Hunter of Mysterious Creature-Chapter 377 - 32: Slaughter_2

Ye Jiu drew out Frost Cutting, lifted his head, and found himself completely alone.

The Candle Dragon was gone, and the mysterious creature hunters he had been with had vanished too.

"What's going on?" Ye Jiu's heart tightened instantly, shifting from a one-handed grip on his sword to a two-handed stance.

He suddenly realized that, at some point, the torrential rain had stopped.

A crescent moon appeared in the pitch-black night sky, casting a bright white light that reflected off Ye Jiu's armor, emanating a chilling aura of desolation.

"The moon? How can there be a moon during the Eternal Night?" Ye Jiu was momentarily stunned, "No, even if I could see the moon, it should be a blood moon... But this moon is white, and it's a crescent moon... No, no, no!"

Ye Jiu lowered his head and was shocked to find that he was no longer standing on ice, but on ground as hard as iron.

Black blood dripped from the blade of Frost Cutting, and at his feet lay an indescribable corpse.

The humanoid nature of the body was faintly discernible, but the surface was covered in black fur that would never appear on a human, those sharp claws and the line of "eyes" densely packed on the spine reminded Ye Jiu... this corpse was not human at all.

At least, not a normal human.

"What is this thing... is it the infected I just killed?"

Ye Jiu shivered as he suddenly turned around, freezing instantly in place.

Less than a hundred meters behind him, a silent army stood arrayed.

The cavalry wore black uniforms and black armor, rode pitch-black horses and saddles, and even the pheasant feathers on their helmets were dyed black.

This army, numbering in at least a thousand, was as silent as ghosts... Not a sound came from the men or the horses.

There were no banners among the ranks, no flags hung from their backs, yet from the style of their armor and weapons, Ye Jiu recognized the true identity of this army.

The "Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry" of the Golden Age of Tang!

"Damn it!" Ye Jiu couldn't help but curse inwardly.

The "Slaughter" set he wore was derived from the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry, and he knew all too well their combat prowess.

In the era of cold weapons, they were humanity's top fighting force.

A thousand Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry could level any country in the Hexi Corridor or any tribe on the Northern Barbarian Grassland... In that era, no other army could withstand their iron hooves... not even stone walls might hold them back.

The most famous battle achievement of the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry in later generations was with just two thousand troops, they annihilated the Wolf Tooth Rebel Army, which outnumbered them several times over, killing several of the rebel generals, and delaying the fall of Chang'an City by several months.

But that period of the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry was nearly a hundred years after they were first established... According to ancient records of the Golden Age of Tang, the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry of that time had significantly declined in both numbers and combat strength compared to when they were first founded.

But records of the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry during their inception are scarce.

The Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry originated from the "Profound Armor Army" personally led by Emperor Zhen Guan—the Profound Armor Army fought throughout the world with Emperor Zhen Guan, achieving numerous glorious victories, but for the later-born Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry, there are almost no combat records during Emperor Zhen Guan's reign.

The Profound Armor Army was born in turmoil, while the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry arose in a time of peace—no one knows why Emperor Zhen Guan would spend resources several times that of the Profound Armor Army to create such an elite force... In the Golden Age of Tang, this army was utterly ornamental, as the surrounding vassal states were all subservient, even the northern barbarians lowered their tails under the might of "Heavenly Khan" Emperor Zhen Guan... Other than to intimidate, the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry served no practical purpose.

Some believe the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry was crafted as a national treasure for promoting martial virtues by Emperor Zhen Guan, while others see it as a symbol of Emperor Zhen Guan's military extravagance... Later generations have debated this endlessly without reaching a consensus.

However, there's one undeniable fact—no one knows what battles the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry fought during Emperor Zhen Guan's reign.

But no one questions that they did fight wars.

Many documents have recorded the weaponry and manpower replenishment for this unit—normal training, no matter how intense, couldn't lead to such massive losses in equipment. Only war, and particularly grim battles, would require thousands of armor replacements and over ten thousand new soldiers annually, yet their numbers never exceeded five thousand—an oddity.

In other dynasties, or even under other emperors of the Golden Age of Tang, this might be attributed to government corruption and officials embezzling… but under Emperor Zhen Guan's reign, this was impossible.

Moreover, this was the military expenditure of the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry.

Ye Jiu took a deep breath.

Though no one had given him the answer, he had a vague sense of understanding.

The Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry before him was likely the unit from Emperor Zhen Guan's reign.

In that era, the Great Tang Empire had no significant enemies… So who were they fighting against?

Ye Jiu lowered his head and stared at the corpse at his feet.

Could the enemy of the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry be mysterious creatures?

A sharp howl shattered the silence, and Ye Jiu quickly lifted his head, looking towards the source of the sound.

He saw countless mysterious creatures swarming towards him—all still bore many human features, but those distinct mutated organs and their charging speed, faster than any warhorse, screamed to Ye Jiu: They were no longer human.

The sound of synchronized metal scraping came from behind, and Ye Jiu turned back to see the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry lowering their previously vertical lances, pointing their deadly tips towards the oncoming mysterious creatures.

Each face of the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry was masked, identical to Ye Jiu's, preventing him from seeing any expressions.

"Attack." A low growl emanated from within the ranks of the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry.

"Attack!" All the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry echoed, a wave of unseen energy emanating from the formation, rippling outward.

Ye Jiu noticed a band of purple-black, imperceptible flames wrapped around the speartips of the lances wielded by the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry.

"Are these lances all deceitful equipment?" Ye Jiu stood there dumbfounded, "Are all these thousands of Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry equipped with deceitful equipment?"

This revelation shocked Ye Jiu more than the realization that the true enemy of the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry might be mysterious creatures.

"How is this possible?!"

Ye Jiu remained dazed, but the Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry, already in formation, had launched their charge against the tens of thousands of mysterious creatures!

Hooves rose high, then thundered back down, shaking the hard tundra violently. The black-clad cavalry moved like a torrent of iron, closing the hundred-meter gap in an instant.

Just as Ye Jiu thought this might only be an illusion brought by "Slaughter," a Mysterious Armor Brave Cavalry dashed past him, hooking Ye Jiu mid-charge, lifting him clean off the ground.

"Hey? Ah, ah, ah?!"

The cavalryman flung Ye Jiu backward, and he landed atop an unmounted warhorse.

"Is this... my mount?" Ye Jiu barely managed to grab the reins, struggling to steady himself on the horse's back.