Chapter 44: Solved
The deliberations in Yanzhou City didn’t take long to conclude.
But for Lu Yuan and his men, the battle was just beginning. As the approaching Iron Kites galloped toward them, they raised their bows one by one. What set the Iron Kites apart from other Northern Barbarian scouts was that every single one of them was an expert in mounted archery.
"Crane Wings, block!"
Seeing the Iron Kites raise their bows, Lu Yuan bellowed the command. The cavalry on both flanks immediately spurred their horses to the front. The Cloud-Piercing Crane Wing Array was not just for charging; its wings could also block enemy archers.
As they converged toward the center, they unstrapped the shields from their horses and held them overhead.
Lu Yuan had placed ten Entry Level experts in each of the two Crane Wings. With shields in hand and the support of the military array, they were more than capable of defending themselves.
With both wings forming a shield wall, the Iron Kites’ arrows rained down.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
They struck the shields and fell uselessly to the ground.
A few men were wounded by the arrows, but their overall combat strength remained largely unaffected.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan raised his own Python Sinew Longbow, drew a feathered arrow from his quiver, and began his counterattack.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Two feathered arrows flew out, and in an instant, two men on the other side fell.
Lu Yuan didn’t pause, loosing one feathered arrow after another.
He was incredibly fast, drawing the taut python sinew back with no effort at all.
Each time, he drew the bow to a full moon before releasing the shot.
And with every arrow he loosed, an enemy fell.
In a matter of moments, he had shot down more than a dozen enemy riders.
When the leading Centurion saw this, he knew in his heart. ’This has to be the man who defeated me last time.’
He had never seen anyone from the three Sai Cities who was so devastatingly skilled with a bow.
Meanwhile, a series of notifications from the system echoed in Lu Yuan’s mind.
[You have killed a powerful enemy using the Wolf-Chasing Arrow Skill. Skill Level +10.]
...
The Iron Kite Centurion, having witnessed the terrifying power of Lu Yuan’s arrow skill, gritted his teeth. "Stop firing! Charge them!"
Their volley had inflicted minimal casualties on Lu Yuan’s forces, while they themselves had lost over a dozen men in return.
He still had more than seventy men under his command, which he believed was more than enough to crush Lu Yuan’s unit in a direct confrontation.
These Iron Kites were elite warriors. Upon hearing the command, they immediately fell in behind their leader and charged forward.
When Lu Yuan saw them begin to charge, he put away his bow.
"Wings, reform! Charge!"
At his command, the Crane Wings spread out to the sides.
Lu Yuan, as the "beak" of the crane, raised his greatsaber and spurred his warhorse onward to meet the Iron Kites head-on.
[You have killed an enemy using the Cloud-Piercing Crane Wing Array. Skill Level +10.]
...
[The Cloud-Piercing Crane Wing Array has activated an additional effect: granting the squad a three-fold increase in combat power.]
[The Cloud-Piercing Crane Wing Array has activated an additional effect: Borrowing Wind. Squad speed and impact force are doubled.]
[The Cloud-Piercing Crane Wing Array has activated an additional effect: Armor Piercing. The squad’s probability of landing a critical armor-piercing strike is doubled.]
As the notifications rang out...
SCHLICK!
Lu Yuan slammed into the Iron Kite formation.
His warblade swung, as heavy as a mountain.
An Iron Kite in the front rank, a warrior at the Bone Forging Realm, was instantly decapitated by Lu Yuan’s blade. As a mist of blood erupted, Lu Yuan swung again.
The Iron Kite nearest to him was cleaved in two.
With him breaking their charge at the vanguard, the pressure on Wei Yong and the others following behind was greatly reduced.
Though this unit of Iron Kites was powerful, their formation was shattered in a single charge.
Another twenty of their number fell dead or wounded.
Their numbers had now dwindled to around fifty men.
The Centurion stared at the scene, his vision blurring under the bright sun.
’It’s him. It’s the same opponent as last time. But this time... I brought the Silver-armed Iron Kites! And they were still routed in a single charge!’
He watched as the enemy wheeled their horses around and prepared to charge once more.
He knew he had no escape this time. Fleeing would only mean death at the hands of his own superiors.
In the next moment, he rallied his remaining men and charged toward Lu Yuan’s forces again.
But the outcome was already sealed.
With the buffs from the Crane Wing Array and Lu Yuan personally leading the charge, the Iron Kites stood no chance.
Another thirty men were cut down.
Now, fewer than twenty of them remained, completely surrounded.
The faces of the Dayong warriors lit up with excitement.
After this battle, the military merits they earned would be enough to exchange for the cultivation resources needed to reach the Entry Level.
Their dark armor was spattered with blood, and their eyes gleamed.
"Kill him!"
The Iron Kite Centurion roared in fury and charged at Lu Yuan.
He knew he was going to die. His eyes were fixed on Lu Yuan, the sole cause of his ruin.
The power of his Great Success in Tendon Refining cultivation erupted from his body.
His eyes bulged like bronze bells.
The other Iron Kites didn’t move; they knew what their Centurion intended.
At a signal from Lu Yuan, his own men also held their ground.
They simply watched on coldly.
Just as the Centurion was about to reach him on horseback, Lu Yuan leaped high from his own saddle. The individual armor leaves on his mail clattered as they sliced through the air.
A faint golden light flashed for an instant, and then his warblade came crashing down with the force of a falling mountain.
The Centurion felt the thunderous attack from above. Though enraged, he didn’t dare show the slightest neglect.
He thrust his Fine Iron Long Spear above his head, attempting to block the strike.
BAM!
The warblade struck the shaft of the spear, which bent at a visible rate before being blasted out of his grip.
The Iron Kite Centurion’s arms trembled, his palms dripping with blood.
NEIGH!
His warhorse cried out in pain, its front legs giving way as it collapsed.
The Centurion was thrown to the ground before Lu Yuan.
Everyone who witnessed this was deeply shaken. With a single blow, Lu Yuan had defeated an Iron Kite Centurion.
’Just how strong is he?’
SCHLICK!
With a swing of his longblade, the Centurion’s head was severed from his shoulders.
Lu Yuan’s gaze swept over the remaining Iron Kites. They flinched as if struck by lightning, and one of them even tumbled from his horse in terror.
Then, all twenty-odd survivors fell to their knees.
It wasn’t cowardice; they were utterly terrified by what they had just witnessed. The Northern Barbarians revere strength, and Lu Yuan’s power inspired a primal fear in them.
Naturally, they no longer dared to fight.
"Bind them!"
A unit of Silver-armed Iron Kites had never surrendered before.
Bringing them back would surely count as a major accomplishment.
Wei Yong and his men certainly didn’t hold back.
He grinned. "Yes, sir!"
As he spoke, he led his men forward to bind the Iron Kites securely. The prisoners offered no resistance.
They only occasionally glanced at Lu Yuan, their faces filled with awe.
"Count our kills, gather the supplies. We’ll make camp here for the night and return to the city at dawn tomorrow." After Lu Yuan spoke, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Zhou He took some men and began to take stock of the spoils.
These Iron Kites had been operating in the area for some time, and their possessions were all quite valuable.
This time, even if their military merits weren’t enough, the silver they could get would be more than sufficient to buy the cultivation resources they needed for a breakthrough.