After entering the chaotic convoy, Li Dao harvested attributes without forgetting his mission.
He reached a wagon and killed the several guards protecting it with a single slash.
[One enemy killed. Attributes gained: 0.21] [One enemy killed. Attributes gained: 0.20] [One enemy killed. Attributes gained: 0.23]
Ignoring the system notifications, he opened a crate at the back of the wagon. Inside lay neatly stacked arrows, still giving off a faint woody fragrance. They had clearly been made recently.
"Over here."
Seeing Squad Leader Liu leading his men nearby, Li Dao raised a hand and called out.
Hearing him, Squad Leader Liu hurried over with his men and spotted the freshly made arrows.
"Take your men and destroy the arrows. I'll cover you."
Li Dao spoke without preamble.
"All right."
Squad Leader Liu nodded and immediately ordered his men to prepare.
As soon as the Tamu Tribe's men saw someone trying to intercept the arrows, a group rushed over to stop them.
Li Dao showed no mercy, decisively bringing his saber against them.
Within just a few breaths, he had cut the reinforcements down, sending men and horses tumbling and turning them into attributes on his panel.
Just then, a figure charged out from among the Tamu Tribe's men.
The newcomer was powerfully built and carried a pair of broad axes. Bare-chested, he slaughtered his way forward, and none of the Great Qian soldiers around him could stand against him.
Apparently identifying Li Dao as the strongest Great Qian soldier, he pointed an axe at him and roared, "You scoundrel! Your rampage ends here!"
Before his words had faded, he raised both axes and hacked straight at Li Dao's face.
"Nine Five Two Seven, watch out!"
Squad Leader Liu hurriedly shouted when he saw this.
The newcomer's bearing alone was ferocious. Squad Leader Liu feared he himself would not last even one exchange against him.
Li Dao had just been thinking that such a large convoy could not possibly have only one Xiantian Martial Artist protecting it. There ought to be some Houtian Martial Artists mixed into its ranks as well.
And no sooner had the thought crossed his mind than one charged out.
Facing the oncoming axes, Li Dao showed not a trace of fear. He raised his saber to meet them.
Seeing the man before him actually dare to block both his axes with one hand, the burly man felt belittled, but a trace of contempt also crossed his face.
If his opponent dared to be so arrogant, he would show him just how terrifying his strength was.
"Die!"
The two axes descended with the force to lift a thousand mighty weights, crashing onto the Black Iron Saber in Li Dao's hand.
Bang!
The saber and twin axes collided.
Yet an astonishing sight unfolded. With just one hand and one saber, Li Dao stopped the two-meter-tall man wielding both axes.
The sight left Squad Leader Liu utterly dumbfounded.
He remembered that not long ago, Li Dao could barely handle a Northern Barbarian leader of the acquired fifth grade. How much time had passed? Now he could easily handle a Houtian Martial Artist no weaker than that leader with one hand. Could anyone improve this quickly?
More importantly, he could tell that Li Dao had not used any true qi at all. He was relying entirely on brute strength.
How was that possible?!
The burly man stared in disbelief as a young man two heads shorter than him stopped both his axes.
Looking at him, Li Dao smiled faintly. "Your aim is good enough, but your strength is a little lacking."
"You..."
The burly man was about to speak when he suddenly felt an enormous force surge through his axes.
Li Dao flicked his arm upward. The burly man's grip gave way, and both axes flew into the air.
"Nameless Slash!"
The Black Iron Saber swept upward in Li Dao's hand, instantly piercing the burly man's neck.
[One enemy killed. Attributes gained: 1.08]
The next second, the burly man collapsed.
Coming back to his senses, Squad Leader Liu could not help giving Li Dao a thumbs-up.
Li Dao nodded and turned his attention to the remaining enemies.
Meanwhile.
As the main forces clashed, Wei Yun had also engaged the Tamu Tribe's Xiantian Martial Artist nearby.
They certainly lived up to the name of Xiantian Martial Artists.
True qi swept across their battlefield, keeping everyone around them from daring to approach.
"You people of the Great Qian Dynasty actually dared to ambush our Tamu Tribe's convoy! Aren't you afraid we Northern Barbarians will go to war with your Great Qian Dynasty?"
Seeing the cargo he was escorting-one hundred thousand arrows-begin to be destroyed, the Tamu Tribe's Xiantian Martial Artist shouted furiously at Wei Yun as they fought.
"Go to war?"
Wei Yun gave a cold laugh. "Don't tell me you don't know what this batch of arrows is meant for. And this talk of the Northern Barbarians going to war with Great Qian is a lie. It would be Great Qian going to war with your Tamu Tribe. Not every Northern Barbarian tribe is willing to oppose Great Qian."
"You..."
Left speechless, his opponent could only vent all his burning fury on Wei Yun, unleashing an unbroken stream of attacks, each fiercer than the last.
But Wei Yun was no pushover either. Moreover, his mission was only to destroy the hundred thousand arrows, not to kill these men. He had no reason to risk his life. He only needed to hold this Xiantian Martial Artist back, so he fought while steadily retreating.
This left the opposing Xiantian Martial Artist feeling thoroughly stifled.
"Aaargh!"
The Tamu Tribe's Xiantian Martial Artist grew unbearably irritable. Suddenly, he stopped attacking and turned to shout at the Blazing Fire Tribe's contingent. "Are you people of the Blazing Fire Tribe just going to watch? Remember what your tribe's king said before! If any of these arrows are lost, your Blazing Fire Tribe will bear part of the responsibility too!"
Hearing this, Wei Yun's expression changed. Something felt wrong.
