Chapter 57: Iron-armored Heavy Cavalry

“Clomp, clomp, clomp…” A series of hoofbeats echoed like spring thunder, stomping on the earth as they approached from a distance.

Each horse was a superior breed of warhorse, carefully selected for a perfect balance between endurance and explosive power. Their bodies were covered in full iron armor, which shimmered brilliantly under the early spring sun. Every knight wore uniform attire, clad in thick full-body iron armor, with a twelve-foot lance slung diagonally across their backs and a foot-combat saber tied at their waists, exuding an imposing and powerful aura.

Every knight here was a Personal Guard personally trained by the Li Clan, undergoing extremely strict training and instruction since childhood. Only the most outstanding individuals among them could be selected for the Li Clan’s Personal Guards. Those knights, who had been indoctrinated since childhood to believe that loyalty to the Li Chamber of Commerce was above all else, felt proud to be selected into the Li Clan’s Personal Guards.

For the Li Chamber of Commerce, the time spent cultivating each such Personal Guard knight was immense. Apart from that, the resources consumed, if converted into money, were worth more than a thousand gold pieces.

Only the immensely wealthy Li Chamber of Commerce, whose wealth rivaled that of a nation, could afford to maintain such a powerful cavalry unit.

This squadron of heavy cavalry was small, numbering only fifty men. However, each one was physically robust and radiated a vigorous aura, clearly all possessing considerable cultivation in Fighting Qi. The weakest among them was at the Elementary-stage Black Iron level, while most were at the Mid to High stage of Black Iron. The captain of every ten-man squad radiated an intense aura and was clearly a High-stage Bronze expert. The commander of the Iron-armored Heavy Cavalry squadron, riding at the very front, possessed astonishing High-stage Bronze Fighting Qi cultivation.

The Iron-armored Heavy Cavalry was an incredibly powerful army composed entirely of fighters at the Fighter-rank level. It was true that while one could wear such heavy armor weighing dozens of pounds to fight before reaching the Black Iron-rank through Fighting Qi cultivation, it was certainly not as easy and free as it was for a Black Iron-rank fighter.

A mere unit of fifty men galloping across the early spring earth, their heavy iron hooves causing the ground to tremble slightly, actually displayed the momentum of thousands of troops. It seemed as though they could crush through thousands of enemies ahead without hesitation.

Galloping at the very front of the iron-armored cavalry squadron was a female knight. She rode a particularly majestic and healthy steed, its coat black and glossy, full of vigor. Strangely, this black warhorse even emitted an aura of a Demonic Beast.

For any wild beast to become a Demonic Beast, it required the right timing, favorable geography, and luck, all of which are indispensable, and it often takes a lot of time. In the vast grasslands of the northwest, any horse that becomes a Demonic Beast is undoubtedly the king of horses. Taming such a rebellious existence is as difficult as climbing to heaven. And once it submits, it is almost impossible to make it change its Master.

Therefore, the Mid-stage Black Iron Demonic Beast warhorse under this female knight was certainly a Demonic Beast warhorse artificially bred with enormous human and material resources. Unlike humans, horses have vague spiritual intelligence before becoming Demonic Beasts and cannot learn Fighting Qi Techniques like humans can. It can be imagined how much resources are required to cultivate a Demonic Beast horse.

And any Demonic Beast warhorse that reaches the Black Iron-rank, if it can be tamed and traded, is definitely worth a sky-high price. In short, as a direct descendant of the Earl Ray family, Lei Qing would not even dare to think about it. His previous steed, Traceless, although spiritual, healthy, and graceful, with faint traces of Fighting Qi in its body, was extremely far from the Black Iron-rank. Even so, Lei Qing’s steed Traceless was still worth more than a thousand gold pieces. Moreover, if not for the doting favor of his uncle and aunt, based on his status, he would never have had the chance to obtain a warhorse of Traceless’s level.

The female knight wore silver armor, with a white cape flowing gracefully in the wind on her back, looking heroic and outstanding. That clear, beautiful, and stunningly pretty face was clearly Li Baobao.

