Northern Barbarian Cavalry, Breaking Through the Encirclement

The burly black man's corpse fell to the ground, as though it had crashed onto the hearts of all the death row prisoners.

Some of the prisoners had felt it was a pity earlier, but those thoughts vanished in an instant. Instead, they were glad they had not been so quick to jump out and court death.

Squad Leader Liu looked at the prisoners. "Any more objections?"

At his words, the prisoners hurriedly shook their heads.

The corpse of the man who had objected was still warm. How could they dare have any objections now?

"If not, get ready to move out."

Two hours later.

After traveling for some time, the group arrived at the ambush site.

It lay between two mountain peaks.

An ancient road ran through the middle, flanked by wooded mountain slopes.

Li Dao and the others were tasked with being the first to step out and block the Northern Barbarians' cavalry when they arrived, helping Squad Leader Liu and his soldiers encircle and annihilate them here.

"Wait here for a while."

Squad Leader Liu positioned the prisoners, then sent two scouts to find out when the Northern Barbarians' cavalry would arrive.

Holding his saber, Li Dao leaned against a tree and slowly sharpened its edge with a stone.

Though he was immensely strong, killing was still a matter of efficiency.

Compared to his bare hands, a saber could kill enemies faster, so maintaining his weapon was important.

At the same time, he added the attribute points dropped by the burly black man earlier to his Physique.

[Master: Li Dao]

[Physique: 4.71]

[Available attribute points: 0]

His physique was already nearly five times that of an ordinary person. He wondered whether he could keep increasing it indefinitely.

If he could stack it without limit, that would truly be absurd.

Elsewhere.

Before long, the scouts Squad Leader Liu had dispatched returned.

"Squad leader, the Northern Barbarians' cavalry is almost here."

Upon returning, a scout hurried over to Squad Leader Liu to report what they had discovered up ahead.

Squad Leader Liu immediately rose and addressed the prisoners. "Everyone, hurry and get into position. Wait for my whistle, then charge out together and stop the Northern Barbarians' cavalry. Don't let a single one escape."

Li Dao picked up his saber and silently walked to the position he had chosen.

Since this was his second time, he no longer felt the same nervousness as before. Instead, an inexplicable excitement stirred within him.

Time slowly passed.

Finally, after the time it took an incense stick to burn, the Northern Barbarians' cavalry appeared on the distant mountain road.

At once, Li Dao's keen senses detected the breathing of the prisoners around him growing heavier, along with that of the regular Great Qian soldiers.

That was only natural. The Northern Barbarians' cavalry's fearsome reputation had been carved out through slaughter, and it was bound to make people anxious.

The Northern Barbarians' cavalry slowly approached the ambush site. Squad Leader Liu already had his fingers in his mouth, ready to give the signal at any moment.

Finally, once the Northern Barbarians' cavalry entered the ambush site, a whistle rang out.

The next second, the hidden Great Qian soldiers unleashed a barrage of arrows at the Northern Barbarians' cavalry.

The arrows became a rain that poured down upon the Northern Barbarians' cavalry.

Just as everyone thought this opening ambush would prove successful, no one noticed the cold smile curling at the lips of the Northern Barbarian leading the cavalry.

"Defend!"

Suddenly, a voice rang out among the Northern Barbarians' cavalry.

The next second, the Northern Barbarians' cavalry moved in perfect unison, each pulling an iron shield from a pack on one side of his horse to block the attack.

When the rain of arrows fell, most were stopped by the iron shields. Only a few struck the Northern Barbarians' cavalrymen's mounts, but that hardly mattered as long as the men were unharmed.

Squad Leader Liu also realized something was wrong.

The Northern Barbarians' cavalry had reacted too quickly, almost instinctively, as though they had prepared in advance.

But there was no time left for him to speculate.

At his whistle, the Death Row Camp prisoners had already charged straight at them.

Li Dao had also noticed something was wrong at first, but after a brief hesitation, he charged alongside the prisoners.

He had always understood one thing clearly: with his current physique, he could fight for a while and assess the situation. If things went wrong, he could simply escape.

In short, he would not foolishly throw his life away here.

Seeing that the prisoners had already charged, Squad Leader Liu thought rapidly.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and ordered, "Everyone, charge down together!"

As the Death Row Camp prisoners rushed down the slope, the Northern Barbarians' cavalry seemed to have been prepared for that as well.

The cavalrymen on both sides simultaneously drew three-meter-long spears and thrust them at the charging prisoners.

In a single wave, half the prisoners were pierced through on the spot.

The remaining half were stunned by the sight.

They could neither charge nor hold back.

Li Dao, however, paid no heed to any of that. He swung his saber and charged forward without hesitation.

Those spears could stop ordinary people, but they could not stop him, with a physique nearly five times that of an ordinary man.

The Northern Barbarians' cavalry noticed Li Dao as well.

Just as he was about to reach them, several spears suddenly shot out from behind the first rank of cavalrymen, heading straight for him.

Nor were these spears thrust randomly. Each had its own target, and without exception, they were aimed at vital points on his body.

An ordinary person might have panicked in the face of this sudden attack and been impaled by several spears.

Li Dao's gaze sharpened. As he focused, the spears seemed much slower in his eyes.

Relying on his powerful physique, he forced his body through the gaps between the spears while still airborne, plunging straight into the Northern Barbarians' cavalry's encirclement.

The surrounding Northern Barbarians' cavalrymen were dumbfounded.

They had never imagined anyone could evade their flawless coordinated attack in such a way.

But Li Dao gave them no time to marvel.

