By the time night fell, Qian Yu and the 100 cultivators in his team had already moved towards the outer edges of the military camp to set themselves up for the night. Having already sent the report to the Captain, they just needed to wait until tomorrow to see what their assignment was going to be. 

As for now, Qian Yu wanted to spend more time and bond with the new cultivators he will be leading. 

“Cheers!” a loud but united shout rang from the newly setup camp. Barbeque of various spiritual beast meat had been served along with some alcohol while everyone sat around a large campfire. 

“Let’s go, leader Qian!” “Go go!” a few people yelled out as Qian Yu stood up in front of the crowd. 

Raising another cup of alcohol, Qian Yu shouted, “Thank you everyone for being here! I hope everyone is enjoying the meal!”

“Cheers!” “Cheers!” everyone downed another cup of alcohol. 

“I would like to introduce myself in case some of you didn’t know. My name is Qian Yu and I am an inner court disciple from the Ice Arts Sect. Even though I barely qualify to be a squad leader as I am only at the early stage soul foundation, I am confident in my abilities and was one of the sixteen that was supposed to participate in the Southern Ice Tournament,” Qian Yu said. Being his first time doing such a thing, he had asked Zhao Xieren for some advice. 

‘Confidence and trust in a leader was the most important thing in a team environment,’ she told him earlier.

“That said, I myself have few leadership experiences and managing a group as large as this is completely new to me,” Qian Yu said. 

‘Be realistic about yourself and to your team. Don’t give them false hope,’ Zhao Xieren warned him.

“But! That means I will be giving it my all to improve so that all of us can come back and return together!” Qian Yu shouted.

‘You can also turn your weaknesses to your advantages as well,’ Zhao Xieren mentioned.

“We are all going to relocate tomorrow and likely be starting to participate in the war. With the little time we have left, I’ll like us to spend this time getting to know one another,” Qian Yu said. 

As the campfire continued into the night, Qian Yu started talking to every one of the soldiers, understanding more about themselves and their history. 

Tomorrow eventually arrived and Qian Yu and the hundred soldiers immediately started leaving towards their post which was 3 hours north of the village. As for Zhen Yue and Zhao Xieren, they were still awaiting management and he didn’t know where their posts were going to be like. Despite that, he wasn’t too worried. With Zhao Xieren’s status, Qian Yu was confident she could pull some strings to get better positions or assignments.

“Brother Qian, we are here!” one of the cultivators by Qian Yu’s side, shouted. 

“Gu Zan, I told you to call me leader or sir,” Qian Yu said, though there was a smile on his face. Back in the camp, Gu Zan was one of the few familiar faces Qian Yu had recognized and picked. 

“Ahem, sorry about that. It’s just a habit haha. Besides, I’m still shocked that you are so strong!” Gu Zan coughed.

‘He’s carefree as always,’ Qian Yu chuckled and started looking around. 

They held a pretty important area in the local landscape. A great battle between two superhouses years ago had created a large plateau and they had been travelling on this plateau, near the edge of it, over the last few hours.

Now though, they had arrived at a large slope that fell to the east and connected the cliff of the plateau to the land below it. As such, this slope was an important geological position because enemy control of it could allow them to gain control of flank positions and possibly attack Snowfall Village south of here or another village north of here. Furthermore, this plateau was also one of few roads that led to True Ice City.

That said, it was a pretty easy area to defend as Qian Yu and the rest had the higher ground. Waiting for the enemy to arrive and attack was a lot easier than scaling up the plateau. 

“Leader Qian, we’ve been told that the enemy troops should be arriving tomorrow morning. What should we do now?” Gu Zan asked. By now, the soldiers had gathered around Qian Yu waiting for his commands.

“First, let’s get more visibility. Start cutting down the trees at the bottom of the slope. We’ll slow down their movement like this and also allow us to see when they start coming earlier. Don’t take too long we have plenty of other stuff to do though,” Qian Yu pointed at the thick covering of trees at the end of the slope.

“Separate into groups of four after. Each group should consist of one of the four different cultivation techniques. I will be referring to these groups of four as a ‘unit’ from now on,” Qian Yu announced. 

“Lastly, set up a quick camp. Use wood or create pillars but form some towers that we can use for reconnaissance and then start unpacking your belongings for the night,” Qian Yu ordered.

“Yes Leader!” the soldiers yelled out as they got to work. Running down the slope, the 100 soldiers quickly took out their weapons and started clearing the forest.

‘Hmm, the slope is about 600 meters long, and the forest area we cleared is about another 600 meters,’ Qian Yu looked at the landscape from above.

The sun was closed to setting but the soldiers had long finished cutting down the trees and formed their groups within the newly built camp.

‘Normally, this should take around two minutes to traverse normally but with the broken trees and attacks from our soldiers, we should be able to delay their speed by quite a bit,’ Qian Yu started calculating.

