57: retreat

"My Lord, retreat! We can't hold on any longer!"

A Centurion pleaded bitterly, with only twenty to thirty men left under his command.

To still have fighting strength after suffering more than half casualties was already considered elite. If Wang Yuanhua hadn't been fighting alongside everyone else at the front, the army would have long since collapsed.

"That's right, My Lord, it's not that we're afraid to fight, but we just went through a major battle, and our brothers haven't recovered yet. Now the Barbarians have come again, and you have over a hundred injured brothers behind you."

"Lord Wang!!!"

How could Wang Yuanhua not know? Moreover, this tribe of Barbarians was not only as strong as the previous one, but they immediately fought with their lives on the line, without any strategy or even command. They just charged into their camp and began to slaughter.

"If My Lord is afraid of taking responsibility, a few of us brothers will plead with Inspector Yu."

One of Wang Yuanhua's old subordinates, his eyes red with battle lust, also disregarded rank and only wished that as many brothers as possible could escape. If they were completely cornered by the Barbarians, none of them would truly be able to leave.

"Shut up, damn it! All of you, hold the line! I'll go find Inspector Yu."

"Yes, My Lord, hurry!"

Upon hearing Wang Yuanhua's words, the Centurions' morale instantly soared.

Wang Yuanhua had led troops for many years and still possessed basic judgment. He immediately went to find Yu Zheng.

At the camp entrance, two Innate guards brought by Yu Zheng stood dutifully.

"I'm looking for Military Inspector Yu."

"Lord Wang, Military Inspector Yu just went to rest. You should be fighting at the front right now, not appearing here."

An Innate Martial Artist didn't care that Wang Yuanhua was a Grandmaster, his words sharp and sarcastic.

"Hmph, I need to see the Military Inspector now. The situation is critical, what is he resting for?"

Thinking of his brothers fighting desperately at the front, while these Innate Martial Artists brought by Yu Zheng were either guarding here or acting as a supervisory team at the back, a fire burned within him.

"Lord Wang, we are people of the Prince Zhennans Estate, not to be criticized. And I'll say it again, Inspector Yu is resting, and no one can see him."

Wang Yuanhua saw himself arguing loudly at the entrance, while the tent inside remained silent. He then thought that Yu Zheng was deliberately avoiding him, wanting him and his brothers to fight this pointless and certain-death battle.

"Damn it."

Wang Yuanhua cursed under his breath, True Qi surging in his hand. Bang!

The Innate guard at the door was sent flying by a palm strike.

"I said I want to see him now, and I will see him now!"

He tore open the curtain.

Wang Yuanhua instantly froze in place, because he saw Yu Zheng dead, dead in his seat.

The Innate guard immediately followed Wang Yuanhua after he entered. If Wang Yuanhua hadn't held back, he would have died directly.

"My Lord!"

Upon entering, he also saw Yu Zheng's corpse.

"Is this the camp you're guarding?"

The Innate guard's face turned pale.

"Hmph, now notify the supervisory team to immediately prepare for retreat."

Wang Yuanhua made a decisive command.

"But?"

"But my ass! If you don't go, my soldiers will go. Whoever blocks them dies!"

Clearing out the Barbarians on the mountain was never an overnight task.

He turned to leave, but a faint unease lingered in his heart. The last person with Yu Zheng was Li Yan, and he hadn't seen Li Yan since then. Logically, he should also be on the front lines, leading the Martial Artist camp to resist the opposing martial arts experts.

All these illogical things, coupled with everything that had happened these past few days—the absurd strategy of advancing fifty li, the order to hold the line and not retreat, the disappearance of the Zhao Family Grandmaster, the strange Barbarian army... all these things surged in his mind, making him feel that something big was about to happen... Lu Xuan was easily killing Barbarians at the front, alleviating pressure on the defense line, but he still didn't expose his full strength.

All of this was too strange. Hiding more strength would give him a better chance to save himself later.

"Younger Brother Lu!"

"What is it, Elder Brother Wang?"

Lu Xuan chopped down the Barbarian in front of him with a single saber strike, then retreated to Wang Yuanhua's side.

"I've already ordered a retreat, but we need someone to cover the rear. All Grandmasters and Innate Martial Artists will stay behind to block the Barbarians. The Martial Artist camp will temporarily be under your command."

"Me? Grandmaster Li? Could it be...?"

Lu Xuan was surprised, thinking that Grandmaster Li had died.

"Sigh, it's fine to tell you. The Military Inspector is dead, and Li Yan is missing. He can't escape responsibility for the Military Inspector's death. However, we'll talk about these things after we return to the county town. Our top priority now is to retreat."

"Alright, I will organize them."

"The signal will be a signal arrow."

After Wang Yuanhua left, Lu Xuan didn't rejoin the battle. Instead, he moved to the side. Since they were retreating, he no longer wasted energy and simply waited for the signal.

"But can they truly escape?"

----

"Young Master, these people feel a bit off."

The Mu Family Cultivator, who had been observing the battlefield from the shadows, whispered.

The young Cultivator opened his eyes, and a flash of spiritual light appeared in his hand. He made a sword-finger gesture and brushed it over his eyes, and immediately a faint light flowed within them.

After watching for a long time, he slowly spoke.

"Frenzy Powder and its corresponding Primer. Those who ingest the Frenzy Powder will furiously attack anyone who has been tainted by the Primer."

"So, should we intervene?"

"No need, it's just a minor trick. We'll just observe."

The young man's voice was indifferent, as if the lives of thousands of people before him were utterly insignificant.

----

Whoosh~

A sharp whistle exploded in the air.

"Rear guard becomes vanguard, retreat!"

The Centurions had already received Wang Yuanhua's orders, and upon hearing the signal, they immediately began shouting for retreat.

The soldiers at the front were already exhausted and had been waiting for the retreat order. Upon hearing it, they immediately changed formation and began to withdraw.

"Martial Artist camp, hold the line!"

Lu Xuan had also informed the Grandmasters and Innate Martial Artists beforehand, and since he himself stayed behind, no one said anything. Wang Yuanhua, after handing over command to a lieutenant, also stayed at the very end with his personal guard camp.

Due to the withdrawal of a large number of soldiers, the previously somewhat solid defense line instantly collapsed, and the pressure on Lu Xuan and the others suddenly increased. Fortunately, those who remained had at least Innate cultivation, so they could still resist for a while.

After the army's banners disappeared in the distance, Lu Xuan and the others also consciously began to spread out their battle line, using the terrain advantage to counter the enemy's numerical superiority.

Time passed minute by minute.

After Wang Yuanhua estimated that the main army had retreated a sufficient distance, he roared.

"We retreat too."

After speaking, he led his personal guard camp in retreat, and the others followed closely behind.

"Hahaha, we finally escaped."

"Those Barbarians were truly despicable. If they hadn't used a relay attack, we could have killed a few more and earned some merits."

"Hmph, you're still thinking about merits? Didn't you notice something was wrong with those Barbarians? They weren't human at all, but starved beasts, like they smelled blood."

"That's right, I've lived for over forty years and have never seen Barbarians like that."

The retreating group chatted and laughed, not at all worried about being caught, as their lowest cultivation was Innate, and their speed was not slow.

"Once we cross that ridge ahead, we'll reach the small path on the outskirts of Thousand Peaks."

"Hahaha, when I go back this time, I must go to Drunken Spring Pavilion to get rid of this bad luck."

"Hehehe, fellow traveler, let's go together!"

After crossing the ridge, the previously chatting and laughing crowd instantly froze in place, the sight before them chilling them to the bone.