……

Fierce Tiger Ridge had steep terrain, dense rocks, and thickets of miscellaneous trees. The bandits rode down or walked up the mountain, leading their horses. Even if this squadron of iron-armored heavy cavalry was as formidable as it was, upon reaching Fierce Tiger Ridge, they still had to dismount and lead their horses. Only Li Baobao, unwilling to dirty her boots, continued to ride. Fortunately, her precious steed Wuzhui was exceptionally spiritual and could walk along the narrow goat-path on the mountain with small, careful steps.

After walking for quite a while, they reached Tiger Leaping Gorge, the most dangerous terrain in the area. Just as the iron-armored cavalry intended to lead their horses through one by one, several groups of bandits appeared on the jagged cliffs around them, holding spears, throwing axes, and bows and arrows. Each one had an unfriendly expression, glaring fiercely at the group of iron-armored heavy cavalry.

After Lei Qing seized Fierce Tiger Ridge and found some evidence of contact between the Backing Tiger and the Qingshi Branch, he suffered from insomnia, fearing that the people from the Li Chamber of Commerce might attack at any moment. Naturally, he was on high alert. He found some subordinates who had been hanging around Fierce Tiger Ridge for many years and sent them to patrol the area.

Naturally, Lei Qing set up some hidden sentries on various cliffs.

The Backing Tiger, Zhao Guang, had his nest built on Fierce Tiger Ridge for good reason. The terrain here was dangerous. To climb the mountain, there was only a narrow goat-path to walk, with several dangerous spots, making it a terrain that could be defended by one man against thousands.

Unfortunately, after the Backing Tiger mixed in the local gangs for many years and built Fierce Tiger Castle, he assumed his defenses were strong enough that even if someone climbed the mountain, it would be very difficult to break through Fierce Tiger Castle, thus losing his vigilance. Coupled with the fact that bandits generally had loose discipline and were lazy, the hidden posts at various locations gradually fell into disrepair.

Lei Qing knew he had unintentionally offended the Li Chamber of Commerce and needed to guard against counterattacks from other two groups of bandits. Therefore, he selected some more reliable bandits, taught them a lesson carefully, and ordered them to guard the key transportation routes up the mountain.

Because the bandit sentries were high up with a wide field of view, and Li Baobao and her group, relying on their strong strength, looked down on the bandits and Lei Qing, unwilling even to hide their tracks, they walked openly and proudly up the mountain.

In this way, they were naturally ambushed by Lei Qing and his men.

However, Lei Qing was not a reckless fool. Seeing that these knights, both man and horse, were all clad in heavy armor, heroic and extraordinary, with powerful auras, and that the leading woman was heroic and outstanding with an exceptional temperament, he clearly deduced she was of noble birth.

Although Lei Qing could ambush the other party and cause them heavy losses, doing so would make them bitter enemies. Unless absolutely necessary, even with Lei Qing’s arrogance, he was unwilling to make an enemy of the Li Chamber of Commerce.

At this moment, Lei Qing wore his top-grade rhinoceros-hide armor, a Treasure Sword named Ice Flame hung at his waist, and a black thin leather cape draped over his back. This appearance gave him a calm and handsome swordsman look.

Especially his rhinoceros-hide soft armor, worth over a thousand gold pieces, although carefully repaired, could hardly hide those battle scars from many fights. Those scars were shocking to behold, many of them in vital areas. If one had bad luck, they would die on the spot.

Thus, although this rhinoceros-hide soft armor looked old, it added a touch of vicissitudes and weight to Lei Qing, indicating that this person was definitely not a young master from a wealthy family who had just started out or a milky boy.

“Clang, clang, clang.” The group of iron-armored cavalry, also strong men who had seen much battle, immediately drew their foot-combat sabers with grim faces like water when they saw themselves suddenly surrounded by bandits, surrounding Li Baobao in the center. They used their bodies to shield her from those bow and arrow bolts ready to be fired.

“I am Lei Qing. May I ask if you are from the Li Chamber of Commerce?” Lei Qing stood calmly on a protruding rock at Tiger Leaping Gorge, his eyes peaceful, looking down at the group of knights. Of course, his main focus was on that female knight. Any fool could see that the female knight was of noble birth and was clearly the true leader of this group.

Even though Lei Qing was accustomed to seeing all kinds of beautiful women in the Imperial Capital, he was slightly dazed and surprised in his heart when he first saw this woman. But he was ultimately not an inexperienced novice. In an instant, he recovered, his gaze revealing a tone of seriousness.

……