Mythical Three Kingdoms

”You bunch of bastards, I told you not to shout loudly!” Li Jue cursed at the foolish soldiers behind him as he watched the avalanche.

The Xiliang Iron Cavalry soldiers, seeing an avalanche for the first time, were bewildered by this force of nature. They were shocked as the overwhelming snow, like a river, crashed down on them.

”Form up!” Li Jue roared. At this moment, he couldn’t care less about the avalanche; they couldn’t let themselves be buried in snow.

Although the Xiliang Iron Cavalry soldiers were shaken by this force, like the wrath of the heavens, due to years of insane training, they quickly formed a formation at Li Jue’s command. Then, Li Jue drew his Horse-Cutting Blade, unleashed their Legion Talent, and shouted to mobilize the Cloud Qi.

A massive amount of Cloud Qi and Inner Qi flowed into the weapons of the three at the formation’s forefront. The furious avalanche was pressing toward the Xiliang Iron Cavalry at an alarming speed. But after gripping their weapons, the fear evaporated.

As the avalanche roared to within dozens of meters of Li Jue and his men, Guo Si and Li Jue, and Fan Chou yelled in unison as if they shared a tacit understanding, ”Open for me!”

A massive dark-golden Legion Attack blasted directly at the avalanche, forcibly breaking it apart through physical means, protecting the soldiers behind them. However, the avalanche then pressed forward again, relentless in its aim to take them down.

Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou repeated the Legion Attack continuously, even as the soldiers behind them struggled to withstand the pressure. Only then did the avalanche finally pass.

”Phew...” Li Jue let out a breath. ”Count heads, count heads, see if any fool got taken by the avalanche.”

After this ordeal, the new recruits dared not shout as loudly as before; this place was extraordinarily treacherous.

After a round of counting and reorganizing to ensure no one was left behind, Li Jue led everyone down the mountain. Back at camp, they ate heartily before donning their most used gear.

”Tomorrow, we’re going to deal with the bandits. Prepare your belongings; it might take a long time just to find them. Also, Zhongming, come over here. When we engage the bandits, I’ll give you a chance to be at the forefront with us,” Li Jue arranged after dinner. ”I want to see what our new Military Spirit Legion of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry is all about.”

”Don’t worry, we’ll fight well,” Duan Wei chuckled, then, like the other Xiliang Iron Cavalry soldiers, began maintaining his weapons and gear.

Elsewhere, over a hundred li away from Li Jue’s residence, a group known as bandits—actually Kushan Elites sent by Vasu Deva I to test the Han Dynasty’s strength—were also resting and maintaining their weapons and equipment.

”General, why do we pretend to be bandits here? With just seven thousand Han soldiers, we have the strength to crush them by directly charging,” an incredulous guard asked his general.

”If bandits kill the Han soldiers, it only shows the Han’s weakness. Then we just take over here after driving out the bandits. If we defeat the Han ourselves, more of their troops will come,” Fuward said flatly.

”Mainly because we’re not strong enough; if it were opponents like Kangju or Wusun, those ’Great Powers,’ we wouldn’t need to do this,” said Zasali, a deputy general who had worked with Fuward for years, sneering. ”Pretending to be bandits shows we still have some apprehension about the other side.”

”We’ve been pretending to be bandits here for a while, and they’ve probably realized it. But they haven’t responded yet, which suggests they aren’t strong; otherwise, they wouldn’t fear a fully equipped Camel Cavalry Regiment like us,” Zasali said with a cold smile.

Fuward, now in his middle age, did not reply and was instead deep in thought. As a Guardian of the Northern Empire valued by Vasu Deva I, he had his own judgment.

”I know you want to charge in and take the Han Emperor’s head, but no matter how strong we are, we must never underestimate the enemy before engaging them,” Fuward said calmly. ”Tomorrow, we will continue to probe.”

”Heh, we’ve roamed undefeated in Khorasan, crushing all those who claim to rival us underfoot,” Zasali laughed coldly. ”These Han cavalry don’t even possess the power of the gods, yet they dare fight us!”

Fuward said no more. As someone who had experienced many things, he led an Elite with Dual Talents army to excellence and was rewarded with divine power for pleasing the gods, empowering his soldiers.

This blend of factors allowed his Camel Riders to rule this region undefeated, and even during his sweep of Central Asia, Vasu Deva I left room for him. This allowed him to offer his loyalty to a mortal emperor, Vasu Deva I.

The next day, Li Jue and his men led five thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry toward the south, where the bandits were said to be, while Fuward led his Camel Riders north.

”I wonder which state in the Western Regions can’t sit still this time. If we find out, we’ll wipe out their entire nation,” Guo Si said irritatingly. ”Those small Western states don’t submit to our rule and harbor disloyalty; extermination has long been due.”

”Probably not. I heard from the Scout Cavalry it’s about ten thousand Camel Riders, which clearly isn’t something any individual Western country can muster,” Li Jue shook his head. ”But no matter, as long as we avoid the Vast Desert, we can slaughter however many there are on the plains.”

”Hmmph, this place suits us well; there are no complex terrains, and the cavalry can maneuver freely,” Fan Chou said proudly.

”Toot toot toot~” Three alarm sounds. Li Jue’s heart tightened instantly. All Xiliang Iron Cavalry, even the soldiers at the rear, understood that bandits had been spotted ahead.

”Great, saves us the trouble of searching. Today, we’re chopping all these bastards down,” Fan Chou shouted excitedly, feeling quite itchy handed recently.

Meanwhile, as Li Jue’s side discovered the enemy, Fuward’s scout cavalry also spotted the Xiliang Iron Cavalry. Instead of surprise, his calm eyes held a trace of excitement, likely sharing the same thoughts as Li Jue and others.

For these top-tier elites, receiving the news required no extra commands. Their battle experiences had made them very aware of what to do next.

After learning the enemy was charging toward them, Fuward’s camels suddenly sped up, erasing their speed disadvantage against the warhorses. The radiance emanating from them slowly enhanced their human body’s attributes.