A Crushing Victory

"Kill our way through."

Pursuers hounded them from behind, while a Human Race army blocked their path ahead.

Driven into a corner, the Barbarians erupted with strength far beyond anything they had shown before, crazily battering the Human Race's defensive line.

"My lord, the Barbarians are too savage! We can't hold them back!"

Under the Barbarians' suicidal charge, the defensive line of over a thousand men was on the verge of collapse, with people falling one after another.

"Even if you can't hold them, you will hold them! Let even one Barbarian escape, and I'll hold you accountable!"

Zhou Xiong's hair hung loose and disheveled, his aura fluctuating wildly as he roared.

This was a perfect chance to wipe out the Barbarians. Even if all thousand men died in battle, they could not allow the Barbarians to flee.

Faced with Zhou Xiong's military order, no one dared disobey. They could only risk their lives and fight.

"Pfft!"

Li Xuancang thrust his spear through a Late Body Tempering Stage Barbarian.

His strength had already surpassed the Body Tempering Realm, leaving only a single step between him and the Bone Forging Realm. Body Tempering Realm cultivators were nothing but clay chickens and porcelain dogs before him.

Li Xuancang had just slain an enemy and had no time to catch his breath when a blade flashed toward his head.

The timing of that strike was exquisitely chosen. Li Xuancang had no chance to evade.

"Ah!"

With danger upon him, Li Xuancang made an instant decision. He raised his spear with both hands and blocked the descending saber.

"Clang!"

Blade and spear collided with a metallic tremor, spraying sparks in every direction.

"Urgh!"

The next moment, immense force surged through the spear, stamping a deep footprint into the ground beneath Li Xuancang's feet.

"Pfft."

He sprayed blood. His hands went numb, nearly losing all feeling, while his organs felt as though they had been shattered, sending searing pain through his body.

Ignoring the agony, Li Xuancang hurriedly retreated.

Only after opening the distance between them did he have time to see his attacker clearly.

A Barbarian general stood with a massive build, wielding a nearly two-meter-long saber that gleamed with chilling light. His hawk-like gaze locked onto Li Xuancang, as though it could bore straight through him.

"He's at the Bone Forging Realm."

Li Xuancang's expression turned grave. Facing a formidable foe, every nerve in his body tightened.

This was a Bone Forging Realm cultivator, utterly beyond comparison to the Body Tempering Realm.

"Hm?"

The Barbarian was also somewhat surprised that he had failed to cleave Li Xuancang apart with one strike.

He was a Bone Forging Realm cultivator, and he had even launched a charged sneak attack. Yet not only had he failed to kill Li Xuancang, Li Xuancang did not even appear seriously injured. It was unbelievable.

"Die!"

The Barbarian did not dwell on it. He swung his saber and charged forward.

If one slash could not kill Li Xuancang, then two would. Three would. He wanted to see how many strikes a Body Tempering Realm cultivator could withstand.

"I can only fight."

Though he had no desire to face a Bone Forging Realm cultivator, Li Xuancang had no choice now but to stake his life on it.

"Kill!"

With an angry roar, Li Xuancang took the initiative and charged toward the Barbarian.

"Clang, clang-clang-clang, clang..."

Saber and spear crashed together, their ringing clashes filling the air as the two figures crossed back and forth, scattering sprays of blood.

"How is this possible?"

After fighting for some time, the Barbarian's face filled with terror and disbelief.

Li Xuancang could actually fight him head-on. Although he spent most of the battle being forced back, the Barbarian still could not defeat him.

"What kind of monster is this?"

The wounds on Li Xuancang's body kept increasing, and his strength had been drained enormously, yet he seemed completely unaffected, maintaining his peak condition all along. The Barbarian could not understand it.

Li Xuancang's physical body was too powerful, even more terrifying than that of a Bone Forging Realm cultivator. It allowed him to face the Bone Forging Realm head-on.

"Kill!"

