Great Accomplishment

Under cover of the freezing wind and night, Li Yi swiftly led the men in secret to within five li of the Qing Kingdom's main camp.

At this distance, they had reached the very heart of the Qing Kingdom's defensive perimeter. Vast numbers of scouts and light cavalry continuously patrolled and kept watch with the Qing Kingdom's camp at their center.

It was precisely because of these ever-present cordons that more than half the scouts dispatched by the Chen Kingdom had been lost!

Under the watchful sweeps of the densely deployed Qing Kingdom scouts, the Wind Tiger Battalion was forced to hide within a crevice.

"Sir, what do we do?"

Liu Ye watched a squad of Qing Kingdom scouts pass not far away, his face grave with worry.

If they were discovered by the Qing Kingdom scouts and alerted the Qing Kingdom's camp, then forget completing their mission—even these five hundred men of the Wind Tiger Battalion might not escape safely.

At that, Li Yi merely smiled faintly and turned his gaze to the skill panel.

[Scouting and Concealment (Major Accomplishment): 1530/3200]

[Effect: Track trails and recognize paths, conceal one's aura!]

Over the past few months, Li Yi had also raised the skill [Scouting and Concealment] to the realm of Major Accomplishment!

Upon reaching Major Accomplishment, a new skill trait had been unlocked.

[Group Concealment]!

This skill trait could make Li Yi's Wind Tiger Battalion even more secretive and difficult to detect.

Besides that, another skill had also improved greatly.

[Hunting (Lesser Accomplishment): 1120/1600]

[Effect: Encirclement Hunt! The highest form of hunting technique!]

Once the [Hunting] skill had reached Lesser Accomplishment, it had successfully unlocked the skill trait [Encirclement Hunt].

The function of this skill trait was particularly simple, but its potential ceiling was extraordinarily high.

[Encirclement Hunt]!

[Effect: The more people participating in the encirclement hunt, the greater the increase in concealment, while the hunters' condition will also receive corresponding boosts!]

With the Wind Tiger Battalion's five hundred men, the increase in concealment had already surpassed Li Yi's imagination. Meanwhile, the soldiers under his command had been strengthened by this trait, their combat power rising by at least ten percent!

These two skills, [Scouting and Concealment] and [Hunting], were Li Yi's greatest source of confidence in volunteering to burn down the Qing Kingdom's granaries!

Skill! Activate!

As Li Yi activated the skills, powerful men such as Han Jia instantly sensed a subtle change. Their bodies felt lighter, and their strength had increased slightly as well.

As the initiator and commander of this encirclement hunt, Li Yi received the strongest boost of all!

Originally at the fourth level of Body Tempering, he could now wield the strength of the fifth level!

"Follow me!"

Li Yi gave the order softly, then took the lead in slipping toward the Qing Kingdom's camp.

With the support of the two skill traits, the Wind Tiger Battalion's movements were concealed to the utmost extent. Soft footsteps, heavy breathing, and the like were all hidden within the frigid wind.

Even when a squad of light cavalry suddenly appeared, they failed to spot them and rode straight past, departing from barely a dozen meters away.

"As expected of Commandant Li, the Cloud-Piercing Arrow whose name echoes through Wild Goose Pass!"

As they watched the Qing Kingdom camp draw ever closer, the many soldiers who had joined out of admiration for Li Yi became increasingly convinced of his abilities.

And as their faith in Li Yi grew stronger, the boost granted by the [Encirclement Hunt] trait increased by another notch.

It was now the middle of the night, when people were at their most exhausted.

The entire Qing Kingdom camp had already sunk into slumber.

The Qing Kingdom's deputy general was no mere figurehead. He knew that this was the time when men were most weary.

Thus, during this period, there were three times as many soldiers on patrol as at other hours.

All to guard against a surprise assault from the Chen Kingdom!

"But none of that will help against me!"

