You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

A few days later, in a remote mountain valley.

The crescent moon hung like a hook, and the night wind whistled through the gaps in the trees.

In the dense forest on both sides of the mountain pass, dark shadows loomed, and only upon closer inspection could one discern that they were countless soldiers lying in ambush among the grass and trees.

Their armor was stained with ink, and their weapons were covered with mud to prevent the moonlight from leaking out. Everyone held their breath, and only the suppressed sound of breathing blended into the night.

Zhang Zhongjian stood beside a giant rock at the highest point of the ridge, his figure almost blending into the shadow of the rock.

He looked down at the winding official road below, which gleamed faintly in the moonlight, his gaze calm.

suddenly.

A series of footsteps came from behind, very light, but breaking the almost frozen silence.

Zhang Zhongjian quickly looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged man dressed in the uniform of a mid-level general, looking travel-worn, walking briskly closer. It was Zhao Qing, the captain he had sent back to Jiankang to deliver the secret letter.

He quickly stepped forward and asked, "Zhao Qing, what did His Majesty say?"

Zhao Qing clasped his hands in a fist salute, slightly out of breath: "Reporting to the Commander!"

"His Majesty said that he has a clear understanding of the situation in Nanxu, and that the Commander-in-Chief need not worry about anything, and can proceed with the established plan without hesitation!"

"His Majesty also said that he will spare no effort in supporting the Commander-in-Chief!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Zhongjian's body visibly trembled slightly, and he stood there stunned, unable to utter a word for a long time.

He actually...

Or should you trust me completely?

The Southern Xu army collapsed in ten days. No matter how many reasons or calculations there were, they were all powerless in the face of the ironclad result.

But he said: "There's no need to worry. Go ahead and do it. I'll support you wholeheartedly..."

Every word of these words was like a heavy hammer blow, striking Zhang Zhongjian's already heavily guarded heart.

This is not a king's leniency towards a defeated general; it is a confidant's entrustment to a fellow traveler!

He recalled the deep look in His Majesty's eyes when he handed him the tiger tally in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. It was not an appointment made on a whim, but a determination made after seeing through the terminal illness of Southern Chen.

Did His Majesty see through the scheme behind my "retreat" from the very beginning?

What kind of courage does that require?

What level of trust?

A mixture of shock, guilt, and an indescribable burning sensation surged within him.

Zhang Zhongjian prided himself on his knowledge of military affairs and considered himself loyal and upright, but faced with such unreserved trust, he felt for the first time the weight of the responsibility on his shoulders was heavier than a thousand pounds!

This is no longer a simple matter of the relationship between ruler and subject, but rather the encounter of a national hero!

"I, Zhang Zhongjian, have never been worthy of such a title..."

He abruptly closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing the burning, sour feeling in his nose.

When he opened his eyes again, all the hesitation and heaviness in them had transformed into a desperate, almost insane resolve.

Your Majesty treats me as a national hero, and I will repay you as a national hero!

Actually, he was overthinking it...

If Lu Zuo were a normal ruler, he would have chopped off Zhang Zhongjian's head long ago!

But precisely because he didn't understand political maneuvering and didn't have many miscellaneous thoughts, and because he knew that changing plans now and replacing commanders at the last minute was too late.

I might as well support them to the end as always!

From a certain perspective, Lu Zuo is really not suited to be a monarch.

It was precisely this unsuitability and lack of intelligence that made him dare to take the lead and delegate full authority to capable people.

tread, tread, tread...

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves interrupted Zhang Zhongjian's thoughts, and his eyes darkened: "They've finally arrived."

He stared intently toward the source of the sound and saw dust rising in the distance, and a long dragon of torches was winding its way toward them—the vanguard of the Sui army, numbering five thousand.

Zhang Zhongjian lowered his voice and said to the messenger beside him, "Pass down the order: proceed according to plan. No one is to act without my command!"

The order was passed down silently, and the breathing sounds in the dense forest on both sides of the ravine seemed to vanish instantly.

At this time, the vanguard of the Sui army had reached the entrance to the mountain pass.

At the front of the column, a general dressed in gleaming silver armor and wearing a scarlet cloak was riding side by side with his lieutenant, chatting and laughing.

"Haha, Vice General Wang, look at the magnificent land of Southern Chen! Before long, it will all belong to our Great Sui!"

"The general is absolutely right!"

Deputy General Wang chimed in, "That Chen Shubao is licentious and tyrannical, favoring his concubines and appointing treacherous officials. He has even destroyed his own foundation by appointing an unknown incompetent like Zhang Zhongjian as commander-in-chief. It's as if Heaven is determined to destroy the Chen Kingdom!"

"Hmph, Zhang Zhongjian?"

The commander scoffed, "He's just a nobody!"

"Nanxu was known as a natural stronghold, but what happened?"

"They were crushed to dust by our army in just ten days!"

"Have we encountered even the slightest decent resistance along the way?"

