Wuligou was the captain of this baggage transport convoy. Afraid of dying on the battlefield and having his three lovely wives throw themselves into other men's arms, he had secured himself a safe job transporting supplies in the rear.
He had no expectations of earning military merit and being granted a noble title. His family was not weak to begin with, and his Lineage was one of the upper-middle-ranking large tribes among the Xiongnu.
The battlefield was a meat grinder. Even experts of the Xiantian Realm could die on the battlefield. It was far too dangerous.
Watching the blue skies and white clouds from atop his horse, leisurely and comfortably—that was the life he wanted.
Wuligou even began humming a little tune.
The entire convoy moved at a snail's pace, utterly lax.
To them, these northern grasslands were the territory and world of the Xiongnu. The Wei people could only hide within the passes behind their city walls, avoiding the edge of the Xiongnu army.
These grasslands were very safe!
Autumn had arrived, and the grass on the plains was gradually turning yellow.
"Sarah hey..."
Wuligou grew more spirited as he sang, raising his voice in song.
The soldiers below wished they were deaf at that moment. How could they endure such noise pollution?
If Wuligou had not been their superior, they truly would have wanted to jab his chrysanthemum with their spears.
"My lord, should we send two cavalrymen ahead to scout?" a Xiongnu centurion asked.
"Jibochu, you've truly lived backward with age. This is the grassland, the territory of us Xiongnu. What are you worrying and fearing for?" Wuligou said coldly as he looked at Jibochu.
Faced with Wuligou's icy gaze, Jibochu did not know how to retort for a moment.
This damned fellow relied on having a good father and only knew how to enjoy life. He had no idea that one had to remain vigilant while marching.
He wondered how his older brother Jiboxiao was doing on the battlefield, whether he had achieved any merit and brought glory to their Lineage and tribe.
Being assigned to serve under this useless second-generation heir who only knew how to eat, drink, and play was simply eight lifetimes' worth of rotten luck.
Jibochu grumbled inwardly.
The other centurion in the convoy felt the same way about Wuligou.
Though their convoy had five hundred men, the two Centurions each commanded two hundred and fifty.
Yet of those five hundred, only two hundred were proper soldiers. The other three hundred were herdsmen drafted from the tribes to transport supplies.
They could be said to possess practically no combat strength at all!
Sheng Huai'an and the others lay quietly in ambush, waiting for the Xiongnu baggage convoy to arrive.
Half an hour later, Sheng Huai'an finally saw that Xiongnu baggage transport convoy slowly appear in his field of vision.
"These people are moving far too slowly. They look like they're out on a spring excursion," Sheng Huai'an complained.
They waited and waited, until the Xiongnu troops finally entered the ambush range.
Whether they were too lax or simply had no awareness at all, they failed to notice anything unusual.
Seeing the Xiongnu baggage troops enter the ambush range, Sheng Huai'an lifted the grass mat covering his head, nocked three arrows, drew his bow, and fired them in one motion.
"Kill!"
With Sheng Huai'an's roar, the archers lying in ambush on both sides of the road threw aside their grass mats, rose to their feet, and unleashed a volley.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
That first rain of arrows directly killed more than thirty Xiongnu soldiers.
After firing the first volley, the archers quickly continued nocking arrows, drawing their bows, and shooting.
Both sides were only fifty meters from the road, and the Xiongnu troops were not spread out much. Their arrows basically could not miss.
"Enemy attack!"
Jibochu's eyes split wide with fury as he watched the incoming rain of arrows and shouted.
Thud!!
An arrow pierced through his throat.
Sheng Huai'an watched Jibochu slowly collapse.
"Shouting so loudly—were you afraid I wouldn't notice you?"
Sheng Huai'an did not know that both brothers, Jiboxiao and Jibochu, had died by his hand.
Wuligou was stunned for a moment by the sudden attack.
"Quick, take cover and counterattack!" the other centurion shouted.
Hearing the shout, Sheng Huai'an looked over, drew his bow, and fired another arrow.
The arrow he fired was exceptionally fast and carried tremendous force.
