After returning to the realm of Qingming, Wei Yuan led the youths back to the new city. The dead were buried outside the city, and the wounded were treated. Everything was back on track.

In this battle, out of the 30,000 youngsters who had only just entered the blood-tempering stage, two hundred died and over a hundred were wounded. There were more deaths than injuries. On the other hand, the 10,000 northern frontier iron cavalry were routed, with survivors numbering fewer than a thousand. Moreover, these lucky survivors would never be fit for battle again.

Before the battle, it was unlikely anyone besides Wei Yuan could have imagined such a result. Yue Jinshan only had 60,000 elite cavalrymen in total, yet he had never suffered a major defeat in his life. How could he have anticipated that he would lose a whopping 10,000 men during the probing attack to test Qingming’s strength? It was a loss heavier than any previous major battle he had fought.

It was like a lone wolf trying to take a bite out of its prey to test the toughness of its flesh, only to have all of its teeth shattered in the process.

To prepare for this battle, Wei Yuan had studied every recorded battle of the Northern Frontier Cavalry, gathered all available intelligence, and even personally gone undercover to observe them covertly.

The training the youngsters had undergone was entirely focused on faster reloading and greater accuracy. Their guns and ammo sticks[1] had also undergone numerous improvements until the youngsters could finally perform a single, smooth reload from start to finish. 

Wei Yuan then conducted multiple simulations with his own cavalry, ultimately enabling the youngsters to empty all five of their reserve ammunition within the brief moments between the cavalry entering the range and charging right up...