The border army camp that had come under attack could barely withstand the assault of more than five thousand bandits. Amid a sea of blazing fire, they scattered and fled in all directions.
After General Yuan Xiao took a large number of men out to suppress the bandits, fewer than two thousand Wu Li Army soldiers remained stationed at the camp.
Although there were quite a few martial artists in the Wu Li Army, faced with such a vast disparity in numbers, even two fists could not defeat four hands. In the end, they failed to salvage the situation.
However, on the night of their defeat and retreat, two centurions who had cultivated Internal Energy brazenly struck out. With ruthless methods, they killed dozens of bandits and had even nearly threatened the bandit leader, Tuwahaer.
Yet, facing the enormous number of cavalry, even great Internal Energy experts did not dare prolong the fight. In the end, they calmly withdrew.
"Cough, cough!"
Tuwahaer, who had been knocked from his horse, was surrounded by many people, all of them looking at him with concern.
But Tuwahaer merely wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth, then mounted his horse again, gazing warily in the directions where the two Internal Energy experts had departed separately.
Those two Internal Energy experts were Qian Hong and Guo Zhentong, the two centurions stationed at the camp. Their formidable martial prowess had nearly cost even the naturally powerful Tuwahaer his life.
"Chief, are you all right?"
Tuwahaer shook his head, then smiled. "These martial cultivators of the Feng Kingdom really are no simple matter. They could threaten me from so far away."
The wise strategist among the bandits spoke at that moment. "Those capable of cultivating martial arts to such a level are ultimately very rare. You cannot find many in the entire Feng Kingdom. Otherwise, the Feng Kingdom would have conquered the Liang Kingdom long ago!"
Casting aside his earlier displeasure, the bandit leader immediately ordered, "Send some brothers to hunt down the remaining fugitives. It would be best not to let a single martial artist go. As for the rest, bring all the supplies from this camp back to the Bandong Grasslands!"
"Chief, we captured some prisoners!" a bandit came up to report.
Tuwahaer bared his teeth in a grin, an incomparably savage aura showing in his eyes as he shouted:
"The Tuwa Tribe does not keep prisoners! Kill them all! Hahahaha!"
"Tuwa!!!"
"."
Amid the bandits' hoarse roars, Tuwahaer led his men in looting the supplies throughout the camp.
To these bandits from the grasslands, supplies such as salt, iron, grain, and cloth within military camps were the most precious things. For them, they spared no effort each year to harass the surrounding nations, repeating the same acts again and again even at the cost of many casualties.
They rarely engaged in trade. Compared to nations like the resource-rich Feng Kingdom and Liang Kingdom, tribes that possessed only cattle and sheep were at a great disadvantage in trade.
Therefore, there was only plunder!
Just as the bandits were crazily sweeping through the military camp, one of them discovered that something was wrong.
"This is bad! The grain storehouse is on fire!"
Upon Hearing these words, Chief Tuwahaer's expression turned ugly almost immediately. He pulled his reins tight and hurriedly rode toward the source of the shout.
The next moment, this leader possessed of an absolute warlord's bearing arrived before the grain storehouse, where towering flames raged.
As he looked at this scene, his expression nearly froze.
"It wasn't naturally spreading. It looks like someone set the fire," the bandit strategist said with a sigh.
At once, killing intent almost overflowed from his face as he immediately ordered, "Send another five hundred brothers to hunt down the scattered fugitives. Make sure none are left alive!"
Grain was an exceptionally precious resource to the grassland tribes. Now that it had been burned in a single blaze, it naturally filled his heart with hatred.
In the past, whenever they plundered, those who were defeated would take the initiative to leave behind grain and provisions. This had almost become an unwritten custom; only then would they not pursue the scattered fugitives so relentlessly.
But this fire had burned straight into his heart.
At this moment, in the Eternal Night World.
Li Qing, the culprit who had set fire to the grain storehouse, carefully hid away the large quantity of food he had brought with him.
He had nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Carrying so much food through the crossing was an extremely heavy burden, even though he had now begun practicing martial arts.
Li Qing lay atop a pile of sacks of grains and flour. Even if he gorged himself recklessly, this stockpiled food would be enough to last him quite a long time.
"If I save a little, it could last one or two years. I just don't know whether it'll grow moldy." Li Qing patted the grains and flour beneath him, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
"Although it disrupted the original plan, it seems I'm free now, at least?"
Originally, Li Qing had planned to find a corpse in the Eternal Night World with a build roughly similar to his when the bandits attacked, and use it to stand in for his death.
Then, he could toss the corpse into a furnace. No one would be able to identify its face, and his departure would be entirely justified.
Dying during a bandit raid was perfectly reasonable. No one would suspect a mere blacksmith's apprentice like him.
Having escaped the military camp and acquired enough food, he was temporarily safe.
There was only one bad point: wherever he crossed into the Eternal Night World from was where he would return upon crossing back.
Moving such a large amount of food had nearly exhausted him, so he had no strength left to flee somewhere suitable before crossing into the Eternal Night World.
If he returned now, he would still emerge in the grain storehouse, which had turned into a sea of fire.
"Ah, if I stay here in the Eternal Night World for a year, then only four months will pass on the other side. It'll be almost winter by then."
"That would be quite a good time to return. I just hope they won't rebuild another grain storehouse where I return afterward."
Every military camp's grain storehouse was a heavily guarded vital location. That was why Li Qing had chosen to burn it down after leaving.
Not only did he hope to conceal the traces of having taken such a huge quantity of food, he also hoped that they would not rebuild a grain storehouse there.
He did not want to cross back after a long time only to find himself facing a heavily guarded grain storehouse. The risk of exposure would be far too great.
As for why winter was said to be a good time to return, it was because every winter, many soldiers returned to the Feng Kingdom's interior to visit their families—provided there was no war, of course.
The grassland bandits would also beat the gong to withdraw their troops and return to the Bandong Grasslands for the winter.
Therefore, regardless of how the situation in Wangyuan City developed in the future, the Border Fortress in winter would be relatively empty.
"Ah, next I'll have to spend an entire year in this bitterly cold place!"
After recovering some strength, Li Qing jumped down from the sack of grains and flour, dusted the white powder from his backside, and continued to comfort himself:
"Just in time to thoroughly explore Obsidian City, and I can also settle down and properly practice martial arts. It would be best if I could enter the level of an Outer Strength expert as soon as possible."
Previously, restricted by life in the military camp, he had not had much free time.
If he disappeared for too long, it would arouse the suspicions of others.
Thus, whenever he crossed into the Eternal Night World, he basically could not stay long. He would always cross over in the dead of night, then return precisely before dawn began to brighten.
Staying for an entire year at once was Li Qing's first time ever.
For this bitterly cold land where people could not get enough to eat, he had never intended to remain here forever. Ultimately, he still had to return.
But before that, he hoped to improve his martial arts as much as possible.
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