Black Armor Soldiers

On the official road, a hundred-man escort guarded an ornate carriage as it traveled onward.

"Princess, thirty li ahead, we'll enter Yanling County. Once we're on Thief Chen's territory, we must proceed with caution."

A young general slowed his horse and rode up beside the carriage, speaking to the person inside.

"General Li, I'll leave everything to you," a woman's voice came from within the carriage.

"Rest assured, Princess. I will protect you with all my strength," the young general said solemnly.

He had long admired the young princess, yet when she was sent away in a political marriage, he had been assigned to escort her. What irony.

General Li had earned fame in his youth and held a military post at such a young age. As for the Chen Family's eldest young master, what was he worth? The son of a rebel—how could he compare to the descendant of a military family like himself?

"Brothers, Thief Chen's territory lies ahead. Stay sharp!" General Li shouted his orders.

"Yes!" More than a hundred soldiers answered in unison.

"Hyah!"

General Li poured his resentment into his whip, lashing it hard across his horse's body. The fine steed let out a shrill neigh before breaking into a gallop. A hundred riders charged forward together, kicking up a cloud of dust along the official road.

After traveling for some time, they entered a dense forest. Then General Li's horse at the very front was suddenly tripped by something. Moving too fast to react, the horse stumbled, and General Li was flung through the air.

Realizing something was wrong, General Li hurriedly gathered his dou qi. An earthen-yellow Dou Qi Veil covered his body. After landing, he rolled across the ground, then braced himself with one hand and steadied his body.

He possessed the cultivation of a Dou Shi, and with the Dou Qi Veil protecting him, he suffered only minor injuries despite being thrown off.

Some of the others had no time to react and were tripped by the same horse line. They were all sent flying before crashing heavily onto the ground.

Their cultivation was low, and without Dou Qi Veils to protect them, being thrown at such speed left them seriously injured. They lay on the ground, clutching their arms and legs as cries of pain rang out without end.

The people at the rear noticed the situation ahead and managed to rein in their horses in time, preventing the entire force from being wiped out by a single horse line.

The carriage had not been moving very fast and stopped in time. Otherwise, a princess like her would have been thrown flat on her face.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Those still on horseback hurriedly drew the blades at their waists and watched their surroundings warily.

Swish!

With a crisp, unified sound, a group of people suddenly emerged from the surrounding woods. They held crossbows in their hands, their gleaming arrows radiating a chilling aura.

A thousand arrows were aimed at this hundred-man force. Every soldier turned pale with fear, and even the hands gripping their blades began to tremble.

"Armor-Piercing Crossbows!"

General Li was targeted by a hundred crossbow bolts at once. His treasured sword was only halfway drawn, yet he did not dare pull it out any farther.

He recognized the crossbows in their hands. They were Armor-Piercing Crossbows. They were extremely costly, and within the Izumo Empire, only the most elite units could be equipped with them. Yet a thousand of them had appeared before him at once.

After being infused with dou qi, Armor-Piercing Crossbows possessed tremendous killing power and could easily pierce through a Dou Qi Veil. Each crossbow could hold ten arrows, firing all ten within two seconds before needing to be reloaded.

With a hundred crossbows trained on him, General Li would be turned into a pincushion the moment he made the slightest move.

General Li's expression turned grave, but even at such a dangerous moment, he forced himself to remain calm.

The people emerging from the dense forest all wore pitch-black armor. Each carried an Armor-Piercing Crossbow, with a gleaming sword hanging at the waist. Their equipment was streamlined yet formidable.

By comparison, the men General Li had brought were rather poorly equipped. They carried only standard-issue sabers and wore nothing more than ordinary leather armor.

General Li had already recognized who these people were. Only the Chen Family could field a force with such fine equipment. Backed by the Murong Family's wealth, the Chen Family had no need to worry about funds.

"Brothers, we're on the same side, on the same side. Don't shoot," General Li said loudly, forcing a smile onto his face as he felt the icy killing intent around him.

General Li received no response, and his heart suddenly sank.

With the enemy so numerous and his own side so few, he did not even have the strength to resist.

After a while, a Black Armor Commander asked, "You are an Izumo force. Why have you come here, and who is inside that carriage?"

The Black Armor Commander could likewise tell from their clothing that this hundred-man group belonged to the Izumo Empire's army. But these Black Armor Soldiers all served the Chen Family. They obeyed only the Chen Family's orders and would never regard Izumo's troops as their own.

