You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

However, the problem was easily solved after Feng Tianyin demonstrated her divine power in a decapitation strike.

Isn't this a kind of divine protection?

Beside the ruins of the snowy battlefield, the victorious Daqian army roared like a tidal wave.

Everyone cheered in unison, surrounding Feng Tianyin, both for the High Priest and for themselves, since surviving a war was already a small gain.

Moreover, he had made outstanding military achievements.

Everyone present had accumulated some merit, and this time they reaped a great reward, with everyone getting a share.

Just as everyone was rejoicing, a large chunk of snow fell from the mountaintop. Silence fell instantly; no one dared to speak aloud, lest they disturb an avalanche and repeat the barbarian experience.

After a moment of silence to confirm that everything was alright, everyone smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.

They shook hands and hugged each other, their understanding unspoken, requiring no further communication.

A great victory!

In this battle, the most elite force of the northern tribes, numbering 1 men, was wiped out. One can imagine how much effort such a large army had put in. Their equipment, training, and physical fitness were all evident. This loss can be described as a major blow to their morale.

Zhang Zhongsi asserted: "If they gather another 50 main force members out of a population of 1, I wouldn't be surprised."

"But there shouldn't be as many as 1 horses."

While grasslands are indeed natural horse ranches, we must also consider the human capacity to support them. We can't expect everyone to raise horses, can we? Otherwise, what will they eat and drink?

all in all.

It is certain that the northern barbarians could not muster such an elite force with the remaining resources.

Feng Tianyin's ambush was crucial. In a direct cavalry battle, the enemy's archery skills and superior horse breeds would indeed give them an advantage. However, the Daqian army had superior organization and equipment, making the outcome uncertain.

However, the casualty ratio in this annihilation battle was excellent.

Most of the enemies were actually wiped out in the avalanche, and the rest were simply harvested and dismantled without much effort.

In addition, they captured a few officers, further confirming the intelligence...

"My lord, how much fighting strength do you think the enemy has left?"

Feng Tianyin pondered for a moment.

She began to carefully deduce the situation by combining the enemy's equipment, weather conditions, soil vegetation, and intelligence from prisoners:

"Your question is rather general, asking me about the key term 'combat power.' We need to ensure there's no ambiguity in our understanding. Considering the current context, it likely refers to the combat power of the northern barbarians, or more specifically, their war potential. Therefore, based on the above, I conclude that..." (The rest of the text appears to be unrelated and possibly from a different source.)

Even someone as wise as Feng Tianyin often says things that are hard to understand, because they don't comprehend them.

Whoosh!

Her purple eyes sparkled, and her pretty face tilted slightly. Logically, her head should be steaming by now, but thanks to the good heat dissipation in winter, she smoothly concluded:

"The enemy's war potential has been reduced by 30%, so we can attack them."

"There's no need to clean up the battlefield. Let's hurry and take advantage of the fact that the Great Khan's army has not yet assembled to launch an attack on Linchun. We need to be quick."

After saying that, she mounted her horse and took the reins.

The officers nodded in agreement, and those who obeyed the orders were ready to go. The overall strategic direction was to be decided by the high priest.

Then banners filled the valley, thunder roared again, and countless warhorses and chariots galloped northward like a storm through the snow. They moved at great speed, their speed concealed by the snowflakes, heading straight for the volcanic geothermal region deep within the grasslands.

In addition, Feng Tianyin's judgment was based on another basis: Heaven is watching.

..........

Xia He did indeed observe the event midway through; her gaze returned from the depths of the northern desert to the bustling scene here.

What she sees below is actually a "miniature match-3" game, where individual soldiers are smaller than pixels, and the so-called "liveliness" is elsewhere.

The notification bar received a large number of attribute messages in a short period of time.

The Great Qian Civilization has achieved its first annihilation victory, a milestone reached. Army experience gained in this battle is increased by 20%.

[Unstoppable momentum, combat power +2]

[Ambush and encirclement bonus: 10%]

Of course, the barbarians did trigger effects like "fight to the death +10% cohesion" during their desperate battle, but at most they could only hold out a little longer and couldn't change the overall course of the battle.

Once they were ambushed by the avalanche, their demise was inevitable; there were no surprises.

Xia He hadn't expected things to go so smoothly; this move was too ruthless, reversing the balance of power between the enemy and herself.

Unexpectedly, the frequent wars in a short period of time made Feng Tianyin more and more intelligent in military affairs. She, who was not good at scheming, actually chose ambush warfare.

Improved.

Indeed, frequent events are necessary to train the little machine.

The computing power surged just now, and the room was roaring when the "Steam Princess" was activated. I wonder how many variables were mixed in. Is it really that difficult to estimate the remaining combat strength of the barbarians? However, the more comprehensive the consideration, the more accurate the result.

Although Xia He couldn't pinpoint exactly how much of the enemy's war potential remained, it was certainly greatly diminished.

