Qin Feng
Qin Feng caught the enemy commander's head before it could hit the ground.
He surveyed the carnage he and the cavalry had wrought within the enemy camp.
Thanks to Shadow eliminating the surviving enemy troops who had attacked the secondary passes, he had gained enough SP not only to purchase Marrow Cleansing Pills and hand grenades for the entire cavalry, but also enough to acquire Thick Hide Elixirs for all their horses.
With this full enhancement, the cavalry—alongside him—had dealt a devastating blow to the enemy camp.
After wrapping the commander's head and retrieving his identity token, Qin Feng pulled out a signal flare and set it off.
A signal to retreat.
They had achieved their objective. There was no reason to linger.
With the losses suffered that night—combined with previous defeats—it was highly unlikely that the Northern Khaganate army would continue the campaign.
They had lost well over a hundred thousand men and had nothing to show for it.
Before departing, Qin Feng said, "Shadow, clear out any isolated survivors. Remember—no one sees you and lives to tell the tale."
---
Hours Later — Beiguan Fort
Qin Feng, Bai Xian, and Feng Luo stood within the Command Hall.
"Congratulations, Commander," General Feng said. "With this, we have dealt the enemy a heavy blow. I doubt they will linger here much longer."
Qin Feng nodded in acknowledgment.
"Yes, this strike is enough to force them back a few steps," General Bai added. "However, we must not lower our guard. This is not a true retreat—only a regrouping. Unless negotiations conclude, this war is not yet over."
Feng Luo nodded in agreement.
Qin Feng replied, "Very well. We will observe their movements. If they withdraw far enough, we can recall General Zhao and General Liang and have a proper feast with the men."
He dismissed them shortly after.
---
One Week Later
In the days following the night raid, the Northern Khaganate army steadily retreated toward their border—just as Qin Feng had anticipated.
Their morale had been shattered.
It wasn't only the catastrophic losses of that night that broke them—it was everything in between.
The raid had not succeeded solely because the cavalry was powerful. It succeeded because the Northern Khaganate army had been rendered blind.
With the Shadow Guards continuously eliminating their scouts, their entire army had effectively lost its eyes.
If not for their numerical superiority, they would have retreated long ago.
An army that cannot see is little more than a sitting duck.
Thus, they kept making efforts to resolve this—dispatching scouts in increasingly larger groups—and still failed.
This had long spread fear through their ranks. Making being assigned to scouting duty become synonymous to a death sentence.
They were losing hundreds—sometimes thousands—of scouts daily.
Such attrition was unsustainable.
Combining that with the night raid—which claimed their commander and senior generals, and destroyed nearly all their supply wagons and logistics—the Northern Khaganate had no choice but to withdraw.
Qin Feng summoned his system panel.
[DIVINE CHECK-IN SYSTEM]
[Host]: Qin Feng
[Shop Points (SP)]: 584,780
[Special Physiques]: Innate Dragon Elephant Physique, Innate True Sight
[Skills]: Archery (Divine), Swordsmanship (Elite), Spearmanship (Elite), Blademanship (Elite), Horsemanship (Master)
[Summoned Forces]: Shadow Reaper (×4), Shadow Stalker (×460)
[Inventory]: Restoration Pills (×108), Fasting Pills (×1,000), Marrow Cleansing Pills (×2,300)
—*—
584,780 SP seemed substantial, but in truth, it was not all that much—especially with the war nearing its conclusion, leading to him no longer having a large source of it.
Still, it was more than enough to ensure that every soldier in the Beiguan army could undergo marrow cleansing.
The week had been spent largely performing last rites for the fallen.
After the battles fought, Beiguan's forces numbered approximately thirty-five thousand.
They had lost approximately 5,000, merely a fraction of the Northern Khaganate army's losses.
This victory had been made possible by the powerful equipment purchased from the system, advanced training manuals, the terrifying effectiveness of the Shadow Stalkers and Reapers, and the various elixirs.
In fact, their casualties would have been even lower had they been given more time to fully master the infantry and cavalry training manuals.
In a few months' time, with experience gained and complete mastery of those manuals—combined with universal marrow cleansing and horses strengthened by Thick Hide Elixirs—defending the fortress against hundreds of thousands would become far easier, and casualties far fewer.
To achieve this required 312,000 SP for Marrow Cleansing Pills and Thick Hide Elixirs.
Qin Feng also spent an additional 70,000 SP on Fasting Pills and Sevenfold Vital Essence Pills.
These were placed under General Liang's supervision and secretly guarded by a squad of ten Shadow Stalkers for emergencies.
He now had 202,780 SP remaining.
This reserve, he intended to keep for personal use—and for his family.
As for the Shadow Guards, he restructured them in anticipation of his eventual departure.
First, he dispatched 170 Shadow Stalkers to the Duke of Qin's household to reinforce the Raven Squad and Ghost Squad, increasing their numbers to one hundred each.
Of the remaining 260 Stalkers, 250 were reassigned to the Echo Squad under Echo's command. Echo would oversee Shadow Guard operations throughout Northern Marsh Province.
Over 100 of them were already operating within Northern Khaganate territory, monitoring enemy movements. The rest were stationed within the fortress or dispersed across key cities in the province.
Qin Feng intended to use the Shadow Guards not only as assassins—but as an intelligence network.
Shadow and the remaining ten Stalkers would serve as his personal guards, holding authority over all other squads.
He planned to make the Shadow Squad the elite among elites.
While reviewing the store, he discovered he could upgrade Shadow Stalkers into Shadow Reapers—and Reapers into their next evolution: Shadow Dwellers.
[Shadow Dweller (10,000 SP): An enhanced version of the Shadow Reaper, possessing superior physical abilities and an expanded skillset.
Skills: Assassination (Divine), Recon (Divine), Mind Link II (Divine), Death Blade II (Divine), Void Step (Divine), Void Pocket (Divine)
Physique: Homunculus Physique (Spirit Shadowcat)]
[Death Blade II: Wields a more potent poison than Death Blade.]
[Void Step: Allows teleportation between shadow points.]
[Void Pocket: A 10m × 10m pocket dimension.]
[Homunculus Physique (Spirit Shadowcat): Possesses the physical abilities of a Spirit Shadowcat—strength slightly inferior to Innate Divine Strength, but speed and agility far surpassing a Shadow Cat.]
—*—
His long-term plan was to elevate all squad leaders to Shadow Dwellers and assign each a Shadow Reaper deputy—except for Shadow, whose entire squad would consist solely of Reapers.
However, he refrained from making this investment.
Not because of cost—but caution.
The war was not fully over.
It is better to have reserves and not need them than to need them and have none.
Thus, Qin Feng continued his days in Beiguan Fort in far greater peace than when he had first transmigrated.
---
Author's Note:
Hello everyone. What did you think of this chapter? Do you agree with Qin Feng's distribution of the Shadow Guards?
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Thank you.