Chapter 131 - 112: Battle with an Innate

Chapter 131: Chapter 112: Battle with an Innate

The Xirong People didn’t know how many men were on the mountain. They only sensed that the fighters above were ferocious, completely different from the ordinary Dayong Border Army.

A flicker of fear ignited within them.

But as time went on and the sky began to brighten,

the Xirong People finally saw the short line of Dayong Warriors on the mountain path and realized just how few of them there were.

After a full night of fighting, their already small force had been whittled down to a mere four or five hundred men.

Moreover, every single one of them was exhausted and wounded.

The mountain path was littered with corpses. Blood flowed down the gullies, making a gurgling sound.

The Xirong had lost over a thousand Warriors in a single night.

When they realized the Dayong force was only a few hundred strong, their expressions turned to rage born from humiliation.

They, the renowned Wolf Soldiers, a force of over ten thousand, had been held back for an entire night by less than a thousand Dayong troops.

And these weren’t just any Xirong troops; they were the elite Wolf Soldiers.

For them, this was an absolute disgrace.

The leading general pointed toward Lu Yuan and his men, his voice heavy. "Kill them! Don’t let a single one get away!"

Hordes of Wolf Soldiers began to charge with reckless abandon.

Lu Yuan still had strength to spare, but the Warriors behind him were clearly spent.

There were too many enemies, swarming them all at once.

Zhou Xiong had suffered several new wounds.

Zhao Wu’s shoulder had been pierced by a long spear, and he hadn’t even had time to pull it out.

Zhao Wu roared, "Sir, we can’t hold them back anymore!"

This battle was far more perilous for them than the one half a month ago.

The enemy attacked in relentless waves, and all they could do was defend.

If this kept up, it wouldn’t be long—they’d all be slaughtered before the day was out.

Hearing his subordinate’s roar and seeing the dire scene unfold,

Lu Yuan’s gaze fell upon the Ten Thousand Men Commander of the Wolf Soldier army. He was some distance away, visible in the distance as he directed the charge.

Without wasting another word, he said to Zhou Xiong, "Take the brothers and fall back. Retreat to the camp."

The last exchange had claimed more of his men. Fewer than three hundred were still alive.

Even if they stayed, they wouldn’t last much longer.

Hearing Lu Yuan’s order, Zhou Xiong’s eyes went red. "If we die, we die together! We will never abandon you, Commander!"

Zhao Wu chimed in, "He’s right! If we die, we die together!"

As they spoke, another dozen Warriors were cut down.

And the rate of casualties was rapidly increasing.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan hurled his Crescent Saber forward with all his might.

THUD!

The immense force of the impact crashed into the Xirong ranks, crushing dozens of men to the ground.

He then shot forward with incredible speed, flicked a fallen blade into his hand with his right foot, and swept it out before him.

SLICE!

With the sound of tearing leather and flesh, a dozen Wolf Soldiers were slain. Their bodies were hacked in two, their organs spilling onto the ground and making the mountain path even more viscous and slick.

"I order you to retreat, now!"

Lu Yuan’s voice was graver than ever before.

Zhou Xiong and Zhao Wu wanted to protest, but one look at their comrades, who were on the verge of collapse, made them finally begin to fall back.

As for Lu Yuan, he had no intention of leaving.

His True Essence had now reached the Great Success stage. His body and organs were suffused with Divine Essence, making him a single, integrated whole.

’My energy is self-sustaining, a continuous, inexhaustible flow. I’m still far from my limit.’

’So, I want to see if I can do what an Innate Expert can do.’

He had actually wanted to try this during the night, but it had been too dark and the distance too great. He hadn’t been able to lock onto the Ten Thousand Men Commander. Now was the perfect time.

With that thought, he no longer hesitated.

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, he spun his Crescent Saber so fast it became an impenetrable, whirling vortex of steel.

At the same time, he roared, "All who stand in my way will die!"

