Little did they know, a crisis was waiting for them.
On the way back, they no longer attacked small Xiongnu tribes, instead avoiding Xiongnu settlements as they traveled.
With more than three thousand warhorses and a considerable amount of supplies, they headed toward the pass.
These warhorses were all fine steeds seized from the Xiongnu. They did not take any that were not powerfully built, picking only the best.
There were enough for three horses per man, allowing them to make long forced marches without rest.
Two days later, they neared the border pass.
Xiongnu cavalry scouts had been scattered across this stretch of grassland like soybeans. Less than ten li apart, there would be a Xiongnu cavalry scout wandering the plains.
So many Xiongnu cavalry scouts had been deployed to find Sheng Huai'an's force and block off their road home.
The grasslands were vast, and finding Sheng Huai'an's force was no easy task.
However, there were not many roads leading back to Anning Pass. As long as those routes were blocked, Sheng Huai'an's retreat would be sealed.
The moment Sheng Huai'an's force appeared near the border pass, they were spotted by Xiongnu mounted scouts.
After discovering Sheng Huai'an's force, the mounted scouts swiftly sent word back.
When Tuoba Tao and Hu Nanlei received the message, they were overjoyed.
"We found you, you damned Wei rats!"
"Let's see where you can run this time."
Overjoyed, Tuoba Tao and Hu Nanlei immediately assembled their cavalry and headed toward the scouts who had sent the message.
Three thousand iron riders surged forward at full speed.
Unable to find Sheng Huai'an's force on the grasslands, the two had changed their approach and come straight to the border pass to block the road.
Now that Sheng Huai'an's force had been found, the time had come for them to wash away their humiliation in blood.
Another force of two thousand Xiongnu cavalry nearby also rushed in this direction after receiving the message.
And Sheng Huai'an's force knew none of this.
A full five thousand cavalrymen were closing in on them by the border pass.
Upon reaching the Yinma River, Sheng Huai'an had his men stop and rest by the riverbank.
At the same time, he sent Wang Wu and the scouts ahead to scout the route.
Men and horses rested briefly by the Yinma River, eating and replenishing their food and water.
Before even a quarter of an hour had passed, Wang Wu and several scouts hurried back.
"Enemy!"
"Enemy!" Wang Wu galloped wildly as he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Enemy troops incoming! Prepare yourselves!" Guo Xiaoping shouted when he saw them, his voice carrying through the camp.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh..."
Arrow after arrow shot toward them from behind Wang Wu and the others, blotting out the sky.
"Mount up, prepare for battle!" Sheng Huai'an shouted. He charged over, leapt, and landed on horseback.
The soldiers who had been resting heard Sheng Huai'an's command and scrambled onto their horses.
Behind Wang Wu and the others came deafening hoofbeats.
The dust kicked up by the cavalry charge rose like wolf smoke, sweeping across the sky and earth.
"Run!"
Wang Wu kept shouting. There were too many Xiongnu cavalrymen behind him—three thousand iron riders, more than triple their numbers.
To fight them now was far from a wise choice. He hoped Sheng Huai'an would hurry and lead the soldiers away.
Yet it was clearly too late to flee now. With the Xiongnu cavalry biting at their heels, they would only march step by step toward death.
Now, they could only choose to fight.
"Soldiers, prepare for battle!" Sheng Huai'an shouted.
The soldiers behind him drew their war blades one after another, ready to meet the enemy.
Sheng Huai'an glanced at the soldiers behind him. He had originally hoped to bring every last one of them home, but heaven did not grant people their wishes.
"Wind!"
Sheng Huai'an raised his spear and shouted.
"Great Wind!"
"Great Wind!"
"Great Wind!"
The soldiers behind him erupted in a roar that could topple mountains and overturn seas, and the army's momentum began to rise.
"Gentlemen, follow me and kill the enemy!" Sheng Huai'an raised his spear and charged out first.
"Kill!"
A thousand riders charged at a powerful foe. Their momentum remained like a rainbow, not the least bit weaker. Not one man retreated; their gazes were resolute, and they faced death as if returning home.
Watching Sheng Huai'an and his men begin their charge, Wang Wu felt utterly helpless. Now, they could only turn back and fight the Xiongnu army head-on.
Tuoba Tao and Hu Nanlei, leading their army in the charge, smiled when they saw that Sheng Huai'an's force had stopped fleeing and chosen to fight.
They would crush the enemy before them beneath their hooves, cut off every head in front of them, and offer them in prayer to their fallen tribesmen.
Sheng Huai'an's gaze was sharp. The Xiongnu cavalry had blocked the road home; this battle had to be fought, or they would never return.