Just then, the Human Race army arrived, attacking from both sides alongside Li Xuancang and the others to exterminate every last Barbarian.

"Get out of my way!"

The Barbarian panicked when he saw the Human Race army charging in from behind.

If he did not break out quickly, he would never escape again.

He unleashed a full-power strike at Li Xuancang, believing Li Xuancang would evade as he had before.

"Clang!"

The Barbarian's expression changed drastically the next moment.

Li Xuancang neither dodged nor retreated. He took the full-force blow head-on, then thrust his spear straight forward.

"Pfft!"

Before the Barbarian's horrified eyes, the spear pierced through his heart.

"Ah!"

With his heart pierced, the Barbarian let out a miserable scream, and the saber slipped from his hand.

"Die!"

Li Xuancang swiftly pulled back his spear and smashed it viciously into the Barbarian's head.

"Pfft!"

The Barbarian's head burst like a watermelon, blood flying everywhere. His scream cut off abruptly as his body fell stiffly to the ground, utterly devoid of life.

"Pfft!"

After killing the Barbarian, Li Xuancang coughed up blood in great mouthfuls.

The injuries he had been forcibly suppressing erupted. His body swayed, and he could barely remain standing.

"Thud!"

Only by planting his spear into the ground did he steady himself.

"Huff, huff..."

Li Xuancang panted heavily, completely drained of strength.

"My lord, are you all right?"

Seeing this, Nangong Zhan abandoned his pursuit of the enemy and rushed to Li Xuancang's side, catching him and asking anxiously.

"I'm fine. Just somewhat exhausted."

Li Xuancang replied heavily. Supported by Nangong Zhan, he retreated to the rear of the battlefield. He no longer had the strength to fight.

"Kill!"

After stubbornly resisting for an hour, the Barbarians could no longer endure.

The Human Race army cut straight through the Barbarian force. The Barbarian army could no longer stir up even the slightest wave, and was almost completely wiped out.

The great battle came to an end. Many soldiers, exhausted to the bone, lay on the ground to rest.

After a brief recovery, everyone quickly cleaned the battlefield and counted the casualties.

The Human Race had won a crushing victory in this battle. Of the more than eight thousand Barbarians, almost the entire army had been wiped out, with only several hundred escaping alive.

Most importantly, Gu Shuo, the Barbarians' Astral Qi Realm commander-in-chief, had been slain—a tremendous loss for the Barbarians.

War was no child's game, and the Human Race had also suffered considerable losses.

More than two thousand of the five thousand conscripted laborers had died, while every survivor was wounded.

Of the thousand Battle Soldiers responsible for covering the rear, only a little over four hundred remained. Some had been crippled and lost the ability to move.

The sect and gang forces had also suffered casualties, though they were not counted among the army's losses.

Even at such a terrible cost, this battle still counted as a crushing victory.

After clearing the battlefield, the army returned to Jade Sun City.

The Barbarians had been utterly defeated and no longer had the strength to occupy Azure Cloud Ridge. Zhou Xingzhan planned to rest and reorganize first, then take possession of Azure Cloud Ridge.

When the army appeared outside Jade Sun City, cheers immediately erupted.

"They're back! Our army is back!"

"Hahaha, wonderful! The army has returned in triumph!"

"We defeated the Barbarians!"

"..."

Seeing the army return, many people leaped and cheered in joy.

The common people feared the Imperial Court and even hated its army, but they feared the Barbarians even more.

With the Imperial Court's army victorious, they still had a chance to survive.

If the Imperial Court's army had been defeated by the Barbarians, everyone would have suffered a fate worse than death.

The officials of Jade Sun City had already prepared food. Once the army entered the city, they received provisions to replenish themselves.

Li Xuancang ate heartily. Only after wolfing down several large bowls of rice and several large chunks of meat did he finally feel satisfied.

For the past few days, they had been lying in ambush in Black Wind Valley, eating nothing but dry rations. Their mouths had gone so bland they could have spit out birds, and they had long wanted a proper meal.