"Bang!"
Under a heavy punch, the head of this fourth-tier demon had its brains almost smashed, but it still tightly gripped the wolf-tooth mace in its hand. Then, with another punch from Lin Zhao, its cervical spine was directly dislocated. With a thud, it knelt on the ground, looking at the young man in the flying snow with unconcealed unwillingness, never dreaming it would die at the hands of such a tender human.
Lin Zhao was indeed only third-tier, but he had practiced martial arts for many years. Once his qi sea was repaired, the boxing intent he circulated was exceptionally potent, coupled with the enhancement of the "Fire Kirin" true qi within his body. Thus, a third-tier Lin Zhao could actually contend with an ordinary fourth-tier human martial artist. And a fourth-tier human martial artist, if successful in a sneak attack, could indeed kill a fourth-tier demon.
...
In the distance, the sound of arrows leaving quivers was continuous.
Lin Zhao looked up sharply and saw Old Fish Head and others already engaged with two other demons. Among them, Old Fish Head and a middle-aged soldier were at the forefront, holding shields, the surfaces of which were almost shot into hedgehogs.
"Scoundrels!"
A demon directly dropped its crossbow, drew the curved saber at its waist, and charged. It kicked away the middle-aged soldier's shield with a heavy stomp. Before he could draw his sword, its head was directly chopped off. The other demon also drew its saber and came forward. As Old Fish Head's long sword was shaken away, he unleashed a punch, and the opponent also threw a punch!
"Bang!"
With a crisp sound, Old Fish Head's fist was askew, almost shattering half of his fist. Both were second-tier, but the physical strength difference was not small.
"Lin Zhao!"
The young soldier roared. At this moment, Lin Zhao was the only savior of this small team!
"Huh!?"
One of the demons suddenly looked back, and its face instantly collided with a fist imbued with potent boxing intent, sending it flying back spitting blood. Then, the young soldier stepped forward and stabbed its throat with his sword. Lin Zhao, without hesitation, seized the opportunity, leaped forward, and slammed a heavy fist into the back of another demon. He shifted his body forward and then delivered another heavy punch to the opponent's waist.
This demon soldier, having taken two punches, was propelled forward uncontrollably and had its head severed by a middle-aged soldier's sword.
Thus, the ambush set by the three demons was broken.
"Old Fish Head."
Lin Zhao stepped forward and held up Old Fish Head's fist, which was severely deformed. It was likely that he would never practice martial arts again in this life. At this moment, the old man's expression was full of sorrow. He smiled faintly, "It's alright... After this battle, I can go back to White Fish Creek and continue fishing."
Lin Zhao remained silent.
"Let's go, enter the camp, and advance slowly."
"Okay."
...
Lin Zhao walked at the forefront, crouching like an ape, and with a leap, he dashed onto the wooden palisade of the grain camp. After confirming the safety inside while hiding in the accumulated snow, he waved his hand, and Old Fish Head, along with the remaining three people, slowly entered the camp.
Inside the camp, there were only granaries covered in heavy snow, with no demons in sight. However, outside the camp in the distance, there were the corpses of demons and Heavenly Pond soldiers, as well as some riderless warhorses.
"Thump thump thump~~~"
From a wooden house guarding a granary in the distance, a faint sound could be heard.
Lin Zhao leaped over and carefully looked inside through the small window. He saw a person wearing soft armor and the official uniform of a general of the Great Shang Dynasty, tied to a chair and constantly struggling. Besides that, there was no one else in the small house.
"Found him."
Lin Zhao turned back to the side of Old Fish Head, remaining vigilant, and said, "Send someone to rescue this captain."
"I'll go."
A young soldier drew his sword and entered the wooden house. A while later, he emerged with the captain. When the cotton cloth stuffed in the captain's mouth was removed, the captain's face turned ashen. "Demons... demons... they are all demons..."
"Understood."
Old Fish Head said with contempt, "Let's retreat. Escort this lord back to the main camp and return the way we came!"
"No!"
Lin Zhao immediately stopped him. "Think about it, why would the demons tie him up alone here with no guards? There's only one reason: the demons want to lure our Heavenly Pond army's main force here, and then encircle and annihilate us. Therefore, there must be an ambush set up around here. We won't be able to get out if we return the way we came."
"Then what do we do?"
"We'll go out through the west gate. There are riderless warhorses there. We'll mount them and charge out as quickly as possible!"
"Alright!"
...
The group of five exited the west gate. Just as Lin Zhao was helping the captain mount his horse, they heard the shouts of the demon army from the west. In their sight, a dense mass of demon soldiers appeared. Immediately after, shouts of demons came from other directions as well, and even a dark green figure appeared in the pre-dawn sky, saying with a sweet, girlish voice, "I originally thought I could catch a big fish or something, but I didn't expect to only trap a few small fish and shrimps. How boring."
"Damn it!"
Old Fish Head gritted his teeth. "It's a Green Bamboo Demon, a creature that has cultivated from a green bamboo. It's said that only by reaching the middle five realms can one transform into human form. This is troublesome!"
Saying that, Old Fish Head abruptly pulled on the reins. "Lin Zhao, you escort the captain through the southeast direction. The rest of us will follow me. We will attract the demons' attention and try to buy more time for Lin Zhao!"
Lin Zhao was stunned. "What are you saying? Are you going to your deaths?"
