A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu grabbed the brigade leader by the throat with one hand and dragged him out from under the horse. He used the brigade leader’s body as a shield, strong-arming the man. “Make them stop.”

However, the brigade leader was hesitant.

Seeing this, Qi Xuansu exerted more force to strangle the brigade leader. The brigade leader felt suffocated and hurriedly ordered, “Everyone, stop!”

The Black Robes looked at each other for a brief moment and stopped charging toward Qi Xuansu. However, they did not put down their weapons.

To be fair, even if Qi Xuansu was at the Yuxu stage, he would be at a disadvantage facing the charging cavalry on flat ground, with no way to defend himself.

That was because neither Martial Arts Practitioners nor Rogue Cultivators had effective means to defend against the cavalry. They could only fight in close combat. These cavalrymen weighed more than 1.5 tons each. At full speed, their force would definitely exceed a punch from a Yuxu-stage Martial Arts Practitioner.

Qi Xuansu could only overturn one horse, not multiple cavalrymen charging at him.

On the contrary, Qi Refiners and Diviners in the Guizhen stage had an advantage in this regard. Their flying swords and spells could cause significant damage.

However, the cavalrymen did not fight alone. Each of them had their own cultivation, and in a group, their power should not be underestimated. Some mid-ranking soldiers could be Xiantian Beings, while high-ranking soldiers could be Heavenly Beings, like Zhao Fu’an, who once severely injured Qi Xuansu.

More importantly, the appearance of this group of cavalrymen meant that a battalion of Black Robes was nearby. If Qi Xuansu could not get rid of these cavalrymen fast enough, he would likely get surrounded by a large number of Black Robes with no way out. Only a Heavenly Being would stand a chance to escape in that situation.

Therefore, Qi Xuansu had to use some tricks. First, he feigned being weak so that the soldiers would let down their guard. Then he ambushed their leader when everyone least expected it.

If Chen Meng had let Qi Xuansu go, Qi Xuansu would not have gone on a rampage and killed these Black Robes. That was why Qi Xuansu repeatedly reminded Chen Meng to make things easier for everyone.

Qi Xuansu muttered, “I didn’t want to provoke the Black Robes, but you’re all bullies. Stop trying to scare me off with the Imperial Court and the rest of your army. After all, I’ve already killed one of you, so it doesn’t matter how many more I kill. I can only die once, anyway. I might as well drag a few of you down with me.”

The brigade leader looked horrified, but he forced himself to stay calm. “Brother, calm down. Let’s talk! I saw everything that happened earlier. It was Chen Meng who crossed the line first, so you’re not at fault.”

“Really now?” Qi Xuansu sneered. “But he’s already dead. Are you really going to let him die in vain?”

The brigade leader was speechless.

Qi Xuansu slowly backed away while holding him hostage. The rest of the Black Robes followed them slowly, always maintaining a distance of about three meters. Such a distance made it impossible for Qi Xuansu to turn around and flee. It was also difficult for the cavalry to charge at him.

Suddenly, Qi Xuansu broke the stalemate. No one thought Qi Xuansu could be so quick even while holding an adult man hostage. He jumped up, knocked a cavalryman off his horse, and rode the horse backward. He did all this while still using the brigade leader as a shield. That was why the Black Robes were flustered and hesitant to attack, for fear of accidentally injuring their brigade leader.

Qi Xuansu squeezed the horse’s belly with his legs, and the one-tonne horse ran wildly with two adult men on its back.

In the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, firearms and horseriding were compulsory courses. Qi Xuansu graduated at the top of his class, so he was not inferior to these cavalrymen. With his strong physique, he could sit firmly on the horse even without using his hands. He could also control the saddle with just his lower body.

The rest of the cavalrymen wanted to pursue Qi Xuansu, but all they heard was the whooshing of blades. Several throwing knives cut through the air and sliced the horses’ legs. At such a close distance, the throwing knives were powerful, though not enough to chop off the horses’ legs entirely. Frightened, some horses raised their front hooves high, while other horses knelt on their front legs. The scene was chaotic as the soldiers tried to control the horses.

Taking advantage of this situation, Qi Xuansu distanced himself from the cavalry and fled.

After about five kilometers, Qi Xuansu had successfully escaped from the Black Robes’s pursuit.

