Though Ding Hao understood nothing, he still halted and didn’t proceed further.
From ahead, the voices of Zheng Fan and Siniang could be heard:
"Siniang, do you think I should announce, ’Zheng Fan, Colonel of the Yan North Border Army’s Hutou City Garrison, Protector of Merchants, is here! Barbarian fiends, cease your rampage!’ or perhaps..."
"My lord, I believe that’s a bit too much. There might not be enough time."
"Then should I just shout, ’Zheng Fan is here! Cease your rampage!’? But that sounds a bit cringey."
"How about I make the announcement for you, my lord?"
"And how would you do it?"
"I’ll use my voice-changing skill: ’Ah, who is this hero? Ah, is this not Colonel Zheng Fan of the Great Yan Northern Army, stationed at Hutou City, the Protector of Merchants!’"
"..." Zheng Fan was speechless.
Round after round, wave after wave, the iron cavalry of the North Border Army were dauntless, truly like components in a machine. Once their superior officer gave the command, they lost all human emotion.
Finally, in the next round of assaults, Shatuo Queshi failed to break the army’s formation and was instead driven back by their onslaught.
This was a sign that his vitality was nearly depleted!
A commanding colonel immediately ordered the formations to adjust. Next, three army formations would charge simultaneously, giving Shatuo Queshi no chance to maneuver or catch his breath.
However, just as the outer formations shifted, Shatuo Queshi suddenly shot up from the ground. A dazzling red light erupted from his vital energy as he leaped, attempting to break out of the iron cavalry’s encirclement.
"What’s the matter, scared to die?" a low shout echoed from below.
Following which, a middle-aged general clad in black armor, wielding dual hammers, also soared into the air.
Clearly, this was an expert from the Earl of North Border’s side, who had remained concealed until now. Seeing the barbarian attempting to break out, he immediately moved to intercept and kill him!
The Earl of North Border’s domain wasn’t a place one could simply come and go as they pleased.
One was at the peak of his vitality, the other’s was fading, yet Shatuo Queshi showed no fear.
Deep down, he had already considered himself a dead man.
Hundreds of North Border Army knights had already fallen to his hands in the earlier charges, with many more injured. He had already made it worth it.
The giant hammer collided with a fist.
"Barbarian curse, Death Spring!"
Streams of black mist began to emerge from Shatuo Queshi’s body. This blood mist, a transformation of his essence blood, carried a dense, cursed aura.
He had been adopted by priests since he was young. Although he eventually pursued the path of a Martial Cultivator, he still knew a thing or two about barbarian curses.
The hammer-wielding general retreated. It wasn’t because he feared Shatuo Queshi, nor because Shatuo Queshi’s barbarian curse was particularly terrifying or powerful. In fact, as a commander of the Earl of North Border’s Mansion, stationed in the desert for many years, he was very familiar with barbarians and their curses.
The most insidious part of this barbarian curse was that it used the caster themselves as the sacrificial offering to curse another. The curse’s potency depended on the level of the sacrifice.
Once the curse was successfully triggered, the caster would die instantly, but the cursed individual would also suffer a terrible fate.
They wouldn’t die, but their path of martial cultivation would be severed, likely with no hope of further progress for the rest of their life. Simultaneously, they would immediately enter a period of decline, their vitality weakening day by day.
This barbarian’s vitality is nearly exhausted; he’s a spent force. To trade my own martial path for his life? It’s not worth it!
Besides, even if I don’t act, with the thundering iron cavalry in pursuit below, this barbarian has no way of escaping this oasis!
However, the next scene made the hammer-wielding general’s eyes bulge.
The barbarian actually dropped directly into the envoys’ encampment and, without the slightest hesitation, charged towards the section flying the Black Dragon flag!
"Barbarian fiend, how dare you!"
Under the might of his fists, the Royal Mansion guards seemed like paper dolls, more than a dozen torn apart in an instant.
