Chapter 228: Don’t Look Back
Nanling Prefecture King Longxiang, relying on the three thousand armored soldiers under his command during his left transfer, managed to reclaim the fallen Gua and Sha states from the Huihu tribe in just over a year, demonstrating his exceptional military talent.
The Shaman Queen was able to push Longxiang into a desperate situation, relying not only on the numerical advantage and Longxiang’s unwavering commitment to not abandon the Yumen Pass, but also on her own abilities, which were not much inferior to Longxiang.
In battle, the confrontation between generals is like a match between two skilled chess players. Many times, while they can anticipate the opponent’s general strategies, there will still be some deviations; just like how Longxiang could predict the general marching route of the Shaman Queen’s army but faced timing discrepancies.
Thus, shortly after the Longxiang Army set out, they encountered the suddenly appearing enemy troops.
More than 200 Huihu archery cavalry pulled their long bows to the limit, and amidst the buzzing sound of the bowstrings, the arrows ignited by spirit energy shot forth.
The dense streams of arrows let out sharp whistles as they rose into the sky, intertwining in the air to form a blazing and dazzling cluster of light that illuminated the dark sky. Then, with the fierce wind, they rained down like a burning iron storm upon the Longxiang armored soldiers who were advancing under the cover of night.
The Longxiang armored soldiers entered a state of high alert as soon as they departed. When the first round of volley by the Huihu archers lit up the sky, they reacted within a very short time.
“Formation!”
“Formation!”
“…”
The identical shouts rang out almost simultaneously among the Longxiang troops.
Accompanied by those cries, the sound of footsteps and the clinking of armor arose. A group of Longxiang armored soldiers formed a plum blossom shape in groups of five, crouching down together, with one person quickly raising a large round shield.
A faint cyan glow flashed across the surface of the round shield.
The next moment, a wave of intense heat surged forth.
The sound of arrows slicing through metal, the dull thud of the shield being struck, screams, and the wails of warhorses… all the sounds overlapped, tearing at the eardrums.
The Longxiang army was not facing the Shaman Queen’s army for the first time; the well-trained soldiers had a response plan for almost every kind of offensive tactic employed by the Shaman Queen’s troops. After the volley, there were only a few casualties, with the fighters and horses lost not exceeding a handful.
However, not a single Longxiang armored soldier displayed any signs of relief or delight for surviving the volley.
Whether it was them or the Shaman Queen’s troops, they understood that the real purpose of this volley was not to k*ll.
Although the Longxiang army had experienced nighttime ambushes by archers in the past, if those archers had truly intended to k*ll, they would not have ignited their arrows during the volley.
By using the incoming arrows and the night, they could not only maximize the damage but also greatly delay the Longxiang soldiers’ judgment on their specific positions.
In fact, the nighttime use of ignited arrows generally served one purpose: illumination.
From a modern warfare perspective, these ignited arrows essentially acted as signal flares guiding the troop’s advancement.
As the rain of arrows fell, flickering flames rose around the Longxiang armored soldiers, swaying back and forth like lanterns, lighting the path of slaughter for those “monsters.”
In reality, among the Shaman Queen’s army, the strongest units were not the highly mobile archers or heavily armed infantry, but those who had been influenced by the Shaman Queen’s power, now no longer recognized as human—those “monsters.”
Those fearless monsters, unaware of pain, could only unleash their full power in close combat.
And the equally numbered Longxiang armored soldiers usually found themselves at a disadvantage when facing those “monsters”…
“Urgent rain!”
“Urgent rain!”
“…”
The synchronized commands echoed once again among the Longxiang armored soldiers.
As the shouts rose, the Longxiang armored soldiers swiftly raised clouds of dust or spell formulas, attempting to extinguish the flames that flickered beside them as quickly as possible.
Fighting in the darkness was more favorable for them compared to those monsters, who had descended into madness and only knew killing. This was also one reason why most of the armor worn by Longxiang soldiers was black.
“Boom—boom—boom—!”
Just as one Longxiang armored soldier began to extinguish a fire, heavy footsteps sounded.
The earth trembled, akin to a muffled drumbeat.
In the distance, robust figures appearing somewhat sickly emerged atop the sandy dunes.
Under the influence of the Shaman Queen’s power, these “warriors,” who already possessed their own tribal totem powers, now showed varying degrees of distortion in their bodies.
As the bl**d energy surged and boiled within them, their bodies and muscles expanded to a terrifying size, the protruding purple bl**d vessels pulsing beneath their skin, with the appearance of fur from different animals appearing on their outer surfaces.
bl**d coursed through their bodies, bringing countless pains, yet also unimaginable strength, rendering ordinary wounds incapable of halting their steps.
