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Chapter 67 Firefight
"Team A, take note, they're coming. Set up your formation on the spot."

A clear voice came from the small box at Liu Shuyue's waist.

Chen Xuan gave her this magical artifact before they set off, saying it allowed for real-time communication within a 20-mile radius, making it much more convenient than a sound transmission talisman. The Mala Village troops split into three groups, and each group's leader received a magical artifact, allowing them to know each other's situation even if they couldn't see each other.

Liu Shuyue immediately ordered the troops to stop and began to set up the Eight Gates of Life and Death Technique.

While she was formidable in individual combat, her experience in leading troops was virtually nonexistent. She also didn't consider herself exceptionally talented in every aspect, so she unreservedly entrusted command to the guest with the strangely colored hair. Previously, while learning to operate new weapons from Lin Qing, she had discovered that this person possessed a remarkably profound understanding of large-scale battles. Despite her young age, she seemed to have experienced countless life-or-death battles; this incongruity puzzled her, but she understood that if Lin Qing were willing to help, it would undoubtedly increase Spicy Village's chances of victory.

The biggest advantage of the new weapon is its range.

The Eight Gates of Life and Death Technique can provide extremely strong protection within a radius of fifty meters.

Therefore, the optimal strategy for Group A is self-evident.

However, what happened next far exceeded Liu Shuyue's expectations.

Not long after everyone took their positions, someone couldn't resist firing—even though the enemy was still more than 800 meters away. Following Lin Qing's instructions, it was best to hold back until within 200 meters before firing, as this would significantly increase the kill rate.

But amidst the sporadic gunfire, she saw people falling one after another in the surrounding enemy ranks, not just hearing gunfire as Coach Lin had said.

After activating the array talisman, she tried firing a couple of shots herself and found that the weapon was actually quite accurate. As long as you were quick-witted and had a little bit of anticipation, you could basically hit exactly where you pointed.

So she didn't stop them from firing, but let them do as they pleased.

On the city wall of Jiufeng City, Lin Qing clicked her tongue in amazement, "What kind of people are these... They can achieve effects almost like fire control computer-assisted attacks just by using their physical bodies. Cultivation is too effective!"

Chen Xuan leisurely sipped the high-quality green tea sent by the Liu family. If the gun is regarded as a magical weapon, its range and lethality are quite impressive. He had already experienced this when he fought against Crazy Judy and Fei Wuniang. They were all ability users, but each of them could pull out a handy firearm from their crotch.

It's more like a power amplifier.

An ordinary person with a gun can take on ten opponents single-handedly; in the hands of a cultivator, it will only become stronger.

If one day a gun can no longer penetrate a defense, it doesn't mean the gun's concept is outdated, but rather that its firepower needs further improvement.

This is best exemplified in Liu Shuyue's case.

"Master Immortal! A few tough guys are coming from over there!" a villager shouted.

Liu Shuyue also spotted her target—a rogue cultivator who had conjured a barrier emitting a blue glow in front of him and was charging towards her despite the continuous gunfire. Seeing this, the other rogue cultivators also moved closer to him, almost forming a rope.

She immediately broke away from the group and faced the challenger alone.

The Eight Gates Formation protects the villagers of Mala Village, but she doesn't need to confine herself to a self-imposed prison.

The villagers also shifted their gun barrels, turning to use even more intense firepower to suppress the surrounding enemies and provide cover for the Immortal Master.

The two sides soon met on a narrow path!
"Freeze!" Several rogue cultivators uttered the true words!

Liu Shuyue felt a jolt throughout her body, but then she used even stronger spiritual energy to break through the restriction—any true spell is based on the strong bullying the weak, and this move had little effect on her.

She pointed at the other person and said, "Freeze!"

The taut rope seemed to suddenly lose its direction, abruptly freezing in place. Although it was only for a brief second, Liu Shuyue's follow-up move had already struck.

She launched a "forced takeover," targeting the leader, the rogue cultivator with the shield.

This was the first time she had used her "ability." Unlike the spells and talismans she had learned, she didn't need to memorize any difficult incantations or mobilize her spiritual energy to activate the corresponding acupoints... Her ability was like an innate instinct; whatever she thought of, the effect was achieved!

The barrier in front of the rogue cultivator suddenly shattered, and he stared at Liu Shuyue in astonishment, his eyes filled with disbelief, "What did you do to me—"

But before she could finish speaking, Liu Shuyue seized the opportunity to fire.

Bullets rained down on the cultivators, making it harder for them to dodge the bullets that had been clinging to each other.

The other party immediately erupted in wails.

A seasoned rogue cultivator seized this brief moment of chaos, using the Shrinking Earth technique to flash behind Liu Shuyue, raising his cleaver and slashing fiercely at the immortal master who was firing his gun.