"Otherwise?"
Old Fish Head's lips curved into a smile, his expression bleak. "In this life and this world, this is how I am. In the end, I still have to have a glorious burial, right, brothers? What do you say?"
The remaining three soldiers said in unison, "Yes, we die together!"
"Lin Zhao!"
Old Fish Head sneered. "Stop acting like you're lamenting and saying goodbye in a sentimental way. We Heavenly Pond soldiers don't care for such things. Leave immediately. Every second for you is extremely precious. Escorting the lord back to the camp is what you should truly be doing."
"Understood."
Lin Zhao did not delay. He cupped his fists towards Old Fish Head and the others, then mounted a riderless warhorse, took the reins of the terrified captain's horse, and galloped away.
...
"Clang~~~"
Old Fish Head drew his sword and laughed heartily. "Brothers, all my life I've wanted to earn enough military merits to return to town and marry a woman, even if I couldn't afford an ordinary woman, I could marry a widow. But now it's too late to say anything. Getting married, that's for the next life~~~"
The middle-aged soldier drew his long sword and smiled, "Alright, we'll marry wives together in the next life!"
"Kill!"
The young soldier raised his long sword and charged forward first.
"You brat, you're even fighting for the first position to die? Unreliable! When we get to the underworld, I'll still teach you!" Old Fish Head also galloped away.
The three of them charged straight into the demon army of tens of thousands. Soon, they were engulfed by the demon crowd.
...
Lin Zhao escorted the captain, galloping eastward at full speed. The main camp was in the distance.
Beneath him, the warhorse panted hot breaths. Originally, the young Lin Zhao would certainly not have known how to ride a horse; he never had the opportunity. But Lin Zhao from Su City had galloped around in the horse market. It was thanks to this skill that he might not have escaped today.
"Kill them! Don't let them escape!"
From all directions, demon soldiers were swarming in to encircle them.
Lin Zhao continuously changed his direction of travel, creating zig-zag lines in the snow forest to evade the demons' pursuit. However, the wind was whistling behind him. Within seconds, a dark green figure appeared. It was the Green Bamboo Demon.
"Kid, where do you think you're going?"
The Green Bamboo Demon's expression was ferocious. It transformed into a woman's appearance and swooped down. Its palms transformed into sharp claws like bamboo thorns, attacking Lin Zhao's back. It had no intention of killing the first-tier martial artist captain but was filled with interest in Lin Zhao, the third-tier martial artist.
"Heh!"
Just as the Green Bamboo Demon's palm was about to land, Lin Zhao suddenly turned around. His entire body flowed with boxing intent. He leaped directly from the horse's back and unleashed a "dry land sprout" strike, punching straight forward. Disregarding the Green Bamboo Demon's claws, he aimed his fist at its chest. There was no other way; the disparity in realms was too great. The opponent was at least a sixth-tier demon. A direct confrontation would be suicide, so he could only take a risky approach.
"Oh?"
The Green Bamboo Demon was startled and quickly retracted its hand, but it was too late. Lin Zhao changed his move in mid-air and unleashed a "Qi Chong Dou Niu" strike with his left fist. With a "bang" and a loud noise, the Green Bamboo Demon was forced to retreat, while Lin Zhao used the recoil force to fly backward. After a single-footed point on the snow, he nimbly remounted the horse.
However, after his punch met the opponent's demonic qi, his blood and qi began to churn, making Lin Zhao feel a chill in his heart. This Green Bamboo Demon was by no means sixth-tier, at least seventh-tier, possibly even an eighth-tier Golden Core!
...
"You brat!"
In the wind, the Green Bamboo Demon, after a brief struggle, became even more ferocious. Enveloped by the wind, it charged again. This time, it didn't attack Lin Zhao but struck at the captain's back.
"It's over!"
The captain, riding on his horse, felt a chill. "Little brother, save me..."
Lin Zhao looked back but was powerless. The difference in realms was too vast. Under the impact of the demonic qi, he could not muster a single breath of true qi in a short time.
"Bold!"
At this moment, a clear voice echoed from the wind in the distance. Lin Zhao, finding it somewhat familiar, exclaimed with great joy, "Sister Chen Yu!"
A beautiful figure swept through the air in the wind. It was Chen Yu, clad in a female general's robe, her cloak fluttering behind her. Her entire being was enveloped by the majestic boxing intent of a peak eighth-tier martial artist. She directly unleashed a palm strike towards the Green Bamboo Demon!
"Ah!?"
The Green Bamboo Demon hurriedly drew back both arms, intending to block this attack, but it underestimated the force of Chen Yu's palm. With a loud bang, the Green Bamboo Demon was forced back.
Chen Yu was about to pursue, but Lin Zhao shouted, "There are too many demons in the distance, don't chase!"
"Okay!"
Chen Yu turned and swept across the snow, her boxing intent surging, providing rear cover for Lin Zhao. At this moment, as the young man looked back, he felt that she was the most reassuring figure in the world.
...
At noon, the heavy snow stopped, and sunlight fell upon the battlefield.
At the main camp, Chu Huaixi personally stepped out of the tent and cupped his fists. "Captain, you must have been frightened!"
The captain raised his eyebrows. "Chu Huaixi, did you intentionally leave only a few hundred weak soldiers at the grain camp?"