Chapter 11: First Battle, Double Kill, Terrifyingly Strong

Looking down from the sky, the two cavalry forces, like two long dragons from the south and north, rapidly rushed toward each other.

Warhorses neighed, and dust flew up.

But just as the two sides were about to collide, Li Xiao’s mind went blank, as if he didn’t know what he was supposed to do at all.

He just watched helplessly as the Karluk in front of him got closer and closer.

He could clearly see the man’s hideous face, and even the killing intent and panic in his eyes were crystal clear to Li Xiao.

As for Li Xiao himself, he felt his heart beating faster and faster. Everything around him became silent; all he could hear was his own pounding heartbeat.

At this moment, he had to admit, he was nervous.

But things had come to this point; he had no way out.

“Ah~”

Suddenly, Li Xiao let out a roar, and everything around him seemed to return to normal.

His face was ferocious, his eyes bloodshot, staring dead at the Karluk who had already charged opposite him.

“Hah~”

The moment the Karluk’s spear was about to pierce Li Xiao’s chest, he suddenly exerted force, his body instinctively flipping on the horse’s back.

Most of his body hung on the side of the horse, and the cavalry saber in his hand slashed down violently.

Obviously, this Karluk took Li Xiao for a greenhorn. Seeing that it was Li Xiao’s first time on the battlefield, he felt contempt and wanted to finish Li Xiao off with one blow.

But in the end, he paid a heavy price for his arrogance.

Pfft~

Two speeding warhorses passed each other. Li Xiao’s cavalry saber easily sliced across the Karluk’s neck.

Li Xiao completed his first kill in close combat.

Thud!

The Karluk’s blood sprayed out instantly, and the corpse fell heavily from the horse.

After killing a Karluk cavalryman, Li Xiao’s entire state changed.

All discomfort vanished, as if he had used that Karluk’s blood to complete a baptism and sublimation for himself.

“Hahahaha~”

Li Xiao laughed loudly, his heart full of lofty sentiments and fearlessness.

Only after killing a person in close combat did Li Xiao finally transform into a qualified cavalry warrior.

But immediately after, a second Karluk cavalryman came whistling over.

Facing the siege of two Hexi able-bodied men, this Karluk cavalryman knew he was no match and fled in Li Xiao’s direction.

Just a boy; in his eyes, he was a soft persimmon.

“Go to hell.”

The Karluk shouted, raising his curved saber and slashing at Li Xiao.

This time, Li Xiao became unprecedentedly calm and composed, without the slightest nervousness or unease.

Facing the incoming curved saber, he also slashed diagonally.

Clang~

Li Xiao’s cavalry saber collided with the opponent’s curved saber, making an ear-piercing metal sound.

But in the next second, the Karluk’s pupils instantly dilated. He felt a huge force coming from the saber, making his arm numb!

“What?”

The Karluk showed shock and fear. He never expected that the enemy in front of him, who looked like a teenage boy, would have such terrifying strength.

It nearly knocked the saber out of his hand. What terrified him even more was that a notch had cracked open on his saber where it had clashed with Li Xiao’s cavalry saber just now.

“Damn it.”

“Monster~”

The Karluk cavalryman was shaken to the core, and a fear of death enveloped his heart.

Sure enough, in the next second, Li Xiao’s cavalry saber slashed from another direction.

The Karluk cavalryman instinctively raised his saber to block.

Instantly, with a crack, the Karluk looked hideous and disbelieving.

It turned out that the curved saber in his hand was actually chopped in half by Li Xiao in this strike.

Just two short slashes!

And it broke?

“Ahara~”

Looking at the broken curved saber, the Karluk cavalryman was instantly stunned and shouted in terror.

But Li Xiao’s blade momentum didn’t diminish in the slightest. Ignoring the Karluk cavalryman’s scream, it fell heavily, slashing straight across the Karluk cavalryman’s neck.

Pfft~

The cavalry saber cut through the Karluk’s muscles and blood vessels, only stopping at the spine.

Blood sprayed out instantly. Li Xiao, directly facing the Karluk, was sprayed right in the face.

Blood dripped down his cheeks, but Li Xiao smiled.

His cold and stern appearance was like a demon who killed without blinking.

“Hah~”

“The battlefield is nothing more than this.”

After killing two people, Li Xiao’s confidence was completely ignited.

He only felt a warm current sweeping through his body, without the slightest fatigue.

The current him was terrifyingly strong.

When he wanted to continue looking for the next enemy, he found that the Karluks were all dead.

