Chapter 147: Breaking Formations and Smashing Defenses

Shang Lu was not only going to defeat these three squad leaders, but he also intended to use them to establish his authority.

Therefore, facing the incoming volley of swift, piercing arrows, he not only refused to dodge, but instead strode directly forward to meet them.

"Hit—"

Accompanied by a fierce roar from the archery squad leader, three sharp arrows accurately struck Shang Lu.

Yet they failed to cause him any harm!

Though the velocity of the arrows was extreme, Shang Lu's reflexes were even faster.

His hands moved with lightning speed, and before the projectiles could pierce him, he managed to grab the two arrows aiming for his chest and elixir field respectively.

As for the arrow aimed at his throat, he simply lowered his body slightly and caught it firmly between his teeth.

Although the arrows were coated with a layer of vital blood energy, it was far too weak against Shang Lu; the energy was instantly shattered by his own aura, rendering the weapons entirely harmless to him.

This spectacle left the frontier garrison soldiers in the drill ground gasping in sheer astonishment.

They had witnessed plenty of instances where people caught arrows and deflected them back. However, catching arrows with one's teeth was exceedingly rare, for such a feat carried the constant peril of having one's head blown apart by the slightest miscalculation!

In the distance, the archery squad leader was equally surprised to see Shang Lu employ such a tactic to intercept his attack, but his hands did not pause.

With a rapid succession of vibrations from the bowstring, several more arrows were unleashed.

This time, he held nothing back, executing his technique with his absolute full strength!

"Swish—"

Seeing this, Shang Lu instantly stimulated his blood energy, spitting out the arrow he had been holding in his mouth.

Simultaneously, he flung both hands upward, hurling the two arrows back toward the archer.

The arrow expelled from his mouth traveled at the fastest speed.

In the blink of an eye, it collided with one of the incoming arrows from the opposite side.

Not only did it detonate with a tremendous boom, but the resulting fragments, swept along by a surge of blood energy, slammed into the remaining arrows launched by the archer, obliterating every single one of them in an instant.

"How is this possible?!"

The archery squad leader's eyes widened in disbelief. This time he had not held back, and the arrows had been imbued with a massive amount of blood energy; he never expected them to be decimated in such a manner.

That was not all. Driven by a surge of vital energy, the two arrows thrown by Shang Lu suddenly accelerated to a terrifying speed!

Faced with the impending danger, the archery squad leader neither panicked nor dodged; instead, he swiftly reached out his hand to grab another shaft from his quiver.

For he trusted that his companion would shield him from the peril.

Sure enough, the shield-bearing squad leader let out a fierce roar, shifting his stance to block Shang Lu's hurled projectiles with a sturdy, thick greatshield.

These two arrows possessed not only astonishing speed but also tremendous force.

With two crisp sounds of "clang, clang," the arrows embedded themselves deeply into the shield, the sheer kinetic energy transmitted through them causing the shield bearer's arm to throb with intense pain.

"What formidable strength!"

The shield bearer shouted loudly, hastily channeling his blood energy in an attempt to suppress the aching pain.

Just then, the spear-wielding squad leader's expression shifted drastically as he roared and thrust forward with his weapon.

He hurriedly poked his head out to look, and was astonished to discover that in this briefest fraction of a moment, Shang Lu had already closed the distance and charged right up to them.

Could this little constable... no, this esteemed County Magistrate, possess not only terrifying physical strength, but also such astonishing speed?

Surprised as he was, the shield-bearing squad leader did not dare hesitate for even a second. He hurriedly propped up the greatshield with his left hand and lunged toward Shang Lu with a roar.

At the same time, his right hand reached toward his waist to draw his sabre.

Seizing the moment, the archery squad leader nocked a fresh arrow and rapidly loosed several more shots at Shang Lu to harass and distract him.

Bolstered by the military formation, the three squad leaders coordinated with seamless synergy.

Though there were only three of them, they managed to create a deceptive illusion for Shang Lu, making it feel as though over a dozen people had surrounded him from all sides.

Far from panicking him, this feeling of being deeply besieged felt strangely familiar.

Every single sparring session with Sannyang and Uncle Huai had simulated precisely this kind of scenario.

Furthermore, even with the enhancement of the battle formation, the combined strength of the three squad leaders still fell far short of his own.

"Too slow!"

Shang Lu even had the leisure to critique the performance of the three squad leaders.

The very instant he spoke, he visualized the Azure Dragon in his mind and executed the Dragon Movement Technique.

Moving like a dragon soaring through the clouds, his footwork became swift and uncanny. With a mere side-step, he effortlessly evaded the spear's thrust and the blooming ripples of its tip, then reached out with a counter-hand to grab the shaft of the spear.

