Chapter 123

In the world where Li Fei lived in his past life, even during the First World War, cavalry still played an extremely important strategic role on the battlefield.

For example, two Australian cavalry brigades successfully charged Ottoman Turkish trenches that stretched for over two kilometers in front of them; for instance, three British cavalry divisions, supported by artillery and air power, swept through Turkish infantry regiments and advanced forty kilometers in a single day!

It was not until the start of the Second World War that cavalry gradually disappeared from the battlefield.

Yet in the world where Li Fei is now, the level of technology is even lower than during the First World War, and with the added bonuses of martial arts and sorcery, the status of cavalry has remained high, always serving as the ace branch of the military on the battlefield!

The Great Lan Dynasty was founded on martial prowess; it conquered vast territories, struck fear into all directions, and established its status as a central empire, all thanks to its invincible iron cavalry.

In that battle seventeen years ago, the twelve-thousand-strong Western Allied Forces fought their way to the imperial capital of the Great Lan Dynasty, only to be defeated in the end by the Great Lan Dynasty's strongest force, the Sky Blue Cavalry.

Therefore, the status of the cavalry in the Great Lan Dynasty has always been very high, and people's awe of the cavalry is almost carved into their bones!

When they saw dozens of riders charge into the city gate, the city guards near the Dongcheng Gate completely collapsed; having lost the will to resist, they turned and fled one after another.

The distance of several dozen meters was covered by these cavalrymen in the blink of an eye, and they swung the sabers in their hands to easily sever the heads of the city guards one by one!

From the practiced movements of these men, one could tell that they must ride horses frequently and kill people just as often!

There were over a hundred people entering the city in total, among whom more than fifty were on horseback and more than fifty were on foot; some carried blades, some carried firearms, and others carried powerful crossbows.

Among these people, aside from a group of experts arranged by Yu Hu, only a dozen or so truly belonged to the Anshen Sect, while the rest were horse bandits.

The news Chief Gu Zhenhui received was not wrong; the horse bandits in the Qiuping Mountain Range had indeed come to Xingcheng.

However, this group of horse bandits was not a force that the Hudao Gang had been raising outside for a long time, but rather subordinates newly subjugated by Zhao Yu, the leader of the Anshen Sect.

Back when Zhang Mingze was still alive, he had discussed today's events with Zhao Yu. At that time, there were over a hundred Anshen Sect followers present, and they also had over a hundred Tiger-style rifles obtained from the Inspection Academy, which was enough to complete today's plan.

But later, over a hundred followers were arrested, and the stolen firearms were returned, which led to a shortage of manpower.

However, Zhao Yu took a trip to the Qiuping Mountain Range and, relying on his formidable strength and mind-bewitching sorcery, subjugated over two hundred horse bandits there and brought them all to Xingcheng!

That was why he had previously told Yu Hu that since he dared to return, he naturally had the confidence to fill the vacancy.

Now, a portion of the horse bandits had run to the mountains and forests several dozen miles outside Xingcheng, intentionally used to lure Hao Yi away, while another portion of the horse bandits had entered Xingcheng in batches several days in advance and were currently using the weapons provided to them by the Hudao Gang to attack the Inspection Academy!

The remaining, most elite group of horse bandits followed Zhao Yu as he charged into Xingcheng.

"No one is to run around, no one is to loot or kill at will; everyone, advance at full speed toward the Xicheng Gate for me!"

Zhao Yu ordered loudly, "Whoever dares to ruin my grand plan today, I will surely make them wish they were dead afterward!"

As he issued the order, a wave of sorcery energy spread out along with his voice, causing everyone around who heard it to show expressions of awe.

"Yes!"

Everyone replied in unison.

And so, under the influence of Zhao Yu's will, the horse bandits, who originally had extremely poor discipline, did not loot everywhere after entering the city, but instead gathered together and advanced toward the Xicheng Gate.

Pedestrians along the way all gave way, shops closed their doors one after another, and no one dared to block their path, until this group encountered the teachers and students rushing over from the Martial Arts Hall.

Although the Zongchang faction now controlled the Martial Arts Hall, it had only been a short time; after Chief Gu Zhenhui's order was issued to the Martial Arts Hall, those who were truly willing to take orders and rush to the Dongcheng Gate to provide support were still in the minority.

At this moment, only one special-grade lecturer, four senior lecturers, fifteen lecturers, and over seventy students had rushed over.

The Martial Arts Hall was not equipped with firearms, and there were not even many stab-proof vests, so these people who rushed over only had cold weapons in their hands, and there were not even many bows and arrows.

However, Chief Gu Zhenhui had never counted on these people to block the enemy; he just wanted to delay as much time as possible, until the city guards could rush to his side.

"All students, go move things to the street to set up roadblocks, and hinder the enemy's advance as much as possible!"

Qi Zhongfa, the only special-grade lecturer present, turned and ordered the students on the scene.

Almost none of these students were martial artists, and almost none of them had ever seen blood; rather than taking these people to charge and block the enemy, it was better to let them do what they were capable of.

