NOVEL NEXT Ch. 15
Chapter 15: Cheng Yaojin
On the horizon, a mass of black clouds pressed down toward the battlefield.
At first, the soldiers locked in combat had yet to notice anything amiss—until the earth began to tremble.
The sound of iron hooves rolled like muffled thunder, and only then did someone finally turn their head in alarm.
“What is that?”
A tide of black-armored cavalry surged forth.
Their dark armor gleamed with a chilling glint beneath the sunlight.
Eight thousand iron riders formed a single, seamless wave—like a black cloud pouring down from the edge of the sky.
Their formation was as tight as forged steel; not a man nor horse fell out of line during the charge, their uniformity striking terror into the heart.
The battle cries across the field faltered for a moment.
The soldiers of the Kuqa Army froze in confusion, even those of the Luntai Army stared in astonishment—they had never seen such a force before.
Only a few veteran soldiers from the Prefecture City Army had their pupils contract sharply, their hands trembling upon their weapons.
“It’s the Black-Armored Army... but how can there be so many of them?”
The Kuqa General, who had been locked in fierce combat with Qin Wei and Yan Chen, abruptly turned his head, his blood-colored aura flickering.
His gaze fixed rigidly on that oncoming host of black-armored cavalry, his heart quaking violently.
As a Divine Power Realm expert, he could naturally sense the sheer terror emanating from that army.
The blood and qi of eight thousand riders faintly linked together—their formation yet to fully deploy, yet its overwhelming might already revealed!
“Damn it...” The Kuqa General gritted his teeth, rapidly weighing his options.
If it were only the Prefecture City Army and the Luntai Army, he could still contend with them by relying on the strength of his battle formation.
But this suddenly appearing Black-Armored Army had become the greatest variable!
Qin Wei keenly noticed the Kuqa General’s momentary distraction, his eyes flashing with brilliance.
“A good opportunity!”
Though he did not know why the Black-Armored Army had suddenly reinforced them, their armor pattern clearly marked them as allies!
At that thought, Qin Wei’s sword strikes grew fierce.
Nine crimson sword shadows coiled toward the Kuqa General’s throat like venomous serpents.
Beside him, Yan Chen also caught on.
He let out a long roar, gathering the Prefecture City Army’s formation power madly.
The crimson light on his blade swelled three zhang long, slashing viciously toward the Kuqa General’s waist.
“Old thief, take my blade!”
The Kuqa General hastily regained his focus, his blood-colored aura barely blocking their attacks, yet the force still drove him back several steps.
Blood seeped from the corner of his lips.
Shock and fury surged within him—had these two gone mad?
Just then, the Black-Armored Army pierced into the Kuqa Army’s flank like a spearhead.
“Boom—!”
The charge of eight thousand iron riders was like a collapsing mountain, a crashing tidal wave.
The foremost shield line of the Kuqa Army had only just been raised before it was cleaved apart by the Black-Armored Army’s Xuanhua Axes.
Wherever the cavalry swept, the Kuqa soldiers fell like cut straw; their formation was torn open by a gap dozens of zhang wide in an instant.
The Black-Armored Army’s momentum was lightning-fast.
Within moments, they had torn into the very heart of the Kuqa ranks.
Even more terrifying, their military formation took shape naturally in the midst of the charge.
The blood and qi of eight thousand cavalry converged into a colossal black tiger phantom.
Wherever the phantom roared past, the Kuqa battle formation shattered like paper.
In the center of the Prefecture City Army’s formation, Jiang Zhaoming stood upon the high command platform, his heart pounding like a drum.
His gaze locked firmly onto that unstoppable tide of black armor—especially the burly figure at its forefront.
“It’s now...” Jiang Zhaoming closed his eyes, focusing his mind as his heart called out silently.
In the distance, that burly figure seemed to sense something and suddenly lifted his head.
A dazzling light burst forth from beneath his mask as he raised his Xuanhua Axe high.
“Black-Armored Army, follow me—kill!”
“Roar!”
Eight thousand riders bellowed in unison, their formation power surging madly into that burly man’s body.
A black aura billowed around him, his strength climbing sharply—within moments, he broke through the early stage of the Divine Power Realm, straight into mid-stage perfection!
The Kuqa General, still engaged with Qin Wei and the others, suddenly felt his hair stand on end.
He turned sharply—only to see a streak of black lightning hurtling straight toward him!
“Old dog, take my axe!”
The strike came too fast.
The Kuqa General barely managed to gather his blood aura upon his left arm to block before the pitch-black Xuanhua Axe came crashing down.
“Boom—!”
With a thunderous explosion, the armor on his left arm shattered to pieces.
