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Chapter 437: Good beginnings! (2)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

If it were any other Heavenly Jewel Master, perhaps this period of stagnation would be deadly, potentially putting them off this amazing skill. However, Zhou Weiqing would not. After all, his Immortal Deity Technique had a unique characteristic… as long as he kept using his Heavenly Energy, the energy whirlpools would continually draw in power, and his cultivation level would slowly increase automatically. As such, concentrating on the Six Ultimate Skill Manipulation Arts would actually only have a minor effect on his Heavenly Energy cultivation.

Furthermore, Zhou Weiqing had discovered as the month had passed and he had improved in the Six Ultimate Skill Manipulation Arts, there had been other benefits to his control of Heavenly Energy. Firstly, he had by now already broken through eighteen of his Death Acupuncture Points, and after this point, he was now able to individually control them, allowing each different Death Acupuncture Point to whirl at different speeds and with their unique changes.

Do not underestimate this seemingly simple ability. In actual combat, previously with Zhou Weiqing's spiritual power and focus, he was only able to have the eighteen Death Acupuncture Points either strengthened or weakened at the same time. As a result, when he was attacked at any portion of the body, he still had to strengthen his defenses all around, and that would undoubtedly cause a wastage of Heavenly Energy. However, it was different now with the improved control, only requiring the particular Death Acupuncture Points at the area to increase their speeds.

Such fine grained control would allow him to greatly reduce the Heavenly Energy expenditure he had in actual combat.

Of course, this was only one of the benefits of the new improvement. Besides that, in Zhou Weiqing's continuous training, he also realised it was actually improving the control of his own current Stored Skills.

Simply put, when he used a Skill, he was controlling how it was unleashed, and in doing so had to adjust the Heavenly Energy from within the structures of the Skill. Of course, the better one was able to manipulate and adjust the Heavenly Energy, the greater the changes the Skill could have. For example, using the Lightning Suffering Skill with its multiple paralysis effects, he could now control the four bolts of lightnings separately, their speed, density, even condensing them together, empowering them greatly.

As he continued with the Six Ultimate Skill Manipulation Arts training, Zhou Weiqing slowly understood what Long Shiya had spoke about previously. There were no such things as a truly useless Heavenly Skill… as long as one controlled Heavenly Energy in the right way, any Skill could unleash the power of a Heavenly God Tier.

The Skills that he currently Stored had proven this exact point when the Heavenly Energy was compressed. When he did that, the offensive power of those Skills increased substantially, yet without an actual increase of expenditure of Heavenly Energy.

Just as Zhou Weiqing was immersed in the experience of the Six Ultimate Skill Manipulation Arts, Shangguan Fei'er's voice suddenly came in from outside. "I'm coming in."

In this entire month while Zhou Weiqing was in closed door cultivation, only she could actually come in directly to see him. She was very clear about Zhou Weiqing's power, and knew that he wouldn't get into trouble with cultivation deviation, unless his Solidified Dragon Spirit acted up again.

Zhou Weiqing kept the six Heavenly King Stage Cores in his hands and smiled faintly: "Fei'er! What's up?" This entire month, he had barely had any contact with Fei'er at all indeed.

Ever since they had returned from the north, Zhou Weiqing had been training in his tent, and this time he had really left Shangguan Fei'er in the cold.

Originally, Shangguan Fei'er had not thought much about keeping her distance from Zhou Weiqing. However, after an entire month of barely speaking a few sentences with him, even she was starting to feel gloomy. The romance in a young girl's heart, making her feel anxious and worried, and even the Little Demon Girl of the Heaven's Expanse Palace was no exception.

"Can't I look for you even if nothing is up?" Shangguan Fei'er said exasperatedly.

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: "Of course you can, why? Did you miss me?" His smile was wicked.

"Cheh, who misses you." Shangguan Fei'er blushed as she said. "The Seventh Legion has sent someone to dispatch us back to the main northern encampment."

"En?" Zhou Weiqing was caught by surprise. "Why?"

Shangguan Fei'er said: "Although it is still early, it will not be too long before the WanShou Empire started sending troops to start harrassing our borders again. We might not be afraid of them, but that Legion Commander Shen Ji of the Seventh Legion was worried that a large number of WanShou Empire troops might suddenly ambush us, and was worried that we might be in danger."

Hearing her words, Zhou Weiqing instantly understood. Naturally, what worry would they have for him! It was clearly worry that Shangguan Fei'er might get hurt.

"Should we go or not?" Shangguan Fei'er asked again.

Zhou Weiqing thought for a bit, then said: "We'll go, but not right at this moment.

"Why not?" Shangguan Fei'er asked curiously. She was puzzled why Zhou Weiqing would choose such a path.

Zhou Weiqing said: "If the WanShou Empire actually sends troops to harass the borders, isn't that just a perfect opportunity for us to train our own troops? If the numbers are too huge, we can easily hide out as we have always done. There is no actual danger, and only benefit. As for going, that is because eventually when the WanShou Empire finally starts their real attack, it will also be time to test the results of all our Peerless Battalion training, and also to let our men get a taste of a real large battle. After all, I have never planned to stay here for long… This is not my home empire!"

Shangguan Fei'er said in shock: "You're bringing the Peerless Battalion away?"

Zhou Weiqing nodded and said: "Yes, our real development cannot be here. I need to return back to my homeland. Here, my main purpose is to build up m y strength, and my actual development will only be in the Heavenly Bow Empire, and only then will have a chance to actually revive it."

Shangguan Fei'er furrowed her brow and said: "But… the Fei Li Empire has no good will towards you either. If I were to return, wouldn't you be facing enemies from all sides?"

A flash of pride flickered in Zhou Weiqing's eyes and he said: "If we back down when running into difficulties, then our Peerless Battalion will never become strong. Do not worry, I know our limits, and it is not time to go back yet. Before I think we have sufficient power, I will not play around with our lives and be rash."

Shangguan Fei'er saw the pride in his eyes, and she did not know why but her heart raced slightly at that moment. Standing up abruptly, she said: "Then… then I'll go refuse them first."

She quickly ran out of the tent, and as soon as she did so, she heaved a sigh of relief, feeling a slight heat on her face. She couldn't help but ask herself: Fei'er ahh Fei'er, what's wrong with you, don't be one of those silly girls.

In the past where she had spent with Zhou Weiqing, he had always teased her and angered her, but she had not responded much as she could not pass that barrier in her heart, and she had always tried to dodge him as much as possible.

Yet, now that he had entered closed door cultivation for a whole month, and the two had not spoken at all, she ended up feeling despondent instead. As a result, she could only vent those feelings in combat while training those Peerless Battalion soldiers, to make herself feel better. When meeting Zhou Weiqing just now, she was shocked to find that she had the sudden urge to just jump into his arms.

Now that the Peerless Battalion had been in development for quite a period of time, there was a huge change to it.

With all the soldiers having proper food and nutrition, clothing and sleep, along with proper equipment… these ruffians who had already been waiting to die in this northern borderlands had undergone a massive reversal, as if infused with a new life. Especially Zhou Weiqing's reward and punishment system, that had further motivated them and aroused their zeal and enthusiasm.

One month ago, when Zhou Weiqing and the others had just returned, it had coincided with another batch of ruffian soldiers who had just been sent to them, numbering less than three hundred.

These new ruffians had just been freshly punished, and they had not experienced all the pain and suffering of the current Peerless Battalion soldiers. As such, they were either arrogant, cunning or just sheer scoundrels.

Facing such a situation, Hua Feng, who had taken control of the whole camp in lieu of Zhou Weiqing, just gave a simple command. He split up all three hundred of the new ruffians, merging them with the original one thousand and two hundred soldiers, with four of the old birds taking care of one new ruffian according to their strengths, and giving them 'special attentions'.

With the new ruffian soldiers facing the old hands, more so at a one versus four situation… well they were all intelligent fellows, and in a matter of a mere ten days, the Peerless Battalion had finally officially numbered a thousand five hundred men working together.

Of course, the reason why these new ruffian soldiers could integrate so quickly was also because of the reward and punishment system. The current pay of the Peerless Battalion was actually already higher than the main northern army, not to mention the access to Consolidating Equipment Scrolls and other benefits. More so, those with Heavenly Energy could possibly Awaken their Power Jewels, something they had never imagined possible. Even the most stubborn ruffian, under an onslaught of so many enticements, each of them became like docile little kittens under the guidance of the old ruffians.

At the same time, now that Shangguan Fei'er had sufficient Heavenly Core materials, she was able to start making the medicines, which came into great effect immediately. With herself as the main support, along with some of the other powerful Physical Jewel Masters, they were able to make use of the medicines to help some of those soldiers who already had some Heavenly Energy to Awaken their Power Jewels.

As for which of the soldiers to get such benefits first, that was a science in itself. Shangguan Fei'er was extremely intelligent, and she had been around Zhou Weiqing for several months by now, and had already been 'contaminated' by him. She told all the soldiers without Physical or Elemental Jewels that there was a severe limit to such a precious treasured medicine, and only the most hardworking soldiers who had the best results would be able to go through it and Awaken their Power Jewels.

