Immediately afterward, Lu Yuan felt a surge of power well up inside him. His muscles tightened, his wounds began to heal, and his exhausted body regained its vigor.
At that moment, a closer look would have revealed a faint golden glow flickering over Lu Yuan.
His sturdy body seemed as if it had been forged from steel.
[Golden Bell Cover (134/50000, Force-Entry Realm)]
After Golden Bell Cover entered the Force-Entry Realm, a faint golden bell appeared around Lu Yuan's body, protecting him within.
Runes constantly revolved across it.
Besides Golden Bell Cover, his other techniques had also made considerable progress.
[Arrowhead Formation (30181/30000, perfected; break through?)]
Lu Yuan naturally had no hesitation.
He chose to break through at once.
A flood of insights about military formations filled his mind. At the same time, he could see—
The few men following behind him also began recovering rapidly. They could not match Lu Yuan's pace, but they were still recovering at a remarkable rate.
[Arrowhead Formation (181/50000, Force-Entry Realm)]
As the formation entered the Force-Entry Realm, Lu Yuan and the men behind him, including Wei Yong, seemed to be enveloped by a black arrowhead.
Though they numbered only a handful, they now seemed like a razor-sharp arrow, capable of piercing anything.
The Centurion leading the Iron Sparrowhawks stared at the sight, his face changing instantly. He had been watching Lu Yuan and the others all along, and the moment he noticed the formation change, he understood.
Lu Yuan's understanding of military formations had advanced once again.
This man's comprehension was astonishing.
He glanced at the men behind him, then immediately ordered, "Retreat!"
Then he turned and rode away without a moment's hesitation.
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. They had fought this far, and he wasn't about to let the enemy leave so easily.
He took out the Iron-Core Bow.
Then he nocked an arrow and fired at the Northern Barbarian Iron Sparrowhawks.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The arrows tore through the air, and men fell with cries.
After firing several arrows in succession, he shot down all the remaining Iron Sparrowhawks. Only their Centurion escaped.
The man himself was strong, and he was skilled at mounted archery.
Though Lu Yuan's archery was superb, the distance was too great, and he failed to bring the man down.
Still, this was already a great victory.
With only a dozen or so men, they had killed so many Iron Sparrowhawks. Once they returned, there was no doubt their names would be known throughout Sai City.
"Thud!"
Once they were sure they were safe, Wei Yong and the others toppled straight off their horses.
Their hands trembled as they gripped their weapons.
Lu Yuan didn't blame them. After going through this battle, these men had become elite soldiers.
Once they reached the Entry Realm, they would be no weaker than the Iron Sparrowhawks.
Then it would be much easier for him to leave the city and earn military merit.
"Rest here for an hour."
With the Iron Sparrowhawks dead, no one else would come after them for a while.
After speaking, Lu Yuan dismounted too. He pulled out a wineskin and took a long swig. The strong liquor slid down his throat, driving away the chill.
Then he tossed it to Wei Yong.
They took turns drinking until the wineskin was empty, then ate a little.
After that, they began gathering their spoils.
There had been forty-three Iron Sparrowhawks in total, and Lu Yuan alone had killed twenty-eight. This time, they had struck it rich.
The silver they found on the bodies alone amounted to several hundred taels.
These men had clearly done plenty of looting in the area.
They stripped off the leather armor.
Most of the horses they had taken from the Northern Barbarian scouts at the start had been shot down while they were blocking the Iron Sparrowhawks' arrows.
But the Iron Sparrowhawks' horses were better—fine Northern Barbarian steeds.
They were worth a great deal.
There were also all kinds of weapons. The Iron Sparrowhawks had excellent equipment, with a full array of weapons both long and short, and even their Iron-Core Bows were of fine quality.
Once everything had been sorted out, everyone was grinning with excitement.
After this battle, every one of them had a much heavier purse.
Lu Yuan couldn't help smiling too.
Once they returned, he could buy some cultivation resources and focus on training. Better yet, he might even break through to Bone Forging Realm.
Then he would have no trouble facing those in the Tendon-Refining Realm.
Far fewer people were passing through the gates of Ice Plain City than usual. The Iron Sparrowhawks' arrival had clearly made the City Guard wary of leaving the city to take on missions.
Only a small number of merchant caravans came and went.
More than twenty gate guards huddled around a fire.
The sky had only just begun to lighten, and the cold still bit.
An old soldier had just finished a bowl of hot soup when his brow furrowed.
He caught the scent of blood, thick and heavy.
He tightened his grip on his weapon and looked up.
Then he witnessed a scene that left him stunned.
Only four or five men, all filthy and battered, were driving dozens of warhorses. Corpses lay across the horses' backs, along with bundles of tied-up weapons and piles of armor.
Most striking of all, heads hung from both sides of the horses.
As the group drew closer,
the stench of blood grew stronger.
The Squad Leader guarding the gate was a big-bearded man. He first watched them warily, then called out, "Lu Yuan?"
They served under the same Centurion, so they clearly knew each other.
"It's me."
"Well, I'll be! Did you ride straight into the Northern Barbarian royal court? Look at all those heads you brought back!" Li the Bearded said enviously.
"Haha, we were lucky to make it back alive. I'll buy you a drink another day." Lu Yuan greeted him, then headed straight for the Merit Pavilion.
It was too early; the doors hadn't opened yet.
But they didn't mind. They found a place to rest.
It wasn't until the sun had risen and the City Defense Battalion's gates opened that more and more people arrived, gathering around Lu Yuan and his men to look.
They pointed and whispered from time to time.
"These aren't ordinary Northern Barbarian cavalrymen. Look at the fine copper plates riveted onto their leather armor, not to mention their weapons. They're all carrying Iron-Core Bows."
"Looks like they killed an elite Northern Barbarian unit. The leader's Lu Yuan, right? I've heard of him. He's talented—he was made Squad Leader as soon as he arrived."
Discussions rose all around them.
At that moment, Lu Yuan and the others stood and headed inside.
He was looking forward to finding out whether all these heads would be enough to earn him a promotion to Centurion.
If he could become a Centurion, that would be ideal. Not only would his benefits improve,
he wouldn't have to take turns standing watch anymore.
As he thought about it, he arrived outside the Merit Pavilion.
The official on duty was surprised to see so many Northern Barbarian heads. He looked at Lu Yuan and asked, "How many did you behead?"
"Clatter!"
At the question, Lu Yuan stepped forward, took out a cloth sack, and poured a whole bag of identity tokens onto the table.
"I didn't count them. Please take a look."
As soon as he finished speaking, the man's eyes widened.
"Th-these are the Iron Sparrowhawks' identity tokens? And there are this many!"
His voice rose as he spoke.
The number of heads Lu Yuan and the others had brought back didn't surprise him much. This was what he did for a living; even if a hundred heads were laid before him, he would simply call it a bountiful haul.
But the Iron Sparrowhawks were different.
As soon as he spoke, the crowd erupted.
The official paid no heed to Lu Yuan's attitude and began carefully counting the tokens.
He didn't dare miss even one.
Meanwhile, a soldier behind him hurried away toward the nearby Captain's Mansion.
At that moment, Zhou Hongling and Zhou Ming were having breakfast.
They had barely taken a few bites when a figure hurried in.
"My lords, a team that went out has just returned with a large number of Iron Sparrowhawk heads and identity tokens. They're now at the Merit Pavilion, exchanging them for military merit."
At the report, Zhou Hongling and her third uncle set down their bowls and chopsticks almost simultaneously.
They were skeptical, but still got up and headed toward the Merit Pavilion.
Zhou Hongling in particular seemed very anxious. If this was true, Ice Plain City would be in the spotlight.