Winter should not be underestimated.

It would be a huge mistake to think that "the Great Qian Dynasty eliminated 1 people and left 49," because an elite main force would carry a massive amount of food and fodder; it was a gamble.

They'll suffer a huge loss if they can't plunder any supplies.

However, the men died, and the border was never breached. It was as if a large winter reserve that was not enough to feed them had been completely lost.

The tactical victory is assured.

"But the most important thing is a strategic victory, and it would be best to make the barbarian holy land pay the price."

"That means we'll have to go deep into the northern desert, and the supply pressure will be huge." Xia He calculated the time: "A round trip, not counting the barbarian raids, the food supplies will only last until we reach the mountain pass."

Therefore, the supply line must be pushed this way, otherwise the victorious army will be in danger.

Military campaigns are not like tourism; they cannot be understood as something that can be done without going hungry for a day or two.

When people are hungry, their overall condition declines, making them more susceptible to diseases such as plague and colds, which in turn can lead to the spread of more illnesses.

Especially in winter.

If food shortages are compounded by hypothermia, even the strongest body cannot withstand it. Therefore, logistical support is under great pressure, and a slight mishap could result in a large number of non-combat casualties.

She looked south to check, and only breathed a sigh of relief after carefully confirming the situation.

The supply line continues to extend, running through the Kurong Mountains.

The war machine of the Great Qian Dynasty has been running at high speed. Previously, only Xia Yi was supplying supplies, but as time went on, the entire country was mobilized. With the capital as the center, supplies were continuously being transported.

Moreover, the border troops don't just stay in the city and never come out; there's no need to just wait around.

The vanguard advances.

A portion of the garrison was stationed at the mountain pass, guarding against an enemy counterattack.

If they encountered a situation where the expeditionary force was being pursued and killed on their return journey, they would block the road to prevent the enemy from achieving their objective. Everything was arranged, and all was ready; they were only awaiting news of their advance into the northern desert.

"From now on, you will completely leave the area of ​​influence of the Great Qian Dynasty."

Xia He could see a military unit venturing far beyond the territory to the grasslands, where the map was still shrouded in mystery.

But there is no doubt that this great expedition is coming to an end.

All that's left is to strike at the heart of the enemy.

Chapter 74 War Under the Volcanic Eruption (6K)

I'm not at ease.

For safety's sake, Xia He still focused her attention on the northern barbarian region.

A small group of barbarian scouts quickly left the ambush area in the valley, while a golden eagle delivered a letter through the heavy snow.

They already know the situation of the battle.

The message arrived before Feng Tianyin's army, which, from another perspective, might not be so bad news. After all, they wouldn't have had time to fully return to their defenses, and their war potential had been severely damaged.

After speeding up their slow journey for a while, Xia He once again surveyed the enemy situation through the prisoners.

Although the first-person perspective provides very little information, it at least allows one to grasp the general direction of events.

Meanwhile, unrest is taking place in Linchun.

"Report."

A swift horse galloped into the city's central camp, revealing a scout on horseback. He was greeted by the weary Khan, Erbala, who hadn't even had time to sit down. He stroked the muscular, scarred tiger beside him while carrying a golden eagle.

Meanwhile, Gedentana, sitting on another chair, was carefully reading the letter.

"Are you here to report the death of Ertu Khan?"

"Correct."

"We all know what happened. It was a painful lesson... The news has spread, and people are unsettled, which is especially troublesome in winter."

The scouts looked around and noticed that there were significantly fewer Khans and leaders sitting in the meeting hall.

They probably don't intend to continue maintaining the so-called coalition.

Although the Great Shaman, Lady Gegentana, could use religious faith to stop people from killing each other, and make the tribe where Linchun was located the leader of the alliance, so that everyone could live a hard life together, the Great War was different.

The grasslands have been at peace for a long time. Getting everyone to contribute their manpower and resources to assemble an army is another matter entirely; it's a life-or-death situation with a slim chance of survival.

If it weren't for the Great White Disaster, they would never have considered launching a joint attack on Daqian.

The same reason.

If it weren't for this failure, they wouldn't have given up.

Great Khan Erbala's lobbying efforts have been very successful, securing the participation of the vast majority of tribes.

But they deliberately revealed the news of the disastrous defeat at the front. This elite force of 1 men was cobbled together by everyone, and they were all related by blood. How could they bear the loss of the entire army being wiped out? How could they possibly salvage the situation?

The Daqian army's terrifying fighting power was beyond imagination, and their schemes were extremely insidious.

Outrageous!

Anger aside, the defeat also brought many people to their senses, and many Khans began to reconsider whether "our all-out attack on the Great Qian was worthwhile," especially given what had just happened: the Heavenly Dao had directly suppressed the Eternal Heaven.

The dual defeats in military and religious affairs severely dampened their morale.