After that, she only gave a quota of ten per day to undergo the procedure of having those high leveled Physical Jewel Masters help him Awaken his Power Jewels.

With that, it was as if those soldiers without Personal Jewels were suddenly under some sort of spell, injected with steroids, and each of them training as if their lives depended on it. They would not even stop training until they were unable to move a muscle… such zest and vigor, definitely a massive increase.

In truth, anyone who was not a Jewel Master would definitely be the same if they met with the same circumstance. After all, the difference in rank and status between a Jewel Master and an ordinary person was unbelievable, and one could say it was the dream 'occupation'. With such a chance in front of them, who could resist, who would not pit their lives to do so?

Naturally, those Physical and Elemental Jewel Masters had a similar zest. They too were putting their lives on the lines in training, not wanting to get caught up. Of course, what drew them most was naturally the Consolidating Equipment Masters and Skill Storing Fees.

Chapter 438: Good beginnings! (3)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

Zhou Weiqing had been right indeed. In the world, only profit and gain was a constant. With sufficient draw, he was able to bind the Peerless Battalion soldiers to him. Feelings and emotions had to be fostered, and at the same time, once these men got into a habit of listening to his orders, they would also gain feelings for this organization called the Peerless Battalion.

Towards his own people, Zhou Weiqing was never a stingy person, perhaps even overly generous. With his soldiers training so hard, pushing themselves to the limit and beyond every day, he got Lin TianAo to get some doctors to prescribe some medicines to brew some nourishing and regenerative medicines, adding them to their usual food and drinks.

In such a way, the Peerless Battalion soldiers were all nourished into tall, large, energetic fellows, and their improvement was at a tremendous pace indeed. In the end, even Shangguan Fei'er couldn't bear to purposely withhold the pace of the medicines, and slowly from ten men, the quota was increased to twenty… thirty… and finally fifty.

Of course, it was not just the increase in personal strength, even their equipment was improving by leaps and bounds. Yun Li and Little Miss Muddle were constantly churning out Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, and the custom made armour that Lin TianAo had ordered was also being completed and shipped in week after week. By now, the strongest of the Peerless Battalion were already all equipped with Spatial Objects. The entire Battalion grew in strength, their overall power going up through all aspects. Let alone the others, even the Heavenly Bow Unit masters were all secretly shocked by the sheer amount of improvement in the Peerless Battalion.

However, they were also clear this strength had not come without a cost, and the sheer amount of gold that had been sunk into building such an armed force was definitely an astronomical figure. Still, Zhou Weiqing had previously told them about how he had won a hundred million gold coins in the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, so they were not too surprised.

In truth, as the time had passed, the hundred million gold coins that Zhou Weiqing had won was already pretty much spent. However, with the Spatial Sack of the Six Ultimate Heavenly Emperor, the value of the Heavenly Cores within were astronomical, and no matter how much they spent, he would not have any financial problems within the next ten years.

…

Time passed day after day, and before long, ,another three months had passed. The weather of the northern border also grew slightly warmer; no one would actually call it hot, but without question this was the best season of the north. Summer had come.

With the arrival of summer, the peace of the northern border was now disrupted. The annual raids of the WanShou Empire was starting, as the weather was finally not too cold and more suitable for fighting, and their main goal was to gain enough food stores to get through the winter. As such, the start of the summer was the time for them to scout and harass the border.

WanShou Empire. Swift Wolf Regiment Command Tent.

A massive man about forty years of age was seated on the Commander's seat, and there were eight others seated before him respectfully.

*PENG* A loud clash, as the large and solid table was totally shattered by a blow from that massive commander's palm. "Bastards! You useless bunch, what can you all do?! Do you mean to tell me that we sent out three Companies of men, and not only did we not gain anything, none of them actually returned?!"

Butler was the Regiment Commander of the Swift Wolf Regiment, and he had ten thousand wolf cavalry soldiers under his command. To the WanShou Empire, this was already considered one of the more valuable elite units of the army.

Ten thousand wolf cavalry troops, charging in a vast plains, that was an imposing sight that would even cloud the sky. With just his Regiment alone, he had once taken down an entire Legion of ZhongTian ordinary troops.

In the Wolfman Tribe, Butler was the current Wolfman Tribe Leader, Bathuru's eldest son, and was also the heir to the Tribe Leader position. Furthermore, he was a power Heavenly Jewel Master at the nine Jeweled stage. He could be considered one of the top elites amongst the younger generation in the WanShou Empire. On the left part of his chest, there was a white, triangle shaped insignia, showing that he had once ascended the Heavenly Snow Mountain, to undergo the baptism ceremony there as well as teachings. Towards any WanShou Empire soldier, that was an ultimate honour, and as a result, Butler was highly respected and had much status in the entire army.

However, today Butler was extremely angry. In the last half a month, ,he had dispatched three Companies of his elite wolfman cavalry soldiers to the ZhongTian Empire border to scout and patrol. This was a customary annual tradition, yet this year, a very different result had occurred, as out of the three companies of Wolfman Cavalry soldiers, not a single one had lived to return.

Such a situation had never happened before. After all, that was three hundred wolfman cavalry soldiers! Each and every wolfman cavalry was chosen from the elites amongst their tribesmen, rearing and teaching their war wolf mounts from a young age, before stepping onto the battlefield when they were adult. How could his heart not ache at such a huge loss? Ordinarily, just these three hundred wolfman cavalry soldiers would be enough to rout an enemy force of several Battalions of ordinary ZhongTian cavalry soldiers, let alone their infantry soldiers. As for the ZhongTian Heavy Cavalry, they would not be able to catch up to their speedy war wolf mounts to actually fight them. In terms of speed, the war wolves were afraid of no one.

One of the Wolfmen on the left, slightly shorter but well built, spoke in a solemn tone: "Sir, how about we dispatch more troops to have a look. It looks like this year the ZhongTian Empire has prepared well for us. Our men must have met with an ambush from a large number of troops, otherwise they could not possibly have been totally wiped out, with not even a single one managing to escape to report back."

Butler gave a cold humph, before saying: "Send more men? How many do you plan to send?"

The short wolfman said boldly: "Sir, I am willing to lead a Battalion of Wolfman Cavalry soldiers to slay all those ambushing enemies, to take revenge for our brothers."

"A Battalion? We have already lost three hundred men, are you trying to make me lose another Battalion? Since the ZhongTian Empire dared to take action against us, they naturally know how much we number. They must be seizing this opportunity that we always send a smaller number of troops at the start of the summer, and purposely set a trap to wait for us. Well, since they have set a trap for us, I'll personally crush those traps and their ambushers. So… we will not do as they expect… sending just a mere Battalion, but our entire Legion. I do not believe that the ZhongTian Empire will actually send that huge an army to ambush us. Send out the orders, ask the Eagle Tribe brothers to help scout and see if they have constructed any fortifications on the borders or if there are any signs of overly large numbers of enemies. If not, we will set out in three days time."

"Sir, should we report it up the command structure first?" One of the other Wolfman Tribe commanders couldn't help but ask.

Butler said angrily: "Report up? Will reporting up let my three hundred brothers come back to life? As the humans say, sometimes a field commander has to decide against even the king's orders. Let me first wipe out those humans who dare ambush us before we make our report. Alright, enough, you all go and prepare for the fight; we will wait for news from the Eagle Tribe before I make the final decision."

Although he was currently in a rage, he was still able to hold on to some reasoning, and would not just send troops out just like that. If an entire Legion was set as an ambushing party, he would not just strike out like that. However, if it wasn't a large number of enemies, Butler had absolute confidence that his ten thousand strong wolf cavalry soldiers could sweep in and out of the border areas quickly, and take swift revenge upon those who had slain his three hundred tribesmen.

…

At one side, Butler was in a rage, but on the other side of the border, Zhou Weiqing was extremely excited.

By this time, it had already been a total of four months since he had separated from his teacher, the Six Ultimate Heavenly Emperor. His training in the Six Ultimate Skill Manipulation Arts was also proceeding nicely, and he was getting much more skillful in it. It had to be said that Zhou Weiqing truly had talent in this area of controlling, and added to the fact that he had spent two years learning the fine control of archery, mastering the control of his own physical body, that had also helped in the matter. As such, though he was only starting on this Six Ultimate Skill Manipulation Arts, he already had some mastery of it. What followed next would just be continuous practice to mature in his understanding and usage of it.

The Six Ultimate Heavenly Emperor Long Shiya had not returned to look for him, but Zhou Weiqing was not worried or urgent. After all, if Long Shiya did not know where his friend was currently at, to look for a person in the entire massive continent, that was no easy feat.

Zhou Weiqing had just returned from the Seventh Legion Headquarters. He had just brought Shen Ji a large gift, three hundred wolfman tribesmen and war wolf corpses.

