Chapter 61: The Sudden Attack

In the buffer zone outside the territory of Yellow Sand Town, Li Dao led Zhang Meng and the others on horseback, patrolling the open plains.

At this point, Li Dao had also changed into Great Qian military attire. Except for his facial features, the rest of his appearance had completely blended in with Zhang Meng and the others.

Moreover, after nearly a month of military life and drilling Zhang Meng and his men, the bearing and temperament about him were gradually transforming into those of a true soldier.

With a yellowish blade of straw dangling from the corner of his mouth, Zhang Meng looked out at the empty plain and muttered to himself, "This is so boring. I'd rather go back and train."

Hearing this, Xue Bing and the others nodded in unison.

When the training had first begun, they felt it was sheer torture, with every single second dragging by like agony.

However, as they witnessed their own strength growing visibly day by day, that torture gradually changed its flavor, leaving them with an addictive sensation.

They grew to love the invigorating feeling of being drenched in sweat and experiencing deep muscle fatigue.

In short, if the training were to truly stop one day, they would probably be the ones feeling completely out of place.

Suddenly thinking of something, Xue Bing spurred his horse forward to ride alongside Li Dao. "Boss, when do you think we can graduate and become the elite force you mentioned, the Asura Army?"

Li Dao turned his head to look him up and down, causing Xue Bing to immediately puff out his chest as if intentionally trying to prove himself.

After observing for a brief moment, Li Dao suddenly smiled. "Since you're so impatient, starting from tomorrow, the training volume for all of you will be doubled. I guarantee it will make you true Asura soldiers all the sooner."

Xue Bing: "? ? ?"

Before he could even react, he was met with a barrage of curses and playful blows from Zhang Meng and the others.

Seeing this, Li Dao shook his head and spurred his horse to take the lead once more.

These men had indeed grown stronger under his guidance during this period.

Yet he was the one doing all the hard work. He had initially thought that the Northern Barbarian cavalry gift package encountered right upon entering the Yellow Sand Town garrison was just the beginning.

Never did he expect that there would be absolute silence afterward.

Hm?

Suddenly, Li Dao raised his head and gazed into the distance. Accompanying a large herd of cattle and sheep, a troop dressed in Northern Barbarian attire had appeared on the horizon.

"Does anyone among you know what's going on here?"

Li Dao turned his head and asked Zhang Meng and the others.

Hearing their boss's voice, the bickering men immediately stopped. Following the direction of Li Dao's gaze, they too spotted the figures in the distance.

"This must be a routine migration," Xue Bing said from the side.

"What do you mean?"

Xue Bing smiled and explained, "Isn't it the end of autumn and approaching winter now?"

"The Northern Barbarian Dynasty is located in a northern region. The further north you go, the colder the winter becomes. Therefore, every year as winter approaches, some Northern Barbarian nomadic tribes migrate south to avoid the freezing cold."

"And this buffer zone between our Great Qian and the Northern Barbarians is their southernmost point. These Northern Barbarians must want to camp in this buffer zone for the winter."

Watching the herd of cattle and sheep drawing closer and closer, Li Dao narrowed his eyes and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Hm?"

Xue Bing hesitated for a moment. "This sort of thing happens every year. It should be fine, right?"

Li Dao asked again, "Then in previous years, have you ever encountered people from these nomadic tribes in the buffer zone?"

"Of course we have. That's why I'm saying this."

"What was their attitude toward you?"

"What else could it be? Although Great Qian and the Northern Barbarians have sworn a peace pact, minor frictions have never ceased. Generally, when they encounter nomadic tribes in the buffer zone, they deliberately avoid us, fearing conflicts with us."

"Then turn your head and look—do they look like they have any intention of avoiding us?"

"Ah!"

At these words, everyone turned their heads in unison, only to realize that the nomadic tribe had somehow driven their cattle and sheep right up to their vicinity.

Xue Bing's expression changed abruptly. This was obviously a direct charge at them. He blurted out instinctively, "What are they trying to do?"

Li Dao did not answer. Instead, he gave the calm and collected order, "All men, form up."

Hearing this, Zhang Meng and the others instinctively steered their horses into formation, drawing their long spears and holding them horizontally in front of their chests.

Li Dao, meanwhile, spurred his horse to the very front of the formation.

At this moment, the nomadic tribesmen were still lingering behind, but their cattle and sheep had already closed in on Li Dao and his men first.

Without any orders given, Zhang Meng and the others stood motionless, letting the livestock pass right through their ranks.

"Attack!"

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice rang out from within the herd of cattle and sheep.

The next second, amidst the flock, several head of cattle and sheep abruptly flipped over, transforming into Northern Barbarian warriors who brandished their sabers and charged directly at Li Dao and his group.

