Chapter 63: Who is the Winner

Xue Chengqian did not know any so-called saber techniques.

From Luo Fang and Sun Fushan, a hero of the greenwoods, he knew that there were indeed martial arts masters in both the Central Plains and the grasslands.

Even Luo Fang and Sun Fushan themselves understood saber techniques, but time was too short. He had to spend all his energy formulating plans and calculating the possible countermeasures of the Northern Barbarians, leaving him no time whatsoever to learn.

In terms of personal martial valor, there were plenty of men in the Zhenyi Battalion who could surpass him.

However, Xue Chengqian's fierce slashing drove Helian Yue into a state of extreme disarray.

He did not lack courage; even upon seeing Helian Yue kill both Wu and Fang with a single blow, he felt not a trace of fear.

He had the system's reward!

Having previously reversed his destiny, he received a system reward that enhanced his physique and agility. This direct modification and enhancement of his body made his physical fitness quite formidable, far surpassing those of his own build.

He did not need any saber techniques. Relying solely on formidable explosive power and speed, he left Helian Yue, who had lost the initiative with a single misstep, unable to ever turn the tables.

"Clang!"

The two sabers clashed violently once more. Both Xue Chengqian and Helian Yue simultaneously felt numbness in their arms, a sensation that even affected half of their bodies.

Yet Xue Chengqian clenched his teeth tightly, completely ignoring his body's reaction, and lunged forward again at the risk of his life.

Helian Yue was by no means someone afraid of death, but her ability to recover and adjust her physical state was inferior to Xue Chengqian's. More importantly, she was currently on horseback!

No matter how exquisite Helian Yue's horsemanship was, it could not compare to someone standing firmly on solid ground.

No matter how small the difference, it directly determined their reaction speeds.

Once Helian Yue slowed down by even a fraction, she was immediately placed at a disadvantage.

Xue Chengqian's offensive lacked sophisticated patterns, but having staked his life on it, once he gained the initiative, he refused to give the opponent any chance to turn the situation around. His attacks grew even more ferocious, as if he were willing to trade his own life to cut Helian Yue down from her horse with ever-increasing speed.

Helian Yue could simply no longer hold on. Facing Xue Chengqian's renewed, death-defying charge and slash, she was knocked straight down from her horse.

"Chieftain!"

As seasoned riders, they knew all too well how dangerous it was to fall from a horse; leaving aside the enemy's blades and swords, even the panicked hooves of warhorses could claim a life.

Disregarding the Liang soldiers surrounding them, they fought their way to Helian Yue's side with all their might, determined to protect their chieftain.

Xue Chengqian desperately wanted to cut her down completely, but Helian Yue had been knocked from her horse by the sheer force of his blow, falling to the opposite side of the mount. He could not strike directly and was forced to crouch down, dodging the charging warhorses and trampling hooves himself.

This slight delay allowed the enemy bodyguards to snatch Helian Yue away.

Xue Chengqian cursed inwardly at the missed opportunity, but his objective had already been achieved.

He had charged over with the intention of capturing the bandit leader by seizing their chief first, but that did not mean he strictly had to execute the enemy commander. As long as he forced her into a state of self-preservation where she could no longer mobilize troops to pursue their retreating men, it was enough.

If he lost sight of his objective and stubbornly pursued the enemy leader, a slight delay might genuinely "wait" for another unit of Northern Barbarian cavalry to arrive, and their fate would be disastrous.

"Do not get bogged down in a protracted fight! Fall back immediately!"

Witnessing Xue Chengqian's valiant performance, the men placed even greater trust in his commands and immediately executed his orders.

On the other side, Helian Yue's subordinates offered her a replacement mount. Yet by the time she remounted, she saw that the enemy forces had already widened the distance between them. Furthermore, that unit of cavalry had reformed its battle array and was guarding the rear, while her own reinforcements were still nowhere to be seen.

"Commander, shall we pursue them again and entangle them?"

