Chapter 157: Duel Before the Formation

Upon hearing this, the people of the Iron Cavalry Regiment immediately burst into a chorus of boos. Shentu Xue rode her horse forward directly, raising a soft whip covered with ferocious barbs, and shouted sharply, “Yuwen Di, are you even a man? Do you still have it down there? Our Boss wants to duel you because he thinks highly of you. Otherwise, I, Shentu Xue, will play a few moves with you.”

“Shrew Shentu Xue, you are far from qualified to play with my Boss.” Blood Wolf Yuwen Di naturally would not pay attention to Shentu Xue’s clamoring; instead, another rider rode out from beside him. He had a burly physique and a face full of a large beard. Several javelins hung on his back, and he held a pitch-black long spear in his hand. He pointed it at Shentu Xue from a distance and cursed, “With your kind of quality, you are only fit to kneel down and lick my toes, Batu.”

This shouting match between the crowds was the prelude to the battle between the two armies. Usually, they would curse at each other for a while, using various sarcasm and mockery, or showing off their heroic spirit, to boost their own morale and suppress the enemy’s prestige.

Such an insult to Shentu Xue immediately made the generals of the Iron Cavalry Regiment curse in anger. Although Shentu Xue had a somewhat manly personality, she was the only woman among the high-level members of the Iron Cavalry Regiment, so everyone tended to be protective of her.

Lei Qing was the fuse and half the protagonist of this battle. At a time like this, he naturally could not shrink back and let his brothers stand at the front. He immediately clamped his legs against his horse’s belly, rode Wuzhui out from the crowd, and waved his Silver Snake spear in a magnificent flourish. He circulated his Fighting Qi and said coldly with a sneer, “So you are Batu, one of the Prairie Twin Dogs? Looking at your rough and thick appearance, turns out you are tough on the outside but soft on the inside? Usually, you’re used to acting like a dog in your tribe and licking your female master’s toes, right? Seeing my Sister Shentu looking like a cool and elegant queen, you couldn’t hold back your itch and wanted to bow down and worship her, begging for comfort? If you have needs, just say so. Kneel down and kowtow a few times; maybe Sister Shentu will see your sincerity and reward you with a couple of kicks or a couple of whip lashes.”

“You…” The face of Greedy Wolf Batu, one of the Prairie Twin Wolves, turned purple with rage. He roared, stabbed by Lei Qing’s continuous verbal arrows until he was speechless.

Cursing at the formation had always been Lei Qing’s strong point. Moreover, his words were vicious and had no bottom line.

“Giggle, Little Lei, you’re right. With my years of experience in judging people, this Batu looks rough on the outside, but he definitely has the tendencies of a despicable slave on the inside. Otherwise, why would he be named Greedy Dog?” Shentu Xue sat on her horse, laughing so hard her body trembled. “But you got one thing wrong. Look at his appearance, ugly and dirty. Even if he kowtowed to me a hundred times, I wouldn’t step on him with my foot, lest I dirty my fragrant feet.”

“Hahaha.” A series of explosive laughter erupted from the Iron Cavalry Regiment.

Batu was not good at verbal sparring. He was made miserable by the duo’s back-and-forth taunting, his face twisted. He prepared to charge forward and fight to vent his humiliation.

“Batu, stand still.” Yuwen Di shouted in a deep voice, “Don’t fall for the enemy’s trick. We prairie men have bold and straightforward temperaments. If we compete in verbal skills with these southerners, naturally we can’t win. However, we prairie men are heroic and hot-blooded; we only speak with the weapons in our hands.”

“Roar!” The morale of the Blood Wolf Army, which had been slightly low, was stirred up by Yuwen Di. They felt a sense of identification, and their blood began to boil. They wished they could immediately charge forward and fight the enemy fiercely.

“What prairie men? You are nothing more than a group of uncivilized people who only know how to ride horses, shoot arrows, and plot sneak attacks.” Mad Blade Xiahou Huan used his Fighting Qi to spread his voice outwards continuously. “In the world, only the men of the Northwest have iron bones; we are good at fighting and fear neither death nor life. Brothers, isn’t that right?”

“Yes!” Most of the members of the Iron Cavalry Regiment came from the Northwest. Hearing this, they roared in unison, and their morale soared.

Just as both sides were rubbing their fists and palms, preparing to fight a real battle, dozens of warhorses galloped over from a distance. Although it was a wave of warhorses, they were clearly two groups of people from different factions.

The group on the left consisted of more than ten riders. They wore dark yellow robes embroidered with complex and mysterious patterns. On their left chests, there was a dark red hexagram formation. Their aura was imposing. The group on the right wore black leather armor, with white capes fluttering behind them. A giant eagle spreading its wings was embroidered on the capes.

“Everyone, stop.” The leaders of the two groups that arrived each shouted. The voice did not sound loud, but it transmitted continuously, ringing in people’s ears and shocking their hearts.

Clearly, the newcomers were very strong and full of confidence. A mere few dozen riders charged into the standoff between thousands of troops, completely fearless, as if they were entering an uninhabited land.

“People from the Eternal Life Palace and people from the Royal Court’s Sacred Eagle.” Shentu Xue whispered when she saw Lei Qing looking confused.

Lei Qing suddenly realized, thinking to himself that no wonder these two groups were so arrogant, ignoring Yuwen Di and Xiahou Huan, and barging straight in.

“Mad Blade Xiahou Huan of the Iron Cavalry Regiment respectfully welcomes the arrival of the envoy from the Eternal Life Palace.” Xiahou Huan’s expression remained unchanged, as if he had known this scene would happen today. He sat on his horse and cupped his hands from a distance.

