Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The boulder crashed into the light barrier, producing a dull thud. The flowing evil light rippled violently in circles. Although it failed to break through the defense immediately, its momentum and its desperate charge were enough to make any defender change color!

Outside the entire East Gate, the sounds of battle were deafening, arrows rained down and stones flew everywhere, and dust filled the air. It was as if all the strength and determination of Gu Rubing's army were concentrated here, determined to open a breach from the east at all costs!

The garrison at the top of Guzang City fell into the trap as expected!

As can be seen, the speed at which the evil light flowed on the city wall increased significantly, and a large number of elite Divine Marching Army troops were rapidly mobilized from other sections of the city wall and inside the city towards the east gate.

The sorcerers dressed in black robes also gathered near the East Gate tower, waving their staffs, chanting incantations, strengthening the evil array defenses of the East Gate area, and using various evil spells in an attempt to stop the surging "main force" offensive from below the city.

Just outside the east gate of Guzang, Zhang Fei's feint attack force intensified the battle. Shouts of battle, the sound of war drums, and the booming of boulders crashing against the evil array's light barrier intertwined, creating a deafening roar that seemed poised to overturn the entire eastern city wall—

Gu Rubing's main force, though seemingly a shadowy force, stood in stark contrast to the commotion to the east.

Surrounded by generals such as Guan Yu and Ma Chao, this assault force, composed of the most valiant and experienced veterans in the army, quietly withdrew from the main battlefield.

Using the complex terrain and the last glimmer of dawn as cover, they moved swiftly and stealthily to the designated attack position outside the northwest corner of Guzang City.

They were like the most patient hunters, or like tigers lurking in the grass, concealing all their presence, waiting for their prey to make a move before striking out.

Every soldier gripped their weapon tightly, trying to catch their breath, their eyes fixed on the section of city wall ahead, its runes glowing in a slightly chaotic and disordered way, covered in eerie moss.

They were waiting, waiting for the battle at the East Gate to attract more attention from the defenders, and even more so, waiting for the arrival of that fleeting, deadly low point in the energy fluctuation cycle of the evil array, which was obtained by the scouts at the cost of their lives!
The air was thick with an intense sense of unease, like the calm before an impending storm.

Almost at the same time that Gu Rubing's main force quietly took their positions, another force, tasked with a surprise attack, shot towards Guzang's flank and rear like an arrow released from a bow!

Zhao Yun led his remaining White Horse Cavalry and all the light cavalry that could be mobilized from the army, totaling about two hundred riders, like a silver whirlwind that swept across the ground, cleverly bypassing the main battlefield area where fierce fighting was taking place in Guzang City.

They followed a desolate and difficult-to-pass path that the roving crossbow captain had repeatedly scouted and confirmed beforehand. With men gagged and horses' hooves wrapped, they minimized any possible noise and headed straight for their target valley southwest of Guzang at top speed!

This cavalry unit was truly one in a hundred, not only possessing superb horsemanship but also being an elite force that was fearless in the face of death.

The warhorses were rigorously selected and trained, and maintained amazing stability and speed even on such a difficult path.

The entire column galloped silently, with only the occasional soft sound of horses' hooves crushing stones and the fine metallic clatter of armor plates rubbing together, all carried on the morning breeze.

Zhao Yun took the lead, charging at the very front of the group.

Clad in white robes and silver armor, he remained as upright as a pine tree even during the intense rush. His gleaming silver spear was held level in front of him, its tip flashing with a cold, resolute glint in the increasingly bright, yet strangely distorted, morning light of the east, swirling with the evil aura of Guzang.

His eyes were sharp as an eagle's, constantly scanning the road ahead and the mountains on both sides to ensure the safety and concealment of the team's journey.

After traveling at breakneck speed for about half an hour, the terrain ahead gradually narrowed, and a valley with sparse vegetation and steep mountain walls on both sides suddenly appeared before our eyes!
Right at the mouth of the valley, there was a rather rudimentary Penglai army outpost, built of rough wood! More than ten stiff-looking corpse soldiers and four or five nimble-eyed Divine Soldiers were patrolling and guarding the outpost.

Clearly, Penglai was not entirely unprepared; they simply believed the place was well-hidden and did not deploy heavy troops there.

"Enemy outpost! Charge with me, do not linger!"

Zhao Yunqing shouted, his voice not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every cavalryman behind him.

