Chapter 77: Merit Rewards Arrive Again

Li Zhi ordered one squad to stand guard, another to dismount and clear the battlefield, retrieving Wei Yuan’s short spear. The arrows they fired were magic treasures—worth recovering if possible.

A Dao Foundation squad leader drew his battle-axe, felling every tent, then dumped poison into the well, utterly destroying the encampment. This camp lay in Liaoyu; without fengshui arrays built by humans, survival was impossible, so Li Zhi and Wei Yuan chose to obliterate it entirely—even though the water source was precious, it could not be left.

The personal guards, well-trained, cleared the battlefield methodically, finishing in roughly the time of one incense stick. During this, both men and warhorses rested.

With the battlefield cleared, Wei Yuan and Li Zhi rode toward the second encampment.

The second encampment showed no smoke from cooking fires. Wei Yuan and Li Zhi accelerated from twenty li away, charging full speed toward the camp. Ten li vanished in an instant—the full sight of the camp appeared before them. Inside were over forty Liaocavalry, each already mounting their horses!

Enemy numbers exceeded expectations. Normally, when human and Northern Liao forces were equal in number, humans held absolute disadvantage—but neither Wei Yuan nor Li Zhi were ordinary men, and they had the advantage of surprise, so they pressed forward at full speed. Li Zhi even drew three long arrows glowing with rainbow light, nocking them all at once.

At the last camp, seven Northern Liao riders had charged Wei Yuan and Li Zhi; now with over forty riders, they were even less afraid, howling as they surged forward.

At a hundred zhang apart, arrows rained down from both sides. The Liao barbarians’ bows were stiff, arrows heavy, naturally skilled in archery; the Southern Qi iron cavalry wielded nothing but magic treasure bows and arrows, immensely powerful, capable of chasing targets after firing. In one exchange, each side lost three or four riders—roughly even. In moments, over a hundred riders clashed in chaos, knights falling from their mounts constantly.

Wei Yuan’s long spear finally found its use, spearing one Liao rider who passed by. But several heavy arrows suddenly emerged from nowhere; Wei Yuan could not dodge in time, one striking his shoulder.

The Liao barbarians’ marksmanship lived up to its reputation. Many Liao riders fired casually, yet their arrows would mysteriously pierce through the chaos of galloping riders and horses to strike their targets. Most Liao riders possessed only slight spiritual power; their heavy arrows carried no Dao energy signature, making them impossible to detect for cultivators who relied on spiritual sense to identify Dao energy for defense.

Countless heavy arrows whistled across the battlefield; even Li Zhi could not tell which arrow targeted whom, constantly caught off-guard by sudden armored-piercing shots.

As the battle stalled, Li Zhi grew increasingly flustered, his commands beginning to falter.

Within a hundred zhang, Northern Liao armored-piercing arrows could penetrate heavy armor. Li Zhi’s armor was a top-grade magic treasure, so he feared no penetration—but each hit drained considerable Dao power. And though the arrows could not pierce the armor, the shock was real: each impact felt like being struck by a fully-formed Foundation Establishment cultivator with a sledgehammer—far from painless.

As both sides exchanged blows, Wei Yuan and Li Zhi each unhorsed multiple Liao riders, gradually gaining the upper hand. One Northern Liao squad leader was exceptionally fierce, trading blows with Li Zhi for several rounds. Another was less fortunate: Wei Yuan suddenly unleashed a Sand-Throwing Technique, knocking him from his horse, then finished him with a spear thrust—he lasted two rounds.

Southern Qi elite personal guards were equal in one-on-one combat to Liao elite cavalry, but their warhorses were not. Northern Liao riders charged recklessly, often driving their horses straight into opponents’ mounts. At full speed, Liao horses merely staggered; human warhorses broke bones and snapped tendons. Soon after battle began, several of the guards’ horses were killed by Liao mounts.