He was also a dominant figure. Although the Eternal Life Palace was very powerful and was the Fighting Qi Holy Land of the Free Alliance, he did not need to be as fearful as a tiger or bow and scrape to them. After all, the Eternal Life Palace was only the spiritual leader of the Free Alliance, not the actual leader. The ones who truly controlled the direction of the Free Alliance were the Council of Elders, and the indirect controllers were the various large forces.

“Brother Xiahou, long time no see. You look well recently.” The leader of the Eternal Life Palace envoys was a middle-aged man with a solemn face and a righteous air. He cupped his hands in return and said, “I, Cao, offer my respects.”

“That envoy is named Cao Zhong. He is one of the envoys of the Eternal Life Palace responsible for external liaison and managing external affairs. He has an Early-stage Gold cultivation and is very powerful. However, he mostly mediates disputes, so he is known as the Peacemaker.” Shentu Xue lowered her voice and said to Lei Qing with some disappointment, “Now that this Peacemaker Cao Zhong is here, I’m afraid we won’t be able to fight today. What a pity.”

“What? Does our Iron Cavalry Regiment need to obey the orders of the Eternal Life Palace?” Lei Qing was slightly stunned and asked strangely. In the Tianlan Empire, there was also the Fighting Qi Holy Land, the Moon Cold Palace. The status of the Moon Cold Palace was indeed very high, transcending the secular world and respected by people. Even the Emperor respected the Moon Cold Palace. But respect did not mean fear. Sometimes they could accept your suggestion, but they could also ignore you.

In fact, the Moon Cold Palace rarely interfered in the internal affairs of the Empire. Occasionally, they would make suggestions to the Emperor. To save face, as long as it wasn’t too excessive, the Emperor would generally follow the advice. In a certain sense, the two sides relied on each other for support.

“That’s not it, but the strength of the Eternal Life Palace is extraordinary, and its status is transcendent.” Shentu Xue explained in a low voice, “If they intervene in a matter, most people will give them some face. After all, offending the Eternal Life Palace to the death is not a fun thing to do. Looking at the Boss’s expression, I guess he knew the people from the Eternal Life Palace would come. Damn, he didn’t tell me earlier, making me get all fired up and ready for a big fight. Now, I got excited for nothing and wasted this great scene.”

Lei Qing chuckled. Most of the people in the Iron Cavalry Regiment were fond of fighting. Although Shentu Xue was a woman, she couldn’t escape this combative personality. Sure enough, the other generals also showed looks of slight disappointment.

In fact, Lei Qing was also very warlike. But in his heart, he really didn’t want a fight to break out this time, as he was the fuse this time. And wars meant death; he didn’t want the brothers of the Iron Cavalry Regiment to fight to the death for his sake. However, the Blood Wolf Army had already arrived at the doorstep, so he couldn’t control the situation.

While Xiahou Huan and Cao Zhong were exchanging pleasantries in low voices, the envoy from the Prairie Sacred Eagle, Murong Tiance, was also negotiating something with Blood Wolf.

Not long after, it seemed that everyone found a way out of the situation and reached an agreement.

“The Eternal Life Palace upholds a heart of compassion and does not wish for excessive slaughter in the world.” Cao Zhong used his vigorous Fighting Qi to spread his voice in all directions. “Therefore, both sides have reached an agreement to stop the war. However, both sides stick to their own words, and it is difficult to distinguish who is right. Neither is convinced. It is better to decide the victor through a duel by champions. Each side will send one Early-stage Silver, one Mid-stage Silver, and one High-stage Silver expert. The side that wins two out of three matches will be the winner. The loser will be in the wrong and must pay the winner thirty thousand gold, or materials of equivalent value. Xiahou Huan, Yuwen Di, do you two have any objections?”

“No objections.” Yuwen Di truly did not want to lead his main force into a war with the Iron Cavalry Regiment. That would cause too many casualties; winning would still be losing. He immediately shouted, “My Blood Wolf Army is full of talents; I can pull out a whole group of generals who are good at fighting. This battle will definitely be won.”

Aww~ The Blood Wolf Army let out earth-shattering roars to cheer.

“I have no objections either.” Xiahou Huan laughed loudly and said, “When it comes to a gathering of warriors, it has to be our Iron Cavalry Regiment. Within the Free Alliance, who doesn’t know that our Iron Cavalry Regiment’s combat power is top-notch? Brothers, do you have the confidence to fight?”

“Roar!” A roar erupted from the Iron Cavalry Regiment.

“Good. Since neither side has any objections, then the Eternal Life Palace and the Prairie Royal Court will act as referees and witnesses.” Cao Zhong shouted, “The first match, each side will send one general with Early-stage Silver strength. Which of you is willing to fight?”

From the Blood Wolf Army, a rider on a black horse stood out and roared with curses, “Kid named Lei, you dared to insult my brother earlier. I, Hungry Wolf Balang, challenge you. Do you dare to accept?”

This Hungry Wolf Balang was also somewhat cunning; he was a strong man who was about to advance to the Mid-stage. He deliberately used this incident to challenge Lei Qing, wanting to score the first victory.

But how could Lei Qing be afraid? Instead of being scared, he was delighted. He danced his Silver Snake into a spear flourish and rode forward with a smile. “So it’s Hungry Dog Balang, one of the Prairie Twin Dogs. You’re in such a hurry to come out and die; I, Young General Lei Qing, will certainly grant your wish.”

…