Chapter 158: Victory in the First Battle

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“Bullshit Young General.” Hungry Wolf Balang was burning with anger at being scolded, and he rode his horse forward slowly. His appearance was quite similar to his Big Brother Batu; both were burly, rough, and thick-set men. He spat and said, “He is just a pretty boy who only knows how to hide inside a woman’s crotch, yet he dares to brag about beheading Zong Wuji and capturing my sworn brother Yuwen Hu alive. He is simply ignorant. Today, I, Balang, will expose his true colors.”

Lei Qing’s battle achievements were, of course, widely circulated in the Free Alliance, where people worshipped and praised them as classics. But in the Yuwen Tribe, they certainly did not think so. How powerful was Yuwen Hu? Even against some slightly weaker Gold-rank experts, he would not fall into a disadvantage within a short time. Relying on a burst of wild and fierce courage, he might even be able to win. He was the second strongest fighter in the entire Yuwen Tribe, second only to Blood Wolf Yuwen Di.

How could such a respected and worshipped expert be defeated and captured head-on by a pretty boy who was only at the Early-stage Silver level? This must have been because Yuwen Hu was reckless and fell for a trick.

The total annihilation and capture of Yuwen Hu was a tremendous humiliation for the Yuwen Tribe. If he, Balang, could wash away this humiliation for the Yuwen Tribe, his reputation would explode across the grasslands.

Of course, Hungry Wolf Balang dared to come out and challenge Lei Qing because he certainly possessed some solid strength. The two brothers had shown extremely strong cultivation talent since childhood, and after being spotted by Blood Wolf, they were taken in as adopted sons and taught a whole set of Fighting Qi and Fighting Techniques.

Now, they had both become Blood Wolf’s right-hand men. This Hungry Wolf Balang had profound cultivation and outstanding Fighting Techniques; ordinary experts of the same rank were no match for him. Moreover, he had already reached the peak state of Early-stage Silver, and recently there were faint signs of a breakthrough. He absolutely believed that with his own strength, defeating that pretty boy Lei Qing would be no problem.

Balang’s power was well known in the Blood Wolf Army. Seeing Balang challenge Lei Qing, and hearing his high-spirited and excited words, it set off a wave of cheering and encouragement in the Blood Wolf Army. No one believed that the young pretty boy opposite could really withstand General Yuwen Hu.

“Balang, Balang! Kill him, kill that pretty boy!” Roars that shook the sky made people’s ears go numb; the momentum was magnificent and imposing. “Avenge General Yuwen, avenge the dead brothers! Revenge, revenge!”

There is strength in numbers. The Blood Wolf Army had a total of nearly ten thousand men. When they shouted together, even the white clouds in the sky seemed to be scattered by that momentum.

Balang only needed to win this battle, and his prestige would skyrocket in the entire Yuwen Tribe, and his status would rise significantly. Immediately, he was full of spirit and rode his horse toward Lei Qing with high momentum. On his back, like flagpoles, were seven or eight javelins, and in his hand, he held a hook-sickle spear about five or six meters long.

The hook-sickle spear was a weapon with great power; it could stab and hook, with endless ingenious uses. But this kind of weapon was not something just anyone could use well. Compared to purely practicing with a long spear, it required more hard work to bring out the mysteries of this weapon. Moreover, this weapon was mostly used by infantry spearmen. That he dared to use this weapon in mounted combat showed that Balang must be quite confident in it.

“Lei Qing, be careful of this Hungry Wolf Balang; he is no ordinary person.” Shentu Xue whispered her instructions to Lei Qing. “Especially his javelin throwing is very accurate; you must pay attention to dodging.”

Lei Qing chuckled and said, “Thank you, Big Sister Shentu, for the reminder.” He did not waste any more words shouting insults, but slapped his horse’s back, and Wuzhui rushed out like a hurricane.

“Beat the drums.” Xiahou Huan waved his hand and ordered.

“Dong~ Dong~ Dong~”

A bare-chested, burly man wearing loose trousers, with muscles glistening all over his body, waved huge drumsticks and struck the war drum heavily.

Deep, thick sounds of the drum struck right at the heart, making one’s blood boil and filling one with heroic spirit.

On the battlefield between the two armies, Lei Qing was already only seven or eight Zhang away from the opponent, just as he was about to accelerate. Balang, however, insidiously and suddenly pulled out a javelin, swinging his thick arm.

The javelin tore through the air with a sharp whistle, fast and swift, striking like lightning or a shuttle. Clearly, Balang had put in extremely deep effort into the art of the javelin. That javelin attack came both fast and ruthless.

Speaking of Lei Qing’s cultivation at this time, it was certainly not ordinary. Through repeated tempering and fighting, his cultivation and Fighting Secret Art had advanced by leaps and bounds. Especially after this last time, after two fierce battles, he obtained a Gold Crystal Core, which allowed his cultivation to reach the peak state of Early-stage Silver during the tempering process, with the possibility of a breakthrough at any time.

In terms of cultivation, he was on par with that Balang. When the two fought, it was a test of their respective skills and their blood and courage.

Facing the incoming javelin, Lei Qing was naturally fearless. With a flick of his wrist, the Silver Snake drew an arc and precisely swept the javelin, deflecting it away.

But this exchange caused Lei Qing to lose the initiative. Just as the two horses were about to cross each other, the hook-sickle spear thrust toward Lei Qing’s face at a treacherous and tricky angle.

