Supreme Emperor of Mist

"From his first battle until now? What does that even mean, senior sister?" Yan Yi Lian reveals a puzzled expression. As for Zhou Mei, she was smiling there by herself. Because only she knew what does her word really meant.

Her meaning if Qin Lan first battle naturally hinted during the time he designs a trap to decimates a portion of the Jiao Family's Night Dragon Corps. At that time, Qin Lan was just a mere Flesh Refining Cultivator, not even worthy of being called an expert.

But without showing himself, he single-handedly gets rid of the Night Dragon Corps. After that, they met for the first time. It was at that time she was smitten by him. Although the feeling from then was far from being called love, it was still a memory that Zhou Mei cherished until now.

Then, again and again, Qin Lan appeared before her like a gust of wind. He would appear whenever she think of him and gone the more she wanted to see him.

Until he gets married to Hu Jia.

Then, the two met again in Fuyun City. Qin Lan's strength was already above her during that time. It never crossed her mind that a cripple targeted by the Jiao Family back in Fu-Rong City would actually have such an achievement today.

"Senior sister, look at yourself..." Yan Yi Lian took a copper mirror out from her Qiankun Pouch and let it reflected on Zhou Mei's appearance. When she noticed how sweet is her own smile, she once again realized that...

Qin Lan was the color in her that bring a smile to her whenever she thinks about him.

Before, now, after, and future. It would last.

She then grabbed the mirror from Yan Yi Lian's hand and kept looking at herself.

"Looking at this mirror, I feel that I am much prettier than all the other disciples in the temple. Don't you think?" Zhou Mei smiled and teased Yan Yi Lian.

"Oh, my heavens! Look at how shameless you are!!!" Yan Yi Lian tried to grab the mirror back.

...

...

...

"Elder." Qin Lan cupped his hand towards the air and greets. Those that see what he was doing were puzzled at first, but when the white crane and elder Yang Wen descended from the sky, they realized that it was them who was lacking.

For Qin Lan to notice the elder from afar earlier than them means that his control over Spiritual Energy was a realm above them.

Perhaps that was one of the few reasons Qin Lan was conferred as a Marquis, and not them.

"I've heard of what happened. To think that you've actually decided to take action half a year after coming to this county. Are you that confident, or you're just rushing to produce a result?" the elder asked with a face filled with worries.

As Qin Lan's guardian, he's naturally well informed about how resourceful Qin Lan was. But sometimes, being too capable was a bad thing because it made oneself too confident in himself. Like a squirrel good at jumping from one tree to another, it would still fell from the tree sometimes.

And in the reality of men, such a "sometimes" happened more often than they think.

"This junior will not take action unless he's confident. Allow Qin Lan to ask the elder to have more faith in what he was trying to achieve." Qin Lan replied while filling the tea on the elder's cup.

"Then, let me accompany you here since it was your first battle as the Marquis of this land. I am anticipating what kind of magical result you can produce by a group of crack soldiers as well." Elder Yang Wen said.

"Elder, please allow this junior to repair something you've mistaken about them." Qin Lan smiled while he tried to correct the elder's word.

"Oh? What's that?" Elder Yang Wen smiled and reached for the teacup.

"They're not a group of crack soldiers. These people were the elites of the Shuiyue County, the Shuiyin Battalion." Qin Lan smiled in his reply.

(Shui-Yin = Mercury. It also stands for the word Water + Silver. That's also why it was mentioned that they're wearing silver gears.)

"Milord, the Wuyue County retaliates with fifteen thousand soldiers surrounding our army from three directions." four scouts came forward and kneeled before Qin Lan and the elder. Behind each of them are two other scouts of a lower rank responsible for the communication.

"Relay my order to maintain their formation until the Wuyue Troops getting impatient. Tell them to get the Soaring Ballista ready." Qin Lan's instructions were simple.

"Subordinate understood! Release the pigeons, Soaring Ballista Formation!" the four head scouts ordered. Then, close to ten pigeons were released from their camp as they fly into the battlefield fearlessly.

