DLERB -Chapter 107 Great Qin’s “Ghostfire Youth” Squad — Move Out!

“This thing is called a compass.”

Ying Ziye casually tossed the brass disc to Meng Tian.

“No matter how many circles you spin around on the grasslands, this needle will always point south.”

Meng Tian hurriedly caught it.

Holding the disc, he turned around twice.

The needle turned along with him—

Yet remained firmly pointing south.

Meng Tian’s hand trembled slightly.

This was a divine artifact.

Out in the desert, this meant life itself.

“Alright, stop playing with it.”

Ying Ziye clapped his hands and stood atop the command platform.

Below him stood the three thousand elite cavalry personally selected by Meng Tian.

Every one of them was a master rider.

But Ying Ziye only wanted eight hundred.

“The rules are simple.”

Ying Ziye pointed toward a large vat nearby.

Inside was raw meat.

Bloody horse meat, freshly cut, still steaming with warmth.

“Go over there. Each person takes a piece.”

“Eat it.”

“If you throw up, get lost.”

The Qin army was used to hardship, but eating raw horse meat was a first for them.

The bloody stench could be smelled from far away.

“What? Too scared?”

Ying Ziye sneered.

“Once we enter the grasslands, there’ll be no fire and no pots.”

“You either eat it raw, or starve to death.”

“If you don’t even dare eat a piece of meat, how are you going to cut off Xiongnu heads?”

The moment his words ended—

A figure stepped forward.

Fusu.

He wore coarse linen clothes and carried the smell of horse manure all over him.

He walked to the vat, reached in, and grabbed a bloody slab of meat.

Without even looking at it—

He stuffed it into his mouth.

Crunch. Crunch.

The sound of chewing echoed sharply across the silent training ground.

Blood dripped down from the corners of his mouth.

His face remained expressionless.

As though he could neither smell the stench nor feel disgust.

He swallowed.

Then reached for another piece.

“That’s enough.”

Ying Ziye stopped him.

Fusu paused, wiped the blood from his mouth, and silently stepped to the right side.

That was the selected group.

With Fusu taking the lead—

The remaining soldiers’ eyes instantly turned red.

If even the Crown Prince could eat it, what excuse did they have?

One after another, they roared and charged forward, grabbing raw meat and devouring it.

In less than half an hour—

Eight hundred men had assembled.

Among them was Wang Li, who had shamelessly forced his way into the unit.

“For this battle, we won’t wear armor.”

Ying Ziye issued another command.

“What?!”

Meng Tian had just put away the compass when he nearly jumped into the air.

“Ninth Young Master, are you insane?”

“No armor? You’re sending the soldiers out naked?”

“The Xiongnu arrows are made of iron too!”

“The Qin army’s advantage is our heavy armor! You’re crippling ourselves!”

Ying Ziye ignored him.

He walked toward a training dummy.

The dummy wore a thin leather cuirass.

“Heavy armor is too burdensome.”

“Men can endure it. Horses can’t.”

“What I want is speed.”

“So fast that before their arrows are even fired, our blades are already at their throats.”

Ying Ziye waved a hand.

Qinglong stepped forward carrying a bundle of items.

They were modified repeating crossbows.

Compact.

Exquisite.

Yet radiating deadly killing intent.

There was also a strange iron ring attached to both sides of a saddle.

“This is a stirrup.”

Ying Ziye placed his foot into the stirrup and lightly mounted the horse in one smooth motion.

He no longer needed to clamp the horse’s belly tightly with both legs.

Now his feet had leverage.

Standing atop the horse, he even turned his body around.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The repeating crossbow in his hands fired instantly.

Three bolts shot out in a triangular formation and nailed themselves into the bullseye fifty paces away.

Buried deep into the wood.

The entire field fell silent.

Meng Tian’s mouth hung wide open, his jaw nearly dropping to the ground.

He had fought on horseback his entire life.

Never had he seen anything like this.

With this thing, cavalry could exert force on horseback like infantry.

And even fire with both hands free?

This was outright cheating!

Wang Li’s eyes turned green.

Like a starving wolf spotting meat.

He snatched up one of the repeating crossbows and lovingly stroked it.

