I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1193 Gathering of Military Generals
A few days later, news of the disastrous defeat in North Africa reached the front lines in Sicily.

Immediately, the Han army was shaken.

When the scout knelt before Su Yao, his voice trembling as he reported that Guan Yu's army had been forced to retreat, their supply lines destroyed, and over ten thousand soldiers killed in action, the entire central command tent fell silent.

The military strategy book in Zhou Yu's hand fell to the table with a "thud," Guo Jia's gently waving feather fan also stopped abruptly, and even the usually composed liaison officer sent by Cao Cao showed an expression of disbelief.

Only the accompanying Saintess Dina seemed completely unsurprised by all this, merely offering pale words of advice:
"My Lord, the visions of the oracle are being fulfilled one by one. We must not risk marching on Rome any longer."

"Your empire cannot lose you, nor can Samira and I."

Upon hearing this, Su Yao, unusually, did not refute it, but instead frowned, pondering the strange demonic sand.

Seeing this, Zhou Yu took a deep breath and advised, "Your Majesty, such a catastrophic attack is not something an ordinary army can withstand. If the Romans can truly control such power, it would be best for us to retreat for the time being."

As soon as Zhou Yu finished speaking, the generals in the tent all spoke up, saying that His Majesty, being of supreme status, should not take risks, and unanimously suggested that the offensive be postponed.

Su Yao remained silent, then turned to Guo Jia: "What does Fengxiao think of this matter?"

Guo Jia paused for a moment, then said, “Your Majesty, I believe there are many strange things about this matter. The black sandstorm was incredibly powerful and seemed to possess a spirit, specifically targeting our army's vital points, which is certainly unusual. However, if the Romans could truly summon such natural disasters at will, why didn't they use them in the Strait of Messina earlier, or bring them directly to our Sicilian camp? Why did they choose to do it on the North African battlefield, and why did it disappear quietly while our army was engaged in battle with the Roman defenders?”

He paused, looked at Su Yao, and lowered his voice:

"This technique is incredibly powerful, but it must also have many limitations. I speculate that it may require a specific location, a specific medium, or a huge price to be paid in order to use it. The Romans used it in North Africa, firstly to relieve the siege of Carthage, and secondly... perhaps to intimidate Your Majesty and deter me from directly attacking Rome!"

A glint flashed in Su Yao's eyes: "Does Fengxiao mean that this is just a bluff?"

"It's a mix of deception and reality," Guo Jia affirmed. "The intention is to intimidate us, force us to hesitate, and buy us the last bit of time to recharge our 'anchor point'! Your Majesty, consider this: if they could truly act at will, why wait until now? And why must they use their flesh and blood to fill the gaps in our cannon fire during the naval battle?"

Su Yao stood with his hands behind his back, gazing towards Rome, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"So, in other words, they're on the verge of collapse, and that's why they're resorting to desperate measures, revealing their last trump card in an attempt to scare me off?"

"Hmph, then I'll not let him have his way!"

Immediately, Su Yao accepted Guo Jia's judgment and decided to launch an offensive as soon as possible to seize Rome.

but
"Ha ha!"

"Foolish Han Chinese! How arrogant!"

"How can you mortals fathom the power of my Lord?"

It was as if they had seen Su Yao's army.

Just a few days after the first sandstorm attack, the Han army's northern forces were attacked by a strange wind.

Cao Cao and Ma Chao's allied forces were suddenly attacked while crossing the river in Dalmatia Province. The pontoon bridge was destroyed, the ships capsized, and the vanguard was almost completely wiped out. Only a few people, including the commander Xiahou Dun, managed to escape back to the north bank with their seriously wounded bodies, under the desperate protection of their personal guards.

During the fierce battle, he was unfortunately shot and blinded in one eye.

After the news reached him, Su Yaogang led his army across the Strait of Messina and landed on the southern coast of the Italian peninsula, preparing to march north.

This sudden bad news dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the main force.

The destruction of ships by the strange winds, in particular, instilled fear in the officers and soldiers of the expeditionary force, who dreaded being cut off from their own escape route. "Have you heard?"

"It's the Romans' chief god who's working!"

"They can summon demonic winds and thunderstorms; General Guan and General Cao suffered heavy losses!"

