Chapter 262: An Even Match

Jiao Tai and others ran behind He Chunhua, struggling to block the arrows shot from behind.

One arrow flew straight towards a horse's flank, but He Lingchuan knocked it away with a raised hand. Mao Tao wasn't as lucky; his mount's hind leg was struck, and it whinnied as it collapsed.

Mao Tao immediately fell behind. When He Lingchuan looked back, the man got up and shouted, "Don't worry about me!" Then he darted into a low-rise house nearby. There was a row of such dwellings, and after a few bounds, he disappeared behind one of the walls.

The Xunzhou cavalry's target was the supply convoy; they couldn't be bothered with such a small fry, and the main force thundered onward.

Arrows rained down from behind, impossible to block, so He Chunhua simply threw a crystal round plate backward.

The plate, glowing green with power from the Sheji Order, instantly transformed into an ice wall, blocking the path behind the two horses. The wall was an inch thick and over ten feet high, completely shielding He Lingchuan and the others from behind.

Then came dozens of dull thuds as scores of arrows struck the ice wall.

The Xunzhou skirmishers roared, drew their long spears, and charged forward on horseback.

The ice wall wasn't thick to begin with, and after being pierced by dozens of arrows, it shattered with a crash upon impact from the charging horses. But this brief moment was enough for He Chunhua and his group to rush back to their own camp.

Inside the camp, everyone was in disarray.

The supply convoy had finished a day's hard work, eaten and drunk, and half the men had already fallen asleep. Suddenly awakened, they rubbed their eyes and sat up, only to hear someone outside frantically shouting, "Lord Mozhe is dead! Lord Mozhe was blown up!"

Mozhe Jingxuan was the highest-ranking leader of this supply mission. With news of his death, the convoy became leaderless.

At this moment, a second explosion occurred at the tavern to the east.

Some of the convoy's officers were still groggy from sleep, disoriented even after getting up. Others roused themselves to shout orders for troops to re-form and stand guard, but with little effect. Soon after, the Xunzhou skirmishers arrived.

The guards outside the camp saw the billowing dust and immediately blew their warning whistles. Those inside the camp who had been watching the 'fireworks' then realized the gravity of the situation and, with a shout, began to flee. The Xunzhou skirmishers bellowed with immense killing intent; their force of two or three hundred men managed to create the impression of a thousand, even intimidating the patrol soldiers outside the supply camp, who clutched their halberds and wanted to retreat.

He Chunhua, leading the charge, galloped into the camp, his voice booming like spring thunder: "He Chunhua, Governor of Xiazhou, is here! Who wants to run? Who dares to run!"

He roared three times, using his true power; his voice reverberated throughout the camp, even drowning out the subsequent explosion to the east.

At the mention of "Governor of Xiazhou," the fleeing soldiers slowed their steps.

He Chunhua had not been in office long, but he had accomplished several significant feats, especially his three consecutive victories in pursuing the Xunzhou army, which had greatly enhanced his reputation in southern Xiazhou. Most of the supply convoy's soldiers were from the south, and hearing those resounding words, they were first stunned, then a mix of doubt and relief washed over them:

"The boss is here? How could that be?" they wondered. "If the Governor of Xiazhou was personally commanding, what was the deceased Lord Mozhe worth? Just an aide from the prefectural administration."

He Lingchuan no longer shared a horse with his father; he dismounted and quickly took another horse for himself.

He also heard someone shouting nearby, "Lord Mozhe is dead, the enemy is coming!" He couldn't help but follow the sound, only to find the man hiding behind a tent, eyes darting nervously across the camp, occasionally letting out a shout, yet showing no genuine panic.

He Lingchuan sneered, spurred his horse, and gave chase.

The man wasn't blind; seeing the situation turn unfavorable, he turned and fled. His movements were also cunning; he specifically chose routes with many obstacles, betting that He Lingchuan would find it difficult to pursue him on horseback.

But just as he ran past a warehouse, a large, shaggy black shadow suddenly appeared before him...

He Lingchuan rode up and saw Lu Xin, the Rock Wolf, suddenly burst from behind the warehouse, silently opening its massive maw to seize the man and violently shake him from side to side. Everyone knows the speed and power of a dog shaking its head; the Rock Wolf was only stronger, not weaker. Even several yards away, He Lingchuan heard two distinct "cracks," like firecrackers, which were actually the unfortunate man's spinal bones being dislocated by the wolf's powerful shaking.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan arrived shortly after to end his suffering.

He decapitated the man with a single strike, then grabbed the head and rode around, shouting: "Traitors will be killed! Let this be an example!" The head in his hand wasn't that of a Xiazhou soldier, but with blood streaming down it, who could tell? He Lingchuan shouted a few times and indeed saw the effect: many fleeing soldiers, seeing him approach, quickly turned to face the enemy.

At this point, the execution squad also regained their composure and began to perform their duties. After they cut down five or six fleeing soldiers as a warning, the supply convoy's rout significantly improved.

The other person shouting to disrupt morale was caught by Shan Youjun.

These Xunzhou operatives had a very clear division of labor: some went to bomb the tavern, attempting to wipe out the supply convoy's high-ranking officials in one swoop. Others disguised themselves as merchants and hid in eateries, seizing the opportunity to assassinate generals who came out to eat. The remaining large force hid in the countryside, using the tavern explosion as a signal to raid the supply convoy's camp!

Even the task of disrupting morale had dedicated individuals, with two particularly loud-voiced ones chosen, indicating the meticulousness of the plan.

