With the support of Qin Mu's righteous aura, the beastmen's blood and wolf smoke were as if they had encountered heaven and earth, and their defenses were broken in an instant, with many of them being cut down.
"Let you beasts witness the skills of the medical family!" Han Chen, usually calm, spoke with a murderous aura and icy tone, waving his hands repeatedly. As he did so, a cloud of yellow smoke drifted towards the beastmen.
The yellow smoke reached the head of the beastman, ignoring the blood and wolf smoke, and directly attached itself to it.
The yellow smoke landed on the beastmen, who inexplicably felt their blood and qi surge, unable to catch their breath. The wolf riders, in particular, suddenly became weak-legged huskies, collapsing to the ground as they ran.
Beating a drowning dog is everyone's favorite pastime, and although this is a wolf, they're all beasts anyway, so it's the same. The embroidered spring blade flashed, carrying a bloodthirsty aura, slaying one beastman and wolf rider after another.
"Kill!" Zhang Yi spurred his warhorse, brandishing his three-pointed double-edged sword, and charged forward.
No sooner said than done, all of this happened in a very short time. Huang Sanjian patted his back, and the box he was carrying suddenly opened, revealing an exaggerated bow in his hand.
Huang Sanjian stared sharply ahead, took a deep breath, drew his bow, and aimed a thumb-thick arrow at the target.
Huang Sanjian's neck veins bulged, and his teeth were clenched, as if he were drawing a longbow with all his might.
With a muffled "hum," the bowstring was still vibrating. Huang Sanjian reached behind his back and slowly nocked another arrow.
The Bu brothers were defeated in a single exchange. Just as they were about to charge forward again, brandishing their scimitars, they suddenly spotted an opponent clutching his throat, staggering backward with blood flowing from between his fingers.
The sudden turn of events startled the other man, who held a ring-pommel sword horizontally in front of his chest and looked warily at Huang Sanjian in the distance.
"Watch out!" The guy with dreadlocks shouted after glancing at Huang Sanjian.
Unfortunately, his reminder came a little too late, or perhaps he simply didn't know where Huang Sanjian was going to shoot.
With a "whoosh," the three-pointed double-edged sword slashed through the air, and a head flew off, blood gushing into the sky. The silver-haired wolf's head still had a trace of confusion in its eyes. It didn't understand how this guy in front of it was no match for it at all, and how it was possible that it couldn't withstand his sword strike.
After Qin Mu imbued his subordinates with righteous energy, he landed and recovered for a moment. He then changed his hand seals, and a stream of spiritual energy flew towards Bu Mang.
Numbers can sometimes be an advantage, but Qin Mu's two hundred carefully trained subordinates had all reached the Martial Master realm. With the support of the formation, they could even put up a fight against top experts. Although these beastmen were also elite, they were far inferior to them and could be slaughtered as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.
The righteous energy that Qin Mu added played a significant role in this; the milky white light on the Embroidered Spring Blade easily broke through the beastman's protective aura and smoke.
With the balance of power shifting, the beastmen quickly suffered defeats. Although they continued to fight desperately, they were being gradually devoured by the Six Doors.
Wang Jun felt increasingly disheartened as he watched. Things were completely different from what he had expected. The wolf riders were no match for them, and two of the four experts were instantly killed.
Seeing Huang Sanjian aiming again, Wang Jun felt a chill run down his spine, rolled to the ground, and hid behind his mount.
Huang Sanjian fired another arrow, and as soon as it was fired, he slumped down, his body swayed, and he almost fell off his warhorse.
The remaining expert, seeing his companion fall and his fate unknown, and then seeing the blind man brandishing his curved blade and closing in, dared not linger and turned to run. After running some distance, he let out a long howl to the sky, and then quickly disappeared into the snow.
"They ran really fast!" Xi Junmai said, planting his longsword in the snow with a hint of resentment.
“Even warhorses can’t catch up in the snow, let alone on foot,” Han Chen said, glancing at the wounded as he crouched down to help treat them.
The ambush came quickly and ended just as fast. The orcs left behind a trail of corpses and fled swiftly. In the distance, carried by the cold wind, came one or two wolf howls.
"Victory! Victory!" someone shouted, and then everyone excitedly raised their knives and yelled.
Qin Mu glanced around, a smile appearing on his face. He secretly marveled that his hard work had not been in vain. In this battle, there were not a single death; he had defeated his opponent with zero casualties.
There were some injuries, but they were all minor. This is the power of a military formation, especially one composed entirely of martial arts masters.
