A crushing defeat.

Thirty thousand steppe cavalrymen fell into a great rout in an instant. Mo Yi and Zilan easily spotted the figure of the Steppe King in his rare golden chainmail among the Steppe people, as if he had no awareness of the imminent threat of Xiang Ling attacking him all the way to his head.

"Well, there actually isn't a head. Under the Princess's spear, it seems like not even a complete body remains. But that doesn't matter, Xiang Ling never intended to show off by taking this guy's head. Swiftly destroying the Steppe people's command and then continuing the rampage is the goal."

While the cavalry was formidable, without leadership, they were nothing more than scattered sand. If Xiang Ling had given them a chance to retreat and regroup instead of killing the Steppe King first, she would not have been confident to lead them into her trap again.

After all, even though the Steppe people might have simpler minds, they were not fools who would fall for the same trick quickly.

Relying solely on brute force, with her Holy Rank, or rather, Earth Immortal-level power, she could indeed slaughter the Steppe cavalry haphazardly. However, she wasn't a true immortal, nor the Monkey King from a novel, with the ability to intercept all scattered enemies single-handedly.

Allowing a Steppe person into the northwest would pose a threat to the people they protected.

Of course, all these worries were nonexistent now. After the rousing speech made by the Steppe King, his personal expedition was cut short on the battlefield, enough to shake the morale of the Steppe people. Combined with Zilan's flying swords from the sky and Mo Yi's airborne cannons continuously reaping lives, signs of defeat were apparent in the main camp of thirty thousand people.

The Steppe King was dead, a Guardian Commander was also slain, as were several Wolfhead Commanders. Not only did this indicate the invasion had lost its backbone, but it also meant a reshuffling within the Royal Court tribe. The remaining Guardian Commanders and Wolfhead Commanders now had the opportunity to vie for the Golden Tent's throne, and at such a time, they were unwilling to risk further losses among their troops.

As for thoughts of continuing the attack and plundering... that was a joke. The Harbinger who had single-handedly cut through the vanguard was still standing there. With the Steppe King's united army now harboring thoughts of seizing the Golden Tent's throne, their former direct confrontation was now out of the question.

The first appearance of retreat was seen at the tail end of the formation, the rearguard, located a bit of a distance from Xiang Ling's reaping battlefield. Led by a Guardian Commander, they wasted no time turning around and fleeing, marking the first escape and making the defeat uncontrollable.

Thus, it eventually devolved into the scene of Xiang Ling chasing down tens of thousands of cavalrymen alone.

"Impressive..."

Tiran clicked her tongue. Indeed, she didn't have a chance to make a move herself. Witnessing the spectacle of one against a thousand, a scene that only existed in the tales of bards, was eye-opening for her.

In reality, even with the pitfalls, Xiang Ling's ruthless killings, and the chaos and trampling caused by the Steppe people themselves, the actual casualties among the Steppe people were only in the thousands. What truly led to their defeat was the scattered morale and the shock and fear brought about by Xiang Ling's sudden intrusion.

But regardless, the Steppe people's Western Army was now powerless to fight again, a fact that was indisputable. The use of Holy Rank in such a manner was eye-opening; Tiran wondered if one day, when she truly entered the realm of the Holy Rank, she could also find an opportunity to experience the feeling of being a force of one on the battlefield.

This level of power truly was a great weapon on the battlefield.

"Congratulations, General Xiang, I mean Xiang Jun, on your victory."

Tiran met Xiang Ling, who had leisurely ridden back after the expulsion. When Tiran saw Xiang Ling's appearance, he raised an eyebrow and hesitated, "You've got...?"

"No problem, it's the enemy's blood."

Xiang Ling glanced down at her armor. Tiran usually condensed and evaporated some Chi to get rid of the dirt when he fought, but it seemed Xiang Ling hadn't paid attention to that. Her bright silver armor was completely stained with blood, losing its original luster.

"Ah, General Ling, you're still a girl, no one will like you if you get yourself so dirty," Tiran casually repeated something Mimi had told him before.

"Oh?"

Xiang Ling took off her headpiece, the wind blowing her shiny black hair all over. Tiran couldn't quite make out her expression, but her voice carried a hint of teasing, "If I clean up and dress nicely, would you accept my proposal, Silver War Maiden?"

You... I...

The princess was caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events, she didn't know how to respond and tried to seek help, only to find Zhiran standing expressionless... or rather, looking at them both with a blank face, while Moyi was still gritting his teeth, holding a handkerchief in his mouth.