After all, ever since Shen Ji had learned that Shangguan Fei'er and himself were from the Heaven's Expanse Palace, and had it verified with Zhan LingTian, he treated the Peerless Battalion extremely well. As long as they had any requests, they were usually met, no matter food, equipment or other supplies necessary, even sending his own Seventh Legion men to escort the supplies to them to ensure their safety.

Naturally, the three Companies of Butler's Swift Wolf Regiment had been taken down by the Peerless Battalion. Previously, the seven masters of the Heavenly Bow Unit had taken down an entire Company by themselves, let alone the current Peerless Battalion who had undergone almost half a year of intense training, and were all at an stimulated excitement, ready to test the fruits of their labour.

When the three Companies of Wolf Cavalry soldiers met over a thousand archers with Consolidated Equipment Bows, their fates were already sealed. Before they had charged within a distance of three hundred yards, all of them had already died, with not a single survivor. As for the Peerless Battalion, it was without question that not a single one of them was injured, let alone dead. The true benefits of long ranged attacks was shown to their fullest potential here. Such a military achievement was of inestimable value to the confidence of the Peerless Battalion soldiers.

When Zhou Weiqing had sent the combat spoils to the Seventh Legion, everyone was shocked. Those were three hundred wolf cavalry soldiers! To be able to slaw so many wolf cavalry soldiers was definitely a great merit of service, and to any Battalion Commander, it was already more than enough to grant him a rank of Vice Legion Commander.

However, Zhou Weiqing declined any promotions that Shen Ji was offering, instead asking to change it into monetary rewards. In truth, Shen Ji was probably the only one who was not even surprised that the Peerless Battalion was able to slay so many Wolfman Cavalry soldiers. After all, in his eyes, Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Fei'er were from the Heaven's Expanse Palace. Though the Wolfman Cavalry soldiers were indeed powerful, they were no match for powerhouses from the Great Saint Lands. Furthermore, he had personally seen their power with his own eyes, and he did not have any suspicions about the truth about the killings.

Besides the monetary reward, Zhou Weiqing also asked Shen Ji for another favour; that was that he hoped to incorporate the Ruffian Battalions from the other three Legions into his own Ruffian Battalion. Although he already have one thousand five hundred men in his Peerless Battalion, it was still far from the number and power in his heart. He would rather not have any promotions, rank or prestige, preferring to bolster his numbers with more ruffians.

The fact of the matter had already proven itself in his hands. The ruffian soldiers truly had a greater potential than most ordinary soldiers, just by virtue of the fact they were able to survive as ruffians. Furthermore, since they were exiled from all the various different sources in the respective Legions, it should not be a big problem taking in all those men.

Shen Ji immediately agreed that he would send up the request on Zhou Weiqing's behalf; after all he was only in charge of the Seventh Legion and did not have control of the other Ruffian Battalions, and could not guarantee success.

Of course, to the Main Northern Army Command, those few Ruffian Battalions were nothing in their eyes, and giving those men to Zhou Weiqing was no big deal.

Chapter 439: Swift Wolf Regiment! (1)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

Zhou Weiqing returned to the Peerless Battalion, doling out the reward that they had received.

In truth, by now the soldiers of the Peerless Battalion no longer placed much importance on gold. After having followed Zhou Weiqing for so long, their horizons had been broadened, and they were at a much higher stage now. At the same time, the 'smell of gunpowder' was strong in the general atmosphere of the Peerless Battalion, as all the soldiers competed to see who could earn more Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, Stored Skills, or even just whose Heavenly Energy could rise the fastest.

In the original Ruffian Battalion, before Zhou Weiqing had taken control, even for those original Physical Jewel Masters, it was extremely rare they had Consolidated Equipment. As a result, it was an easy task to homogenize all their current Consolidated Equipment. Zhou Weiqing's specifications for their Consolidating was a set process. First, a Consolidated Equipment Bow, next would be the two sets of Consolidated Equipment Wings. Of course, this was just the beginning, and as their power increased, there would be more in the future.

As Zhou Weiqing returned to his command tent, Wei Feng and Hua Feng both arrived at the same time to see him.

"Battalion Commander Sir, Reporting… The situation is quite dire…" Wei Feng's expression was rather ugly, but Hua Feng remained his usual calm, unflurried self, as if nothing could cause emotional turbulence to him. Although he came in together with Wei Feng, they seemed to have different objectives.

"Hmm, what is it?" Zhou Weiqing sat down hard on his chair with a smile on his face. He was currently in a good mood, as the news he had gotten previously was that there were three other Ruffian Battalions in the entire northern armies, with each around a thousand man strong or more. If he could gain all these men and incorporate them into his Peerless Battalion, they would number about five thousand strong, and he was expectant for that to happen.

Five thousand men was also the ideal number in Zhou Weiqing's heart. After all, if they numbered too many, he was also unable to upkeep them all. Furthermore, once their numbers grew too huge, they would also lose the speed and mobility that would make them more effective. What he needed was five thousand of the strongest, most elite forces, not a huge army. It looked like soon his goal, in terms of numbers at least, would be met, so how could he not be excited and happy? It meant that he was yet another step closer towards returning home and reviving his homeland.

Wei Feng said solemnly: "According to our brothers deeper in the border, they have reported back that after the Swift Wolf Regiment had lost three of their Companies, there was much activity within the camp. Although they have not moved out yet, from observation it seems that they are preparing to leave at any moment. At the same time, the skies have recently been filled with the eagle tribe scouts, and we have shot down a few, but some have also escaped. We expect that they have already discovered our position. Battalion Commander, if the Swift Wolf Regiment actually comes enmasse to attack us, it will be extremely unfavourable for us! We need to make preparations for the worst case scenario, especially if their entire Regiment attacks us, what are we to do? Battalion Commander, you need to make a decision as soon as possible…"

Hearing his words, the smile of Zhou Weiqing's face disappeared. "Big Bro Wei, what is your idea regarding the situation then?"

After so much time together, they had all become familiar with each other, and much closer. Zhou Weiqing no longer called him formally by his rank as he previously did.

Wei Feng said without hesitation: "We should pack up everything immediately and retreat into the tunnels. Although the eagle tribe scouts have discovered us, they are probably not able to ascertain our exact location. As long as we disappear into our hidden tunnels, even if the WanShou Empire attacks in numbers, they will not be able to do anything with us. After all, they can't possibly have a large number of forces stay in our borders forever."

Zhou Weiqing turned his gaze towards Hua Feng and he asked: "Teacher, what about your idea?"

Hua Feng smiled faintly. He was originally extremely suave and handsome, and though he was older now, he still had the distinct flavour of a mature man. His cultured and refined look was also one of the reasons why Shui Cao had started chasing him all those years ago, and all the way up until now.

"Kill them, it's just a Regiment." Hua Feng said easily.

Surprise filled Wei Feng's face and he said: "Instructor Hua Feng, are you joking with me? That is no ordinary Regiment, it is a Regiment of ten thousand wolf cavalry soldiers, the notorious Swift Wolf Regiment! Don't you know the victories they have carved through the battlefield over the years at our expense? Not only are they one of the main Regiments of the WanShou Empire, they have previously carved a path through our Seventh and Eighth Legions' formations. Countless of our brethren have died at their hands… Such a force of experienced and battle hardened warriors is definitely able to take on an entire Legion of our army. Yet, our Peerless Battalion only numbers over a thousand brothers. How could we possibly fight with them? Isn't that a suicide mission?"

The smile on Hua Feng's face did not waver. "If they were truly a Legion of a hundred thousand men, I would have the same opinion as you. However, although these wolf cavalry soldiers are strong, they only number ten thousand. Do you know what ten thousand means? That means, if we are accurate enough, each of us only need seven arrows, and we can wipe them all out. This half a year of intense training and hard work is definitely not for nothing…"

Without hesitation, Wei Feng retorted: "Battalion Commander once proclaimed that as long as our power is not several times that of our enemies, we should not easily take action…" The Peerless Battalion was on the ascent, and he could see the improvement day after day, and he did not want to easily take the risk of seeing it ruined just like that.

Hua Feng said passively: "In my eyes, our power is already several times that of our enemies. In the end, the real battlefield is the best place, perhaps the only place, that we can test the fruits of our training. If we only chose the weakest opponents no matter our strength, when can our troops truly grow up? Weiqing, you decide…"

Zhou Weiqing paused for a moment before laughing, saying: "I accept both your suggestions. My decision is as follows – first, move all our camp and supplies down into the tunnels, and we will all move out to strike out at our enemy instead. We will choose the battlefield instead of waiting for them to come to us, and if we aren't able to win, isn't it easy for us to run? Once we enter the tunnels, so what if they chase after us? Are they going to mount their war wolves and charge into the tunnels?"