The most surprising part was that the Xunzhou forces chose to act within the town, not in the desolate wilderness or dangerous terrain as the He father and son had expected, catching them completely off guard. It's worth noting that because Xiazhou's central and northern regions had suffered from Xunzhou army raids, wealthy families everywhere had conscripted able-bodied men to form local defense groups and civilian security teams, meaning the Xunzhou people could have encountered additional resistance here.

However, since the county magistrate was hosting a banquet for Mozhe Jingxuan at the tavern that evening, the local gentry would certainly have been present as well, leading to all of them being wiped out simultaneously.

Several generals naturally recognized He Chunhua and immediately gathered around him, some still disheveled, clearly having just climbed out of their beds.

He Chunhua did not scold them; he simply issued a loud command: "Form ranks and engage the enemy! Pass the word: the enemy has only a hundred riders!"

With the Governor of Xiazhou present, the generals' morale stabilized. They cursed as they rounded up their troops. The order bearers repeatedly relayed the command: "Engage the enemy! Engage the enemy! The enemy has only a hundred riders!"

The Xunzhou skirmishers indeed caused chaos upon entering the camp. They hacked at anyone they saw and burned tents and supply carts, appearing unstoppable. The Xiazhou soldiers were momentarily stunned, either fleeing or hiding.

Seeing this, He Lingchuan pursed his lips and blew a whistle, two long blasts followed by three short ones. Then he turned his horse and charged towards the nearest enemy general.

This was his way of summoning his subordinates; the Rock Wolf and Shan Youjun, hearing the whistle, quickly dropped the unfortunate individuals they held and followed closely.

Not far away, Jiao Tai, who had initially been guarding He Chunhua, saw that the Governor was accumulating more personal guards. Hearing the whistle, he immediately turned with his subordinates.

The approaching Xunzhou general was extremely ferocious; his body shimmered with primal energy, and with two thrusts of his spear, he could send a soldier flying. He also ambushed a thin Xiazhou soldier from the side and behind while the latter was fighting someone else, thrusting his spear into the soldier's abdomen.

His spear had a hook near the tip, and when he pulled it back, it ripped out the man's intestines. They called this "flying a kite."

The soldier fell to the ground, rolling and wailing, and the surrounding Xiazhou men no longer dared to advance. The general let out a loud laugh, then simply leaped out of his guards' encirclement and charged with abandon, as if entering an unmanned territory.

As he was enjoying the slaughter, he suddenly felt a gust of wind behind his head; it was He Lingchuan, who had charged in from an angle and, without a word, swung his blade.

There was nothing unusual about the Fusheng Blade; it looked like an ordinary long saber, and He Lingchuan himself was only wearing standard soldier's armor. The Xunzhou general's face showed mockery as he parried with his spear.

"An inch longer, an inch stronger," he thought. "Trying to fight my long spear with a saber? Naive!"

He manipulated his spear with precision, first thrusting a "flower spear" move towards He Lingchuan's throat. If the opponent parried, the spear tip would drop prematurely and stab into their abdomen. He intended to "fly another kite."

Just then, an arrow flew in from the side.

It was Mao Tao, hiding behind a burning warehouse, who seized the opportunity to fire an arrow directly at the general's eye.

The general couldn't parry in time and had to turn his head to dodge, which caused his spear to deviate by two inches, and he didn't have time to execute his next trick.

Just two inches.

His hand was steady enough; leaning back didn't prevent the spear tip from snapping up, still darting like a viper towards He Lingchuan's chin.

The young man before him, surprisingly, gripped his saber with both hands and performed an upward diagonal slash, a mistake even a novice would make.

This kind of move was inefficient; at best, it would only deflect the spear shaft. If it failed to block, the long spear would stab a hole through his cheek, and it offered little defensive capability against the enemy's follow-up attacks.

However, He Lingchuan's movements were as swift as lightning, and his daily "Wave Slashes" had finally paid off.

Confidence, momentum, and power were all indispensable.

He had to deliver a strike that was perfectly imbued with spirit and energy.

The Xunzhou general's subordinates saw them pass each other, a flash of light like a bolt of white silk nearly blinding them—

When the weapons clashed, the previously unassuming long saber finally erupted with intense killing intent, like a tiger that had lain in wait for a long time, now pouncing.

Both moved towards each other, with very little time to react, a mere fleeting moment. The general felt his hand lighten, and then several things flew into the air—

An arm;A gush of angry blood;And half a long spear, its break remarkably clean.

The general screamed in pain, blood gushing like a fountain from his severed arm. His opponent, completely unharmed, performed a turn and prepared to charge back.

His subordinates were horrified: "Lord Baili is injured!"

"Protect Lord Baili!"

Dozens of men rushed forward, forming layers around the injured "Lord Baili." With one arm severed and blood pouring from his right shoulder, he was in such agony that he collapsed forward. If his personal guards hadn't rushed forward in time, he would have been ambushed by Lu Xin, the Rock Wolf—that creature would leap up and bite a person's throat.

He was both shocked and enraged, and despite the excruciating pain, he didn't forget to hurl insults at He Lingchuan.

He had been careless. This man and his saber looked too ordinary, no different from the dozen or so soldiers he had previously killed. He was, in fact, a wolf hiding among sheep.

That saber... that saber was eerily sharp; in just one encounter, it had effortlessly cut through his cold-iron spear, which had accompanied him for years!

With such a divine weapon, how could he be an ordinary person? Why was he wearing soldier's leather armor, mixed in with scattered troops?

Lord Baili felt as if he had climbed a tree to pick a peach, only to grab it and realize it wasn't a peach. Then, looking up, he saw the angry face of a lion just inches away...

"People of standing always uphold their status; why was this scoundrel so shameless!"