Chapter 30: Too Weak! Unable to Withstand a Single Blow!

The autumn wind wailed, whipping up withered grass across the vast, boundless steppe.

A Rongdi supply caravan, resembling a sluggish, giant python, snaked its way across the undulating plains. At the head of the column, a bloated Rongdi commander sat atop a towering steed, humming a tuneless, jarring melody and swaying his head in self-indulgent comfort.

His name was Shilie Bahu Lindu, the captain of this supply unit. It would be more accurate to say he was on a holiday in the steppe rather than leading a military detachment. He was cowardly and craved comfort, terrified of the blades and bloodshed of the battlefield, and even more fearful that his three beautiful wives back home might seek new lovers.

Thus, he had pulled strings to secure this safe assignment. To him, military merit and titles were meaningless; coming from a wealthy background, his family was considered upper-middle-class even within the Rongdi hierarchy.

The battlefield? That was an abyss that devoured lives, and he had no intention of dying in vain. For now, he merely wanted to enjoy the blue sky and white clouds—this was the life he had dreamed of.

The column moved slowly, the soldiers sluggish and devoid of discipline. They smugly believed the steppe belonged to the Rongdi, and that the Qin people were fit only to cower in their cities, trembling.

"Sah-la-hey-ai..." Shilie Bahu Lindu’s singing grew louder, a grating sound that bordered on auditory torture. His soldiers clutched their ears in agony, wishing they were deaf. Were it not for his rank, they would have long since gagged him.

"My lord, should we send out scouts?" Centurion Hongduo, seeing no one ahead to clear the path, braced himself to offer the suggestion.

"Hongduo, when did you become such a coward? This is the steppe, the domain of the Rongdi! What are you afraid of?" Shilie Bahu Lindu squinted at him, his tone dripping with disdain.

Hongduo was struck dumb, cursing inwardly: *This spoiled brat knows nothing but gluttony and pleasure; he hasn't the slightest clue about military formation!* He thought of his brother, Wuzhu, who had died on the battlefield, and his heart felt a complex, bitter knot.

Hongduo sighed to himself: *To be saddled with a master like this is truly wretched luck!*

Another centurion in the unit also felt deep dissatisfaction with Shilie Bahu Lindu’s lax style. This force of six hundred looked imposing, but in reality, there were only two hundred seasoned soldiers; the rest were merely hastily conscripted herdsmen. Should they be attacked, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Zhao Ergou and his men were hunkered down in the grass, like a pack of starving wolves waiting for a fat sheep to walk into their trap.

After a long wait, a thin black line finally appeared on the horizon, crawling toward them like a slow-moving earthworm. The Rongdi supply train had arrived.

"Turtle speed! If I didn't know better, I'd think they were out for a spring stroll!" Zhao Ergou slapped his thigh, his excitement so intense he felt he could sprout wings and fly over.

Watching the black line grow larger, Zhao Ergou felt his blood boil with anticipation.

Finally, the supply train entered the kill zone. The formation was as loose and spineless as a jellyfish; they were no different from lambs awaiting slaughter.

"Brothers! The time to earn our glory has come! Charge!" Zhao Ergou threw off his grass camouflage and let out a roar that made the surrounding earth tremble. He bent his bow and notched an arrow, firing three in rapid, lightning-fast succession.

"Kill!" Zhao Ergou’s roar echoed across the plains like a clap of thunder.

The archers hidden on both flanks leaped out, arrows raining down like a torrential downpour. The Rongdi soldiers were instantly enveloped in the terror of death.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!* The sound of arrows piercing the air was sharp and shrill.

More than thirty Rongdi soldiers fell on the spot, their blood staining the grass. The archers swiftly notched their next arrows, the volley as dense as a swarm of locusts. At fifty meters, these master marksmen could hit their targets with their eyes closed.

"Ambush!" Hongduo screamed, terrified out of his wits.

An arrow pierced his throat mid-shout, his cry cut short as he slumped to the ground.

Zhao Ergou looked at the fallen Hongduo and grinned. "Why scream so loud? Afraid I wouldn't hit you?" He had no idea that the man he had just killed was the brother of Wuzhu.

The sudden assault left Shilie Bahu Lindu stunned, as if struck by lightning.

"Quick! Take cover! Counterattack!" another centurion yelled, desperately trying to organize a defense.

Zhao Ergou fired with sharp eyes and quick hands, catching the centurion square in the throat. The shot was so powerful that the man fell without even a groan.

Two centurions, both early-stage martial artists, were easily dispatched by Zhao Ergou. He felt a surge of power coursing through his veins, his bloodlust rising with every passing second.

Seeing Zhao Ergou make his move, Sun Liu and Tu Dakang led the cavalry, charging toward the enemy lines like arrows loosed from a bow.

The Rongdi army was thrown into disarray, their morale shattered.

"Brothers! Charge! Kill every last one of these Rongdi whelps!" Zhao Ergou roared to the heavens, his voice shaking the plains. His steel blade flashed with a cold, piercing light as he pointed it toward the chaotic enemy ranks, appearing like a god of war descended to earth. "Hahaha! Watch as I carve my way through their lines seven times over today—feast your eyes!"

Seeing their commander’s valor, the Qin soldiers were emboldened, shouting in unison, "Kill! Kill! Kill!" They surged forward like tigers descending from the mountains, unstoppable.

Nearby, Luo Datong also raised his arm and shouted, "Charge!" leading the elite Qin troops into the fray like a torrent of steel.

The cries of battle shook the heavens. As the two armies clashed, blades flashed and blood sprayed, turning the plains into a living hell.

Leaderless, the Rongdi army crumbled. The herdsmen, terrified out of their minds, scattered and fled, their already fragile lines collapsing entirely.

Shilie Bahu Lindu watched in shock and rage as his army routed, only then snapping out of his stupor.

"Damned Qin dogs! How dare you ambush me!" he roared at the air. "Hongduo! Counterattack for me!"

Yet, the only response was the whistling wind and the fierce battle cries of the Qin soldiers.

"Hongduo! Where the hell are you? Why aren't you fighting back?" Shilie Bahu Lindu’s fury threatened to consume him.

A trembling Rongdi soldier stammered, "My lord... Centurion Hongduo... has been killed..."

"What? Dead?" Shilie Bahu Lindu could not believe it. The detestable Hongduo was dead?

"What about Centurion Samuel?" he demanded desperately.

"He... he is also dead!" the soldier’s voice trembled even more.

"My lord! Qin cavalry! The cavalry is charging!" another soldier screamed in terror.

The remaining Rongdi herdsmen, seeing this, lost all will to fight and scattered in every direction, wishing their parents had given them extra legs to run with.

Zhao Ergou led the cavalry, piercing the center of the supply train like a sharp blade, sweeping all before him. "Hahaha! Exhilarating! Simply exhilarating! Watch how I slaughter them all!"

The common Rongdi soldiers were like blades of grass before Zhao Ergou; with every flash of his sword, they fell.

"Is this it? Too weak! They crumble at a single blow!" Zhao Ergou sneered in contempt.