“I’m going!”

“If anyone tries to stop me, I’ll fight them!”

“If we lose this battle, I, Wang Li, will twist off my own head and let Young Master use it as a ball to kick!”

…

Night fell.

Inside the stables—

Fusu was brushing a horse.

He did it with great care.

Every strand of horsehair was combed smooth and neat.

The warhorse seemed to sense his goodwill and rubbed its head against his shoulder.

Fusu did not avoid it.

He pulled out the remaining half-piece of dried meat from his robe and fed it into the horse’s mouth.

“Eat.”

“Only when you’re full will you have the strength to kill.”

His voice was soft.

Almost like he was soothing a child.

But there was not the slightest warmth in his eyes.

Ying Ziye stood hidden in the shadows and watched for a while.

Without saying a word—

He turned and left.

The old Fusu, who used to preach benevolence and morality, was dead.

The current Fusu was a blade.

A blade that, once grasped, could pierce straight through the enemy.

…

Outside the city—

Eight hundred cavalrymen stood fully prepared.

One man, three horses.

Every horse hoof was wrapped in thick cloth.

No torches.

No war horns.

Only bags of dry rations called “fried flour” hanging from the saddles.

Ying Zheng led over a horse.

The horse was entirely crimson-red, tall and majestic, white vapor spraying from its nostrils.

At a glance, it was clearly the king of horses.

It was a reward from the system.

Normally, Ying Zheng could hardly bear to ride it himself.

“It’s yours.”

Ying Zheng handed the reins to Ying Ziye.

His face was full of reluctance.

“Use it sparingly.”

“If even one hair falls off, I’ll hold you responsible.”

Ying Ziye rolled his eyes.

“Alright, Dad, stop nagging.”

“When I come back, I’ll bring back three thousand more for you.”

With that, Ying Ziye prepared to mount the horse.

Then something awkward happened.

The horse was too tall.

And he was too short.

With the body of an eight-year-old, his legs were not even as long as the stirrups.

He hopped twice—

And still couldn’t even touch the horse’s backside.

The surrounding soldiers desperately wanted to laugh but didn’t dare.

Every one of them held it in so hard their faces turned red.

Even Ying Zheng failed to completely suppress himself, the corners of his mouth twitching twice.

“Qinglong.”

Ying Zheng waved a hand.

“Get your master… up there.”

Qinglong walked over expressionlessly.

He took out a rope.

Picked Ying Ziye up and placed him onto the saddle.

Then—

One loop.

Two loops.

Three loops.

He tied Ying Ziye firmly onto the horse like a wrapped rice dumpling.

Only two hands and part of his calves were left exposed.

“…”

Ying Ziye’s face darkened.

“Loosen it a bit.”

“You’re crushing my balls.”

Pffft—

Wang Li finally failed to hold back and burst out laughing.

Only to be silenced instantly by Ying Ziye’s murderous glare.

“Move out!”

Ying Ziye gave the order.

Though his posture was inelegant, his presence was overwhelming.

The eight hundred cavalrymen became like a black torrent, silently slipping into the night.

In an instant, they vanished into the endless wilderness.

…

Ten li away—

On a small dirt hill—

Two dark figures lying in the grass stirred slightly.

They were Xiongnu scouts.

They stared at the distant troop disappearing into the darkness.

“How many?”

“Couldn’t tell clearly. A few hundred, maybe.”

“A few hundred?”

One of the scouts sneered.

Spitting out the grass root from his mouth.

“Have the Qin gone crazy?”

“They dare leave the city with only a few hundred men?”

“And lightly equipped cavalry at that—without even armor.”

“Probably just a patrol out here to die.”

The other scout stood up and patted the dirt off his backside.

His eyes were filled with greed and contempt.

“Let’s go.”

“We’ll report back.”

“Tell the Great King a flock of fat sheep has wandered out of the pen.”

“Tonight, we’re eating meat.”

The two mounted their horses and galloped toward the depths of the grasslands.

They did not know—

The “fat sheep” in their eyes—

Were evil wolves from hell itself.

And even more—

Ghostfire youths destined to burn across the entire grassland.