Instead of slowing down, he suddenly spurred his horse, and the Jade Lion, mounted on the horse, let out a long, eager neigh, increasing its speed by another three points!

He pointed his gleaming silver spear forward fiercely!
"Boom--!"

No further orders were needed; the two hundred or so iron cavalrymen following behind seemed to be infused with a soul, instantly forming a sharp charging formation!

The sound of horses' hooves suddenly became rapid and thunderous, breaking the silence of the valley!

Two hundred riders, like a raging torrent bursting its banks, or a red-hot dagger, crashed into the makeshift sentry post with unstoppable force!

"Enemy attack——!"

A squad leader of the Swiftfoot Army seemed to sense the ground shaking and barely had time to issue a hoarse warning—

"Bang! Crack!"

Zhao Yun, who was charging at the forefront, transformed his bright silver spear into a silver lightning bolt, accurately knocking away the barricades blocking his way. Then, he swept the spear horizontally, directly sending the shouting Divine March squad leader and his weapon flying. The sound of bones cracking could be clearly heard as the man crashed into the mountainside.

"kill!"

The iron cavalry surged forward! The simple wooden fence was smashed to pieces like paper in front of the charging warhorses!

Before the slow-moving zombie soldiers could even raise their rusty swords, they were mercilessly trampled and crushed by the whistling iron hooves!
Several members of the Divine Marching Army who attempted to form a defensive formation were instantly pierced and sent flying by the spears that came crashing down like a storm!
The whole process is as fast as lightning!

From the moment the outpost was discovered to its complete destruction, this elite cavalry force barely lingered for more than twenty breaths!
The more than one hundred enemies guarding the outpost couldn't even put up an effective resistance before being reduced to a pile of mangled limbs under the iron hooves and guns!
Breaking through the checkpoint, a breathtaking view suddenly appeared before them! The sight within the valley caused even the well-traveled Zhao Yun to slightly narrow his eyes, his heart filled with awe!

In this not-so-wide valley, countless supplies of grain and provisions were piled up like mountains! Bags of grain, wrapped in some kind of rough burlap, were stacked into small hills; bundles of dried hay were scattered everywhere like huge haystacks; and rows of animal meat, cured with coarse salt and emitting a strange, salty smell, were neatly stacked like city walls!

Among these regular provisions were many wooden boxes, completely black, with eerie runes carved on their surfaces, constantly emitting unsettling energy fluctuations. It was unknown what strange things they contained!
The supplies here are enough to support a large army for several months! Undoubtedly, this is an important, perhaps even crucial, logistical supply base for the Penglai army in the Guzang region!

At this moment, the guard force in the valley was indeed relatively weak, just as the intelligence reported by the crossbow captain at great risk showed.

There were only about a thousand Divine Marchers and a small number of black-robed sorcerers. They were clearly alarmed by the sudden breach at the valley entrance and were in a state of panic.

Some junior officers shouted themselves hoarse, trying to get the disorganized soldiers to form a defensive formation, but to little avail.

Not to be missed!
Zhao Yun's eyes flashed with cold light. Without the slightest hesitation, he suddenly raised his bright silver spear and let out a long, clear roar like a dragon's cry.

"White Horse Cavalry! Burn the supplies now! Follow me and kill!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already taken the lead, like a silver lightning bolt, and fiercely charged into the chaotic enemy ranks!
The gleaming silver spear danced like a dragon, its shadows flashing and its sharp glints like a rain of pear blossoms. Wherever it passed, the Divine Marching Army soldiers who tried to stop it fell like wheat being harvested, and not one of them could withstand a single blow from it!
"Burn the grain and fodder!"

Burn them all!

The White Horse Cavalry and light cavalry following closely behind roared in unison, already holding in their hands specially made earthenware jars filled with fierce fire oil.

During the charge, taking advantage of the speed of their horses, they hurled these terracotta pots at the mountains of grain stacks, haystacks, and black wooden crates that emanated evil energy!
"Snap! Snap! Snap!"

The sound of earthenware jars shattering echoed everywhere, and thick, pungent kerosene was instantly spilled all over the place!

The next moment, the rockets, which had already been ignited, flew like locusts, with a mournful whistle, and accurately shot towards the grain and supplies soaked in oil!
"boom--!!!"

