Chapter 144: Bloody Battle on the Grassland

…

Zhou Han turned his head and looked back intently, only to see Helian Bo, with his distinct appearance, holding a strong bow. He drew the arrow, aimed, and pointed it straight at Zhou Han.

“Scatter to lure the enemy, and try to spread out this large group of enemies as much as possible,” Zhou Han shouted in a low, muffled voice. The other four scouts immediately steered their warhorses and scattered to both sides.

Scouts had always been important in the army, and various resources were prioritized for the scout squad. For example, when it came to warhorses, scouts had the privilege of choosing first. It could be said that the warhorses of some elite scouts were almost as good as those of mid-level generals.

The horse Zhou Han was riding was a Green Cong Horse, a rare Elementary-stage Black Iron fine horse. Its original owner was Helian Bo, who was currently behind them with a face darkened by anger.

Back in the Canyon, Helian Bo had escaped by climbing directly over the cliff, leaving the Green Cong Horse to be captured by the Black Flag Regiment. Lei Qing then let Zhou Han tame it.

Raven Zhou Han was the foremost scout in the army, even more skilled than Ghost Wolf Scott, who had once caused Lei Qing to suffer a great loss. On one hand, Lei Qing upheld the priority of scouts; on the other hand, he certainly had the intention of recruiting Zhou Han into his ranks.

It might sound a bit unkind, but it was a fact that Lei Qing had few soldiers and generals under his command, so it was only natural for him to covet rare experts. Besides, there was an abundance of talent under Uncle Xiahou; one more Zhou Han wouldn’t make much difference, and one less wouldn’t matter either.

At most, after taking Zhou Han, he could just give Uncle Xiahou some compensation.

With the explosive speed of the Green Cong Horse, Zhou Han always maintained some initiative. Looking back and seeing Helian Bo shoot an arrow, he immediately squeezed his horse’s sides, causing the Green Cong Horse’s speed to increase sharply again, leaving the arrow to land several yards behind its buttocks.

At such a long distance, the warhorse under Zhou Han was impressive. Even if Helian Bo’s archery was outstanding, it was quite difficult to kill Raven Zhou Han. Instead, Zhou Han shot crossbow bolts backward one after another, killing several Blood Wolf Soldiers. He also kept shouting insults and mocking Yuwen Hu.

This naturally made Butcher Yuwen Hu’s temper even more explosive. He roared repeatedly, driving the Blood Wolf Soldiers to kill Zhou Han.

In this chase, both sides advanced at full speed. Gradually, after the time it took to burn an incense stick, differences appeared. The enemy soldiers were of mixed quality, and their warhorses varied from good to bad. The ones with good horses could still firmly keep up with Yuwen Hu and the others, but those with worse horses had fallen behind. As for the Horse Bandits, only a few dozen could keep up.

Looking down from the sky, one could see that the cavalry, originally like a tide, had now formed a long, snake-like formation, stretched out sparsely over several miles.

The more he chased, the more chilled Helian Bo felt. If this continued, his men and horses would be scattered. Just gathering the soldiers would take a lot of effort. What would he use to attack Yehe Town then?

Although he knew Yuwen Hu was in a frenzy, Helian Bo still steered his horse closer and shouted, “Commander Hu, chasing like this isn’t a solution. Our men are about to scatter.”

“Get lost!” Butcher Yuwen Hu wielded a long-handled giant axe. In his rage and excitement, he was in a manic state. Annoyed by Helian Bo coming to bother him, he immediately swung his axe at him.

Fortunately, Helian Bo was no novice. In his shock, he flicked his curved saber and leaned back. The axe blade numbed his arm and whistled dangerously past his head, its sharp edge severing a few of his loose long hairs.

Terrified, he dared not advise him anymore. He slowed his horse down and moved away from the mad Butcher Yuwen Hu.

“Haha, you trash.” After taking that swing, Yuwen Hu didn’t bother with Helian Bo anymore. He continued to ride forward, roaring like a tiger, and said violently, “Boys, follow me and kill!”

“Howl! Howl!” The Blood Wolf Soldiers had their blood boiling, their eyes red as they chased straight after him.

But Yuwen Hu didn’t completely ignore Helian Bo’s words. After getting a few javelins from his underlings, he slammed his legs hard against his horse’s belly. In pain, the warhorse let out a high-pitched neigh. Without any pity, he fr injected Fighting Qi into his equally impressive warhorse.

That black warhorse acted as if it had been stimulated to madness and began to sprint wildly. The original distance of several dozen yards from Zhou Han was rapidly closing.

Zhou Han shot a crossbow bolt backward and was shocked to see this. He hurriedly urged the Green Cong Horse to speed up as well. But he was, after all, different from Yuwen Hu; he didn’t dare to cruelly destroy his beloved warhorse.

In this chase, it wasn’t long before the two had pulled the main group more than a mile away. But the distance between Zhou Han and Yuwen Hu was only ten yards.

The black horse under Yuwen Hu was already sweating blood. This wasn’t because it was a legendary Blood-Sweating Horse. It was because the warhorse had endured too much abuse from Fighting Qi, and the blood vessels inside its body had burst. That warhorse was probably not long for this world.

