The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS

Standing atop the city wall, Qing Yu gazed at the distant twinkling lights with anticipation in his eyes.

The army of Jashu, 150,000 strong, had arrived outside Feiyun Pass that afternoon.

Due to their prolonged forced march, the troops were exhausted, and their horses were weary, which was not conducive to battle. Therefore, they camped about twenty li outside Feiyun Pass to await the dawn.

"Who would have thought that these grassland people could build a camp? I thought they only knew how to pitch tents," Qing Yu murmured with a hint of surprise.

The grassland people were nomadic tribesmen, who normally lived in large tents. The fact that they could build a camp somewhat changed Qing Yu's impression of them.

"The people from Golden Wolf Han Court have been battling with our dynasty for many years," Xu Tiecheng said from the side. "They have copied some of the Central Plains' military tactics and strategies. This camp is not the only thing they have learned."

"Is that so?" Qing Yu's lips curled into a sly smile, "Have they also learned about the Central Plains' methods of nocturnal raids?"

"Let's carry out the night attack this evening. The enemy has just rushed their march and are wearied, which makes it the perfect time for a night raid."

Upon hearing this, Xu Tiecheng quickly interjected, "Daoist, please wait. We are aware of the disadvantages of a forced march, and so is the enemy. I do not believe Jashu would simply let us have our way."

Night raids and counter-night raids were always essential strategies in ancient warfare. While a night raid could yield an unexpected and lethal impact, if it were anticipated, it could easily lead to being trapped by the enemy.

"No need to worry. Whether the enemy has tricks up their sleeve or not, it suits me just fine."

Qing Yu turned and ordered, "Gu Chen, release the Water Corpses. Let's see how the grassland people handle their capabilities tonight."

Regardless of whether the night raid was anticipated, the pitch-black night was exceptionally well-suited for the Water Corpses' attack. In the darkness, even the fierce-natured grassland people would inevitably be stricken with terror upon encountering such eerie creatures as Water Corpses.

And in a large-scale war, once a considerable number of soldiers were gripped by fear, the outcome of the battle was essentially sealed.

Qing Yu did not understand the military tactics of ancient times, but he knew how to exploit an individual's weaknesses.

Jashu might have been contemplating playing into the strategy, but they would never expect that Qing Yu did not care whether the night raid was foreseen or not.

"Daoist," Gu Chen said with a bitter smile, "we have never controlled so many Water Corpses all at once, and it seems we overlooked the fact that there is a limited number of people in the Water Department capable of controlling them."

Water Corpses were not like the zombies in a biohazard crisis; they had no autonomous movement. Zombies would chase after human scent, but Water Corpses without manipulation were no different from corpses.

Thus, the manipulators were the most crucial link.

And within Feiyun Pass, there were only a few hundred in the Water Department with the skills in Circulating Water Energy, even if each person controlled twenty Water Corpses, they could manipulate less than twenty thousand in total.

It was impossible to utilize all of them in one go.

"It doesn't matter. Just control as many as you can. If it becomes too much during the fight, use the 'Defiled Blood Sword,'" Qing Yu said casually.

After all, Hidden Dragon was the main event; the Water Corpses were merely an addition.

"Yes." Gu Chen immediately went to prepare.

"Daoist, about these Water Corpses you mentioned..." Xu Tiecheng asked, hesitating.

As the general stationed at Feiyun Pass, he knew what the underground convicts and captives were used for, but he did not know what they ultimately became.

"Water Corpses", the term itself didn't sound like anything associated with the Righteous Sect.

Xu Tiecheng had long been psychologically prepared. After all, having spent a large number of death row inmates and prisoners, how could it be anything but unorthodox?

"The term 'Water Corpses' is what Gu Chen and others call them, but if you ask me, I actually think 'Water Ghosts' is more apt."

Qing Yu looked up at the sky, which was dark and windy tonight. "The weather tonight is really quite good. In such darkness where you can't see your fingers in front of you, there's no need to worry about the matter of the Water Corpses leaking out."

The "Water Soul Formation" could be considered a kind of Corpse Refining Technique. Conducting corpse refinement on such a large scale would undoubtedly attract all sorts of criticism from the outside world if it got out.

The darkness of the night served to perfectly conceal the abnormalities of those Water Corpses. All that was left was to set them ablaze after the battle, turning any trace of Water Corpses or human corpses to dust.

The more Xu Tiecheng heard Qing Yu say, the stronger his premonition became.

Considering the Daoist's current power and status in Northern Zhou, the fact that he needed the cover of darkness made it clear how unorthodox the so-called Water Corpses must be.

But when Xu Tiecheng thought about the grassland people encountering these supernatural Water Corpses, he felt a degree of anticipation.

After dealing with the grassland people at the border for so many years, Xu Tiecheng's dislike and hatred for them had penetrated deep into his bones. If he had the chance to cause substantial death and injury among the grassland people, he felt he could be so happy that he might wear a woman's dress and dance a provocative dance from the Western Regions.

While he was thinking, Xu Tiecheng saw some wobbly figures appearing in the distance on the ground.

"Are those the Water Corpses?" Xu Tiecheng muttered to himself.

The exceptional eyesight of a True Core Realm Martial Artist allowed Xu Tiecheng to clearly see those unsteady figures in the darkness.

Their limbs were limp and powerless, as if they'd been stripped of their bones, staggering towards the distant Wolf Barbarian Camp.

"Their speed is a weakness," Qing Yu said to himself.

Water Corpses, or Water Ghosts as they might be called, had all their muscles and most organs turned into Water Souls, with only their skin and bone structure and a few other organs remaining.

This resulted in the Water Ghosts being somewhat slower than the average person. They could surpass their limits in short bursts of speed, but maintaining such bursts was difficult.

However, luckily there were people from the Earth Department who had dug tunnels, allowing these Water Ghosts to approach the enemy camp through them.

Otherwise, a single volley of archery could cause a lot of Water Ghosts to fall.

"It really is a counter night attack, and no sentry signals even with Water Ghosts at the door," Qing Yu chuckled as he looked at the endless stretch of tents on the ground.

They were so close, and to say the enemy hadn't noticed the attack yet would be too far-fetched. Even someone with no military expertise like himself could tell it was a ruse.

In fact, the people on the other side were also somewhat annoyed.

We've already noticed your night attack, so why are you moving so slowly?

Typical night raids involved cavalry charges, skirmishing, setting a fire, and then retreating quickly. With the speed of cavalry, such a distance would be covered in an instant.

If it had been Northern Zhou cavalry charging, they would already be surrounded by enemy forces. But unfortunately, these Water Ghosts moved even slower than average humans, let alone infantry, and far more so than cavalry.

As the leader of the tribal alliance, Jashu had been waiting a long time tonight, finally seeing the enemy forces approach.

Thinking that these Water Ghosts were moving so slowly, they must have sensed something was amiss, Jashu ordered decisively, "Attack and annihilate all these Central Plains people."

"Master Jashu, there's something wrong with these Central Plains people," the Old Shaman, Alfang, quickly said.

"Something wrong? Do you think I can't see that?" Jashu said dismissively, "Whatever tricks they have, nearly twenty thousand men aren't false. I want to chop off their heads, cast those human head towers like the Central Plains people do, and show the Central Plains people the might of the Longevity Sky People."