The imperial court is ceding territory from our northern border? Then we'll rebel!

Cang Jia wiped the snow water from his face, looked at the outline of the huge military camp in the distance, and a bloodthirsty smile appeared on his lips.

"Damn it, we finally found it. These cowards really know how to pick a spot."

Behind him were 20,000 vanguard cavalrymen of the Northern Army. Each of them rode two horses, braving the wind and snow, and had been on a continuous raid for two days and two nights.

Although everyone was exhausted, a wolf-like glint shone in their eyes.

"General, when do we make our move?" A lieutenant approached, licking his chapped lips, looking impatient.

"No rush." ​​Cang Jia waved his hand. "The prince said that this time we not only want to kill people, but also destroy their spirit. We need to send a big gift to that old bastard Zhao Kuo first."

He pointed to the blood-stained flags and severed heads carried on the backs of the soldiers' horses behind him.

"Send these things right under their noses. I want Zhao Kuo to know that his eyes have gone blind."

"Hehe, that's a great idea!" the lieutenant laughed. "It'll scare that old guy so much he'll wet his pants."

"Scare tactics alone aren't enough." A sly glint flashed in Cang Jia's eyes. "Pass down the order: let the brothers eat and drink their fill and get a good rest. Tonight, we still have a tough battle to fight."

"A tough battle? General, aren't we going to...?"

"The prince's plan is to besiege the enemy's stronghold and attack their reinforcements, forcing them to defend it," Cang Jia explained. "But that old fox Zhao Kuo is inherently suspicious and cowardly. These flags alone might not be enough to force him out of his shell. We need to add fuel to the fire."

"What kind of fire?"

"Youzhou City!" Cang Jia said, enunciating each word clearly. "Tonight, I will personally lead ten thousand elite cavalry, bypass Panlong Valley, and launch a night attack on Youzhou City! Once Youzhou City is ablaze, even if Zhao Kuo is incredibly patient, he'll have no choice but to come out and face his death!"

The lieutenant gasped in shock.

To bypass the noses of 500,000 troops and launch a surprise attack on their key logistics base?

This...this is insane!

"General, isn't this...isn't this too risky?"

"Adventure?" Cang Jia laughed heartily. "What war doesn't involve risk! The Prince has even launched a campaign in winter; if we, his men, were to cower and shrink back, wouldn't we become a laughingstock?"

"The prince said, 'A merciful general cannot command an army; a warrior must take risks!' This battle must be swift, ruthless, and completely unconventional! We must utterly confuse that old codger Zhao Kuo, leaving him with no idea what our next move is!"

Seeing Cang Jia's confident and fervent eyes, the deputy general's doubts vanished.

Yes, when have we ever followed the rules when fighting alongside the Prince and General Cang Jia?

"Understood! I'll make the arrangements immediately!"

……

The night was so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

At the mouth of a valley thirty miles east of the Panlong Valley camp, Zhao Kuo's third and largest reconnaissance force, totaling five thousand men, was cautiously making its way northward.

Their leader was a fierce general under Zhao Kuo named Wang Chong.

"Get yourselves together, all of you!" Wang Chong shouted in a low voice to his men. "The commander said that if we still can't find any trace of the enemy this time, we'll all be beheaded!"

The soldiers were shivering from the cold, and they were inwardly complaining.

In this awful weather, there's not a soul in sight, not even a ghost. How are we supposed to find any trace of the enemy?

Just as they were complaining, one of the soldiers at the front suddenly tripped and fell to the ground.

"Ouch!"

"Shut up! What are you yelling about!" Wang Chong cursed angrily, and stepped forward to check with his tinderbox.

As the firelight flared up, he saw what was beneath his feet, and his pupils constricted sharply.

That's neither a stone nor a tree root.

It was a corpse.

A frozen corpse.

The corpses were wearing the uniforms of their Youzhou army.

"There are dead people here!"

"Look! There are some over there too!"

As the torches were lit one by one, the scene in the valley made everyone gasp in astonishment.

The entire valley was littered with corpses, lying haphazardly everywhere.

There were scouts they sent out, as well as the garrison at Black Wind Pass.

Hundreds of bodies, half-buried by the heavy snow, remained with the terrified expressions on their faces as they lay dying.

This place is like a giant graveyard.

"There's...there's an ambush!" Wang Chong was the first to react, his voice trembling.

However, it was too late.

The moment he shouted, countless torches suddenly lit up on the hillsides on both sides of the valley.

"Release the arrows!"

A roar, like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

shhhhhhhh!

A dense rain of arrows, like the black scythe of death, swept in from all directions.

The five thousand Youzhou soldiers in the valley instantly became sitting ducks.

They were crammed into the narrow valley, with nowhere to hide or conceal themselves.

Screams and wails instantly echoed throughout the entire valley.

"Charge! Charge out!"

Wang Chong's eyes were bloodshot as he brandished his sword, trying to organize an effective resistance.

But it was all in vain.

The Northern army's arrows far surpassed theirs in both range and penetrating power.

Many soldiers had their armor easily pierced by arrows.

After a volley of arrows, less than half of the Youzhou army remained standing in the valley.

"kill!"

On the hillside, shouts of battle shook the heavens.

Countless northern soldiers clad in black armor charged down from both sides like tigers descending a mountain.

The Uzi steel swords in their hands gleamed with a chilling light in the firelight, and every swing inevitably took a life.

This was a one-sided massacre.

The morale of the Youzhou army collapsed when they saw the valley full of corpses.

Faced with the Northern Army, which seemed to have descended from the heavens, they didn't even have the courage to resist. They only wished they had two more legs and fled back the way they came, crying out.

Wang Chong swung his sword and cut down a northern soldier who rushed forward. He himself was also slashed in the arm by the soldier's dying blow, leaving a deep gash that exposed the bone.

Looking at the hellish scene before him, he felt a chill run through him.

He finally understood what kind of army they were facing.

Excellent equipment, formidable combat power, and a ruthless disregard for human life.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly! Back to camp!!"

Wang Chong used all his strength to let out a final roar.

He knew he might die here today.

But he had to bring this news back to Panlong Valley.

He wanted to tell the commander-in-chief that the enemy... was a hundred times more terrifying than they had imagined!

However, just as he was about to turn his horse around and retreat, a black lightning bolt struck him from the flank.

"Trying to run? Did you ask your grandfather first?"

Cang Jia's voice was like the pronouncement of death.

Wang Chong only felt a flash of light before his eyes, and then the world spun around him.

The last thing he saw was his headless body falling off the horse.