"They all crumbled and collapsed at the mere sight of the enemy!"

He became increasingly smug as he spoke, his voice rising higher and higher: "Before the iron cavalry of our Great Sui Dynasty, the Southern Chen army is nothing but a bunch of chickens and dogs!"

"At this rate, it won't be long before we're celebrating our victory in the imperial palace in Jiankang!"

Whoosh... Bang!

Just then, something unexpected happened!

A fiery meteor shot into the sky, exploding into dazzling sparks in the night!

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...

Almost at the same instant, a piercing sound tore through the night sky!

Countless arrows rained down from the dense forests on both sides of the mountain pass, so dense that they almost blocked out the moonlight!

hiss hiss hiss...

Countless sharp arrows easily pierced through the leather armor, even pinning the knight and his saddle to the ground!

With just one volley, the arrogant Sui army vanguard was thrown into chaos, losing hundreds of men in an instant!

"Enemy attack!"

"There's an ambush!"

"Quickly, form ranks!"

Warhorses neighed in terror, soldiers screamed in agony, and the Sui army was thrown into chaos!

The king's smug expression froze instantly, replaced by utter horror.

The crossbow bolts were fired so fast and so densely, incessantly, like…

Like a summer downpour beating down on a banana leaf!

Before he could figure it out, earth-shattering shouts of battle erupted from both sides of the ravine!

"kill!"

"Kill them!"

Countless dark figures leaped out of the forest, wielding those strangely shaped weapons that constantly spewed out deadly arrows—the Thousand-Machine Repeating Crossbow!

Sui soldiers attempted to form ranks to resist, but ordinary shields were like paper in the face of such a dense and violent rain of arrows, and were instantly riddled with holes.

What's even more chilling is that the crossbow bolts seem endless, firing almost without pause!

"Kill them!"

Dozens of powerful auras suddenly erupted from within the Sui army formation!

Several military experts, some of whom had reached the peak of the Acquired Realm or were even faintly touching the threshold of the Innate Realm, roared angrily, their protective qi surging as they tried to force their way through the rain of arrows and rush straight towards the direction from which the crossbow bolts were coming.

In their view, ordinary arrows could not penetrate their protective aura at all!

However......

puff!puff!puff!

The crossbow bolts, made with advanced technology from the Qin Dynasty, actually tore through their protective aura.

A master who had reached the peak of his acquired skills watched helplessly as the crossbow bolt pierced his chest, his face filled with disbelief and astonishment, before he fell backward.

"impossible!"

"This arrow... can it penetrate protective qi?"

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The other experts were horrified, and their attacks came to a halt.

Only a dozen or so innate martial artists in the Sui army were able to withstand these terrifying arrows with their superior internal energy!

"Their experts are being suppressed!"

"Brothers, follow me and kill!"

Within Zhang Zhongjian's army, several powerful auras, no weaker than those of the Sui army's innate martial artists, also erupted!

More than a dozen experts from Hundred Ghosts City appeared one after another, accurately targeting the strongmen in the Sui army, and instantly entangled with them, with the booming sound of their colliding energy ringing out incessantly.

At this moment, the ordinary soldiers under Zhang Zhongjian's command had tacitly emptied all ten vortex arrow magazines of their thousand-machine repeating crossbows!

but......

The Sui army's nightmare was far from over.

"Draw your sword!"

At the officer's command, the soldiers did not hesitate to sling the heavy repeating crossbows behind their backs and draw their gleaming swords!

"kill!"

Like tigers descending from the mountain, the elite troops of the Southern Chen Dynasty, who had been resting and recuperating for a long time, launched an attack on the remaining Sui army, which was less than half full and whose formation had been broken!

In an instant, swords flashed and blood and flesh flew everywhere!

Losing the suppression of arrows and suffering a head-on attack, the Sui army was completely plunged into despair.

The mountain valley instantly transformed into a battlefield of carnage!

.......

Two hours later.

The mountains were piled high with corpses and rivers of blood, while the thousands of elite troops led by Zhang Zhongjian had long since disappeared.

Further away, on the horizon, billowing smoke and dust rose like dragons.

The banners of the main force of the Sui Dynasty were like a forest, stretching for dozens of miles.

At the central command post, Grand Tutor Yang Su sat atop a magnificent steed, his golden armor gleaming, his scarlet cloak billowing, exuding confidence and charisma.

Wherever their troops pointed, none could withstand their onslaught!

He was filled with passionate enthusiasm and high spirits!

Since crossing the Yangtze River, the Southern Chen army has been easily defeated. They have not put up any decent resistance, nor have they even had a single battle that caused any delay.

It seems...

Chen Shubao had completely lost the support of the people and the support of the emperor, and he was powerless to even put up a last-ditch effort.

The Southern Chen dynasty was truly rotten to the core.

The Mandate of Heaven truly belongs to our Great Sui Dynasty!

As for Zhang Zhongjian, he was indeed just an incompetent man with a hollow reputation, and he may have already died in the chaos of war.