There were fewer than ten Karluks; Li Xiao took care of two himself, and the rest weren’t enough for the others to share.

At this moment in the distance, Kunji, who had been rescued, was standing on the high slope, watching the battle here.

Seeing Li Xiao cut down two Karluks in succession in just a short moment while remaining unscathed himself…

Such valor made the woman involuntarily say in surprise: “Which fortress is this young man from? To be so fierce!”

“This~”

The ten Khitan warriors originally following the woman now numbered only two, and both were quite injured.

The two looked at each other; neither could give an answer.

The main gathering places for Khitans in Western Liao were in the Zhetysu (Seven Rivers) region and the Royal Court.

It was their first time coming to Jin Prefecture too; how would they know the situation of the villages here?

“Forget it, asking you is useless.”

The woman didn’t intend for them to give an answer but continued to watch the battle in the distance.

In her heart, she secretly planned to reward this young man properly after returning to the Eastern Capital. It would be best if she could ask her big brother to transfer him over to be her guard.

Thinking this, the woman took out an arrow.

It still had the blood and brain matter of a Karluk on it, but having grown up on horseback, she didn’t care about any of this.

Instead, she gently rubbed the character ‘Dragon’ on the arrow shaft with her finger.

“They won,” the woman suddenly said.

Facing the forceful encirclement and killing by Li Xiao and the others, the Karluks couldn’t withstand a single blow and were slaughtered one by one.

But the two Khitan warriors showed no joy. Instead, they persuaded her:

“Kunji, let’s go quickly. There are still many Karluks behind; they can’t block them.”

“Yes, Kunji. We’d better return to the Eastern Capital first, ask the King to mobilize the army, and then come to wipe out the Karluks.”

“We can’t let Bahasi and the others’ sacrifice go to waste.”

Facing the persuasion of the two Khitan warriors, the woman felt a vague expectation in her heart for some reason. shaking her head gently, she said: “Wait a little longer.”

…

These nine Karluks died miserably. Compared to those killed instantly by arrows earlier, these last ones were more like they had been dismembered by random blades.

Facing the encirclement of the Hexi Fortress crowd, they didn’t even have many chances to strike back before their bodies were severed and their throats cut.

In contrast, Hexi Fortress had almost no losses; only one person had a scratch on his arm.

“This battle was satisfying!” a Hexi Fortress villager said with a laugh. He had just personally cut a Karluk’s neck, which counted as avenging his relatives who died in the Northern Mountains.

The others also nodded, laughing loudly.

In the past, they couldn’t have imagined that one day they could achieve a battle loss ratio of forty to zero.

But the fact was just so. Their eighteen people killed more than forty Karluks without suffering a single death or serious injury themselves.

It was simply a miracle.

Of course, the deaths of those Khitans earlier didn’t count; the Hexi able-bodied men didn’t consider them one of their own at all.

And achieving such a record, the greatest credit naturally went to Li Xiao.

Everyone’s gaze turned to the young man sitting on his horse in front, filled with heartfelt admiration.

Li Xiao was not only superb in archery and amazingly strong in martial prowess, brave and skilled in battle, but also an excellent commander.

To be able to lead soldiers to victory while minimizing their own losses—this was what truly convinced everyone.

However, just as the crowd exchanged a few words and before they could start cleaning up the battlefield, Li Xiao suddenly looked into the distance, his expression becoming slightly grave.

He immediately shouted to everyone: “Don’t clean up! Take your weapons, throw everything else away.”

“Return to the village immediately!”

The Karluks’ follow-up cavalry, after dealing with the Khitans by the Dragon Bone River, had already caught up.

Nearly fifty Karluk cavalry were less than two li away from Li Xiao and the others.

Li Xiao’s group had just experienced a battle, their stamina was somewhat drained, and they had lost quite a few arrows with no time to retrieve them. Moreover, their numbers were far fewer than the Karluks.

In this situation, they had to avoid battle at all costs.

Thus, the Hexi Fortress crowd dared not delay. After hastily picking up some arrows and weapons from the ground, they mounted their horses and headed in the direction of Hexi Fortress.

While galloping, Erqiang suddenly remembered and said: “There seem to be a few Khitans still alive over there.”

“Why care about them?” Li Xiao shook his head and said.

Saving their own lives was more important.

Let those Khitans die if they must!

Anyway, from the beginning, they didn’t do it to save the Khitans, but purely to kill Karluks.

(End of this chapter)