Killing Three in a Row

The spear tip tore through the air with a piercing whistle, stabbing straight toward the Barbarian soldier's chest.

The Barbarian soldier's expression changed drastically. He never imagined that this inconspicuous Great Yan foot soldier possessed such speed and strength. It was already too late to dodge.

"Pfft!"

The iron spear viciously pierced through the beast-hide armor and sank into flesh.

The tremendous force drove the Barbarian soldier back again and again before slamming him hard against the battlement.

Li Xuancang twisted his wrist sharply, then yanked the iron spear free.

"Ah!"

Blood gushed out. The Barbarian soldier's eyes widened, filled with unwillingness and disbelief, before his body slid down the wall. He breathed his last.

The first!

Li Xuancang panted heavily, feeling the numb soreness radiating from his arms.

Though he had received enhancements recently and gained considerable strength, killing a Barbarian soldier had still cost him plenty of effort.

That was only because the Barbarian soldier had underestimated him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have succeeded so easily.

Li Xuancang swept his gaze over the battlefield. There was no pity in his heart, only ice-cold indifference.

Two more to go!

As long as he killed two more Barbarians, he could enter the regular army rolls and receive the pay and privileges that could shelter his family.

"Attack together. Kill him."

Not far away, two Barbarian soldiers saw their companion slain and immediately flew into a rage.

They both swung their curved blades, closing in on Li Xuancang from the left and right. Their attacks were vicious, leaving him no path to survival.

Li Xuancang's gaze turned grave, but he felt no fear.

After the battle just now, he had thoroughly familiarized himself with the enhanced power within his body, and his confidence soared.

Facing the curved blades attacking from both sides, he nimbly dodged. His iron spear stabbed and smashed in turn, relying on strength far beyond that of ordinary men to continuously defuse their attacks.

Clang!

The iron spear slammed viciously into one Barbarian soldier's curved blade. The immense force split the web of his hand, sending the blade flying from his grasp.

"Die."

Li Xuancang seized the chance, stepped forward, and swept his iron spear sideways, smashing it heavily into the Barbarian soldier's neck.

Crack!

With a crisp snap, the Barbarian soldier's neck twisted grotesquely, and he died on the spot.

The second!

The last remaining Barbarian soldier saw this, and fear instantly rose in his heart. His face changed dramatically as he turned to flee down the wall.

"Trying to run?"

Li Xuancang snorted coldly and gave chase, hurling the iron spear from his hand with all his strength.

The iron spear shot through the air like a meteor, piercing precisely through the Barbarian soldier's back and nailing him viciously to the ground.

The third!

In only a brief moment, three fierce Barbarian soldiers had all died at Li Xuancang's hands.

Wang Tianshan, who was watching from nearby, saw the scene. A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes before turning into approval.

"Good kid. Ruthless and decisive—you've got some skill."

Li Xuancang's strength was only slightly greater than the Barbarians', yet with a fearless ferocity, he had forcibly killed three Barbarians. Only with such ruthlessness could one survive on the battlefield.

The surrounding labor conscripts stared at Li Xuancang in utter shock, their eyes filled with disbelief.

No one had expected that this usually unnoticed labor conscript, who looked just as frail as everyone else, would be so formidable as to kill three Barbarians in a row.

Li Xuancang walked to the Barbarian corpses he had killed, pulled out his spear, and shook the blood from its shaft.

After killing three men in succession, he was exhausted and aching all over, yet his eyes burned with fervor.

Having killed three, he was now qualified to become a regular Great Yan soldier.

Just then, the Barbarian offensive below the city wall grew even fiercer.

More than a dozen figures carrying savage auras rushed toward the city wall amid the Barbarian army.

"Not good! The Barbarians have deployed cultivators! Get out of the way!"

"Run!"

"Move!"

"..."

More than a dozen Barbarian cultivators charged wildly about. Their auras far surpassed those of ordinary men, chilling as savage beasts. Everyone was scared out of their wits, throwing aside weapons and armor as they fled.

Even the regular Battle Soldiers hurriedly moved aside, not daring to contend with them.

Cultivators had already surpassed ordinary people. They were not foes common men could deal with.

"Don't be so arrogant!"

At the same time, more than a dozen people charged out from the Great Flame Dynasty's army. Not one of their auras was weaker than the Barbarians'.

The soldiers on both sides instinctively withdrew, leaving the battlefield to these cultivators.

Bang!

Boom!

Crack!

"..."

Both sides moved with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, they collided and began a deadly slaughter.

They looked no different from ordinary people, but the power they unleashed was astonishing. Every gesture and movement carried strength no one could resist.

"So these are cultivators? Any random move could kill me."

Li Xuancang watched from the side as well, his pupils contracting violently, his mind shaken to the core.

He knew cultivators existed, but this was the first time he had seen them fight from so close.

These cultivators were simply terrifying. They possessed the strength to tear apart tigers and leopards with their bare hands, like humanoid savage beasts.

"I still have a long road ahead."

Having witnessed the terror of cultivators, Li Xuancang understood the enormous gap between himself and them.

The others watched in dumbstruck amazement, their hearts brimming with longing and envy.

Cultivators had surpassed ordinary people and possessed exceedingly high status in the Great Flame Dynasty.

They could be exempted from all harsh taxes and levies, and shelter their families.

If they joined the imperial court, they could at least become officials over a region.

The Great Flame Dynasty treated cultivators so generously for its own reasons.

Cultivators were too destructive. As long as cultivators were appeased, the realm could remain stable; no matter how dissatisfied the common people were, they could not stir up much trouble.

Because of this, countless people dreamed of becoming cultivators, changing their household's fortunes, rising above others, and bringing their entire family soaring prosperity.

But becoming a cultivator required not only talent for cultivation, but also the investment of vast sums of silver.

Ordinary commoners already struggled unbearably just to survive, often driven to sell their sons and daughters. Where could they find extra silver for cultivation?

Thus, the strong remained strong, while the weak remained weak forever, unable to change their fate.

"Kill!"

As the two sides fought fiercely, casualties soon appeared on both sides.

"Cultivators can die too?"

Watching a cultivator have his head cut off, Li Xuancang was profoundly shocked, his mind suffering a violent impact.

In his eyes, cultivators stood high above all others and wielded inhuman power, yet they too could die in battle.

That scene deeply stirred him, making him thirst even more for power.

Cultivators died because they were not strong enough. Only by making himself so powerful that no flaw could be exploited could he gain a foothold in this cruel, chaotic age and protect everything he wished to protect.

Without realizing it, Li Xuancang's state of mind changed. He wanted only to grow stronger.

"Retreat!"

After fighting for a long time, seeing that they could not defeat the Great Flame Dynasty, the Barbarians could only order a retreat.

Upon receiving the order, the Barbarian army swiftly receded like a tide.

"Wonderful! The Barbarians have withdrawn!"

"Hahaha, we've won!"

"Wuwuwu, we survived."

"..."

As the Barbarian army withdrew, the survivors erupted in earthshaking cheers, rejoicing that they had lived.