‘Hmm… I’m just worried we don’t have much offensive power other than the Spears of Ice,’ Qian Yu thought. 

‘Master! I sense a lot of enemies approaching!’ Tian Xinyi’s sudden voice interrupted his thinking.

‘What!? Already? It’s almost nighttime! Did they wait until night time after seeing the broken forest trees?’ Qian Yu gritted his teeth. With the low visibility, the advantage they had created by clearing the trees suddenly disappeared. 

“Enemy attack! Units 1 through 10! Defend the slope!” Qian Yu yelled. 

“Yes sir!” the soldiers were taken aback but immediately dropped their food and got into positions. 40 soldiers instantly ran towards the slope in groups of 4. 

*Brrrr* a few weak rumbles vibrated through the slope as walls of earth formed near the top and middle parts of the slope.

Barricading themselves behind the structure, the soldiers nervously looked past the walls as they awaited Qian Yu’s orders.

“They have arrived at the bottom of the slope! Prepare to attack!” Qian Yu yelled. 

*rumble* the sounds of running quickly entered Qian Yu and the soldier’s ears. 

“Ice Arts disciples attack!” Qian Yu yelled out. 

“YAHHH!” the disciples gave an enthusiastic yell as they stepped out from the covering of the walls. 

*Whoosh!* Spears of Ice formed as they were launched downwards towards the darkness. It was hard, near impossible to see the distinct movement of the enemies below them.

“Ahh!” however, a few weak shouts resounded from the bottom of the slope. It was hard to see the enemy soldiers but at the same time, it became difficult to dodge the icicles. 

“Shit! Charge ahead full speed! Use your attacks as well!” a yell rang out from the bottom of the slope. 

“Ice Arts disciples from Units 11-20! Attack as well! Chu Trading Union soldiers! Create walls of fire to stall them!” 

*Shua!* waves of fire appeared as Qian Yu said that. 

*Whoosh!* As the battlefield suddenly became brighter, the Ice Arts disciples didn’t hesitate to immediately take clear aim at their enemies. 

“AHHH!” “Fuck!” “Dodge the spears!” a few rangs sounded out. 

“What are you doing! Attack them!” the enemy leader shouted. 

*Fwaahh!* some balls of fire were shot upwards.

“Take cover!” Qian Yu yelled as he saw the sudden red dots appear from afar.

*Boom!* several small explosions occurred as the fireballs collided with the walls of earth. 

“True Earth sect disciples! Reinforce your walls for another attack!” Qian Yu ordered. He had tested the durability of the walls earlier in the day and they could easily withstand a normal attack from most qi gathering cultivators. However, 2 or 3 would be too much. 

*Bbbrrrr* the ground lightly shook once more as the soldiers erected new and strengthened walls. 

‘Xinyi, how is it looking?’ Qian Yu couldn’t really tell as he looked down from the top of the slope. 

‘A decent amount of the enemy soldiers, about 25 or so, have taken serious casualties,’ she said after a few seconds. 

‘As for the soldiers at the front, there are over 50 soldiers still trying to take over the slope. Hmm, there are still more soldiers at the bottom of the slope but they seem a little hesitant to take action,’ she relayed after another few seconds. 

‘Hmm, it seems like those who are running up right now are just testing the waters,’ Qian Yu took note, making sure to not reveal all his cards. 

‘Master, the enemy troops are arriving close to the barricades!’ Tian Xinyi yelled.

Hearing her words, Qian Yu nodded and shouted, “Endless Fog sect disciples! Call forth the Icy Winds!” 

*FWOOOSH!* the wind immediately picked up and even Qian Yu who was at the top of the slope had to lower himself down as he found leverage to not be displaced. 

“What the!” “What’s going on!?” “AHHH!” confusion quickly spread throughout the bottom of the slope as the enemy soldiers lost their footing and fell back down. 

“Ice Arts disciple! Now’s the time!” it was the best opportunity Qian Yu had come up with. With the walls of fire dying slowly, it still gave ample lighting for the Ice Arts sect disciples to attack and land fatal blows.

*Whoosh!* series of ice spears appeared as they flew directly at the enemy soldiers. 

*Boom!* a large explosion occurred at the bottom of the slope, stirring up a cloud of smoke.

As the white smoke dissipated, no shadows could be seen. ‘Master, the enemy has retreated,’ Tian Xinyi confirmed. 

‘Phew, that’s good then,’ Qian Yu sighed in relief. 

“The enemy retreated,” Qian Yu shouted from above. 

“Huh?” “What??” “Really?” “Haha, that was pretty easy!” the confused words turned into joyful ones as the seconds passed. 

“Yes, good job everyone,” Qian Yu smiled. It was a battle won with no casualties.