Chapter 668: Old Debts

Looking toward the narrow path where the confrontation was unfolding, the old man in brocade robes asked, “Does the Princess truly fear no death?”

The woman with a sable forehead covering, sharp and perceptive, simply said, “Let’s go.” The elder from the Beiman Spiderweb seized her shoulder, and they flew down along the ridge until stopping twenty zhang away from where the two sides were about to clash. During their flight, Princess Hongyan still had the leisure to turn her head and admire the fierce charge of the Beiman horsemen. Their athletic forms rose and fell with the rhythm of the horses’ backs, like synchronized breathing, exuding a pleasing dynamic beauty. The curved sabers wielded by the Beiman warriors had a greater arc than the Liang sabers, and this curvature gave their swords a more powerful cleaving force. Combined with their height and natural physical strength, which surpassed that of men from the Central Plains, each downward strike was unstoppable. Princess Hongyan heard the rough shouts of the Beiman men in her ears, and she firmly believed these sounds would soon echo across the Central Plains. No martial expert on the Wubang list could stop them, nor could the thirty thousand armored soldiers of Beiliang.

She touched the sable fur on her forehead and squinted into the distance.

There stood the man blocking the path of the entire Beiman dynasty’s millions of iron hooves, holding his Liang saber in reverse, across his chest.

The first three rows of the Black Fox Lanzi riders were galloping forward when a crack appeared at the height of the horses’ chests, instantly expanding. The horses and riders continued charging forward, but were sliced in two. The lower halves of the horses and the riders’ legs fell into the yellow sand, while the upper halves of the horses and the riders, now without legs, landed a bit further ahead. Not only the first row, but also the following ten rows experienced the same eerie scene. On the road a hundred steps in front of the swordsman, a large patch of blood suddenly blossomed. A horse’s half-body, its entrails exposed, slid forward on the sand, leaving a shocking trail of blood behind.

Thirty-odd riders, their legs severed, fell to the ground and let out heart-wrenching cries.

The invisible line did not weaken; in fact, it kept advancing rapidly. However, the Beiman elite riders behind, especially the Black Fox Lanzi, sensing danger, leapt high, abandoning their horses and drawing their swords. Some riders even pulled their reins hard, jumping over the cutting line. The riders further back began to deviate from their straight path, attempting to charge around in a wide arc to avoid the deadly line.

Princess Hongyan curiously asked, “Is that a heavenly aura?”

The old dragon king nodded.

She asked again, “What’s the maximum length and width of this?”

The old man in brocade robes slightly shifted his gaze toward the rear of the cavalry and answered, “This slash is about a hundred zhang long and two zhang wide. But this is only for this single slash.”

She clicked her tongue in amazement, “If this were on a battlefield, wouldn’t it be spectacular?”

The old man said indifferently, “In large-scale battles, there are Spiderweb operatives who specialize in targeting martial experts, not to mention archers and crossbowmen, even trebuchets. Ordinary martial experts dare not act like this, or they would be the first to die as easy targets. Of course, the person in front of us is an exception. If he really wanted to fight to the death like the Sword Emperor of Xishu, it would require several top experts to hold him back. Even then, when such an expert’s internal energy is nearly depleted, he can still escape if he wishes. No one could stop him, after all, it’s just a matter of shifting his breath. This breath is so fleeting that only another martial expert of equal caliber could seize the opportunity. But in this world, everything has its counterbalance. If this person dares to charge into the battlefield, our military god will certainly not mind personally taking his head. Most of those who are a match for a thousand men on the battlefield are fleeting flashes, proving their strength before dying.”

Princess Hongyan nodded in agreement, saying, “That’s probably why martial experts are reluctant to get involved in battlefield battles. Cultivating such skills is no easy feat, and to die so suddenly is just too disheartening. In the next life, who knows if one will be born with such excellent physical and spiritual qualities again?”

That person seemed to lift his arm slightly, wiping the blade a few times. In midair, six or seven Black Fox Lanzi riders who had jumped off their horses exploded into pieces.

With each slight movement of his reverse slash.

