Despite the unexpected attack by the deadly corpse beetles, the Silver Armor Battalion was well-trained. Though the formation had briefly fallen into chaos, the moment they heard Qilin’s command to form the Five-Wing Plum Blossom Formation, they immediately regained their discipline.
Since the order had come from the direction of Wang Cang Hai’s red-canopied carriage, the Silver Armor soldiers assumed Qilin was yet another of Lord Xiao Wang’s attendants relaying his orders. Without hesitation, they reorganized into five tight-knit columns resembling the petals of a plum blossom. The formation rotated slowly around the red-canopied carriage, first using their weapons to crush the weakened corpse beetles, then pressing forward against the enemy assassins with calculated steps.
At the rear of the formation, Silver Armor soldiers successfully captured four of the watermelon cart assassins. However, the two men who had been escorting the last cart quickly realized the battle was turning against them. Without hesitation, they abandoned their cart and fled into the distance.
Wu Ma Nan Sheng, unwilling to let a single assassin escape, shouted an order to the cavalry.
“Pursue them! Don’t let them get away!”
But before the soldiers could act, Qilin called out sharply, “Wait! Don’t chase a desperate enemy!”
Wu Ma Nan Sheng, already frustrated, snapped, “Are you the qianhu, or am I the qianhu? Where does some mountain brat get the nerve to issue commands to the Silver Armor Battalion?”
Qilin squinted slightly and smiled. “Listen carefully—I’ll say this one more time. I’m Qilin, the little immortal from Mount Wangbai. I saw injustice and came to help. If you refuse to listen to me and insist on giving reckless orders, leading the undefeated Silver Armor Battalion into a pointless disaster, then when Wang Cang Hai returns, he’ll make sure you’re punished with a good, hard beating.”
“Pah!” Wu Ma Nan Sheng spat. “How is chasing down the enemy considered reckless?”
Qilin, still grinning, replied, “Listen carefully. Do you hear anything?”
Wu Ma Nan Sheng hesitated for a moment. He had been trained in martial arts since childhood, with keener senses than most people. Was it possible that Qilin had heard something that he, himself, had missed?
After witnessing Qilin’s ability to ward off the corpse beetles with his own blood-infused talismans, Wu Ma Nan Sheng had already accepted that this strange yet formidable youth was an ally rather than an enemy.
He raised a hand, ordering the Silver Armor Battalion to hold their positions.
Only then, in the distance, he caught a faint but growing sound—the rhythmic pounding of hooves approaching from the rear.
It was the sound of an army.
Wu Ma Nan Sheng’s expression darkened. Could the enemy have another wave of reinforcements? A cavalry force in pursuit from the rear, to complement the sword-wielding assassins at the front?
His thoughts scrambled in all directions. An ambush ahead, a cavalry force behind, and Lord Xiao Wang missing—what now?
Qilin clapped him on the shoulder. “Big guy, don’t panic. The thugs up front are being pushed back by your soldiers—they’re already on the verge of defeat. Let’s go check the rear together and see who’s coming.”
Wu Ma Nan Sheng nodded and followed Qilin toward the back of the formation.
The two of them walking side by side made for a comical sight.
Qilin, with his lithe frame and agile movements, bounced along lightly, while Wu Ma Nan Sheng—tall, broad-shouldered, and carrying his massive dapudao—marched with deliberate, heavy steps. They looked like Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, strolling alongside Zhu Bajie, the pig-faced warrior, from the classic Journey to the West.
Before they even reached the end of the formation, a scout on horseback came galloping toward them, raising a command flag and shouting,
“Where is Qianhu Wu Ma Nan Sheng? Commander Nangong Yu of Qingze Post, leading two thousand local cavalry, has arrived under orders from Lord Xiao Wang to provide reinforcements!”
Wu Ma Nan Sheng immediately called back, “I am Wu Ma Nan Sheng! The situation is still under control, but Lord Xiao Wang—”
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