With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

When Liu Yun's team arrived, this section of the city wall had already been completely cleared by the shaman warriors.

The bodies of Northern Han soldiers lay scattered on the ground, and bloodstains flowed down the brickwork to the foot of the city wall.

The defending troops on both sides were forced to retreat in defeat, giving up a large section of the city wall, leaving enough space for dozens of people to form a battle formation.

Upon seeing this, the Northern Xiongnu soldiers below the city immediately seized the opportunity and climbed up the ladders and ramps, their iron boots making a dull thud as they stepped on the wooden planks.

Without a moment's hesitation, Liu Yun's team, led by their captain, charged straight towards the five shaman warriors.

Among these five people, one was a top-tier martial artist from the Shamanic sect, and the other two were enormous Frost Wolf guards.

Those were top-tier Taoist soldiers, their fur gleaming coldly, their sharp claws gripping the cracks in the city wall bricks, climbing up swiftly like geckos.

Ordinary Taoist soldiers are quite heavy and cannot ride in the air, so they cannot climb the city walls.

But the Frost Wolf Guards are different. Their claws are naturally able to hook onto cracks in the rocks, allowing them to climb vertical city walls as if walking on flat ground, and they can climb up very quickly.

On the Northern Han side, the first-class captain immediately met the first-class shaman warrior. They clashed in close combat, their internal forces surging, and even the air rippled.

Liu Yun and the other seven team members split into two groups to meet the remaining four shaman warriors and the two Frost Wolf Guards.

On paper, the combat strength of a first-rate Dao soldier is roughly equivalent to that of a second-rate human martial artist.

However, the Frost Wolf Guards are top-tier Dao soldiers, with frost on their claws and teeth. They are fast and powerful, and ordinary second-rate martial artists simply cannot stop them in a one-on-one fight.

Fortunately, the team had a large number of members, and although their coordination wasn't perfect, they could cover for each other and weren't instantly defeated.

As soon as the two sides clashed, the Frost Wolf Guards roared and pounced, their icy aura chilling the skin and making one's fingers numb.

Liu Yun parried with his sword, the blade colliding with the wolf's claws, sparks flying. He used the momentum to step back half a step and regain his balance.

He could feel the second-rate internal energy surging through his meridians, even more powerful than when he was third-rate, but he still couldn't fight this kind of Dao soldier head-on; he could only engage in hit-and-run tactics to wear him down.

On the captain's side, the battle with the shaman-level martial artist had reached a fever pitch. Under the fierce palm strikes, the city bricks were shaken and fell down.

Liu Yun glanced around and saw a teammate being forced to retreat by the Frost Wolf Guard. He immediately drew his sword and rushed over, thrusting it into the wolf's eye, forcing the Taoist soldier to turn his head, allowing his teammate to escape.

The two sides are actually not that different in strength.

Liu Yun glanced across the battlefield, then rushed toward a shaman warrior, giving up the Frost Wolf Guard to his teammate.

His swordsmanship doesn't offer much of an advantage against such top-tier Daoist soldiers.

The Frost Wolf Guards are tough and thick-skinned. No matter how skillful their swordsmanship is, it is difficult to inflict a fatal wound even if they are stabbed twice. Instead, they are more likely to expose their weaknesses.

Instead of that, it's better to find a different opponent.

This time, he was met by a shaman warrior wielding two maces.

Liu Yun took a deep breath, slowly activating his second-rate internal energy, and his longsword danced in response.

The swordsmanship of the Qingyuan Sword School was displayed to its fullest extent in his hands, as agile as the wind.

The sword tip was like smoke, the blade like mist, constantly circling around the opponent to launch attacks.

That shaman warrior, though a second-rate fighter, possessed extremely rich combat experience.

The double maces seemed to come alive in his hands, and with the support of his internal energy, they became an impenetrable combination of offense and defense.

Occasionally, he would seize an opening and suddenly sweep his mace horizontally, forcing Liu Yun to dodge with all his might.

Double maces are heavy weapons. Even with internal energy protecting the body, being hit head-on will not be much better.

Liu Yun knew that he had just broken through to the second level, and the quality and quantity of his internal energy were still somewhat inferior to his opponent's. In addition, given the weight and power of the mace, he dared not confront him head-on.

One can only dodge constantly, searching for openings in the smallest of spaces, using sword techniques like a snake spitting its tongue, specifically targeting the opponent's weak points.

The shaman warrior was also a seasoned veteran, wielding his double maces flawlessly, combining offense with defense and defense with offense.

The two fought fiercely in the narrow space on the city wall, sometimes intersecting and sometimes separating, neither able to gain the upper hand.