"Ah?" Wei Feng had not expected that Zhou Weiqing would actually give such an answer. "But, Battalion Commander, if that is the case, we might end up revealing our tunnels. What would we do when the main WanShou Army actually attacks…"

Zhou Weiqing said: "I have already thought through that. In truth, this place is so desolate and cut off, without any natural resources or methods of reprovisioning without going out of the way. It is not a place for us to stay and develop on a long term basis. This is also why I gave the order to stop digging tunnels and expanding our underground base three months ago. As long as the Swift Wolf Regiment dares come and we manage to destroy them, we will leave right after that. The Seventh Legion has already asked us to leave for quite some time, and we will join them to get past this year's WanShou Empire's invasion. With the screen of the Seventh Legion, it will be much easier for us to train and gain experience as well."

Looking at Wei Feng, Zhou Weiqing stood up and walked up to him, clapping him on the shoulders as he said: "Big Bro Wei, I know you think we have already built something up here, and have some sentiments for the place, especially after having stayed here for so long. I know it will not be easy for you to leave this place, but in the end, this is not the place for us to stay for long. For the future of our Peerless Battalion, we will have to leave sooner or later…"

Wei Feng nodded his head and said: "I understand. It is rather surprising to me as well… after over ten years here, I have always hated this barren and desolate northern borderlands. Yet, when it really comes down to leaving, only then do I feel unwilling to do so. However, you are right, Battalion Commander, I will listen to you. I will go make preparations…"

Hua Feng grabbed hold of him and said: "Wait, don't rush off like that! We will still need to discuss our tactics. Ten thousand Wolf Cavalry Soldiers is the best grindstone for our current Peerless Battalion, and also the best chance for us to test our combat Skills. We have to prepare in the best possible way to ensure the success."

Zhou Weiqing said: "Big Bro Wei, send for all the officers in our Peerless Battalion of the Company Leader rank and above. Let us have a discussion about tactics as well as allocation of tasks. If the Swift Wolf Regiment does not come, that is fine, but if they do come, we must give them a good head on fight, dealing them a painful blow. Tell all our brothers, if the Swift Wolf Regiment dares come, we will let them taste our Peerless Battalion's six months of training, to show the fruits of our brothers' labour. Issue ten gold coins to all our brothers, and inform them that after the upcoming battle, there will be another round of reward according to their battle merits. Those who have performed the best will be directly awarded with Consolidating Equipment or Skill Storing. This extra gold will be the pay for participating in this battle."

This time, if the Swift Wolf Regiment actually attacked, it will undoubtedly be the biggest test to the Peerless Battalion thus far. Although Zhou Weiqing had arranged a backup plan, it was undoubtedly a good chance to test how successful the last few months of training had been for his untested troops. At the same time, it would also be a good test about Zhou Weiqing's training theory and method, whether or not it had succeeded. It was a good time for the test too, if it were successful, it would definitely greatly improve the morale and cohesiveness of the entire Peerless Battalion, and if it failed, with their backup plans they should not be in too much danger, and it would not be too late for them to switch up their training methods.

Wei Feng rushed off, and for the entirety of the next day, Zhou Weiqing's large tent was filled with a sense of excitement and nervousness. Let alone Zhou Weiqing himself, even Wei Feng and the old hands of the Heavenly Bow Unit were excited about this upcoming major fight. All of them had seen with their own eyes how much the men of the Peerless Battalion had grown over the past few months, but no one could tell for sure what standards they had reached, especially in actual combat.

…

Two days later. Norther Border Plains.

"Reporting, Sir. The Swift Wolf Regiment has appeared in our borders without warning, heading straight for us at top speed…"

Zhou Weiqing was standing at the bottom of their hill camp, though by now it had been totally dismantled, with all supplies moved down into the underground tunnels, and even the soldiers were resting underground in order to react instantly.

"Very good. Continue scouting…" Zhou Weiqing gave the command, and the scout ran off speedily. One could not underestimate these scouts, as they were the first few to be given the Consolidated Equipment Wings, and their cultivation level were all Six Physical Jewels or higher. Although they only numbered three in total, they were all powerful warriors and scouts who could hold their own, well trained in stealth and scouting. In this wide plains of the northern borders, if one could not get first hand news at the fastest time, danger and death could fall upon them at any time.

"Alright, they are really coming. Issue my order, get everyone to prepare." Zhou Weiqing shouted out.

The Peerless Battalion reacted extremely quickly, and within minutes, all the soldiers were dressed and geared up, standing in formation neatly before Zhou Weiqing.

The Peerless Battalion numbered one thousand and five hundred currently, but they were still split into ten Companies rather than reassigning them all. Each Company had one Company Leader, a Vice Company Leader, and ten Squad Leaders. Currently, they were all neatly in ten groups in front of Zhou Weiqing.

Of all ten, the First and Second Companies looked the most ferocious and valiant. Ever since Zhou Weiqing had taken over the Peerless Battalion, these two Companies had been the first to get their selection of warriors, all of them the top Physical Jewel Masters. To be able to enter these two Companies, one had to display extremely powerful personal combat skills, defeating many contenders to gain the spot. Of course, their treatment was also the best.

Currently, Shangguan Fei'er stood in front of these two Companies. Besides their own two Company Leaders, these two Companies would directly report to her.

Chapter 440: Swift Wolf Regiment! (2)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

The other eight Companies were also in neat formations, with not a single soldier showing any signs of fear or cowardice. All that could be seen in their eyes was excitement, bloodlust and yearning for battle… to prove themselves.

These last several months of the Peerless Battalion had been spent training with all their might, and not only their personal strength, but overall strength had raised considerable. It was not just Zhou Weiqing or the officers who could see this, even the soldiers could see it for themselves, and feel their own rise in power. When each of them could use their bows and arrows to accurately shoot at a distance of five hundred yards and beyond, one could just imagine their excitement. When they all started gain their Consolidated Equipment Bows, to see the sheer force and range of the bows, the attached explosive or piercing powers endowed by the Consolidated Bow, their hearts was filled with an unspoken excitement.

The current Peerless Battalion was now truly no longer the Ruffian Battalion of the past. Although they still only numbered a thousand and five hundred men, barely a few hundred more than their past, their personal strength was like night and day. Not only that, their equipment was top notch, perhaps more accurately described as elites armed to the teeth.

After all the time and money spent, each and every one of the one thousand five hundred Peerless Battalion warriors were now geared with the titanium alloy light mail, including hat and mask.

These custom designed titanium alloy mail was named the Peerless Mail, an entire set only weighed about eleven kilograms, but their sheer defensive capabilities was finer than any full set of heavy plate armour. More importantly, the joints of the Peerless Mail were fine and flexible, not restricting movement in any way. Furthermore, due to the light weight, to these Peerless Battalion soldiers who all had Heavenly Energy, it was not a burden at all.

Besides the Peerless Mail, Zhou Weiqing also borrowed some ideas from the gear of the Heavy Cavalry Soldiers. Each of the Peerless Battalion soldiers were provided with a small round shield, also custom made. They were extremely tiny, only eight diameters each, but their edges were very sharp. With Shangguan Fei'er's unique close combat skills that she had taught them, these titanium alloy small shields could not just help in their defense, it could also be used as a surprise weapon.

At the same time, the warriors of the First and Second Companies were also provided with four javelins, holstered behind their back. Each of these javelins were three chi and six inches long. These were obviously not for close combat, but for throwing.

As for the remaining eight Companies, four were equipped with long spears, while the other four were equipped with large cavalry sabres. Besides that, naturally all of them were bearing a longbow on their back, along with four quiver of arrows. Even those arrows were of the diamond-shaped tip, forged with titanium alloy, extremely sharp and guaranteeing a power piercing effect.

Currently, the entire Battalion of them had already Awakened their Power Jewels, and as such in the entire Peerless Battalion, with the exception of Wei Feng who already had all his Consolidated Equipment, or all the Elemental jewel masters, pretty much everyone already had Consolidated Equipment Bows. Of them, six Companies all had Consolidated Bows with the explosive effect, while four had Consolidated Bows with the piercing effect. The reason why they still carried ordinary longbows was because their Heavenly Energy could not possibly sustain them through continuous firing during long battles, and these ordinary longbows were considered a spare.

Despite being 'spares', these longbows were extremely rare and fine tough longbows. After all, they were all Jewel Masters, and compared to any ordinary soldiers their strength and physiques were incomparable. Even without using their Consolidated Bows, their killing range was at least at the three hundred yard range, with some of the finer archers even able to reach a four hundred yard range.

Wei Feng ran back towards Zhou Weiqing, giving him a proper army salute. "Reporting, Battalion Commander Sir. Our Peerless Battalion is here in full strength, one thousand five hundred and six men present. Please give our next orders."

Zhou Weiqing nodded towards him and said: "Thank you for your troubles, Vice Commander Wei."

At this moment, Zhou Weiqing was also fully dressed in titanium alloy light mail, although his mail was decorated in strange red lines and patterns, definitely making it convenient to distinguish him from the crowd.

Zhou Weiqing took of his helmet, holding it under his arms before he swept his gaze towards his Peerless Battalion men.