As he looked at the two enemy commanders, Sheng Huai'an's aura began to gather. A layer of golden light spread over his skin, and the blood qi in his body boiled like wolf smoke, shooting straight into the clouds.
Tuoba Tao and Hu Nanlei also fixed their eyes on Sheng Huai'an and charged toward him.
The fastest way to defeat an enemy army was to behead its commanders!
Once the enemy commanders were slain, their army's morale would naturally collapse, and all that remained would be slaughter.
As the two armies charged, rumbling hoofbeats filled heaven and earth. Hooves rang like iron, weapons clanged like gold and steel.
Sheng Huai'an struck without holding anything back. His blow carried the immense force of thirty to forty thousand jin, his blood qi surging like a torrent.
Boom!!
Hu Nanlei, along with his weapon, was blasted apart by that single strike, blood raining down in a spray.
Tuoba Tao, half a horse-length behind, watched in disbelief as Hu Nanlei was blasted apart in a single blow.
They were Houtian martial artists at Great Perfection. Unless a Xiantian expert acted, it should have been impossible for anyone to kill them in one strike.
After killing one enemy commander with a single blow, Sheng Huai'an's might did not diminish. With his left hand, he drew the Black Gold War Blade and unleashed the Blood Fiend Saber Technique at the other Xiongnu commander.
Now that he too was at Houtian Great Perfection, no one in the Houtian realm could withstand his full-force strike.
With one slash, rolling blood fiend energy rushed forth. Tuoba Tao came back to his senses and swung his blade to block.
Clang!
His war blade snapped. Even his copper skin and iron bones could not withstand the sharpness of the Black Gold War Blade. One slash cut him at the waist, severing Tuoba Tao into two halves.
Until his death, he did not understand why Sheng Huai'an was so powerful.
Tuoba Tao and Hu Nanlei had thought they would win glory and wipe away their former shame, yet in a single exchange, both were killed by Sheng Huai'an.
After killing the two enemy commanders, Sheng Huai'an spurred his horse onward, spear in hand, and plunged into the charging Xiongnu formation.
He had originally avoided their edge so that more ordinary soldiers could survive. But since the Xiongnu army refused to let go, Sheng Huai'an began a full slaughter.
With strength comparable to the early and middle stages of the Xiantian realm, Sheng Huai'an was like an ancient ferocious beast, charging and killing at the front alone. Corpses flew everywhere, and beneath his blade and spear, none survived.
He was like an unrivaled butcher of men, slaughtering madly. Only by continuously killing Xiongnu cavalry could he reduce his soldiers' casualties.
The soldiers followed Sheng Huai'an into the Xiongnu cavalry formation and clashed with the enemy.
There were too many enemies. They faced one against two, one against three, and significant casualties soon appeared.
As Sheng Huai'an continued his slaughter, more and more Xiongnu cavalry fell. He was like a machine harvesting death; one sweep of his spear cut down a whole swath, and his overwhelming strength meant that any Xiongnu cavalryman he touched died.
Guo Xiaoping, Hu Bing, Wang Wu, Tang Yunshan, Hai Dahe, Yuan Yong, Deng Wu, and the others followed behind Sheng Huai'an, continuously hacking down Xiongnu cavalrymen.
After one furious charge, corpses covered the ground, and blood dyed the earth red.
Behind Sheng Huai'an, only a little over six hundred men remained. Most were wounded, while more than two hundred of his subordinates had died in battle.
Of the enemy's three thousand men, fewer than half remained.
Sheng Huai'an was simply too fierce and invincible. He had killed two Xiongnu commanders in a single exchange, dealing a heavy blow to the Xiongnu cavalry's morale. Otherwise, even more of his soldiers would have died.
Several hundred Xiongnu cavalrymen had fallen beneath his blade and spear alone.
Blood dripped from his long spear. No one knew how much Xiongnu blood it had drunk, leaving the iron spear brimming with Killing Intent.
The blades of Guo Xiaoping, Hu Bing, and the others were likewise stained with enemy blood.
Every one of them had killing intent in his eyes. At this moment, they could only fight the enemy to the death—either you died, or I perished.
Although the Xiongnu cavalry across from them had lost their commanders and suffered more than half their number in casualties, they did not flee.
A commander of a thousand took over command of the army.
Looking at Sheng Huai'an and the others, that commander of a thousand did not hesitate before leading the Xiongnu cavalry in another charge.
"Soldiers, follow me and smash through them!" Sheng Huai'an raised his spear and continued charging.
Under Sheng Huai'an's lead, though more than two hundred men had died, they followed him into the charge without the slightest fear.
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