A year passed as the wind blew and the grass grew.
The sun rose.
Sunlight shone upon the battlements of a lifeless County Town.
A large flag with the character "Jin" stood on the city wall, hanging limply. On the bricks of the battlements, there were large traces of fire damage, as well as many notches left by sword and saber strikes.
Below the city, the land was scorched, littered with many Corpse bones, as well as discarded, damaged long ladders and shield carts, all burned to a mangled state.
Clearly, a brutal siege battle had broken out here previously.
The sunlight crossed the top of the city wall and continued forward, finally illuminating the vast Wilderness below the city.
Looking from the sky, one could see that outside the city was a series of connected camps stretching for over ten miles, encircling the entire County Town.
The connected camps had several large camps as their Core, which were spaced out, each facing one of the city gates, with various colorful flags hanging above them.
If an observant person were to watch, they could see that the construction of these camps not only guarded against the city opposite but also against the camps to their left and right, having been set up with great care.
Between the several camps were numerous Shacks built by Refugees.
Now that the morning sun had risen, the Refugees inside the Shacks rose one after another to begin their day's work: chopping wood, lighting fires, fetching water, and digging for grass in the Wilderness to fill their stomachs.
In one of the camps.
Two men walked out of the camp gate.
The one in front was a slender youth riding a yellow Steed, while behind him was a burly strong man riding a green Mule.
Outside the camp gate were the Shacks messily built by the Refugees.
A winding road was barely distinguishable among the Shacks, covered with all sorts of debris and even the corpses of those who had starved to death. The two men drove their Horse and Mule, carefully moving forward along the dirt path.
Suddenly, two people lunged out from a nearby Shack.
It was a woman of indeterminate age with a boy of about ten. Both were equally thin and lanky. She fell to her knees with the boy, kowtowing repeatedly.
"Kind Cavalry masters, please have mercy and take in my child."
"He is very clever and can do any kind of work. He can even use a blade to kill people..."
The youth riding the Steed frowned and shook his head.
"I am no master. Don't look at me riding a large Horse; I am actually just a Horse Groom."
"Look at us, we don't even have Armor on our bodies. What kind of masters would we be?"
The woman looked up and observed carefully, and indeed, she saw that neither of them wore Armor.
The youth had a long Horse whip tied around his waist, while the strong man only carried an old, worn-out Waist Knife. A look of disappointment immediately flashed across her face.
The Refugees all knew that in the large armies of the various Bandit masters, there were the Old camp and the infantry camp, also known as the Cavalry camp and the infantry camp.
The Cavalry in the Old camp were the masters' favorites; they had Armor, rode Horses and Mules, could eat their fill, and had meat and wine every few days.
The ordinary infantry in the infantry camp were like the bitter children of a stepmother.
They had no Horses and almost no Armor, and the Weapons in their hands were worn out. They were the ones to attack cities and cover the rear. When danger arose, the masters would take the Cavalry and run away, not caring whether the infantry lived or died.
However, if a Cavalryman died or was disabled in battle, or if the masters defeated the Government Soldiers and collected extra Horses, they would select fierce soldiers from the infantry to supplement them.
Therefore, the infantry were at least considered part of the master's household.
The lowest rank in the Refugee Army was the servant, who could almost only be considered a Slave of the master.
All the bitter and tiring work, such as transporting carts, collecting Grain and Fodder, and cleaning up the Battlefield, was the work of the servants. What was even more terrifying was that the masters were accustomed to driving the servants into battle to fill trenches and charge, consuming the strength and martial equipment of the Government Soldiers.
Generally, every Cavalryman and infantryman had several servants under them. If there was plenty of Grain and Fodder, they would keep a few more; if there wasn't enough, they would drive a few away.
Servants were not considered part of the master's household and did not even have the status of a Horse or a Mule.
The woman had finally encountered two lone Cavalry masters and wanted her child to become a servant, but she hadn't expected to be knocking on the wrong door.
"Two masters..." The woman mumbled a few words of apology.
A thought stirred in the youth's heart, and he said.
"However, King Chuang is about to establish a child army, and it is said that they will have to go into battle to kill enemies and see blood."
"If you are not afraid, you can let your child try."
A glimmer of light flashed in the woman's eyes, and she kowtowed several times in gratitude.
The two continued to drive their Horse and Mule forward, exiting the scattered Refugee Shacks, and arrived at a secluded place, where they turned over and dismounted.
"Eldest brother, when will this Chaotic World ever end?" the tower-like man complained.
The slender youth smiled.
"Hu Zi, perhaps when you become an Iron Viscera Great Martial Master, this world will be at peace."