As a Silver-ranked archer, his archery skill, strength, and speed were far beyond what ordinary people could compare to.
By the time that centurion reacted, an arrow had already pierced through his throat.
The two early Martial Practitioner Centurions in this Xiongnu force were killed by Sheng Huai'an just like that, providing him with ten points of Slaughter Value.
Seeing Sheng Huai'an's side launch their attack, Wang Wu and Hai Dahe also began leading the cavalry in a charge.
By the time the arrows were fired in rapid succession, the Xiongnu troops had already suffered seventy or eighty casualties.
Sheng Huai'an drew his saber. "Charge with me! Slaughter the Xiongnu invaders!"
Seeing Sheng Huai'an charge forward, the other soldiers followed suit.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The soldiers on the opposite side also began charging under Tang Yunshan's leadership.
Deafening cries of battle rang out between heaven and earth, as though thousands upon thousands of troops were charging at once.
With the two experienced Centurions dead, the herdsmen in the army descended into chaos when faced with the attack, leaving the soldiers unable to mount any effective defense or counterattack.
Only when he saw the Wei troops charging out from both sides of the road did Wuligou finally come back to his senses.
"Damned Wei people, you have some nerve, attacking me! Jibochu, counterattack!" Wuligou roared.
Yet no one answered him!
"Jibochu? Jibochu?"
"Are you dead? Why aren't you counterattacking?" Wuligou's rage soared to the heavens.
"My lord, centurion Jibochu is already dead," a soldier said tremblingly.
"What?"
"Dead!"
That annoying centurion was dead. Wuligou was somewhat dazed.
"Where is centurion Samuel?"
"He's dead too!"
The soldier beside him answered.
"My lord, the Wei people have cavalry. The Wei cavalry has begun charging," a soldier said shakily.
At the sight of the cavalry charge, the herdsmen scattered in all directions, only hating that their parents had not given them two more legs.
Herdsmen who had never experienced war simply could not compare to real soldiers.
Very quickly, Sheng Huai'an and the others charged into the Xiongnu baggage force.
Ordinary soldiers simply could not withstand Sheng Huai'an, who was like a fierce tiger.
In the span of a dozen breaths, he had already cut down more than a dozen men.
With Sheng Huai'an charging in front to lead them, the other soldiers also became like savage wolves, continuously hacking down Xiongnu soldiers.
They had all survived the battlefield, charging through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The weak had already died on the battlefield.
Sheng Huai'an charged at the front. Any stronger Xiongnu soldier who dared block him was cut down.
The Xiongnu troops were simply unable to organize an effective counterattack.
"Damned Wei people, I'll make every one of you die!"
Wuligou fixed his eyes on the conspicuous Sheng Huai'an. Naturally, he could tell that Sheng Huai'an was the leader of this force.
Drawing his battle saber, Wuligou charged at Sheng Huai'an.
Facing Wuligou's slashing blade, Sheng Huai'an raised his hand and blocked the strike.
Wuligou was knocked back two steps, and he stared at Sheng Huai'an in shock.
He was a Martial Practitioner Great Perfection, with three thousand jin of strength in one arm.
Yet he had actually been forced back by a single strike from someone in the Martial Practitioner Mid Stage.
"Heh, a skilled fighter showed up after all!" Sheng Huai'an said with a smile as he looked at Wuligou.
This Martial Practitioner Great Perfection fighter seemed to be the leader of this convoy Wang Wu had mentioned.
"Die, Wei dog!" Wuligou flew into a rage and furiously hacked at Sheng Huai'an with his saber.
"I know you're in a hurry, but don't be in a hurry just yet." Sheng Huai'an raised his saber to block.
Wuligou had learned some of the Great Wei language, so he naturally understood what Sheng Huai'an had said.
After hearing it, he grew even angrier. This damned Wei dog was actually humiliating him.
Did he truly think Wuligou's blade was not sharp enough?!
"Ah, I'm going to kill you!" Wuligou swung his saber even more fiercely.
This damned Wei man was actually mocking him.