However, Liu Shuyue didn't even turn her head; a blue barrier completely blocked his greatsword. This was precisely the spiritual energy shield used by the rogue cultivator earlier!
Only then did Liu Shuyue turn around and smash his nose with the butt of her gun, before resorting to force again.

Master, please forgive me. This is all to repay my debts.

The disciple continues on the path of comforting the people, daring not to deviate even slightly.

……

"What's going on? Why aren't the rogue cultivators surrounding them?" Gong Lingwu said impatiently.

The battle had been going on for more than two quarters of an hour, and the situation was still very unclear. The generals could see that the cultivators were scattered in the fields, and they maintained a distance of one or two hundred meters from the seven hundred enemy soldiers, as if there was an invisible wall separating the two.

Occasionally, a few cultivators would manage to pass through this transparent wall and even rush into the enemy's formation. However, these individuals did not cause any significant disturbance; after making contact, they would quickly disappear without a trace, as if they had vanished into the sea.

"A bunch of rabble," a general commented disdainfully. "They have all sorts of magic, but they fight without any strategy or method."

This statement was unanimously agreed upon by everyone.

In some ways, this group's performance at this moment is not even comparable to that of the infantry battalion.

At least when their superiors ordered an attack, the soldiers dared not stop to catch their breath.

"Did you all hear those crackling sounds?" Gong Jiang suddenly asked.

At first, he thought it was a hallucination, since the entire army was preparing to attack, and the sounds of horses' hooves, soldiers' shouts, and the clanging of armor were almost continuous, making it impossible to distinguish the source of the strange noises.

But the crackling sounds grew louder and more frequent.

Just then, the light cavalry finally reached their attack position, and the skilled riders began to nock their arrows and urge their horses to gallop faster.

Taking advantage of their horses' speed, light cavalry could maintain a distance of 100 to 200 meters from the enemy, using arrows to kill infantrymen who were powerless to retaliate.

Suddenly, a series of strange noises erupted in the enemy's position, as rapid as a sudden storm!

A large number of cavalrymen collapsed to the ground as if they had suddenly fallen asleep, and their horses did the same. Those in front knelt down one after another, and those behind followed suit, repeating the process like a chain reaction. Moreover, their formation was far more orderly than that of the scattered cultivators, making the scene look particularly eerie!
Gong Jiang finally realized that his troops had been under attack from the enemy from beginning to end, but most people were completely unaware!
The independent cultivators preferred to fight independently, and were scattered far apart. In addition, the thick weeds in the countryside made it difficult for the cavalry to assess their situation.

Now it's the cavalry's turn to suffer the same fate.

"Woo-woo!" A short bugle call sounded, but it didn't come from the front lines.

"Report! The Baizhou army has spotted an unidentified force approaching from the rear! Their numbers are less than a thousand!"

"Report! The Cangzhou army has been attacked by enemy forces, the number of whom is unknown, but at least over a thousand!"

Several messengers hurriedly ran up the earthen slope to report to the commander.

Gong Lingwu said incredulously, "We...we've been caught in the crossfire?"

Anyone with even a basic understanding of warfare knows that if the enemy has five men, attack them; if they have ten, surround them. Leaving aside why they would abandon their cities to engage in open battle, using only two or three thousand men to encircle an army of over twenty thousand, it's utterly incomprehensible!

"What weapons are they carrying?" a general shouted. "Are they all carrying a gray-black stick?"

“Well, it seems so…” the messenger thought for a moment, “Our scouts were taken down from a great distance, which doesn’t seem like something a cultivator would do.”

If they weren't cultivators, then what were they? Everyone's faces were ashen. Could these bizarre scenes before their eyes be something an ordinary person could accomplish?

Within just a few minutes, the six hundred cavalrymen not only failed to enter the range of the arrows, but their formation began to break apart, and they began to show signs of defeat.

If the troops attacking from the rear are also all cultivators loyal to Liu Shuyue, that would be terrifying!

Three thousand well-trained men are enough to be called an army!
"Pass on my orders!" Gong Jiang finally spoke, his voice as steady as a rock. "All troops, advance towards Jiufeng City! We'll move too, let the vanguard lead the charge!"

He knew that retreat was absolutely out of the question. If he hastily changed the Baizhou and Cangzhou troops from the rear guard to the front guard, they would likely collapse immediately, and thousands would be killed or wounded just from trampling each other.

The chance of victory still exists: to sweep past the small force in front of us like a flood and be the first to storm into Jiufeng City. Then, we can use the city walls to our advantage and block the pursuers.

He had already realized that these cultivators, combined with their staffs, were indeed incredibly powerful, but the number of enemy troops positioned on the front was simply too small! Judging from the speed at which they were eliminating the light cavalry, it was impossible for them to kill all the soldiers before the main army could overwhelm them!
(End of this chapter)