In the desert at the border, over five thousand horse bandits, shrouded in thick clouds of dust, charged fiercely towards the nearby border army camp. The ground seemed to tremble beneath their feet as they kicked up a storm of sand, each face twisted into a savage and reckless grin.
“Hahaha, kill!”
These horse bandits from the grasslands were exceptionally skilled in mounted archery. Before they even approached the border army camp, someone had already drawn their bow and shot a flaming arrow, which accurately struck the foremost tent.
In the next moment, a barrage of burning arrows rained down from the sky.
Instantly, the entire military camp was engulfed in flames, thick smoke billowing upwards, waves of heat crashing down like a purgatory. Amidst the chaos, cries of alarm echoed from within the camp.
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”
“It’s the horse bandits from the grasslands, the bandits are coming!”
“What?! This is impossible!”
But more than that, there were screams of agony; some were completely engulfed in flames, rolling on the ground in a desperate attempt to extinguish the fire on their bodies.
However, the flames on these arrows were ignited with oil, and once they adhered, they were nearly impossible to extinguish.
They had never imagined that while Yuan Xiao, the Centurion, led his troops into battle, their side would be ambushed by horse bandits.
They also couldn’t understand why the numerous lookout posts set up by the Wuli Army along the way had failed to relay the news of the bandit attack in time, allowing these fierce horse bandits to charge boldly into their midst.
Li Qing was equally astonished. He had just returned to his tent after filling his stomach in the kitchen, and before he could sit down, he heard the sound of flaming arrows falling.
Then came a torrent of arrows raining down, nearly scaring him into another world.
“How is this possible? There were so many lookout posts along the way, why didn’t any news come back? Did they all betray us?” Li Qing muttered to himself, filled with suspicion.
The possibility of a complete betrayal was minuscule; it was essentially impossible.
Thus, only one possibility remained: these horse bandits had mastered the locations of all the lookout posts along the way and had swiftly eliminated them.
The imperial reinforcements heading to the border were still on the road and could not arrive in time, while the horse bandits had chosen this critical moment to launch a surprise attack, timing it so perfectly.
“There are traitors in the border army!”
Thinking of this possibility, Li Qing shivered all over, his scalp tingling.
“Run! Quickly run!”
“Go to Wangyuan City, head towards Wangyuan City!”
The chaotic cries from outside reached Li Qing’s ears, causing his mouth to twitch involuntarily.
Run? Was it possible to escape? The horse bandits had come on horseback, and Wangyuan City was at least several dozen miles from the border army camp. Even the speed of an external strength expert wouldn’t necessarily be faster than a horse.
The outcome of scattering and fleeing was likely a dead end; the terrain behind was completely flat, making escape impossible—only live targets remained.
“Damn it, this is too sudden! There wasn’t even a hint of it; I didn’t have time to prepare!” Cold sweat dripped from Li Qing’s forehead as he tried to calm his racing thoughts, quickly considering what the best course of action was.
“Plans can’t keep up with changes; I’ll take some food and go to the Eternal Night World to seek refuge!” Li Qing gritted his teeth and ultimately decided to head to the Eternal Night World.
Without hesitation, he dashed towards the granary, preparing to take enough food to last for a while.
Many tents had caught fire, but the granary area remained untouched. Seeing this scene, the corners of Li Qing’s mouth twitched.
These horse bandits clearly knew the location of the granary and had deliberately avoided shooting in that direction.
With such thorough information, if he were to say there were no traitors in the army, Li Qing would be willing to chop off his own head.
While others fled in a panic towards Wangyuan City, no one paid attention to the state of the granary; they wished only to run as far away as possible.
Li Qing kicked open the tightly shut door of the granary, but before he could start moving the food, he saw someone he hadn’t expected, or perhaps had anticipated.
“Fatty Wu? Why are you still in the granary?” Li Qing was taken aback.
Inside the granary, a plump figure sat atop a pile of dried meat, continuously stuffing food into his mouth.
“I—I saw there was no fire here, so I hid to avoid the flames,” Wu Chong stammered, his chubby face trembling.
“Fool! These horse bandits are here to rob food; staying here is just asking for death!” Li Qing scolded loudly.
Wu Chong blankly opened his mouth, then mumbled, “What should I do? I can’t run; Wangyuan City is so far away. By the time I get there, I’ll probably be caught by those horse bandits.”
This fat man was surprisingly clear-headed, more so than those soldiers, knowing that two legs couldn’t outrun four legs of a horse.
Li Qing couldn’t help but scoff inwardly.
Before he could speak, Wu Chong despaired, saying, “Since I’m dead anyway, I might as well be a well-fed ghost here!”
“I’ll eat! I’ll eat, eat, eat!”
Li Qing was both amused and exasperated; this guy was thinking about eating even when death was imminent—he truly didn’t know what to say.
“Fatty, if you want to live, listen to me!” Li Qing pulled Wu Chong up, then quickly said, “Do you remember where my master was buried?”
“Quickly run to that graveyard, find any grave to hide in; the horse bandits shouldn’t search there!”
As soon as these words were spoken, Wu Chong’s eyes lit up.
“Right! How did I not think of that?”
Once he knew there was a way to survive, Wu Chong’s plump body erupted with an unimaginable will to live. He stood up abruptly and asked, “What about you? Why are you still here? Hurry and run with me!”
“You go ahead; I’ll grab some food and come right after!” Li Qing patted Wu Chong’s body, signaling him to run quickly.
“Okay, remember to take more jerky; don’t let those damned horse bandits get a good deal!”
After giving his instructions, Wu Chong’s round body seemed to exert all its strength, and he quickly dashed out of the granary.
Then Li Qing suddenly remembered something and shouted, “Fatty, remember not to dig up my master’s grave!”
He didn’t know if Wu Chong heard him, but Li Qing couldn’t care less; he directly hoisted a large pile of rice, flour, and jerky in the granary, closed his eyes, and began this large-scale relocation operation.
He planned to take enough food to last a long time, then hide in the Eternal Night World for a while, waiting for the storm to pass before deciding what to do next.
(End of Chapter)