Many children, many blessings; a stunningly beautiful wife is given to you right from the start.

"Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump."

Deep in the woods.

The heavy sound of iron hooves grew louder as they approached.

Elder Zhao suddenly turned his head and looked at the dark, dense forest.

A black dot.

Two black dots.

Ten, a hundred...

First, a small squad of dark-skinned cavalry emerged like ghosts from the shadows of the trees.

Then came hundreds and thousands.

They coalesced into an unstoppable black iron tide, surging fiercely out of the woodland.

The three thousand heavily armored cavalrymen did not immediately charge after leaving the forest.

Instead, they started jogging in unison.

The pace wasn't fast, but it carried an overwhelming momentum that seemed capable of crushing everything.

As they ran, they got faster and faster.

When the last cavalryman also left the woods and merged into the formation, the speed of the entire force began to increase rapidly.

"What...what is that?"

A defeated soldier, who had just crawled out of the blast, looked blankly toward the woodland.

He saw it.

He saw a pure darkness rapidly approaching.

In the darkness, countless eyes reflected a faint glow under the moonlight.

No, those aren't eyes; they're observation holes on some kind of grotesque mask.

"Riding... cavalry!?"

"Did our cavalry return to rescue us?"

The voices of the fleeing soldiers were choked with sobs.

A slightly more conscious companion next to him slapped him.

"Look the fuck out of your skin! Those are black! Black nails!"

"It's ghosts! The ghost army from Black Wind City has attacked!"

These words were like a spark that instantly ignited the entire fleeing troop.

"Run!"

"Devil! They are devils!"

The remaining soldiers completely lost their will to resist.

They cried and screamed, running in all directions with all their might.

However, they eventually discovered in despair that no matter which direction they ran, the black torrent of iron always managed to cut off their path one step ahead.

Three thousand heavily armored cavalrymen demonstrated perfect coordinated combat capabilities.

They executed their tactics of infiltration, division, and encirclement precisely in units of one hundred men.

The whole process was swift and efficient, with a touch of cold, ruthless beauty.

"Brothers! Fight them!"

A lieutenant, his eyes bloodshot, roared hysterically.

He successfully gathered around him more than a hundred soldiers who were also driven to the brink of despair, attempting to form a makeshift circular formation for a final, desperate struggle.

"Yes! Let's fight them! We'll be heroes again in eighteen years!"

"Killing one is enough to break even, killing two is a bonus!"

The extinguishing of the will to survive instead triggered hysteria.

They raised their broken weapons and roared at a small squad of Xuanjia cavalry that was approaching.

However, they were met with only one charge.

That hundred-man cavalry unit didn't even slow down in the slightest.

They were like a speeding dump truck, while the hundred-person formation in front of them was nothing more than a pile of watermelons.

"boom--!"

The torrent of steel instantly crushed the fragile circular array to pieces.

Armor, bones, and flesh—all were indistinguishable before that unparalleled impact.

After one charge, all that remained was a pile of indistinct flesh and twisted metal.

Unstoppable.

"Hahahaha... Hahahaha..."

Witnessing this desperate scene, the lieutenant suddenly knelt on the ground and laughed.

He laughed and laughed, then raised the broken knife in his hand and slashed it across his own neck.

Seeing this scene before him, Elder Zhao's heart sank to the bottom.

It’s over.

Lin Mo.

That young man left them absolutely no way out.

What counterattack, what do you mean by a desperate fight? It's all bullshit.

The outcome was already decided the moment they stepped into this area.

"withdraw!"

Elder Zhao squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth.

This time, he ignored the remnants of the army who were running around like headless flies.

The fate of these cannon fodder is no longer his concern.

He wants to live.

Bring this message back to the Third Prince.

Order the Third Prince to send a large army to attack Lin Mo!

Elder Zhao made a gesture to the two trusted members of the Ghost Gate behind him.

The three immediately turned around and fled for their lives like arrows released from a bow, in the opposite direction from the charging cavalry.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The massive V-shaped wedge formation of three thousand iron cavalry effortlessly tore apart, crushed, and devoured the chaotic rout.

That was no longer a battle.

It was a crushing defeat.

Elder Zhao, accompanied by two subordinates, moved swiftly through the chaotic crowd.

"Get out of here!"

A deserter blocking the way had his skull smashed by one of his men, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

They were like three slippery loaches, making their last struggle in the drying mud.

They were on the verge of escaping this death zone.

Elder Zhao could even see the relatively safe darkness not far away.

However, at that moment...

He suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

It's not the wind.

That was the feeling of danger, as if someone was being targeted by some kind of murderous intent!

The instincts honed through years of killing left Elder Zhao with no time to even think.

He grabbed one of his men by the collar and, without thinking, shoved him backward with all his might.

"Bang—!"

A dull, loud bang followed immediately.

Elder Zhao felt a terrifying force coming from behind him.

That power was domineering, wild, and irresistible.

"Snap!"

He could even hear the agonizing screams of his loyal subordinate behind him as his bones shattered.

Immediately afterwards, the force penetrated his flesh and blood and struck his back solidly.

Elder Zhao's vision went black, and a mouthful of blood rushed to his throat.

He and the "shield" behind him flew forward.

"Thump!"

Almost the instant he landed, Elder Zhao exerted force from his waist and abdomen, attempting a somersault... but failed.

The sharp pain in his chest made him move in a distorted way.

Elder Zhao could only awkwardly prop himself up with his hands and forcefully climb out of the mud.

A sweet taste rose in his throat, and he forced back a mouthful of blood.

Beside him, the trusted confidant who had been used as a "human shield" was no longer human.

But Elder Zhao didn't even glance at it.

His entire attention was now focused on the young man slowly walking towards him.

The young man was dressed in black and had a calm expression on his face.

"You're Lin Mo?"

Elder Zhao's voice was hoarse, and the shock from his internal organs made his words sound bloody.

He moved.

Swift as lightning.

Instead of rushing towards Lin Mo, he grabbed at another surviving subordinate beside him.

"Elder!"

The subordinate screamed in terror, trying to dodge, but Elder Zhao's ghostly claws gripped his shoulder blades tightly, rendering him unable to move.

Another brand-new human shield has been created.

Lin Mo stopped and looked at Elder Zhao, who was not far away.

"So you're the one who's going to slaughter my city?"

"A massacre of the city?"

Elder Zhao held the hostage tightly, hiding behind his subordinates, only revealing his sinister eyes.

He retreated step by step, trying to distance himself from Lin Mo.

"Your martial arts skills are unparalleled; you must not be an unknown person."

"What happened today might be a misunderstanding. If you would allow us to leave, as for His Highness the Third Prince, I..."

Lin Mo's attack just now was so fierce that Elder Zhao couldn't immediately gauge his strength.

But one thing is certain: this Lin Mo is definitely not simple!

Perhaps he is a disciple of a reclusive master?

Or perhaps it encountered some extraordinary opportunity that allowed it to soar to great heights?

But in any case, it seems I've really bitten off more than I can chew this time.

Elder Zhao only wanted to buy time in order to find a way to defeat the enemy or escape.

But before he could finish speaking, his mind was still preoccupied with other things.

Lin Mo had already made his move!