The city walls were already crowded, and there were other warriors fighting nearby.

The chill emanating from the Frost Wolf Guards continued to spread, and a thin layer of ice gradually formed on the ground, mixed with the blood of the dead soldiers, making it slippery and difficult to walk on.

This bit of freezing is nothing to a second-rate martial artist with a stable base, but it's quite a problem for someone like Liu Yun who needs to constantly move around and dodge.

Once, he dodged a sweeping attack with his double maces, but his feet slipped on the ground, which was a mixture of blood and ice, and he lost his balance.

The shaman warrior reacted extremely quickly, smashing his double maces towards Liu Yun's chest.

With nowhere to retreat, Liu Yun could only parry with his sword.

"clang--"

The longsword clashed with the double maces, the sword broke in two, and the right hand holding the sword was torn open, bleeding profusely.

Liu Yun was thrown into the air by the shock, his back slamming heavily against the city wall. He felt a sweet taste in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The shaman warrior, seizing the advantage, pressed his advantage and brought his double maces down again.

Liu Yun's vision went black, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and his right hand could barely grip the hilt of his sword.

Fortunately, his teammates noticed the danger and rushed forward to block the attack.

Liu Yun staggered to the ground, coughing up two more mouthfuls of blood. The laceration on her hand and the dull pain in her chest were intertwined.

But he did not retreat. The battle situation on the city wall was changing rapidly, and losing even one person could lead to a complete rout.

He gritted his teeth, endured the excruciating pain, picked up the broken sword again, and rejoined the battle.

Fortunately, another team of martial artists was rushing towards them from not far away.

Upon discovering this, the shaman warriors immediately abandoned their opponents and leaped down from the city walls.

The Northern Xiongnu soldiers below the city were prepared, setting up soft mats and rope nets. Second-rate warriors jumped down from the ten-zhang-high city wall, and with backup, they wouldn't be injured.

Although Liu Yun and his teammates tried their best to intercept them, the space on the city wall was cramped, and they also had to guard against the Frost Wolf Guards, so they were ultimately unable to stop them.

The shaman warriors landed lightly, and with a few leaps, they disappeared into the Northern Xiongnu army formation.

This battle has finally come to an end.

No warriors were killed, but the enemy suffered three injuries and our side suffered four, though they were all minor injuries such as cuts and bruises.

For second-rate martial artists, resting for an hour or two and recuperating will not affect their next battle.

Those who truly fell were the ordinary soldiers.

The Northern Han defenders and the Northern Xiongnu attacking forces fought fiercely on and around the city walls, leaving corpses strewn across the battlefield.

This is the norm in siege warfare. Shamanic warriors never linger on the city walls; their only goal is to create damage and breaches before the warrior squads arrive, and then quickly retreat.

The time is too short, and even if there are many casualties, the impact will be limited.

Liu Yun leaned on his broken sword, standing on the city wall, watching the Northern Xiongnu army gather their remaining troops and slowly retreat below, and then looked at the corpses of soldiers scattered all over the ground.

He took a deep breath, sheathed the broken sword, and turned to walk towards the camp.

And so, Liu Yun's first martial arts battle came to an end.

In the following days, Liu Yun participated in three more martial arts team battles.

On one occasion, they encountered a combined attack from two first-rate and two second-rate shaman warriors.

The battle was extremely difficult. The squad struggled to hold on, their internal energy was rapidly depleted, and their formation was constantly being compressed.

Finally, reinforcements arrived, but at a heavy cost: one person was killed on the spot, another was severely injured and lost an arm, and the team was reduced from eight to only six.

The team received no further reinforcements after that.

The battlefield is extremely volatile. Although some people may break through in battle like Liu Yun, they are a minority. Most of the time, casualties are casualties, and there will be no more reinforcements.

After another fierce battle, Liu Yun felt numb all over, as if even the bones in his body were trembling with exhaustion.

He mechanically sheathed his sword, supporting his trembling legs, and followed his captain down the city wall step by step.

"Well, we're lucky," one of the team members whispered to his companion.

"I heard that the team next door encountered a post-natal martial artist yesterday and was completely crushed on the spot. Four of them died, and even the first-class captain didn't make it back alive."

Liu Yun paused, her heart jolting.

The team next door is Chen Hai's team.

Before setting off, Chen Hai jokingly suggested that Liu Yun join their team, saying that this way they could look after each other and he could take care of Liu Yun.

Liu Yun said no more and went straight back to the martial arts camp, dragging his tired body toward the location of Chen Hai's team.

Chen Hai is dead.

He died at the hands of a martial artist who had acquired his skills later in life.