Chapter 11

The encirclement formed by the Tianlang was easily broken through by the human cavalry. The seven hundred iron-clad riders were like a flood that had burst its banks, finally forming an unstoppable momentum as they galloped towards Jiangyuan City.

Not long after, the howls of countless wolves echoed from behind the iron-clad riders. Innumerable wolf demons, riding their ferocious giant wolves, finally arrived. After roaring in anger, they continued to pursue the humans with undying determination. However, at this point, the human cavalry had already formed a charging formation, which the giant wolf riders, skilled in short sprints but lacking in endurance, could not catch up to. Moreover, if they continued to chase for another two hundred miles, they would enter the human territory. Even if the giant wolf riders caught up, they might not return.

Clearly, the leader of the giant wolf riders and the Tianlang demons in the air were well aware of this. After pursuing for dozens of miles and seeing the distance between them and the human cavalry growing, they stopped the pursuit. After a series of reluctant howls and roars, they reluctantly retreated.

Tangji Town, which had been affected by the previous battle, was now in ruins. Everywhere were the bodies of human cavalry, horses, and Tianlang, turning the small town into a sea of blood, a sight that was truly shocking.

In the basement below the town, Tang Guanshu led hundreds of townspeople, their faces filled with fear, not daring to breathe loudly or move, for fear of making a sound and being discovered by the wolf demons on the surface. Fortunately, the strong smell of blood in the town masked the presence of the people, otherwise, the wolf demons' keen sense of smell would have surely detected the humans in the basement.

The leader of the giant wolf riders found the area where the weapons forge was located in the ruins, only to discover that the forged weapons had vanished, and the forge and tools had been smashed to pieces. In a fit of rage, he led his clan and the giant wolves to howl again, scaring the hundreds of humans in the basement to tremble like helpless sheep.

After stripping the armor from the human cavalry's bodies and collecting the abandoned weapons, the giant wolf riders returned to the Cangman Mountains without leaving a single one behind.

Tangji Town was now in ruins, the weapons forge destroyed, and the human craftsmen had mysteriously disappeared. Moreover, the location of the weapons forge had been exposed.

Therefore, in the eyes of the wolf demons, Tangji Town had no value left.

...

Hedaba City was a military city under the jurisdiction of Cangnan County, located two hundred miles southwest of Jiangyuan City.

Hedaba City was incomparable to Tangji Town in terms of size, prosperity, and population, being at least ten times larger. The city was named after a dam built by humans on the river to the west.

Five years ago, Hedaba City was still called Hedaba Town. With the invasion of the demon race in the southwest region five years ago, due to its position at the forefront of the human and demon territories, one of the four major armies of Cangnan County, the Steel Tooth Army, was permanently stationed here.

In just five years, with tens of thousands of troops stationed in the city, the development of various industries due to the needs of tens of thousands of people's daily lives and activities had made Hedaba Town grow to the size of an ordinary city, leading to its renaming as a city.

Cangnan County had four major armies: the Jiangyuan Army, known as the personal guard of the Marquis of Cangnan, permanently stationed in Jiangyuan City; the Silver Radiance Army, permanently stationed in the north to guard against the direct central six counties of the Great Wu Empire; the Steel Tooth Army, stationed in Hedaba City to guard against the demon race; and the most elite of Cangnan County, the Cangfeng Iron Cavalry.

In a military camp of a military stronghold in Hedaba City, the remaining seven hundred plus cavalry of the Cangfeng Iron Cavalry were being treated by local healers and infantry. The wounded were being bandaged and treated, while the others were personally feeding their horses.

Everyone was silent, their faces filled with sorrow, including General Huang, Zhao Fengyun, and Zhang Xiong in a living room.

Hua Xiajiu, naturally, would not let humans treat his injuries. Like most soldiers, he was expressionless as he fed his horse.

A set of bright red words suddenly appeared in Hua Xiajiu's mind: "Warning: Battery power below 30%, remaining 28%, estimated to last six days in normal mode, one day in combat mode, and eight days in optimal power-saving mode."

Hua Xiajiu was initially stunned, but then a sense of impending death appeared in his consciousness. In this world where there was nowhere to recharge, if his power was depleted and there was no other energy source to replace it, he would face death. Although his brain had turned into a colorful light ball and his joints had gained some golden energy connections, this did not give Hua Xiajiu much sense of security.

Hua Xiajiu stopped his actions and remained motionless.

The horse, seeing its new owner not feeding it, looked at Hua Xiajiu with some dissatisfaction, snorted, and then lowered its head to eat the hay on its own.

Hua Xiajiu stopped his actions to save power, and remained motionless because his brain began to calculate and think.

After a while, three self-rescue plans formed in his mind.

Plan one: Try to create a small generator and find fuel such as oil or natural gas to generate electricity. This plan seemed simple, but in this world, it was as difficult as climbing to the sky. First, although generators are simple mechanical products on Earth, the precision parts involved are not something this world can solve. If time allowed, with ready-made steel and other materials, Hua Xiajiu had some confidence in making one himself, but it would take at least three days. Finding fuel would be even more uncertain. Therefore, this plan was clearly not feasible in the time available.

