Above the Deer Forest, dark clouds rolled in. As soon as Yue Ling received a heavy money bag from Yu Feng, he immediately summoned the Wind Masters and Cloud Masters of the Deer Forest area. In the blink of an eye, snowflakes began to drift down. Cavalry were hardly affected by the snow and could still charge, but archers and crossbowmen were severely hampered. In strong winds and heavy snow, arrows would drift, rendering them inaccurate. Even the Divine Dragon Crossbows would be greatly limited, with their range, destructive power, and precision significantly reduced.
Lin Zhao looked up at the sky, feeling a sense of tragedy that heaven was not helping him. But there was no choice; the situation had been set, and now he had to fight whether he wanted to or not. He had no room to maneuver.
...
Snowy Domain Heavenly Pool, early morning.
The gatekeeper, Tang Guangjun, brewed himself a bowl of scallion noodles with a soft-boiled egg. This was his own masterpiece. He was squatting above the cliff face, which the craftsmen used as a latrine, slurping a noodle when he suddenly looked up and saw the distant gathering clouds and surging winds. The formation-breaking sword cultivator's brows immediately furrowed, "Damn it, are they digging up the Great Elder's grave?"
He turned and placed the noodle bowl on a flat tree stump, frowning. Should he get involved or not? The sect leader had only told him to be a gatekeeper at the Snowy Domain Heavenly Pool and learn to be a person from his junior brother. He hadn't asked Tang Guangjun to help out. He rubbed his hands, reached for the noodle bowl again, but then put it down.
Damn it, that eleventh-realm dog-like Rain Master had caused a massive snowfall with just a bit of Golden Mullet money to ruin his junior brother's plan. Could he tolerate that? Old Tang Guangjun respected his junior brother the most!
He let out an angry roar, "Those who offend my junior brother, though far away, shall be punished!"
The next second, the twelfth-realm sword cultivator vanished from his spot. When he reappeared, he was already above the clouds over the Deer Forest. He completely concealed his aura as a sword immortal and formation-breaker. He raised his hand and punched Yue Ling, "Boom!" Yue Ling's nose caved in, his golden body cracked, and he staggered.
"Immortal Master, you..."
Yue Ling was not foolish. The moment the other party attacked, he knew he was at least twelfth-realm, otherwise, his fist wouldn't have had such power. Furthermore, the other party carried a sword on his back. Although he suppressed his dense sword intent, the aura emanating from the sword was terrifyingly vast. He looked at Tang Guangjun and gritted his teeth, "I am the Rain Master in charge of the vast territory of the Snowy Domain. In what way have I offended the Sword Immortal?"
"You don't know?"
Tang Guangjun stepped forward and kicked Yue Ling dozens of miles back. Yue Ling knelt in mid-air, spitting blood uncontrollably. "You don't know and you're asking? Did I ask you to ask?"
Yue Ling was almost beaten senseless. His golden body was on the verge of collapse. This eleventh-realm cultivation was unstable, and once he fell to the Star River realm, his territory would inevitably shrink drastically. He might even be reduced to a mere Rain Master in charge of a few hundred miles. Wouldn't that make him equal to Han Buyu? Yue Ling could not tolerate this.
"Whatever the Sword Immortal commands, I will obey!"
Yue Ling was pinned to the ground by Tang Guangjun's foot. He held Tang Guangjun's foot with both hands, not daring to exert any force, and coughed blood, "I will certainly obey the Sword Immortal's imperial decree and dare not disobey in the slightest!"
"First, stop the snow in the Deer Forest."
Tang Guangjun said.
"Yes!"
Yue Ling flicked his sleeve, and the celestial phenomenon of the wind and rain god changed drastically. Instantly, the clouds and mist above the Deer Forest dispersed, and the sun shone brightly. The next moment, Yue Ling's chest was struck by another punch, his ribs sinking inward. He was in so much pain that tears were about to fall, "Sword Immortal, I am an eleventh-realm Wind and Rain Deity. Killing me will incur karma and damage my Dao..."
"Let me tell you something."
Tang Guangjun grinned, "Your lackey, that Thunder Master Xue Yuan, was killed by me. I blew him to smithereens with a single punch. I come from the ancestral court of the Formation Masters. I love killing you gods who have shed your mortal flesh and act superior and disregard humanity. I kill every single one."
Yue Ling's heart turned cold.
At this moment, Tang Guangjun extended his hand and said, "Hand it over. You brought two snowfalls to the northern border, causing heavy losses to the human army. Do you dare to spend this dirty money, Yue Ling?"
"I don't dare, I don't dare..."
Yue Ling hurriedly handed over the money bag, which contained 700 Golden Mullet coins, all sent by Yu Feng. The demon race had been operating in the northeast for many years and was indeed prosperous.
"I'm leaving."
Tang Guangjun put the money bag into his robes and disappeared with the wind.
Snowy Domain Heavenly Pool, South Gate. He picked up the noodle bowl from the tree stump. He had handled the matter too quickly, the noodles hadn't even gotten cold. He began to slurp them up.
While eating, he pondered.
Should he tell Lin Zhao about this?
He frowned. It seemed he shouldn't. After all, his junior brother was of noble character. If he himself had done a good deed, would he go and boast in front of others? No. The sect leader told me, Tang Guangjun, to learn from my junior brother how to be a person. To reflect on myself, to be cautious when alone, and to restrain myself and restore propriety – these are the minimum requirements!
Hmm, I can't say!
I, Tang Guangjun, have lived my life with integrity. I do good deeds without asking for rewards!
...
Deer Forest.
A light snowfall had just begun and in the blink of an eye, the sky was clear and vast.
"Huh?!"