The saying ’a centipede dies but never falls’ perfectly described Shatuo Queshi at this moment. Once inside the encampment, he was like a tiger among sheep; no Royal Mansion guard before him could last a single exchange.
"Your Highness, run, run!"
When Shatuo Queshi’s killing intent locked onto Ji Chengjue, Master Zhang knew this confrontation was unavoidable. He immediately shouted sternly, "This is a Prince of the Yan State! If you dare to offend His Highness, can your desert tribes bear the heavenly wrath of His Majesty the Emperor?!"
Unfazed by the threat, Shatuo Queshi continued his advance, casually tearing apart four more guards who dared to block his path.
Master Zhang pressed his hands down, streams of cyan qi-waves gathering in his palms. His figure shot forward, lunging at Shatuo Queshi like a striking python!
However, Shatuo Queshi’s vital energy was like tempered steel. No matter how many times Master Zhang hammered him with solidified qi, he couldn’t budge the man in such a short time.
Martial Cultivators were indeed this terrifying. As long as their vital energy wasn’t completely depleted, their physical bodies were the ultimate weapons! This was even truer for more powerful Martial Cultivators.
Shatuo Queshi reached out—a sound like a tiger’s roar and a dragon’s cry echoed—and seized Master Zhang’s arm. The surrounding streams of cyan qi instantly dispersed.
Master Zhang was slammed to the ground by Shatuo Queshi. A heavy stomp followed, and Master Zhang coughed up a mouthful of blood, unsure how many ribs in his chest had shattered.
But Master Zhang had indeed kept his earlier promise, successfully holding back this fearsome barbarian for several breaths.
Meanwhile, Ji Chengjue and Chen Guangting had already fled to the encampment entrance.
Shatuo Queshi ignored the severely injured Master Zhang on the ground. Stomping a foot, he shot towards the Prince of Yan like a cannonball!
A giant hammer fell from the sky.
The iron hammer struck Shatuo Queshi squarely because he made no attempt to dodge, taking the blow head-on.
Finally, closer, closer, closer!
Shatuo Queshi saw the panic on the civil official’s face and the despair on the young Prince of Yan’s.
"Master Chen, his target is me!"
Ji Chengjue shoved Chen Guangting aside and darted in another direction.
Shatuo Queshi witnessed this. Heh, this Prince of Yan... not bad.
However, at that very moment, a hand shot out from his side and grabbed his ankle.
Blood was already trickling from the hammer-wielding general’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He had desperately activated a secret technique to accelerate his vital energy circulation, arriving at incredible speed just in time to intercept Shatuo Queshi. This update is available on NovєlFіre.net
Shatuo Queshi punched with his left fist towards the hammer-wielding general, who parried with one of his hammers.
Shatuo Queshi’s left arm disintegrated, exploding outright.
A look of shock crossed the hammer-wielding general’s face. His opponent’s previous punch hadn’t even been at full strength!
The destruction of his left arm didn’t affect Shatuo Queshi in the slightest. He reached down with his right hand, snatched up a long saber dropped by a Royal Mansion guard he had slain earlier, and hurled it towards the Prince of Yan!
The saber transformed into a streak of white light, cleaving towards its target.
Just then, an armored colonel suddenly appeared before the Sixth Prince. Immediately, an intensely blinding light erupted from his body!
Zheng Fan was blinded, as was the Sixth Prince behind him.
The sound of blades clashing rang out.
The Sixth Prince felt as if a wall had slammed into him, knocking him down and pinning him to the ground.
When his spinning vision finally cleared, the Sixth Prince saw a colonel lying atop him. The colonel’s saber was shattered, but the thrown blade had pierced deep into his armor.
Originally, as rehearsed, Zheng Fan should have strenuously turned his head at this point, looked at the Sixth Prince beneath him, and asked in a pained voice, "Your Highness, are you alright?"
But now, feeling the excruciating pain in his abdomen and the bizarre, icy sensation where the blade had intimately met his intestines, the rehearsed line became, "Damn! That hurts..."