Yanling Army scouts had been stationed along the official road, and they had spotted this force long ago. However, there had been too few men ahead to ensure they could stop a hundred-man force. The scouts in front relayed word to those behind through signals, and only here did they finally intercept them.

"General, we were ordered by His Majesty to escort Princess Ruoxue to Anyang City. The person inside this carriage is Princess Ruoxue herself," General Li replied with a smile, explaining everything in full.

Upon hearing this, the Black Armor Commander indicated that he understood.

He had received orders from the Chen Family stating that the Empire had sought peace, ceding a vast stretch of land to King Yanling and sending over a princess to become the Young Family Head's concubine.

"All of you, dismount. Throw down your weapons, clasp your hands over your heads, and squat on the ground. Those on the ground, get up as well," the Black Armor Commander shouted.

Upon hearing him, the Izumo Army soldiers exchanged looks. They did not dare put down their weapons and instead gripped them even tighter.

If they threw away their weapons, they would truly have no means of resistance left. They would be completely at the mercy of others.

General Li was startled by his soldiers' behavior and hurriedly said, "Do as this general says!"

After saying that, General Li was the first to throw away his sword. Then he squatted down with both hands clasped over his head.

General Li knew perfectly well that before a thousand Black Armor Soldiers armed with Armor-Piercing Crossbows, it made no difference whether his hundred men had weapons or not. One three-round volley would ensure that not a single one of them survived.

As for himself, even with the cultivation of a Dou Shi, he had no chance of survival under the simultaneous lock of a hundred Armor-Piercing Crossbows.

This hundred-man force could handle bandits along the road, but against the well-equipped Yanling Army, they were like children.

Seeing their own commander surrender with his hands over his head, the Izumo Army soldiers stopped resisting. Those still on horseback all dismounted, threw down their weapons, and squatted with their hands over their heads. Those on the ground no longer dared cry out in pain. Enduring their injuries, they did as the Black Armor Commander ordered.

"Bind them."

The Black Armor Commander issued the order, and a hundred Black Armor Soldiers immediately took out ropes and went to tie up the Izumo soldiers securely. General Li, in particular, was bound with several layers of specially made rope. Even as a Dou Shi, there was no way he could break free.

After all hundred-plus men had been tightly bound, the Black Armor Army still did not lower its guard. With crossbows in hand, they remained alert for any further trouble.

The Black Armor Commander led several Black Armor Soldiers to the carriage and said, "Your Highness, please step down for inspection."

To him, only the young masters and young ladies of the Chen Family were worthy of respect. The princess of the Izumo Empire, on the other hand, did not command much of his regard.

Of course, the woman in the carriage was very likely to marry the Chen Family's Young Family Head, making her status rather special. They did not dare treat her too rudely.

Still, routine inspections had to be carried out. If they delivered an extremely dangerous person to Chen Cheng, their crime would be grave indeed.

The carriage door slowly opened. The Black Armor Commander peered inside and saw only the princess and one of her palace maids sitting within. At that moment, both women were pale-faced, frightened by the fierce-looking Yanling Army.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness. I am only carrying out my duties."

After confirming the princess's identity, the Black Armor Commander clasped his fists and apologized.

It was not the princess's current status that he feared.

It was the new status she was about to gain.

How could the princess dare blame the Black Armor Commander now? The thousand Black Armor Guards outside seemed to radiate an icy, murderous aura, making her feel as though she stood amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

That presence was killing intent forged through countless battles and slaughters. Ordinary people would likely wet themselves before these Black Armor Guards.

Having lived deep within the palace all her life, when had the princess ever encountered such a scene? All she wanted was to get away from these Black Armor Guards as quickly as possible.

The carriage door was shut again. The Black Armor Guards escorted the hundred prisoners and pulled the carriage toward the city ahead.

The hundred Izumo soldiers all wore ashen faces. Like walking corpses, they were pushed onward by the Black Armor Guards.

General Li, however, was focused on the discipline of these Black Armor Guards.

Their footsteps were perfectly uniform, striking the ground as one. Every one of them stood straight-backed, displaying exceptional military discipline.

Then he thought of the Izumo Army—lax in discipline, like a heap of loose sand.

If they truly went to war with the Chen Family, General Li felt that the Izumo Empire would not stand even the slightest chance of victory.