But Yuwen Hu showed no sign of stopping. He directly stabbed the horse’s buttocks hard with a javelin, causing fresh blood to spurt. The black horse, already exceeding its limit, suddenly increased its speed again.

In seven or eight breaths, the distance was closed to seven or eight yards. Zhou Han shot a crossbow bolt backward and suddenly felt a sense of danger rise within him. Just as he was about to disregard the Green Cong Horse’s life and urge it to speed up again…

Butcher Yuwen Hu displayed his power and dominance at that moment. His naked, incredibly muscular arm swung violently. The javelin, infused with metal-attribute Fighting Qi, was like a thunderbolt, turning into a golden, fierce rainbow. The air rubbed violently against the javelin’s Fighting Qi in that instant, emitting a piercing shriek.

Zhou Han was terrified. Hearing the amazing shriek coming from behind, he dared not hesitate a moment. He pushed hard against the stirrups with his legs and, using the horse’s forward momentum, flew forward like a large bird.

“Pfft.”

The javelin hit the Green Cong Horse, piercing directly through its body. The fine horse, which had been perfectly fine, let out a mournful cry, collapsed, and tumbled forward for several yards due to inertia.

Zhou Han felt his heart ache intensely. He frantically stirred the Fighting Qi within him again. He knew that once his warhorse died, his own life would truly be in danger.

But before dying, every moment he could delay counted. He landed lightly and flexibly like a bird, his feet tapping rapidly on the ground. He streaked out a faint shadow, rushing forward constantly. In a very short time, the speed he burst out with was almost as fast as the Green Cong Horse at its peak. In the knee-deep grass, his body was like a black shadow, making it hard for others to see clearly. The title of Raven was fully displayed at this moment. Exceptional body techniques and speed were the fundamentals for a scout to track or escape.

Yuwen Hu hated this troublesome expert to the core. But just as he wanted to drive his warhorse to chase and kill again, the horse under him could no longer bear the burden. It let out a mournful neigh, collapsed, and fell to the ground.

After flipping to the ground, a fierce light flashed in Yuwen Hu’s eyes. He savagely kicked and smashed the head of the struggling warhorse, cursing it as trash. He did not chase on foot but stood there waiting for his men. Firstly, he was not good at body techniques, and carrying a long-handled giant axe, it wouldn’t be easy to catch up with Raven Zhou Han.

Secondly, human endurance was far inferior to that of a horse. Even though Zhou Han had burst out at top speed in a short time, such explosive speed would be impressive if it lasted for the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

In this vast prairie, trying to escape the pursuit of the Blood Wolf Soldiers was simply a delusion. It could be said that without a horse, this Zhou Han was as good as dead.

Not long after, Helian Bo, Zong Wuji, and some Blood Wolf Soldiers arrived. Seeing the Green Cong Horse skewered like a candied hawthorn, he secretly felt a pain in his heart but didn’t dare question Yuwen Hu.

“Zong Wuji, I heard you are good at tracking and killing enemies. Take fifty elite Blood Wolf Soldiers and kill that kid. He doesn’t have a warhorse, so he can’t run far. If you don’t bring back his head, just die out there and don’t come back.” Butcher Yuwen Hu seemed to have cooled down a bit, and his mind regained some clarity.

Zong Wuji cursed inwardly when he heard this. Damn it, you order me around so easily? Am I your subordinate? However, surrounded by elite Blood Wolf Soldiers and being no match for Yuwen Hu himself, he had no choice but to force himself to agree, “Don’t worry, Commander Hu. A mere Mid-stage Bronze scout kid without a warhorse will be easy to catch.”

Immediately, Zong Wuji led fifty elite Blood Wolf Soldiers to track and kill him. Indeed, with his ability, it was almost impossible for Zhou Han to escape in such a situation.

Just a few hours later, Zong Wuji and his men caught up with Zhou Han. But Zong Wuji was a narrow-minded man who sought revenge for the smallest grievance. He couldn’t beat Yuwen Hu and had to endure it, so he vented his anger on these elite Blood Wolf Soldiers.

The Blood Wolf Soldiers who managed to keep riding until the end were the elite of the elite. Among these fifty men, almost every one was Black Iron-rank. After catching up with Zhou Han, Zong Wuji devised a plan, claiming he wanted to capture Zhou Han alive for the Commander to eat his heart. After setting an encirclement, he deliberately let a small group of seven or eight Blood Wolf Soldiers catch up to Zhou Han first.

Zhou Han’s abilities were truly remarkable. Knowing he was bound to die, he used every trick in the book, clean or dirty. After paying the price of severe injuries, he actually slaughtered all seven or eight elite soldiers.

“What a powerful guy, everyone be careful.” Zong Wuji shouted pretentiously, then began to toy with Zhou Han like a cat playing with a mouse.

From time to time, he sent one or two Blood Wolf Soldiers to their deaths, partly for revenge and partly to satisfy his somewhat twisted psychology. What he liked most was seeing the prey reveal expressions of despair, breakdown, helplessness, and fear under his pursuit. He wanted to see when this kid would break down.

But he obviously played too much, forgot the time, and underestimated Zhou Han’s willpower. This game lasted until the sky began to brighten the next day. Zhou Han, nearly dead, heard the faint sound of dozens of warhorses in the distance. With his last bit of strength, he let out a sharp cry for help.

…