At this time, the brigade leader who was still held hostage was shocked beyond words, as Qi Xuansu accomplished this purely based on tactics, not cultivation. This man’s strategic thinking and adaptability were far superior to ordinary people, indicating he was no ordinary traveler.

The brigade leader was in a dilemma. He knew he would be in trouble for letting Qi Xuansu escape and for being held hostage. If he survived, he would be considered lucky to keep his position as the brigade leader.

Just as the brigade leader was mourning his future, he noticed that the horse was slowing down. He was sitting backward on the horse, so he could not see what was happening in front. However, as a veteran on the battlefield, he was keenly aware of an unusually depressing atmosphere.

After a moment, the horse stopped and neighed.

The brigade leader finally saw what was before him when he was thrown off the horse—a battalion of more than 500 black-armored cavalrymen. Their armor resembled a dense iron forest, with a Camp Commandant leading them.

The camp system originated from the Wei Dynasty and carried forward to the Black Robes of the Great Xuan Dynasty.

In the Xizhou Frontier Army, the Xizhou Protector had a slightly higher position than the Chief Admiral, and the Deputy Protector was slightly superior to the Chief Military Official. Below them were the Deputy Chief Military Official, Regional General, Mobile Corps General, and Camp Commandant, who was a fifth-rank officer. Below that was the Company Commander.

In terms of grade, a Camp Commandant of the Black Robes was on the same level as a Lieutenant Colonel of the Green Phoenix Guard. The deterrent effect of 500 elite cavalrymen was certainly not inferior to that of a Lieutenant Colonel’s Office.

If Qi Xuansu was still in the Daoist Order, he would have been a sixth-rank Daoist priest enjoying the treatment of a fifth-rank priest. He would have been able to develop a friendship with this Camp Commandant, as they were considered of the same level.

It was a pity that Qi Xuansu no longer kept his Daoist identity. At this moment, the Black Robes only regarded him as a cult demon from the secret society.

Qi Xuansu got off the horse, smart enough not to attack the 500 cavalrymen by himself.

Even if these 500 soldiers were all ordinary people, Qi Xuansu might not be able to fight his way out. The Black Robes’s cultivation level was comparable to Daoist priests from the Daoist Order. Moreover, this battalion was from the frontier army, which meant they were elite soldiers, raising the bar even more.

For example, Chen Meng and this brigade leader were almost Xiantian Beings, similar to Zhou Feilong, the Green Phoenix Guard assistant major who died at the hands of Qi Xuansu. A Company Commander and Camp Commandant would most likely be at the Kunlun stage, while Regional Generals and Mobile Corps Generals would be at the Yuxu stage. A Deputy Chief Military Officer would be at the Guizhen stage, and a Chief Military Officer would be a Heavenly Being.

This was just their estimated individual combat power. But the Black Robes were not lone fighters. They were trained to fight in formation.

In this situation, Qi Xuansu would be crazy to rush into battle alone.

Qi Xuansu’s mind was racing as he tried to think of a way to escape.

The Camp Commandant sized up Qi Xuansu and asked in a deep voice, “Are you the swordsman who saved the District Princess?”

Qi Xuansu was startled to hear this. “District Princess...Qin Xiang?”

“Yes.” The Camp Commandant held up the horse’s reins and paused before he warned, “It is forbidden to address the District Princess by the name.”

Qi Xuansu had no intention to go against the Black Robes. He just wanted to get out of here alive, so he nodded in agreement.

After confirming Qi Xuansu’s identity, the Camp Commandant declared, “The General is aware that you have saved the District Princess, so he would like to see you. Please come with us.”

Qi Xuansu did not know who this “general” was, but he had a bold guess, especially when he recalled seeing the Daoist Order’s flying ship at the reclaimed land earlier. He asked, “May I ask which general are you referring to?”

“The General mentioned is the Deputy Protector of Loulan from the Xizhou Protectorate, who is leading an army to wipe out the demons in Yongzhou under the military orders of the Protectorate,” The Camp Commandant replied with a straight face.

Qi Xuansu weighed the pros and cons in his mind. It was difficult to predict what would be the outcome of their meeting. He had killed a Sentry Leader, but he had also saved a District Princess. Which of these were more significant to the General?

After some thought, Qi Xuansu felt that saving a District Princess was more significant, so he nodded and complied. “Alright. I’ll go with you.”

The guard signaled his entourage to give Qi Xuansu a new horse, then ordered the brigade leader held hostage by Qi Xuansu to ride back to his station.