Chapter 356

Charging at the very front were not beastmen—but a massive herd of wild man-niu!

On the backs of the man-niu stood two beastmen, one hand gripping horns, the other waving flags vigorously.

Woooo—wooo—

The deep, resonant horn blasts shook the sky. The herd split to either side, and from within their ranks a black shadow shot forth like thunder.

The lithe limbs of a Cang Quan beastman left only shallow prints in the snow. A ring of gray-white fur ran along his back and neck, glinting faintly gold under the sun.

Behind him, more Cang Quan beastmen charged in tight formation, their diverse beast-shapes thunderous, shaking the snow for kilometers around.

Woooo—wooo—

“It’s the rallying horn! Our forces have arrived!”

“Awoo! Awoo! That’s our banner!”

On the carts, Hei Yao clansmen raised their weapons high, ecstatic to the point of tears.

Qi Bai leaned back against the bloodstained cart wall.

It was Cang Xie—their reinforcements had come.

His drained fingers finally relaxed, and streams of blood trickled down his arm.

Lang Ze’s eyes darkened. His fingers shifted into claws, tearing the beast-hide cloak and binding Qi Bai’s wounded arm tightly.

Qi Bai only now realized he was hurt. He shook his head. “I’m fine—I didn’t even feel it.”

Truly, it didn’t hurt. His whole body’s blood was still boiling, the rush had yet to subside. The wounds brought no pain at all.

Lang Ze bound the gash quickly, then glanced at the ruined cart, barely recognizable after the langhuan’s assault. His voice sank: “Leave the rest to me. You stay here with the wounded.”

Cang Quan warriors shifted in midair, landing firmly before the carts.

“City Lord, Great Priest,” Cang Xie fixed his golden eyes on Qi Bai and Lang Ze, “ten-thousand-man commander Cang Xie, here to assist.”

Seeing the bandage on Qi Bai’s arm, Cang Xie’s gaze flicked toward another cart. Spotting injured sub-beastmen there too, the gold in his pupils deepened to a dangerous blood-red.

Back in the canyon, the Jian Hu and Hao Xiong had regrouped.

“The Hei Yao are wounded—they can’t get far! Whoever catches them earns the merit!”

“Roar! Roar!” “Awoo! Awoo!”

Greed overcame their terror. Jian Hu and Hao Xiong beastmen trampled injured langhuan and corpses alike, surging toward the canyon’s mouth.

But waiting beyond was not the ragged, fleeing Hei Yao…

It was an army radiating murderous intent.

At its front stood a man, black hair soaked in blood, disheveled across a sharp nose. His dark eyes were blades.

Meeting his gaze alone made Xiong Pan’s skull buzz, his limbs stepping back involuntarily.

He had never felt death’s aura so vividly.

“Hei Yao warriors! With me—attack!”

At Lang Ze’s command, the Cang Quan beastmen charged first.

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“…Those Jian Hu and Hao Xiong turned out to be spineless turtles. We hadn’t even struck, and they’d already pulled into their shells, too afraid to face us…”

Tun Quan’s boisterous laughter cut off the instant Lang Ze lifted the flap of the war tent.

Inside, generals and stewards were already seated. At the sight of Lang Ze and Qi Bai, all rose.

“City Lord.” “Great Priest.”

The two strode to the main seat. Qi Bai nodded to them. “Be seated.”

Lang Ze turned to Hu Qiao and Cang Xie. “How did you meet?”

No matter how swift Hu Qiao and Lang Ji’s travel, they couldn’t have returned from the city so quickly with troops. And Cang Xie hadn’t brought Hei Yao’s regular army at all.

The only explanation was that they’d crossed paths on the road back to Beizhou.

As expected, Hu Qiao said: “We encountered Cang Xie at the steppe border. The situation was urgent. Lang Ji and I split—he continued toward the city, while I led Cang Xie’s troops to meet you and the Great Priest.”

Qi Bai frowned. “How could you meet there?”

Cang Xie’s original orders were to subdue tribes in Pengye to the east. Between that and the steppe lay all of Dong Yi. How could he appear here?

What’s more, Lang Ze had given him half a year. At winter’s start, regardless of how many tribes he’d subdued, he was to return with his army.

But ten months had passed. Why was his force still wandering outside?

From the second row, Shu You watched Cang Xie warily.

And rightly so. If it were anyone else, suspicion would be lesser. But this was Cang Xie—Shu You knew his capability.

Just these few days had seen him rally such a force. Given time, wouldn’t he forge an army strong enough to challenge Hei Yao itself?