Just then, a man stepped out from the Blazing Fire Tribe.
Upon seeing him, Wei Yun frowned. "Xiantian?"
But he soon shook his head. The man's Xiantian aura was far from stable.
This was...
A half-step innate martial artist?
A half-step innate martial artist was someone whose cultivation realm became unstable while attempting to advance from the acquired first grade to a Xiantian Martial Artist.
Continuing the breakthrough under such circumstances would most likely end in failure. Once it failed, attempting another breakthrough would become very difficult.
Thus, some people used certain methods to halt the process midway, continuing to accumulate strength while waiting for their next breakthrough.
Such people were called half-step innate martial artists.
Their cultivation surpassed the acquired first grade, and they possessed part of a Xiantian Martial Artist's power. Their strength was not to be underestimated.
"Ta Shan, to think even you would have to ask for help."
The half-step innate martial artist stepped forward, looking at the Tamu Tribe's Xiantian Martial Artist with a faint smile.
Anger burned in Ta Shan's eyes. "Lie Xin, are you going to act or not?"
"Yes, of course."
Lie Xin smiled slightly. "But you'll have to double what your Tamu Tribe promised our Blazing Fire Tribe."
"Double?"
Ta Shan's expression darkened. "Why don't you just rob us?"
"Rob you? Would that be faster than extortion?"
"..."
Seeing his tribesmen falling further into disadvantage, Ta Shan had no choice but to accept Lie Xin's terms. "Fine, I agree. Hurry up and act."
"Don't worry."
Lie Xin called over his shoulder, "Warriors of the Blazing Fire Tribe, show the Tamu Tribe what true warriors look like!"
"Hah!"
The Blazing Fire tribesmen answered with a loud cry, then charged forward to reinforce the Tamu Tribe.
"What about you, Lie Xin?"
Ta Shan looked at Lie Xin.
Lie Xin glanced at Wei Yun and said bluntly, "I'm only half-step innate. I can't handle a true Xiantian Martial Artist. You hold him back. I'll deal with these little Great Qian rats first."
With that, he ignored Ta Shan's expression, swung the staff in his hand, and headed straight for the Great Qian forces.
Seeing someone suddenly charge at them, the Great Qian soldiers immediately moved to attack.
Contempt flashed in Lie Xin's eyes. With a casual swing of his staff, several Great Qian soldiers flew backward. The places struck by his staff were charred black, and they wailed in agony.
Wei Yun's expression immediately darkened at the sight.
If only ordinary Blazing Fire tribesmen had reinforced the Tamu Tribe, he would not have been particularly worried.
His sole concern was the half-step innate martial artist among them.
If someone like that entered his ranks, the result would be an utterly crushing blow.
More importantly, such a leader could raise his own side's morale while suppressing that of the Great Qian soldiers, making the situation even worse for them.
"Hahaha! Now you know how I felt earlier."
Ta Shan smiled coldly. "Rest assured, I won't let you get past me. Not unless you can kill me."
Kill Ta Shan?
Wei Yun entertained no such notion. Unless there was an immense disparity between opponents of the same realm, a life-and-death battle could not be decided in a short time.
Retreat?
The thought flashed through Wei Yun's mind.
If he retreated now, the mission would fail, but he could at least save some of his men.
If he continued, however, all his men might die here. Even he might fall to the combined efforts of Ta Shan and the Blazing Fire Tribe's half-step innate martial artist.
Yet as he hesitated, a tremendous commotion suddenly erupted among the nearby Great Qian forces.
Wei Yun and Ta Shan instinctively turned to look.
They saw that Lie Xin had encountered an opponent.
"Big fellow, die!"
Gripping his staff, Lie Xin swung it at the Little Giant before him.
The Little Giant was none other than Xu Hu.
"Kill!"
Xu Hu roared, shaping both hands into tiger claws and striking at the sweeping staff.
Claws and staff met with a tremendous crash.
The staff rebounded under Xu Hu's immense strength, but Xu Hu was suffering as well.
The staff was scorching hot, as though wreathed in blazing flames, and it severely burned Xu Hu's palms.
Feeling the force transmitted through his staff, Lie Xin looked surprised. "Innate superhuman strength?"
But he soon sneered. So what if he had innate superhuman strength? Without reaching Xiantian, even the greatest strength was useless.
He immediately gripped his staff and moved to kill Xu Hu.
Just then, a nimble figure darted in front of Xu Hu and threw something at Lie Xin. "Have a taste of your grandpa's hidden weapon!"
A hidden weapon?
Lie Xin sneered, flicked his staff, and struck the so-called hidden weapon directly.
The next second, it burst apart, releasing a cloud of dust.
Some nearby Blazing Fire tribesmen were touched by the dust. Their eyes suddenly turned blood-red, and they soon began hacking wildly at everything around them.
Poison!
Seeing this, Lie Xin hurriedly held his breath.
When he looked up again, he discovered that someone was already leading the big fellow away into the distance.
"Trying to run?"
Lie Xin immediately gave chase. They dared to make a fool of him? Whoever came today would have to die.
"Stop looking. You have no chance left."
Ta Shan suddenly attacked Wei Yun.
Originally, Wei Yun had intended to retreat and abandon the mission, but after seeing Xu Hu, a figure inexplicably flashed through his mind.
He somehow felt that man could lend him a hand.
Although it seemed a little unbelievable, he inexplicably wanted to hold on a little longer.
Watching Ta Shan charge toward him, Wei Yun took a deep breath and decided to wait a little longer. What if a miracle happened?
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