Worry and Bloody Battle

On the battlefield, a cold, chilling luster flickered in Lu Yuan's eyes.

If anyone could see it at this moment, they would discover that the men behind him were faintly shimmering with a transparent glow, which, following the Arrowhead Formation, converged toward him.

At this instant, Lu Yuan and his men transformed into a single arrow. With himself acting as the sharpest arrowhead, his strength, defensive capabilities, and speed were all amplified tremendously.

As he closed in on the Iron Sparrowhawks' centurion, Lu Yuan—who was already a match for a master of the Tendon Refining stage—instantly erupted with formidable offensive power.

"Whoosh!"

The blade cut through the air, slashing vertically toward his opponent, its surface flashing with a frigid gleam under the moonlight.

The sound of the blade tearing through the air made one's eardrums tremble.

The Iron Sparrowhawks' centurion tilted his head, narrowly dodging the lethal strike.

"Rip!"

However, his shoulder was caught by the sliding blade; his fine copper armor was breached, and a chunk of flesh was carved away.

In just one exchange, he had already fallen into a disadvantage.

As the two sides crossed paths, the centurion's eyes filled with shock, but Lu Yuan ignored this, his blade continuing forward. The other Iron Sparrowhawks charging toward him did not share their centurion's luck.

Lu Yuan's mastery of the Arrowhead Formation had grown increasingly refined, allowing him to channel even greater power.

Just as an opposing Iron Sparrowhawk raised his weapon, Lu Yuan moved with blinding speed, driving his blade tip through the man's throat. Blood sprayed out, splashing right onto the face of Wei Yong, who was following close behind.

Yet, Wei Yong dared not lose focus for even a second.

He swung his Jujube Spike Hammer horizontally, leveraging the power of the military formation to smash it into an Iron Sparrowhawk's eye socket.

The man's eyeball was crushed, and his skull was shattered.

He slumped limply onto his horse.

In the moment the two cavalry units crossed, one of Lu Yuan's previously injured brothers fell from his horse and was pierced through by a spear.

On the Iron Sparrowhawks' side, five men had been cut down.

The centurion did not even look at his own wound, his gaze fixed solemnly on Lu Yuan and his men. "A military formation at the Perfection level. It has been a long time since I've seen one."

His voice was low, and he had set aside his contempt.

In the slaughter of the battlefield, the role of a military formation was immense, sometimes outweighing individual strength.

He had not seen a Perfection-level formation in a very long time.

Although the Great Yong centurion he had encountered today was not weak, in his eyes, he was far less troublesome than the man before him.

If the youth opposite him were leading a unit equal in size to his own, he would certainly choose to turn and flee, never daring to entangle with him.

Lu Yuan licked his cracked lips, his eyes filled with nothing but resolve. He had no way out; if he wanted to return safely today, he had to fight to the death.

Inside Ice Plain City, Zhou Hongling and Zhou Ming sat together, eating a meal.

The candlelight cast flickering, uneven shadows across their faces, creating a heavy atmosphere.

"How is Yun Mo's condition?"

Zhou Hongling asked in a deep voice while shoveling food into her mouth.

Though she was a woman, her physique was quite imposing. Standing nearly 1.9 meters tall, she was still a young girl, yet she was exceptionally well-developed, possessing a very mature air.

Combined with her delicate, slightly heroic-looking face, she gave off a strong sense of contrast, yet no one could deny that she was a beauty. Her physique was merely a bit rugged, which was hardly a flaw.

"It's quite serious, but he should recover after resting for a period," Zhou Ming said helplessly after taking a sip of wine.

He had high hopes for this disciple.

It was fortunate that he had made it back this time; if he had died out there, it would have been enough to break his heart.

"Third Uncle, I want to select a hundred-man unit to go out and wipe out this group of Iron Sparrowhawks. Do you think there's any hope?"

"No hope. Even Yun Mo was defeated. Who in Ice Plain City do you think can match them? Unless the Night Scouts take action, but you know that at a time like this, the family absolutely cannot spare them. They have more important missions and have been scouting deep within the Northern Barbarians' territory all along."

Zhou Ming said bluntly.

After refilling his wine cup, he downed it in one gulp.