Witnessing this scene, Li Dao appeared as though he had been prepared all along.

"Form ranks! Kill the enemy!"

At his command, Zhang Meng and the others swiftly entered combat mode.

Facing the incoming group, they launched a prompt counterattack.

Thud!

The approaching men had barely neared the formation when they were accurately impaled through the chest by the long spears of Zhang Meng and his men.

The nomadic tribesmen in the distance were also closing in by this time.

Seeing that the battle had already begun, they discarded their disguises, drew their sabers, and charged forward for a bloodbath.

Seeing this, the corners of Li Dao's lips curled upward. "I've finally been waiting for you."

He vaulted straight down from his horse. Because it was merely a routine patrol, he had left his Dragon Pattern Halberd back at the Yellow Sand Town garrison and hadn't brought it along; hence, he could only draw the profound iron saber hanging at his waist.

The moment Li Dao's boots touched the ground, several more figures suddenly lunged out from the herd of cattle and sheep around him.

Two of them aimed for his legs, while the other two targeted his head and heart.

Bang!

Li Dao lifted his legs to strike first, kicking twice instantly through the air.

The next second, two figures carved trailing afterimages through the air and were sent flying backward like broken dolls.

As for the two oncoming sabers, Li Dao grabbed one blade in each hand.

With a slight exertion of force, the sabers shattered within his palms. He then followed through with a momentum-backed palm strike directly to the face of one of the attackers.

Crack!

Accompanied by a crisp snap, the man's neck whipped backward a full one hundred and twenty degrees, killing him instantly beyond any shadow of a doubt.

Facing the remaining incoming blade, he met it head-on with a slash of his own.

Splat!

The human figure was split cleanly down the middle right in mid-air, scattering fresh blood across the ground.

The system's prompt tone chimed in response:

[Slain four enemies. Attributes acquired: 1.26]

At this moment, the nomadic tribesmen in the distance had also closed in.

Li Dao glanced back at Zhang Meng and the others, seeing that they were fully capable of holding their own against these enemies.

Without another thought, he turned his gaze back to the incoming nomads rushing toward him.

As these individuals drew closer, he sensed that every single one of them possessed cultivation.

Simultaneously, he detected a familiar aura from two of them.

Could this be... Innate martial artists?

"Kill!"

No sooner had they closed the distance than several nomadic warriors lunged furiously at Li Dao.

Each of their saber techniques was razor-sharp, their strikes ferocious, and their footwork deeply embedded in martial agility.

However...

Four silver flashes sliced through the air, followed immediately by four severed heads tumbling to the ground.

[Slain four enemies. Attributes acquired: 6.45]

Li Dao flicked the blood off his profound iron saber, muttering to himself, "All flash and no substance."

This sight made the pupils of the remaining nomadic warriors contract violently.

It was obvious to them now that they had run into a formidable stumbling block.

One Innate martial artist stared at Li Dao and blurted out, "What is the meaning of this? Weren't they supposed to be just a standard patrol squad?"

The expression of another Innate martial artist turned equally grim. "Could something have gone wrong with our scouts?"

Yet both quickly regained their composure.

"Never mind that. Let's finish off these people first and settle accounts with the others when we get back."

"There's no trace of externalized True Qi; at most, he's just a Postnatal martial artist. There's nothing to fear."

"Who's going up?"

"I will."

As the words fell, one of the Innate martial artists took the initiative and struck at Li Dao.

"Withered-Blooming Palm!"

True to their status, an Innate martial artist possessed immense speed, closing the distance to Li Dao in a flash.

His palm was wreathed in yellowish Innate True Qi.

Bang!

This palm strike slammed solidly against Li Dao's chest.

Witnessing this, a flash of triumph crossed the Innate martial artist's eyes.

A mere Postnatal martial artist—no matter how strong—was nothing more than a slightly larger ant in the eyes of an Innate martial artist.

Yet, he quickly realized something was terribly amiss.

Why did the opponent's aura show not the slightest sign of weakness after taking his palm strike head-on?

When he raised his head, he happened to meet a gaze that was half-smiling.

"You could've put a bit more strength into it. I can still take it."

Li Dao brushed some dust off his chest and spoke casually.

"Damn you!"

Furious, the opposing Innate martial artist surged with anger. Even though he couldn't understand why the opponent was completely unfazed by his full-strength blow, that attitude alone was utterly intolerable.

"I'll have you—"

"Slap!"

Before he could launch his next attack, a heavy blow landed across his face.

Under the terrifying force contained within that palm strike, the Innate martial artist's internal True Qi instinctively released itself to protect him.

