Chapter 110: Straw

"Sorcery?" The expression on Yi Liuyan’s face shifted unpredictably. "You say the enemy uses sorcery? How many of them are there?"

"Seems like quite a few."

"Quite a few, and they all use sorcery?"

The bandit pointed to the corpse on the ground and said, "Well... that's what he said."

"If they could use sorcery, why didn't they use it sooner?" Yi Liuyan scoffed. "With so many people capable of sorcery, if the nearby Taoist temples found out, do you have any idea what they would do?"

"This..." The bandit looked lost.

"Sorcery! Sorcery! Only evil beings use sorcery. The world is at peace; where would such monsters come from? If you mention sorcery again, be careful, or the immortals might come down and smite you!" Yi Liuyan scolded.

The world was indeed at peace—or at least free of monsters—but it was crawling with bandits.

Yi Liuyan was a man of the world, unlike the bumpkins under his command. He had dealt with Taoist temples before and knew exactly what their stance was regarding demons and those who practiced dark arts.

Though Yi Liuyan did not believe the enemy used sorcery, the fact that his tents had burned down so inexplicably was undeniable. He immediately dispatched two men to rally the remnants of his forces, demanding they find the cause of the fire.

Before long, another troop arrived—the one person Yi Liuyan least wanted to see: Winged Horse.

"Hahahaha! Old Boss Hei, it’s only been a little while, are you faring well?" Seeing Yi Liuyan’s face blackened by soot, Winged Horse couldn't help but roar with laughter.

Yi Liuyan gritted his teeth in hatred, but could not find the words to retort.

"Sigh, everyone comes and goes in a bustle, but in the end, it falls to my Flying Horse Stronghold to turn the tide. This Windstone Village, it seems, still requires my leadership to conquer!" Winged Horse made no effort to hide his smug expression, showing no fear of offending the other chieftains present.

Such was the survival law of bandits: the winner takes all and acts as they please. If one had the chance to boast, one would never settle for a single instance.

Once Winged Horse arrived, he subconsciously took over command of the scene. He ordered his men to dig trenches to contain the fire and move supplies that hadn't yet ignited. Though it was like trying to put out a burning cart of firewood with a single cup of water, the fire stopped spreading.

Winged Horse wasn't helping out of kindness; to him, these bandits still had utility. Before Windstone Village was taken, he still needed to draw logistics from them. For now, only his own troops were combat-ready, and he had no concerns about these bandits having the capital to challenge his authority.

Suddenly, a rider galloped up, dismounted, and reported, "Chieftain! Leader Cloud-Treading has discovered the enemy’s trail! They are on the slopes to the southeast!"

"Good! Good! Good!" Winged Horse exclaimed three times. He didn't fear a field battle; his only fear was the enemy hiding behind their defenses.

"Tell Cloud-Treading to crush the enemy in one blow! If he wins this battle, he shall take the credit!" With that, Winged Horse turned back to the other chieftains and said, "Who would have thought that after all your scrambling these past few days, it would still come down to me!"

The other leaders wore mixed expressions, clearly showing their deep resentment toward Winged Horse.

"This..." The rider lowered his head. "Leader Cloud-Treading has charged twice but failed to take down the enemy, so he requests reinforcements!"

Winged Horse frowned. "How many enemies are there?"

"About thirty or so."

Winged Horse lost face. "Thirty people, and my cavalry detachment can't handle them?"

The rider lowered his head in silence. Winged Horse scowled and barked, "Wind-Chasing! You take your unit and reinforce them!"

"Yes!"

Wind-Chasing led his dozen cavalrymen off, galloping until they were a speck in the distance.

After a long while, another rider arrived, dismounted, and reported, "Chieftain! Both leaders, Wind-Chasing and Cloud-Treading, have failed to overcome the enemy. They request reinforcements!"

Winged Horse asked, "How goes the battle?"

The rider replied, "We have already suffered five or six casualties among the cavalry!"

"And the enemy?"

"The enemy... has no casualties."

Winged Horse flew into a rage. "My Flying Horse Stronghold has dominated these lands for over a decade, and we have never fought such an absurd battle. Those two are dragging the reputation of my stronghold through the mud!"

The rider groveled on the ground, sweat beading on his forehead, unable to speak.

"Lightning-Horse! You take your troops as well!" Winged Horse commanded.

"Yes!"

Lightning-Horse departed with another dozen riders.

In such a decisive field battle, Winged Horse ought to have gone himself. He did not for two reasons: First, he did not realize how critical this skirmish was, as he still believed Windstone Village held at least one or two hundred men and didn't think much of the thirty men Cloud-Treading had found. Second, he felt he could not easily leave his main base. Although the raid hadn't cost him horses, since the alliance of the strongholds, all supplies were pooled and managed by the alliance leader. If not for that, he wouldn't be held back by the Black Wind Stronghold. He had offended them quite severely just now; if he left, they might sabotage him, and he would be in a difficult position.

...

After a brief, tense standoff between the spearmen and the cavalry, the enemy had received reinforcements, bringing their numbers on par with his own. Having barely withstood several charges, the enemy had now received even more reinforcements.

Xu Wenshan’s troops had already held off seven or eight charges. Though they still had no casualties, the soldiers were all bruised, battered, and utterly exhausted.

The enemy were experienced cavalry. They had tried flanking, maneuvering, and even attempted to blindfold their horses with cloth strips to prevent them from shying away from the spears, relying purely on the riders' skill to guide them—but they had failed, losing several riders in the process.

Xu Wenshan could feel his troops' morale sinking. The enemy reinforcements were endless, while his own were an isolated force, trapped in a dilemma where they were merely waiting to be slaughtered.

Although his spearman unit remained intact, such formations often collapsed in an instant. Once broken, his troops faced total annihilation.

When the formation would finally crumble might be as soon as the next charge.

If the enemy received more reinforcements, it would surely be the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Hold! Everyone, hold! Do not let them break the formation! As long as the formation holds, they can do nothing!"

"You must hold! The enemy is more tired than we are! Do not let your guard down!"

Xu Wenshan kept comforting his soldiers, even as his own fists remained tightly clenched.

While directing the battle, he had already secretly communicated with Saya, who remained at Deer-Crane Ravine. She and her Hydralisk unit had been waiting in the woods for some time.

If his troops were wiped out here, her Hydralisks would charge in immediately, slaughter every witness on the scene, and scrub the area clean. He would then have to reconsider his plans for the future.

Of course, that was the outcome he least wished to see.

"Charge! Charge! Charge!"

"Roar!"

"Giddyap!"

The enemy cavalry roared once more, and a new charge swept toward them like a tidal wave.