One must not underestimate Balang’s move, for it actually hid a killing intent. If Lei Qing had dared to turn his body to dodge, then Balang could have taken the opportunity to pull the hook-sickle spear back, using the hook to cut into Lei Qing’s back shoulder and sever his arm.

But Lei Qing came from a millennium-old military family, and in the education he received from childhood to adulthood, knowledge of various strange weapons was a compulsory course. How could he not know the ingenious uses of the hook-sickle spear?

The Silver Snake sped like electricity, and the curved silver light shot out like an electric snake. The spear speed was extremely fast, arriving later but hitting first. With a “Clang”, it directly struck the shaft of the hook-sickle spear, knocking it away.

The two horses crossed and passed each other, and both of their arms felt faint pain and numbness. While Lei Qing was slightly surprised at Balang’s powerful arm strength, Balang was also secretly shocked. This pretty boy indeed had some skills, and his strength was almost on par with his own.

One had to know that in the Blood Wolf Army, Balang was also famous for his strong arm strength. Although far inferior to a monster like Yuwen Hu, he was still one of the best in the army. And this pretty boy who liked to brag actually had such strong strength?

Both of them put away their contempt.

The war drums started to become intense, layer upon layer, the sound waves rising higher and higher, making people’s blood boil with excitement. Lei Qing, having seen Balang’s cunning and strength, instead felt the joy of encountering a worthy opponent. After charging for a while, he reined in his horse and continued to sprint toward Balang.

Balang repeated his old trick this time, throwing the javelin first and then using the hook-sickle. The move was extremely nasty, but Lei Qing was already prepared. He turned his body directly to dodge the javelin, and the Silver Snake, which had long been ready to strike, bloomed with intense rays of silver snake starlight, enveloping Balang like a violent storm.

Against a sinister character like Balang, one had to suppress him, constantly suppress him. This was also one of the core principles of the Lei Family War Tactic: using offense to replace defense, constantly attacking, advancing bravely to crush the enemy like rotten wood.

But Balang’s methods were also quite impressive; using the hook-sickle spear to defend, he was watertight. With a series of “Clang Clang Clang” sounds, he constantly deflected every move and style of Lei Qing.

The two men’s warhorses ran in the same direction, and Lei Qing stuck to him like a leech, using various fierce moves. Lei Qing’s Lei Family War Tactic had gradually been cultivated by him to the stage of great success.

Every move was like a heavenly steed soaring across the sky, flowing like moving clouds and water, smooth and natural. The various Fighting Secret Arts of the Lei Family were all driven by Heavenly Thunder Fighting Qi, and when displayed, they were very magnificent and dazzling, which made the soldiers on both sides watching the battle entranced. Especially the troops of the Iron Cavalry Regiment and the Black Flag Regiment, they cheered repeatedly, their shouts shaking the sky.

Mixed with the excited sound of war drums, the atmosphere on the battlefield was instantly pushed to a climax.

Once Lei Qing’s moves were executed, they were truly like the water of a long river, continuous and endless. Like the river tide near the sea, wave after wave, layer upon layer, constantly increasing.

The more he fought, the braver he became, and various moves were brought into full play by Lei Qing. He suppressed Balang so much that he only had the strength to parry, and rarely had the chance to counterattack. His arms, under the increasingly powerful strength and the power of thunder and lightning, were shaken until they were sore, numb, and itchy. Only by relying on powerful will did he barely manage to hold on and not let go.

Balang was horrified and filled with regret in his heart. He really did not expect that this pretty boy was not only not weaker than himself in cultivation and strength, but his Fighting Secret Art moves were also extraordinarily powerful. Even if not as exaggeratedly strong as in the rumors, he was already a true expert.

As the drums became more and more exciting, Lei Qing’s blood and fighting spirit had boiled to the extreme. With every move he made, he had completely brought out all his combat power.

In just a few dozen moves, Balang was unable to cope, and signs of defeat appeared steeply. After stimulating all his Fighting Qi and forcefully taking one of Lei Qing’s hits, he hooked the Silver Snake spear shaft with his sickle to relieve the continuous offensive like a tide, and then immediately slapped his horse to flee. He madly injected Fighting Qi into the warhorse under his crotch, stimulating the horse’s speed to escape.

Seeing him fleeing in panic, the soldiers of the Iron Cavalry Regiment were also pushed to the extreme of their emotions, roaring madly, and there was a chorus of boos for Balang who had spoken wildly before.

But Lei Qing’s Wuzhui was a Mid-stage Black Iron precious horse, and it had not shown its true speed before. Lei Qing gave a loud shout and chased with his spear raised. In just seven or eight breaths, he caught up behind Balang.

The spear style was like a tide, bombarding away.

Balang turned around in panic to fight back in his horror. With fear in his heart and no fighting spirit, after just seven or eight moves, he was swept off his horse by Lei Qing with a spear shaft.

Just as Balang tried to crawl out, he heard a “Whoosh”, and the long spear Silver Snake had grazed his face and stabbed fiercely into the grass.

Lei Qing coldly swept his gaze over the Blood Wolf Soldiers who were as quiet as a cicada in winter. Before the battle, this group of Blood Wolf Soldiers was still mocking and taunting him. The Blood Wolf Soldiers, cowed by Lei Qing’s imposing manner, avoided meeting his eyes one after another.

“Roar! Who is the real trash?” Lei Qing let out a sky-shaking roar that exploded like a thunderclap.

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