NOVPUBHua Xiong cautiously drove the carriage in the middle, with the carriages of Li Ru, Jia Xu, Cai Yan, and Qu Qi all surrounded by Hua Xiong. He could feel that there were people constantly spying, slowly maneuvering his men to steadily hold the formation. As for Li Ru and Jia Xu, unless it was absolutely necessary, they would not make a move here. Unlike Liu Bei, Cao Mengde recognized Li Ru and Jia Xu.
After making sure all his identifying badges were discarded, Cao Hong randomly grabbed a handful of dirt and smeared it on his face, then charged down with an ’Ao ao ao’ roar.
"..." Hua Xiong was stunned, wondering how there could be such an imbecile. He had been worried about where the enemy might ambush them, but instead, a complete imbecile had charged down directly. What was the point of all the preparation these guys had done before?
"You there, little thief!" Cao Hong, with a not very fluent Bingzhou accent, called out to Hua Xiong, "This road is mine, this tree I did sow, pay me my toll or you can’t go!"
"..." Hua Xiong was stunned once again. This time, before Hua Xiong could speak, Qu Qi couldn’t hold back anymore, "You little thief over there, saying this road is yours, this tree you sow, this is the imperial road, did you open this imperial road? Which dynasty’s emperor are you? The Son of Heaven of Han is still in Chang’an, are you claiming rebellion? This tree you sow, it looks like it’s four hundred years old to me, are you from the Former Han? A hermit? Do you possess the secret to immortality?"
Qu Qi’s rapid-fire questions completely dumbfounded Cao Hong, leaving him unable to figure out how to reply. All he could manage were stammers without making any sense, and then Qu Qi looked at Cao Hong with disdain, "I’ve never seen such a dumb mountain bandit before. Why the useless banter before a robbery? Just compare fists and be done with it, now you’re just acting like a fool!"
With a face of helplessness, Hua Xiong pushed Qu Qi back into the carriage. Qu Qi’s mouth was indeed impressive, but some things didn’t need to be said at all, and saying them now was just asking for trouble!
"All troops, charge!" Hua Xiong bellowed, then the original Round Formation exploded violently into eight parts. At the same time, Jia Xu and Li Ru, who were sitting in the carriage, both took action. With Jia Xu seldom using his Spiritual Talent, his eyes seemed to foresee the next second’s scene, working in concert with Li Ru’s spiritual power to align with the trajectory. Leveraging his knowledge of the Eight Gates Heavenly Lock, he forcefully manifested the Eight Gates.
Then, a sound like the clashing of gold and iron from the heavens, carrying a hint of murderous intent, bloodiness, and the grandeur of iron horses and steel halberds, was injected directly into the Military Formation. Instantly, the originally high morale of the soldiers skyrocketed, and the Cloud Qi that had been slowly circulating started to move rapidly as if infused with new energy.
Suddenly, the team formation, which had seemed loose and casual, became filled with Killing Intent. A layer of Radiance appeared around each person, and although the colors were not exactly the same, as time passed, the eight different colors from white to black mixed into a hazy overlay that enveloped the entire team.
Cao Hong was terrified by this sight. Any military general knew what this meant. The next moment, Cao Hong rushed up a hillock to hide. Fighting against such a freakish battle formation would definitely not end well. Although he had prepared ten thousand soldiers, they weren’t meant to fill such a massive trap!
After the hazy fog rose up, those inside the formation, like Hua Xiong, weren’t affected in their vision at all. But from the outside, even if your eyesight were as sharp as Lyu Bu’s, you couldn’t see through it—a purely defensive Formation for trapping, with the downside being that the fog itself provided no defense against physical objects. In other words, if someone decided to launch a covered attack with crossbow arrows, they would still have to face the impact, irrespective of their will.