Helian Yue felt a pang of regret and simultaneously harbored deep resentment toward the allied forces in the main camp for their incompetence in failing to arrive earlier with support.

Ignoring the subordinate who requested permission to attack, she shouted loudly, "Liang commander, dare you leave your name!"

Hearing her call from afar, Xue Chengqian sensed the unwillingness in her voice. Feeling a slight sense of triumph, he was about to answer when a sudden sense of caution stopped him from speaking.

After a moment, Luo Fang, who was bringing up the rear to guard and scout with the cavalry, called out in a booming voice, "I am Luo Fang of the Zhenyi Battalion! Remember it well!"

No matter how high Xue Chengqian's prestige currently was, it would be inappropriate for him to overshadow his superior.

Luo Fang was the original leader of all the brothers, and nominally the officer of highest rank as well. If Xue Chengqian had answered directly, even a magnanimous man like Luo Fang would inevitably develop a rift between them.

"Luo Fang?"

Upon hearing this name, Helian Yue's eyes widened abruptly. She stared into the distance where the enemy was retreating, complex emotions flashing in her gaze.

A moment later, her capable clansman general Helian Hong also reacted, asking with bewilderment, "Luo Fang? Isn't that the leader of the refugee army outside Wangjiang City?"

Back then, the Helian tribe had followed Lenda of the Tianheng tribe in an attempt to forcefully storm Wangjiang City, intending at the very least to display their military might and intimidate the city's garrison from sallying forth to disrupt their pillaging.

Lenda, confident of victory, wanted to make an example of the refugees outside Wangjiang City to establish his authority, only to unknowingly fall into the enemy's trap. Several thousand elite cavalry of the Tianheng Tribe's Tiger Regiment charged onto the frozen waters of the Raging River, and countless numbers froze or drowned.

At the time, Helian Yue had been deeply shocked by the countermeasure devised by the enemy. Utilizing secret agents planted in the Central Plains years ago, she inquired who had commanded that battle.

Upon receiving the report, she firmly etched the names of Luo Fang and Xue Chengqian into her memory.

To her, these two commanders of the Zhenyi Battalion posed a far greater threat than seasoned Northern frontier commanders like Lu Xiaoyuan.

Never had she expected that a local militia originally capable only of defending their own hometown would dare to cross borders and fight, becoming a surprise raiding force that even Grand Marshal Lian had to take seriously.

Had Grand Marshal Lian not been vigilant in time, their raid today could very well have flipped the entire strategic situation outside Dongping City!

"The man commanding the cavalry was Luo Fang. Could the Liang general who fought me to the death just now be Xue Chengqian?"

Recalling their close-quarters combat moments ago, even the daring Helian Yue could not help but feel a shiver of dread.

"Luo Fang, Xue Chengqian, remember this: the debt of today shall be repaid to you a hundredfold another day!"

Though filled with reluctance, Helian Yue had not lost her sanity.

The enemy troops had already broken away, and with her own forces' morale shaken, it would be extremely difficult to intercept them before they fled into the Baguzi Mountains. There was no point in wasting the lives of her clansmen on a futile endeavor.

Most importantly, even if they had succeeded in the raid, with the Grand Marshal personally holding command over the Dongping theater, absolutely nothing would go wrong. Across the entire Dongping region, they, the Northern Barbarian army, remained the victors!

Seeing that the enemy was not pursuing them further, Xue Chengqian and Luo Fang breathed a sigh of relief.

As they approached the mountain pass of the Baguzi Mountains, they immediately fired a whistling signal arrow, summoning the Song brothers, who had remained behind at a high vantage point to observe, down to report on the development of the battle.

Yet, as they awaited their arrival with the joyous anticipation of victory, seeing the mournful, weeping expressions on the faces of the Song brothers filled them all with a sense of impending doom.

Sure enough, Song Bing spoke first, and a single sentence instantly inverted their moods, plunging them as if into a frozen abyss.

"Brother Luo, Brother Xue, something terrible has happened! Dongping City... has been breached by the Northern Barbarian army!"