"Kill!"
As the Li family's shouts of "kill" echoed, a hundred thousand troops immediately surged into the armies of the four nations of Qi, Yan, Zhao, and Yue. At this moment, Li Xuan, astride his warhorse and wielding a long spear, spurred his mount forward, charging directly towards the commanders of the four nations.
"Arrogant brat, let this marshal be the one to face you!" Commander Wang Liufeng of Qi, seeing Li Xuan charging directly at him, gripped his long spear and galloped his horse forward.
*Clang, clang.*
The two clashed, advancing and retreating. The soldiers on both sides, engaged in their own battles, had intentionally cleared a space. After several rounds, Li Xuan and Wang Liufeng were evenly matched.
A hint of coldness flashed in Wang Liufeng's eyes. Before leading the army in the attack, he had learned that Li Xuan was merely a one-star commander. Even after being promoted to a six-star deputy general, the difference in rank was still too great. Furthermore, as a ten-star marshal, Wang Liufeng had joined the army much earlier. To his surprise, he couldn't directly defeat Li Xuan.
"You indeed have some skill, but I will show you what a true gap is!" As Wang Liufeng spoke, he leaped into the air, stepped on his horse's back, and with a sideways motion, thrust his spear at Li Xuan.
Li Xuan's pupils contracted slightly. He dodged the spear with a backward lean, but instead of rising, he swung his spear backward, aiming for Wang Liufeng's back.
"Horse-reversing spear!" Li Xuan grunted, his long spear vibrating rapidly. Under the immense force, it instantly pierced Wang Liufeng's back.
*Pfft!*
A clear piercing sound rang out. Wang Liufeng's warhorse neighed and stopped. Wang Liufeng then looked down with difficulty, only to see a blood-red spearhead emerging from his chest.
With an incredulous look on his face, Wang Liufeng hadn't even turned to look at Li Xuan before he felt an immense pain surge through his body. Then, as if his body had been hollowed out, his consciousness gradually faded away.
"Who dares to fight!" Li Xuan flicked his wrist, pulling back his spear. He faced the remaining commanders of the Yan, Zhao, and Yue kingdoms alone on his horse and roared.
"Yan shall face you!" As Li Xuan's words fell, a middle-aged man with a full beard, wielding a large saber, galloped forward. This man was Yan Fei, the commander of Yan.
"Just you alone, not enough!" Li Xuan heard him and spurred his horse forward to charge at Yan Fei.
Before the spear arrived, a point of cold light struck first. The moment Yan Fei narrowed his eyes, Li Xuan's spear directly sent Yan Fei's warhorse flying, then he reined in his horse and circled back.
"Attack!" The commanders of Zhao and Yue, seeing this, shouted in shock and then, spears in hand, moved to flank Li Xuan.
Now that the commander of Qi, Wang Liufeng, was dead, if Yan Fei were also killed by Li Xuan, it would likely be a devastating blow to morale. Even though the soldiers had a strong sense of honor and would never pass off a one-on-one duel, the commanders of Zhao and Yue dared not continue watching.
"Very well! Let me, Li Xuan, see how much strength you so-called commanders possess!" Facing the pincer attack from the commanders of Zhao and Yue, Li Xuan felt no fear. A trace of anticipation was on his face. With a casual thrust, he knocked down the dismounted Yan Fei and then spurred his horse towards the commanders of Zhao and Yue.
*Clang!*
Li Xuan blocked an attack from Zhao Qing, the commander of Zhao, with his spear, then instantly counterattacked with his spear towards Lu Sefu, the commander of Yue. Lu Sefu, who had just thrust his spear, hastily retreated to defend.
He failed to notice that the moment he retracted his spear shaft, it landed directly on the head of Yan Fei, who had already stood up. Yan Fei, who had been sent flying and dismounted by Li Xuan's spear, and then knocked down by Li Xuan's follow-up blow, was already injured. Now struck by the butt of Lu Sefu's spear, he fell backward again.
"Li family's spinning spear!" Just as Lu Sefu felt a bit apologetic for knocking down Yan Fei, Li Xuan's voice rang out again.
Lu Sefu's heart leaped. He sprang off his warhorse. Looking at Li Xuan, he saw that Li Xuan's spear was not aimed at him. Instead, a dislodged spear had pierced Zhao Qing's body and was slanted on the ground. Zhao Qing's eyes, filled with unwillingness, gradually dimmed.
"Now, only you remain." Li Xuan also leaped off his horse, kicked the spear flying, and then pulled it back with one hand, walking slowly towards Lu Sefu. His expression was cold, like a god of war.
"This marshal, no no no, this marshal surrenders!" Seeing Li Xuan approaching, Lu Sefu's courage had completely broken. He knelt down and directly surrendered. Four ten-star marshals, two dead and two captured by Li Xuan. At this point, Lu Sefu had no courage left to fight Li Xuan.
"This general accepts your surrender." Li Xuan walked up to Lu Sefu, leaned down slightly, and stared directly into Lu Sefu's eyes, then thrust his spear into Yan Fei's right hand, which had just clenched a bayonet.
"Ah! I surrender, I surrender... Ah!" Yan Fei cried out in pain and then desperately begged for mercy.
News of the invasion by the four nations of Qi, Yan, Zhao, and Yue soon reached the imperial capital of Dahua. Upon hearing that Li Xuan had personally led the hundred thousand Li family troops to resist the enemy, and had ultimately killed two commanders and captured two, the King of Dahua was overjoyed and issued another commendation order.
Li Xuan, a six-star deputy general, was promoted to ten-star marshal, commanding ten million troops! This news then spread throughout the entire Dahua nation. The entire country knew of the deeds of Li Xuan, who was like a god of war. The King of Dahua announced that a banquet would be held in the imperial capital in one month, and he would personally award Li Xuan with a medal and a marshal's insignia.
"I never imagined you could contend with four ten-star marshals and once again preserve the dignity of our Dahua. The King's decree has been issued, and from now on, I suppose I must address you as Marshal Li." Wang Bochuan looked at Li Xuan, whom he had personally trained, and felt a surge of emotion. However, more than that, he felt pride. Wang Bochuan also knew that even he himself would not have had the courage to face four ten-star marshals, let alone engage and kill them on the battlefield.
"General Wang, you are my mentor. Without you, I, Li Xuan, would not be where I am today. It's just that my Li family army lost one thousand three hundred and eighty-nine soldiers. I am indebted to them." Li Xuan shook his head slightly, his gaze looking outside the hall with a hint of exhaustion.
"They fought for our Dahua, and they died for a worthy cause. Rest assured, I have already made arrangements. Their bodies are being transported home. The King will provide pensions for each of their families." Wang Bochuan paused and then added, "However, you only have half a month until the King's decree is issued. If you don't depart now, you might miss the King's celebration banquet."
Li Xuan's expression turned slightly cold upon hearing this. He then looked at Wang Bochuan and said, "Regarding the celebration banquet, I will have to trouble General Wang to convey a message to the King for me. For now, I must return to Qingyun Town."
"Return to Qingyun Town? Marshal Li, has something happened?" Wang Bochuan rarely saw Li Xuan with such a cold expression. However, Wang Bochuan could tell that something of great importance to Li Xuan had occurred. Otherwise, Li Xuan's tone would not carry such killing intent.
Li Xuan remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, "My eldest and second elder brothers, and those soldiers who were sent back, their graves have been desecrated."