A surge of formidable blood energy erupted violently, traveling along the spear shaft and washing over the spear-wielding squad leader.

The squad leader felt an immense wave of terrifying force violently surge through the weapon!

Worse still, the waves came relentlessly, one after another, each stronger than the last, continuous and endless!

A sharp, stabbing pain wracked both his hands, and the webs of his thumbs were directly torn open. Unable to maintain his grip on the shaft, he was disarmed on the spot.

"Let me show you what it means for a spear to move like a dragon!"

Seizing the spear, Shang Lu did not use it to strike the shield bearer; instead, he whipped it around to bat away the incoming arrows.

He had never formally studied spearmanship, but what he unleashed at this moment was the Dragon Movement Technique from the Five Spirits Manual!

Though applying the Dragon Movement Technique to a spear was unfamiliar to him, the resulting power was nothing short of shocking.

In a fleeting daze, everyone present on the drill ground heard a resounding, high-pitched dragon roar.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang—"

The arrows hurtling toward Shang Lu were utterly pulverized by this "spear-dragon."

By this time, the shield-bearing squad leader had already charged right in front of Shang Lu, preventing him from pivoting the spearhead.

With one hand holding the shield, he thrust it toward Shang Lu, while his right hand gripped his sabre, preparing to stab.

Shang Lu had no intention of using the spear against him. With a soft shout, he released the weapon, letting it fly like a soaring dragon straight toward the archery squad leader.

Simultaneously, he spun around, raised his right hand, and smashed a fist directly into the greatshield.

This single punch pushed the destructive power of the Dragon Movement Technique to its absolute zenith.

"Boom—"

The greatshield, forged from refined iron, was shattered instantly under the mountain-splitting, ocean-overturning punch delivered by Shang Lu.

The muscular frame of the shield-bearing squad leader was shaken so violently by the immense force erupting from the blow that he stumbled backward several steps.

In the end, he fell heavily onto his rear, his sabre dropping to the ground beside him.

Though he desperately wished to get back up and continue the fight, an overwhelming, crushing force pinned him down, rendering him completely immobile.

On the other side, looking at the vibrating spear shaft planted firmly in the earth right before the tips of his boots, the archery squad leader felt his hair stand on end and cold sweat drench his back.

Shang Lu's control over his own strength was precise enough to make one's scalp tingle.

The archer had originally planned to discard his bow, draw his sabre, and engage Shang Lu in close-quarters combat.

Seeing this display, he realized that Shang Lu had deliberately shown mercy. Glancing at his two companions—one sitting helplessly on the ground and the other bleeding profusely from violently trembling hands—it was clear that both had completely lost their combat capability.

Realizing the outcome, he abandoned the thought of drawing his weapon and instead spread his hands in surrender.

"I concede, I concede. Many thanks to the County Magistrate for your guidance!"

Realizing as well that Shang Lu's strength far surpassed theirs, the other two squad leaders followed suit and conceded defeat.

The spear-wielding squad leader even offered some flattery: "County Magistrate, my spear speed is already fast enough, but you are even faster!"

Knowing that these squad leaders had finally submitted to him, Shang Lu's tone warmed considerably as he laughed and scolded, "Stop flattering me and go put medicine on your hands before it leaves permanent damage."

The scolded squad leader showed no anger; instead, he chuckled and acknowledged the order.

Only then did Shang Lu turn his attention to the two hundred-men commanders, calling out, "Come on, it's your turn!"

The two commanders exchanged glances.

By this point, how could they fail to understand? Shang Lu's entire sequence of arrangements had only one single objective: to establish his authority and bend this arrogant frontier garrison entirely to his will.

"Old Feng, what do we do?"

The bald commander asked in a lowered voice, "Are we going up?"

"Of course we are," the commander surnamed Feng replied. "We provoked the County Magistrate's authority; it's only right that he uses us to make an example and warn the rest of the troops."

The bald commander nodded and asked again, "Should we hold back?"

Commander Feng gave a bitter smile. "Hold back? Do you think that with the County Magistrate's strength, he needs us to hold back? We must go all out. Only then can we convince the men and avoid disrupting the County Magistrate's plans!"

Without further ado, the bald commander grinned broadly. "In that case, let's have a hearty fight! Win or lose in the end, this County Magistrate really suits my taste. Staying behind to take orders from him isn't a bad idea after all."

Little did the two commanders know that their quiet exchange had been heard with crystal clarity by Shang Lu.

The corners of Shang Lu's mouth curved upward slightly, knowing that half his goal had already been achieved.

The remaining half required him to cleanly and brilliantly defeat these two commanders.

Only then could he thoroughly awe the two hundred garrison soldiers and make them submit to him heart and soul!