Chapter 543: Chapter 63: Collision

Chong City.

Li Fei and the others stood atop the West City Gate’s walls.

The section of the wall was about twelve meters wide and more than five hundred meters long, flanked by mountains on both sides.

Over five hundred meters of city wall manned by only a hundred people appeared somewhat sparse.

But there was no helping it. Currently, less than a thousand combatants were available in Chong City to defend four city gates–not enough hands.

Chong City was neither a border town nor a military stronghold, so during peacetime, it was neither possible nor necessary to station many troops there.

Under normal circumstances, for an ordinary city, a few hundred inspectors plus a few hundred city guard soldiers, as well as the Zhi Ge Court and the Righteous Court, were completely sufficient for maintaining local public order.

As for wartime, no one really expected such a small town to turn into any sort of formidable fortress.

Especially after the advent of cannons, walls’ effectiveness was further diminished, and the tradition of defending a city in war had become increasingly unnecessary.

Back when the Western Seven Countries Alliance Army fought their way to Lanling City.

Lanling City was known as the strongest in the world, with walls exceeding one hundred and fifty meters in height, which historically had held off the attacks of hundreds of thousands of troops.

But even with such a formidable city, the court didn’t dare engage in a city defense battle against the Western Alliance Army but rather sent “Military God” Wenren Zheng with the Da Lan Dynasty’s strongest Imperial Camp Army, the “Heavenly Blue Iron Cavalry,” to decide the battle outside the city against the Western Alliance Army!

That battle made many realize the times had changed; not only could martial arts powerhouses not be stopped by strong cities, but even ordinary people could not be held back.

Thus, ten years ago, the Central Cabinet proposed that some city walls were old and no longer necessary to spend a huge amount of money on repairs and could be torn down directly.

At this moment, Li Fei and the others did not rely on the city wall beneath their feet to stop the imminent attack of the Imperial Camp Army.

This wall didn’t use any special materials; it couldn’t stop the force of martial artists, not to mention the Imperial Camp Cavalry. Even any Tao Foundation Stage powerhouse could potentially break through the wall with some time!

“The key to the upcoming battle lies outside of the city,”

said Li Fei to Lv Wenxing and the others.

“We must stop that Imperial Camp Cavalry unit outside the city!”

This statement left Lv Wenxing and others in silence.

They understood the sentiment, but the question was, how to stop it?

The Imperial Camp Cavalry, with the assistance of Exotic Beasts as mounts, would become the unstoppable cavalry in the world once they fully charged, activated their military formation, and unleashed Evil Qi.

Even a powerhouse at the peak of the Tao Foundation Stage wouldn’t dare to face the charge of fifty Imperial Camp Cavalry head-on.

Li Fei had shown strong combat power before, but he was still quite far from the peak of the Tao Foundation Stage, which left Lv Wenxing and the others truly uneasy.

“Sir, once the Imperial Camp Cavalry initiates their military formation and charges at full speed, I fear… it will be hard to stop them,”

Lv Wenxing cautiously reminded.

Li Fei glanced at him, then swept his gaze over the other few officials of the Zhi Ge Pavilion:

“It seems the illustrious officials already have a strategy in mind?”

Lv Wenxing’s expression stiffened, slightly embarrassed.

One official directly used their force combined with their extraordinary ability to quietly seal the surroundings, ensuring their conversation would not be overheard by others.

Lv Wenxing looked at Li Fei and softly said:

“Although I do not know the underlying causes, I can guess some of it. The Daluo Sect must want to achieve certain goals by massacring the populace on a large scale.

But now, all the civilians have been sent back home by us. With the people so dispersed, even if that Imperial Camp Cavalry could kill their way into the city, how many could they kill in such a short time without dividing their forces?

And if they divide their forces, naturally we can… ”

Li Fei’s cold gaze cut Lv Wenxing short.

He hesitated to meet Li Fei’s eyes.

“Sir,”

another Zhi Ge Pavilion official quickly said, “It’s not that we are unwilling to fight to the death, but even if we did, we might not be able to stop that Imperial Camp Cavalry. It’s better to pivot slightly so that there’s a chance to truly hold Chong City.”