"Hahaha! Look who I caught!" Zhang Yi rode back on horseback, carrying a knife in one hand and a person in the other.
Zhang Yi laughed and threw the person onto the snow. With a "plop," the figure rolled twice on the ground, revealing a disheveled face.
"Oh! Isn't this the young master of the Wang family!" Han Chen said with a mocking smile.
"Qin Huaidao, if you dare to touch me, the Wang family will not let you off the hook," Wang Jun said with a look of fear and a fierce tone.
"Hehe!" Qin Mu couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. They've already brought this to their doorstep, and he still says he doesn't dare to touch him. I don't know where Wang Jun gets his confidence from.
"Ha ha!"
"Ha ha!"
Upon hearing his words, not only Qin Mu but everyone else laughed. Among this group, who hadn't stained their hands with blood? How could they possibly pose any threat?
"Cut him off! Send the head to the Wang family, saying it was killed by the beastmen. Hmm! The Wang family probably won't believe it. Send the heads of the other beastmen experts along with him!" Qin Mu said calmly. How could he let someone who wanted him dead remain in the world? The feud with the Wang family was irreconcilable the moment Wang Jun appeared.
"No! No! Don't kill me! I surrender, I admit defeat, please don't kill me!" Wang Jun tried to get up from the ground, pleading as he did so.
"Hehe!" Upon hearing this, Zhang Yi sneered, jumped off his warhorse, strode forward, and stepped onto Wang Jun's back.
With a flash of cold light, a human head rolled across the snow, leaving behind a crimson plum blossom and a patch of yellow.
Zhang Yi frowned, lifted his foot with some disgust, checked that it wasn't stained with anything strange, and then walked to the side.
"These beastmen are too kind, sending so much wolf meat!" Han Chen said excitedly after glancing at it.
These wolves, which can be used as mounts, possess extremely high spiritual energy in their flesh and blood. When combined with certain medicinal herbs, they become an excellent tonic. Ordinary beasts are far inferior to these beast-kin; they are usually hard to find even if one wanted to eat them, but this time there are hundreds of them laid out before one's eyes.
Without being told, the constables immediately got to work, some cleaning up the battlefield and others choosing a place to set up camp.
Using clean snow as water, smoke rose from the campsite, and the aroma of meat gradually wafted out, making one's mouth water.
After the meal, everyone's faces were rosy as they began their cultivation. Qin Mu secretly admired himself. Fortunately, he had managed to extract a lot of medicinal herbs from Li Shimin this time. The royal treasury had many good things, and he only wanted the herbs and materials. Although Li Shimin was a little reluctant, he still agreed to his request.
When the Khitans submitted to the Tang Dynasty, they presented a large quantity of specialties from the Northeast, including a massive amount of ginseng. Li Shimin liked the other items, but seemed unaware of the purpose of the ginseng, keeping it all in the imperial treasury.
Li Shimin didn't like it, but Qin Mu didn't want to let it go, so he simply packed it up and took it away. You should know that this ginseng is one of the most important medicinal materials of the Guigu lineage.
Qin Mu was holding something that looked like a radish and munching on it.
"Good stuff! Good stuff! I never thought there was such a good thing." Huang Sanjian was also gnawing on it, carefully swallowing it, wiping a drop of juice from the corner of his mouth into his mouth, and exclaiming repeatedly.
“That’s not surprising. The best ginseng comes from the Northeast, so it’s not valued by people from other places. The Khitans have always treasured it and kept it a secret. It was only this time, when they surrendered to the Khitans, that they brought it out as tribute.” Han Chen picked up a fallen root and put it in his mouth to explain.
"The Wang family has colluded with the orcs. This trip to Shuozhou is probably not going to be easy," Han Chen sighed.
"Brother Han, don't worry. The imperial army is still in Shuozhou. There are probably not many beastmen who can come over. They may even have been hiding in the Taihang Mountains before." Huang Sanjian's spirits had recovered. He sat up straight and smiled as he spoke to Han Chen.
Qin Mu knew a bit about Huang Sanjian. He had good military insights, so he believed him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "That's right. Shuozhou has been taken over by the court. These beastmen will definitely be eager to escape beyond the pass. But the fact that they are here means that they are just some guys who haven't gone astray."
"We'll go to Shuozhou, settle down, and then we can clean up slowly."
"Yes, with Shuozhou sealed off, the beastmen can only leave from the northwest if they want to leave the pass. However, the Taihang Mountains are a place where people can hide. If they really hide inside, it won't be easy to find them. If they come at us from time to time, it won't be pleasant for us," Han Chen nodded and said.