After all the students had dispersed, Qi Zhongfa said to the remaining lecturers:

"Gentlemen, from the day we entered the Martial Arts Hall, we have been leading the students to shout the slogan 'Strive for self-improvement, serve the country with martial arts' every day. Now is the time to let those students know—"

"That it is not just a slogan!"

As his voice fell, Qi Zhongfa was the first to charge toward the cavalry troop ahead!

"Kill—"

The remaining lecturers looked at each other and also charged up.

Bang, bang, bang, bang—

A series of gunshots rang out, and the horse bandits on horseback raised the guns in their hands and fired at the Martial Arts Hall lecturers charging toward them.

In this era, before cavalry engaged in battle, what was shot from horseback was no longer arrows, but bullets.

Qi Zhongfa, who was charging at the very front, was enveloped by a layer of earthy-yellow aura, looking from afar like a moving earthen wall.

As a special-grade lecturer, Qi Zhongfa was a Qi-Transformation stage martial master. At this moment, he had already activated the power of his implant, his physique had grown larger, and the innate Qi within his body had also been stimulated to protect his body.

This earthy-yellow aura was Earth-elemental Qi.

Earth-elemental Qi belongs to Yin, is earth containing water, and is more malleable, making it suitable for defense; the characteristic of this Qi is that it is thick and solid, so Earth-elemental Qi is one of the types of innate Qi with the strongest defensive power.

Qi Zhongfa's implant was originally the defensive-type 【Earth Stone】, and combined with the stimulated innate Qi, which was the highly defensive Earth-elemental Qi, this made his ability to withstand attacks extremely strong, allowing him to block rifle bullets at close range!

Soon, the two sides collided.

A horse bandit, his ferocity stirred, took the lead and rode his horse at full speed to slam into Qi Zhongfa!

The weight of over a thousand catties, including both man and horse, came crashing in at an extremely high speed; this impact force was already comparable to a full-strength strike from some martial artists using power-type implants!

Qi Zhongfa did not dodge or evade, simply colliding head-on with the oncoming warhorse.

Bang—

A loud noise.

Qi Zhongfa remained motionless, while the charging warhorse was sent flying; the horse bandit on the horse was also thrown off, and then was heavily crushed by the falling warhorse, directly suffering broken ribs and dying miserably on the spot!

At the same time, another horse bandit was riding his warhorse at high speed, passing by Qi Zhongfa's side, leaning down, and swinging the saber in his hand to slash at Qi Zhongfa's head.

Qi Zhongfa did not dodge or evade, letting the saber slash down. As the warhorse passed by his side, he suddenly exerted force, using a fierce Baji Mountain-Crushing Lean, his left shoulder slamming heavily into the warhorse.

Another loud noise, and this warhorse was sent flying sideways on the spot; the horse bandit on the horse's back was also thrown off. As for the saber slash at Qi Zhongfa, it failed to break through the thick layer of Earth-elemental Qi on the outside at all.

In the blink of an eye, he had sent two high-speed charging warhorses flying, which frightened the horse bandits behind into pulling on their reins, not daring to charge forward anymore.

But while the horse bandits dared not move forward, someone else did.

A figure leaped out from the rear and charged toward Qi Zhongfa, the speed of the sprint actually faster than a galloping horse!

This person reached Qi Zhongfa in the blink of an eye and threw a punch.

Because the speed was too fast, Qi Zhongfa only had time to raise his arm to block.

Bang!

The next second, a ball of flame exploded between the newcomer and Qi Zhongfa, and Qi Zhongfa, who hadn't even been shaken by the high-speed charging warhorses, was actually sent flying by the newcomer's punch.

"Flame Explosion Force?"

Qi Zhongfa looked at the newcomer with a solemn expression.

The opponent was using the fire-attribute Flame Explosion Force, which was the most overbearing.

Most importantly, being able to use force meant that the opponent was at least a Force-Training martial master at the mid-stage of Qi-Transformation!

A dignified Force-Training martial master could not be an unknown person, but to Qi Zhongfa, the newcomer looked very unfamiliar, and furthermore, no Force-Training martial master who had mastered Flame Explosion Force had ever appeared in the Xingcheng area before.

"Where did this expert pop out from?"

Qi Zhongfa wondered in his heart.

Subsequently, he saw over a dozen figures kill their way out from the horse bandit troop, heading toward the lecturers behind him.

These people who killed their way out were also martial artists, and there were even martial masters!

Qi Zhongfa was both shocked and angry; he had originally wanted to rely on the elite strength on his side to dampen the enemy's spirit, but he hadn't expected these enemies to be even more unstoppable than he had imagined!

The Force-Training martial master using Flame Explosion Force continued to attack Qi Zhongfa; every time their fists and feet met, a ball of flame would explode, and Qi Zhongfa was beaten back step by step.

However, the 【Earth Stone】 combined with Earth-elemental Qi was truly too capable of taking hits; even though the opponent was a realm higher than Qi Zhongfa, he couldn't do anything to Qi Zhongfa for a while.