Li Fei regarded him, “If the Imperial Camp Cavalry doesn’t divide, do we just let them keep slaughtering in the city?”

“Sir is unaware.”

At that moment, a third official stepped forward and spoke:

“Activating Sha Qi and forming an army formation continuously drains a martial artist’s essence, spirit, and divine energy. If that Imperial Camp Cavalry maintains the formation, even if they go on a killing spree in the city, they won’t be able to kill many before they exhaust themselves and can’t continue. And if they do not maintain their formation, we can harass them from the side, take advantage of the city’s terrain for guerilla warfare, and gradually weaken them.”

One had to admit, these officials had not lived their years in vain.

In such a short time, they had devised such mature and reserved tactics.

It made Li Fei laugh.

Perhaps Yun Shu did not really expect them to hold off the Imperial Camp Cavalry but simply wanted them to delay as long as possible, with some civilian casualties being inconsequential.

Maybe Yun Shu wouldn’t blame them even if he found out after the fact.

“Your insights are meticulous indeed, to come up with such tactics,”

Li Fei said while laughing.

But Lv Wenxing and the others weren’t laughing, as they sensed the coldness in Li Fei’s tone.

“The esteemed officials must have started as official martial masters, ascending step by step. If I recall correctly, official martial masters have the duty to protect their territory, to protect the citizens,”

Li Fei continued.

In fact, not just the official martial masters, students of Zhi Ge Department, the Martial Arts Hall–these people all had the same responsibility.

“Sir Li, we are not abandoning our post; it is just a tactical sacrifice of some of the civilians that might allow us to accomplish the mission given by the State Preceptor,”

“That’s right, Sir Li, our intentions are sincere,”

“Sir Li, don’t be impulsive. The bigger picture must be considered!”

The officials took turns trying to persuade Li Fei.

Li Fei looked at the five Tao Foundation Stage officials in front of him with an indifferent expression:

“The esteemed officials have their tactics, I have mine. If the Imperial Camp comes, I will hold them off first. You all may do as you see fit.”

“This….”

The court officials looked at each other, not expecting such an outcome.

“Sir Li, you are the first in history to be favored by His Highness the Crown Prince; you have a limitless future. Why would you throw yourself into certain death for some unrelated people?”

Lv Wenxing stepped forward, speaking earnestly to Li Fei.

Li Fei laughed and looked Lv Wenxing in the eye:

“Would Sir Lv be willing to make a bet with me?”

“What’s the bet?”

“This will definitely not be my place of death.”

“…”

Lv Wenxing hadn’t expected Li Fei to be so stubborn.

“Lord Li!”

Another Sitting Official could no longer hold back, “If you insist on leaving the city to confront the Imperial Camp Cavalry directly, then please forgive me for not accompanying you!”

“I too must beg your pardon for not accompanying you.”

“Same here.”

“We must complete the State Preceptor’s mission and prioritize the overall situation!”

Of the five Sitting Officials, besides Lv Wenxing, the other four made it clear they would not follow Li Fei to confront the enemy outside the city.

Li Fei had anticipated this.

Although he was an imperial envoy and the leader of this expedition, he wasn’t naive enough to believe that his orders alone could make these people willingly fight to the death.

As for using force to make these people submit and forcibly drag them out of the city to fight, that was completely pointless.

“Do as you wish.”

Li Fei remained calm.

Whether these Tao Foundation Stage officials helped or not, he still planned to encounter the Imperial Camp Cavalry.

His Innate Qi had reached the Qi Change Stage and the associated physical enhancements had come to an end. What he needed next was to deeply stimulate it to activate Core Level Extraordinary Abilities.

He just needed an intense battle!

Seeing Li Fei’s resolute attitude, the officials saluted him one by one and then turned to leave.

To the onlookers, it seemed as though they had received orders from Li Fei and were off to carry out their missions.

