Chapter 21: Returning to the City
Immediately after, Lu Yuan felt a surge of power rise from within him. His muscles grew tauter, his wounds began to heal, and his exhausted body was revitalized with energy.
At this moment, a closer look would reveal a faint golden light shimmering around Lu Yuan’s body.
His sturdy body seemed as if forged from steel.
[Golden Bell Shield (134/50,000 Entering the Stance)]
After this Cultivation Technique reached the Entering the Stance realm, a faint, large golden bell materialized around Lu Yuan, enclosing and protecting him.
Runes flowed and shifted continuously across its surface.
And aside from the Golden Bell Shield, his other Cultivation Techniques had also made significant progress.
[Arrowhead Array (30,181/30,000 (Perfection, breakthrough?))]
Lu Yuan didn’t hesitate, of course.
He chose to break through immediately.
Afterward, a flood of new insights about the Military Array appeared in his mind. Meanwhile, a visible change occurred.
The few men following him also began to recover rapidly. Although their healing couldn’t compare to Lu Yuan’s, the speed was still remarkable.
[Arrowhead Array (181/50,000 (Entering the Stance))]
As the Military Array reached Entering the Stance, Lu Yuan, Wei Yong, and the others behind him seemed to be shrouded by the phantom of a black arrowhead.
The small group of men now seemed to have transformed into a single, sharp feathered arrow capable of piercing through anything.
The Iron Kite Centurion on the opposing side witnessed this, and his expression changed instantly. He had been watching Lu Yuan’s group closely, and he understood the moment he saw the Military Array transform.
Lu Yuan’s comprehension of the Military Array had grown once again.
’This man’s insight is too terrifying.’
After a quick glance at the men behind him, he immediately ordered, "Retreat!"
Then, he turned his horse and galloped into the distance.
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. After fighting to this point, he certainly wasn’t going to let the enemy escape so easily.
He took out his Iron-Clad Bow.
He nocked a feathered arrow and shot it at the fleeing Northern Barbarian Iron Kites.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Feathered arrows tore through the air, and men fell with each sound.
After he loosed several more arrows, the remaining Iron Kites were all shot down. Only their leading Centurion escaped.
The man’s own strength was considerable, and he was an expert in Mounted Archery.
Although Lu Yuan’s Arrow Skill was superb, the distance was too great, and he couldn’t take the man down.
Still, it was a great victory.
To kill so many Iron Kites with a squad of just over ten men—forget everything else, their names were certain to become famous throughout Sai City.
THUD!
Once they realized they were safe, Wei Yong and the others collapsed, falling right off their horses.
The hands clutching their weapons trembled.
Lu Yuan didn’t blame them. After surviving this battle, these men could now be considered elites.
As long as they broke through to the Entry Level, they would be every bit as good as those Iron Kites.
’When that time comes, it’ll be much easier for me to head out of the city and earn military merits.’
"Rest here for two hours."
With the Iron Kites all shot down, no one else would be coming for a short while.
After speaking, Lu Yuan dismounted as well. He took out a waterskin and took a long, hard swig. The strong liquor burned down his throat, chasing away the chill in his body.
Then, he tossed it to Wei Yong.
The men passed it around, each taking a gulp, and finished the entire flask before eating some rations.
Then they began to gather their spoils.
There had been forty-three Iron Kites in total, and Lu Yuan alone had killed twenty-eight of them. This time, they had struck it rich.
Just the silver taels they found on the bodies amounted to several hundred.
These men had clearly done their fair share of plundering in the area.
Their leather armor was stripped off.
Most of the warhorses captured from the Northern Barbarian Scouts at the beginning had been shot and killed while blocking the Iron Kites’ arrows.
However, these Iron Kites’ horses were of better quality—all of them were fine Northern Barbarian steeds.
They were worth a great deal of money.
There were also all sorts of weapons. The Iron Kites were well-equipped, with a full set of both long and short weapons, and they all used high-quality Iron-Clad Bows.
When they had finished sorting through all the spoils, everyone’s face was flushed with excitement.
After this battle, everyone’s pockets were full.
A smile tugged at the corner of Lu Yuan’s mouth as well.
