"This spear technique… it can even intimidate the enemy!"
Chen Sanshi could tell—the enemy commander he had just killed had been frozen in fear before his death, utterly panicked and helpless.
He hadn't expected that the spear technique personally developed by Grand Commander Sun Xiangzong could have such a psychological impact.
What kind of realm must one reach beyond a Martial Saint…?
His mind wandered for a moment, recalling the legend of Taizu Emperor Cao Xie, who once shattered through 2,300 armored soldiers singlehandedly.
What realm had Cao Xie reached back then?
What kind of army were those 2,300 men—were they regular troops, or elite formations?
Was he breaking through while surrounded, or leading an assault?
Then he thought—if it had been Grand Commander Sun Xiangzong in that same situation, how many could he have slain?
But this wasn't the time for such thoughts.
After charging forward several li, Chen Sanshi reined in his horse, turned back, and waited for the enemy to catch up. The moment they appeared, he drew his bow and loosed arrow after arrow in rapid succession. Within moments, over a dozen riders had fallen.
The barbarian cavalry grew more and more frustrated.
They couldn't catch him, and they couldn't dodge his arrows!
Eventually, they stopped trying to chase him head-on. Instead, they formed an arrow formation on the spot and sent a detachment to circle around, attempting to flank him from both sides.
But Chen Sanshi's extraordinary perception caught it immediately. His five senses had sharpened even further after reaching the tempering organs stage. When he heard the faint sound of hoofbeats two hundred steps away, he spurred Qianxun and vanished, leaving behind only two parting arrows as a "farewell gift."
Of course, among the three thousand cavalry, there couldn't be just one tempering organs commander.
And even with his endurance, Chen Sanshi knew he couldn't fight that many enemies indefinitely. Yet, truth be told—he didn't know where his own limits lay.
Testing those limits, however, was not something one did lightly.
One man and one horse were now delaying the advance of three thousand barbarian cavalry.
Even as dawn broke, they still hadn't broken through.
Their speed had slowed so much that even the tens of thousands of civilians behind Chen Sanshi were moving faster than the enemy army.
He dared not grow overconfident, though. After holding the enemy off for a while, he galloped back toward the main column, keeping a close eye on the terrain ahead—especially to the southwest, where Hengkang Prefecture lay.
There were Transforming Strength experts among the enemy.
Xue Yuping had warned him before, and Chen Sanshi hadn't forgotten.
From the prisoners he had interrogated earlier, he deduced that the enemy's top combatant had likely gone toward Hengkang Prefecture. But if that commander decided to turn back and chase this column instead, that would be real trouble.
His hit-and-run tactics only worked when the opponent lacked too many high-realm experts. If a Transforming Strength master joined the pursuit, he'd be facing near-certain death.
Just in case, he had tied several torches with flint and oil to Qianxun's saddle.
He hoped he wouldn't have to use them.
"Where did that fast horse come from?! Looks more like a spirit beast wearing a horse's skin!"
Among the three thousand cavalry, the leading general wasn't the only tempering organs fighter. Each of the front, center, and rear divisions had one.
The center and rear generals had both been drawn forward by the commotion.
"What do we do now?" one of them snapped. "We've got three thousand men, and we're being held up by one man! Can you believe this?!"
"Don't rush."
Another commander replied calmly, "The message has already been sent to Hengkang Prefecture. High Priest Amugu of the Witch God Sect is likely already mobilizing his men to intercept. The Sheng troops are too slow—once they pass through the next range of hills, they'll be trapped between both sides. By then, soldiers or civilians, not one will escape alive.
"All we need to do is follow behind and not make the same foolish mistake as U Muer."
"What's Lord Chen been doing these past few days?"
"Yeah, he disappears like a ghost!"
Zhao Kang and Feng Yong whispered among themselves. "What's even stranger is that by now, the barbarian cavalry should've caught up to us—but there's still no sign of them."
"Don't tell me he's holding back three thousand riders by himself?!"
They exchanged horrified looks, all gasping at the same time.
It sounded impossible.
But what other explanation was there for the pursuers still being nowhere in sight?