"A-anyway, things here are settled. Let's go check out the east side, General Ling!"

Tiran awkwardly changed the subject for once.

...

Meanwhile, the east they mentioned had officially gone to war.

In a way, the eastern border troops had used tactics similar to Xiang Ling. There was also a highly elite cavalry unit at Yanmen Pass, but with only three thousand soldiers, they were not enough to face the full force of seventy thousand nomads. They sent out their cavalry to engage the nomad vanguard in what turned out to be a textbook cavalry battle.

Relying on fine steel armor and lances, the cavalry at Yanmen Pass managed to hold their own against nearly three times their number of nomad forces, drawing the rest into the melee and luring the nomad army into a prepared battlefield.

The enraged nomads, caught up in the fight, opted for a direct assault against the well-prepared Yanmen Pass defenders. In their eyes, the cavalry forces of the defenders, who had lost a significant portion in the previous clash, could not resist their cavalry charge with just infantry.

Cavalry always had the natural advantage over infantry, as history has shown.

But the defenders' response came in the form of a layered shield wall backed by a row of mobile Pure Yang Annihilation Spears and self-propelled autonomous artillery platforms, making one marvel at how the tech tree had skewed.

And also, my good sir, times have changed.

"Archers ready! Direction fifty-two, thirty degrees, one volley, fire!"

"Correction, thirty-two degrees, thirty-four degrees, thirty-six degrees, three volleys, fire!"

Amidst the observer's shouts, the charging nomad cavalry raced fearlessly towards the Yanmen Pass defenders, only to be met with a rain of arrows and beams of light from the mystical artillery, instantly suppressing the momentum of the charge.

Of course, the sheer number of seventy thousand iron riders remained a significant problem, and the autonomous artillery and Pure Yang Annihilation Spears couldn't maintain constant fire due to cooldowns and magic energy depletion. When their firepower diminished, the archer's rain alone couldn't intercept them all.

The nomadic warriors lowered their bodies on horseback to charge, minimizing the area vulnerable to arrows. Even if hit, they silently broke off the arrow shaft with a curved blade and continued their charge, embodying the spirit of wolves coursing through their blood, driving the steppe cavalry to the very front of the formation.

Awaiting them were shield walls formed by tall soldiers holding large shields in the front lines. However, being human, they couldn't withstand the cavalry charge, and the first shield wall was breached in an instant.

Yanmen Pass, with its substantial income from taxing trading caravans crossing the grasslands, spared no expense in outfitting its soldiers with heavy armor to face the nomadic people. The number of heavy infantry soldiers was certainly not lacking.

As layer after layer of shield walls were breached, the nomadic warriors seemed to glimpse victory, but their momentum was gradually sapped.

When they finally tore through the final shield formation, their relentless charge came to a halt as they were met by spear soldiers and archers who had traded their bows for swords, waiting for them for a long time.

The brutal melee began at that moment. The defending soldiers brought down countless nomadic riders, but the nomads fought back fiercely with their curved blades. Unable to continue charging, they engaged in direct combat. When have the brave sons of the steppe ever been afraid of battle?

Yet, it had to be admitted that equipment and steel played a huge role in medieval warfare. Faced with defenders from Yanmen Pass even the archers equipped with metal pieces protecting vital areas, the nomads' curved blades might not always deliver effective strikes, while a single strike from the Yanmen Pass soldiers could easily take down these riders mostly clad in sheepskin coats.

The balance of victory began to tilt slowly.

...

"Ah... How useless. The nomadic warriors. I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this." Above Yanmen Pass, almost imperceptible hundreds of meters in the air, Yuan sat in a bubble-like spherical energy shield, watching the battlefield below attentively and offering occasional comments.

"Wasn't it you who incited them to invade Xichu? How can you take that stance?" the hovering spirit beside him said with disdain.

"Indeed, I thought at the very least they were nomadic cavalry with some combat prowess. After all, I know a high player who conquered neighboring great nations with cavalry and ruled over the Central Plains... Ahem, nothing."

"But the nomads haven't lost yet, have they?"

The spirit's voice remained flat.

"They may not have lost, but they're not far from it. Look, once those immortal cannon cooldowns are done and charged up, boom! World peace. Tsk, developing technology is truly reassuring..."

Yuan's voice suddenly turned regretful, but then he quickly remembered there was something he hadn't explained and lifted his head.

"Anyway, I'm planning to head to Luocheng City to find a potential collaborator. You handle things here on your own, and don't forget what to do, okay."