46:Northern Wilderness Cavalry

Since the person seemed to be an ally, Shen Hao was no longer cautious.

After all, facing a powerful unknown expert, Shen Hao didn't have the strength to escape. But he remained ready to enter his space if needed.

What Shen Hao hadn't expected was that Wen Renyi was extremely capable. She had found someone even more powerful than a true origin realm expert to follow him.

He was genuinely shocked. He had underestimated Wen Renyi.

Shen Hao spoke again, "Since you need wine, it's simple. I have some on the carriage right now. Oh, and by the way, could you help save my two maidservants? I'm a bit exhausted from the fight and can't make it there in time. If they're safe, I'll reward you with two bottles of fine wine."

Though Shen Hao didn't know what the woman wanted with the wine, he figured he could use it as a way to win her favor.

After all, finding such a powerful expert would have cost far more than a few bottles of wine.

A bottle of wine worth forty bucks, and he had someone this powerful on his side? A bargain!

Of course, Shen Hao wasn't going to give everything at once. He knew that giving too much at once might make her take advantage of him in the future. He would take it slow.

Having just killed a few bandits with ease, Meng Xuanji nodded and replied, "Alright, deal."

Without another word, Meng Xuanji disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye.

"Holy crap! This woman..."

Her speed was so fast that Shen Hao didn't even catch a glimpse of her movement. If he didn't know any better, he'd think he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

Shen Hao could only watch in awe. The ability to fly and travel at such speeds, who wouldn't want that?

The more he thought about it, the more excited he got.

Shen Hao walked toward the mangled body of the bandit but paused mid-step, his eyes wide in disbelief.

He was staring at a leaf. More specifically, a leaf embedded in the middle of a one-meter-high boulder. It wasn't just resting on it—it was halfway lodged inside.

A leaf had pierced the stone. This completely shattered Shen Hao's understanding of the world.

Suddenly, he remembered—wasn't the bandit's arm severed by a sharp object?

Could it have been this leaf?

Was this leaf an actual hidden weapon?

Curious, Shen Hao walked closer.

On the ground, he closely examined the leaf. It seemed like an ordinary leaf—nothing special about it at all.

He then gently pulled it out, and the entire boulder, as if made of glass, cracked with tiny fissures.

Snap.

The boulder shattered into countless small fragments, yet the leaf in his hand remained intact.

Shen Hao's scalp tingled in shock.

"Damn, this is terrifying."

"If this woman was an enemy, I'd be dead for sure. Low-key is definitely the way to go."

Not believing his eyes, Shen Hao ripped the leaf in half. It was so easy—after all, it was just a leaf.

He tossed it aside and continued toward the bandit's body.

Though the bandit was blown to pieces, he was still a genuine expert of the innate realm.

Without hesitation, Shen Hao tossed the body into his space.

Then, without further concern, he turned to hurry back. After all, Song Yongci and Ji Dongge were still on the carriage, and he worried for their safety.

Meanwhile, the people from the Lu Family Escort Agency, including Old Six and the two women, Song Yongci and Ji Dongge, were all bound by the bandits.

The huge explosion from earlier had only just happened a minute ago, and Lu Junsheng, the head of the Lu Family Escort Agency, was getting more anxious by the second. But, his acupoints had been sealed, and he couldn't use his internal energy.

All he could do was try to break free using his internal energy, hoping that Shen Hao could buy him some time.

In his mind, Shen Hao must have sacrificed himself to divert the bandit leader's attention, giving them a chance.

Both Song Yongci and Ji Dongge, like the others, were kneeling on the ground, concerned and confused. The sudden blast had shaken them, and they had no idea what had happened.

The bandits, on the other hand, were unconcerned. In their eyes, Shen Hao, a mere post-natal realm weakling, was no match for their leader.

Suddenly, several sounds of something cutting through the air filled the space.

The bandits standing at the outer edges were blasted away.

The two bandits guarding Lu Junsheng didn't even understand what was happening before their necks were sliced open.

Lu Junsheng himself was struck by a stone, but it didn't harm him at all. Instead, it unlocked his acupoints.

This shocked Lu Junsheng. The force behind the attack was incredibly precise. While others had died, only his acupoints were unsealed.

With time running short, Lu Junsheng didn't have time to think. He quickly grabbed the sword from the ground and joined the battle.

The remaining bandits immediately surrounded him, knowing that once their leader returned, everyone here would be dead.

A few of the bandits, seeing their comrades killed, became furious. They drew their knives and began attacking the Lu Family's people.

With swift movements, four or five bandits were killed.

Just as the bandits were about to reach Old Six, several more leaves cut through the air. As they passed, the bandits were severed at the waist.

Blood splattered across Old Six.

Now, Old Six was drenched in blood, looking eerily grotesque. The strong smell of blood made him nauseous.

Behind him, Song Yongci and Ji Dongge couldn't hold it in and began vomiting uncontrollably.

With the help of the mysterious expert, Lu Junsheng and his people quickly wiped out the remaining bandits.

Once the fight was over, Lu Junsheng breathed a sigh of relief.

Afterward, one of the Lu Family's men said, "Head, it looks like these bandits were from the Northern Wilderness cavalry. We found this insignia on one of them. It has writing on it."

Lu Junsheng was startled as he quickly took the insignia. It was made of copper and bore the words "Bāifūzhǎng" (百夫长) – the rank of a hundred-man commander, confirming that it was from the Northern Wilderness.

This copper insignia was only carried by the commanders of the Northern Wilderness cavalry.

The Northern Wilderness' military ranks were similar to those of the Danyang Empire, but the names were different.

A "Qīanfūzhǎng" (千夫长), or thousand-man commander, carried a silver insignia, while a "Wànfūzhǎng" (万夫长), or ten-thousand-man commander, carried a gold one. The higher ranks, such as the "Méng'ān" (猛安), had jade insignias.