Facing the armored Northern Barbarian cavalrymen, he immediately swung his saber.

Crack!

Under that heavy slash, one cavalryman's armor shattered, and he tumbled from his horse.

Li Dao decisively finished him off, driving his saber through the cavalryman's face.

[One enemy killed. Attribute points gained: 0.21]

Hearing the system notification, Li Dao thought to himself, As expected of the Northern Barbarian cavalry. In terms of physical fitness alone, they're far beyond ordinary Northern Barbarian soldiers.

His actions snapped the surrounding cavalrymen back to their senses.

The first rank continued holding the enemy back with spears, while the second rank drew their sabers and slashed at Li Dao.

Seeing this, Li Dao vaulted onto the horse of the cavalryman he had killed, swinging his saber to fight back.

Elsewhere.

Against the Great Qian soldiers' ambush, the Northern Barbarian cavalry's defense had been so tight that not a drop of water could have seeped through.

But no one had expected an oddity like Li Dao among their opponents, someone who actually broke through their defenses.

That created a gap in the Northern Barbarian cavalry's formation.

Squad Leader Liu had enough military insight to have earned command of a hundred men, and he spotted the unexpected boon that was Nine Five Two Seven at a glance.

He immediately ordered, "Everyone on the right flank, attack toward Nine Five Two Seven's position!"

That order also relieved much of the pressure the Northern Barbarian cavalry was putting on Li Dao.

After all, a physique more than four times, and nearly five times, that of an ordinary person was indeed powerful, but it was not enough to let him rampage freely among a group of well-trained Northern Barbarian cavalrymen.

Blades and spears had no eyes, and his flesh-and-blood body could hardly withstand them.

Surrounded by Northern Barbarian cavalrymen working in perfect coordination, simply protecting himself was already an impressive feat.

Once Squad Leader Liu's reinforcements arrived, Li Dao, who had been hemmed in for a while, finally had room to unleash his strength.

Riding his warhorse, he raised his saber and rampaged through their ranks.

As he carved his way through, even a dog crossing his path would have caught a slash.

His blows were so heavy that many Northern Barbarian cavalrymen were cut from their horses the instant they let their guard slip.

Some were even less fortunate, taking a slash to a weak point in their armor and dying a gruesome death.

In short, wherever Li Dao swung his saber, chaos followed.

Watching Li Dao's performance, Squad Leader Liu felt a surge of relief.

He was glad that Nine Five Two Seven, such an exceptional individual, was among the prisoners he had brought this time.

Otherwise, forget ambushing the Northern Barbarian cavalry-whether they could return alive would have been a serious question.

With that thought, he looked at the battle growing ever more intense and decisively joined the fighting.

Meanwhile.

After a frenzy of hacking, killing, and charging, Li Dao suddenly discovered there was no one left in front of him.

Only then did he realize he had charged too far and broken straight out of the Northern Barbarian cavalry's encirclement.

Watching the cavalrymen he had gravely wounded die at his allies' hands, his heart practically bled with anguish.

Those were all his attribute points.

He hurriedly turned his horse around, slapped its rump with his saber, and charged into the battlefield again.

This time, Li Dao fought smarter, specifically picking out Northern Barbarian cavalrymen he could kill with a single blow.

As a result, the system's pleasant notifications kept ringing in his ears.

[One enemy killed. Attribute points gained: 0.22]

[One enemy killed. Attribute points gained: 0.20]

[One enemy killed. Attribute points gained: 0.19]

[One enemy killed...]

The available attribute points on Li Dao's panel began steadily increasing.

"Bastard!"

Li Dao's conspicuous performance soon drew the Northern Barbarian cavalry leader's attention.

He had noticed this Great Qian man from the moment their cavalry formation was broken.

At first, he had assumed the man was merely lucky and paid him little mind. Their Northern Barbarian cavalry could still wipe out all the Great Qian soldiers.

But as this Great Qian man continued to survive and slaughter their cavalrymen instead, he finally realized there was nothing ordinary about him.

At that moment, he decided to kill the man himself.

Elsewhere.

Li Dao was thoroughly enjoying harvesting attribute points when he suddenly felt a chill down his back.

"Die!"

The next second, a voice came from behind his head, accompanied by the whistle of something cleaving the air.

He instinctively ducked, and a flash of steel skimmed the back of his head.

Cold sweat broke out along Li Dao's spine.

This was the closest he had come to death since his rebirth.

But it was not over yet. When the first strike missed, the saber swiftly swung at him again.

This time, Li Dao reacted, raising his saber to block.

In an instant, he felt a terrifying force surge through his blade.

His strength, which had always carried him through, failed him at that moment.

But Li Dao quickly recovered from his shock. This was a battlefield, and even a moment's distraction could cost him his life.

"Brat, you won't get another chance to run wild."

Looking at Li Dao, who had fallen from his horse, the Northern Barbarian leader grinned savagely and raised his saber for another slash.

The strike was incredibly fast, reaching Li Dao in the blink of an eye.

Clang!

Before Li Dao could dodge, a saber suddenly thrust in from the side and blocked the Northern Barbarian leader's attack.

Only then did Li Dao discover that Squad Leader Liu had somehow appeared beside him.

Squad Leader Liu first glanced at Li Dao, then turned toward the Northern Barbarian leader. "You northern savage, isn't it a little unbecoming for a full-fledged Houtian Martial Artist to bully an ordinary man?"

Houtian Martial Artist?

Hearing the term, Li Dao froze.

A memory from his childhood suddenly surfaced in his mind.