Terrifying.
They thought back to the Battle of Poyang County. Who could guess what nightmare was unfolding behind them this time?
Without realizing it, the youngest officer in the entire Thousand-Household Division had become their de facto commander. Even without official promotion, everyone willingly followed his lead.
In truth, every one of them owed their lives to Chen Sanshi. Without him, they'd all have been dead long ago.
"Damn… thank the heavens I never offended Lord Chen before."
Zhao Kang exhaled shakily.
"You're all screwed, though!"
Feng Yong pointed at Liu Jinkui and his group. "If I remember right, when the recruits first joined, you lot took bribes from the Tianyuan Martial Hall and refused to teach him the breathing method, didn't you?"
"Yeah, it was you guys!"
Zhao Kang laughed mockingly. "You'd better hope he's too busy for payback!"
"That wasn't aimed just at him," Liu Jinkui said nervously. "It was an old rule left by the previous Thousand-Household Li—been that way for decades! Back then, if anyone taught the breathing method without collecting a fee, they'd be punished!"
"Still, if anyone deserves blame, it's Wang Zhi!"
Xiong Qiu'an spat. "We just didn't teach him, but that fat bastard took eight taels of silver and still didn't teach him. Then, when he saw the man's talent, he started wagging his tail like a dog! Disgusting! He deserves death!"
"Go to hell! What are you bastards saying about me?!"
Right then, Wang Zhi returned with a squad of scouts. "Who said they want me dead?!"
"Lord Chen did!"
They all answered in unison.
"I admit it—I'm a shameless dog, so what?"
Wang Zhi grinned thickly. "But whether he kills me or not isn't up to you idiots. I've already bet my life on him."
"Dogshit! Deputy Thousand-Household Du and the others called you General Tang—don't tell me you're that dead man from the fifty-seventh year of the Longqing Era come back to life?!"
"The chief general of the Xuanwu Garrison, what kind of realm was that?"
"At least Meridian-Connecting, maybe higher. He led over ten thousand men. For elite soldiers of the Eight Northern Garrisons, most would be above Meridian-Connecting—below Martial Saint but beyond us."
"So that's basically the Profound Manifestation Realm, huh?"
"What's it matter? He's still stuck tempering bones just like the rest of us."
"Get lost, all of you—you don't know shit!"
Wang Zhi's outburst left everyone silent.
His organs and meridians had long been ruined. If he could somehow be cured, he could've returned to his peak in just a few years.
But that was impossible—only a god could heal such wounds.
"Lord Chen is back!"
Everyone pulled their reins tight and halted, waiting as the white horse galloped swiftly toward them.
"Hyah—!"
"How's the situation?"
Chen Sanshi's voice was calm but urgent.
Every day, he sent out multiple scouting parties in all directions to gather information and report changes. Coordinating tens of thousands of people was not something that could be done carelessly.
Zhao Kang and the others had gathered to report.
"I found Du Rong's corpse. Hengkang Prefecture has already sent out nearly twenty thousand soldiers—they're taking the shortcut ahead to flank us."
Wang Zhi's expression darkened. "Looks like they don't plan to let anyone live."
"Map."
Chen Sanshi spread out the terrain chart and studied it quickly. After a brief moment, he made a decision. "There's a canyon here. We can make our final stand there—hold them off for another two days at most. After that… only the heavens will decide. Does anyone still want to leave early?"
"Lord Chen."
Someone stepped forward. "There's no point saying that now. Not just us—the others too. We'll stay with you till the end."
"Yeah. Our wives and children are up ahead anyway."
"We joined the army and trained for one reason—to protect our families."
"…"
"Good."
Chen Sanshi nodded, his voice firm. "Wang Zhi—you take four hundred men and engage the pursuers from Hengkang Prefecture. You're not allowed to kill. Fight briefly, then retreat. Lure them toward the canyon."
"Feng Yong, Zhao Kang—you two move ahead at full speed. Once the enemy arrives, loose arrows first, then roll boulders and drop logs. Finally, set fire to the mountain. Don't get caught in prolonged fighting—once it's done, withdraw immediately."