"So I sent Wang Jun's head back to the Wang family," Qin Mu said with a slight smile.
"What does this mean?" Han Chen looked at Qin Mu blankly.
"Chief Constable, you've done a brilliant job! Sending Wang Jun's head back, along with the heads of the beastmen, means that if the Wang family doesn't want the court to suspect them of colluding with the beastmen, they'll have to take the initiative to wipe out the beastmen," Huang Sanjian exclaimed.
Qin Mu smiled without saying a word. He had only intended to show off at first, but unexpectedly, he had made a brilliant move by accident.
Upon hearing Huang Sanjian's words, everyone looked at Qin Mu with admiration, genuinely impressed by the young chief constable before them.
Whether it's Han Chen or Huang Sanjian, they used to just think Qin Mu was a good friend and worth befriending, but now they are willing to be his subordinates.
"We're going to Shuozhou for two main reasons. First, to help maintain local stability, and second, to prevent those powerful families in the Northwest from infiltrating Shuozhou," Qin Mu explained.
"With just our three hundred-plus people, this might be a bit difficult, right?" Huang Sanjian asked, his brows furrowing slightly.
"There are troops stationed in Shuozhou, and the Six Doors can expand their recruitment. There are two thousand slots available in Shuozhou," Qin Mu said. He had already planned that when the imperial court withdrew its troops, he could select two thousand men from the returning soldiers.
"The Northwest region needs skilled warriors. With our military formations, we should have no problem holding Shuofang. But we also need to control Guannei Road," Han Chen reminded him. Shuozhou is in Hedong Road, but Liang Shidu's territory also includes a part of Guannei Road.
Han Chen certainly knows more about the Northwest than Qin Mu does, so Qin Mu has no choice but to take his warning seriously.
Rubbing his forehead, Qin Mu said, "Top-tier experts are difficult to deal with; we can only see how things go. Perhaps we can win over one or two to help."
"Could we find a way to increase the strength of these two hundred silver-ranked constables?" Zhang Yi asked.
"Impossible. Becoming a martial arts master is already their greatest potential. Even if we give them more supplements, it won't increase their potential much," Qin Mu said, shaking his head slightly.
“Yes, their foundation is too weak, it will be difficult for them to make any progress,” Han Chen agreed.
Qin Mu knew that with his limited forces, he could handle one top-tier expert, but with two more, even self-defense would be difficult. But what could he do? Top-tier experts were scarce even for the imperial court; why would they be willing to serve in the Six Doors?
"Don't worry too much. Top experts are the backbone of each family. They won't go out easily, nor will they easily provoke the imperial court," Huang Sanjian reassured them.
"Brother Huang, could those three arrows be enough to deal with a top-tier expert?" Han Chen asked curiously.
"To deal with top-tier experts, unless someone can hold them off, arrows and hidden weapons won't be able to harm them," Huang Sanjian explained with a wry smile.
His bow and arrow embodied his entire spirit and energy; even a skilled person would find it difficult to withstand him, even in a one-on-one situation. However, it was no match for top-tier masters. Only a sneak attack by a master of the same skill could possibly succeed.
When the bow and arrow were mentioned, Qin Mu thought of the Qin family's Qin crossbow, which was something that even the beastmen feared. If the ballista were modified, could it also achieve the same result?
The ballistae used to defend the city are forged from fine steel. If better ore materials were used to build several ballistae, they could be used to deal with top-level experts.
Qin Mu thought for a moment, then shook his head. It wasn't that these ballistae couldn't deal with top-tier experts, but top-tier experts couldn't just stand there and take the hit. So, if you really wanted to use ballistae against them, you'd have to restrict their movement.
Moreover, the ballista has a major drawback: its large size means that once it's out, it will definitely attract attention, making it difficult to launch a surprise attack.
"No problem! Even if there are top experts, one or two of them, we might not be able to defeat them, as long as they are not spiritual energy cultivators," Qin Mu said with a confident smile.
Seeing Qin Mu's confidence, the others felt relieved and stopped thinking about the problem. After all, even if the sky falls, there are always tall people to hold it up. Presumably, the court has other arrangements.
After a night of rest, Qin Mu and his group set off again. This time, apart from the difficult roads, no one else appeared.
The further north you go, the sparser the population becomes. The villages you pass through are also deserted, giving off a desolate feeling.
What made everyone uneasy was that these villages were devoid of any able-bodied young people; the villagers looked numb and lifeless. The entire village huddled together around a fire, a situation that made everyone understand that they were gathering for warmth, indicating that individual families could no longer survive.
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