"We attack together and kill him!"
A barbarian chieftain roared furiously. Clutching a giant axe, he charged straight at Li Xuancang and brought it crashing down, its fierce gust of wind threatening to cleave him in two on the spot.
"Courting death!"
Li Xuancang's eyes turned cold, his killing intent surging as he unleashed his full strength.
Wielding his spear, he pressed forward instead of retreating. His spear shot out like a dragon, moving with blinding speed as he dodged the giant axe and pierced the barbarian chieftain through the throat.
"Pfft!"
The instant the spear thrust through him, the barbarian chieftain collapsed into a pool of blood.
"Kill!"
Li Xuancang didn't pause for a moment. He darted through the chaotic ranks.
His body was powerful, his strength boundless, and his endurance astonishing. Wherever his spear passed, barbarian soldiers fell one after another.
Ignoring the wounds covering his body, he fought with all his might, putting everything he had into every strike.
In a short time, he had slain more than a dozen barbarian soldiers and carved out a bloody path, charging toward the provisions.
"Get him! Move!"
The barbarians had been terrified by Li Xuancang's killing, yet one by one they halted, afraid to attack him.
Taking advantage of the opening, Li Xuancang quickly reached the provisions and pulled out the kindling he had prepared.
The next moment, the barbarians' supplies erupted in a towering blaze, flames soaring through the gorge.
"Damn it! What are you doing?"
Seeing the flames fill the sky, the three barbarian commanders surrounding Zhao Changlin were so furious their eyes nearly split. They wanted to grind the soldiers below to dust.
They had an overwhelming advantage, yet they had still let the enemy burn their provisions. How could they accept such an outcome?
"Put out the fire!"
With their provisions burning, the barbarians immediately lost their heads and rushed to fight the fire.
"This is our chance! Everyone, break through!"
The Human Race's battered survivors spotted their chance to break out and charged at once.
"Forget the others. Kill Zhao Changlin!"
The three barbarian commanders stopped paying attention to the battlefield below and focused on killing Zhao Changlin.
As long as they killed Zhao Changlin, they wouldn't have failed.
The three attacked even more fiercely. Zhao Changlin, fighting one against three, was in constant peril, and his injuries kept mounting.
"Damn it... Am I going to die here?"
Covered in blood, Zhao Changlin felt only despair. He couldn't see even the slightest hope of escape.
After struggling desperately for a while, he was covered in wounds and nearing his limit.
Just as Zhao Changlin was about to be completely spent, a figure suddenly charged into the battlefield.
"Lord Zhao!"
Li Xuancang shouted, launching a fierce spear attack straight at the three barbarian commanders surrounding Zhao Changlin.
Zhao Changlin was drenched in blood and utterly exhausted. Countless wounds covered him, and he leaned on his saber to keep himself upright, on the verge of dying beneath the barbarians' blades.
One of the barbarian commanders saw Li Xuancang charging over, turned, and swung his saber to meet him, his face full of disdain.
"Courting death."
He brought his saber down, unleashing the full power of the Late Body Tempering Stage, hoping to kill Li Xuancang in a single blow.
Faced with a full-strength strike from a Late Body Tempering Stage cultivator, Li Xuancang neither dodged nor retreated. He held his spear across himself and forcibly caught the blow.
"Clang!"
The terrifying force traveled down the spear. Li Xuancang's palm split open, his arm went numb, and a sweet taste welled in his throat.
"Argh!"
Li Xuancang forced himself to endure the pain and leaped into the air. He poured all his strength into the tip of his spear and thrust it toward the barbarian commander's brow.
"What?"
The barbarian commander's expression changed drastically when Li Xuancang managed to block his full-strength strike. He hurriedly dodged.
"Lord Zhao, hurry and go!"
As the barbarian commander dodged, a gap opened in the encirclement. Li Xuancang and Zhao Changlin quickly fled.
"Don't think you can get away!"
The other barbarian commanders reacted, roaring with fury as they raced after the two.
Unfortunately, they were a step too late. Li Xuancang and Zhao Changlin dashed into the woods and, using the dense forest for cover, soon shook off their pursuers.
"Argh!"
Having lost sight of the two, the barbarian commanders flew into a rage. They threw their heads back and roared, venting their fury.
In the woods, Li Xuancang staggered forward, supporting Zhao Changlin.
"My lord, hurry. We can't stay here."
Li Xuancang hurried forward and caught the badly wounded Zhao Changlin. He hoisted him onto his back and quickly carried him away.
Zhao Changlin was too weak to speak. As he watched Li Xuancang carry him to safety, his eyes brimmed with gratitude.
If Li Xuancang hadn't risked his life to save him, he would already have died beneath the barbarians' blades.
They raced onward, and the sounds of pursuit gradually faded behind them.
When they returned to camp, they had finally escaped danger—but Li Xuancang could no longer hold on.
"Pfft!"
He dropped to one knee and gasped for breath. Wounds covered his body, blood soaked through his armor, and almost all his strength was gone.
Zhao Changlin, who had been on his shoulder, had already passed out and was near death.
The soldiers in camp saw them and hurried over.
"Lord Zhao is wounded! Send for the military physician!"
Li Xuancang shouted orders to the soldiers.
They didn't dare delay. One immediately went to fetch the physician, while others carefully carried Zhao Changlin back to the military camp.
The military physician arrived soon and helped stabilize Zhao Changlin's injuries.
Wang Xuanshan, who was stationed at the camp, received the news as well and hurried over.
Seeing Zhao Changlin unconscious and covered in wounds, and Li Xuancang nearby, drenched in blood, Wang Xuanshan's gaze darkened. A cold aura emanated from him.
Zhao Changlin was unconscious, so Wang Xuanshan could only question Li Xuancang.
"What happened? Why is Commander Zhao so badly injured? What happened to the others?"
Wang Xuanshan asked several questions in quick succession, and Li Xuancang answered them one by one.
"Reporting to you, my lord: we were ambushed by the barbarians. Lord Zhao was surrounded by three barbarian commanders and badly wounded. The others broke through on their own, so I don't know what became of them."
Li Xuancang gave a concise account of what had happened.
After hearing him out, a glint of cold light flashed in Wang Xuanshan's eyes before his expression returned to normal.
"Your injuries aren't light either. Go get treated first."
Li Xuancang's wounds weren't life-threatening, but they looked gruesome. Some were still bleeding.
"Yes."
Li Xuancang bowed and withdrew.
From beginning to end, he didn't mention burning the barbarians' provisions or saving Zhao Changlin.
Zhao Changlin would naturally report these things to Wang Xuanshan once he woke. Li Xuancang couldn't overstep his station.
Watching Li Xuancang leave, Wang Xuanshan murmured to himself,
"This man risked his life to bring Zhao Changlin back. He's certainly loyal."
Wang Xuanshan thought highly of Li Xuancang. After all, who didn't like a loyal man?
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