Chapter 93: This Dream Is Too Realistic

This felt great, yet it was hard to adapt. When a person's abilities suddenly improve, they can become more uncoordinated.

An enemy soldier leaped over a carriage, swinging his battle-axe at him. He Lingchuan parried with one hand, then spun and delivered a fierce slash.

Given the expected force of his strike, the opponent's chest and abdomen should have been severely wounded, causing him to clutch his chest, spray blood, and collapse. Yet, the moment He Lingchuan delivered this blow, he felt a distinct difference: it was unexpectedly fast and brutal.

His opponent was sliced in half mid-air, even his spine severed. The wind, blowing in his direction, splattered hot blood across his face, nearly blinding him.

As he reached to rub his eyes, another Baling enemy moved in to stab him. Commander Xiao kicked the attacker away and told He Lingchuan, "Save some strength, or you won't be able to lift your arm later!"

Combat requires not only speed, accuracy, and ferocity, but also endurance and stamina. No one knows how long a battle will last, but only those who survive to the end can win.

He Lingchuan spat twice, his saliva mixed with blood.

It was his opponent's blood.

The metallic taste in his mouth nauseated him.

The last time he killed someone was in the Coiling Dragon Wasteland, using only throwing knives. This was his first time dismembering an opponent into bloody halves, with their entrails spilling onto the ground, in close combat.

But he had no time for nausea; enemies kept rushing forward relentlessly.

Before the attack, the Baling army discovered that the barricade of carriages blocked their path, meaning their most impactful cavalry certainly couldn't pass. Their strategy was to send fierce soldiers forward to be the first to cross the barricade and engage the Great Wind army, buying time for their companions behind to move the carriages.

They had also attempted a waterborne surprise attack, as there was a river nearby. This played right into the hands of the archers on the riverbank, who shot with deadly accuracy. People in the water found it difficult to maneuver, and by the time they managed to swim to the shore, the Great Wind army was there with long spears, ready to "skewer" them.

The biggest problem was that Baling was a landlocked country, so very few soldiers could swim. Out of more than twenty men who went into the water, only two or three managed to bypass the carriage barricade and charge into the Great Wind army, only to be easily speared to death by their opponents.

Consequently, some began climbing the riverbed, intending to kill the archers and then shoot arrows from higher ground.

After Commander Xiao and his men dealt with the fierce soldiers, they switched to spears and halberds, stabbing enemy soldiers who were moving the carriages to hinder their efforts.

Everyone understood that their side was not seeking victory, but merely to stall the enemy until reinforcements arrived.

The battle entered a white-hot phase from the very beginning. He Lingchuan didn't even have time to feel nauseous. After repelling another enemy, he pulled the single-handed crossbow from his back and shot an arrow upwards.

"Whoosh," an unlucky soldier, nearly on the riverbed, was hit by an arrow and tumbled down.

Drat, he'd clearly aimed for the Baling soldier's head, but hit the back of his thigh instead. His accuracy still needed a lot more practice; it was far too poor.

Suddenly, a massive object crashed beside him, shattering into pieces upon impact.

He Lingchuan saw it was a carriage, which had originally been carrying two large chests. The chests had also been flung out.

A Great Wind soldier nearby yelled, "Watch out!"

As He Lingchuan turned his face, he found the light in front of him completely blocked by a mountain-like figure. Something below also slammed into him with immense force!

In that critical moment, he only had time to raise his arm to protect his face.

With a "bang," he was sent flying ten feet high and twenty feet away.

In that instant, his left forearm broke, but the sharp crack was completely drowned out by the impact. He Lingchuan couldn't help but cry out in pain in mid-air, and after landing, he rolled several times, unable to stand.

The bone-piercing pain of a broken arm was something he experienced for the first time.

It was fortunate he reacted quickly, leaning back and blocking with his arm. Otherwise, that powerful blow would have shattered his jaw and caused a concussion or embolism in his brain. This type of attack, commonly known as 'sky cannon,' left those thrown flying either unconscious or dead; in any case, they couldn't stand.

Seeing this, nearby enemies rushed forward, eager to claim a kill. Fortunately, He Lingchuan's mind was clear; seeing the blood-stained axe descending, he barely managed to roll away, avoiding decapitation.

As a result, his opponent used too much force, and the axe blade, gleaming coldly, embedded itself in the sand just two inches from his nose!

Even in the Coiling Dragon Illusion, death had never been this close.

Was this still a dream? Didn't they say one feels no pain in dreams?

He Lingchuan's eyes widened, his heart pounding rapidly from the stress. Before the enemy could pull out the axe, he kicked the opponent in the stomach, causing the latter to stumble and lose grip of the axe handle.

A Great Wind soldier behind him seized the opportunity, swinging his saber horizontally and chopping off the enemy's head.

As he had slain, so was he slain.

The man's head landed, rolled once, and came to rest directly facing He Lingchuan. His eyes bulged, and the expression on his face was truly indescribable.

The soldier reached out to He Lingchuan, pulling him up from the ground. "Are you all right?" he asked.

He Lingchuan's face was pale, his teeth chattering, and sweat poured down his forehead like a waterfall. "I'm fine," he managed.

In fact, he knew deep down that due to the effect of the National Edict, all soldiers' pain sensations were temporarily weakened—a necessity for combat. This meant that once the National Edict expired, his broken arm would hurt even more!

Did a dream need to be this realistic?

He cursed Broken Blade inwardly.

"Your arm is broken!" he yelled, turning his head. "Ah Luo!"

A soldier ran over, dodging a hail of spears and arrows, helped He Lingchuan up, and supported him to sit down beneath the riverbed.

Each Great Wind army squad had a part-time medic. Ah Luo put a pill into He Lingchuan's mouth. "Swallow it!" he ordered.

The pill was surprisingly sweet, melting in his mouth and flowing into his stomach as a sweet liquid.

Within a dozen breaths, He Lingchuan felt the pain in his left arm significantly lessen.

Under the National Edict's blessing, the efficacy of medicine taken by soldiers also increased.

Ah Luo then retrieved some planks, first resetting his bones and applying medicine, then skillfully using the planks to firmly fix his left arm to his side.

"This is just a temporary fix. If you make it back alive, you'll need two months to recover!"

He Lingchuan grabbed the single-handed crossbow. "Help me load it," he said.

With only one hand, he couldn't load the arrows himself.

Ah Luo paused, but then loaded two crossbow bolts for him as requested.

He Lingchuan took two breaths to steady himself, then raised the crossbow with one hand, aiming at the perpetrator who had just injured him.

Ah Luo looked and said, "You were injured by Meng Shan? Good, you actually survived!"

He patted He Lingchuan's shoulder lightly, then turned back to help others. The more intense the battle, the heavier his workload became.

Meng Shan, whom He Lingchuan was aiming at, was a burly, bear-like man. He was a head taller than a tall person like He Lingchuan, and twice his size.

His heavy armor was specially made, two sizes larger than normal. He stood like a solid door, and ran like a roaring locomotive.

Previously, those who crossed the carriage barricade were all nimble and agile smaller individuals. He Lingchuan hadn't expected this mountain-like fellow could also get through. In fact, Meng Shan, wearing heavy armor, shouldn't have been able to jump in. Commander Xiao and others had previously 'stacked carriages,' expending great effort to pile the largest carriage on top of several others and then secure two large chests on top.