"My brothers of the Peerless Battalion, do you still remember? When I first got here as your Battalion Commander, I set up those few rules… Amongst them was the one that stated when we faced any enemies, if we do not have absolute confidence in defeating them, we will not attack, needing at least several times their power before we do so. That is because our lives are extremely important, our most valuable asset, and that is what we must take care of. I will not hide anything from you, we are about to face the WanShou Empire's Swift Wolf Regiment, a Regiment of ten thousand Wolf Cavalry Soldiers. We only number one thousand five hundred in total, but we are about to face ten thousand Wolf Cavalry Soldiers. Such a difference in numbers might seem like we are at an absolute disadvantage. However, I am still adamant in bringing you all to fight. Do you all know why?"

Upon hearing that the enemy would be ten thousand wolf cavalry soldiers, a small commotion rose up from the Peerless Battalion soldiers. However, their formation remained steady and did not scatter at all.

All of them knew the notoriety of the Wolf Cavalry Soldiers, with some having even witnessed it for themselves. Yet, at the same time, a majority of the soldiers had seen for themselves how the seven masters of the Heavenly Bow Unit had taken out an entire Company of Wolf Cavalry soldiers just by themselves. Furthermore, just not too long ago, they had personally wiped out three Companies of Wolf Cavalry soldiers with ease, not even taken a single casualty or even injury.

Shangguan Fei'er swept her cold gaze across the soldiers, and instantly the few muttering protests were silenced, as no one dared continue speaking.

Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly and continued: "The reason why I have decided to lead you all into battle against such an enemy is because it is time to test your half year of training. As long as you all obey all our orders, I can personally guarantee that no one will be in any danger. What I want is not just a mere victory, but an absolute, complete victory with zero losses. Otherwise, I would not have chosen the path of archery for all of you. I will not talk too much any more… in the battlefield I do not require all of you to have to greatest morale or spirits, but I need all of you to obey all our commands absolutely. If we are fighting on the battlefield, anyone who disobeys a command, no matter who it is, we will kill him off instantly. You know very well how terrifying your seven archery masters and their archery is, and this time they will be the enforcers on the battlefield. Alright, each Company, receive your orders. Besides the First and Second Company, everyone move out in a reverse triangle formation."

"Yes Sir!" All the Company Leaders shouted in compliance. In the next moment, eight Companies, a thousand two hundred men in total, flew into action, heading out swiftly towards the plains.

Zhou Weiqing gestured towards Shangguan Fei'er before mounting his Single-Horned Ghost Demon Horse. Along with Wei Feng and the seven Masters of the Heavenly Bow Unit, they too headed towards the plains.

Although the enemy was still quite a distance from them, they knew that the Wolf Cavalry Soldiers were extremely fast, and it would be barely two hours before they would meet. Although Zhou Weiqing and the officers had already planned out everything, when they were actually on the battlefield, it would be a lie to say that they were not nervous. Even for Zhou Weiqing, this would be the first time he was in a full scale battle of numbers above ten thousand. After all, no matter how much confidence they had, they were still severely outnumbered by their enemies.

The atmosphere about them was stifling, almost oppressive, as the Peerless Battalion soldiers reached their destination and rested there upon command, bringing their Heavenly Energy to their max in preparation. Zhou Weiqing sat atop his Single Horned Ghost Demon Horse, Hua Feng and Wei Feng at his sides respectively. If one could be described as the most idle and indolent, it would definitely be Zhou Weiqing's teacher Mu En, who was currently gnawing on a chicken thigh. At the same time, Luo Ke Di was beside him drinking wine from a small bottle. The two of them looked as if they were here on holiday.

However, no one would have any complaints against the two of them. In terms of cultivation level, perhaps the Company Leaders of the various Companies would be comparable to them. However, even those Company Leaders were extremely clear that even if all of them were to fight the two Scoundrel Rogue pair, they would be no match for them. Just their miraculous archery… up until now the Peerless Battalion Soldiers had barely learned a smattering. Even so, they had already improved by leaps and bounds from that.

The Swift Wolf Regiment was indeed extremely fast, their war wolves moving swiftly like the wind, and any enemy they met in their path was smashed aside like an autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves, destroyed in an instant.

Butler sat astride his massive war wolf with gold fur, leading his tribesmen and soldiers in a charge. The Wolf Cavalry Soldiers did not carry any supplies with them; their supplies were their enemies, their loots.

The corpses of their enemies were the best food for their war wolves, and the supplies of their enemies were also the target of the wolfmen tribe people.

"Has the eagle tribe verified all the information?" Butler asked the officer beside him.

"Yes Sir, they have already verified it. It appears that there is only a Battalion of ZhongTian Empire troops camped out in the seven o'clock direction. The Eagle Tribe has already scouted them out in detail, and due to the terrain of their camp, it is impossible for us to ambush them. However, they only number two thousand at most, and they are all infantry soldiers."

A cruel light flashed in Butler's eyes as his mouth curved up in a merciless grin. "Good, very good. Let those humans become the sacrificial offering to our lost tribesmen. Send out my order, kill them all, leave no survivors, not even any possible warhorses of their enemy. We will split the spoils of war after this."

The Wolf Cavalry Soldiers nearby directly heard Butler's voice, and a thick bloodlust sprang into their eyes. The Swift Wolf Regiment had achieved fame since a long time ago, and it could be said that all their hands were soaked in blood. Slaughtering two thousand infantry soldiers was just simply too easy for them.

In the distance, the range of hills slowly entered the visions of the Wolf Cavalry Soldiers. Although it was still a distance away, they could see the shape of it in the distance, especially the flags of the enemies on the plains in front of the hills.

The flag of the Peerless Battalion only had a single side, but it was huge, almost fifteen metres tall. The design of the flag was simple, with the outer edges lined with silver, and the huge words 'Peerless Battalion' in the middle. At this moment, this massive flag was held stably in Zhou Weiqing's hands.

As the Wolf Cavalry Soldiers spotted the Peerless Battalion Soldiers, naturally the Peerless Battalion Soldiers spotted their enemies at the same time.

"All stand!" Wei Feng shouted out loud, and in a cacophony of clanging sounds, the Peerless Battalion soldiers all stood up, still in their reverse triangle formation. This formation would allow them space for all to use their archery properly.

"Consolidated Equipment Bows, Release!" Zhou Weiqing���s first order came down swiftly.

Chapter 441: Swift Wolf Regiment! (3)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

The Peerless Battalion soldiers had been assigned Consolidated Bows according to their respective Physical Jewel Attributes. For example, those Physical Jewel Masters that had Stamina and Strength were assigned the Explosive type Overlord Bows. The other Physical Attributes were assigned the Piercing Type Overlord Bows. However, typically speaking the most common attribute was the Strength Attribute, and thus so many of them had the explosive type Overlord Bow.

Zhou Weiqing did not take action personally, instead raising the massive flag in his hands. As he did so, a wild aura of bloodlust burst forth from him and he shouted: "Peerless Battalion brothers, before us is the Swift Wolf Regiment that has raided our homeland countless of times, slain countless of our comrades, an important unit of the WanShou Empire. Today, the opportunity has come for you to use your arrows to personally take revenge for all your countrymen. Everyone, get ready, take aim and listen for my command!"

One thousand two hundred Consolidated Bows raised up slowly as they stood shoulder to shoulder, their arms steady, arrows already nocked to their bowstrings.

The Wolf Cavalry Soldiers were so speedy that as soon as they entered vision, they wheeled and charged instantly.

An entire Regiment of war wolves charging at top speed… although the sound was definitely no match for war horses, their speed was much more terrifying. A sea of black cascaded down towards them in a neat formation, like a massive dark cloud bank descending from the skies to swallow the entire Peerless battalion.

In a blink of an eye, the Wolf Cavalry Soldiers had already reached a distance of thousand five hundred yards.

At this time, Mu En and Luo Ke Di had kept the food and wine in their hands, and the seven masters of the Heavenly Bow Unit had all drawn their respective bows.

"Draw your bows, get ready!" Zhou Weiqing shouted.

Ten breaths. The Wolf Cavalry Soldiers had charged to a thousand yard distance, and the Peerless Battalion soldiers could already sense the powerful scent of blood emanating from them.

Row after row of Consolidated Bows, pulled to full crescents, and the thick reverberation of Heavenly Energy was almost palpable as the entire Peerless Battalion stood at the ready, and it was as if the very air around them was twisting and turning subtly.

"Release!" Zhou Weiqing pointed ahead with the massive flag as he shouted in an explosive voice.

An ear piercing screech, and Zhou Weiqing almost lost his hearing instantly. One thousand two hundred Overlord Bows rang out at once, the sheer volume of the screeching sound causing even the charging war wolves in the distance to be startled.

The effect of releasing one thousand two hundred Overlord Bows at the same time was totally unexpected. Just the sound of it alone was enough to strike fear deep into the soul.

One thousand two hundred arrows flew out along with the sound, but the only thing that could be seen was a wave of shadows.

The absolute maximum range of the Overlord Bow was a thousand two hundred yards, but in order to ensure accuracy, Zhou Weiqing had waited til the enemies had passed the one thousand one hundred yard distance before ordering to fire.

