Mona's eyes immediately filled with heightened vigilance, and the elven soldiers gripped their spears tightly, closely watching their surroundings. As for the man on the ground, he was trembling with fear and almost at his end.

"Tap tap tap tap." At this moment, the sound of horse hooves approached from the distance, growing louder and clearer. Judging by the sound, there were more than a few. Mona felt a tinge of nervousness—if there were many of them, an entanglement would be disadvantageous.

"Whinny whinny." Half a minute later, a tall horse clad in iron armor abruptly appeared before the elves. Ye Shikai was wearing a leather helmet and dark armor, with a black cloak draped over his back, holding a polearm in his hand, a longsword hanging on the right side of the horse and a bow on the left.

At the same time, a cavalry troop clad in iron armor quickly followed, brandishing bronze halberds with crossbows hanging on one side of their horses.

Mona stared steadfastly at Ye Shikai, not for any other reason but because Ye Shikai had a robust stature, was skilled in archery and horsemanship, and had a resolute facial complexion, clearly bearing the demeanor of a great general. To Mona, he was also the most dangerous opponent.

"General, they're elves," Shangguan Jian seemed to recognize the elves; a look of astonishment appeared on his face. The elf kind was something Shangguan Jian only heard about from the elderly, residing deep in the mountains. He never expected to actually encounter them.

"Never thought they would actually be elves," Ye Shikai also showed a hint of surprise in his eyes. It had always been hearsay, but now he was seeing them in the flesh. What's more crucial was that there were more than twenty corpses lying on the ground—all humans. It was clear who was responsible.

"General, General... please save me," pleaded the man lying on the ground, on seeing Ye Shikai and his troops, as if he had seen a savior, he rushed into the cavalry troop, wailing for help.

"General, it was them, they killed my people," the man pointed excitedly at the group of elves. A few traces of chill flashed in Ye Shikai's eyes. These people were the mountain bandits mentioned by authorities, who should have been brought to justice by the law, not killed by members of another race.

"Who are you people, daring to kill the citizens of Great Qin?" Ye Shikai rode his horse, slowly approaching the elves.

"So, it's a human general, hmph," Mona snorted coldly, not intimidated by Ye Shikai but rather showing disdain, which was typical of elves' attitude towards humans.

"Surround them," Ye Shikai commanded loudly, and the cavalrymen immediately encircled the elves from both sides, trapping them in the middle.

"Daring to kill indiscriminately on the territory of Great Qin is a provocation to Great Qin," Ye Shikai raised his polearm, "Put down your weapons, and I can give you a way out."

"Ha ha, you humans are still so inferior, do you think we elves are as weak as you?" Mona laughed after hearing this, and the elven soldiers around her also sneered dismissively at Ye Shikai's words.

After hearing this, Ye Shikai's face turned ashen with rage; these elves had killed people of the Qin Country and still had the audacity to speak such bold words.

"I never fight women, I'll give you one more chance to surrender," Ye Shikai said coldly, his body trembling slightly with rage.

"General, if on the battlefield, all your opponents happen to be women, would you not fight and simply surrender?" Mona said indifferently, and, as her voice fell, the elven Soldiers around her couldn't help but laugh out loud. Ye Shikai's cavalry behind him, however, had faces filled with indignation. 'Men should not fight women' is a traditional concept, yet it became these elves' brazen capital, their "shield."

"I never fight women, but you are a female elf, which hardly counts as human," Ye Shikai slowly dismounted from his horse, planting his polearm into the ground.

"Though you're not human, you're still a female, so I need not use a polearm," taking the longsword from the side of his horse, Ye Shikai drew it from its sheath, the sword light gleaming, clearly a famous blade.

"Come on." Ye Shikai adopted a combat stance, a trace of surprise flashing in Mona's eyes. She had seen plenty of humans, who would flee like they had seen a ghost at the sight of an elf, yet here was a general standing fearlessly before her, proud but not arrogant. Glancing at his cavalry, their military bearing was strict, their eyes brimming with combat spirit—perhaps this was indeed the elite force of humankind. Mona opened her palm, gripping a longsword tightly in her hand.

With a loud shout, Mona made the first move, her rapier thrusting straight at the glabella at such speed that it nearly left an afterimage. Ye Shikai swiftly dodged and counterattacked with his sword. Mona immediately withdrew to parry. The weapons clashed with a crisp sound. In this first exchange, Ye Shikai shifted from defense to offense and surprisingly gained the upper hand.

"Good, good, good." Soldiers at the side cheered, rooting for Ye Shikai.

"Human, it seems I have underestimated you," Mona said with a smile at the corner of her mouth, acknowledging that there were indeed some skilled fighters among humans.

"So, are you willing to surrender now?" Ye Shikai said expressionlessly.

"Heh, impossible," Mona retorted. As her voice fell, she lunged with another thrust at his chest. Ye Shikai's arm shook vigorously as he parried with his longsword, but when Mona switched to another thrust, Shikai couldn't deflect it and had to roll with the motion, quickly getting back on his feet and counter-striking with his sword, only to miss.

"Even a strong general is but a mere mortal," Mona quipped cunningly. Her previous move had been powered by Inner Strength, enhancing both speed and force. Although Shikai was a master of martial arts, he was only flesh and blood, devoid of any Inner Strength.

"Thump, thump, thump." At this moment, a series of distant drumming sounds emerged, causing Mona's expression to change immediately.

"Mona, this is the call to assemble; let's retreat for now," said an elf beside her. Mona's face showed displeasure as she sheathed her longsword and turned to look at Ye Shikai.

"Human, I have matters to attend to today; I must take my leave," Mona said, somewhat reluctantly.

"Regroup," Ye Shikai finally commanded after a while.

"Yes, General."

Ye Shikai sighed. He had heard of the elf race, reputed to be highly skilled in Qinggong and adept at spells. If entangled in battle, it could inevitably lead to casualties among the cavalry. Moreover, today's duel had given him a new perspective on the elves.

"Wait a moment, human," Mona suddenly called out to Ye Shikai.

"What's your name?"

"Ye Shikai."

"I'm Mona. Until we meet again, I hope we can have a thrilling battle." Mona smiled, lightly tapping her toes and leaping onto a tree branch, while the other elves also jumped onto the trees, using the dense forest to retreat.

"General, why didn't you let the brothers charge?" Shangguan Jian asked, curious.

"We have other missions, don't get delayed here for too long." Ye Shikai sheathed his longsword and mounted his horse.

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