Ling Ziyue guessed Gao Dazhuang’s identity and nodded slightly in thanks.

Gao Dazhuang raised his chin, looking arrogant.

An Jiu, focusing on Ling Ziyue, noticed this subtle exchange. She thought to herself that Gao Dazhuang rarely did anything decent, yet still managed to be unlikable.

As she pondered this, her peripheral vision caught two Liao cavalrymen raising their bows!

An Jiu’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately drew her Fulong bow.

Judging that the Liao archer on the left was closer to Gao Dazhuang and could potentially be intercepted and that Ling Ziyue could defend himself if needed, she focused all her attention on the archer on the right.

Wind speed, humidity, distance, midpoint, target – all factors affecting arrow velocity had already run through her mind several times.

As she rapidly calculated, she saw the enemy making subtle preparations to release the bowstring.

Whoosh!

An Jiu’s dark eyes seemed to reflect nothing but the approaching glint of the arrow. In her view, everything around slowed down, the arrowhead infinitely clear and magnified.

She released her finger.

The Fulong bow’s vibrating string hummed low as the arrow flew towards that cold glint as if carrying a gale.

This tense confrontation, barely noticeable in the chaotic battle, was seen by some who spotted the Liao arrow flying towards Ling Ziyue.

Gao Dazhuang swung his whip, snatching the arrow closer to him mid-air.

But no one could stop the other arrow.

“General, watch out!” Someone cried, unable to reach in time.

However, the unexpected didn’t happen.

As Ling Ziyue couldn’t dodge in time, raising his sword, suddenly an arrow flew from the darkness behind him. It tore through the air, creating a gust in its wake, and intercepted the Liao sneak attack arrow with unerring accuracy.

With a clang, the two arrows collided. The arrow from the darkness didn’t stop; it split the Liao arrow and, seemingly unhindered, carried its fierce killing intent straight through, piercing the Liao archer!

This astounding scene happened in the blink of an eye.

On the Liao side, there was a slight commotion.

Ling Ziyue also witnessed this incredibly skillful shot. He instinctively knew it came from the cold female Shadow agent.

However, no matter how amazing, it was just one arrow. It couldn’t change the entire battle.

Ling Ziyue quickly refocused his attention on the battle before him.

With Lou Mingyue, Sui Yunzhu, and Qiu Yunyan joining Li Qingzhi, their strength increased dramatically. Used to fighting together, they had a natural synergy, their combined power more than the sum of its parts. But the deputy commander’s situation was less optimistic. Surrounded by over ten Liao martial masters, he was showing signs of defeat, severely wounded and bleeding profusely, his armor stained dark red.

In such large-scale chaotic battles, no one could afford to be distracted. All they could do was kill enemies; no one could save anyone else. Only those in immediate proximity had a chance to help block an attack.

“Hold on! We have 100,000 troops, are we afraid of their mere 10,000?” The deputy commander roared with all his might.

Ten times the numbers, led by the war god Ling Ziyue – this was why many persevered. Because there was hope. Hope for victory, worth risking their lives for.

Ling Ziyue’s eyes were bloodshot as he watched the deputy commander for a few moments. Seeing his pale face covered in blood, he suddenly looked away.

Just yesterday, that young man had complained to him about not listening to his mother and studying properly, how despite risking his life he was still looked down upon, happily listening to Ling Ziyue mock scholars… Today, he had to watch this man die before him, unable to rush in and save him!

No matter what, Ling Ziyue couldn’t forget his responsibility, couldn’t forget that he was the pillar of the army.

When he looked back, the deputy commander was no longer in sight.

Ling Ziyue’s heartfelt pierced by a sword, numb with pain.

“Let them in,” Ling Ziyue said, barely audible.

A commander nearby heard and shouted, “Temporary retreat!”

The gong sounded, and the Song army quickly withdrew.

The Liao cavalry, having encountered the strongest resistance since entering the territory, saw the Song army retreating after their lead commander fell. They didn’t suspect anything and gave chase, with all the martial masters heading straight for Ling Ziyue!

Many of these martial masters weren’t under Liao court control. They fought so hard solely for Ling Ziyue’s head.

The Liao court had offered a price: whoever could take Ling Ziyue’s head would receive 200,000 taels of silver, be titled Border King, and be granted three prefectures as hereditary territory!

Though Liao’s territory was vast, cities worthy of being called “prefectures” were few. Three prefectures meant a considerable area of land.

Ling Ziyue led his troops in a hasty retreat, soon reaching the edge of the forest where An Jiu was positioned.

The Liao martial masters pursued relentlessly, unwilling to let go of the wealth and glory before their eyes!

Just as Ling Ziyue halted, many Song archers suddenly emerged from the surrounding grassland. A rain of arrows instantly swept toward the Liao martial masters.

Even the highest martial arts couldn’t withstand such dense arrow fire. Even if some high-level practitioners could resist for a while, their warhorses couldn’t.

Horses neighed in panic, their survival instincts making them scatter, but they quickly fell.

In the short span of half a cup of tea, over half of the frontline martial masters were dead or wounded.

More than ten ninth-rank martial masters broke through the arrow rain, closing in on Ling Ziyue.

An Jiu quickly took out a vial of poison, coating a few arrows. She drew her bow, aiming at the lead martial master, and released an arrow.

At such a close range, she couldn’t possibly miss. Her series of actions were fluid, without any hesitation.

The opponent saw the arrow and smirked, raising his sword to deflect it. The qi-filled blade met the arrowhead with a sharp, piercing sound. However, he underestimated the arrow’s force; using 70% of his strength, he only deflected it less than a foot. By then, the arrowhead was too close to evade!

He violently burst his qi around his body, forming a protective shield similar to Chu Dingjiang’s. The arrow was deflected by the qi, barely grazing his neck without touching his armor. But he didn’t notice a drop of water falling on his shoulder, mixing with the blood on his armor and seeping through the gaps.

It was the remnant poison An Jiu had hurriedly poured on the arrowhead in large quantities.

This wasn’t part of An Jiu’s plan, and it was even more unexpected for Ling Ziyue! He watched in shock as the fierce man, leaping in mid-air, suddenly let out a horrifying scream. Black smoke erupted from his armor, which fell empty onto the grass.

The other martial masters paused for a moment, but with arrows raining down constantly, they had no time to hesitate.