General Yuwen

The cries of the fire crows were sharp and loud, coming from all directions, like a sky full of vengeful ghosts, making everyone on the ship tremble with fear.

In this section of the Sui River, the river is as wide as three hundred zhang (approximately 150 meters), and the current is gentle, making large boats seem to sail on a calm lake.

As November arrived, the weather turned suddenly cold.

A light mist rises from the river at night, and the banks are shrouded in darkness, with endless hills stretching as far as the eye can see.

The ship was forced to stop.

The three Water Lion Beasts that were pulling the boat had been shot dead, their bodies floating on the water, their blood staining the river red.

The ship's Defensive Formation, consisting of hundreds of runes, was already activated. These Formation Script floated in mid-air, forming a glowing sphere that completely enveloped the three-story ship, which was over seventy meters long.

Li Weiyi stood by the railing of the first-floor corridor, observing the Night City Cavalry on the river. They numbered nearly three hundred, surrounding the ship and continuously firing arrows and spitting fireballs at its Defensive Formation.

"Boom!"

The fireball was spat out from the mouth of the fire crow mount. It was extremely powerful and smashed into the array's light barrier, instantly dispersing into a fire cloud several meters in size.

The entire array's protective barrier nearly transformed into a fireball.

Li Weiyi felt as if he were amidst a vast army, the oppressive feeling of death overwhelming him. He solemnly said, "No negotiation? Logically speaking, these barbarians should mainly be after money. If they really push us to the brink, their losses won't be small in a fight to the death."

Yin Thirteen said, "Normally, handing over some valuables would have been enough to get by; we've encountered this before. But this time is different. This Night City Cavalry was probably scouting us as soon as we entered Zhizhou territory. They knew there were many young and beautiful women on the ship, and they were clearly aiming to wipe us out in one fell swoop."

"Usually, if we encounter a hundred Night City Cavalry, that's considered a large force!"

"This time, there are about three hundred riders. Based on the Fire Raven Cavalry's ratio of one in ten, the number of experts at the Five Seas Realm is probably close to thirty."

Yin Thirteen then told Li Weiyi that the Fire Raven Cavalry were the elite of Night City's elite forces, specializing in robbing caravans and wealthy towns to raise military supplies. They roamed the three southern states, leaving nothing but desolation in their wake, and anyone who encountered them was doomed.

There are countless examples of martial artists from the Five Seas Realm being hunted down.

"There aren't any Dao Seed Realm experts among this Fire Raven Cavalry, are there?"

Li Weiyi had been carefully observing and sensing, trying to figure out the enemy's true strength.

"How is that possible? Those at the Dao Seed Realm are almost all top-tier figures. With the arrival of such a being, a single punch would shatter the ship's protective formation."

Yin Thirteen was knowledgeable about all things under heaven and knew the various experts in the Southern Territory like the back of his hand. Pointing to a giant fire crow with three heads in the night sky, he said, "That is the commander of this fire crow cavalry, Yuwen Chao, a veteran expert of the Fifth Realm of the Five Seas, who has had a fearsome reputation in the Southern Territory for sixty years."

Li Weiyi asked, "Thirteenth Senior Brother, what is your cultivation level?"

"The Fourth Realm of the Five Seas," Yin Thirteen stated truthfully.

Li Weiyi knew that the hidden masters of the Hidden Gate were all Perfected Person from the underworld, whose combat power was first-class within the same realm, and they could even defeat those who were beyond their realm.

Yin Thirteen understood the implication, looked at Li Weiyi, and said with emotion, "You don't mean to want to clash with this Night City Cavalry, do you?"

Li Weiyi said, "This Night City Cavalry is large in number and powerful, almost all of them are at the sixth or seventh level of cultivation, but they clearly don't take us seriously, they haven't even formed a battle formation."

"Because there's no need to form battle formations at all."

Yin Thirteen added, "If thirty experts at the Five Seas Realm were to come, Yuwen Chao wouldn't even need to lift a finger; we could wipe them all out! Moreover, should any unforeseen circumstances arise, with the Fire Crow's flying and maneuvering abilities, we could form a battle formation in an instant."