Fortunately, Wei Yuan’s short spear was devastating, and Li Zhi’s divine bow and arrows were unstoppable, rescuing most of their fallen men.

Just as they gained the upper hand, Wei Yuan suddenly felt the earth tremble. Far off, yellow mist churned violently—suddenly, cavalry emerged from the mist, over two hundred strong!

The reinforcements split into two squads: one charged straight toward the battlefield, the other circled around to cut off Wei Yuan and Li Zhi’s retreat. Each squad had a rider with a white feather in his helmet—taller than the rest, his mount far more powerful. In Wei Yuan’s sight, both men radiated thick, bright yellow magic power, comparable to Earth-grade cultivators.

Company commanders! Each Northern Liao company commander possessed a Dao Foundation, and due to their naturally robust bodies, their combat power clearly surpassed ordinary human Dao Foundation cultivators.

The reinforcements arrived swiftly. The company commander charging the battlefield opened his bow even before reaching five hundred zhang, launching seven or eight heavy arrows in a single line—all aimed at Li Zhi.

There was no help for it: Li Zhi’s armor was too bright and conspicuous, instantly visible among countless soldiers; his Xian Foundation aura also differed markedly from ordinary men, far more noticeable than the two squad leaders. In contrast, Wei Yuan wore the standard armor issued by Tai Chu Palace—worse in appearance than even Li Zhi’s personal guards—and since Wei Yuan was not yet at Dao Foundation, the company commander didn’t even glance at him, treating him as mere fodder.

Li Zhi now held a golden shield shaped like the head of a suanni beast in his left hand, radiating brilliant light, and a long halberd wrapped in lightning in his right—his presence grew even more imposing, drawing the gaze of every Liao barbarian.

He first deflected the first three arrows, then raised his shield to block the next four. Each heavy arrow exploded against the shield’s surface; the terrifying impact forced Li Zhi and his horse to stagger backward repeatedly.

Li Zhi’s warhorse suddenly let out a long neigh, its hind legs buckling, nearly throwing Li Zhi off.

As a genius fully nurtured by the Four Sacred Academies, Li Zhi was not skilled in battlefield warfare or single-rider charges—but he could hold his own against a Northern Liao company commander. Yet a man could fight; his horse could not.

Li Zhi had traveled thousands of li from Southern Qi to Western Jin; he could bring his personal guards, but not his warhorses. These mounts had been prepared in advance by Western Jin—entirely inferior in quality to the original warhorses of Southern Qi’s Duke’s elite guards. Now, in direct combat, the difference showed.

Though at a disadvantage, Li Zhi remained calm. He cast a Dao technique onto his horse. The beast let out a long cry, its eyes instantly turning blood-red, and rose again. But this technique drained the horse’s life force—once its effect faded, the horse would collapse and die.

The company commander charged like wind and thunder, closing to within two hundred zhang in an instant, nocking three heavy arrows glowing with yellow light. At this distance, Li Zhi could clearly see the cruelty in his eyes and the cruel grin on his lips!

Li Zhi switched to two-handed grip on his shield, defending fully. In his peripheral vision, he saw Wei Yuan cutting through the battlefield, silently approaching the company commander—about to enter within a hundred zhang. Li Zhi’s mind flashed—he channeled Dao power, roaring loudly, and his golden shield erupted in blinding radiance. Everyone who looked at him saw only white light, temporarily blinded.

Though the company commander was also blinded, his spiritual sense had already locked onto Li Zhi. He fired three arrows in succession—all aimed straight at Li Zhi’s heart!

The three heavy arrows exploded one after another against the golden shield, each driving Li Zhi and his horse back a zhang. Li Zhi’s face grew paler with each impact; after absorbing the final arrow, his horse let out a mournful cry, its eyes bursting, then its legs buckled and it collapsed to the ground.

The company commander’s vision had not yet returned when he suddenly sensed several powerful Dao energy signatures surrounding him—a Dao Foundation cultivator had launched a surprise attack!

(End of Chapter)