Dragon Canon

Wei Yuan looked up toward the west, where a faint red glow flickered on the distant horizon. It was the light of a signal arrow; over one hundred and twenty li away.

The duo had not begun to discuss how to rescue their compatriot when suddenly, another distress signal erupted in the air. It was over eighty li away and located in the same direction as the previous call for help. The contents of the call for help was also identical: strong enemies approaching, holding ground and awaiting reinforcements. The sender was a cultivator belonging to the Heaven Answerer Sect.

Right after that, two more calls for help bloomed in the sky. They were quite far away. This was the first time Wei Yuan had seen this many calls for help happening at the same time.

After marking all of the locations on a map, Fang Hetong pondered for a moment and said, “The Liao barbarians are mobilizing en masse. I believe they are testing our defense line. Although we haven’t seen a Liao force in our defense zone yet, we are equally in danger. Thus, I believe we should stay put.”

“Are you suggesting that we should leave our compatriots to die?”

Fang Hetong shook his head. “The situation is different from yesterday’s. You were the only one being attacked at the time, and I was pretty close to your location. Naturally, it made perfect sense for me to come to your aid. But the locations calling for help today are all very far away from our defense zone. We would be worn out long before we reached them. Not only will we become a liability, our own defense zone will be lacking in manpower. Also, I’m sure the Liao barbarians have deployed a lot of mobile cavalry to intercept and kill the troops heading for their rescue.”

Wei Yuan climbed up the wall and looked into the distance. His eyesight was good enough that he could barely see the stronghold at the end of the horizon. As far as he could tell, the fort was quiet, and the garrison was completely still. There were no signs of it moving out to provide assistance at all.

Fang Hetong stepped beside him and remarked, “If you think that Staff General Liao is going to dispatch a rescue force, think again. He values his own safety above everything else, and he believes himself to be perfectly secure because he has some military merit to his name. I’m sure he’s planning to hole up inside his fort until the Liao barbarians retreat—he would never risk sending his troops to save another.”

“What should we do then?”

Fang Hetong answered, “The Liao barbarians are coming out in full force, and I believe that they had split up into three waves. The first wave will attack everywhere and bait our forces into mobilizing. This allows them to assess our strengths and weaknesses and identify vulnerable points. The second wave will roam the battlefield and intercept the reinforcements. It should be a bigger force than the first wave. If I’m the Liao barbarians’ commander, then there would be a third wave that consists of elites only. Once they detect a weak spot in the defense line, they will strike with lightning speed.

“What worries me most is this third wave. It won’t be long before they realize that Liao Jingwu is a coward who refuses to fight, and they will likely launch a full-scale assault on Quyang County. Therefore, the best course of action is to hold our ground here and provide mutual support with Quyang County.”

Wei Yuan furrowed his brow. Not only was the situation complex beyond his abilities to decipher, he didn’t dare to trust Fang Hetong’s assessment fully. After all, Fang Hetong had never truly commanded large armies. Though he possessed abundant talent, it might be fair to say he was merely a paper tiger when it came to practical military strategy.

Wei Yuan tapped on a location on the map and said, “This is the closest location to us; only ninety li away. I’ll head there myself and see what the Liao barbarians are planning.”

Fang Hetong let out a sigh and said, “Very well. Be careful, worthy little brother.”

It was at this moment another distress signal bloomed in the sky, over one hundred and fifty li away to the east. It stated: Strong enemies besieging, holding ground and awaiting reinforcements, Bao Yun of the Palace of Absolute Beginning.

Wei Yuan was startled. Bao Yun had forged an immortal foundation a few years ago, and it went without saying that she enjoyed the full support of her clan. If Lee Zhi could muster a guard of sixty elites, there was no reason for the girl to have less. Despite this, the girl still shot a distress signal. Clearly, the battle she was facing was a precarious one.

Wei Yuan stopped hesitating altogether and declared, “I must travel east, so I leave the defense zone to you, Teacher. If anything happens, just shoot a signal arrow. I will sense it no matter how far away I am.”

Fang Hetong knew he couldn’t change Wei Yuan’s mind, so he said, “Don’t get tangled up with the Liao barbarians on your way there. Come back soon.”

Wei Yuan nodded and grabbed a warhorse. He hung his long spear, his spear box, a bow and several quivers of arrows. Although he wasn’t very proficient with a bow, he discovered during yesterday’s battle that it was an essential weapon on the battlefield.

He had just climbed onto his horse when the scholar grabbed the reins. He said seriously, “One more thing! On your way back, if you notice that the Liao barbarians are attacking Quyang County, you must not return no matter what. Just leave and join another defense zone!”

