189: Chapter 189 Attacking Mu City

Su Bai looked up. "Eight hundred elites?"

"Yes."

Su Xing nodded. "These eight hundred men are the foundation General Li Tao has built up over the years. Their equipment is good, and they are fairly well-trained. However..."

"However what?"

Su Xing paused.

"However, among these eight hundred men, not a single one is above the fourth level of Qi Refining; they are all just beginning Cultivators."

Su Bai smiled.

Without Cultivators, even if eight thousand ordinary soldiers came, they would be no match for the three hundred Cultivator soldiers under his command.

"Is there any other news?"

Su Xing hesitated for a moment. "There is one more thing. General Li Tao has been in frequent contact with the Yao Race recently. I suspect he has secretly defected to them."

Su Bai's eyes turned cold.

Defecting to the Yao Race?

This General Li Tao deserved to die.

"Understood. You may leave."

Su Xing stood up, cupped his fists, and said, "General, if I may be so bold as to ask, Mu City... when do we strike?"

Su Bai leaned back in his chair and remained silent for a moment.

"We set out in seven days."

"Yes!"

Su Xing took his orders and left.

Seven days later.

Outside the east gate of Ze City, on the drill grounds.

Fifteen hundred soldiers stood in neat ranks, forming several dark, dense phalanxes.

At the very front was Su Bai's trump card.

Three hundred Cultivator soldiers.

They wore uniform Black Battle Armor and held Spiritual Artifact long sabers. Each of them radiated a faint ripple of spiritual Qi.

Behind them were the twelve hundred ordinary soldiers Ma Lie had brought from Yunzhou City. Although not as elite as the Cultivators in front, they were all in high spirits and possessed a formidable Aura after this period of rigorous training.

Su Bai stood on the high platform, wearing Black Battle Armor and holding that Spiritual Artifact long saber, his gaze sweeping over the soldiers below.

The sunlight shone on him, casting a very long shadow.

"Brothers!"

His voice wasn't loud, but with the enhancement of spiritual Qi, it was heard clearly by everyone present.

"Today, we are going to attack Mu City."

The area below was silent as everyone looked up at him.

"The defending general of Mu City is named General Li Tao. He is a surrendered general from the previous dynasty who preys on the common people and colludes with the Yao Race. He deserves to die. We aren't going to Mu City to seize territory; we are going to rescue the people there from their misery!"

"We are the Yunzhou Army!"

Su Bai raised his voice. "Our blades do not strike the people, only the enemy! Our spears do not bully the weak, they only kill the wolves!"

"Today, you follow me, Su Bai, to attack Mu City. If we win, rewards will be given according to merit, and you will be promoted! If we lose—"

He paused, his gaze becoming even sharper.

"There is no such thing as losing. Our Yunzhou Army only wins battles!"

The soldiers below felt their blood boiling and shouted in unison.

"The Yunzhou Army is mighty!"

"The Yunzhou Army is mighty!"

"The Yunzhou Army is mighty!"

The sound waves shook the heavens, even making the flags on the city walls flutter loudly.

Su Bai gave a grand wave of his hand.

"Set out!"

The troop of fifteen hundred men set off in a grand procession, heading toward Mu City.

The troop traveled for two days and arrived at a dangerous location.

Lone Eagle Ravine.

On both sides were steep mountain walls, with a narrow canyon in the middle. The widest part was no more than a dozen yards, and the narrowest could only fit four or five people abreast.

Looking up, the sky was reduced to a single line.

Su Bai sat on his horse, looking up at the scattered rocks and shrubs on the cliff walls, his brow slightly furrowed.

"General, this place is called Lone Eagle Ravine."

Ma Lie rode beside him and explained in a low voice.

"It's said that even eagles can't fly across it; one must go through alone, hence the name Lone Eagle Ravine. It's the only path to Mu City. Once we pass this ravine, it's only another half-day's journey to Mu City."

Su Bai nodded without saying anything.

But he felt a faint sense of unease in his heart.

This place was too dangerous.

If someone set an ambush on the cliff walls and threw down rolling stones and logs, let alone fifteen hundred men, even fifteen thousand would be trapped and killed here.

"Increase speed, pass through as quickly as possible."

Su Bai ordered.

"Yes!"

Ma Lie turned to pass the order, and the troop's marching speed noticeably increased.

But just as the troop reached the middle of the canyon, a warning sign suddenly arose in Su Bai's heart.

That feeling was hard to describe, like a needle suddenly stabbing into the back of his head, or a bucket of ice water being poured over him from head to toe.

Without even thinking, he lunged to the right.

*Whoosh—*

A cold light flew past his ear and thudded into the spot where he had just been standing.

*Thwack!*

The arrow sank into the ground, leaving only half the fletching vibrating with a hum.

Su Bai flipped and landed, glancing down at the arrow.

Fine runes were carved on the shaft, with a faint flow of spiritual Qi, and the arrowhead glinted with an eerie blue light.

It was poisoned.

And the power of this shot was at least at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Su Bai's heart tightened.

Mu City already knew he was coming and had set an ambush here in advance.

Before he could think further, he heard a burst of battle cries from the cliff walls on both sides.

"Kill!"

"Don't let Su Bai escape!"

"Brothers, seize their grain!"

Dense figures appeared on the cliff walls, at least seven or eight hundred of them. Each brandished blades and spears as they charged down into the canyon from both sides.

Leading them was a burly middle-aged man wearing iron armor. He held a longbow and was staring coldly at Su Bai.

The defending general of Mu City, General Li Tao.

He had come in person.

When Ma Lie saw the people charging down from the cliffs, his face changed drastically, but he immediately drew his saber and roared.

"Brothers, prepare to engage the enemy!"

The fifteen hundred Yunzhou Army soldiers quickly tightened their formation, with spearmen on the outside and archers on the inside, forming a defensive array.

The ambushers charging from the cliffs seemed numerous.

But as they rushed down, their formation was scattered and lacked any discipline.

They were purely relying on numbers to try and catch Su Bai off guard.

Su Bai watched this scene and sneered repeatedly.

Is that all?

He drew his long saber, and the spiritual light on the blade flared up.

"Brothers, follow me!"

The three hundred Cultivator soldiers roared in unison and charged forward with Su Bai.

The first charge.

Su Bai took the lead, his long saber turning into a silver streak as it slashed directly at the foremost ambushers.

*Slash!*

With one strike, three men fell simultaneously.

Blood sprayed, staining the ground red.

The three hundred Cultivator soldiers followed closely behind, their Spiritual Artifact long sabers erupting with terrifying power under the drive of spiritual Qi.

With every slash, an ambusher fell; almost none could withstand a single blow.

Although these ambushers were numerous, they were all ordinary soldiers. Facing three hundred Cultivators equipped with Spiritual Artifacts, they were like paper.

In the first encounter, over a hundred ambushers fell.

Screams, wails, and the clashing of weapons blended together.

Ma Lie followed behind with the twelve hundred ordinary soldiers, specifically responsible for finishing off the wounded.

The ambushers scattered by the Cultivator soldiers were cut down by the following Yunzhou Army before they could even regroup.