Yu Feng was stunned. What was this Rain Master Yue Ling doing? Taking money and not doing the job? He gritted his teeth. There was no other way. The vanguard had been shot at by the Snowy Domain cavalry led by Mu Zha, and those people started running again. But the Deer Forest corridor was narrow, and they wouldn't be able to escape far. So Yu Feng said in a deep voice, "Full speed pursuit! We'll kill them all the way to the Snowy Domain Heavenly Pool!"
"Yes, Young Master!"
Several myriarchs' faces were filled with murderous intent.
A few seconds later, the demon cavalry entered Lin Zhao's ambush circle. The next moment, two Divine Dragon Crossbows aimed at the corridor on both sides began to fire. With the "clang, clang, clang" of springs, arrows as thick as thumbs shot from both sides. In an environment without wind or snow, their destructive power was astonishing. Instantly, demon cavalrymen, both man and horse, fell to the ground. The battle was extremely brutal.
"This is bad!"
Yu Feng's eyes turned cold. It was too late to retreat now because the divine race cavalry behind them had already picked up speed and couldn't stop. So he hardened his heart and could only gamble that the opponent didn't have many of these crossbows. He shouted the order, "Charge forward! Charge out of the Deer Forest at the fastest speed! Be quick, don't get bogged down!"
Before he could finish speaking, a fist imprint descended from the sky. A Heavenly Origin realm martial artist, Mu Zha, asked with his fist!
Yu Feng leaped into the air, drew his sword, and fought Mu Zha. Their strength was evenly matched.
In the Deer Forest corridor, under the continuous firing of the Divine Dragon Crossbows, the demon forces suffered heavy losses. Rows of demon cavalrymen fell from their horses like cutting wheat. Masterless horses galloped everywhere, trampling each other. The losses were heavy, and the further they charged, the denser the firing from the Divine Dragon Crossbows became.
This stretch of road was the longest and most agonizing for this contingent of demon cavalry. Countless cavalrymen were pierced through by crossbow bolts, pinned to the ground, their bodies still struggling, only to await death. Under the fierce barrage, a large number of warhorses were shot. With every warhorse that fell, Lin Zhao, who was supervising from the hillside, felt a pang of heartache. Those were all money!
Buying good horses from Yunzhou from Han Yetang was prohibitively expensive. These demon warhorses were said to be purebred famous horses from the northern territories. Because they were produced in the Yunxi Grassland within the demon territory, they were called Yunxi Warhorses by the demons. Their endurance, speed, and impact were even stronger than Yunzhou's fine horses, and their price was naturally higher. More importantly, they were priceless and unavailable on the market. Demon warhorses would not flow south, unless they were taken from dead demons. And Lin Zhao was now doing just that.
"Keep up, charge through!"
In the Deer Forest corridor, the five demon myriarchs' eyes were bloodshot. They knew what had happened. This iron cavalry led by Yu Feng south was undoubtedly the most brutal battle they had ever fought. They had stepped into a meticulously designed ambush, and they hadn't even encountered a single enemy soldier, yet over ten thousand of their men had already fallen!
When all 400 Divine Dragon Crossbows had fired their bolts, the entire Deer Forest corridor had turned into a sea of blood. Countless masterless warhorses roamed the battlefield. The Divine Dragon Crossbows alone had caused the demon iron cavalry to suffer losses of over 10,000 men. Just as the five myriarchs led their men out of the firing range of the Divine Dragon Crossbows, they suddenly fell into horse traps one after another. People cried out and horses neighed. Those in the rear hurried to catch up, trampling and squeezing each other, and screams turned into a continuous chorus.
"Charge through!"
The five myriarchs led several thousand iron cavalrymen through the horse traps, but ahead were dense rows of barricade spears. For a moment, many iron cavalrymen became skewers of meat. As they charged forward, they were met with countless crossbow bolts fired by the Snowy Domain army. Under the arrow rain, many more demon iron cavalrymen perished. And further ahead, Xue Zhi, Xu Sheng, and Xiang Ji were waiting with over 2,000 Snowy Domain cavalry.
Victory was impossible. The few thousand severely wounded demon cavalry, no matter how brave, could not possibly be a match for this Snowy Domain cavalry, let alone the fact that they also had a former eleventh-realm sword immortal.
"Send the order!"
In the air, Yu Feng also saw the scene in the distance. His heart turned cold. There was no hope at the end of the Deer Forest, only death. The opponent's plan had completely trapped him. So Yu Feng gave an order, "Everyone, turn your horses around and retreat the way you came. Don't all die in vain in the Deer Forest!"
"Yes, Young Master!"
Several thousand iron cavalrymen turned, but just as they were about to rush out of the corridor, they saw Chu Yu appear. A peak tenth-realm martial artist and sixth-realm sword cultivator, leading 3,000 elite Snowy Domain cavalry.
"Breakthrough at full speed!"
The five myriarchs roared. One of them, who was in the Star River realm, charged forward, only to have his armor shattered by Chu Yu's fist. Immediately after, a flying sword pierced his heart, and he was killed outright! The others collided with the Snowy Domain cavalry. They did not fight or linger, but broke through and galloped away.
"Sir."
Chu Yu punched his enemies while sending a message to Lin Zhao, "Should we keep them all, or?"
"No pursuit."
Lin Zhao said, "If they want to leave, let them go. Minimize our losses."
"Yes, Sir!"
...
Thus, after Chu Yu's interception, the several myriarchs led over 3,000 demon iron cavalrymen out of the encirclement and galloped straight towards the outside of Wild Pheasant Valley.
"Bai Yi!"
In the air, Yu Feng shook off Mu Zha with his sword, gripped his long sword, and rode the wind, roaring, "This debt, I, Yu Feng, will definitely settle with you in this lifetime!"