"Weiyi, you haven't had a change of heart, have you? Yes, there are many children, even babies, on the ship. If we escape, they will surely die. But even their fathers don't value their lives that much. Why should we risk our lives? Tonight's situation is beyond our control."

Li Weiyi said, "There has to be a right and a wrong, right?"

Yin Thirteen was stunned.

Li Weiyi said, "Although the situation tonight is dangerous, it's not impossible to fight back. Li Ling, the day we were chased by Chen Lian, you asked me if we should ambush him, if we should fight. I said the risk was too great, and it wasn't at the point where we had to fight, so we continued to run!"

"Why are you going to fight again today, given the same situation?" Li Ling knew the answer, but still asked this question.

"Because that day's desperate struggle was merely a matter of pride. Today's desperate struggle is for the principles I hold dear. Humans should always have some humanity! A practitioner should always have a sense of responsibility!"

Li Weiyi silently pondered and calculated the possibility of defeating the enemy, then said, "These barbarian bandits burn, kill, and plunder, committing all sorts of atrocities. Wherever they go, nine out of ten houses are empty, and corpses litter the fields. Since we've encountered them, even if we have to escape, I will make them pay a price."

Li Ling admired Li Weiyi's fighting spirit and warm humanity, and wholeheartedly agreed, "I'll help you!"

Yin Thirteen was moved by Li Weiyi's emotions, seeing in him the spirit and responsibility of Hidden Person, but unsure of his source, he ultimately compromised. "Fine, but once I call 'escape,' you have to leave."

"Alright, we'll do our best and leave the rest to fate." Li Weiyi nodded in agreement.

The three headed to the bow of the ship.

As Great Mind Master, Li Weiyi and Li Ling simultaneously mobilized their spiritual flames and injected them into the core of the formation. Instantly, the more than one hundred Formation Script of the ship-protecting formation erupted with an even brighter radiance than before.

Commander Wu Zhaonan was under immense pressure, so he dispatched his only three subordinates at the Five Seas Realm to various locations on the ship to control the chaos, manage the overall situation, and reassure the troops.

"As expected of the secret agents of the Attendant Hall, they are all Great Mind Master."

Wu Zhaonan glanced at Li Weiyi and Li Ling, sighed, then turned his gaze to Yin Thirteen and whispered, "The Fire Crow Cavalry are full of experts; we are no match for them. Once the formation breaks, we'll immediately join forces to break through the encirclement and escape, okay? We can't do anything about this mess; there's no need to risk our lives for those officials' mistresses and relatives."

Yin Thirteen's expression turned serious, and he snorted, "How can you say such a thing, Commander? A person should have some humanity, shouldn't they? Not for anyone else, but for the principles and responsibilities in my heart. If you want to escape, then escape. I, Chen, will fight to the last drop of blood."

Wu Zhaonan hadn't expected the other party to be so cunning, and gave an awkward smile, "With Clerk Chen's words, I'm relieved! The Fire Crow Cavalry has three hundred riders surrounding this place completely; how could they possibly escape? Only a desperate fight might offer them a sliver of hope."

Standing atop the three-headed fire crows was Yuwen Chao, a Deformed Race with a blue face and a tiger's head. He was four meters tall, covered in full armor, and wielded a spear that was two zhang long. His aura was extremely powerful, like that of a demon.

Seeing that the protective array was shining even brighter and would be difficult to break through in a short time, he snorted and said, "All experts of the Five Seas Realm, listen to my command! Join me in attacking and breaking through the array. Leave no man alive on board, and abduct all the women. We will divide the resources and valuables equally."

"We swear to follow General Yuwen to the death."

The slogans were deafening.

The morale of the Fire Raven Cavalry instantly soared to its peak, with nearly thirty riders leaping out from the crowd, each displaying heroic spirit, their magical energy intertwining into clouds, and their spears unleashing a bright battle beam.

Yuwen Chao mustered all his strength and hurled the spear in his hand.

The spear, like a dazzling beam of light, pierced the night sky with a piercing whistling sound, and struck the protective array's barrier with a deafening roar. The array suddenly caved in, becoming precariously vulnerable.

