"Stay away from there. Even a wisp of True Qi from an Innate Martial Artist can kill us," Zane Wang said.
"I'm not an idiot who would rush in headfirst," Oliver Sheng rolled his eyes at Zane.
"Enough talk, let's kill the enemies. These damn Huns are getting more and more numerous," Zane raised his saber and slashed at a Hun soldier.
More and more Hun soldiers climbed up the city walls.
The two battalions of four thousand troops that were brought in barely managed to suppress the Hun army.
Seeing that the prolonged attack was unsuccessful, the Left Wise King sent another five thousand troops to storm the city.
"Send another unit to join the assault. Wear down the garrison's living forces," the Left Wise King ordered his subordinates.
"Yes, sir!"
The herald relayed the king's order, and a five-thousand-strong Hun army marched out of the camp, charging towards the city walls.
***
"Whooo… whooo…"
The sound of the Huns' war horns echoed through the sky.
Tens of thousands of Hun soldiers pressed forward, continuously climbing the city walls.
At this moment, Oliver Sheng was facing an onslaught from over twenty Hun soldiers.
He was too fierce; in just a short while, he had killed more than a dozen Hun soldiers, making him a prominent target.
"Kill!"
A Hun centurion led a group to surround and kill Oliver.
By now, Oliver was also engaged in a bitter struggle.
Seeing Oliver being surrounded, Zane Wang killed his opponent and rushed over to help.
"Brother Oliver, don't worry, I'm here to save you."
However, before Zane could reach Oliver, he was entangled by the surrounding Hun soldiers.
Seeing Zane also being surrounded, Oliver felt a bit relieved. This guy always seemed to want to steal his kills.
Oliver's Blood Fiend Saber Technique was executed flawlessly, and the Hun soldiers surrounding him fell one after another, unable to get close.
The Hun centurion, who was also a Martial Artist at the initial stage, was no match for Oliver.
Killing became the color of the battlefield, with blood staining everything red.
With a sweeping saber slash, Oliver cut the Hun centurion in half from bottom to top.
Many Hun soldiers were terrified by this sight.
It was the first time they had seen such a gruesome death.
After killing the centurion, the remaining Hun soldiers surrounding Oliver were quickly dispatched.
The battle continued until dusk, but the Hun army still couldn't breach the city walls.
***
"Boom, boom, boom…"
The sound of drums signaling retreat came from the Hun army, and the soldiers who couldn't climb the walls retreated like a tide.
The five Innate experts of the Huns couldn't defeat the five Assistant Generals of the garrison and had to retreat. The Hun soldiers who couldn't retreat in time were killed by the garrison.
The ground was covered with corpses, blood flowing like rivers, painting everything red.
Only about three thousand garrison soldiers were still standing on the city walls.
Out of the more than ten thousand Hun soldiers who attacked, less than four thousand retreated.
Oliver Sheng, leaning on his saber and panting heavily, was exhausted from fighting since noon, with over a dozen wounds bleeding on his body.
Fortunately, the injuries were not life-threatening.
"The Hun army has retreated!" A soldier suddenly laughed, tears streaming down his face.
Of the eight thousand soldiers defending the city today, only about three thousand were still standing, showing how difficult the defense had been.
Many soldiers looked at the corpses of their comrades and the Hun soldiers, their faces full of sorrow.
Maybe tomorrow, it would be their turn to lie down.
"Soldiers, don't be sad. Today we won, we killed many Hun invaders, and not a single one breached the city. Those who sacrificed themselves to protect their families and country are heroes," an Assistant General appeared on the city wall to comfort the garrison.
"General, can we really hold the city walls?" a soldier asked, trembling.
In just one day, they had lost five thousand men. How many more days could they hold on like this?
"We can, we must. General Who Pacifies the North will live and die with us, swearing to defend Peace Pass and never let the Huns breach it," the Assistant General said resolutely.
Oliver recognized the general as one of the five who resisted the Hun Innate experts.
"This is General Who Defeats the Huns, one of the five Assistant Generals of the garrison, a mid-stage Innate Martial Artist," Zane whispered to Oliver.
Oliver nodded. To be promoted to Assistant General, one must first break through to the Innate realm in martial arts and have enough military merit.
An Assistant General commands a regiment of five thousand men.
The garrison at Peace Pass has only five regiments, totaling thirty thousand men.
After half a month of fighting, with the war becoming increasingly fierce, only less than twenty thousand soldiers remained.
The four battalions that fought today were withdrawn to the camp for rest.
Cleaning the battlefield, transporting corpses, and treating the wounded were tasks for another battalion.
Back at the camp, Oliver and the others had their wounds simply treated and bandaged.
Oliver was wrapped up like a mummy.
"Oliver, you're too reckless," Ian Zhang said, looking at Oliver's numerous wounds.
"It's nothing, just minor injuries," Oliver waved it off.
Their ten-man team was all injured. Jerry Li was seriously wounded and sent to the military doctors in the city.