A horse leaping high, its hooves not yet touching the ground, was sliced in two by an invisible line running from the left side of its belly up to the right shoulder of the rider on its back, spilling a large amount of blood onto the ground.

A rider who was drawing his bow was split in two, along with his horse’s head.

Between the swordsman and the three hundred riders, a large blood-soaked area had already formed, expanding from individual spots into a vast expanse.

Then, as the swordsman continued to raise his hand, the blood-soaked area rapidly advanced forward.

These armored riders were like tofu, easily sliced apart by the blade.

Princess Hongyan, with a look of pity on her face, said, “Just ants.”

The old dragon king, showing no sympathy for the tragedy, calmly replied, “They are indeed ants, but the reason for their Miserable scene is that their numbers were too few. When ants gather into an immeasurable swarm, even the Sword Emperor of Xishu would be devoured alive.”

The old man continued, “In Beiliang, there are top martial experts capable of deciding the outcome of battles involving ten thousand men, but they are few and far between. The one in front of us, along with Yuan Zuozong and Xu Yanbing. Yuan Zuozong, as the cavalry commander, would only be called upon to turn the tide when the battle is in dire straits, which would mean the entire Beiliang border army is nearly defeated. The younger martial brother of the spear immortal Wang Xiu is most likely to appear in the early stages of the battle. Such a sharp spear, no one would willingly leave it in the armory without letting it taste blood.”

Princess Hongyan nodded, saying, “That’s right. If it ever comes to the point where the Beiliang King himself has to take to the battlefield, it won’t just be the Beiliang border army that’s doomed; the four provinces of Beiliang will already be in our grasp.”

Suddenly, she laughed happily, “Old Dragon King, you know he’s the one who temporarily holds the title of the strongest in the world. No matter how powerful he is, he can only watch helplessly as one by one, the thirty thousand armored soldiers of the Xu family perish. Isn’t that deeply frustrating for him?”

The old man thought for a moment and smiled, “If I were him, I would have run away long ago. The world is vast, where can’t I go? Where can’t I roam freely?”

She curiously asked, “After all, the killing on the border is just so-so. Why doesn’t this person just sneak into our royal court and start a massacre? Wouldn’t that greatly demoralize our troops?”

The old dragon king was amused by her naive thought, as someone who didn’t understand the martial world, and sighed, “After reaching the Tianxiang realm, martial experts can easily sense each other. Even if he could kill one city, two cities, or even make the entire Bottle Province run red with blood, then what? He would be hunted down and killed by the combined forces of Tuoba Pusa, Hong Jingyan, and the Sword Aura, all grand masters?”

Princess Hongyan pouted, “How come even the Invincible Master feel so restricted? How boring. I used to only hear that the half-sages of the Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist schools who reached the Tianxiang realm dared not easily kill people, for fear of attracting karmic retribution. It turns out these pure martial artists aren’t much better.”

The old man, with a Bitterface, said honestly, “Old servant has to accompany the princess here to await death. Isn’t that even more boring?”

Without reason, the old man looked up at the sky and sighed, “In the life between heaven and earth, with heaven and earth present, who among us is not a puppet bound by strings? Some may be fortunate enough to jump out of this cage, but certainly no one can break it.”

Princess Hongyan exclaimed, “Huh? It ended? The thunder was loud, but the rain was small. I haven’t even enjoyed it yet.”

As she spoke, the Beiman riders indeed did not disappoint this golden branch and jade leaf of the Yelü clan.

When the number of riders had already dropped below three hundred and they all stopped their horses, the person also stopped his blade.

A renowned archer from the Liu army, seizing this excellent opportunity, suddenly drew his bow like a full moon. With a loud twang of the bowstring, he shot an arrow toward the young swordsman.

Two other tall riders, carrying large bows, followed suit. Without deliberately aiming, they each took an arrow from their quivers, drew their bows, and in one smooth motion, shot their arrows.

The three sharp arrows flew through the air, all aimed precisely at the swordsman’s face.

The following scene left these battle-hardened elites stunned.

The three feathered arrows simply hovered in the air, maintaining their diagonal positions.

The swordsman sheathed the Liang saber that the Beiman border troops hated the most.