Watching the increasingly dense patrols, Li Yi smiled faintly. Then, bolstered by the skills, he led his men into the camp.

As the base camp of an army of twenty thousand, with logistics personnel, horses, and the rest included, there were at least thirty thousand living beings within the camp!

The camp stretched for several li, like a small town.

"Liu Ye, move!"

Before long, Li Yi and the others arrived near the granaries.

Seeing the Qing Kingdom soldiers guarding the area, Li Yi led his personal guard and personally struck, silently killing the soldiers one by one.

With no night-watch soldiers left to obstruct them, Li Yi led his personal guard and the First Company—a total of more than seventy warriors—to hide large quantities of fire oil among the grain and fodder.

"Withdraw!"

Seeing another patrol appear at the entrance to the granaries, Li Yi quietly slipped back outside the camp.

Under Han Jia's command, the men of the Wind Tiger Battalion had already prepared iron arrows wrapped in cloth soaked with fire oil.

"Now!"

Li Yi took out the Seven Killings Bow and nocked a fire-oil arrow. Liu Ye hurriedly lit it beside him.

A ball of fire appeared in the night.

Whoosh!

Li Yi loosed an arrow, and the flaming arrow streaked through the air before landing in a tent.

In an instant, the tent that Li Yi's men had doused with fire oil erupted into roaring flames.

As Li Yi made his move, the several hundred elite archers of the Wind Tiger Battalion under his command, aided by their comrades, also sent wave after wave of flaming arrows raining down.

"Fire at will! Make sure every tent storing grain is set ablaze!"

Li Yi shouted as he repeatedly used Five Stars in a Row to ignite the tents.

In mere moments, clusters of fire sprang up throughout the Qing Kingdom camp. The blazing flames left the patrolling soldiers stunned.

"Fire! There's a fire!"

"The granaries are burning! Put it out, quickly!"

Several soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs, beating the bronze gongs in their hands. In an instant, the entire Qing Kingdom camp was roused, and sleepy-eyed soldiers poked their heads out from their tents.

Countless patches of fire merged together into masses of raging flames, thoroughly illuminating the night sky.

"What's going on?"

A deep, powerful voice rang out from the Qing Kingdom's central command camp.

"General Zhou, the granaries have caught fire!"

A personal guard ran back in panic and reported to Zhou Cang, a deputy general of the Qing Kingdom.

"What? The granaries are on fire?"

Zhou Cang's face changed dramatically. He rushed out of the tent and saw a huge mass of flames burning fiercely, crackling and popping.

Some of the rice and flour were even being roasted by the flames, giving off strange, fragrant scents.

"What happened? How could the granaries have caught fire?"

Seeing this, Zhou Cang's heart clenched. He hurriedly donned his armor and rushed toward the granaries.

"According to the centurion guarding the granaries, a squad of Chen Kingdom soldiers infiltrated the camp and set the granaries ablaze!"

The Chen Kingdom?

Zhou Cang froze slightly, then revealed a savage grin.

"What gall, daring to raid our camp!"

Holding his saber in reverse, Zhou Cang hurried toward the granaries.

"Pass down the order! Put out the fire in the granaries at all costs! At the same time, move the grain supplies out and do everything possible to recover our losses!"

As an old general who had commanded troops for many years, Zhou Cang knew full well the consequences of having the granaries destroyed at a time like this.

To save the grain supplies, he even dispatched his own personal guard.

However, the reason night raids were effective was, above all else, that they could easily throw a camp into chaos!

Because of their diets, many soldiers from impoverished backgrounds suffered from varying degrees of night blindness.

After Li Yi led his men in raiding the camp and burning the granaries, the entire Qing Kingdom camp fell into panic.

Han Jia then led his infantry into the camp and cut down another wave of men.

For a time, the soldiers were completely thrown into disarray, running about the camp and shouting.

The snow on the ground worsened the effects of their night blindness. In their panic, many soldiers lost their way and fell to the ground, only to be trampled to death by their frightened comrades.

