From the south came sudden bursts of thunderous roaring. Two flying vessels appeared one after the other, flying toward the battlefield. These two immortal vessels were about thirty zhang long, distinct in build from any Wei Yuan had seen before. Enveloped entirely in a faint green radiance, they were short and thickset, radiating a chilling intent to kill.
Flying in succession, the vessels headed straight for the fortress. As obvious targets as they were, the Liao cavalry naturally would not let them close in on the battlefield. Ten thousand arrows loosed at once: countless Gale Arrows and artifact armor-piercing arrows, trailing streaks of brilliance, shot toward the lead vessel. Yet the moment the barrage touched the green glow on the ship's surface, the arrows tumbled to the ground one after another. At the same time, volleys of sharp arrows burst from the vessel, cutting down the approaching Liao cavalry in swathes.
Seeing that the Liao arrows could not halt the vessels, a surge of yellow vapor suddenly erupted from the north, shooting straight up. Billowing yellow dust, like an apocalyptic sandstorm that brought ruin to all things, instantly surged several hundred zhang into the sky!
Someone let out a heavy snort laden with fury, causing the entire battlefield to tremble. Right after came a vast, chilling eagle's cry as an immense white falcon burst from the yellow dust, crossing ten thousand zhang in an instant and slamming violently into the vessel!
With his keen sight, Wei Yuan saw that within the massive white falcon was actually an enormous arrow over a zhang long. The giant arrow tore through the vessel's green radiance and drove nearly its entire length inside! The vessel immediately wobbled and plunged like a drunken man, ultimately crashing outside the fortress and crushing over a dozen Liao riders who had failed to dodge in time.
"Impudent!" A roar of fury sounded from the south. Instantly, a bolt of lightning a hundred zhang across materialized out of nowhere and struck toward the yellow vapor in the north.
Struck by the lightning, a hundred zhang of the towering yellow vapor dissipated instantly. Yet three white falcons flew forth from the yellow dust in close succession, each emergence causing the yellow vapor to drop by a hundred zhang. The three falcons flew nearly in a straight line, instantaneously spanning ten thousand zhang of open sky before plunging into what had been empty air in the south.
Out of the void flashed an exceedingly fierce sword light, carving a jagged hundred-zhang trail through the air like a bolt of lightning and slashing two of the falcons into nothingness! But the third falcon pierced through the sword light, plunged into the void, and vanished.
The mountain of yellow vapor in the north disappeared from sight. The south appeared utterly still, yet Wei Yuan could clearly sense that the clear qi of the human domain across the battlefield had weakened somewhat.
Those few strikes just now carried the might of heaven and earth—was this a clash between Perfected Persons?
The Northern Liao dharma idol had loosed four arrows in total: one had brought down a flying vessel, and one had seemingly struck the human dharma idol. In return, he had taken a bolt of lightning himself, and those final three arrows also appeared to have depleted his vitality. Judging from the outcome, both sides seemed to have suffered, but Wei Yuan's cultivation and vision were insufficient to know for certain.
However, the second flying vessel was now unobstructed. It flew directly above the fortress and touched down right beside the rear gate. The moment it landed, its hatch doors swung wide, and squad after squad of soldiers in heavy armor and wielding heavy crossbows rushed out. As soon as they disembarked, they formed neat ranks and advanced in rotation. The moment the front rank fired, the next rank pressed forward; once they discharged their bolts, the rank behind took their place. Rolling forward rank by rank in this manner, they mowed down Liao cavalry in swathes within a hundred zhang ahead. None could draw near.
The encirclement around the fortress was severed on the spot. Unable to circle and wheel on their horses, the Liao cavalry were left momentarily bewildered, suffering horrific casualties in the blink of an eye under the crossfire of crossbow bolts from the fortress and the armored troops.
Two more vessels appeared from the south. This time, they bypassed the fortress entirely and flew between the Liao vanguard cavalry and their rear archer formations. First, an aerial volley disrupted the archer lines, and then the vessels forcibly touched down between the cavalry and archers, cleanly cutting the two forces apart. Heavily armored crossbowmen poured out of the vessels continuously, swiftly creating a line of death with a curtain of bolts.
Trapped and unable to break through the blockade, the Liao riders who had besieged the fortress suffered skyrocketing casualties under fire from multiple directions. They had no choice but to skirt around the two vessels and retreat along the flanks. The roving cavalry intercepting reinforcements also lost all will to fight, breaking off one after another and fleeing northward.
Though defeated, the Liao cavalry did not descend into chaos. The main force appeared scattered, but in reality they maintained an even speed and moved in parallel, continuously shooting toward the rear and sides as they withdrew. Smaller squads broke into a full sprint, refusing to entangle with the human cultivators. The reinforcements from the vessels were heavily armored crossbowmen—unrivaled in defense, but possessing virtually zero mobility. Once they harvested the final wave, they could only watch as the Liao cavalry retreated back into the Liao domain.
Wei Yuan hurled a javelin, claiming his final kill. No enemies remained around him.
The mount beneath him suddenly let out a long whinny and collapsed limp to the ground, breathing its last. Having carried Wei Yuan through the entire battle, it was thoroughly exhausted; now that the military fortunes receded, it could no longer hold on.
Only as the great battle concluded did Wei Yuan feel a faint soreness and numbness across his body. A sharp pain began to flare in several places simultaneously—he had been struck by arrows without even realizing it.