Nearly thirty spears were thrown from the hands of nearly thirty martial artists at the Five Seas Realm, and they fell to the ground.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The Hundred-Character Defensive Formation was no match for the combined attack of dozens of the Five Seas Realm experts. In just one wave, the light barrier shattered. More than a dozen spears rained down from the sky, some piercing the hull and sending wood chips flying, others piercing the armor of the guards on board and passing right through them, leaving blood everywhere.

"Haha! Kill them all, leave no one alive!"

"Whoever grabs it first keeps it."

Outside, shouts of battle, whistles, and the cawing of crows filled the air as they attacked and swooped down on the ship.

On the ship, a group of family members, who were under immense tension, could no longer contain themselves and burst into tears and cries. They all hid in their rooms, hugging each other and trembling. Only those among them with relatively good cultivation stood with the guards, holding weapons to fight the enemy.

Yuwen Chao unleashed a River of Mana Qi, sweeping back the spear stuck in the boat. Then, he rode a seven- or eight-meter-long three-headed fire crow to attack Wu Zhaonan, who was heading towards the bow of the boat.

Strong people attract each other, and he had long had his eye on this guard commander.

A bright blue light emanated from the throats of the three fire crows, which spat out a mouthful of blue flames that ignited the wooden hull, revealing the steel structure inside. The waterfall of blue flames spread all the way to Wu Zhaonan.

Wu Zhaonan was on high alert, releasing a two-zhang-tall Battle Intent figure to block the azure flames. He slashed out with his battle blade, sending out an arc of light more than ten meters long that flew straight into the sky.

"Pfft!"

The armor on the belly of the three-headed fire crow was cleaved open, and a large amount of blood gushed out. It let out a mournful cry and immediately flew away.

"You dare to injure my mount? You're asking for death!"

Enraged, Yuwen Chao leaped off the back of the three-headed fire crow, his inner energy surging into the sea. A long spear, bright as a pillar of light, fell from the sky, its Battle Intent locking onto Wu Zhaonan, and the spearhead unleashed a burst of destructive energy.

Wu Zhaonan his sword to meet the attack, but immediately sensed something was wrong. The opponent's strength was so great that it felt like a mountain pressing down on him.

"Bang!"

The deck beneath his feet couldn't withstand the force and shattered, creating a large hole. Wu Zhaonan coughed up blood and plummeted into the lower deck!

Yuwen Chao dashed inside.

Yin Thirteen and Li Weiyi exchanged a glance and shouted, "Commander Wu, Chen Chuan is here to lend you a hand!"

Yin Thirteen jumped down through the hole in the deck, released his Battle Intent, and attacked Yuwen Chao with a palm strike.

Wu Zhaonan knew very well that trying to escape today was pure delusion; he had long been targeted by Yuwen Chao. Fortunately, his clerk Chen was reliable and willing to fight to the death. He couldn't imagine what a difficult situation would have become if he had any other irresponsible partner.

"Chen, the registrar, is a true man!"

Wu Zhaonan his sword and charged forward.

The ship was already engulfed in chaos, with flames burning everywhere.

The fire raven cavalrymen leaped off their backs and surged onto the various decks of the ship like a tidal wave, killing and throwing the guards into the water one by one.

"Bang!"

The cabin door was kicked open by a Fire Raven rider, and screams and cries filled the air.

Li Ling flicked a burning chain of spiritual light from her fingertips, pulled it out, and threw it into the icy river, turning it into a corpse. During the pulling process, she used the chain of spiritual fire to crush its throat.

Li Weiyi, wielding the Yellow Dragon Sword, beheaded a Five Seas Realm and charged toward the next one with murderous intent, while rapidly surveying the battlefield.

Only half of the Fire Raven Cavalry boarded the ship, but all the experts at the Five Seas Realm were on board. The soldiers outside were leaderless, but because the ship was already saturated with limited space, they didn't all attack together. Instead, they were responsible for killing those who jumped overboard to escape.

"They underestimated us! Barbarian bandits are still just barbarians; they can't compare to a real regular army."

Li Weiyi felt more confident, so he decisively released the Seven Phoenix Wing Moth Emperors, telling them to attack with all their might, and to break through the Fire Crow Cavalry outside as soon as possible if they tried to form a battle formation.

This is Li Weiyi trump card!