Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 68 - 67: Crossfire

"Team A, pay attention, they’re coming over, set up the array here."

A clear voice came from the small box at Liu Shuyue’s waist.

This Dharma Artifact was given to her by Chen Xuan before their departure, and he said it allows real-time communication within twenty miles, which is more convenient than a Sound Transmission Talisman. The Hot Pepper Village troops divided into three routes, and each leader received a Dharma Artifact so they could know each other’s situation even if they couldn’t see each other.

Liu Shuyue immediately ordered the troops to stop and began setting up the Life and Death Eight Gates Technique.

Although she was strong in solo combat, she had almost no experience in leading troops in battle. She never considered herself gifted in every area, so she handed over the overall command without reservation to that guest with the strange hair color. When she was learning to operate the new weapon with Lin Qing, she realized that this person had a profound understanding of large-scale battles. Despite appearing young, they seemed to have experienced countless life-and-death wars, which was a puzzling inconsistency for her. But she also understood that if this person was willing to help, it would undoubtedly increase Hot Pepper Village’s chances of victory.

The biggest advantage of the new weapon was its range.

The Life and Death Eight Gates Technique could provide strong protection within a fifty-meter radius.

So the optimal approach for Team A was self-evident.

Yet what happened next far exceeded Liu Shuyue’s expectations.

Not long after everyone got into position, someone couldn’t resist firing—even though the enemy was still more than eight hundred meters away. According to Lin Qing’s guidance, it was best to wait until the enemy was within two hundred meters to open fire for higher kill efficiency.

But amidst these sporadic gunshots, she observed that enemy troops surrounding them began to fall one after another, contrary to Lin’s teaching that shots at this range would only make noise.

After activating the array talisman, she also tried firing a couple of shots and found that the weapon was actually quite accurate. As long as she had sharp eyes, quick hands, and a little bit of prediction, she could basically hit wherever she aimed.

So she didn’t stop the firing, allowing everyone to play to their strengths freely.

On Jiufeng City’s wall, Lin Qing watched in disbelief, "What kind of people are these... they can achieve near fire control computer efficiency with just their physical bodies. Cultivation is really impressive!"

Chen Xuan, on the other hand, was leisurely drinking premium green tea sent by the Liu Family. If the gun is treated as a type of Dharma Artifact, its strike range and power were quite pleasing. He realized this when he had confrontations with Mad Judy and Fei Wuniang—even though everyone was an Ability User, anyone could pull out a convenient firearm from their waist.

It was more like a strength amplifier.

Ordinary people with a gun could fight one against ten, and in the hands of a cultivator, it only grew stronger.

If a day comes when guns can no longer break defenses, it wouldn’t mean the gun’s concept is outdated; instead, firepower needs further enhancement.

This was best validated by Liu Shuyue. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Immortal Master Lord! Some tough guys are coming over there!" a villager shouted.

Liu Shuyue also spotted the target—a Loose Cultivator formed a blue-glow emitting shield in front of him, charging towards her through the barrage of gunfire. Seeing this, the rest of the Loose Cultivators also gathered around him, seemingly ready to form a singular unit.

She immediately left the troop to confront the challenge alone.

The Eight Gates Array protected the villagers of Hot Pepper Village, and she didn’t need to limit herself.

The villagers also shifted their gunfire, using more intense fire to suppress surrounding enemies, providing cover for the Immortal Master Lord.

The two sides quickly met in a narrow path!

"Stop!" several Loose Cultivators shouted, spouting Truth-Telling Technique!

Liu Shuyue felt a shock throughout her body, but she used even stronger Spiritual Qi to break the restraint—any Truth-Telling Technique thrives on strength overpowering the weak, this move had little effect on her.

She pointed back at them, "Stop!"

The tightening rope seemed to suddenly lose direction, freezing in place. Although it was only for a brief second, Liu Shuyue’s follow-up had already arrived.

She activated "Strong Robbery," targeting the leading shield-holding Loose Cultivator.

This was her first time using her "Ability," different from the spells and Talisman Techniques she cultivated herself—she didn’t need to recite any awkward incantations or channel Spiritual Qi to activate corresponding acupoints... The ability seemed like her natural instinct, as soon as she thought it, it happened!

The barrier in front of the Loose Cultivator suddenly shattered, and he stared at Liu Shuyue with a face full of incredulity, "What did you do to me—"

But before he could finish, Liu Shuyue had already opened fire.

A rain of bullets swept toward the cultivators, the closer they had huddled, the harder it became for them to evade now.

Instantly, cries of pain filled their ranks.