"What is that sound?" At the release of the bows, Regiment Commander Butler was given a shock. Although they were still relatively far from their enemies, sound travelled quickly especially across the empty plains, and such a powerful shrill screech caused him to feel a strong sense of unease.

Right at that moment, a series of violent explosions mixed with shouts and screams of pain, along with the thudding sound of arrow impacting into flash abruptly rang forth.

The front row of the charging wolf cavalry soldiers had never expected that they would meet with such powerful attacks at such a range. Although they were still more than a thousand yards away from their enemies, as these arrows filled with piercing or exploding effects reached them, most of the wolf cavalry soldiers were not able to dodge or block them.

It had all happened too quickly.

The wolf cavalry soldiers were mostly geared in fine leather armour, but how could their leather armour possibly guard them from the titanium alloy arrows!

The Overlord Bows of the Peerless Battalion soldiers were not as high quality as Zhou Weiqing's Overlord Bow, not only did they not have any sockets, the explosive or piercing effect they held was no match for Zhou Weiqing's one as well. Even so, it was more than sufficient against these ordinary Wolf Cavalry Soldiers.

Along with the series of explosions, the entire front row of the Wolf Cavalry soldiers felled like wheat being harvested. Just from this round of shooting, at least three hundred Wolf Cavalry soldiers had been killed, even their war wolves had not escaped the fate. This was also because many of the arrows had struck those in front, sparing those behind. There were also some of the Peerless Battalion soldiers who were too nervous from being in such a massive battle for the first time, and had lost accuracy or range.

The first salvo had been launched, and Zhou Weiqing remained impassive as he planted the flag solidly into the ground. At the same time, he passed the command to Hua Feng.

Hua Feng shouted out loud: "Second Ladder Formation, fire. Begin."

The Ladder Formation type of shooting was a specialised shooting style that was developed to accompany the Reverse Triangle Formation that the eight Companies were in. They would begin shooting as hundred men units, starting from the center spreading to the sides, forming a continuous rain of arrows.

A large portion of the Peerless Battalion soldiers' training was to shoot arrows, and after seeing the effect of the first salvo of arrows, all their excitement had been sparked. Drawing their bows once more, arrows flew out accompanied by their shrill cries, as if swarms of locusts descending down upon the Swift Wolf Regiment.

"Quick, change formation, charge at maximum speed!" Butler howled in rage. He could not in his wildest dreams imagined that he would lose so many tribesmen just at the first meeting with this enemy.

How was this possible?! How could this be?! They are still so far away, what kind of bow can have such a terrifying range and power?

At this point, their distance was even closer than before, and Butler could clearly see the Peerless Battalion soldiers. In the glow of the sunlight, the titanium alloy mail shone with a resplendent gleam, and yet in the midst of that beautiful bright lights, the shrill cries of the arrows being released was like a death knell sounding.

It was only by the time the second salvo was released that the Swift Wolf Regiment finally reformed their formation successfully. Due to their large numbers, they were unable to move in a single straight row. However, they were all experienced fighters, and under the leadership of Butler, they quickly made the right choice.

The entire Swift Wolf Regiment had ten Battalions, and the Battalion Commanders, Vice Battalion Commanders and Company Leaders all charged to the very front. All the Wolf Cavalry Soldiers charged in a single file behind their respective leaders, shouting out their chieftain's name, also the incantation that would invoke their bloodline powers: "Butler! Butler! Butler!"

The power of the Wolf Cavalry Soldiers and their War Wolf mounts exploded forth in that moment, as all the officers were in a row, waving their sabres in their hands as they charged forward in the lead.

The valiant ferocity of the members of the WanShou Empire showed itself clearly now; as the Regiment Commander, Butler also charged forward right in front and center of the entire Regiment, urging his gold war wolf mount as quickly as possibly in a crazed charge towards the Peerless Battalion.

In the WanShou Empire, in order to become an officer, one had to be a powerhouse. All their Company Leaders were all Heavenly Jewel Masters, though most of them did not have many Consolidated Equipment. At the Battalion Commander level, they were at least Heavenly Jewel Masters of the fourth or fifth Jewel stage, with about one or two Consolidated Equipment at most.

With all of them charging in that formation, it was difficult for even the arrows from Consolidated Bows to hurt them. As such, the majority of the third salvo of arrows from the Peerless Battalion was blocked.

A cold smile crossed Hua Feng's lips. This method again? They already used that the last time.

"Everyone, angle upwards thirty degrees. Projectile motion shooting. Ready, shoot!"

With the change in orders, all the Peerless Battalion soldiers swapped to projectile shooting, their arrows arcing into the air in a perfect parabolic curve, crossing the powerhouses of the Swift Wolf Regiment in the front, and landing accurately on the Wolf Cavalry soldiers behind.

The Consolidated arrows were extremely powerful and destructive, and just after a few rounds of shooting, the Swift Wolf Regiment had lost another thousand men.

Butler's heart was bleeding. He now understood why the three Companies he had dispatched out previously had disappeared without a trace. As a Upper Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master, how could he not see that those arrows were filled with Heavenly Energy, most likely even fired from a Consolidated Weapon. Yet, in his memory, the ZhongTian Empire had never had such a army unit like that. What kind of power did those bows have?! That was a thousand yard distance, what kind of bow had that kind of range and power? Even up to now, he had not realised that all thousand over soldiers of the Peerless Battalion in front of him were Jewel Masters, though he could not be blamed for that. After all, it was quite inconceivable.

Hearing the horrible screams from the back, Butler was bursting to charge deep into the Peerless Battalion formation to slaughter them all. However, he was after all still mortal, not a god. Even though he had a Upper Level Zong Stage cultivation level, he was still eight hundred yards from the Peerless Battalion, and he could not do anything.

No matter how fast the Wolf Cavalry Soldiers were, they could not just charge a hundred yards as their enemies shot a salvo. With their current speed, by the time they could reach them, the Peerless Battalion would at least have the chance to shoot more than twenty rounds.

Although the ordinary Peerless Battalion soldiers were far from being god tier archers, this half year of tough training under top classed teachers had given them all a decent accuracy. Furthermore, as their enemies came closer and closer, so did their accuracy improve.

"Fire Arrows. Get ready!" Hua Feng shouted out loud.

Amongst all the newly Awakened Jewel Masters, it was without a doubt that there were far fewer Elemental Jewels Masters than Physical Jewel Masters. Even so, with the aid of the precious medicines, over a thousand Jewel Masters had Awakened their Personal Power Jewels, and there were over sixty Elemental Jewel Masters who had Awakened from that. Of them, a majority were of the Fire Attribute, totally thirty six. Hua Feng had specially taken them aside out of the usual Companies and assigned them under the Cannon Gao Shen's tutelage, and under his direction in combat.

These Elemental Jewel Masters did not have Consolidated Equipment Bows, but they all had Stored one Skill. The Stored Skill was all the same for them, just a two-Star Rated Skill, Explosive Fireball. Normally, what they trained under Gao Shen was how to imbue this Explosive Fireball onto their arrows. Their arrows were all specially crafted, not only was the tip made of titanium alloy, even the entire shaft was. Due to their weaker physiques and lack of a Consolidated Equipment Bow, their range of accuracy was only a two hundred yard range, but without a doubt in terms of area of effect offensive power, these thirty six were the greatest weapon in the entire Peerless battalion.

A merciless smirk crossed Gao Shen's lips. To be gifted the nickname of Cannon, an experienced hand like him naturally knew the best time to release these Fire Arrows. He had been waiting all this time for their time.

Chapter 442: One versus One | Butler! (1)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

Ten salvos of concentrated firing from the Consolidated Bows later, the notorious Swift Wolf Regiment that struck fear in the northern borders, had suffered an unprecedented blow. Before they had even started fighting with their enemies, they had already lost twenty percent of their numbers, with over two thousand Wolf Cavalry soldiers losing their lives under the onslaught of Consolidated Bows. At this point, the officers of the Swift Wolf Regiment were about five hundred yards from the Peerless Battalion.

However, at this moment, the salvo from the Peerless Battalion halted momentarily. Most of the soldiers had ran out of Heavenly energy, and their Consolidated Bows vanished. They took out their ordinary longbows, but that required some time.

After all, the majority of the Peerless Battalion soldiers had only just Awakened their Jewels with the help of the medicine and Shangguan Fei'er and the others' Heavenly Energy, barely at a single Jewel cultivation level. Being able to shoot ten arrows with their Consolidated Bows was their absolute limit. Of course, there were a still few who had not started shooting yet; they were currently standing ready behind Hua Feng. They were the special forces or commandos of the Peerless Battalion.

Although these special forces soldiers usually trained individually, they still belonged to their respective Companies, just that they would be transferred out during actual combat. There were eighty of them in total, and the seven god archers of the Heavenly Bow Unit were in charge of them. Of course, the thirty six Fire Attribute Elemental Jewel Masters were also amongst them, seven were Heavenly Jewel Masters, and the rest were the other Elemental Jewel Masters.