Even when pierced through the chest by a longsword, they merely detached it nonchalantly and tossed it aside before tearing apart their enemies.
As these “monsters” revealed themselves and drew closer, the Longxiang armored soldiers had also completed their task of extinguishing the fires, flipping onto their horses and gripping their long spears tightly.
The scattered embers from extinguished flames emitted a soft glow, outlining their figures in the night.
The dark-armored figures stood tall atop their warhorses, appearing like a group of black spectres.
As if sensing their master’s fighting spirit, each warhorse snorted restlessly, exhaling thick breaths, until a horn sounded and war drums began to beat.
The cavalry of the Longxiang army slowly lowered their long spears, directing the sharp spearheads forward, tugging the reins, and charging straight ahead into the incoming rain of arrows.
“Roar—!”
A high-pitched roar erupted from the leading figure of Longxiang, echoing across the sky.
The golden-blue radiance from his armor began to emerge, gradually coalescing into an illusory image of a dragon with a fish body and dragon head.
Then, the illusion shattered, and the fleeting light rained down upon the bodies of the Longxiang soldiers, eliminating the fear and trepidation that had briefly surfaced in their hearts.
Those monsters had the blessings bestowed by the Shaman Queen, and the Longxiang army too received blessings from the Nanling County King.
Five hundred steps, three hundred steps, one hundred steps…
The distance of over five hundred steps vanished in an instant as the Longxiang cavalry arrived before the monsters.
In the blink of an eye, steel clashed against steel.
The front row of the monsters trembled violently under the charge of the Longxiang cavalry, their formation collapsing. With a rumble, the towering, powerful figures were pierced and then sent skyward…
—
Gazing at the chaotic battlefield in the distance where the Longxiang armored soldiers were embroiled in combat with the Shaman Queen’s army, Luxianbei experienced a strange premonition flash through her mind.
[He is watching you.]
Is that referring to the Shaman Queen? Luxianbei furrowed her brow and followed the cue of the premonition, turning her gaze forward.
Her premonition usually only reacted to people or things around her; the further away, the weaker the possibility of being influenced by the premonition.
However, just like at this moment, where she couldn’t even see the person yet had anticipated their actions, it could only mean that “He” was influencing her in some way and was already nearby.
Luxianbei stared at the distant sand dunes of the chaotic battlefield, and for a moment, it felt as if an illusion appeared before her eyes, revealing a pair of deep crimson eyes, completing a brief lock of gazes.
In the next moment, the core of her witch-like urban legend entity began to stir uneasily, as if affected by some force.
It craved bl**d…
It was clear that the Shaman Queen’s power had an impact on her.
The instant those eyes appeared, Luxianbei swiftly closed her eyes without hesitation, clenched her fists, and turned the spirit energy within her to the extreme, momentarily suppressing the agitation of the core of the witch-like entity. Then she lifted her hand and placed it on Shen Baiwei’s head, who was preparing to turn around.
“Don’t look!” Luxianbei softly said by Shen Baiwei’s ear, “Hurry and go. Our task is to escort their tokens and letters home. Even if they all perish in battle, it has nothing to do with us.”
“But…” Shen Baiwei opened her mouth as if wanting to say something.
“Look at Li Tietou and Zhu Sanming. Did they look back?” Luxianbei interrupted.
At her words, Shen Baiwei turned to look at the two boys ahead, her brows knitting together.
Li Tietou and Zhu Sanming, carrying two large iron boxes, rode their warhorses forward in silence, as if completely unconcerned about the fate of their comrades, solely focused on forging ahead.
In a war, everyone has their own mission; ensuring that those two iron boxes reach Yumen City Gate intact is their mission.
“See? You wouldn’t be worse than two kids, would you? They know when to do what.”
“Besides, if you look, can you guarantee you won’t turn back to help them?”
Shen Baiwei, “…”
Seeing her biting her lip and falling silent, Luxianbei breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and gently squeezed her legs against the horse’s belly.
As her warhorse moved forward again, Luxianbei grasped Shen Baiwei’s hand and gestured with it, making a gesture like flipping the finger, turning her back to the direction from where she sensed the Shaman Queen’s gaze, raising Shen Baiwei’s arm.
What the hell! Peeping Tom, huh?!
This was originally what Luxianbei had wanted to do, something she really wanted to do.
But…
Since Shen Baiwei had already been affected, she probably wouldn’t mind having another experience of “flipping off the Shaman Queen,” right? Luxianbei thought seriously.