One seasoned Loose Cultivator took advantage of this brief chaos, using Shrinking Inches to flash behind Liu Shuyue, raising his saber to strike at the Immortal Master in the midst of shooting.

However, without turning her head, Liu Shuyue summoned a blue shield that completely blocked his saber.

This was the Spiritual Energy Shield used by the previous Loose Cultivator!

At this moment, Liu Shuyue turned around and smashed his nose with the butt of her gun, then once again used her strong robbery ability.

——Master, forgive me, this is all to repay my debts.

Your disciple still walks the path of caring for the people, not daring to deviate in the slightest.

...

"What’s going on, why haven’t the loose cultivators surrounded them yet?" Gong Lingwu said impatiently.

The battle had already lasted over two rounds, yet the situation remained unclear. The generals could see those cultivators sparsely scattered in the fields, always maintaining a distance of one to two hundred meters from the seven hundred opponents, as if an invisible wall separated both sides.

Occasionally, some cultivators managed to break through this invisible wall, even rushing into the enemy’s formation. But these people did not stir any waves; after contact, they quickly disappeared, like a stone sinking into the sea.

"A motley crew," a commander said disdainfully, "Only know some spells but have no strategy in battle."

This comment received unanimous agreement.

In a sense, the performance of these people at the moment was not even as good as the infantry camp.

At least when Shangguan ordered an attack, the soldiers dared not stop for breath.

"Did anyone hear those crackling sounds?" Gong Jiang suddenly asked.

At first, he thought it was an auditory hallucination, after all, the whole army was preparing to charge, the sound of hooves, soldiers shouting, and clashing armor almost blending into one, making it impossible to distinguish the source of any unusual noise.

But the crackling sounds grew louder and more frequent.

And at this time, the light cavalry finally reached the attack position, skilled riders nocking arrows and urging their horses to accelerate.

Using the speed advantage of their warhorses, the light cavalry could always keep a distance of one to two hundred meters from the enemy, using arrows to shoot down infantry, who had no means to retaliate.

Suddenly, a large number of strange noises erupted in the enemy position, as urgent as a storm!

A large number of cavalry fell on command, as if they suddenly fell asleep, and the horses did the same, kneeling one by one in the front, and those in the rear continued to follow, repeating the scene like a chain reaction. Moreover, their formation was much more neat than the loose cultivators, making the scene look particularly eerie!

Gong Jiang finally realized that his troops had been under enemy attack all along, only most of them were completely unaware!

The loose cultivators preferred to fight individually, scattered far from each other, coupled with the thick weeds in the countryside, making it difficult for the cavalry to determine their condition.

Now it was the cavalry’s turn to experience such a fate.

"Woo———Woo———!" A short horn sounded, but it didn’t come from the front line.

"Report! The Bai State Army has discovered an unidentified force approaching from behind! Numbering less than a thousand!"

"Report! The Cangzhou Army is under enemy attack, numbers unknown, at least more than a thousand!"

Several messengers hurriedly ran up the hill, reporting to the commander.

Gong Lingwu said incredulously, "We’re... getting pincered?"

Anyone with basic military knowledge knew to attack if five times the enemy’s size, to encircle with ten times the size. Not to mention why they abandoned the city to engage in a field battle, using a mere two or three thousand to pincer an army of over twenty thousand was truly unimaginable!

"What weapons are they holding?" a commander shouted, "Do they all have a gray-black stick?"

"It seems... seems like it..." the messenger thought for a moment, "Our scouts fell from a great distance as if it wasn’t the work of cultivators."

If not cultivators, then what? Everyone’s faces were somber—could these strange scenes in front of them be achieved by ordinary people?

In just a few minutes, six hundred cavalrymen not only failed to reach the arrow-firing range, but their formation began to scatter, vaguely showing signs of defeat.

If the troops attacking from behind were also all cultivators loyal to Liu Shuyue, that would be too terrifying!

Because three thousand well-trained individuals could easily be considered an army!

"Transmit my orders!" Gong Jiang finally spoke, his voice still as steady as a rock, "All troops advance, proceed to Jiufeng City! We move too, let the Vanguard Army lead the way!"

He knew they absolutely couldn’t retreat now; shifting the Bai State and Cangzhou troops from rear to front in haste would likely result in a rout, with thousands trampled in the chaos.

The chance of victory still existed, which was to crush the small enemy units like a flood, and be the first to break into Jiufeng City. Then use the advantage of the city walls to block pursuers in return.

He had already figured it out, these cultivators combined with the sticks were indeed powerful, but they simply deployed too few people at the front! Judging by the speed at which they took down the light cavalry, it was impossible for them to kill all the soldiers before the army overwhelmed them!