His roar sent a tremor through the hearts of the Wolf Soldiers, and a flicker of fear appeared in their eyes as they looked at Lu Yuan.

But he paid them no mind, simply raising his saber and hacking his way forward.

In that moment, the Crescent Saber became the most terrifying of killing implements.

The blade swung toward a Wolf Soldier Centurion, who only had time to raise his spear to block.

CLANG!

The next moment, the spear, forged from refined iron, was cleaved in two.

The Crescent Saber fell upon the Centurion’s shoulder. His armor shattered, and blood sprayed forth.

But the saber didn’t stop. It easily split the man’s body and continued forward, felling another soldier. Then, Lu Yuan swung the Crescent Saber back in a vicious arc, instantly cleaving the two closest Wolf Soldiers in half.

Lu Yuan wasn’t defending at all. He pushed his Blood Refining Golden Bell Shield to its absolute limit, allowing the surrounding weapons to strike his body while he did nothing but attack, and attack again.

Before he knew it, by the time the sun was high in the sky, he had actually carved a path through the ten-thousand-man force and arrived before the Wolf Soldiers’ Thousand Men Commander.

The commander’s eyes were grave. In the slaughter just now, the man before him had displayed combat prowess nearly on par with the Innate Realm.

On his path here, no fewer than a thousand Armored Warriors had fallen at Lu Yuan’s hands.

Then, gripping two warhammers, the Ten Thousand Men Commander leaped into the air and appeared above Lu Yuan’s head.

He brought them smashing down.

CLANG!

Lu Yuan heard the twin hammers descending with the force of a thunderbolt.

He raised his Crescent Saber to block them.

The shaft of the saber and the twin hammers crashed together.

KRAK!

The ground caved in beneath his feet, forming a crater.

But Lu Yuan paid it no mind.

He lifted his right foot and kicked upward.

WHAM!

The kick sent the Wolf Soldier Ten Thousand Men Commander flying into his own men, and a large number of them went tumbling down the mountainside.

The Ten Thousand Men Commander managed to arrest his momentum and flipped back to his feet.

His eyes were filled with gravity as he looked at Lu Yuan.

He patted the spot where the kick had landed. The armor had caved in, and his body ached dully underneath.

He was secretly shocked. ’I’m at the Minor Achievement Innate Realm and possess Innate Divine Power. I’ve rarely met my match among those at the same level, yet today I was sent flying by a mere True Essence practitioner.’

At that moment, on a hill below the mountain, the scout unit that had fled through the night had circled back. The Dayong Imperial Guard’s mounts were Scale Horses, first-class in both speed and endurance, allowing them to shake off the Xirong pursuers and return to observe.

The Centurion in the lead gazed up at the mountain, and he could see the scene unfolding on the mountainside with perfect clarity.

"Hiss... That Wolf Rider Captain can actually go head-to-head with an Innate Expert," he said in admiration. "If word of this gets out, Marshal Xiao’s estimation of him will surely rise to another level."

A Scout beside him asked, "Is there any hope for him to fight his way out?"

This was the question on everyone’s mind, and they all turned to look at their Centurion.

By now, they all felt a deep admiration for Lu Yuan and didn’t want to see a man of his talent die on that mountain.

The Centurion shook his head. "It’s hard to say. If he were only facing a single Innate Expert, then based on what we just saw, he could at least escape safely.

But don’t forget, there’s an army of ten thousand Armored Warriors. Even if he killed some last night, there must still be seven or eight thousand left.

Lu Yuan hasn’t even reached the Innate Realm. Even two or three Innate Experts wouldn’t necessarily be able to hold them off.

And I saw that the Wolf Rider Captain’s men are all wounded and have no strength left to fight. So..."

The veteran didn’t finish his sentence, but his men understood his meaning.

They also trusted their leader’s sharp judgment.

His strength might not have been the greatest, but when it came to battlefield insight, the old veteran was second to none in the army.

After a moment of contemplation, one of them muttered to himself, "I wonder if Qi is almost back to camp yet."