However, when this slap collided with that layer of Innate True Qi, the Qi distorted. After filtering out a massive portion of the force, the remaining impact still smashed squarely against the Innate martial artist's face.

The next instant, a figure spun dozens of revolutions through the air.

Upon landing, with a dull thud, the body quite coincidentally dropped straight to its knees right in front of Li Dao.

Looking down once more, half of the man's face was swollen out of all human recognition, and blood seeped from all seven of his facial orifices.

Watching the Innate martial artist, whose consciousness was already utterly blank, Li Dao couldn't help remarking, "Did you really think I was just going to stand there waiting for you to make a second move?"

With that, his profound iron saber swept cleanly across.

The system's prompt chime rang out once again:

[Slain one enemy. Attributes acquired: 10.36]

According to Li Dao's previous estimations, an Innate martial artist's baseline attributes started around one hundred.

This meant the person before him had barely just stepped into the Innate realm.

"No wonder he was so weak."

Still, it wasn't bad; this single opponent had provided him with the equivalent attributes of nearly fifty Northern Barbarian soldiers, making it a decent profit.

Li Dao raised his head and shifted his gaze to the other Innate martial artist among the nomads.

His eyes were filled with an eager, restless impulse to test himself.

He had let too much meat slip right out of his mouth due to holding back previously; he couldn't afford to let this one run away, or he wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

Faced with the swift demise of one of their Innate martial artists, the opposing nomads were temporarily frozen in shock.

This was an Innate martial artist, not some nameless small fry—how could he be killed so effortlessly?

They had originally planned to rely on this force to wipe out the entire Yellow Sand Town garrison.

Yet now, before even laying eyes on Yellow Sand Town, they were on the verge of being defeated by a patrol squad of merely a few dozen men.

While they stood there in a daze, Li Dao certainly did not.

He strode directly into the midst of the nomadic group.

It was only then that these individuals snapped back to their senses.

"You..."

The nomadic warrior closest to Li Dao instinctively tried to retaliate once he recovered, but it was already far too late.

His head, accompanied by a flash of cold light, tumbled to the ground.

Yet this was far from over.

Facing Li Dao, whose physical attributes had reached over one hundred and sixty times that of an ordinary person, the vast majority of those present didn't even have a chance to react before their lives were claimed.

"Damn it!"

The remaining Innate martial artist watched this scene with eyes brimming with horror.

Clearly, no externalized Innate True Qi had been visible, so why could this opponent slaughter them with such utter ease?

Even an Innate martial artist of the same realm as himself couldn't survive more than a few moves in this man's hands.

Seeing the opponent closing in relentlessly, how could he fail to realize that his own self was the ultimate target?

"I can't stay here. I must bring this variable back and report it."

Making his choice, the surviving Innate martial artist turned abruptly and bolted, attempting to flee the scene.

Yet Li Dao had already prepared for this exact moment.

Without warning, he produced a long spear from out of nowhere.

Watching the Innate martial artist who had already sprinted a hundred meters away, he narrowed his eyes, took aim, put strength into his waist and legs, and hurled the spear with explosive force.

Whoosh!

The spear tore through the air, flying at extreme speed.

In the distance, feeling that he had already run several hundred meters, the fleeing Innate martial artist glanced back and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the monster was not in direct pursuit.

Yet at that very second, a sense of foreboding surged within his chest, growing more intense by the millisecond.

Splat!

Suddenly, a searing pain struck his heart. Looking down, he saw a black spear shaft protruding straight through his chest from behind.

Carried by the remaining momentum of the throw, his entire body was swept forward before being brutally pinned hard against the ground.

With his astonishing visual acuity, Li Dao clearly witnessed the entire sequence.

[Slain one enemy. Attributes acquired: 11.09]

The system prompt confirmed the enemy's death.

"Good thing my aim was true enough."

Li Dao dusted off his hands and turned his gaze to the remaining terrified enemies.

Next up was his one-sided suppression and massacre.

......

Facing the enemies continuously charging out from the herd, Zhang Meng and his men no longer relied solely on brute strength as they had at first; instead, they adopted the battlefield slaughter techniques learned from Li Dao.

From their initial clumsiness to growing increasingly adept and fluid by the end.

Faced with foes several times their own number, they handled themselves with ever-increasing ease.

If this had happened in the past, facing such a quantity of enemies, they would have long since been fighting in uncoordinated isolation and suffering casualties.

At last, through coordinated teamwork, they cut down the final remaining enemy.

Casting their gaze outward, not a single additional enemy emerged from the cattle and sheep herd.

Looking at the corpses of their foes scattered all around, smiles blossomed brightly across the faces of the group.

Nothing could prove one's strength better than the corpses of the fallen enemy.