In the end, out of the five Tao Foundation Stage Sitting Officials, only Lv Wenxing had not left.

Lv Wenxing bit his lip and walked to Li Fei’s side.

Li Fei turned his head to look at him, somewhat surprised, “Why haven’t you left, Lord Lv?”

Lv Wenxing smiled, “Didn’t the lord wish to make a wager with me? I’d like to stay and see if the lord can win this bet.”

Li Fei gave him a deep look, then turned to look into the dark night ahead,

“Then you’d better watch closely.”

…

At 11:17 p.m.

A martial master ran towards the West City Wall of Chong City at extremely high speed.

After his identity was confirmed, a rope was dropped from the wall, and the martial master quickly scaled the wall, arriving before Li Fei:

“Lord, they are here! It’s a convoy, and there are indeed members of the Imperial Camp within it, about fifty riders! The convoy is currently about five kilometers away from this location.”

This martial master was a scout sent out by Li Fei.

Li Fei nodded, “Good work. Take a moment to recuperate and prepare for battle.”

“Yes.”

The martial master stepped down.

Li Fei glanced at the two cannons already set up on the city wall.

These were powerful enough, but unfortunately, they were ineffective against the Imperial Camp Cavalry because they couldn’t hit them.

“If the enemy attacks directly, Lord Lv, you need only to hold this wall. Leave the Imperial Camp Cavalry to me.”

Li Fei said to Lv Wenxing.

Lv Wenxing seemed to have something to say but eventually said nothing more.

Moments later, Li Fei looked towards the night ahead, “They’re here!”

Then he leaped down from the city wall!

Everyone on the city wall exclaimed in shock, not understanding what Li Fei was up to.

Not everyone understood the Imperial Camp Army, so many people on the wall still thought that the upcoming defense battle would simply be about holding the wall.

They didn’t understand why Li Fei had suddenly jumped down.

Only Lv Wenxing stared intently at Li Fei’s figure, clenching his fist subconsciously.

Li Fei held the Ghost Slash Blade in one hand, striding forward.

Seeing his composed figure from behind, Lv Wenxing suddenly felt that he might be getting old…

Minutes later, lines of light pierced the darkness ahead.

A convoy appeared in everyone’s view.

Twenty-some large trucks appeared on the road with armored riders on both sides.

Inside a small car, a middle-aged man in a white robe noticed Li Fei standing alone ahead.

“Alone? Is he seeking death?”

He shook his head, holding a replica Daluo Token, and entered a Void Thought.

He was a Great Mage at the Possession Stage from the Righteous Law General Institute in Jinshan Prefecture and a Direct Disciple of the Daluo Sect, leading this convoy.

Upon his ‘command,’ the Imperial Camp Cavalry on either side of the convoy immediately sprang into action!

Normally, Heavy Cavalry, if not relieved of their armor, would be spent after running several dozen kilometers.

But the mounts of these Imperial Camp Cavalry were Exotic Beasts, far more physically robust than warhorses, and had been replenished with Elixirs the whole way to keep their energy abundant.

Though they had hurried for several hours, their Combat Power remained at its Peak!

With the command received, the eyes of the Imperial Camp Cavalry turned blood-red once again, and they began accelerating, quickly forming a line at the front of the convoy.

Over fifty riders of the Imperial Camp Cavalry, hundreds of meters wide.

Black Evil Qi emerged from them and their mounts, connecting into one.

Then they charged, their speed ever increasing, in the blink of an eye covering hundreds of meters!

In the backlighting of the vehicles behind them, the black Evil Qi looked like a tidal wave of darkness, roaring towards everything in front of them.

Ready to devour all!

That overwhelming killing intent, even from a distance of over a kilometer, made everyone on the city wall’s minds reel and chilled them to the bone!

It was only then that they understood what kind of enemy Li Fei was facing alone!

Li Fei calmly drew out the Ghost Slash Blade, stuck its sheath into the ground, and then, holding the blade with one hand, he charged forward.

He alone faced over fifty Imperial Camp Cavalry, head on!

…

Yesterday’s third installment~