"Didn't you eat? Does your family not feed you enough? Why are you so weak? Even your saber swings are limp and soft. Don't tell me you ate a peachy-peach and got all chilly-willy!?"
"Surely not, surely not!"
Sheng Huai'an traded blows with Wuligou while firing off taunts.
Rumble!!
Soon, the cavalry led by Wang Wu and Hai Dahe came charging over and plunged into the enemy ranks.
With this cavalry force present, the already fragile Xiongnu army was instantly shattered.
Xiongnu soldiers who continued resisting died one after another beneath the cavalry.
Watching the Xiongnu soldiers being slaughtered without end, Wuligou was so enraged that fire attacked his heart.
"Ah..."
"Kill..."
At that moment, Wuligou forgot every saber technique and every move. He simply hacked and slashed wildly, trying to cut Sheng Huai'an down.
"Haha, I won't play with you anymore!"
"Blood Fiend Saber Technique, Night Battle in All Directions!"
Sheng Huai'an directly unleashed the Blood Fiend Saber Technique, instantly forcing Wuligou back step by step.
Slash!!
A blood-colored saber gleam flashed past. Wuligou's gaze froze, and he slowly fell.
With one slash across the throat, Sheng Huai'an ended Wuligou's life.
Wuligou, a Martial Practitioner Great Perfection, provided Sheng Huai'an with ten points of Slaughter Value.
Wuligou possessed the strength of a Martial Practitioner Great Perfection, yet Sheng Huai'an felt that his opponent was so weak.
It could only be said that flowers raised in a greenhouse looked good but were useless.
After killing Wuligou, Sheng Huai'an continued attacking, cutting down the other Xiongnu soldiers.
Seeing Sheng Huai'an display such might, slaughtering Xiongnu enemies as easily as butchering dogs, the other soldiers seemed as though they had been injected with chicken blood and hacked at the Xiongnu troops with all their might.
Having lost their leader and skilled fighters, this Xiongnu force could no longer withstand the fierce might of Sheng Huai'an's army. They were all slaughtered to the last man.
Sheng Huai'an also sent Wang Wu and Hai Dahe to lead the cavalry in hunting down and killing every fleeing herdsman.
"We really won! Haha, Captain, we won!" Tang Yunshan shouted excitedly as he looked at the Xiongnu corpses covering the ground.
There had only been a little over seventy of them, yet under Sheng Huai'an's leadership, they had truly defeated an army of five hundred.
"What are you so proud of? Of those five hundred men, only around two hundred were real soldiers. The rest were herdsmen."
"And this was a baggage transport force. Under my command, shouldn't defeating them have been a given?"
"Hurry and clean up the battlefield. Take everything we can carry, and burn everything we can't. We absolutely cannot leave it for the Xiongnu." Sheng Huai'an said.
Tang Yunshan scratched his head. He felt as though he had just been shown off to.
The Captain was worthy of being the Captain. His swagger was on another level.
"Right, what were the casualties?" Sheng Huai'an asked.
"Eight brothers died, and more than a dozen were injured," Tang Yunshan answered.
"Hurry and sort through the supplies. Prepare to leave."
"Yes!"
Sheng Huai'an could barely accept those casualties. After all, they had faced enemies several times their number. Blades had no eyes; how could there be no casualties on a battlefield?
Turning to look at the mountain of supplies, Tang Yunshan was both delighted and troubled.
He was delighted because they had supplies and food. He was troubled because there was so much that they could not carry it all away!
Grain, dried meat, siege ladders, ropes, battle sabers, bows, arrows, tents, cashmere blankets...
There were so many supplies that they were fully enough to provision an army of five thousand men.
Sheng Huai'an's eyes lit up as he looked at the more than one hundred horses. Although many were not warhorses and were used to transport supplies, they were still mounts, precious means of transportation.
With horses, they could finally come and go freely across these grasslands.
"Captain, Captain, a huge haul! There's a surprise—medicine, there are medicinal pills!" Tang Yunshan, who was counting the supplies in the distance, shouted excitedly.
Sheng Huai'an abruptly turned his head. "Medicinal pills?!"
Before you continue