He grunted, blasted backward by the impact, tumbling thrice in the air before barely regaining his footing.
When he landed, his left arm was a mangled mess of flesh and blood—but the ferocity in his eyes only deepened.
“Well done, Black-Armored General!” The Kuqa General grinned viciously, wiping the blood from his lips.
“But if you wish to kill me, you’re still far from it!”
His right hand suddenly formed a strange seal.
The blood mist upon the battlefield gathered toward him like a living thing.
The lifeblood of fallen soldiers was forcibly drawn into him, condensing at his severed arm into a hideous blood-colored limb.
“This general does not slay nameless men.
Black-Armored General—report your name.”
Qin Wei, Yan Chen, and Ma Fei all turned toward the Black-Armored General, curious to know who he was.
The general raised his Xuanhua Axe and said, word by word, “Cheng Yaojin.”
“A fine Cheng Yaojin! Let me slay you first!”
The Kuqa General roared.
The new blood arm suddenly swelled threefold, coiling toward Cheng Yaojin’s throat like a serpent.
Qin Wei, Yan Chen, and Ma Fei charged forward almost simultaneously.
Their three weapons wove a deadly net—but the Kuqa General’s blood arm swept once, knocking all three blades aside.
The strike did not lose momentum, the five blood-red fingers hooking straight toward Cheng Yaojin’s heart!
At that critical moment, Cheng Yaojin suddenly abandoned his axe and bent backward.
The blood hand scraped past his chestplate, striking sparks against his armor.
Seeing this, all thought the Kuqa General was about to fight to the death.
Jiang Zhaoming, too, was ready to issue the beheading order at any instant.
The Kuqa General roared, biting the tip of his tongue and spraying a mouthful of blood essence.
The blood mist transformed midair into hundreds of blood needles, raining down upon the three men.
Cheng Yaojin spun his axe in a circular sweep, black mist forming a vortex that shredded the needles to dust—but the Kuqa General seized the chance to leap into the air.
“Full retreat—back to the city!”
At his furious shout, the remnants of the Kuqa Army abruptly shifted formation.
Their once-broken ranks reconnected, forming a blood-colored barrier between the battlefield and the city gates.
The Kuqa General moved like lightning, bounding toward the city walls in a few quick leaps.
“No need to pursue,” Jiang Zhaoming’s voice came from the rear.
The generals turned back to see him already riding to the front.
Jiang Zhaoming gazed at the struggling Kuqa soldiers and shook his head.
“The Kuqa Army will rely on the city walls to defend. A forced assault will only bring needless deaths.”
Qin Wei sheathed his sword reluctantly.
“A pity—just a little more, and we’d have had him.”
Yan Chen frowned as he stared at the crimson formation rising atop the city walls.
“This Kuqa formation is truly strange. Even in defeat, it still maintains such a defense.”
Watching the Kuqa Army withdraw into the city, Ma Fei asked in puzzlement,
“Your Highness, why not press the attack? Even if we can’t slay that Kuqa old fox, we could at least cripple their strength.”
Feeling the doubtful gazes around him, Jiang Zhaoming said, “Tell me—if we were to slaughter every Kuqa soldier here, how many of our own would fall?”
At his words, everyone fell silent, knowing the number would not be small—yet doubt still lingered.
Killing the enemy might mean great losses, even among civilians.
But letting the Kuqa Army retreat into the city—there were even more civilians there.
Once the army stormed in, the deaths would multiply.
“I understand what you are thinking,” Jiang Zhaoming continued.
“But tell me—are our enemies truly these Kuqa soldiers before us, or are they the officials and generals behind them?”
He raised his hand and pointed toward the other side of the battlefield.
Following his gesture, they saw dozens of ordinary Kuqa soldiers forming a shield wall to cover their comrades’ retreat.
They were drenched in blood, yet still held their shields firm, buying precious moments for their fellows.
What chilled the heart most were their eyes—not hatred, but deep confusion and fear.
Each time the city gate creaked open behind them, they would instinctively glance back, eyes filled with desperate longing for survival.
“Do you see it clearly now?”
Jiang Zhaoming’s voice softened.
“The arrows we shoot pierce the flesh of Anxi’s sons; the blades we swing cut down the pillars of countless families.”
Yan Chen drew a deep breath, then turned and shouted, “Pass the order! Cease firing! Leave the Kuqa rearguard a path to live!”
The command spread layer by layer, and the rain of arrows gradually subsided.
The Kuqa soldiers first stared in disbelief—then, as though granted amnesty, they helped their wounded comrades retreat toward the gates.
Jiang Zhaoming looked back at his troops and said in a calm but steady voice, “Brave warriors, you have shed enough blood. The battle that follows—leave it to your prince.”