Chapter 4

As the sun set, the blood-red afterglow bathed Zichen in a faint golden light, making him resemble a mighty war god, awe-inspiring and extraordinary.

Whether it was the generals or the common soldiers, their gazes were filled with fervor and admiration, as if they were fans seeing their idol shine.

Facing the attack of a hundred thousand iron cavalry and a powerful immortal master, the soldiers defending the city were all determined to die, but no one had expected that their dire situation would be completely reversed by Zichen’s two arrows.

Just thinking about those two heart-stirring arrows still made everyone’s hearts race. They were truly arrows that shook the heavens and made ghosts weep.

Even Ximen Zhan could not help but secretly admire Zichen’s strength.

Killing the immortal master merely improved their situation a bit, but when he also shot the enemy’s commander with one arrow, the entire formation of the grassland demons was thrown into chaos. Ximen Zhan decisively seized this opportunity, dispatching all the cavalry of Xiliang City, and decisively crushed the powerful grassland demons.

Charging with a total of over ten thousand cavalry against a hundred thousand grassland iron cavalry, under normal circumstances, such a tactic would be suicidal. However, without their commander, the grassland iron cavalry lost their backbone, and the battle turned into a one-sided rout. The Tang Dynasty’s iron cavalry faced no resistance as they cut into the heart of the grassland iron cavalry, causing chaos and a complete collapse within less than a quarter of an hour.

Then came the pursuit, a pursuit where the few chased the many.

This pursuit lasted a whole day, and at least fifty thousand grassland iron cavalry were left behind in this area. Among them, only about ten thousand were killed by the Tang Dynasty’s iron cavalry, while the rest were trampled to death by their own forces. Another twenty thousand chose to surrender, and fewer than thirty thousand managed to escape back to the grasslands.

The Tang Dynasty’s iron cavalry suffered fewer than a thousand casualties. This could be called a complete victory, a miraculous victory. Indeed, such a victory was no longer a miracle but a divine feat, as if only a god could achieve such a perfect victory.

And all this victory was due to the young man in martial attire standing on the wall, with a handsome face. Even though he did not kill anyone besides those two arrows.

"How are you feeling? Have you recovered your strength?" At some point, Ximen Zhan, whose entire body was stained with blood, appeared in front of Zichen, standing shoulder to shoulder with him, looking at the bloody battlefield outside the city. Not long ago, he had personally led the charge.

"Yes, except for the inability to draw a bow in the short term, everything else is fine. General, how was the battle?" Zichen nodded. The two arrows in the morning had drained all his strength. If it weren’t for the unique cultivation technique taught by his master, he wouldn’t have been able to recover.

"The exact numbers haven’t been tallied yet, but I think fewer than thirty thousand will make it back to the grasslands. Zichen, this great victory is largely due to you!" Ximen Zhan smiled.

"Hehe, how does the general plan to reward me?" Zichen, who had just been stern, turned his head with a mischievous grin.

"Ha, what kind of reward do you want?" Ximen Zhan was in a good mood and didn’t notice Zichen’s smile.

"I’ve heard that the general has a beautiful daughter. Why not marry her to me?"

"Get lost..." Ximen Zhan’s face instantly changed, and he rolled his eyes. This little rascal was actually starting to eye his daughter.

Looking at Zichen’s face, which seemed to be asking for a beating, he found it hard to associate him with the war god who had shot the enemy commander and the immortal master with two arrows that morning.

"General, I’ve done such a great deed. Could it be that I’m not worthy of your daughter?" Zichen looked aggrieved.

"Don’t worry, I’ll report your achievements to the court without omitting a single word. As for marrying my daughter, forget it..." Ximen Zhan snorted. This guy had even dared to tease the current princess. Marrying his daughter to him? That would be like pushing her into the fire. Who knew how many women he had outside?

"General, don’t be like that. Look, I’m handsome and not too bad in strength. Being your son-in-law wouldn’t bury your daughter, right?"

"I’m afraid my daughter isn’t worthy of you..."

"That’s fine, I don’t mind..."

"But I do..."

"..." Zichen was speechless. "General, don’t belittle me like that!"

"Zichen, my daughter is only twelve years old. Please don’t set your sights on her, okay?" Ximen Zhan sighed helplessly. This rascal, it was he who was belittling him, not the other way around.

