After thanking Ren Hao for stopping the fleeing enemy, General Lady Feng suddenly stiffened.
A moment later her expression hardened again.
"Hmph."
Her crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
"But don't misunderstand."
She lifted her chin proudly.
"I didn't need your help."
"She couldn't have escaped anyway."
To prove her point, Lady Feng suddenly reached down and picked up a small stone from the ground.
Without even drawing her bow, she twisted her waist, planted her foot, and hurled the pebble forward.
The motion was smooth.
Explosive.
The stone shot through the air like a ballista bolt.
A sharp whistle split the night.
CRACK!
The pebble struck the fleeing centaur directly in the face.
Blood burst outward.
Dugu Yan collapsed instantly, crashing into the wheat field with a heavy thud.
Ren Hao stared in disbelief.
That was no ordinary throw.
Lady Feng had just launched a tiny stone with the force of a siege weapon.
But the moment the enemy fell, Lady Feng suddenly staggered.
Her body swayed.
Then she collapsed heavily to the ground.
Ren Hao rushed forward.
"General!"
He reached her just in time to see her clutching her left leg, her teeth clenched tightly.
Cold sweat rolled down her face.
"What happened?" Ren Hao asked urgently.
Lady Feng gritted her teeth.
"That damned spell-caster…"
"When she frightened my warhorse earlier, the beast crushed my leg when it fell."
Ren Hao glanced down.
Even through her armor and clothing he could see the terrible swelling beneath the fabric.
The bone had clearly been broken.
Yet she had still fought through the battle.
Ren Hao felt a chill.
This woman was terrifying.
"I'll help you back onto a horse," Ren Hao said quickly.
"You can ride back to camp."
Lady Feng shook her head violently.
"No."
"If the bone shifts again during the ride, it will only worsen the injury."
Ren Hao frowned.
He remembered basic first aid knowledge from his previous life.
"We need to stabilize it first."
Without waiting for permission, he grabbed several cloth strips from the fallen enemies and searched nearby for straight wooden branches.
Lady Feng blinked in confusion.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm setting a splint."
Ren Hao calmly tore the cloth into long strips and carefully lifted the lower edge of her armored skirt.
Lady Feng froze instantly.
"W-what are you doing?!"
Her face flushed bright red.
She instinctively grabbed the hem of her robe with one hand.
But Ren Hao ignored her reaction and continued his work.
The armor skirt lifted slightly above her knees.
Black silk stockings wrapped tightly around her long legs, disappearing beneath the layers of her robe.
Ren Hao realized something suddenly.
In this era, people didn't wear modern undergarments.
Lady Feng was wearing traditional **thigh-high stockings tied at the waist**, leaving the rest beneath the robe completely bare.
Lady Feng's face turned even redder.
Her hand slowly drifted toward the halberd beside her.
But Ren Hao remained completely focused.
He placed the wooden branches along both sides of her injured leg and began wrapping the cloth tightly around them.
The splint slowly secured the broken bone in place.
After several minutes of careful work, Ren Hao finally finished.
"There."
He stepped back slightly.
"That should keep the bone stable until we reach the surgeons."
Lady Feng tested the leg carefully.
The pain was still there.
But the bone no longer shifted.
Her expression relaxed slightly.
Using her halberd as support, she slowly stood up.
Once she moved a short distance away, her expression cycled rapidly between embarrassment, anger, and confusion.
To hide her emotions, she immediately began binding the captured centaur shaman.
Iron shackles were fastened to the prisoner's hooves.
Her arms were tied tightly behind her back.
A cloth gag was stuffed into her mouth.
A rope was looped around her neck and tail to prevent escape.
Only after finishing did Lady Feng finally turn back toward Ren Hao.
"The spell you used earlier…"
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"That wasn't ordinary magic."
"How did you steal the enemy's spell?"
Ren Hao hesitated briefly.
But since Lady Feng already knew the origin of the ancient bamboo scroll, he decided to tell the truth.
"I deciphered hidden text inside the scroll."
"It described a power called the **Blasphemous Priest**."
Lady Feng's eyes widened slightly.
"I've heard of that path."
"Unlike shamans who pray to gods for miracles…"
"Blasphemous Priests steal divine power instead."
Ren Hao nodded.
"The scroll is incomplete."
"It only describes a few abilities."
"But if we find the full text…"
Lady Feng's eyes suddenly lit up.
"We could both become spellcasters."
She stepped forward excitedly.
"You can read ancient script."
"If we find the rest of that scroll, you must teach me everything."
Ren Hao nodded seriously.
"Deal."
They clasped hands briefly to seal the agreement.
Lady Feng's cheeks flushed faintly again before she quickly turned away.
Then Ren Hao asked the question that had been bothering him since arriving in this world.
"What year is it?"
"What exactly is happening on the frontier?"
Lady Feng's expression immediately darkened.
"The tenth day of the tenth month."
"The sixth year of the Crimson Sun Emperor's reign."
She looked toward the dark northern plains.
"The empire is collapsing."
"The court can no longer afford to maintain the frontier armies."
"Soldiers haven't been paid in months."
"To save money they're replacing imperial troops with criminals, mercenaries, and foreign auxiliaries."
Her voice grew bitter.
"Because of that…"
"We can no longer defend the northern provinces."
"The empire's border has already retreated south."
Ren Hao's heart sank.
The frontier was collapsing.
This world was heading toward chaos.
And he had just arrived right in the middle of it.