Before long, more Qing Kingdom soldiers had been trampled to death than Han Jia's men had cut down.

The camp-wide chaos had become inevitable!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three flaming arrows streaked through the air, setting several tents ablaze.

After firing those arrows, Li Yi called Han Jia back, then swiftly led the others away from the Qing Kingdom camp.

They had successfully burned the Qing Kingdom's granaries. It was time to leave!

"General, the soldiers have begun to mutiny. The granaries can't be saved!"

A personal guard rushed to Zhou Cang's side in a bedraggled state and reported on the situation in the camp.

Looking at the camp in complete chaos, Zhou Cang's expression hardened.

"You, lead the enforcement squad and pacify these panicked soldiers!"

"Anyone who disobeys military orders—show no mercy!"

After dispatching the more elite soldiers around his own tent to suppress the camp, Zhou Cang seized several scouts. Once he had learned where Li Yi and the others had gone, he led his men straight out of the camp.

Thud, thud, thud!

A string of hoofbeats rang out as Zhou Cang led a squad of cavalry in pursuit of Li Yi.

Illuminated by the blazing granary, the area around the entire military camp was nearly as bright as day.

Li Yi and the others' whereabouts were now impossible to conceal.

"The pursuers are here!"

Hearing the hoofbeats behind him, Li Yi's heart stirred. He turned back and saw a formidable officer wielding a broadsword charging straight at him.

They had horses. If they did not deal with them, they would never get away!

Li Yi instantly grasped the situation and hurriedly took the Seven Killings Bow in hand.

"Han Jia, lead the men and form a defensive line!"

"Archers, fire at will! Prioritize the horses!"

The Wind Tiger Battalion hurriedly halted, turned around, and swiftly formed a defensive line. Arrows shot one after another toward the charging cavalry.

Under Li Yi's no-expense-spared training, not a single man in the Wind Tiger Battalion suffered from night blindness. With Li Yi's night vision guiding them, they did not miss their targets.

Wave after wave of arrows rained down. Many pursuers tumbled from their horses, while some horses were shot dead and crushed the legs and arms of the cavalrymen on their backs.

"What audacity!"

"Today, I will kill you!"

Seeing that they not only refused to flee but even dared to strike back, Zhou Cang flew into a rage. He clamped his legs down hard, and the horse beneath him accelerated once more, steadily closing the distance.

With his night vision, Li Yi could see at night just as clearly as he could during the day.

"It's a Qing Kingdom deputy general!"

Li Yi recognized at a glance that the military general rapidly approaching him was the Qing Kingdom deputy general stationed at this camp!

It seemed the plan to burn the granary had succeeded!

The Qing Kingdom army's provisions must have suffered tremendous losses!

Otherwise, this deputy general would never have abandoned the granary and the panicked soldiers to pursue him!

With that thought, Li Yi's heart settled. He immediately pulled several different arrows from his quiver.

These arrows had been specially forged by Master Tang Yiping at Li Yi's request—custom arrowheads capable of bringing out the Seven Killings Bow's power to the fullest!

Each arrow cost at least three taels of silver to make!

Li Yi had tested them before. When fired from the Seven Killings Bow, even martial artists at the sixth or seventh level of Body Refinement would not dare take them lightly. One careless mistake could even get them killed!

The Qing Kingdom deputy general was a True Qi Realm martial artist, far beyond what a Body Refinement Realm martial artist could compare to!

At that thought, Li Yi decided to go all out!

[Hunting]! Activated!

[Archery]! Activated!

Seven Stars in a Row! Activated!

Arrow-Fighting Art! Activated!

[Wind-Breaking Breathing Technique]! Activated!

For a moment, every offensive skill Li Yi possessed erupted at once, all layered onto these seven armor-piercing arrows.

"Almost forgot about you!"

Li Yi's heart stirred. The next moment, a faint breeze emerged and wound itself around the arrowheads.

