The rapier was reflected in Chen Chuanâs eyes, as if it was going to pierce through his eyeball.
But he didnât change the trajectory of his attack. He simply brought his other hand up, and the Cloud Ripping Palmâs refined force rushed forth. His attackerâs rapier snapped, and his arm exploded. The saber then cut through the first manâs neck, and his head dropped down.
In an instant, Chen Chuan killed two people and heavily wounded another. Just then, he heard a loud sound ahead. A cavalryman with a feathered helmet charged through the fog with the momentum of a stampede and thrust forward with his spear.
Chen Chuan had just released his refined force and couldnât protect himself. But even as he watched the spear get closer to him, his eyes remained calm, because he wasnât the only person here.
Chen Bitong appeared in front of him and swung his spear horizontally to push it against the side of the attackerâs spear. But the refined force on the enemyâs spear was powerful and unmatched. Chen Bitongâs spear shattered inch by inch, and he felt a heaviness in his chest. The enemyâs spear did not divert from its path, which showed just how strong he was.
However, Chen Bitong parrying the spear had caused the cavalryman to freeze for a moment, which made what could have been a seamless, unimpeded thrust to lag by a beat. His attack was no longer almost perfect in terms of timing and strength.
With this small interval, Chen Chuan was able to adjust his breathing in time. He brought his saber up in a reverse swing and blocked the spear.
Clang!
Their weapons clashed, and sparks flew. The grinding sound of friction tore through the air. Even if Chen Bitong had parried the spear once, the remaining power was still strong enough that it pushed Chen Chuan back by several meters.
Chen Bitong arrived next to the enemy cavalryman and went to strike his waist, but the moment the Void String Force was about to hit, the horse lifted its front legs and dodged to the side, allowing its rider to avoid the refined force, which had been charged to its maximum. After this, even if Chen Bitong managed to hit the enemy, he wouldnât be able to bring out the full force of his refined force.
Chen Bitong seemed to continue his attack, but just then, his afterimage arrived next to the other side of the horse and threw a punch at it. This time, the enemy had already found an opening. He drew his saber, and, with a swing, cut through the afterimage.
Right after the attack, however, Chen Bitong showed up above him to stomp on his head. He moved through the gap multiple times and forced the enemy to mobilize his refined force continuously. Anyone else would have been unable to fend against his attacks already.
When it looked like the enemy wouldnât be able to dodge, the horse knelt down. For the second time, before Chen Bitongâs refined force could explode forth, the enemy dodged the attack.
The enemyâs attunement with his horse was truly amazing.
Chen Chuan swung his saber.
This was the benefit of two people guarding the gap. Even if the enemy cavalryman was strong, there would always be gaps when martial artists switched between offensive and defensive refined forces. Once they got hit during this gap, the destructive power from a Heartborn Force would basically end the fight.
But the cavalryman wasnât alone either. The horse tilted backward and used its neck to block the saber. Meanwhile, the cavalryman flipped backward, and multiple spears shot out of the gap at Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong.
Chen Chuanâs gaze never changed. With a wet squelch, the Frost King Saber beheaded the warhorse. Then, after a turn, the saber fended off the spears coming at him. As for Chen Bitong, he knocked away the spears with a casual fling of his arm.
The moment they touched them, they could tell that the spears were thrown from more than 250 meters away.
The person shouldnât have been able to see them, not when they stood behind the gap, but their aim was true. This was likely due to their mental energy being connected to the cavalryman. The new enemy should be in charge of follow-up attacks, who had been stationed here from the start.
After the cavalryman jumped off the horse, he brought his spear up. In an instant, he thrust twice, once at Chen Chuan, and once at Chen Bitong. When both of them blocked the attack, the cavalryman retreated. With every step he took, more spears came at Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong, effectively blocking their path. A few paces later, the cavalryman made it out of the gap. By the looks of it, he intended to retreat, since he hadnât been able to kill them immediately.
Chen Chuan pressed in and rushed out of the gap.
Chen Bitong was about to do the same when a rapier came at him. The person Chen Chuan had wounded severely seemed to have some sort of technique that allowed him to hide his presence and mind. He had ducked to the side, and now, he attacked from the shadows again. Apparently, he also had a backup weapon. But Chen Bitong didnât even look at him. With a block, he sent a wave of Void String Force into the rapier.
Explosive snaps came from the personâs body, and blood gushed out of his broken arm. He fell down, but he wasnât dead yet and began spasming on the ground.
His attack hadnât been meaningless. Chen Bitong was now a step behind. When he made it out of the gap, the cavalryman had already disappeared into the fog at the base of the mountain, while Chen Chuan was close at his heels. He swung his saber down.