He continued, "Do not issue any missions for the time being. Tell your men to stop going outside for a while. After some time, these Iron Sparrowhawks should leave. They are only here to earn merit; there is no point in staying if there is no merit to be gained."

"That would be too damaging to morale! A fortress city this large, and we're letting a few dozen Iron Sparrowhawks scare us into not daring to step outside? If word gets out, it will be a joke. How am I supposed to lead troops in the future?" Zhou Hongling's voice rose involuntarily.

The mountains on her chest heaved.

She was not wearing armor today, dressed only in a red gown draped with a white bear-fur cloak, her figure appearing both voluptuous and noble.

"We are currently in a standoff with the Northern Barbarians. You must not be impulsive. We can only engage in small-scale skirmishes; if the numbers exceed a hundred, it could trigger a large-scale war. That is not something you can handle, and even the entire family wouldn't be able to cover for you." Zhou Ming said sternly.

Looking at his niece, his expression was more serious than ever before.

Zhou Hongling did not say much more at this moment, simply pouring a cup of wine for her uncle with a well-behaved air before saying, "Third Uncle, the reason for this result is that I have too few talented people under my command. Why don't you pick someone to train? That Lu Yuan I mentioned last time is truly excellent. Why don't you reconsider?"

With such a stunning woman sitting before him acting spoiled, Zhou Ming felt his scalp tingle. He waved his hands repeatedly at his niece and said, "You know your Third Uncle's personality. Once I have made a decision, I will never bring it up again."

Besides, didn't you already add him to your roster a couple of days ago? He's your man now, so what sense would it make for him to take me as his master? Let's leave it at that.

Furthermore, you've reached the rank of captain now and are capable of recruiting talent under your own banner. Your third uncle won't fight you for him.

Hearing Zhou Ming say this, Zhou Hongling had no choice but to give up.

Yet, her heart grew increasingly restless.

She didn't know when these Iron Sparrowhawks would finally leave.

Just as the uncle and niece were feeling troubled, Lu Yuan had already been locked in a life-and-death struggle with the Iron Sparrowhawks for over two hours.

Even with his immense stamina, he was drenched in sweat, and his warhorse was panting heavily beneath him.

His leather armor was riddled with damage; some gashes were from sword strikes, while others were caused by glancing blows from maces.

He was covered in blood—some his own, some his enemies'.

His blade had developed two notches.

If not for his Golden Bell Cover being at the perfection stage, he feared he would have been severely wounded by now.

Of the soldiers who had followed him, only five remained. Wei Yong's abdomen had been pierced, his intestines spilling out; he had wrapped his tunic around the wound with a binding strap, though blood still seeped through periodically.

Old Huang was in a sorry state, but it had to be said that these veterans of the Northern Frontier all had their own ways of staying alive. Although he was injured, his wounds were not fatal.

Zhang Gun was in better condition; during the recent skirmish, Wei Yong had blocked a strike for him.

The remaining soldier, Zhang He, also possessed decent talent, similar to Zhang Gun, and was nearing the entry level. He had taken a slash to the shoulder but was still holding on.

The opposing Iron Sparrowhawks were in an equally miserable state. Their leader, the centurion, had been struck by Lu Yuan's blade, leaving three long gashes on his body that reached the bone. If not for his cultivation already being at the Tendon Refining stage, he likely wouldn't have been able to hold on.

Behind him were seven or eight Iron Sparrowhawk elites. Some were still at the Bone Forging stage, but without exception, they were all wounded.

This was the terror of military formations; as long as Lu Yuan did not fall, his protection of the soldiers behind him played a massive role.

At this moment, both sides seemed to have reached a state of exhaustion.

They were holding on solely through sheer willpower.

Neither side moved first, both tacitly doing their best to recover their strength.

Just then, a message popped up in Lu Yuan's mind.

[Golden Bell Cover (30134/30000 Perfection, breakthrough available?)]

The continuous, grueling battles had played a significant role in improving Lu Yuan's techniques.

The Golden Bell Cover, in particular, had seen unprecedented growth.

Now, it had actually reached the stage for a breakthrough.

"Breakthrough."

Lu Yuan glanced at the opposite side and, seeing that the Iron Sparrowhawks showed no signs of launching another attack in the short term, immediately chose to break through.

As long as his strength increased, he would be secure in this gamble.