The battlefield was strewn with corpses of men and horses. Pools of blood spread across the earth like scabs, and a foul, pungent stench permeated the air, impossible to escape. Many wounded Northern Liao riders were still struggling to crawl northward, only to be slain one by one by those scouring the field. These men clearly harbored bitter hatred for the Liao Clan, executing wounded foes with exceptional cruelty; often they were unwilling to kill in a single blow, severing limbs first before finally taking their heads. The wounded of the human race were lifted onto horseback and rushed to the fortress for treatment.
At this moment, all four gates of the fortress swung open, and a resonant voice boomed out:
"The Liao barbarians have retreated! Reinforcements and fellow Daoists, please enter the fortress to rest and settle military merits!"
Settle military merits?
Wei Yuan had assumed all military merits would be settled together once the grand exam concluded. He had not expected this single battle could be settled on the spot. Although early or late settlement made little difference on paper, Wei Yuan immediately saw several units in the distance quicken their pace, hurrying toward the fortress.
After a moment's thought, Wei Yuan understood. By custom, disciples of every sect had to return to their own sects to tally merits and receive rewards. But settling them on the spot meant they were counted as merits of the Palace of Grand Beginning, and the rewards paid out would come from the Palace of Grand Beginning. This was exceedingly enticing even to disciples of the other three immortal sects, to say nothing of disciples from second-tier sects, who naturally scrambled for the chance.
Wei Yuan found an ownerless warhorse, spurred it toward the fortress, and passed through the gates moments later.
Inside the main entrance lay a smooth thoroughfare wide enough for two carriages to travel side by side. Though the road was compacted dirt, it had been treated with Dao arts, allowing horses to gallop freely upon it. The road led straight to the fortress center, where a four-story building stood tall, its highest floor overlooking the defensive walls to monitor movements outside.
The interior of the fortress was completely transformed. The original common dwellings were all gone, replaced by rows of makeshift pavilions. Many arrows were still stuck in the roofs, and cultivators were busy pulling them out one by one to repair the buildings.
Upon stepping through the gates, Wei Yuan felt as though he had crossed an invisible boundary. The concentration of surrounding spiritual qi rose sharply, while a subtle layer of Dao power swept across his body.
Several cultivators stood within the entrance. One Daoist held a booklet and swept it over Wei Yuan, then said, "Ah, it is Martial Nephew Wei of Sky Azure Hall. For treatment of your wounds, you may present your identity token at the clinic. To settle military merits, proceed to the Hall of Merits. Once inside, the left hall is reserved for cultivators of our Palace of Grand Beginning, while other sects go to the right hall. The clinic is along this road, and the temporary Hall of Merits has been set up outside by the flying vessels."
Wei Yuan wanted to ask a few more questions, but a long line was already forming behind him. So he stepped into the fortress and headed for the clinic first. The clinic was already packed to the brim, and Wei Yuan sat for a good while before his turn came. Yet he felt no cause for complaint; after all, every other person looked far more severely wounded than he was, and several dying men were carried in halfway through, making it impossible not to let them cut in line.
When Wei Yuan's turn finally came, the healer was a middle-aged Daoist whose robes were stained with blotches of blood and grime. Standing before Wei Yuan, without speaking a word, he gave only a glance, and Wei Yuan stripped off his outer armor, unfastened his robes, and bared his wounds.
At the sight of the wounds, the Daoist jumped in fright: "Four—no, five arrows! Why didn't you speak up sooner! Quick, bring the Life-Extending Pills! And Bluestone Detoxification Powder! Bring several bottles!"
A young Daoist acolyte dashed off like the wind and rushed back just as swiftly, clutching several medicine bottles. Only then did the Daoist steady his mind to examine the wounds closely, and he was startled once more: "Martial Nephew, this physical body of yours..."
Moments later, five arrowheads were tossed into the waste bin. The Life-Extending Pills and Detoxification Powder were returned untouched just as they had been brought. Even the white cloths used to pack the wounds and absorb blood bore only faint smudges of pale pink, hardly resembling blood at all.
Wei Yuan donned his clothes and armor, stretched his body, and felt that his injuries had already virtually healed.
The Daoist looked at him with a strange expression and said, "Martial Nephew, if wounds like these were on anyone else, they would be life-threatening. On you, they count as minor injuries... right? Still, one cannot discount the merit of charging into enemy lines just because of your formidable physique. How about this: I will still report them as critical, near-fatal wounds. Does Martial Nephew have any objection?"
Afraid Wei Yuan might feel embarrassed, the Daoist added, "Disciples of the Hall of the Bright King are all tallied this way. If not, they would kick up a fuss."
When the Palace of Grand Beginning calculated merits and contributions, aside from traditional feats like slaying enemies and expanding territory, hardships such as sustaining injuries also counted toward military merits. Disciples of the Hall of the Bright King possessed exceptionally resilient bodies, able to endure the wounds of several men combined, so they were frequently dispatched to the most dangerous front lines. Consequently, a special method of merit calculation had been established for them: the standard of judgment was based on what such injuries would do to an ordinary Mortal Tier cultivator. If an ordinary cultivator would be severely wounded, it was counted as a severe wound; if an ordinary cultivator would have died three times over, it was credited as three kills.
Hearing that there was precedent, Wei Yuan naturally raised no objection. With that, the Daoist credited Wei Yuan with eighty merits.
Chapter 84