These arrangements were simple stratagems, using the terrain to buy time. Beyond this canyon lay eighty li of flat, barren land—no cliffs to defend, no mountains to burn. After that, it would be open plains stretching for a thousand li.
When that happened, the barbarian cavalry's advance would be unstoppable.
All he could do was his best—and leave the rest to fate.
"Understood!"
"Understood!"
One by one, the officers saluted and rode off to carry out his orders.
Chen Sanshi turned his horse around, returning briefly to ambush the rear. He killed more than twenty pursuing riders, forcing the rest to slow down before he headed toward the canyon to reinforce the defense.
"Ambush! Fall back, fall back!"
The barbarian vanguard charged into the canyon—only for thunderous shouts to erupt above them.
Arrows poured down like rain, followed by crashing boulders and massive logs tumbling from heights of more than ten zhang. The earth trembled as if mountains were collapsing. There was nowhere to run.
The lower-ranked barbarian riders were instantly crushed into pulp, and even their warhorses were maimed or killed. The air was filled with screams and the stench of blood.
"A bunch of useless trash!"
High Priest Amugu of the Witch God Sect arrived just in time to witness the chaos, his expression turning thunderous.
So many elite cavalry had been sent to pursue a group of battered soldiers escorting civilians—and not only had they failed to catch up, they'd taken heavy losses.
And the most humiliating part? The three thousand cavalry in the rear had reported being too afraid to chase because of one tempering organs general!
It was beyond disgrace—it was an insult to the entire army.
"You're nothing but traitorous dogs — every one of you!" he roared in his own tongue, cursing them harshly. "Even a fool could see this terrain was perfect for an ambush—why charge straight in?!"
"Get out of my way! Take the main road and circle ahead!"
While he barked his orders, Amugu himself took action. Leading more than twenty Witch God Sect warriors, he spurred his fine warhorse forward, charging directly into the canyon without hesitation.
Arrows and rocks rained down, but he didn't even flinch.
"Boom!"
Amugu raised one hand, his palm glowing with dark power. The boulder falling above him shattered a mere inch from his head, exploding into countless fragments that scattered harmlessly across the ground.
"Meridian-Connecting…"
At the canyon's end, Wang Zhi saw it clearly and shouted, "Retreat! Everyone, retreat!"
But it was already too late.
With a Meridian-Connecting expert leading the way, the twenty-some Witch God Sect riders advanced at terrifying speed.
Amugu wielded a Vajra pestle, thrusting and smashing as he rode. Every soldier he met fell in a single strike—each one's heart pierced clean through, their blood drained by the weapon's hidden mechanism.
Within seconds, more than seven or eight men had fallen from their saddles.
"Meridian-Connecting…"
Feng Yong, Zhao Kang, and the others were all hereditary soldiers from Poyang County. None of them had ever seen anyone above the tempering organs realm before. To face someone like Amugu—whose power was legendary—left them frozen in shock.
"Run! Get out of here, damn it!"
Wang Zhi roared and charged forward.
Amugu looked down at him with disdain and swung his Vajra pestle. Yet he was slightly surprised when Wang Zhi managed to react—his blade flashed, blocking the strike. His technique was far sharper than his cultivation should've allowed.
But that was all.
The overwhelming force behind the blow sent Wang Zhi's modao flying from his grip. Before he could recover, Amugu's left hand lashed out, palm striking him square in the chest.
Wang Zhi tried to block, but the impact blasted him backward. Blood spurted from his mouth as he flew several zhang, crashing heavily into the dirt. He lay still, unconscious.
"Whoosh—"
Amugu turned, ready to finish him off—but then a faint sound from the side caught his ear.
He reached out and snatched something midair—a willow-leaf arrow. The shaft splintered easily in his grip.
When he looked toward where it came from, his eyes narrowed.
Not far away, a young general on a white horse sat tall, bow in hand, calm and steady.
"It's you?"
The one who had held off three thousand riders—the young Sheng general the soldiers had whispered about.
Amugu grinned coldly. "Good. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down."