After cultivating the [Gale Breathing Method] to its absolute pinnacle, Li Yi had mastered a special kind of force.

He had named this force Gale Force!

Gale Force was incomparably sharp, a type of force with extremely powerful destructive strength!

With Gale Force empowering them, Li Yi felt that the power of these arrows had at least doubled!

"Die!"

Li Yi's essence, qi, and spirit reached their peak, resonating with the Seven Killings Bow in his hand.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The seven arrows flew out, hurtling toward Zhou Cang's face in an instant.

"Such petty tricks, and you dare use them before me!"

Though the arrows bore an imposing force, Zhou Cang relied on his status as a True Qi Realm martial artist. Mere iron arrows were nothing to fear.

With that thought, Zhou Cang swung the broadsword in his hand, attempting to slash the iron arrows down.

Clang!

With a crisp ring, Zhou Cang's hand trembled slightly. Then three more arrows struck his broadsword, and the tremendous vibrations lightly injured his arm.

"What kind of arrow is this?"

Zhou Cang was greatly alarmed. He had never expected an arrow fired by a body-tempering martial artist to possess such tremendous power.

But even as Zhou Cang reeled in shock, the remaining three arrows abruptly veered in midair, shooting toward him simultaneously from three different directions.

Through long periods of experimentation, Li Yi had already cultivated the Arrow-Fighting Art to an exquisite, near-miraculous level.

Pfft!

Zhou Cang swung his saber with all his strength, blocking two armor-piercing arrows. But the very next moment, pain flared through his body.

An armor-piercing arrow had pierced through his armor with the gale-force power at its tip and embedded itself directly in Zhou Cang's shoulder.

"Arrow Rain! Triple Shot!"

Seeing that he had struck Zhou Cang, Li Yi dared not delay. As he fired another arrow, he commanded the Wind Tiger Battalion to unleash a rain of arrows.

But this time, Zhou Cang did not dare underestimate him. Relying on the formidable mobility of a True Qi Realm martial artist, he directly evaded the armor-piercing arrow fired by Li Yi.

"Han Jia, form a battle formation and prepare for positional warfare!"

"Liu Ye, send the signal. Have General Guan attack!"

After confirming that the Qing Kingdom army's provisions had been burned and that the Qing Kingdom camp had descended into chaos, Li Yi hurriedly ordered Liu Ye to send the signal, calling the army hidden in the desert to launch its attack.

Having received Li Yi's order, Liu Ye drew his bow and nocked an arrow. A sharp crack that rang through heaven and earth echoed into the distance.

This was the signal Li Yi and General Guan had agreed upon to launch the attack.

Although Zhou Cang had evaded Li Yi's armor-piercing arrow, more than half of the cavalry behind him had been slain by the arrow rain.

When the two armies clashed, Han Jia, who had long been waiting in tight formation, immediately led the elite infantry to surround and slaughter them.

The infantry pinned them down while the archers behind them finished them off. Working in tandem, they cut down Qing Kingdom cavalrymen one after another, sending them tumbling from their horses.

"Good lad, I'll give you a chance. Join my Qing Kingdom, and I can let bygones be bygones!"

"Otherwise, don't blame my blade for showing no mercy!"

Watching Li Yi calmly command his men, Zhou Cang developed the desire to recruit him and take Li Yi under his command.

But in response to Zhou Cang's offer, Li Yi merely fired another arrow.

"Fine. Since you're courting death, I'll grant you your wish!"

Now that the provisions had been burned and his attempt at recruitment had failed, Zhou Cang's appreciation for talent completely vanished.

Gritting his teeth, Zhou Cang yanked the two or three iron arrows from his body and threw them to the ground.

The next moment, an exceptionally fierce aura rose from Zhou Cang's body!

As that aura surged forth, its immense pressure bore down upon everyone in the Wind Tiger Battalion, sending a chill through them.