They were, of course, facing the rear, their backs to the refugees on the slope.

But as one refugee ran past Commander Xiao, he suddenly erupted into action, pulling a dagger from his waist and viciously stabbing at the commander’s neck!

Commander Xiao was clad in heavy armor, with basically only his neck exposed.

It was pitch black, and the attack was completely unexpected. They were only a few feet apart, too close for even his personal guards to intervene in time.

Hee Lingchuan was standing just behind and to the side of Commander Xiao. He saw a faint gleam in the darkness and knew something was wrong, but by the time he could lunge forward, it was already too late. He could only watch helplessly—

A brilliant flash of a blade sliced through the air, and a body was severed.

Actually, to be precise, the blade had swept up diagonally, slicing the attacker clean through from his left rib to his right shoulder. Thus, a single body fell to the ground in two separate pieces as blood gushed wildly.

Hee Lingchuan’s breath hitched.

The lightning speed and ruthless finality of that strike reminded him of facing Nian Songyu in the Coiling Dragon Illusion Realm.

’Despite all my diligent and painstaking practice, I could never hope to achieve that kind of intent with my blade.’

Commander Xiao lowered his blade, and a string of blood beads dripped from its tip to the ground. His face was also spattered with blood, but he couldn’t be bothered to wipe it, simply letting the rain wash it away.

’Why bother wiping it? I’ll just have to kill more enemies soon. It’s a waste of effort.’

His personal guards were ashamed. "Sir..."

Commander Xiao raised a hand, cutting him off. "Everyone, stay alert!"

Hee Lingchuan murmured, "What incredible Sword Technique."

"Heaven helps those who help themselves. You need eyes in the back of your head," Commander Xiao said, glancing at him. "Your skills aren’t bad."

Hee Lingchuan was ashamed. "I was too slow." The commander still had to deal with the assassin himself.

The enemy had been crafty, changing into civilian clothes to infiltrate their lines and assassinate their leader. If he had succeeded, this battle would have been over in a flash.

Just seeing how practiced Commander Xiao was made it clear how dangerous the battlefield truly was.

"You’re a civilian, not a soldier." As lightning flashed across the sky, about a hundred horsemen could be seen galloping toward them from the distance. Commander Xiao kept his eyes on them as he addressed the group. "You’ve all performed exceptionally. You can be selected for the City Army! Food and lodging will be given to you as a priority!"

In times of war, resources were prioritized for the strong. No one could object to that.

A thought struck Hee Lingchuan. "Can we join the Great Wind Army?"

As soon as he said it, all the new recruits turned to look at Commander Xiao, clearly very interested in the answer.

A smile touched Commander Xiao’s lips. "In your dreams. You’re not qualified yet!"

There was still a deep chasm between Panlong City’s Defense Army and the Great Wind Army that roamed the Wilderness.

Everyone was a bit disappointed. Another Great Wind Army cavalryman said, "Defending the city is safe. What’s wrong with that? When the Great Wind Army rides out, it’s always into danger."

Despite his words, his expression was quite proud.

Another newcomer asked, "When the time comes, will someone teach us how to kill our enemies?"

"Of course."

Commander Xiao added, "There’s a joint drill every ninety days. If you’re lucky, you might even get to see the Red General teach in person."

The Red General!

He didn’t even need to be present; the mere mention of his name was enough to boost morale.

Amidst everyone’s shocked gazes, he gave his blade a flourish. "My Sword Technique was personally guided by the Red General himself!"

Hee Lingchuan could hear the smug pride in his voice.

’Just by receiving some guidance from the Red General, he was able to develop such a sharp, lethal Sword Technique?’

Then, the hundred-odd fast riders from the other side charged over.

Commander Xiao didn’t raise his blade. Instead, he ordered everyone to widen the opening in the cart barricade.

They were friendlies.

After riding up the slope, the hundred-plus men dismounted and helped the others tighten the cart formation, arranging them into three rows, front to back, before weaving themselves in to await the enemy.

As soon as they arrived, Hee Lingchuan was hit by a foul wind—the thick stench of blood. He then noticed that most of the men were covered in bloodstains and wounds.

The leading general high-fived Commander Xiao. Commander Xiao laughed. "To think you actually escaped back here alive. Looks like the Baling People didn’t get a proper meal today!"

The general, still catching his breath, replied, "Don’t even think about stealing the credit! It won’t be that easy! The seven hundred men from the Baling Army chasing us are a small detachment under Zuo Qin."

"Are there any more civilians behind you?"

"The ones who are still alive, we’ve herded them all back. We lost six of our brothers."

The subtext of the first half of that sentence was chilling. But this was a battlefield, and civilians were just cannon fodder.

Hee Lingchuan had experienced the Sandstorm Season. Most of the Resentful Souls that emerged from the Pool Well had been dressed as civilians.

Those who died while fleeing were silently buried in the Wilderness, not even counted in the casualty statistics.

Clearly, the Great Wind Army had grown accustomed to such tragedies in the Mortal World. While a few of them were joking around, the enemy charged into the gorge.

The thundering of hooves grew louder, revealing a massive, dense pack of brightly armored soldiers.

Hee Lingchuan glanced behind him. Even with the reinforcements that had just arrived, they still only numbered a little over a hundred men. Their forces were less than one-seventh the size of the enemy’s.

However, the enemy only had about two hundred cavalry. The rest were infantry who, upon getting close, lowered their halberd heads and tried to get past the cart barricade.

Horses couldn’t cross, but men could jump.

As they drew near, Commander Xiao waved his hand, and a volley of arrows rained down from the top of the slope and the trees.

After the friendly forces arrived, he had dispatched more men to take up bows, increasing the number of archers to eleven.

Eleven men, sixteen arrows.

A few of them were armed with crossbows, which could fire two bolts in succession.

Sunx Prefect’s chests were full of fletched arrows, so they used them generously.

But against seven hundred heavily armored enemy soldiers, this volley was still too thin to provide effective suppressive fire.

At this moment, Hee Lingchuan dearly missed the giant crossbows and cannons on the walls of Panlong City. ’Now that was satisfying to fire, and the destructive power was off the charts.’

Commander Xiao bellowed, "Charge! Leave none of them alive!"

The Great Wind Army roared in unison and charged to meet the enemy.

A faint yellow glow erupted from their bodies—

Commander Xiao had activated the Society Command, buffing the soldiers under his command.

By his calculation, each of them would have to fight at least seven enemies. Any extra bit of help would reduce the pressure.

The Baling Army soldiers opposite them, however, glowed with a pale green light.

This indicated that the enemy Military General’s rank was lower than Commander Xiao’s, or that their squad’s morale was not as high as the Great Wind Army’s. But no matter how good the Society Command was, it was only a buff. The true outcome of the battle would still depend on the foundational combat strength of both sides.

Any buff applied to zero is still zero. Hee Lingchuan had learned his basic math well.

The Society Command had miraculous effects on the battlefield, but it wasn’t the sole variable that decided the outcome. Countless battles throughout history had proven this point, which was why the Baling Army faced the Great Wind Army behind the barricade without any fear.

In the blink of an eye, the two armies clashed.

Commander Xiao stood directly behind the first row of the cart barricade, the first to face the enemy head-on. If the Baling Army was a tide of Spear Halberds, then he was the silent, unyielding rock that brutally withstood the first wave of the assault.

Hee Lingchuan stood by his side, slashing at an enemy who lunged forward.

This was his first time experiencing the miraculous power of the Society Command. The most direct sensation was that he felt stronger and his movements were more agile. He took an evasive step forward and leaped much farther than usual, as if his feet had springs attached, which gave him a bit of a shock.