Chapter 100: Where Is the Flying Bear Army?

On the Lijiang Plain, no matter how fiercely the Flying Bear Army tried to block him, they could not stop Dulif’s advance.

First-rank masters were rare. The Great Zhou had them, of course, but men of that level were usually the leaders of the four great legions.

Originally, the Flying Bear Army had Ji Xiaoxiong, a grandmaster, holding the line, so they had never feared a direct assault by an expert. No one had expected the strongest link in the chain to be the one to fail.

Watching Dulif charge ahead with his tiger-headed silver spear, he was like a fish in open water. Anyone who tried to stop him was sent flying by a single thrust; not one could last even a round against him.

His eyes were fixed on Ji Xiaoxiong’s unconscious body, almost sparking with fire. If he got close, who knew what he might do.

To defeat one of the four great generals on the battlefield—that would be an honor beyond measure. No soldier could resist such temptation.

"Damn it, if it comes to it, I’ll go up and trade a few blows with him myself. What’s so great about a first-rank expert?" Lu Shui said anxiously, cold sweat breaking out as he rolled up his sleeves and gripped the hilt at his waist, ready to charge.

"Old Lu, don’t be rash!"

"Run! The general comes first!"

The others hurriedly tried to stop him.

"Exactly. We’re still here, aren’t we? If anyone’s charging, it should be us martial types first. What are you, a sorcerer, doing charging in there?"

"Get lost. I long ago forgot all that sorcerer nonsense," Lu Shui snapped.

"Forgot it all? Then how come you still can’t tell what hit the general? What use are you now?"

Lu Shui was about to retort when he suddenly let out a muffled sound and said in a low voice, "As a strategist and sorcerer, this was indeed my mistake. If the general survives this, I will gladly atone with my life."

"Don’t go dying yet! Look at that—what is that? Why do I see a dragon?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? You’re seeing things already! I had no idea you were such a coward."

"Holy—no, it really does look like a dragon! A black dragon!"

"Look! A dragon!"

"It’s a manifested force! A super expert!"

"Wait! The dragon is flying toward us!"

In the distance, the sky suddenly darkened. Dark clouds gathered, and flashes of lightning flickered within them.

From the mass of clouds, a black dragon burst forth, circling once in the air before shooting toward the Flying Bear Army at astonishing speed.

Dulif glanced once, and a thought of the intelligence he had received earlier flashed through his mind. His expression changed.

"Retreat!"

With that shout, he no longer cared about the cavalry unit behind him. His body blurred, and he shot backward like a meteor toward the Liang army at his rear.

"Roar!"

The black dragon from afar suddenly plunged downward, heading straight for the Liang cavalry that had driven a spearhead into the Flying Bear Army. The impact sent men and horses tumbling in all directions.

The black dragon burst on for several dozen meters before finally dissolving, and the momentum of the Liang cavalry’s charge was completely broken by the black dragon aura.

Then, from the scattering remnants of the dragon aura, dozens of streaks of cold light shot out—points of spear-flame that pierced through more than a dozen cavalrymen in rapid succession.

Only then did anyone look closely and see that it was a graceful woman in purple robes, her face veiled, holding a long spear in both hands. Alone, she had actually charged straight into this cavalry unit.

Her spearwork was broad and forceful, her spear intent severe and biting. Each sweep released a thin, dragon-shaped ribbon of spear-force; a casual横 sweep could kill several men and horses outright.

She did not slow her pace, charging and killing as she went. Any Liang cavalry that tried to block her was pierced through almost the instant they met.

In the blink of an eye, she crossed the field at speed, and at nearly every step, three or five Liang cavalrymen died beneath her spear. Her pace was like mowing grass.

Compared to Dulif’s earlier assault, this woman was no slower at all—if anything, she seemed even slightly faster.

"What a ferocious woman!"

"What superb spear technique!"

"Her spear style was made for the battlefield!"

"Hey, stop staring at that girl. There’s still a boy standing there like a fool."

At one commander’s reminder, the others finally turned their attention to the slender black-clad man in fine clothing who had landed on the ground at the same time as the woman.

From the start, everyone’s eyes had been on the purple-robed woman as she killed her way back through the enemy lines. No one had noticed that the man who had landed with her had remained rooted in place without moving.

"That one is...?" Lu Shui’s eyes widened, a flash of joy in them, even tinged with trembling.

"Who is it?"

"He is!" Lu Shui’s lips trembled violently.

"Then who is it? Say it already!"

"You’re going to worry me to death!"

"It is, it is, it is..." Lu Shui pointed at the dumbstruck figure’s back, his finger shaking so badly that he could not get the words out despite his excitement.

"Damn it! Where’s my knife?"

"Don’t stop me. I can’t stand this!"

Just then, the lightning brewing in the sky finally reached its limit.

In the eyes of everyone present, a bolt of azure lightning suddenly fell, striking the man squarely.

The heavens went white.

Yet the azure lightning did not stop. Bolt after bolt crashed down from the sky like twisting dragons plunging straight from above.

Countless sparks erupted from the man’s body, spreading rapidly, weaving and transforming. In the blink of an eye, they became a thunderous bear more than ten meters tall.

"Roar!"

The giant bear threw back its head and roared, revealing a savage maw. Its massive paws lifted high, lightning crackling within them, like the descent of a thunder god.

In the midst of the chaotic battlefield, the sudden appearance of this towering thunder bear instantly drew everyone’s gaze.

"It is, it is, it is, it is, it is!" Lu Shui was even more agitated now, the rest of the words jammed firmly in his throat.

"It’s the Second Young Master!"

"The Second Young Master has come!"

The other commanders shouted the rest out in excitement.

In the distance, Dulif, who had just fled back into his own ranks, looked over his shoulder and immediately shouted without the slightest hesitation:

"Beat the gong! Withdraw! Hurry and run!"

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Ji Huo only felt a strange bond form between the Flying Bear Army and himself.

It was as if they complemented one another: within this army, he could draw on the augmentation of military qi, and under his Thunderous Fierce Bear Fist, the Flying Bear Army could likewise grow stronger.

Especially after he unleashed the Flying Bear Avatar, he could clearly feel the aura of the several thousand qi-formed giant bears in the battle suddenly surging upward, utterly unlike their earlier weak and listless state.

So this was the bond between the Thunderous Fierce Bear Fist and the Flying Bear Army...

Ji Huo sighed inwardly, then called out sternly, "Where is the Flying Bear Army?"

A savage, roaring voice rolled across the battlefield, sweeping away all the noise and clamor.

"Here!"

"Here!"

"Here!"

Thirty thousand soldiers of the Flying Bear Army roared in unison.

"Manifest your qi!" Ji Huo ordered solemnly.

The more than twenty thousand soldiers who had not yet transformed roared at once. Blood-red qi appeared around them and swiftly took the shape of giant bears two to three meters tall.

Those thirty thousand giant bears gathered around the central thunder bear, over ten meters in height. It looked like a pack of beasts rampaging across the field, magnificent and terrifying.

Even the commanders immediately released their qi and transformed without hesitation. In an instant, the area was filled with towering blood-red giant bears, and only Lu Shui stood awkwardly in the middle of the crowd, glancing left and right, clearly out of place.

"Kill!" Ji Huo ordered coldly.

The thunder bear instantly unleashed a roar, and the countless blood-red giant bears charged toward the black mass of Liang troops.