It was as if a giant powder keg had been ignited! The extremely dry grain and fodder, upon encountering the highly flammable oil, instantly erupted into towering flames!
The flames licked at everything that could burn, crackling and popping!
The fire, fueled by the wind, spread rapidly into the valley, and in the blink of an eye, most of the valley was engulfed in a blazing inferno of thick smoke!

Thick smoke, like ferocious black pythons, twisted and rolled into the sky, piercing the gloomy sky shrouded in evil clouds. Even from the city of Guzang, dozens of miles away, one could vaguely see the unusually conspicuous fire and ominous black smoke in the southwest direction, which reddened half the sky!

The valley had been transformed into a living hell. Fiery infernos soared into the sky, greedily devouring everything flammable. The scorching heat distorted the air, and the crackling and popping sounds of burning wood and grain sacks filled the air.

The Penglai garrison was completely thrown into panic and chaos. Some junior officers futilely shouted at the soldiers to fetch water to put out the fire, but not to mention that water was hard to find, even if they found some, it would be nothing more than a drop in the ocean compared to the raging fire that had been doused with flammable oil.

Even more deadly was that Zhao Yun's White Horse Cavalry charged back and forth at the edge of the fire like ghosts!

They did not engage the enemy in prolonged battles, but instead used their superior horsemanship and mobility to launch swift attacks specifically on enemy squads that were trying to assemble or carry buckets of water to put out fires!

As the iron hooves trampled and the guns flashed, the Penglai soldiers who tried to put out the fire fell like harvested straw, unable to organize any effective firefighting operations.

"Boom! Boom!"

Several exceptionally violent explosions, as if the earth were shaking, suddenly came from the core area of ​​the fire! A strange, nauseating green smoke rose into the sky amidst the flames, accompanied by burning fragments flying everywhere!
That was the terrifying explosion that occurred when those black wooden crates, engraved with eerie runes, were engulfed by the flames! Clearly, they contained no ordinary provisions, but some dangerous and ominous substance!
The sudden explosion exacerbated the chaos, leaving the surviving defenders terrified and completely losing their will to resist.

Seeing that the entire valley had been completely engulfed by the sea of ​​fire, and that all the food and supplies could not be saved, and that the mission had been exceeded, Zhao Yun made a decisive decision and did not linger in battle!

"withdraw!"

He gave a clear shout, his voice piercing through the roar of flames and the cries of the enemy, reaching the ears of every cavalryman.

They came like the wind and left like lightning! The two hundred cavalrymen quickly broke away from the scattered enemies and regrouped into a mighty torrent of steel, retreating outwards like a tide along the route they had come from.

They left behind a scene of carnage, burning remains, towering flames that blazed across the sky, and countless enemy soldiers writhing in despair and wailing in the inferno.

This elite cavalry perfectly embodies the phrase "swift as the wind, fierce as fire"!
The news that the grain supplies had been burned could not be concealed.

The towering fire and thick smoke were the most striking signal.

Soon, through various channels—the surviving soldiers fleeing the city, the patrolling cavalry on the outskirts, and even the terrified cries of the lookouts on the city walls—this devastating news, like a bolt from the blue, quickly spread back to Guzang City!

Although the high-ranking generals and core sorcerers of Penglai were shocked and furious upon hearing the news, and immediately took severe measures to suppress it, trying to block the news and stabilize morale, how could such a huge change be completely covered up?
Panic spread rapidly through the vast military camp like an invisible plague.

Two hundred thousand troops! The daily food and fodder consumption for men and horses is astronomical! The supplies stockpiled in the southwestern valley are one of the key lifelines for maintaining the operation of this large army!

What does it mean that everything has been burned to the ground? It means that they may soon face the desperate situation of running out of food!

Even those soldiers who were deeply affected by evil magic and whose minds were numb still retained the most primitive and instinctive boundless fear of hunger in their underlying consciousness!
When the thought of "running out of food" took root in the hearts of many soldiers, a strong sense of unease and restlessness began to surge through the Penglai army like an undercurrent.

Careful observers could notice that on the walls of Guzang City, the soldiers of the Divine Marching Army, who originally had empty eyes and only knew how to carry out orders, seemed to have developed a faint, almost imperceptible wavering in their numb gazes, a wavering that was called "doubt" and "fear".

The originally orderly patrol steps seemed to have become somewhat disordered, though not easily noticeable.

The morale of the troops has already been substantially affected!

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!!" (End of Chapter)