The moment those five thousand troops were swallowed up, the sound of hooves thundered again. Wu Ku sent another five thousand elites charging in, this time splitting them into a hundred small units to attack Ling Feng's camp from all directions.
Ling Feng's five main formations stood firm, raising their heavy shields and weathering the attacks. Despite Wu Ku's efforts, only a few dozen soldiers were lost at the fringes—a negligible loss.
Finally, the hundred units regrouped. With a wave of his command flag, Wu Ku merged them back into a single spearhead and thrust deep into Ling Feng's formation.
Ling Feng repeated his earlier tactic—avoiding direct engagement, luring them in before striking. But this time, the moment the troops scattered inside his camp, they found themselves amidst his lightly armored infantry.
Light infantry against cavalry? A slaughter!
Or so Wu Ku had thought.
But Ling Feng was faster. The instant the cavalry dispersed, a battalion of earth dragon heavy cavalry surged forward from his ranks!
Earth dragons had a natural bloodline suppression over horses. In moments, Wu Ku's cavalry was routed.
Swinging their massive swords, the earth dragon cavalry cut through the light horsemen like wheat. Five thousand more troops were annihilated, while Ling Feng lost fewer than five hundred regular soldiers.
"This... this can't be!"
Wu Ku nearly spat blood in frustration inside his command tent. The first failure could be blamed on carelessness, but this was the second time!
He had calculated everything perfectly—sacrificing five thousand to take out fifty thousand of Ling Feng's light infantry. Instead, he had walked straight into an ambush.
What did this indicate?
Ling Feng had begun anticipating Wu Ku's moves, countering before he even acted!
"Such terrifying talent. Now I understand why the commander-in-chief holds General Ling in such high regard. He's a born strategist!"
The officers in the tent were stunned. Ling Feng's command skills were now on par—if not superior—to any of theirs. And he had gone from a novice to this level in mere hours!
"The commander-in-chief truly has a keen eye!"
"With a military genius like General Ling, our Northwestern Army would be unstoppable!"
Praise for Ling Feng's talent and Han Li's judgment filled the tent. No one noticed the faint awkwardness on Han Li's face.
Truthfully, his expectations had been high—but Ling Feng had far surpassed them!
"According to the Art of War, 'Confront with the orthodox, win with the unorthodox.' If Old Wu's strategy follows the path of the unorthodox, then General Ling's approach clearly lies in the orthodox. What we're seeing now is a textbook battle between the two," Adviser Jia Wenhe mused.
Wu Ku fought with deception, striking where least expected. Ling Feng stood firm, unmoved by tricks.
Two contrasting styles, one brilliant battle.
"This boy is commander material! With formal training, the title of War Lord might well be his."
Han Li took a deep breath, his expression solemn.
"War Lord?" The others gasped. In over a century, no one else had earned such praise from Han Li.
The commander-in-chief was over two hundred years old, a veteran of Qingtian Fortress for more than a hundred and fifty years.
"So, the military texts General Deng gave me were this powerful?"
Ling Feng's eyes gleamed with excitement. No wonder General Deng had risen to the rank of Ascendant Eagle General.
"Hmph! So what if you've grasped some basics? You're still far beneath me!"
On the other side, Wu Ku was seething. Ling Feng had just wiped out two elite units under his command, and after decades of dominance on the battlefield, he now found himself suffering back-to-back setbacks at Ling Feng's hands.
Losing in strength was one thing. But losing in his own domain? Unacceptable.
"Kill! Kill them all!"
With a sweep of his battle flag, Wu Ku sent a hundred thousand troops charging toward Ling Feng's camp—their largest assault yet.
War horns blared as the Tianbai soldiers surged down the slopes, their killing intent overwhelming.
Ling Feng smirked. "Hehe, comparing numbers?"
After minor skirmishes, he finally unleashed his full might!
"Attack!" Ling Feng roared. His remaining army—over four million strong—surged forward in a sweeping advance.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
Four million soldiers marched, shaking the earth. They split into five columns, each nearly a million strong, and stormed toward Wu Ku's stronghold.
Screams erupted instantly. Against such numbers, the hundred thousand Tianbai troops vanished like pebbles in the ocean.
The tide of soldiers rolled forward, annihilating the enemy and planting Ling Feng's battle flag atop the high slope for the first time.
"Youth truly is reckless. A small victory, and he grows arrogant?"
Wu Ku wasn't angry. He grinned. By abandoning his camp, Ling Feng had walked straight into his Heaven's Net Annihilation Formation.
"Let's see you escape this!"
But soon, Wu Ku realized something was wrong.
Ling Feng's advance avoided every ambush point, sticking only to open terrain where traps were weakest.
"How?! How does he know my tactic? Impossible!"
Panicked, Wu Ku could only watch as his forces were systematically wiped out.
Back in the tent, the officers were awed once more.
"Those hundred thousand scouts General Ling sacrificed earlier have paid off. With full knowledge of the terrain, he pinpointed every weak spot in the ambush. Brilliant!"
The dark-faced general couldn't hide his admiration. Without realizing it, he had stopped calling Ling Feng "greenhorn"—now, it was always "General Ling."
No one dared look down on him anymore.
"Truly worthy of the War Lord title the commander-in-chief bestowed. This young man cannot be underestimated."
If Ling Feng joined the Northwestern Army, it wouldn't be long before he claimed a seat among its top three commanders.