After being sent flying by his opponent's punch once again, Qi Zhongfa took the opportunity to glance at the battle situation behind him, only to see that many of his colleagues had already fallen into pools of blood.

Not everyone was as capable of taking hits as Qi Zhongfa.

The battle situation on the Martial Arts Hall side was already decided!

At this time, if Qi Zhongfa chose to flee, with his defensive power, it was not impossible for him to have a chance to escape with his life; after all, the opponent's main target was not him, they just wanted to pass through here quickly.

But Qi Zhongfa did not flee.

He was sent flying time and time again, and time and time again he stood back up and charged toward the enemy.

Just as he had said to those lecturers before, they led the students to shout that slogan every day, but a slogan couldn't just be a slogan, right?

So he could not retreat.

The students were all watching!

"Hahahahahaha—"

After being sent flying once again, Qi Zhongfa finally spat out a mouthful of blood.

But he suddenly burst into loud laughter:

"Strive for self-improvement—"

"Serve the country with martial arts!!!"

The Martial Arts Hall students in the rear, who were moving various objects to the street, suddenly heard this familiar slogan and turned their heads to look ahead.

They saw a figure enveloped in bright yellow aura charging toward an enemy several times their number!

"Ran into a tough nut."

In the horse bandit ranks, Zhao Yu, who was surrounded and protected by a group of people, frowned as he watched Qi Zhongfa charging ahead.

Zhao Yu suddenly closed his eyes.

The next second, a black-robed person who had been quietly guarding his side moved.

This black-robed person shot up into the sky, leaving a dirt pit where he had stepped!

He leaped high into the air, jumping over dozens of horse bandits in one go, and landed at the very front of the troop.

Then this black-robed person stepped forward and charged toward Qi Zhongfa; when the distance between the two sides was still over ten meters, he suddenly swung his palm forward.

The next second, a crimson aura gushed out from his palm and instantly transformed into a red snake covered in scales!

"Red Scale Force?"

Qi Zhongfa's eyes widened suddenly, his heart filled with horror.

Red Scale Force was also a fire-attribute force, but it was condensed from Ding-fire Sha Qi, making it extremely sinister and poisonous.

Moreover, this Red Scale Force was struck out from a distance; this was a method only available at the late stage of Qi-Transformation!

Qi Zhongfa remembered that in the entire Xingcheng area, only Wang Ping, a registered martial master of the Zhige Academy, had mastered Red Scale Force, but hadn't Wang Ping been harmed by people from the Anshen Sect back then?

Too busy to think about so much, before the Red Scale Force reached him, Qi Zhongfa exerted his full strength to stimulate the Earth-elemental Qi in his body, concentrating most of it on his arms, while simultaneously driving the extraordinary ability of his implant, 【Earth Stone】, to petrify his skin and make the stimulated Earth-elemental Qi even thicker and more solid.

The next second, the red snake collided with Qi Zhongfa.

With a tearing sound, Qi Zhongfa, who hadn't had his defense broken even after taking over a dozen Flame Explosion Force strikes, had his Earth-elemental Qi torn apart by the red snake this time, and his arms were completely set ablaze!

Qi Zhongfa spat out blood and was heavily sent flying.

After he landed, he didn't care about his arms, which were burned to a bloody mess, and immediately looked at the black-robed person not far away:

"This is not Red Scale Force! Are you at the Dao Foundation stage?!"

That Red Scale Force just now not only contained intense Ding-fire Sha Qi but also mixed in two other types of innate Qi, making the power of this force even stronger than the original Red Scale Force.

Only a powerhouse at the Dao Foundation stage could integrate other innate Qi on the basis of the original force, thereby increasing the power of the force.

That was why Qi Zhongfa judged that the opponent was a Dao Foundation stage powerhouse.

This intelligence was truly too shocking, because in a place like Xingcheng, the appearance of an extra Dao Foundation stage powerhouse could completely influence the battle situation!

At this point, what Qi Zhongfa was worried about was still not his own safety, but the safety of Xingcheng.

"Be careful, the enemy has a..."

Qi Zhongfa roared loudly, wanting to pass this intelligence on.

However, before he could finish his sentence, another red snake had already crashed into him...

On this day, Qi Zhongfa, a special-grade lecturer of the Martial Arts Hall, died in battle.

Dying with him were four senior lecturers and fifteen lecturers.

After these lecturers were all dead, some of the Martial Arts Hall students who were setting up roadblocks in the rear chose to flee, but some students chose to stay and block the enemy with their own bodies.

Not long after, these twenty-seven students who chose to stay all died in battle.

"Strive for self-improvement, serve the country with martial arts!"

Many lecturers and students shouted this slogan, which they shouted several times every day, loudly before they died.

It was they who let the invading Anshen Sect and horse bandits know that this sentence was not just a slogan.

The Great Lan Dynasty might already be rotten to the core, but even in the most rotten nation, there are still warriors whose hot blood is hard to cool!

Seeking monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)