed in thanks, their cries shaking the heavens.

An old man with white hair grasped tightly the hand of a Northward Aspiration soldier, tears streaming down his face:

"Sir… are you the royal army? Were you sent by the Imperial Court?"

The soldier stared for a moment, looking at the old man's earnest gaze, and also recalling the corrupt incompetence of the False Song court.

and the compromising scheming of Liangshan's Song Jiang, a surge of hot blood rose in his chest; he straightened his torso and shouted:

"Old man, we are not the Imperial Court troops!"

"We are the 'Northward Aspiration Army'! We are the righteous army that specially slays Golden Dogs and protects the common people!"

"Northward Aspiration Army…"

The old man muttered the name repeatedly, and a faint light rekindled in his cloudy eyes.

Chen Wen, standing not far away, watched this scene and sensed the imperceptible in the air.

Yet, because of this clean and swift victory and the people's gratitude, the 'Fortune Momentum' quietly gathered and slowly flowed toward the Chen Dynasty direction, and he understood it clearly in his heart.

The first battle was a victory; it not only forged the troops but also verified their ability.

More importantly, it planted a seed named 'Hope' and 'Northward Aspiration'.

And this was only a beginning.

The beacon fires of the northern lands will, because of the emergence of this new force, present a completely different scene.