One carved eagle feather arrow and two ordinary arrows.

He reached out and grabbed the carved eagle feather arrow, which was known in the Central Plains as “flying faster than hawks and unshaken by strong winds,” and threw it back with a reverse motion.

The archer, who instinctively grabbed the reins with both hands after shooting, was pierced through the skull by the arrow. The immense penetrating force sent his body backward, his hands pulling the reins as he fell from the horse, causing the horse’s front hooves to lift.

The warhorse, which had been with the fallen rider day and night, seemed still bewildered, lightly stepping with small hooves, turning around to nuzzle its fallen master with its nose.

A black fox rider, who looked like a leader, glanced back at the northern sky with deep longing.

After turning his head again, facing the terrifyingly powerful young expert, this rider fiercely squeezed his horse’s belly and began a suicidal charge.

The second warhorse followed, then the third, the fourth…

Eventually, the entire cavalry unit did not have a single rider turning their horse to retreat; they all began charging!

After witnessing this tragic scene, Princess Hongyan bit her lip and softly said, “Let’s go.”

“Hmm?” The old man was puzzled but did not hesitate, grabbing her shoulder and retreating backward. She closed her eyes, feeling the wind rushing past her ears, and said, “If the news of their ‘unexplained’ deaths here reaches the grasslands, then their sacrifices will be in vain.”

The old dragon king did not speak.

Nearly four hundred riders pursued fourteen riders, but failed to succeed, allowing the enemy scouts to relay intelligence back. Even though these Beiman warriors had all died, their families back on the grasslands—their parents, wives, children, and even entire tribes—would be implicated.

And those people had been waiting for their loved ones to return with honors and food.

Even if they returned empty-handed, it would still be better to be alive.

After allowing the two big fish to leave, Xu Fengnian, who was helping the fourteen scouts “cover their retreat,” secured his Liang saber at his waist and faced the fiercely charging Beiman cavalry.

He began running.

The Black Fox rider’s squad leader was the first to charge in.

Xu Fengnian leapt into the air, while the squad leader still maintained the posture of raising his arm high to slash.

With a single palm strike to the rider’s head, both man and horse were smashed into the yellow sand, the horse’s belly sticking to the sand pit with all four limbs shattered.

Xu Fengnian now held the rider’s head, which he had pulled off, and hurled it at the second Black Fox rider.

The rider’s chest exploded.

Xu Fengnian swiftly landed, swayed, and used his shoulder to collide with the sides of the horses on either side. The hooves left the ground, and the two horses were thrown sideways.

One horse charged fiercely straight ahead, but at a distance of one zhang from Xu Fengnian, both man and horse were shattered by a powerful aura, bursting into a mist of blood.

The Spiderweb spy, hidden among the Black Fox riders and Liu army elite, suddenly broke through the blood mist without warning, his sword tip aiming directly at Xu Fengnian’s forehead.

Xu Fengnian completely ignored the sword tip, extended his hand, pressed down on the head of this dragonfly catcher, and smashed him into the ground.

The sword tip shattered, and the blade broke.

The spy’s body bounced once on the yellow sand, first bleeding from the seven orifices, then blood seeping from every meridian in his body.

Xu Fengnian kicked the corpse up, sending it flying to crash into a warhorse ahead.

After the first dozen riders died without resistance, the surviving riders finally lost their courage to charge to their deaths.

Some began to retreat.

Indeed, there are people in this world who, despite their fear of death, can still charge forward with Fervent Passion.

However, these Beiman elite warriors, known for their bravery and valor, did not wish to die at the hands of an enemy whose name and identity they did not even know.

Xu Fengnian slightly stomped his foot and extended his hand forward.

In front of him, on the ground, countless sand swords rose from the earth.

※※※

About half an incense stick’s time later, the brocade-robed old man, who had carried Princess Hongyan running more than twenty miles, suddenly stiffened his entire back!

A cold voice came from behind him, “Two old acquaintances from the Daoma Pass, you two really don’t value your lives, huh?”

Then Princess Hongyan felt her butt lightly patted, and the person behind her smiled, “Old debts settled. So you can die now.”