Nightfall

Arrows rained down from above. Some landed on the carriage and turned into broken dry straw, while others shot towards the Big Black Horse. Although once the black horse sped up it was unaffected by the meadow, leaving behind those arrows in a cloud of black dust.

The cavalry lying in wait on the meadow was shocked speechless at the sight before them. A quick cry from their captain snapped them back into action. Shouting and waving their sharp machetes, the cavalry rushed forward. However, the group split up suddenly after moving just 10 feet. A small portion went after the black horse while most charged towards the black carriage that was left behind.

It must be said that the decision made by the captain of the cavalry in such a short period of time was, in fact, correct; the carriage was stationary on the meadow, a target just waiting to be destroyed. If Ning Que did not care for the lives on that carriage, the grassland cavalry would make quick work of them. However, if Ning Que did care and returned for the carriage, it would mean losing his greatest advantage – speed. The only outcome would be for the situation to deteriorate into a messy brawl. A brawl in the wilderness, mobile combat using archery is a method of battle that the grassland cavalry was well-versed in.

Contrary to the cavalry captain’s expectations, Ning Que did not return to the carriage for Sangsang. In fact, there was absolutely no hesitation and he continued on his trajectory on the meadow. The Big Black Horse charged across the pure white meadow with terrifying speed, dragging an afterimage behind it.

The cavalry captain was struck with a moment of panic. Shouting to his 10 or so subordinates, he commanded them to stop the incoming black horse no matter the sacrifice.

The captain figured that even if they were unable to take out the rider of the black horse, they would at the very least buy some time for the group that went after the carriage. If that group succeeded, then their arduous task that day would be still be completed.

Ning Que watched as the dozen or so cavalry closed in, with the frigid air ripping away the heat from his cheeks. As he reached inner peace his right hand tightly gripped the hilt of his saber that peeked out behind his shoulders.

Both sides sprinted towards each other at blinding speeds, with their confrontation approaching fast. Leading the charge on the side of the grassland cavalry was a warrior brandishing his blade, face contorted by a lust for battle, swinging towards Ning Que like a maniac.

The sound of the cut was crisp and clear. The head of the cavalryman was cleanly separated from his body.

The horse, still carrying the headless body of the cavalry, continued forward. Blood sprayed forth from the neck, seemingly dying the sky red.

The headless cavalryman sped past Ning Que for several feet before the body finally tumbled off and hit the ground. At that exact moment, the head that went flying landed right beside the body.

The crisp cutting sound before was actually comprised of two sounds merging into one; the first was from the sound of unsheathing the blade, the second was the sound made from metal cutting through bones. The resultant single sound was not only unique but also suggested the incredible speed in which Ning Que executed both moves, which seemingly happened at the same time.

The Big Black Horse charged into more than a dozen cavalrymen in assault formation like a black lightning. Ning Que’s blade was like the countless branches of that black lightning, flashing by among the cavalry, decimating them.

In mere seconds, the Big Black Horse crossed blades with more than a dozen grassland cavalry soldiers. Cries of despair rang out as some cavalrymen tried to cover the gaping wounds on their necks while others tried to stop their chests from bleeding profusely. They dropped from their horsebacks like flies, landing with heavy thuds onto the solid ground below.

Ning Que paid no heed to the fallen cavalry and charged on towards the meadow’s high ground.

The black horse was too fast. Ning Que’s blade was too fast. In the blink of an eye, he felled the remaining dozen of the cavalrymen. The meadow was painted red with fresh blood while not a drop of blood was visible on Ning Que and his horse.

The cavalry captain’s face was drained of color.

Last night, he was informed that the enemy this time around would be a cultivator. He fought with cultivators from the Yuelun Kingdom before, and even slain a highly skilled fighter from the Seethrough Realm. He thought himself ready for the subsequent battle, but, the enemy before him was someone that those flying sword wielding, just-for-show cultivators could never hold a candle to. The enemy before him was frighteningly strong.

By the command of a mighty shout, 10 or so cavalry soldiers shot out arrows. Alas, the Big Black Horse remained far too fast; almost all of the arrows missed their mark. The arrows that managed to predict the path of the horse, purely by luck, were easily deflected by Ning Que.

In but a moment, Ning Que rode his horse up the meadow and in the midst of the cavalrymen. As the sound of his Podao slashing through air rang out, the sound of blood gushing out accompanied it. The Archers had no time to fend for themselves before they became victims of the blade.

The cavalry captain raised his machete to attack, only to discover a greyish-black blade plunged through his chest. At that instant, the captain could feel the icy coldness from the Tang podao.

As he fell to the ground he stared at his enemy, the enemy that did not even consider himself a threat. In his eyes that were turning glassy, a look of terror could be seen. However, this terror soon turned into delight as the chief thought to himself: no matter how strong you may be, the passenger in the carriage must be dead by now and you cannot resurrect the dead.

