Volume 1, Chapter 51: Sign-in! Ten Thousand Grand Snow Dragon Cavalry!
The moonlight was like frost, and the biting wind cut like a knife.
A swift horse galloped across the desolate imperial highway, its hooves shattering the silence of the night.
It had been two days since they left that dilapidated temple of the Mountain God.
Su Qingxue held tightly onto Ye Xuan. The cold, clear moonlight washed over her still slightly pale face, yet the heart-wrenching emptiness had vanished from her expression, replaced instead by a tempered resilience.
She quietly cast a glance at the back of the man riding ahead of her.
He maintained his usual aura of serene detachment, as if their journey to Northern Suppressing City was not a desperate gamble with death, but merely a casual excursion.
An old acquaintance?
Su Qingxue chewed on those words in her heart, a barely perceptible trace of self-mockery curling the corners of her lips.
What kind of old acquaintance could an eighth prince, who had been secluded deep within the imperial palace since childhood and had only just escaped his cage, possibly have in Northern Suppressing City—a place thousands of miles away, hardened by years of endless bloodshed?
Let alone an acquaintance capable of offering sanctuary within the military.
That lie was clumsy to the point of being laughable.
Yet she did not ask. Not a single word did she ask.
Just as she had not asked why Ye Xuan possessed such miraculous, unfathomable medical skills.
Nor had she asked how he had instantly attained the strength of the seventh grade of martial arts.
Too many secrets were hidden within this man, deep and bottomless.
She only knew that the moment Uncle Zhong fell, at her most despairing and helpless hour, it was this man who used the most merciless words to pull her back from the edge of absolute collapse.
That was enough.
Since he had chosen to bind her to his chariot, she would sit firmly within it.
She wanted to see precisely what kind of earth-shattering game of chess his so-called Northern Suppressing City truly concealed.
At that moment, Ye Xuan reined in the horse.
Su Qingxue halted as well, scanning her surroundings with cautious vigilance.
A thick, unyielding stench of blood drifted through the air, mingling with the scent of scorched earth and decay, turning the stomach.
"What is it?" she asked in a lowered voice.
Ye Xuan did not answer. He merely raised his chin, signaling her to look ahead.
Following his gaze, Su Qingxue's pupils suddenly constricted.
Not far ahead, what should have been a flat wilderness had transformed into a living hell.
Tattered banners stood slanted in the scorched earth, stained with long-dried, blackened blood.
Broken weapons, shattered armor, and the charred skeletons of tents were scattered everywhere.
Mutilated corpses lay sprawled across the ground in grotesque and twisted postures, making it impossible to distinguish between the soldiers of Great Gan and the barbarians of Northern Mang.
This was a battlefield that had only just witnessed a brutal and bloody slaughter!
The air was terrifyingly dead, save for the wailing sound of the wind sweeping across the torn banners, resembling the mournful, resentful cries of countless unavenged souls.
Su Qingxue felt a wave of nausea wash over her, her complexion turning a shade paler.
As for Ye Xuan, he dismounted from the horse and walked straight toward the dead zone.
"What are you doing?!" Su Qingxue cried out in alarm. "It's too dangerous there!"
Ye Xuan did not break his stride, merely dropping a calm statement behind him.
"Don't be afraid. Dead men do not hurt people."
He stepped foot into the battlefield step by step, the soil beneath his boots growing sticky and muddy from being saturated with fresh blood.
Every stride seemed to tread upon the very pulse of death.
And precisely at the moment he stepped into the center of the battlefield, a voice audible only to him exploded within the depths of his mind!
[Ding!]
[Special check-in location detected—Northern Liang Battlefield!]
[The baleful aura here pierces the heavens, and resentment has condensed. This is a place of absolute death with zero chance of survival, meeting the criteria for a divine-grade check-in!]
[Would the host like to check in?]
It was here!
A blazing, intense brilliance instantly erupted within Ye Xuan's eyes!
Suppressing the surging excitement in his chest, he chanted silently in his mind.
"Check in!"
[Ding! Check-in successful!]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the divine-grade reward—Ten Thousand Snow Dragon Cavalry (Military Tally)!]
Rumble!!!
An indescribable wave of scorching heat exploded from the depths of his heart, instantly sweeping through all his limbs and bones!
