Li Man'er moved with incredible speed. By the time Li Nian called out to her, she had already landed.
Jar was also dumbfounded. The young girl he had initially dismissed was now so fierce, leaping off the city wall alone.
"General Li, don't worry. Perhaps Miss Li has her own means of self-preservation! She's a physician; maybe those poisons won't affect her."
Tong Xiao's words offered no comfort to Li Nian. Even though he knew Li Man'er was a skilled physician and a formidable warrior, he couldn't help but worry. If anything were to happen to her, how would he explain it to his family?
Thinking this, Li Nian quickly grabbed a rope, intending to jump down to help Li Man'er. But Jar grabbed his arm, exclaiming in disbelief, "Look quickly."
Numerous torches were erected on the city wall, illuminating the open ground outside the city gate.
Li Nian followed Jar's pointing finger and looked down, his jaw dropping in astonishment. Although Li Man'er was wrapped in a large cloak, her movements were agile, making her appear even more petite amongst the barbarian warriors.
Yet, this petite young woman, wielding a large saber, charged towards the barbarians. Wherever she went, cries of agony erupted. The saber in her hand seemed to transform into the Grim Reaper's scythe, relentlessly harvesting barbarian lives as easily as slicing through vegetables.
"Well done, General Li! Your family truly deserves its reputation as a lineage of generals. Your niece's martial skill is truly impressive!"
Li Nian was also puzzled. He knew Li Man'er was skilled in martial arts; she killed wolves and barbarians without mercy. He wouldn't hesitate to say her combat prowess surpassed his own and even her father's.
But the barbarian poison gas seemed unable to harm her. Had she taken some kind of antidote pill?
Jar added, "See, the barbarians' poison can't hurt her. General Li, perhaps we shouldn't go down and be a hindrance. We don't have her skills; going down would only be a death sentence."
Li Man'er's appearance was like a game-changer, rendering the barbarians' poison ineffective. The barbarians were initially caught off guard. By the time they realized Li Man'er was unaffected by the poisonous powder, half their ranks had already fallen.
"We were careless, brothers. This woman is immune to poison." A barbarian wielding a bronze hammer swung it wildly towards Li Man'er. The hammer didn't seem to be solid, but it still looked like it weighed over a hundred pounds. A direct hit would smash bones to dust and pulp flesh.
Li Man'er knew she couldn't confront him head-on. Using her agility, she dodged to the side. Conveniently, another barbarian lunged forward. Without a second thought, she grabbed the barbarian in front of her and hurled him towards the man with the bronze hammer.
No one clearly saw how she made her move. All they knew was that she picked up a person and threw him like an object. He landed squarely on the bronze hammer. The two forces collided with a loud clang. The barbarian who was thrown let out a mouthful of blood, fell to the ground with a thud, twitched twice, and then lay still.
Seeing this, the bronze hammer man was enraged, his eyes spitting fire. He swung his hammer at Li Man'er again.
Li Nian and Jar watched from the city wall, neither of them able to discern how Li Man'er made her move. The barbarian simply collapsed.
She was on a killing spree.
Li Man'er's long saber was not light, but compared to the barbarians' weapons, it was like a child's toy. Relying on her nimbleness, she leaped and dodged amongst the barbarians, her saber swiftly reaping one life after another.
Warm blood splattered onto Li Man'er's face and body, but she paid it no mind. Wielding her saber, she cut down each invading barbarian.
Until only one barbarian remained. Li Man'er rested her saber on her back and beckoned the last one to approach.
Under the moonlight, Li Man'er's face was stained crimson. The air was thick with the stench of blood. Dozens of dead bodies lay sprawled on the ground, strewn with severed limbs and mangled remains. Even the notoriously brave barbarians were terrified.
The barbarian gripped his weapon, mustered all his strength, and turned to flee.
Without a word, Li Man'er's saber became a javelin, hurled with fierce intent. The saber flashed with cold light, piercing deeply into the barbarian's body and dragging him several meters before he fell.
The last barbarian also fell, his eyes wide in disbelief.
He died without understanding how, even though he had turned to flee and was so far away, he couldn't escape her grasp.
"Good! Good!" Jar roared, and a wave of cheers erupted from the city wall.
A great victory!
Li Nian's face broke into a smile. He hurriedly asked Jar to open the city gate and welcome the victorious warrior in.
Li Man'er walked over, retrieved her saber, and began searching the fallen barbarians.
They all carried several pouches of poison. Some had broken, while others remained intact.
The city gate opened, and a small contingent prepared to ride out to meet Li Man'er.
"Don't come any closer!" Li Man'er shouted. "The potency of these poisonous powders hasn't dispersed yet. If you come closer, you'll be at a disadvantage."
Tong Xiao hesitated, unsure whether to lead his men forward or retreat.
Li Man'er looked up and shouted to Li Nian on the city wall, "Third Uncle, there are antidote pills in my room. You go get them yourself. My maid knows where. I'll clean up here first to ensure it's safe. Then you can open the gate, and there's no need to send anyone to meet me; I'll come back on my own."
Jar asked, "Is that alright?"
Li Nian sighed, "This child is determined. Let's listen to her! Don't let the brothers risk their lives for nothing; that would be too much of a waste."
"Alright!" Jar nodded and signaled Tong Xiao to lead his men back.
Tong Xiao dismounted and immediately went up to the city gate tower. He saw Li Nian descending from above.
"General."
"Good, good. You've worked hard." Li Nian hurried down from the tower to fetch the antidote pills.
Tong Xiao ascended the tower and glanced below. He saw Li Man'er searching the barbarians' bodies, and apparently finding one not quite dead, she finished him off with her saber.
She was too ferocious!
Tong Xiao grinned, "General, are all descendants of the Li family this formidable?"
"Heh, I don't know," Jar replied. "I've served under the Marquis for many years and been on the battlefield with him more than once, but the Marquis... he never seemed this fierce."
"Why do I feel like this Miss Li isn't too fond of me?"
Jar snorted, "Are you overthinking things? Is she familiar with you?"
Indeed, they weren't familiar.
"However, Miss Li's medical skills are certainly superb. You didn't see it, but our brothers couldn't withstand the poison, yet she was completely unharmed. Truly remarkable."
At this moment, Li Man'er had collected all the intact poison pouches and temporarily stored them in her spatial artifact. Under the cover of night, no one could see what she was doing.
Li Nian retrieved the antidote pills, distributed one to each of the guards, took one himself, and personally led a group out of the city to meet Li Man'er.