Plan two: Create a solar panel to convert solar energy into electricity and install it on his body. This plan was simpler than the first. By obtaining the police armor buried in the sacrificial hall of Tangji Town, Hua Xiajiu could modify it into a solar panel in half a day. The downside was that the converted electrical energy would be minimal, only enough to support Hua Xiajiu's normal activities, not enough to use weapons like sniper rifles or laser guns.

Plan three: Collect a large amount of energy similar to faith power, find a way to introduce it into his body, and use it to replace electricity. This method was still in the speculative stage, somewhat vague, but if feasible, it could be a permanent solution to Hua Xiajiu's energy supply problem and even enhance his own strength.

After considering the possibilities, Hua Xiajiu decisively abandoned the first plan and decided to implement the second and third plans as soon as possible.

To implement the second plan, he would have to return to Tangji Town.

As for the third plan, after some thought, Hua Xiajiu realized he needed to rescue Tang Guanshu and the hundreds of other followers of the Dark God. He needed to ensure they remained alive to maintain the source of faith power. Therefore, he would have to return to Tangji Town again.

"Brother! General Huang has invited you." A young cavalryman appeared behind Hua Xiajiu, looking at his tall figure with admiration and gratitude.

Hua Xiajiu, hearing the voice, slowly returned from his deep thoughts. Looking at the respectful soldier, he wanted to be modest like a human, but not knowing what to say, he simply replied, "Okay," and then fell silent.

This scene, observed by the messenger and the soldiers feeding the horses, did not surprise them; rather, they felt it was only natural.

The Great Wu Empire, as its name suggests, revered strength. Although there were legal constraints to prevent random killings, the law of the jungle, where the strong ruled, still prevailed. Generally, the higher one's status, the stronger their personal power, and status and wealth were often proportional to personal strength.

For example, ten years ago, the Emperor of the Great Wu Empire, Wuzong, who was assassinated, was the known first master of the Great Wu Empire and the only grandmaster-level expert, with one foot already in the ranks of cultivators.

Eight years ago, the three northeastern counties rebelled and established the Great Shun Kingdom. The root cause was that Wuzong's young son, Wuzong, lacked the personal strength and prestige to subdue the dukes with grandmaster-level strength. If not for the subsequent invasion of the demon and sea races, and the fact that the dukes of the central six counties were direct descendants of the imperial family, the dukes of the southwest, southeast, and northwest regions would have also declared independence like the three northeastern counties.

Hua Xiajiu followed the young cavalryman in silence, leaving the military camp, passing through a deserted street, and entering a large mansion.

In the living room, General Huang, Zhao Fengyun, and Zhang Xiong saw Hua Xiajiu enter and stood up to greet him at the door.

When they were about three to four meters away, led by General Huang, the three were about to bow, but they were stunned by Hua Xiajiu's perfect face and shining bald head. The first time they saw Hua Xiajiu in Tangji Town, he was wearing a helmet and was far away, so they did not see him clearly. Later, after returning to Hedaba City and being busy with troop arrangements, meeting the commander of the Steel Tooth Army, and arranging defenses to prevent a large-scale attack by the wolf demons, this was the first time they saw Hua Xiajiu up close. Fortunately, the three were not ordinary people and managed to suppress their surprise, bowing to Hua Xiajiu.

"This is General Huang Tianzhong, representing the 769 remaining soldiers of the third regiment of the Cangfeng Iron Cavalry, to thank you for saving our lives," General Huang said solemnly.

Hua Xiajiu, somewhat stiffly, returned the bow and said expressionlessly, "General Huang, you are too kind. I am Hua Xiajiu. At the time, I acted to protect myself, so there's no need for you to be overly concerned."

"Ha ha ha—Brother Hua, you speak your mind, humble and straightforward. There are few young people like you these days," General Huang and the other two were clearly surprised by Hua Xiajiu's response. However, his humility and simplicity, not taking credit for his actions, greatly increased their good impression of him. At the same time, they became very interested in Hua Xiajiu's identity, speculating about it.

After all, a man with such perfect features must have parents of extraordinary beauty, and he could not be an unknown person. However, Hua Xiajiu was bald, resembling a cultivator from the Buddhist sect. From his age, he was only in his early twenties, but his strength in killing the Tianlang was already at the grandmaster level, a rare level of strength in the entire Great Wu Empire.

A young, handsome, and oddly dressed grandmaster-level expert suddenly appearing in a demon-controlled area, turning the tide with his own strength, and saving over seven hundred Cangfeng Iron Cavalry, if this news spread, it would make him famous in the southwest.

"General Huang! Your guest has arrived at the door, why not invite him in for tea?" Before Hua Xiajiu could respond to General Huang's praise, a deep and gentle voice came from the depths of the hall.

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