https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-71-The-Second-Wave-of-Attacks-Begins/13030792/
Chapter 70: Abundant Rewards
Chapter 70: Abundant Rewards
September 25, 2017
Special thanks to 'Jiayou Ta Ji Mei You' for the generous support!
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Eleven riders charged towards several hundred well-equipped soldiers led by a bandit chief, each with the strength of a platoon leader.
In the past, Lu HaiKong would never have attempted such a daring move. Despite the apparent lack of morale among the hundreds of soldiers, with heavy casualties, the former Lu HaiKong would never have taken this risk.
The inherent danger was too great, and the variables too numerous. One wrong move, and they could all perish.
However, since Lu HaiKong's conversation with Wang Dali, he himself hadn't noticed the gradual change within him.
Lu HaiKong still recognized the danger in this situation, but he also saw an opportunity within it. He knew that by seizing this chance, he could thoroughly crush the enemy's offensive and shatter the soldiers' morale, even making them hesitate to draw their weapons before him.
His blood boiled with fervor, and Lu HaiKong acted decisively, leading the charge himself.
At the forefront, Lu HaiKong's Ornate Battle Axe displayed terrifying lethality. The mountain path was only two meters wide, and anyone still on it had no chance to evade Lu HaiKong's assault.
As he rode forward, Lu HaiKong wielded his axe like a windmill, and the soldiers on the mountain path, whether fleeing in panic or fighting back, were brutally struck down by the force of his axe, left lying on the ground or even decapitated.
Even those soldiers who managed to narrowly escape Lu HaiKong's axe had no time to celebrate their luck, as Wang Chao MaHan, closely following Lu HaiKong, swiftly took their lives.
After charging for only a few dozen meters, the mountain path was already stained red with blood. Those who had escaped the Fire Horse Formation's hooves now faced another grim fate, falling to the blades of Lu HaiKong and his companions.
"Platoon leaders, stop those generals at all costs! If they're stopped, they're as good as dead!" Zhang Ke issued a decisive order.
A decade ago, Zhang Ke would not only have given the command but also joined the battle himself. However, after a decade of comfortable living, this man had long lost his iron-blooded spirit. He had become afraid of death, despite still possessing the skills of his battlefield past.
If he had joined the fight, his strength might have been enough to halt Lu HaiKong's advance, but he chose not to, forgoing the last chance to turn the tide of battle.
As Lu HaiKong's charge reached its midpoint, several platoon leaders with strength around 30, quasi-vassal-level figures, emerged to stop him per Zhang Ke's orders. But as they stepped forward, Lu HaiKong's eyes flashed with determination, and his pace didn't slow. With the force of Bull Power Level 3, he unleashed a powerful strike with his axe, the most potent attack in his arsenal aside from the Mountain Splitting Axe Technique. The few quasi-vassals blocking his path paled at the sight of this mighty blow.
They tried to intercept the axe, but the terror of Bull Power overwhelmed them, and these 30-point strength figures had no chance. In an instant, three of the seven quasi-vassals were cleaved down by Lu HaiKong's axe, while the survivors were finished off by Wang Chao MaHan and his men.
Thus, the morale of the Shanwu County troops completely collapsed. Lu HaiKong and his group halted, gazing at the stunned soldiers and Zhang Ke with a bright smile, revealing a seemingly sunny yet eerily chilling grin.
"Ladies and gentlemen, is Lu's hospitality to your liking?" Lu HaiKong said, laughing heartily. With Wang Chao MaHan and the others under the soldiers' watchful eyes, they strolled back to the mountain fort with an air of nonchalance.
Throughout the entire process, not a single person, be it Zhang Li or the county troops, dared to intervene. They all stood there, mouths agape, as Lu HaiKong's group charged forward for a seemingly short distance of a hundred meters before returning to the mountain fort with an air of triumph.
It wasn't until Lu HaiKong's group entered the mountain fort that Zhang Ke suddenly realized he had missed a golden opportunity.
The seemingly brief charge of a hundred meters had actually exhausted Lu HaiKong's strength. In that short distance, Lu HaiKong had swung his axe hundreds of times, each swing a near-maximal exertion of his strength. Axe skills inherently consumed a lot of stamina, and even with Lu HaiKong's training in the Bull Strength Technique, reaching Level 3 allowed him to swing his axe a hundred times at his limit. Not to mention, Lu HaiKong's final burst of power took the lives of three near-vassals with a single strike.
Lu HaiKong was clearly exhausted, yet he maintained his composure, even going so far as to mock them. This kind of demeanor could only be achieved in a state of boiling blood, and Lu HaiKong's performance effectively intimidated Zhang Ke and his men.
After a long silence, as they surveyed the shattered corpses, Zhang Ke sighed and reluctantly ordered, "Retreat! Fall back to the foot of the mountain!"
Zhang Ke was well aware that the first wave of attacks, starting with Huo Ma and followed by Lu HaiKong, had utterly shattered the soldiers' morale. In reality, despite losing no more than three hundred men in both waves of attacks, their morale was completely crushed, and seven platoon-level generals lost their lives due to Zhang Ke's mistake. Continuing the battle under the current circumstances was impractical.
Upon Zhang Ke's order, the surviving county troops snapped out of their daze and numbly followed Zhang Ke's footsteps, retreating from Lu HaiKong's mountain fort.
In this manner, the first wave of attacks organized by Zhang Ke with great effort and confidence was utterly defeated in just a short ten minutes outside Lu HaiKong's mountain fort.
(End)
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