He knew Hei Yao inside out, and with Cang Xi supporting from within the city… This wasn’t impossible.

Catching Shu You’s stare, Cang Xie turned, scanning him lazily before quirking his brows with a smirk.

Shu You’s eyes widened further.

Cang Xie only curled his lips, offering no explanation.

Niu Xin glanced nervously at Lang Ze’s face, then raised a trembling hand. “I…”

One sharp look from Lang Ze made him flinch.

“Speak.”

“It’s not General Cang Xie’s fault,” Niu Xin stammered, voice shrinking smaller and smaller, “I… I couldn’t find the way back to the city.”

Scouting and map-drawing had been mandatory since the Heishan campaigns. Every officer was tested before commission. Yet somehow, Niu Xin had slipped through.

Niu Shuo barked: “You couldn’t find the way back to the city—don’t tell me you couldn’t even find the road to Xiao Niu or Xi Shui? The steppe is nowhere near Xi Shui! How did you lead them here?”

He was livid, ready to thrash him.

The Xiao Niu lands were in the north, bordering Dong Yi. Niu Xin had lived there over twenty years. How could he not even find the way home?

Niu Xin shrank under the fury. If Niu Shuo knew that Cang Xie had dropped hints many times—hints Niu Xin had proudly dismissed—he’d be beaten to death.

Even Niu Xin felt ashamed. On every hunting trip before, he’d remembered the paths precisely. Competing for pathfinder, he’d assumed being a northerner was advantage enough.

But floods and earthquakes had reshaped Dong Yi’s land. Then the snows came, and he lost all bearings.

“It’s not entirely Niu Xin’s fault,” Cang Xie drew his gaze back, “In Pengye we found wasteland. In Dong Yi, the same desolation. Without Hu Qiao guiding us, we wouldn’t have even known we’d left Pengye.”

Cang Xie had noticed the drift, but having lived always beyond the continent, he sensed the very skies and land differed here. With Niu Xin’s daily surveying and neat maps, he hadn’t pressed the issue, assuming Pengye was vast.

After all, Pengye and Dong Yi together still weren’t as large as the Yidi Wastelands. To him, it was a trifling matter.

“In any case, I was ordered to subdue beastmen. Where we fight doesn’t matter. We were only a little off course. Nothing serious. Sooner or later we’d find the way to Northland.”

Qi Bai: “…”

A little off course?

You crossed all of Dong Yi. That’s like crossing an entire province—or even a whole country.

“Oh, right,” Cang Xie added, “To hurry here to the steppe, I brought only half the horned warriors. The sub-beastmen and cubs are a day or two behind with Bie Ba leading them.”

Bie Ba, once chieftain of the Batu, had pledged to follow him. No wonder the Kun Pig warriors weren’t seen—they were in the rear.

“It’d be best to send someone to receive them,” Cang Xie said.

His force was already ten-thousand strong. With the sub-beastmen and cubs behind…

Good heavens. Had he swept through Pengye and Dong Yi wholesale?

If they hadn’t met him here, would he have steamrolled the steppe too?

“I’ll have Xiong Feng take men to meet Bie Ba.” Lang Ze glanced at Niu Xin. “Your punishment will be decided back in the city.”

Niu Xin nodded frantically. Better to be disciplined at home, where he might still redeem himself.

After clarifying, they turned to discuss handling the Jian Hu, Hao Xiong, and Ge Han.

Lang Zhan said: “Though beaten, Jian Hu and Hao Xiong haven’t withdrawn. They’re still lurking.”

Qi Bai nodded.

The canyon that once blocked Hei Yao now hindered reinforcements. Even so, their foes had forced through at heavy cost, now encamped close by—ready for another clash.

“Today we triumphed through surprise and terrain,” Yun Jing said, “But their numbers dwarf ours. Once they recover, they’ll attack again.”

The beastmen in Cang Xie’s ranks were from wild tribes. Though hardened by half a year’s campaign, most battles were against similar small groups. They’d rarely fought real wars.

Even trained under Hei Yao methods, without proper weapons they were no match for Jian Hu or Hao Xiong, bred for combat by the Hong Chai.

“There’s another issue you’ve not considered,” Cang Xie said. “Food.”

All eyes turned to him. He stretched his legs. “My armies have always been this way.”

Focusing on scale, not sustainability. His plan was always to expand by conquest and hunt as they went—until returning to Hei Yao, when he’d hand them over to the city.

Lang Ze raised his gaze. “That’s actually… not a bad plan.”