’When I get back this time, I can buy some cultivation resources and focus on my training. It would be best if I can break through to Bone Forging.’
’At that point, I won’t have any problem facing Tendon Refining experts.’
...
At the main gate of Icefield City, there were far fewer people coming and going than usual. The arrival of the Iron Kites had evidently made even the City Guard Army soldiers hesitant to leave the city for missions.
The only traffic consisted of a few merchant caravans.
About twenty City Guard Army soldiers on gate duty were huddled around a fire for warmth.
Dawn had just broken, and it was still quite cold.
A veteran soldier had just finished a bowl of hot soup when his brow furrowed.
He smelled blood, and the stench was overpowering.
He instinctively tightened his grip on his weapon and looked up.
Then, an astonishing scene unfolded before him.
A small group of only four or five men, all looking disheveled, were herding dozens of warhorses behind them. The horses were laden with corpses, bundled weapons, and stacked armor.
Most strikingly, heads were hanging from the flanks of these horses.
As they drew closer, the stench of blood grew even stronger.
The Centurion guarding the gate was a large, bearded man. His expression was wary at first, but then he called out, "Lu Yuan?"
They served under the same Centurion, so they clearly knew each other.
"It’s me."
"My god, did you guys raid the Northern Barbarian royal court? To bring back so many heads..." Li Huzi said with envy.
"Haha, we were lucky to survive. I’ll buy you a drink some other day," Lu Yuan said in greeting before heading straight for the Merit Tower.
When they arrived outside the main entrance, it was still too early, and the doors hadn’t opened yet.
They didn’t mind, though, and found a spot to rest.
It wasn’t until the sun had risen and the City Defense Camp gates opened that more people began to arrive. They all gathered around to stare at Lu Yuan and his men.
They pointed and murmured amongst themselves.
"Those aren’t ordinary Northern Barbarian cavalry, are they? Look, their leather armor is inlaid with refined copper plates. And their weapons... they’re all Iron-Clad Bows."
"They must have wiped out an elite Northern Barbarian unit. The leader is Lu Yuan, right? I’ve heard of him. His talent is pretty good; he was made a Centurion right after he arrived."
...
The buzz of discussion rose and fell around them.
Just then, Lu Yuan and his men got up and headed inside.
He was quite expectant. ’With this many heads, I wonder if it’s enough to get promoted to Centurion.’
’It would be great if I can become a Centurion. Not only would the benefits and pay improve, but I wouldn’t have to stand watch on rotation anymore.’
Lost in thought, he arrived outside the Merit Tower.
The official on duty was also surprised to see so many Northern Barbarian heads. He looked at Lu Yuan and asked, "How many kills?"
CLATTER!
Hearing the question, Lu Yuan stepped forward, took out a cloth pouch, and dumped a bag full of Identity Tokens onto the table.
"I haven’t done a detailed count. You can take a look first, sir."
The moment he finished speaking, the official’s pupils dilated.
"Th-These are Identity Tokens from the Iron Kites! So many!"
His voice rose uncontrollably as he spoke.
He wasn’t particularly surprised by the number of heads Lu Yuan’s group had brought back. After all, he did this for a living. Even a hundred heads laid out before him would only warrant a comment about a decent haul.
But the Iron Kites were a different matter entirely.
As his voice fell, an uproar erupted from the surrounding crowd.
The official ignored Lu Yuan’s casual attitude and began to count the tokens carefully.
He didn’t dare miss a single one.
At the same time, a Warrior behind him quickly excused himself and hurried off toward the adjacent Captain’s Mansion.
At that moment, Zhou Hongling and Zhou Ming were eating breakfast.
They had barely taken a few bites when a figure rushed in.
"Ma’am, a team that was out on patrol has just returned! They brought back a large number of Iron Kite heads and Identity Tokens! They’re at the Merit Tower right now, exchanging them for military merits."
As soon as the voice rang out, Zhou Hongling and her third uncle put down their chopsticks almost in unison.
Though skeptical, they still rose and headed toward the Merit Tower.
Zhou Hongling, in particular, seemed anxious. If this news was true, it would be a huge honor for Icefield City.