The seven Heavenly Jewel Masters had also just Awakened not long ago, and without question, their future potential was much greater. Although they were already past the age of twenty, a Heavenly Jewel Master was still a Heavenly Jewel Master. These people were naturally separated out for their training, and they would be the future pillars for the Peerless Battalion.

The longbows continued firing, arrow after arrow. However, without the Consolidated Bows and the support of Heavenly Energy, their power had dropped drastically. Having unleashed their bloodline power, the defensive capabilities of the Wolf Cavalry soldiers had raised substantially, and it would take at least a dozen of these ordinary arrows to kill one. As such, the death count of the Swift Wolf Regiment dropped. After losing a total of two thousand and five hundred men, they finally charged to three hundred yards of the Peerless Battalion.

Zhou Weiqing sat on his Single Horned Ghost Demon Horse, not making a sound, after all his soldiers were now listening to Hua Feng's command. His gaze was focused right on the front of the Swift Wolf Regiment, the massive gold war wolf and its rider, Butler. Without question, he also knew that this had to be the Regiment Commander of the Swift Wolf Regiment. From the ferocious aura that this person was giving forth, Zhou Weiqing could sense how powerful he was.

He had to be at least at the eight Jeweled cultivation level. This was Zhou Weiqing's judgement of Butler. His own personal mission was simple – that was to take on Butler as long as possible and not allow him to have his way in slaughtering the Peerless Battalion soldiers. As such, he did not take action and fire like his soldiers, instead waiting silently there.

"Battalion Commander, that gold war wolf mount is not simple at all. Something like that is at least a Zong Stage Heavenly Beast… extremely powerful in its own right. A warrior who can use it as a mount, he can only be even stronger." Wei Feng said in a low tone, reminding Zhou Weiqing at his side.

On the battlefield, personal strength might not easily influence the outcome, but personal strength could easily bring up their side's morale.

Also, when personal strength was so huge up to a point, then it would definitely be able to influence the outcome.

"Don't worry. Leave him to me. The rest of them are all of yours. Teacher Hua Feng, that gold war wolf and his rider in front of their pack is mine. The rest of them, I leave it up to you and your special forces."

Hua Feng looked at Zhou Weiqing deeply. How could he not see Butler's power? Yet, at this moment, he could not possibly doubt Zhou Weiqing's decisions, or go against his orders. Zhou Weiqing was the head of the Peerless Battalion, and at this point on the battlefield, his orders were everything; even if he thought they were wrong, he could not go against it or it would cause chaos amongst the men, affecting morale, and possibly even causing all their deaths. There were still seven thousand more Wolf Cavalry soldiers, seven thousand enraged wolf cavalry soldiers, and none of them would suspect how cruel and terrifying these angry wolf cavalry soldiers could be. Once they managed to charge to the front of their own formation and begin melee combat, then this fight would be totally over for them pretty quickly.

In Zhou Weiqing's plan, there should be no melee combat. Although the close combat prowess and power of the Peerless Battalion soldiers had improved by leaps and bounds under the tutelage of Shangguan Fei'er, once melee combat started, too many variables would be introduced, the difficulty increased, and it was likely that injuries and death would occur. All of that would be counter to Zhou Weiqing's original motive, to improve and allow his Peerless Battalion to grow stronger, and to improve their morale.

Another round of arrows, and the enemies charged closer again.

Butler, charging right at the head of the pack with his gold war wolf mount, could now be seen clearly. His war wolf exploded in a fresh burst of speed, like a bolt of gold light speeding in a straight line, far surpassing his men by at least a hundred yards as he charged towards the enemy's line, bloodlust in his eyes as he fixated upon his target.

Naturally, Butler had also noticed Zhou Weiqing earlier, seated atop his Single Horned Ghost Demon Horse as he waited for him, tall and stout with the aura of command, proudly awaiting him, clearly indicating his status.

"Kill!" Butler howled in rage, his blood boiling within from the sheer anger. He truly believed that as long as he managed to charge within the enemy's formation, it was not impossible to finish them all off. After all, he was at the nine-Jeweled cultivation level, a Upper Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master! The enemy only numbered a thousand five hundred or so, and he estimated they did not have anyone as powerful as himself.

At last, Zhou Weiqing reacted, his right hand slowly lifting up towards Butler. They were still about a hundred and fifty yards from each other, and as soon as the gap between them was at a hundred yards, they would be able to attack each other. As such, he chose such a time to reveal his own aura.

With a loud clash, his titanium alloy mail was cast aside, revealing his naked upper body, the healthy bronzed muscles shimmering in the bright sunlight.

Zhou Weiqing shouted out loud, and in the next moment, he charged forward like an arrow shot from a bow. His charge, so straightforward, so valiant, and in midair a killing intent filled with death defying resolution exploded forth.

For any troop of army, the character of the leading general would definitely have a great effect on the entire troop. Zhou Weiqing's sudden eruption and his fearless charge towards the enemy's strongest powerhouse… in that instant, it caused the entire Peerless Battalion's morale and will to fight to be raised to the maximum.

Their firing rates increased noticeably, and under Hua Feng's direction, all their projectile arcing arrows all avoided Zhou Weiqing's direction, avoiding any possibility of an accidental injury.

Still in midair, Zhou Weiqing's body started to shift, as the magnificent tiger tattoos appeared on his skin, the thick black-grey colour appearing instantly across every inch of his body, as a powerful overbearing aura burst forth like a king surveying his subjects. His muscles bulged and his eyes turned bloodshot as he seemed to soar higher into the air like a demon god descending.

That was not the only thing. At the same time as his body entered the Demonic Change State, a shimmering illusory purple red figure appeared around his back. It was the Heavenly Skill Image of the Demonic Dragon Lady!

The majority of the soldiers on both sides would not know what the Heavenly Skill Image actually meant, but how could the charging, ferocious Butler not know? As a Nine Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master, he had once ascended the Heavenly Snow Mountain. The Heavenly Skill Image was an unreachable target of power in his heart.

The sudden burst of power and aura along combined the Heavenly Skill Image of Demonic Dragon Lady was like a bucket of ice cold water pouring suddenly on Butler's original powerful bloodlust, causing a chill to run down his spine. Even more shockingly, his war wolf mount companion suddenly slowed down abruptly, and he could sense it was shivering in fear.

Without knowing why, at that moment, Butler suddenly sensed a terrifying aura… one that he had only once sensed previously from the great Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord… an aura that caused him want to fall to his knees in supplication. In that instant, his heart was filled with fear.

Alas for him, due to the distance they were at, and the sudden powerful aura that burst forth from Zhou Weiqing, he did not notice that the number of Heavenly Jewels around his wrist was a mere four.

Of course, in truth Zhou Weiqing in the Demonic Change State, how could his aura be that of Four-Jeweled stage only? Butler's senses did not fool him, after all just from the bloodline quality difference alone, Zhou Weiqing's Dark Demon God Tiger was at least equal or higher than even the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger. Furthermore, he had the aura of the Solidified Dragon Spirit within him. Although he was unable to access the power of the Solidified Dragon Spirit, it did not change the fact that the aura had already been integrated within him, especially when he unleashed the Demonic Change State without holding back, it was naturally let loose as well.

A cold light was in Zhou Weiqing's eyes, and in that moment he was immersed in a strange feeling.

That unique feeling had started when the Peerless Battalion soldiers had been shooting his arrows, and it had been accumulating ever since. Along with the shrill cries of the Consolidated Bows, the blood within his body felt as if it had been ignited, and now his eyes were only for that single foe before him. As a result, Zhou Weiqing was able to bring his aura to a maximum as soon as Butler came within range.

Before he had come to this northern border, if he had met a nine-Jeweled cultivation level enemy, Zhou Weiqing would only have one choice – turn tail and run. The gap between the two was just too huge.

However, ever since he had come to the border, he had not only become the disciple of the Six Ultimate Heavenly Emperor, he had also personally faced off against a Heavenly King Stage powerhouse. Although at that point he had not been the main person to take on his blows, after having experienced a powerhouse at a whole different level, he no longer held fear in his heart when facing a Zong Stage powerhouse. Furthermore, towards this fight before him, he had prepared so much for it.

Chapter 443: One versus One | Butler! (2)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

As Zhou Weiqing had expected, the gold war wolf mount stopped in its tracks, and when Butler looked on in surprise at the Heavenly Skill Image behind Zhou Weiqing, he did not hesitate to release all his Consolidated Equipment in preparation.

At this point, it showed the true difference between the WanShou Empire and the ZhongTian Empire. Without question, the WanShou Empire had powerful beastmen warriors with terrifying personal power. In terms of ordinary soldiers, the ZhongTian Empire might need at least ten to face off against one of the WanShou Empire's soldiers to be able to hold their own. However, in terms of the higher ranked powerhouses, it was totally different.

In terms of numbers of Heavenly Jewel Masters, the WanShou Empire was actually only slightly less than the ZhongTian Empire. However, in terms of quality, it was quite a major difference. The greatest reason came from Consolidated Equipment and Stored Skills.