Despite only being able to touch the cavalryman with the tip of his blade, his refined force cut through the armor on the manâs back. A long gash appeared where the blade touched.
The cavalryman didnât even look back. An explosive power burst out of him, and he became even faster. Soon, he disappeared into the fog.
Loud whistling sounds came through the air. Several spears rushed at Chen Chuan, but he only brought his arm up to shield his face. When the spears touched his clothes and skin, they received such a huge shock that they shattered and fell on the ground.
This was due to Chen Chuan simulating the yielding and firm techniques of body hardening. Even though he couldnât show off the power of Chang Kuanghaiâs Heavenly Pardon Fist, he could produce great results with regular variations of the yielding and firm techniques combined with the Heartborn Force.
It was a pity that the Frost King Saber had fallen into slumber and refused to wake up. He couldnât use his refined force at full power like that. Otherwise, he wouldnât have just cut through the cavalrymanâs armor.
Just then, Chen Chuan saw a wave of White Plagues charging over to the mountaintop. Knowing that he had lost his chance at pursuing the enemy, he gave up the chase, though he did cast a glance at the bottom of the mountain. Through the fog, he could see the fleeing cavalryman going to a flagpost. Beside it was a cavalryman who was clearly ranked even higher than he was.
Chen Chuan gave him a long, hard look before choosing to leave. He retreated into the gap with the White Plagues rushing in after him fearlessly.
This time, their assault lasted more than ten minutes. When they stopped, the area in front of the gap was covered in so many carcasses that the defenders didnât have solid ground on which to stand. The place also smelled terribly.
âWe can pile up the bodies and burn them at the entrance. The wind from the gap will draw it out, and they will stop coming for a while. We could use some time to recover. I have a few oil barrels in my car. You can ask Fang Zhixin to bring them to you,â Chen Bitong said.
âIâll get it done,â Chen Chuan replied.
He walked out and came back with two oil barrels. Chen Bitong had already moved most of the carcasses to the gap. He poured the algae fuel on them before lighting them on fire with a lighter. They immediately went ablaze. Since the wind was flowing outward, thick plumes of smoke covered the mountainpath for a time.
After taking a look outside, Chen Chuan said, âInstructor Chen, while that cavalryman wasnât weak, with such strength, they wouldnât be able to do much damage even if they entered Central City. That is unless they brought a martial arts master. Their goal isnât as simple as attacking Central City, is it?â
Chen Bitong shook his head. âThis should be the vanguard. Once they break through, more battalions will be sent here. Still, even if a few soldiers make it through the gap, it carries huge political significance.
âIt has been more than ninety years since the royal empire was toppled over and the Great Shun Republic was established, but these remnants have never managed to break through our barriers and make it into the Great Shun Republic from the merged space.
âEven if only one unit makes it in and deals an insignificant amount of damage, itâll give a huge boost to their morale and unite them.
âBesides, if it happened once, it can happen again.â
Chen Chuan nodded at that. He could understand the logic behind this. The conflict between two groups wasnât just about who would win in the end, but also about maintaining rule. This was especially true for the royal family. Since they were the ruling class, they had to keep on sending soldiers to the enemy to ease the pressure and conflict within their own ranks.
With a grim expression, Chen Bitong said, âItâs precisely because this carries such a huge significance that they will do whatever it takes to break through our defense. Weâre going to have a tough battle.â
âLet them come,â Chen Chuan said.
Then, he looked down. While he was confident that he could defend the place, he disliked their passive position. The enemies could make adjustments at their own pace. As a martial artist, he didnât like being attacked but being unable to fight back.
After some thinking, he said, âInstructor Chen, their flagpost was really close to us. Itâs right at the base of the mountain. Since theyâre the vanguard, can we rush down and kill the general?â
Chen Bitong didnât think that Chen Chuanâs bold idea was unrealistic. He considered the possibility before saying, âWe can do it.â
It might be a risky move, but they could try, because the enemy wasnât going to expect them to charge down.
Besides, he had received word that the imperial armyâs conqueror general was fighting against Central Cityâs martial arts master. The enemy didnât have the absolute power needed to overpower them.
âIf weâre going to attack from this distance, we need to be fully prepared before leaving. We require the element of surprise to succeed.â
âLet me be the main offense. Iâm faster. While I attract their attention, you can use the gaps to sneak to the back and look for a chance to attack. We shouldnât force ourselves to win, though. If we fail to find a way to kill their leaders, we can retreat,â Chen Chuan suggested.