It felt as though something was about to burst forth from within his body!
Before his eyes, the bloody battlefield vanished, replaced by a vast expanse of land covered by endless wind and snow!
Amidst the blizzard, ten thousand armored cavalrymen stood in silent anticipation, men like dragons and horses like tigers!
They were clad in profound dark armor, their faces covered by masks, revealing only pairs of icy, indifferent eyes. The sharp tips of the long lances in their hands seemed capable of piercing the vault of heaven!
An aura of blood-iron, ruthlessness, dominance, and invincible dominion over everything crossed the boundaries of time and space, fiercely striking at Ye Xuan's soul!
This was... the Snow Dragon Cavalry!
An invincible force capable of trampling mountains and rivers and turning the world upside down!
[Item: Snow Dragon Cavalry Military Tally]
[Description: By relying on this military tally, the host can summon ten thousand fierce and formidable soldiers—the Snow Dragon Cavalry—at any time and place! Every single cavalryman is a seventh-grade martial artist, fearless of death and absolutely loyal!]
[Remarks: When the Snow Dragon Cavalry rides forth, the world is shrouded in mourning! The host is advised to use with caution!]
The system's prompt slowly faded away in his mind.
Ye Xuan slowly opened his eyes, the excitement and euphoria in the depths of his gaze having been replaced by a calmness as deep as an abyss.
He slowly clenched his fists.
This was not simple joy, but an absolute self-confidence born of controlling one's own destiny and, ultimately, the entire realm!
Previously, he possessed intellect but lacked strength, dancing on a tightrope where every single step was fraught with extreme danger.
Toppling the Wang family had relied on leveraging external forces and interlocking schemes.
When facing the Crown Prince, however, he could only flee in disarray.
But now, everything was different!
With these ten thousand Snow Dragon Cavalry, he could finally be said to truly possess the qualifications to overturn the chessboard!
Crown Prince Ye Tian?
The Imperial House of Great Gan?
In his eyes, they were nothing more than mere dogs and earthenware roosters!
What he desired had never been to cower in a corner and merely struggle for survival!
What he desired was this clear sky and ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains!
Just as Ye Xuan's heart surged with emotions, a sharp, piercing screech cut through the sky.
"Caw—!"
He abruptly raised his head to see several massive vultures circling above the battlefield, greedily eyeing the "feast" below.
Su Qingxue also noticed the anomaly, her expression shifting. "Not good! Living creatures are approaching!"
Before her voice could fade, a black line appeared on the distant horizon.
That black line expanded and surged forward at a speed visible to the naked eye, kicking up a sky full of dust and smoke as it swept toward their location like a wave of darkness!
The sound of hooves!
The deafening sound of hooves, like dense rolls of thunder, hammered fiercely against the hearts of both of them!
These were definitely not the Crown Prince's pursuers!
Their speed was faster, their formation more chaotic, carrying a primal, wild aggressiveness!
Su Qingxue's eyesight was exceptionally keen, and she saw them clearly!
That group of cavalrymen were all tall in stature, with shaved heads and loose hair, wearing attire mixed with animal skins and scraps of armor. They brandished curved sabers and lariats, howling with unintelligible cries!
They were the scouting cavalry of Northern Mang!
They were those wolves of the grassland who plundered, burned, and stopped at nothing!
They had clearly been lured here by the stench of blood on this battlefield, hoping to pick up some scraps and incidentally... hunt down any living prey.
Su Qingxue's heart instantly sank to the bottom.
There were at least three hundred of these Northern Mang scouts, and every single one of them was a vicious criminal who had grown up on horseback. Their combat strength far surpassed that of the Crown Prince's pursuers!
With just the two of them and a single fatigued horse, escape was utterly impossible!
Wolves in the front, tigers in the rear.
Were they destined, after all, to find themselves trapped in this dead end?
Subconsciously, she looked over at Ye Xuan, only to find him still standing in the center of the battlefield, unmoving.
There was not a shred of panic or fear on his face.
In fact, a cold and eerie arc even curved the corners of his lips.
It was as if the three hundred wolves of Northern Mang before him were not death-bringers coming to claim their lives.
Instead, they were...
The very first whetstone delivered right to his doorstep.