"Alright, I won’t set my sights on your daughter. How about your sister?" Zichen looked hopeful.

"No way..."

"Then your wife’s sister?"

"No way..."

"Your wife?"

"Swish..." Ximen Zhan instantly drew his heavy iron sword, which was still dripping with blood, and placed it on Zichen’s neck.

"Zichen, do you believe I’ll kill you right here?" Ximen Zhan was furious. This rascal was even setting his sights on his wife.

"General, just joking, just joking, absolutely joking..." Zichen waved his hands, looking terrified.

"Hmph..." Ximen Zhan grunted and sheathed his heavy sword.

"Actually, your mother-in-law would be fine..." At this moment, Zichen, no longer threatened by the heavy sword, blushed and lowered his head.

"Zichen..." Ximen Zhan was enraged. This bastard was even setting his sights on his mother-in-law.

"General..." Just as Ximen Zhan was about to kick Zichen off the wall, Lin Hu, covered in blood, rushed up from below.

"Any results?" Ximen Zhan glared at Zichen and turned to Lin Hu, who was responsible for clearing the battlefield.

"Reporting to the general, we have identified the enemy commander..."

"Who?" Ximen Zhan’s face was serious.

"Grassland Golden Khan, Wanyan Biele’s third son, Wanyan Gu..." Lin Hu said excitedly.

"Wanyan Gu? The Demon Prince?" Ximen Zhan was also shocked.

"Damn, I actually took down a prince?" Zichen, standing nearby, was equally incredulous.

This time, the grassland demons’ attack was sudden, and with an immortal master present, they were caught off guard. They hadn’t even had time to identify the enemy commander. Although they had guessed that someone leading a hundred thousand troops wouldn’t be a minor figure, they never expected it to be a prince.

Moreover, from the information they had, Wanyan Gu was a prince deeply favored by the Golden Khan. Now, he had been taken down by Zichen’s arrow?

What... what a tremendous achievement?

The battles between the Tang Empire and the grassland demons had never ceased, especially for the border warriors who were constantly fighting the grassland demons. They had killed countless grassland demons, but no one had ever killed a member of the royal family.

If this battle report were to reach the capital, it would cause a huge stir.

Even if Zichen was a fugitive, this achievement alone would be enough to elevate him to the rank of general, and even a noble title was possible.

Moreover, this time, the entire battle situation had been completely reversed due to Wanyan Gu’s death.

Not just Lin Hu, even Ximen Zhan looked at Zichen with envy. This rascal had such good luck?

"Clatter, clatter, clatter..." At this moment, a rumbling sound of iron cavalry came from the distance. Ximen Zhan and the others were taken aback and looked up to see a black flood of at least ten thousand heavy cavalry rolling in from several miles away.

The soldiers clearing the battlefield also looked up, filled with shock.

After a day of pursuit, Xiliang City’s cavalry was already exhausted, either resting in the city or still gathering. It was impossible for them to have such a formation. Could it be the grassland demons’ cavalry? But their attire clearly didn’t match. This was a heavy cavalry, not the light cavalry of the grassland demons...

"General..." Lin Hu, standing on the wall, was anxious. This was the time when Xiliang City’s defenses were the most lax. If the intentions of the approaching force were hostile, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Don’t worry, they are our people..." As a high-level expert, even from several miles away, Ximen Zhan could see that they were the Tang Dynasty’s iron cavalry, and the most elite of them, the Black Iron Cavalry, which was the direct subordinate force of the Tang Dynasty’s Western Wasteland General, Changsun Ce.

But this cavalry was stationed in the Western Wasteland’s key city, Xizhou. How could they be here? Could it be reinforcements sent by General Changsun?

But Xizhou was hundreds of miles away. According to his calculations, even at the fastest speed, they wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow. How could they be here so quickly?

In just a moment, the black flood had already appeared in everyone’s field of vision. A purple banner with a golden border fluttered in the wind, with a large “Zi” character embroidered on it. Seeing this banner, everyone’s faces turned strange, and they all turned to look at Zichen.

Zichen, of course, had already seen the banner, but his face remained calm.

"Let’s go, I’ll take you to welcome General Zili." Seeing Zichen’s calm expression, Ximen Zhan sighed softly...

[This chapter is dedicated to stars. Xie Chen, who has generously rewarded the book with a generous donation, becoming the first Prince of the book...]

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