Just like all other Empires, Consolidating Equipment Masters were an extremely rare commodity in the WanShou Empire. On the other hand, with the Heavenly Jewel Island as their backbone, especially the Consolidating Equipment Pavilion there, the ZhongTian Empire had an advantage that no other Empire held.

This Butler was already a nine-Jeweled powerhouse, but he could only unleash seven Consolidated Equipment at once. More importantly, they were not Sets at all, just seven loose pieces. The best one was the heavy spiked mace in his hands, a Zong Stage Consolidated Equipment. As for his other six, there were even High Level Consolidated Equipment, and a Mid Level Consolidated Equipment, with only two Grandmaster Consolidated Equipment that was still relatively decent. Unleashing seven Consolidated Equipment at once might seem scary, but in truth, their boost to Butler was not too huge, especially considering his current level.

"Who are you…" Butler shouted out loud. Facing a Heavenly Skill Image, he was no fool, how could he possibly charge forward without thought. Alas, the Heavenly Skill Image also caused him to totally neglect Zhou Weiqing's age.

Zhou Weiqing gave a cold laugh and said: "I am the Peerless Battalion Battalion Commander, Zhou Weiqing. Remember my name…" A killing intent flashed in his eyes. Seeing that his opponent did not come to him, Zhou Weiqing charged forward towards Butler instead. At this moment, his Dragon Silencing Seal was already fully prepared and ready to strike at any instant. He would not allow the same thing that had happened to him during the fight against Han Tianyou to happen again for this fight he had prepared for so long.

A ferocious light flashed in Butler's eyes. He was after all the Regiment Commander of the Swift Wolf Regiment, and at this point his bloodlust and ferocity was fully evoked. Forcing his gold war wolf mount forward, he charged forth to face Zhou Weiqing head on.

However, at the same time, the Swift Wolf Regiment who were behind Butler had run into great trouble.

Butler had charged forth all by himself towards Zhou Weiqing, and not long after he had done so, the rest of the Swift Wolf Regiment had only reached about one hundred and fifty yards from the Peerless Battalion formation. The war wolf mounts began to lose their balance, stumbling as they fell into traps, large trenches that had been prepared and set beforehand.

With an Earth Attribute Heavenly Jewel Master like Lin TianAo on their side, it was an easy task to open a wide trench like that, especially with the help of over a thousand Peerless Battalion Soldiers. That was the reason why Zhou Weiqing had chosen this place to hold their ground and fight. It would also allow the Swift Wolf Regiment to see their low numbers and in such a case, they would not split their forces and just attack head on.

The trenches were about thirty metres wide, and even with the war wolf mounts' powerful leaping capabilities, they would not be able to jump across. The depth of the trenches was only six metres, but they were filled with many 'surprises'. For example, many sharp spikes, brimstone, dried grass, fire oils and other easily flammable substances.

The over one hundred officers of the Swift Wolf Regiment were Heavenly Jewel Masters, with Company Commanders around two to three Jeweled cultivation level, Battalion Commanders around four to five Jeweled cultivation level. Alas, they had the same problem with the lack of Consolidated Equipment. The hundred or so of them were charging in a single row in order to block the arrows from the front, using their Heavenly Energy. As a result, by the time they had reached the trenches, the few hidden soldiers below just needed to release the trapdoors to unleash the full power of the trap.

Over a hundred officers fell into the trap instantly.

The reason why Zhou Weiqing had allowed Butler to come to him without setting off the traps was simple. With Butler's power, the trench would be totally useless to him, and he could help his officers out easily. It would be much better to let him through and fight him head on, which would also have the added benefit of increasing the morale of his Peerless Battalion troops at the same time.

Hua Feng had already calculated the distance, and at the same moment that the enemy officers crashed down into the trap, he had already given the order.

The thirty six Fire Attribute Elemental Jewel Masters shot out the arrow they had prepared for this time… a titanium alloy full arrow imbued with the Explosive Fireball. They did not have any Consolidated Bows to help them, so their Explosive Fireball would start burning the Titanium Arrows. This was the reason why the trap had to be set at a one hundred and fifty yard distance, not any further. After all, that was the distance that their fire arrows could be sustained at an accurate measure.

The war wolves of the officers were definitely of the highest quality, and even as they fell into the traps, they still managed to somewhat maintain their balance. Their defensive capabilities were also pretty decent with their tough fur, but no matter what they would not be able to fight against the physics of gravity and inertia.

In a short period of time, the trench was filled with pained cries and shrill screams. Although not many of the Swift Wolf Regiment officers were actually injured, most of their war wolf mounts had died from the sharp spikes, or were heavily injured. Some luckier ones who had avoided the spikes still had their bones broken from the fall.

These officers were old hands on the battlefield, and even with such a sudden blow to them, they knew better than to attempt to save their beloved war wolf mounts. They all knew that staying in the trap would possibly mean their deaths. Let alone what their enemies could do, their own men would be charging forth soon, and at such speeds, they would not be able to stop in time. If they fell on top of them, even as Heavenly Jewel Masters, these officers would not enjoy such treatment.

Alas, just as they were preparing to react, the well prepared thirty six Explosive Fireball arrows struck down with precise accuracy into the trap.

A whole series of explosions, and flames blazed high up into the air. The flammable and explosive materials in the trap were overabundant, especially with brimstone and fire oil added together, increasing the spread of fire and burning. Ignited by the powerful Explosive Fireballs, with loud booms, a wall of flame rose up across the entire trench, even reaching seven or eight metres tall.

Some of the faster officers still managed to jump out in time, but there were those slower ones who had either been knocked back down into the trench by the Explosive Fireball arrows, or were just swallowed by the rising flames as they tried to jump.

Those Battalion Commanders were still able to use their Heavenly Energy to barely protect themselves, but the Company Leaders were not so lucky. Their Heavenly Energy was not strong enough to protect them from such an onslaught of flames, and as the saying goes, the elements have no mercy upon mankind. In that instant, over twenty of the officers were swallowed up by the flames and perished. Even those surviving officers had lost all their war wolf mounts.

This fire trap was just too perfect, and this plan was not from Zhou Weiqing, but from Mu En. In terms of sly cunning, who could compare to this God Eye Scoundrel?

The true reason of the fire was not to kill the officers, but to cause them to lose all their war wolves. Towards the unique charging formation of the Swift Wolf Regiment, the Peerless Battalion officers had already witnessed it for themselves so many times, and it was all part of their plan. In order to block their arrows, they knew their enemies would definitely make use of this formation once more. With this fire, those strongest officers had now lost their greatest asset – their speed. Furthermore, this trap and fire wall would also slow down the remaining Wolf Cavalry soldiers behind. After all, they would not be able to vault across such a wide trench of thirty metres, and they could only pass around.

This would give the Peerless Battalion soldiers time to retreat.

"Retreat…" Hua Feng's order came without hesitation, following their plan to the letter. His orders did not include the eighty 'special forces'. Previously, they had been saving their strength, and this was their time to explode with all their might. Their task was not just to snipe down as many officers as they could, but also to cover their comrades�� retreat.

The Peerless Battalion did not have many warhorses, but their running speed was not to be underestimated. Following Hua Feng's shouted orders, all of them turned to run without hesitation, springing towards the hills where their 'home' had been. As for the seven Heavenly Bow Unit masters, they continued waiting there silently with the special forces unit. They were not in a rush to retreat; after all, they all had warhorses as mounts. Although not all were Ghost Demon Horses, it would not be a problem for them to retreat easily.

Without a doubt, the combination of trench and fire wall had disrupted the steadfast charge of the Swift Wolf Regiment, causing some chaos amongst the ranks. At least a few dozen wolf cavalry soldiers on the second row had been charging too quickly, and they had not been able to stop in time, falling down into the trench trap as well. Sadly for them, they did not have the same power as their officers, and it was instant death for these ordinary wolf cavalry soldiers.

Butler had been separated from his troops by the trench at his back, and as the wall of flame rose, the fight between him and Zhou Weiqing finally started.

Zhou Weiqing pounced towards Butler, and in midair, he did something that Butler could not understand. With the power of his right leg, Zhou Weiqing had jumped up high, but Butler did not see any weapons in his hands, instead Zhou Weiqing's right foot came crashing down upon him.

Although Zhou Weiqing had spent the last six months training in the Six Ultimate Skill Manipulation Arts, it would take him a far higher cultivation level to be able to use it to unleash a greater power. As such, in terms of current actual combat, his fighting style was not very different from previously, just that his control over Heavenly Energy and his own Stored Skills had been greatly improved, and he would not waste a single drop of Heavenly Energy.

Is this little brat crazy? He's actually trying to attack me with his leg? That was Butler's exact thought at the moment. After all, he was currently holding a massive 2.2 metre long spiked mace, the thickest portion on top even thicker than his own thigh and covered with a layer of terrifying looking sharp spikes. Even a thick block of steel would be smashed apart by his spiked mace, let alone Zhou Weiqing's mere flesh and bone.