Jerry, Ian, Zane, and the veteran were lightly injured and only needed bandaging.
The four new soldiers who joined them had all died in battle.
"Don't be too brave, or you'll attract the attention of the Hun experts." Ian warned.
If it weren't for the veteran helping to fend off the Hun experts, Oliver would have been targeted by them long ago.
Of course, Ian didn't say this out loud.
"No worries, I'm tough," Oliver grinned.
"Whooo…"
From one of the barracks, the sound of a Qiang flute drifted out.
The melody was soothing and beautiful.
Hearing the flute, everyone fell silent.
The atmosphere in the barracks became somber.
***
In General Calvin Yang's barracks, several high-ranking officers of the garrison were gathered.
"General, can Deny North Pass really not send reinforcements?" General Elliott Sun asked.
"Deny North Pass has two hundred thousand troops. Can't they spare even ten or twenty thousand?" another Assistant General asked.
"Sigh, the Grand Chanyu is leading three hundred thousand Huns to attack Deny North Pass," General Calvin Yang sighed.
"The Right Wise King is also leading a hundred thousand troops to attack Qi Mountain Fortress. How can the General Who Guards the North send reinforcements?"
Calvin's words left the five Assistant Generals silent.
Without reinforcements, how long could the remaining troops at Peace Pass hold out?
"What about the imperial army?" an Assistant General asked, unwilling to give up.
Calvin didn't answer, looking into the distance.
The other four Assistant Generals also fell silent.
After a long while, General Calvin Yang spoke, "Notify the counties and prefectures inside the pass to send their county and prefectural troops for support. Tell them that if Peace Pass falls, they won't fare well either."
"Yes, sir. I will notify them immediately," Elliott Sun said, leaving the barracks.
***
After lying down, Oliver checked the light screen.
Name: Oliver Sheng
Race: Human
Realm: Martial Disciple Peak (+)
Cultivation Method: "Wild Bull Strength" (Small Accomplishment), "Blood Fiend Saber Technique" (Small Accomplishment)
Strength: Two thousand pounds
Talent: Bronze Archer (+)
Kill Points: 95
His Kill Points had increased to 95, but Wild Bull Strength and Blood Fiend Saber Technique still didn't have a plus sign, indicating that these points were not enough to improve them.
However, his realm could be improved again.
Seeing that his realm could be enhanced, Oliver didn't hesitate to allocate points.
Instantly, he consumed sixty Kill Points.
A powerful force surged into his body, continuously refining and strengthening it.
Every cell in his body cheered, and his wounds began to heal rapidly.
At the same time, a stream of True Qi formed within him, circulating through his body and strengthening his flesh and bones.
This True Qi was True Essence, and without a sound, he officially stepped into the Martial Artist realm.
Name: Oliver Sheng
Race: Human
Realm: Martial Artist Initial Stage
Cultivation Method: "Wild Bull Strength" (Small Accomplishment), "Blood Fiend Saber Technique" (Small Accomplishment)
Strength: Two thousand nine hundred pounds
Talent: Bronze Archer (+)
Kill Points: 35
Seeing his strength increase to two thousand nine hundred pounds, which was close to the Great Perfection of a Martial Artist, Oliver was amazed.
He never expected his Golden Finger to be so powerful. He had just broken through to the Martial Artist realm and was already comparable to a Great Perfection expert.
Maybe this was the benefit of breaking through the Martial Disciple limit? Oliver wondered.
He didn't fully understand the situation, as he had just started learning martial arts and hadn't systematically studied it.
He was entirely relying on his Golden Finger to allocate points for cultivation.
Not understanding, he decided not to dwell on it. His strength had indeed increased, and that was all that mattered.
At this moment, Oliver felt an endless supply of energy within him.
He felt so strong that he could take on a hundred men.
He fell asleep with a smile, dreaming peacefully.
***
The next morning, after morning exercises and breakfast, Oliver's battalion had a rest day and didn't need to fight, as another battalion took their place.
After all, their battalion of two thousand men had fought until now, and less than a thousand remained.
"WHOOO… WHOOO…"
"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM…"
Outside the city, the Hun army began their assault again.
Unfortunately, Oliver's battalion wouldn't be sent to fight today.
Otherwise, he would have killed two hundred Hun soldiers today.
That's how strong he felt!
While they were resting, over a thousand new soldiers were sent to replenish their battalion.
Several sergeants were promoted, including Oliver.
"Oliver Sheng, step forward!" the Martial Colonel shouted.
Oliver was stunned for a moment, then Zane pushed him out.
"Yes, sir!" Oliver responded loudly.
The Martial Colonel looked at Oliver. He didn't remember having such a fierce warrior under his command.
But he couldn't question the orders from above.
"This is your appointment letter. From today, you are the sergeant of the tenth squad," the Martial Colonel announced.
Oliver couldn't believe his ears. He had only been a soldier for two or three days, and now he was promoted?
He had been promoted three ranks in one go!
He didn't hear what the Martial Colonel said next, completely immersed in the joy of his promotion.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
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