Gazing upon the dark figures several li distant, an unprecedented fighting spirit ignited in Ye Jingyu’s eyes. He knew this was a battle where death was the likely outcome; even he might not survive. Yet, regret found no purchase in his heart. As long as he could successfully intercept this force and buy enough time for the five thousand-plus who were retreating, it would all be worth it...

Little Tao Tao sat quietly on Ni Bo’s back beside him. Sensing the heavy atmosphere permeating everyone’s hearts, the two small beasts, unlike their usual bellicose selves, both fixed their gaze upon the rapidly approaching black tide...

It was an army composed entirely of black-armored infantry, devoid of banners or insignia. As far as the eye could see, it was just blackness, like a swarm of black ants surging toward them...

Closer and closer they came, their numbers swelling. Soon, this black torrent was less than a kilometer from Ye Jingyu and his company’s position...

With Ye Jingyu’s eyesight, he could already make out the faces of the soldiers leading the charge...

They had black eyes, black hair, and yellow skin—not the brown hair typical of the Hu Kingdom, but rather resembling the people of the Shu Yun Kingdom...

Could this be a large army from the Shu Yun Kingdom? But that couldn't be right; their formation was too disciplined, clearly the elite of the elite. Besides the Feng, Yun, Lei, and Dian Legions, where else in Shu Yun could such an impeccable army be found? Moreover, the armor of those four great legions was not black, and they cherished their status as the Four Great Legions too much to ever wear different colors or omit their banners. So, just what army was this?

At this moment, in the center of the black army, a man riding a warhorse, wearing a black helmet, with wild hair tied loosely at the nape of his neck, and possessing a pronounced aquiline nose and sunken eyes, finally spotted the figures mounted on the Mastiff-Lions within the perimeter...

“The Iron Army really is a bunch of trash. Over ten thousand men, and they still allowed the Mastiff-Lion Battle Group to retain about two thousand combat-effective soldiers. What utter waste...” The man cursed, eyeing a Mastiff-Lion...

“General, those people do not appear to be from the Mastiff-Lion Battle Group; they are all wearing the armor of the Iron Army,” a man riding a warhorse closely beside him stated respectfully...

“What?” The aquiline-nosed man took a closer look and finally noticed that although they were all riding Mastiff-Lions, every one of them had black hair—they were definitely not the bald warriors of the Mastiff-Lion corps. Surprise immediately flickered across his face...

“Did that band of good-for-nothings actually annihilate the entire Mastiff-Lion Battle Group? How could that mob possibly wipe out the Mastiff-Lion Battle Group?” The surprise on the aquiline-nosed man’s face deepened...

“But even if they were lucky enough to completely destroy the Mastiff-Lion Battle Group, they couldn't possibly have subdued the Mastiff-Lions as mounts?” The more the general thought about it, the more astonished he became...

They had captured Mastiff-Lions before, but these exotic beasts would never allow anyone else to mount their backs. Even powerful masters could not compel them; yet now, these Mastiff-Lions stood perfectly still, as if the riders upon them were their own soldiers from the Mastiff-Lion Battle Group...

“General, what should we do now?” the aquiline-nosed officer asked again...

“What to do? Since Xiao Geng is tied up fighting the Hu Kingdom’s Rainstorm Legion and cannot arrive, the task of annihilating the remaining strength of the Mastiff-Lion Battle Group naturally falls to our Shadow Army. But since that group of incompetents helped us wipe out the Mastiff-Lion Battle Group, we must adhere to the Sovereign Lord’s command: kill without mercy...” the aquiline-nosed man stated coldly...

“What about Ye Jingyu? What if he is accidentally injured? Should we call him out first?” the adjutant continued to inquire...

“No need. While the Sovereign Lord wishes to keep him alive, swords know no eyes. If he dies, he dies...” The aquiline-nosed man spoke coldly, though in his mind flashed the ten chests of jewels sent by the Eldest Young Master, and the one hundred stunningly beautiful women...

This man was none other than Ouyang Lengcan, General of the Shadow Army—an army established by the Sovereign Lord Luo Xiaofeng himself, funded from his private coffers, separate from the Four Great Legions of Feng, Yun, Lei, and Dian. This was an army unknown to anyone except Luo Xiaofeng; even Luo Ruofeng was unaware of it. The Eldest Young Master Luo Haitian only learned of it by chance and subsequently managed to establish contact with Ouyang Lengcan...

This army was never meant to see the light of day. They had no banners, no official designations. Their mission was to assist Luo Xiaofeng in eliminating matters that could not be brought into the open. They numbered fifty thousand, the vast majority recruited from death-row inmates. While their overall strength might not match the Feng, Yun, Lei, and Dian, every single member was ruthlessly vicious...

This time, they were carrying out Luo Xiaofeng’s orders: once the Mastiff-Lion Battle Group and the Iron Army had decimated each other, the Shadow Army was to deliver the final blow...

Luo Xiaofeng wished to see neither the Mastiff-Lion Battle Group nor the Iron Army survive. However, Luo Xiaofeng had instructed Ouyang Lengcan that if Ye Jingyu did not perish at the hands of the Mastiff-Lion forces, he was to be rescued by any means necessary...

Regardless of any hidden influence Ye Jingyu might possess, a peerless genius who cultivated both Soul and Martial Arts was undoubtedly a key talent to nurture. Luo Xiaofeng did not want such potential to simply vanish...

However, before departing, Ouyang Lengcan had accepted a massive bribe from the Eldest Young Master Luo Haitian, compelling him to find every possible way to ensure Ye Jingyu’s demise. This was why he made the decision he did...

“Understood, General...” Ouyang Lengcan’s second-in-command was Lin Zuo, Ouyang Lengcan’s absolute confidant. He was the only person besides Lengcan who knew the Sovereign Lord’s true order. Hearing Ouyang Lengcan’s words, Lin Zuo immediately grasped the implication...

“First Battalion, Charge! Kill without mercy...” Watching Ye Jingyu and the others draw nearer, Lin Zuo issued the kill order in place of Ouyang Lengcan. Facing an enemy force of fewer than two thousand, even mounted on Mastiff-Lions, they needed no organized formation...

In an instant, the clamor of war rent the sky...

The army of over ten thousand simultaneously drew (Full text novel reading available at.1.m(1.m.novel.web))

their sabers and roared toward Ye Jingyu and his group...

The remaining forty thousand-plus halted where they stood. To eliminate two thousand men, ten thousand was more than sufficient...

Facing the oncoming tide of over ten thousand black-armored troops, Ye Jingyu’s party seemed as fragile as a small skiff on a vast river, constantly on the verge of capsizing. Yet, in the eyes of every single one of them burned an intense will to fight...

“Kill!” Seeing the black-armored army begin its charge, Ye Jingyu roared, whipping out his own obsidian-black iron saber. He spurred his mount, Ni Bo, and led the charge directly into the black army...

Behind him, the eighty warriors of the Chi Yi Clan, under the leadership of Chi Yi Xiu, followed closely, matching Ye Jingyu’s pace as they stormed toward the front...

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