"Report!"

suddenly!

A shout came from the direction of the vanguard.

Yang Su frowned, reined in his horse, and looked ahead with sharp eyes.

A scout cavalryman, covered in blood and with his armor askew, charged towards the front of the column.

"Grand Tutor!"

"Something terrible has happened!!"

The scout rushed to the front of the horse, panting heavily, and collapsed to the ground, his voice trembling with sobs: "The vanguard... General Wang's five thousand vanguard troops have been completely wiped out in the mountain pass ahead!"

"What?"

Yang Su's smug expression vanished instantly, and his pupils contracted sharply to the size of needles!

completely annihilated?

How is that possible?

Just moments ago, the Southern Chen army was in his mind in complete disarray and collapse, but in the blink of an eye, it was able to swallow up his five thousand elite vanguard troops.

"All troops halt! Stand your ground!"

Yang Su gave the order sternly, then spurred his horse and, with a squad of personal guards and several seasoned military experts, charged toward the scene of the incident like an arrow released from a bow.

The closer you get to that mountain valley, the stronger and more pungent the smell of blood becomes, almost solidifying into a tangible substance.

When Yang Su and his entourage rushed up the hillside, the sight before them made even this seasoned Grand Tutor, who had seen many battles, gasp in astonishment.

The mountain valley has been transformed into a living hell.

The vast majority of the corpses were in the position of falling dead after being hit by arrows. Many people and horses were pinned together by a dense barrage of arrows, their deaths were gruesome.

Those who managed to escape the rain of arrows and die in close combat fell deeper inside, clearly having been slaughtered in the midst of extreme chaos.

"this……"

One of the accompanying generals said in a trembling voice, "What terrifying arrows these are..."

Yang Su's face was ashen. He dismounted and walked heavily into the slaughterhouse.

He crouched down and carefully examined the crossbow bolt embedded in a corpse.

The arrowheads are long and narrow, with strange blood grooves, and the craftsmanship is exquisite, definitely not of the Southern Chen style.

He pulled out several arrows with force, and the arrowheads could easily penetrate light armor and even penetrate deeply into hardwood shields!

Then, Yang Su walked to the corpses of several Sui army experts. The fatal wounds of these people were all caused by these specially made crossbow bolts!

Unending, piercing through the air and armor...

This is no ordinary bow and crossbow!

Is it that repeating crossbow?

That shouldn't be the case...

The repeating crossbow is good for city defense, but not for field battles.

When did the State of Chen acquire such a powerful weapon?

His gaze swept across the battlefield, choosing cunning ambush points and retreating cleanly and efficiently.

This is absolutely not a battle that a defeated army could fight!

This was clearly a well-equipped, well-trained, and experienced elite force that had waged a meticulously planned annihilation battle!

An even more terrifying thought struck his mind like lightning!

Our army has won a series of victories, becoming arrogant and advancing recklessly, and our supply lines have been stretched for hundreds of miles...

Meanwhile, the enemy's main force is hidden in the shadows, possessing such sharp weapons!

Yang Su suddenly looked up and surveyed the eerily silent mountains around him. A chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and a fine layer of cold sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.

"Oh no..."

"It seems we've committed a cardinal sin in military strategy..."

.......

At this moment, in a courtyard in Jiankang City.

The moonlight was blocked by the high walls, with only a few dim lanterns casting swaying shadows under the eaves.

More than twenty monks dressed in robes of various colors gathered in the courtyard, whispering among themselves, their expressions varied.

Some wore expressions of grief and indignation, others had eyes filled with hostility, and still others had bulging temples and deep, concentrated breaths, clearly possessing considerable martial arts skills.

"Amitabha……"

An elderly monk, seemingly the leader, clasped his hands together and said, "Now that the Sui army is marching south, it is the time for divine punishment!"

"We will act according to the Master's instructions, either by spreading rumors to sow discord or by poisoning wells to create panic; if we can find an opportunity, we will burn down that tyrant's granary..."

boom!

Suddenly, the courtyard gate made a loud bang, and the heavy wooden door was smashed into pieces by a huge force from the outside, with wood chips flying everywhere!

"Who is it?"

The monks in the courtyard were shocked and stood up.

The next moment, countless dark figures surged in through the broken courtyard gate like a tide!

Hundreds of Imperial Guard soldiers, armed with powerful bows and crossbows and exuding a murderous aura, instantly occupied the high ground such as the courtyard walls and rooftops. The bowstrings were fully drawn, and the arrowheads gleamed coldly in the moonlight, sealing off the entire courtyard completely!

At the same time, several figures landed silently in various corners of the courtyard like ghosts, their auras cold and ethereal—they were experts from the Yin Gui Sect!

"kill!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...

At the command of the Imperial Guard captain, crossbow bolts rained down like a storm!

At the same time, the Yin Gui Sect experts also rushed towards several monks with innate cultivation.