The right foot of the captain was still stuck in his horse’s saddle when he fell. The warhorse was shocked by the events that unfolded and took off, dragging the captain several feet forward while he bled profusely from his chest. The sight of cavalry surrounding the carriage entered his eyes. As he grew ever paler, he let out an unwilling shout before he finally died.

Ning Que rode his horse up the meadow and decimated both the cavalry captain and his men in a ridiculously short amount of time. Instead of immediately rushing to the aid of Sangsang, he rode among the corpses and took two bows and several quivers of arrows before heading toward the carriage.

At the meadow’s low grounds, more than 30 cavalry soldiers were circling and attacking the black carriage.

The horse carriage was stuck there in all its lonesome. Unable to move, it looked like a lamb ripe for slaughter. However, when the cavalry tried to break open the carriage, they discovered that, to their shock, not only was it not possible to pry open the doors but attacks from their machetes did not even leave a scratch on the carriage.

It was then that the cavalry understood that the carriage was not a lamb, but a reinforced black carriage from the country of Tang. Clad in thick armor, even if it just stood there and allowed you to hack at it, you would never be able to cut through.

As time passed, the cavalry assaulting the carriage grew restless and even appeared a little hopeless. Several cavalrymen dismounted while shouting battle cries and walked toward the carriage to hack it with rabid fury.

In their minds, even if the carriage was made of solid steel, the wheels would at most just be wood wrapped in a metal coat. With their courage and sharp machetes, they should be able to destroy the wheels no matter what.

Once the wheels were destroyed, even if the passenger could survive the ordeal they would be stuck in the Wilderness without means of transport. Eventually, they would be terminated by the palace warriors and masters of the divine temple.

However, the cavalrymen sank into despair once again when they realized, after a round of mad hacking, that the carriage wheels were made of steel both inside and out!

In their moment of desperation, they could not help but feel a strong sense of unwillingness to give up as well as being angered by the confounding facts before them. A carriage made out of solid steel should be heavier than the gold statue of Buddha at the Minister of Offerings’ palace. If so, how was it possible that such a heavy horse carriage could move with such incredible speed, and in the wilderness no less.

It was then that the cavalry noticed what happened at the high grounds of the meadow. Looking at the black streak of lightning zipping down towards them, they could not help but let out terrified screams and rise turmoiled amongst themselves.

An elder among the cavalrymen let out a shout. Knowing that they stood no chance against the overwhelming power of their enemy, he instantly made the decision to command two of their best riders to leave the meadow, as an attempt to reach the palace at all costs. Once arriving they could inform the main cavalry force of what happened here. Then the elder grouped up the rest of the cavalry and charged straight at their enemy.

Ning Que saw the two cavalrymen speeding away from the carriage and guessed their intent. Taking out one of the bows he picked up earlier, he drew its string and took somber aim.

It was a boxwood bow, a standard issue weapon for both the grasslands’ cavalry as well as the horse hangs’. It was the same kind of bow that Ning Que always used to kill horse hangs in the past. Prior to the Primordial Thirteen Arrows, he had always been using this kind of bow.

Familiar bow, familiar environment, familiar battlefield and an even stronger Shubi Lake wood-chopper. The outcome of this sudden battle could not be any different.

Two twangs of his bowstring sounded out, followed by a clear snap as his bowstring snapped in two.

The two cavalrymen speeding away shook from the impact and fell off their horseback, arrows protruding out of their chests. The warhorses dragged their dead bodies for a fair distance before finally coming to a rest.

Staring at the broken boxwood bow in his hands, a lightly furrowed brow formed on Ning Que’s forehead.

After cultivating the Great Spirit, his body and strength were vastly superior to that of before. The body he had now was used to using metal bows and firing iron arrows. It has been a long time since he used ordinary weapons, and it would appear that he was not used to it anymore.

Though he frowned only for an instant. He took out the second boxwood bow and took aim on the cavalrymen charging at him from the meadow low grounds. Swoosh went his arrows as they shot through the air. Every pull of his bowstring meant a felled enemy cavalryman.

He unsheathed his blade once more.

The meadow was filled with bodies. The hot fresh blood poured onto the layer of frost covering the wilted grass below caused it to melt and mix together to form a thicker layer of blood-soaked snow, which pressed down on the vegetation once more.

Treading between the corpses of the cavalrymen, Ning Que did what he always did; with great familiarity, he collected the spoils of war. Though, since he could no longer exchange the heads of the enemy for military achievements nor money, he wasted no effort on those. He collected the bows that were still in good condition as well as two pairs of boots from two dead cavalrymen.

A soft knock sounded from within the black carriage before Sangsang emerged from behind the doors. She rubbed her sleepy eyes while she walked down and asked Ning Que, “What happened? It was so noisy earlier on.”

Ning Que went over to her and said, “I killed some guys.”

Sangsang suddenly noticed the corpses that surrounded them and shuddered slightly.

Ning Que lifted the two pair of boots and exclaimed, “Got two pairs of boots, give them a try and see if they fit you.”

Sangsang shook her head and said, “All those pairs of shoes you brought back for me over the years, and not a single one fits. This time around I’ll probably just adjust them myself.”