The western regions were a lawless frontier where horse bandits had long run rampant.

An unassuming-looking caravan set out from the seat of Yuyang of Zhao. Just half a month into their journey and thousands of li on the road, they had encountered four separate official troops blocking their path for inspection—and attempting to confiscate their entire cargo on three occasions—and six horse bandit raids along the way, including one chaotic melee involving multiple horse bandit groups, official troops, and a mysterious merchant caravan. It was only after enduring all these hardships that they finally made it to Qingming.

Few in the caravan were privy to the truth of the mission, so to the vast majority of its members, this was a journey steeped in legend. Had they not seen it with their own eyes and experienced it firsthand, who would have believed that the horse bandits of the Shattered Realm would be so numerous, so well-trained, so well-equipped, so coordinated, and so well-versed in military strategy?

Moreover, the horse bandits of the western regions had peculiar tastes and strange habits. Wherever the official troops appeared, the horse bandits were sure to follow, which naturally led to a three-way battle. Adhering to the principle of self-preservation, the caravan sought only to protect itself and avoid combat as much as possible. As long as they maintained a defensive posture, the official troops and horse bandits were often too busy fighting each other to pay them any mind.

In the very first encounter, the horse bandits had routed the official troops. This was bad enough, but the subsequent groups of horse bandits were only more ferocious...