The man hastily waved his hand.
"I wouldn't dare say that, eldest brother. My aptitude is poor; I am only a Bronze Skin Warrior now. Who knows when I will be able to achieve the rank of Great Martial Master? There is still the major Realm of Steel Bone Martial Master in between."
"If it were really as you said, wouldn't I be holding everyone in the world back?"
The two looked at each other and laughed heartily.
The youth said, "Hu Zi, you have finally cultivated into a Bronze Skin Warrior and are about to be promoted to Cavalry. Congratulations."
It turned out that they were Lu Ye and Wang Hu, who had joined the Refugee Army. In one year's time, the two had nurtured their bodies and recovered their size.
Wang Hu scratched his head.
"Eldest brother, you once said that there is great terror between life and death. I don't know how I had a Breakthrough on the Battlefield."
"Brother, you have been seriously injured several times in battle. Every time, the physician said you could not survive, but you survived every time. Everyone says you are blessed with great luck, and the path of Martial Arts will not stump you."
"You have now also nurtured a breath of True Qi, your muscles and bones are strong, and you have achieved the Minor Martial Disciple Realm."
"As long as you persist in hard study, you will eventually become a warrior."
Lu Ye smiled.
"No rush, no rush. Feeding the horses for Miss is much safer than being a Cavalryman, and I can still fill my stomach. This is a good job."
Lu Ye smiled without saying a word. The two walked forward. There was a puddle on the ground, and Lu Ye lowered his head, reflecting his serious face.
This year had passed by in a flash. Now he had finally recovered his normal human physique. The appearance of this body was ordinary; he was not ugly, just an average person.
He and Wang Hu could be considered veteran bandits.
At the beginning, they were forced to battle, attacking village enclosures. Wang Hu had good luck, and because his body had practiced Martial Arts and had a foundation, he only suffered minor injuries.
Lu Ye's luck was much worse. His predecessor only knew how to serve the land and knew nothing about Battlefield battles. Relying on the broken shield given by Miss to block most of the attacks, he was still stabbed by a spear and almost lost his life.
Wang Hu carried him back to the camp, and Miss bestowed a few doses of herbal medicine, which was how he saved his life. The brothers were considered to have provided a Letter of Submission and joined the group.
After several subsequent battles, he became an infantryman, but he was repeatedly seriously injured and repeatedly saved his life. Seeing that his Martial Arts were low, Miss took care of him and made him a Horse Groom for the Female Camp, sparing him from losing his life in battle.
During this period, there were times when Chuang Potian defeated the Government Soldiers, chasing them all over the place and killing them until heads rolled.
There were also times when he was defeated by the Government Soldiers, taking the Old camp and abandoning the infantry and servants, being chased until there was no way to heaven and no door to earth, and he could only throw down the plundered silver taels as passage money.
In one year, Chuang Potian had been defeated and suffered heavy losses several times.
However, it did not rain from the sky, and there were more and more Refugees, and even Government Soldiers with unpaid wages actively joined.
Every time, Chuang Potian was able to recover quickly, and the team became stronger and more regular each time.
Even a month ago, King Chuang contacted several Refugee Army groups and, in turn, surrounded the County Town.
Lu Ye had not wasted this year either. Taught the Gale Blade by Wang Hu, he had also nurtured a breath of True Qi, achieving strong muscles, full vitality, and proficient moves, reaching the Minor Martial Disciple Realm. Dealing with three or five ordinary people was not a problem.
Although he was a Horse Groom, he was a Horse Groom with aspirations.
A thought stirred in his heart, and the Fish Dragon Diagram flashed in his brain.
"Lu Ye, 18 years old.
Root Bone—Intermediary, average aptitude.
Condition—Nurturing True Qi.
Realm—Minor Martial Disciple, 30/100, diligent study, can be achieved in five years.
Cultivation Method—Fierce Wind True Qi, 15/100, three cycles per day, can be achieved in four years.
Skill—Gale Blade, 20/100, five practices per day, can be achieved in three years.
Skill—Gale Fist, 20/100, five practices per day, can be achieved in three years.
Lifespan: 18/62
Vitality—150/200.
Cicada Molting Dragon Transformation—five times!"
Lu Ye's eyes flickered as he stared at the prompt of the Fish Dragon Diagram.
He had narrowly escaped death many times this year, and every time he was seriously injured, he was able to recover—not because he had some ethereal good luck!
It was all thanks to the golden finger. Without the Cicada Molting Dragon Transformation Divine Ability, he would have been a dead man long ago!
He had also discovered the true wonder of this Divine Ability.
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