Although it was Cao Hong’s first time encountering such a situation, the previous rumors had left him so frightened that without a second word, he turned around and fled. Four thousand war horses were indeed tempting, but with such god-like enemies protecting them, his ten thousand men would likely crumble at first contact if they attempted to force the issue as he had originally planned. He had come to rob, not to die!
Hua Xiong, holding his blade, stared in the direction of the hillside, cursing in his heart that the other side was faster than rabbits. However, precisely because of this, Hua Xiong did not suspect Cao Hong’s identity, reasoning that only mountain bandits and thieves would act so shamelessly and run at a moment’s notice. He never imagined that the Cao family would harbor a miserly scion of a noble house, an Iron Rooster who calculated everything in terms of money.
Taking a deep breath to suppress the anger in his chest, Hua Xiong decided to establish his dominance using these rightless bandits, "You there, bandit, listen well. I am General Zhaowu, Hua Zijian from Mount Tai. Today, I shall let you witness my prowess!"
As he spoke, Hua Xiong’s sword light burst forth from the mist. Compared to the earlier frenzied raid for horses in Yongzhou, this time the energy merged seamlessly with Hua Xiong’s own Qi, harmoniously blending into his strength. A nearly three hundred meter long fiery blade light, carrying searing heat, sliced directly onto the hillside. The several tens of meters high dirt slope was cleaved in two, with traces of flame visible at the fracture.
"The general is mighty!" Hua Xiong’s soldiers roared. Having a valiant general leading them was the best way to boost morale, and the higher the spirit, the faster the rate at which the Qi of Heaven and Earth could be drawn from the surroundings, and the smoother the flow of Cloud Qi would be. This was why, when both sides had equal strength, a single valiant general leading troops could tip the balance!
With a single slash dividing the hillside, Hua Xiong did not linger. The enemies’ fate was not important; what mattered was deterrence. This spectacle was sufficient to intimidate those in Yanzhou with ulterior motives.
"Entire army, accelerate! March day and night, face cities head-on, forced march! Within one day, reach Mount Tai!" Hua Xiong roughly estimated the distance and then determined that under the current conditions, they should be able to make it to Mount Tai with full effort. Thus, no longer concealing their tracks, he presumed that Zang Ba would come to greet them at the borders of Mount Tai.
"Yes, sir!" All the soldiers replied loudly, then started to jog under Hua Xiong’s lead. For them, such a task was not difficult.
Hua Xiong did not skimp on rations. He shared any rewards or spoils with his soldiers. After all, these were habits formed in the harsh lands of Xiliang. To win the loyalty of his men in such a place required not just leading from the front, but also sharing hardships. Simply put, when a leader gained a great deal, his soldiers must also get their share. It did not need to be much, just enough to have that sense of sharing in the gains, which was why the soldiers who had recently joined Hua Xiong’s force really admired him!
Thanks to being well-fed, every soldier under Hua Xiong, guided by the veterans, had cultivated their first thread of Inner Qi. Although it was not very useful in a fight, their endurance had truly increased significantly.
Cao Hong was crouched in the loose soil, having rolled on the ground to dodge the effects of Hua Xiong’s enormous sword light attack earlier. He had forcefully restrained his fear and had not used his Inner Qi, knowing full well that had he done so, escape would have been impossible and his ten thousand soldiers would have been crushed. This would have been a tremendous blow to his older brother, Cao Cao, who had only just taken up the position of Governor of Yanzhou. He preferred to die there rather than reveal himself!
However, to Cao Hong’s relief, Hua Xiong clearly considered him an insignificant ant, attacking casually without targeting him specifically. It was because of this that he was left with a sliver of life. Now, Cao Hong had no time to indulge in fear; he needed to inform Cao Cao. They must not try to intercept again. The man who came to buy horses was no nameless nobody, but the mighty Hua Xiong from Sishui Pass, who could cleave experts like chopping vegetables. And after this terrifying spectacle, Cao Cao must be informed—it was simply too frightening! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, your votes and monthly tickets on Qidian are greatly appreciated. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
