Walking the Ten Thousand Daos-Chapter 50: Military Disaster

"There is indeed dragon Qi here. The villagers were right; those two people and one horse must have come this way," a soldier on horseback ed to the officer.
"In that case, it seems that dragon steed was picked up by a traveling merchant who thought it was a treasure, so he took it with him. Tsk, he doesn't know what's good for him, daring to mess with something that belongs to us without even knowing whose it is?" The officer chuckled, roughly deducing the course and development of events.
Suspecting that human vital energy had disrupted the divination results, they searched all villages within a five-hundred-li radius.
There were two villages in total, and in the more populous one, a very strange merchant had visited today.
Calling himself a merchant, in reality, the person's behavior was peculiar. Not only did he travel with a seemingly defenseless woman, but he also led an old, sick horse.
He claimed he was there to trade for some beans to feed the old horse.
The officer knew that if one were to travel far with a horse, one would surely prepare beans or even spirit pills in advance.
Horses were precious and large, consuming a lot. How could one possibly search for supplies during a long journey? What good would the beans from those villages do?
A dragon steed wouldn't eat such poor-quality beans. To properly care for a dragon steed, one needed spirit pills, spiritual herbs, and even some rare minerals and spirit stones.
This was something ordinary people simply couldn't afford.
Leading an injured dragon steed yet feeding it wild grass and soybeans.
No need to guess; it must be the dragon steed they had been pursuing.
So, continuing to follow the tracks, after discovering hoof prints, they rapidly advanced towards where the dragon steed had gone.
"Little Banner, we found them! They must be on that mountain ahead!" a soldier shouted.
"Go, speed up," the officer ordered.
"Shouldn't we wait for the others?" a soldier asked.
As he spoke, he looked around. Of the original ten brothers, only five remained.
The remaining five were sweeping up the rear.
Sweeping up what?
After all, they were deep behind enemy lines, already having reached Great Lu. How could they not eliminate some of Great Lu's fighting force?
"Let's wait. The two villages shouldn't take long. A thousand or so commoners won't take much time," the officer waved his hand. Since they had already confirmed the dragon steed's location and direction, it wouldn't be long now.
At most, two hundred li. They should definitely reach them tonight.
After a while, five black-armored riders could be seen moving through the darkness.
"Little Banner, they've all been eliminated. There were two defending shamans in the village, but one was unranked and the other ninth-rank. They've both been killed. Their heads are here." The leading soldier dismounted and approached, holding two heads in his hands.
"Good. For killing cultivators, I'll credit you five. Cure the heads, and I'll to the Merit Officer when we return," the officer said.
"Thank you, Little Banner!" The five men quickly cupped their hands, then carefully placed the two bloody heads down.
If Li Qi were here, he would immediately recognize that one of the heads belonged to the shaman woman from the village he had traded with that afternoon.
"Let's go. The trouble has been eliminated, and we've gained the merit of two heads. If we can also recover that dragon steed, we'll surely earn full merit and great rewards upon our return!" the officer said, then sharply whipped his horse.
With a crack, the horse neighed and the group of five swiftly headed in the dragon steed's direction.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, Li Qi was scoffing at his own uselessness while preparing for potential threats.
Why useless? Because he had intended to stay up all night to observe for enemies, but after half the night, he found nothing. Yet, Shen Shuibi, who was asleep, heard them directly.
How... utterly useless he was.
However, since they had caught up, he would just have to stand his ground.
He sent the old horse away with Shen Shuibi. Neither of them had any combat ability, so there was no need for them to be here.
Li Qi, on the other hand, stood near the mountain root, at the foot of the cliff where the altar was. He prepared himself while carefully considering his words.
If he could persuade them with words, then there would be no need for a fight.
He preferred to solve problems with his brain rather than risk his life in a dangerous fight when words could suffice.
But then again... he still had to be prepared.
Words could solve problems, but only if the other party's blade couldn't solve him.
If their blade could solve him, then no matter how eloquent he was, it would be useless.
He waited, about a quarter of an hour.
Then, he saw them.
A squad of black-armored cavalry!
Every single one of them had a horse!
Their armor was complete, adorned with various patterns, but entirely black, exuding a chilling malevolent Qi.
All the riders had long blades strapped to their backs, wielded great spears, and carried light crossbows at their waists, equipped for long, medium, and close range. They rode tall horses, at least six chi high, with the leading officer's horse being seven chi tall.
Although not as imposing as the old horse, they were all full of vital energy, young, and strong, looking incredibly formidable.
Li Qi swallowed hard just from seeing their formation.
Damn it, that... red cloud signifying a military disaster.
He originally thought it would be bandits or something, but how in the world could it be regular army?
And by the looks of them, they were definitely not ordinary regular army; they might even be elite troops.
This was truly a genuine "military disaster."
Li Qi braced himself, clutching a stone in his hand, and stepped back two paces.
Maybe they were just passing by? Just walk past and it would be over.
Li Qi thought to himself.
However, it was clear he was thinking too much.
That squad of soldiers, some of whom exuded murderous intent, and one even had two human heads hanging from his horse, clearly not to be trifled with. Upon noticing Li Qi, they quickly stopped.
The squad of soldiers did not advance rashly. Instead, one of them spurred his horse forward and rode up.
"You there, in front, why are you standing in the wilderness so late at night?" the soldier said.
Li Qi deliberately made himself tremble, his voice quivering: "L-little one... little one is a traveling merchant, camping here for the night. I just saw you military sirs and quickly got up, fearing I might block your path."
"A traveling merchant?" The soldier frowned, then turned his horse around and whispered a few words to the officer.
The officer listened, understood, and spurred his horse forward, stopping ten paces from Li Qi. His face was amiable: "Little brother, you say you're a traveling merchant. Did you happen to pick up a horse earlier?"
Hearing this, Li Qi's heart sank.
Sure enough, they were here for the old horse.
So... hand over the old horse? Could that ensure his safety? The thought flashed through his mind.
However, he immediately shook his head.
Impossible. The old horse's injuries were likely the work of these very people. If he handed it over, the old horse would surely die.
Li Qi and the old horse had gotten along quite well these past few days, and the old horse was also an important aid in his quest to find Lady Luofu; he couldn't abandon him.
So...
"Little one... little one hasn't seen any." Li Qi decided to try and bluff.
But what he didn't expect was that before he could finish his sentence, the officer picked up a crossbow and fired!
(Chapter End)