“Why’s that?”

“If the Liao barbarians are to attack Quyang, they will surely consist of a large number of elites. It is the only way they can conquer the place quickly. You haven’t forged your Dao Foundation, and your path to immortality is still long. Thus, you must keep a cool head and avoid such a confrontation at all costs. Remember, to die in Quyang is to die a worthless death!”

Wei Yuan pointed toward the backline where multiple signal arrows were rising intermittently into the sky. The Palace of Absolute Beginning and other sects had detected the unusual activity at the front lines and were beginning to mobilize reinforcements.

“My sect has already begun to mobilize reinforcements, so you don’t need to worry about me, Brother Fang. Just keep this place safe. Anyway, the situation is urgent, so I’ll be departing immediately.”

The main gate of Flying Sand Village opened, and Wei Yuan emerged on his warhorse. He immediately turned east and made haste for Bao Yun’s defense zone. Be it for duty or personal reasons, he had every reason to rescue the girl.

Although Wei Yuan felt anxious, he made sure to keep his horse at a canter to conserve its stamina. Tens of li later, Bao Yun shot another signal arrow into the sky. It stated that the enemy had surrounded the city, and the fortifications were holding up for now. It also warned all reinforcements to watch out for roaming enemies.

As if on cue, Wei Yuan heard the sound of hooves thudding against the ground. At the same time, several Northern Liao cavalrymen showed up. Seeing that he was alone, two of them split off to intercept him.

Wei Yuan spurred his horse to meet them, dodging the incoming heavy arrows as he did so. Then, he threw two javelins and killed both of them in rapid succession.

Startled, the remaining cavalrymen closed in on him from multiple sides. Moments later, they too laid dead on the ground.

Trusting in their mounted archery skills, the Northern Liao cavalry would often close within a hundred zhang of a human rider and trade shots with them from that distance. This, though, played right into Wei Yuan’s hands. His javelins were devastating within a hundred zhang. By the time the Liao cavalrymen noticed their mistake, it was already too late for them.

Wei Yuan had no time to pick up his javelins. He soldiered on toward the spot where cries of battle rang the loudest. He didn’t go far before he saw about a hundred riders battling against each other.

Wei Yuan swept the area with his perception and identified sixty plus human riders and forty plus Liao riders. Although the human riders had the greater number, the Liao riders were the ones who were winning. The human riders were dying one after another.

Wei Yuan immediately spurred his horse toward the battlefield and grabbed his bow. He then loosed over a dozen arrows in rapid succession. Unfortunately, his archery skill was quite mediocre, and he only managed to shoot two Liao barbarians off their mounts. It wasn’t a problem, though. As soon as he came within a hundred zhang of his enemy, he started dropping the Liao barbarians like flies with his javelins!

The tables turned rapidly against the Liao barbarians. Over half of their numbers were killed in almost no time at all. Thus, the leader whistled loudly and spurred his remaining men to escape to the north.

Of course, Wei Yuan wasn’t going to let them go without a fight. He imbued his warhorse with a wisp of black qi and caused it to swell a full size. It rapidly caught up to the escaping troops and allowed him to shoot down another five or six cavalrymen. He gave up only when the group scattered in every direction.

As it turned out, the leader of the human riders was a Palace of Absolute Beginning disciple. He was nine years older than Wei Yuan, and over a decade had passed since he forged his Dao Foundation. This was his second major exam. As a member of a noble clan, he had brought a hundred private soldiers with him for this defense. When he saw Bao Yun’s call for help, he did not hesitate to mobilize them all to come to her rescue. Unfortunately, he was intercepted before he could reach his destination.

The Liao barbarians numbered half a century only, yet they were able to kill nearly forty of their quarry and lose only eight riders in exchange. If Wei Yuan hadn’t shown up in time, this disciple would have to escape on his own.

A Dao Foundation stage cultivator possessed many skills and abilities. He would have been able to escape the Liao barbarians one way or another. However, he would have lost all of his subordinates as a result.

After the bloody battle was over, the disciple decided to rest and reorganize his troops. Thus, Wei Yuan bade him goodbye and continued eastward. Prior to his departure, his grateful peer gifted him several boxes of high-tier javelins and a couple of powerful talismans. He was going to give Wei Yuan some of his forces as well, but these ordinary riders were just going to slow him down. That was why he gently declined the offer.

After bidding his fellow disciple goodbye, Wei Yuan sped eastward like the wind. Along the way, he fought a couple more fierce battles—some like the small detachments of Liao cavalry who had tried to intercept him earlier, and others like the recent clash where two forces collided in a chaotic melee.