"We're deep in enemy territory, and if our retreat is cut off, we'll be completely helpless..."

For the first time ever, an uncontrollable panic broke out in Su Yao's army.

Even the bravest and most loyal Bingzhou veterans trembled slightly with fear upon hearing of the devastation caused by the black sands of North Africa and the eerie winds of Dalmatia. They were not afraid of swords, bows, or crossbows, and could even face thunder and cannon fire head-on, but this kind of eerie attack, which came and went without a trace and seemed like divine punishment, struck at the deepest fears in the human heart.

At this moment, they actually experienced the fear of divine retribution that should only be felt by enemies!

Faced with this situation, Guo Jia had no choice but to admit that his prediction was wrong and expressed his willingness to accept the punishment.

Su Yao helped Guo Jia up, his gaze sweeping over the astonished and uncertain faces of the generals in the tent. He said in a deep voice, "What crime has Fengxiao committed? Your judgment is perfectly reasonable. This time it was the enemy's cunning, not a fault in battle." He paused, then his voice suddenly rose, booming like a bell, echoing throughout the tent and even reaching outside, "Besides, how could such a charade frighten me and my battle-hardened army?!"

He strode out of the tent, climbed to a high point, and faced the increasingly restless army. The afterglow of the setting sun fell on his golden armor, as if gilding him with a sacred glow.

"Soldiers!" Su Yao's voice, imbued with inner strength, clearly reached the ears of every soldier, "The black sands of North Africa, the malevolent winds of Dalmatia, are you afraid?"

A slight commotion arose below, but no one dared to answer, yet fear was spreading silently.

Su Yao sneered, his voice echoing across the land: "I tell you, that wasn't some divine punishment from Jupiter! It was just the Romans running out of tricks, colluding with some cowardly demons and monsters to use some sorcery!"

His gaze swept across the entire army like lightning: "If they truly possessed the divine power to destroy my army with a flick of their wrist, why would they have fought a bloody battle with me in the Strait of Messina? Why would they have stood by and watched me land in Italy? This proves that their evil arts have limitations! They have weaknesses! They are afraid! Afraid that I will strike at their heart and destroy their stronghold!"

These words acted as a reassurance, gradually calming the panicked soldiers and rekindling their fighting spirit. Yes, if the enemy was truly so formidable, why not annihilate them in one fell swoop?
"Since I raised my army, I have defeated the Yellow Turbans, pacified the Central Plains, subdued the four barbarians, quelled the Kushan rebellion, destroyed Parthia, and subdued the Roman governor of the East. What storms haven't I weathered? What enemies haven't I crushed?" Su Yao's voice was filled with an undeniable domineering aura. "Can mere evil winds and demonic sands stop my advance? Can they stop the royal army of my Great Han?"

"No!" finally an officer shouted excitedly.

"No!" More and more soldiers were infected and shouted in unison.

Su Yao drew his sword from his waist, pointed it directly towards the northern city of Rome, and declared loudly: "That's right! No! Evil cannot prevail over good, that is the ultimate truth of heaven and earth! I am the Emperor, appointed by Heaven to rule the four seas! Any evil forces and heretics will only be reduced to ashes before me!"

"Issue my military order!" Su Yao's voice boomed like thunder. "At dawn tomorrow, break camp and march north! I will personally lead you to raze Rome to the ground, drag out those charlatans, and tear them to pieces! The fall of Rome will be a testament to the sacrifices of our soldiers in North Africa and Dalmatia!"

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

"Crush Rome! Slay the evil!"

Amidst the deafening roar of cheers, Su Yao clearly saw that the anchor point's solidification progress had reached 92% following these two major defeats, and he didn't have much time left.
Fortunately, he wasn't fighting alone.

Having sensed that this might be the final battle, Su Yao deliberately used his last period of rest before the battle to ride a Griffin across half the globe and bring back Lu Bu, Zhao Yun, Dian Wei, Xu Huang, Zhang Liao, and others.

Now, with the attacks from both the north and south of Europe faltering, Su Yao simply ordered that the region to switch to a strategic defensive posture, and also brought Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, and Gao Shun along with him.

Therefore, Su Yao's central army is now a constellation of brilliant generals and assembled military commanders.

(End of this chapter)