The Shuiyin Battalion changed their formation in less than a minute after the respective pigeons arrived at the receiver's side. It seems so orderly as all soldiers were armed with the same equipment, without any distinctive differences one to another.

...

"Do they thought they can keep us from attacking if they're targeting us from afar using that short bow?"

"What a joke. Protect yourselves from arrows coming from above. Move forward at top speed and crush them before they managed to change their formation."

"Don't let the enemies had the chance to fire their second arrow. Attack them right now!"

Each of the Wuyue City Lord's commanders had their respective opinion, but it meant the same thing.

"Attack!" fifteen thousand soldiers charged forward on foot as they tried to decimates the Shuiyue County's soldiers before they can fire their second arrow.

But the aim they're trying to achieve seems to be a little immature because the battlefield was filled with the cry of anguish after the first volley of arrows was fired.

Although the number of death wasn't as high as expected, what the Soaring Ballista Formation aimed for was not to decimate their opponent in a volley but to delay their march.

"Is there a secret behind the skimpy bow in the soldier's hand?" Elder Yang Wen asked. He managed to seethrough the bow's uniqueness, but not the effect it has when firing.

"Yes." Qin Lan smiled after he was presented with the result he was looking forward to.

"The bow in their hand was a Xuan Lower-Grade Treasure that capable of increasing their piercing power of an arrow when fired with sufficient Spiritual Energy. But the weakness of this bow is quite evident since it was just a (Half) Treasure." Qin Lan answered.

"Just a (Half) Treasure? With such a good effect on the weapon, how can it just be a Xuan Lower-Grade weapon?" the elder asked.

"It's because this bow can only be fired twice. The third time will result in this weapon broken." Qin Lan explained the flaw behind this weapon. If Qin Lan were to keep this secret hidden behind the elder, it might cost him his life to notice such a big flaw hidden behind that potential.

"This..." the elder was speechless after hearing Qin Lan's answer. Unknown if he should feel proud of Qin Lan's shameless scheme or the anguished cry on the battlefield, the elder turned his head over to continue watching over the battlefield.

"Ah... Mother..." the soldiers from Wuyue County cried from the wound dealt by the arrow. Although the injury was nothing serious, the problem came from what used to make the arrow.

It was created from soaking the arrowhead with the solution that came from mixing the Luminescent Lotus powder with the resin from Ash Willow Bark. This caused the cut from this arrow to burn due to the astringency and spiciness of the medicine.

The torturous aftermath was something even Bone Layer Expert would find it difficult to endure. But it was also the best method to win a battle without leading to a high number of casualties.

"Attack! Those that still can move should keep it up! Don't let them have the time to fire the next arrow!" unknown that the weapon can only fire twice at most, the three commanders ordered them to continue marching forward.

To the Shuiyin Battalion, the difficulties in firing their first volley were the hardest. But when it comes to the second volley, it came as natural as eating and drinking. The hesitation from pulling the string was no longer around their heart.

As part of the accomplice that delivered the torture to those soldiers from Wuyue, the guilt was no longer in their hearts.

*XIU!*

The second volley arrived as the Wuyue County's soldiers get into the less than ten steps' distance from the Soaring Ballista Formation.

"Relay my order to the soldiers. Throw away the bow in their hand and prepare to fight. Everyone shall change their weapon to the City protection sword and engage with the Wuyue County's soldier the moment they get into our reach!" Qin Lan ordered.

"Release the pigeon!" the scouts' leaders ordered.

Once again, over ten pigeons fly into the battlefield once more. The sound of bows dropped on the ground, and the sword was pulled out from its sheath was heard.

To the soldiers that are lucky enough to dodge the volley of arrows, they're now up against the sword next.

"Sound the hammer." Qin Lan said.

Following the sound from the hammer, the soldiers from Shuiyue County moved forward and retaliated. Their momentum was much stronger than the Wuyue Soldiers that should be trying to protect their home from the outsiders.

All it took was a single engagement for Qin Lan's Shuiyin Battalion to overcome the army of fifteen thousand soldiers under the Wuyue County Lord.