A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

The following day, at the entrance of Wangbei Village, Zhao Daxuan, along with Li Erlong and four other soldiers, waved goodbye to Zhao Fubao, Qin Lide, and others.

Chen An limped out and looked at Zhao Daxuan earnestly. "Lord Zhao, I know a little about the Hu language. Let me go with you this time. If there are any prisoners, I can help you find out anything."

Zhao Daxuan glanced at the thin, middle-aged man in front of him with some surprise. He hadn't expected the man to be so aware of his surroundings and to take the initiative to suggest going with them into enemy territory.

Zhao Daxuan pondered for a while. Although Li Erlong and the others understood a little bit of the Hu language, they were not proficient and could only understand the general idea in terms of communication.

If someone fluent in the Hu language could accompany him, that would be ideal, he thought, looking up at the other person again.

"This journey is fraught with danger. Have you thought it through?"

Hearing that Zhao Daxuan seemed to be relenting, Chen An immediately flashed a bright white smile, "Rest assured, sir, I've certainly thought it through. Everything at home has been arranged!"

Zhao Daxuan looked at the other person seriously, smiled gently, and said, "Don't worry, I will do my best to ensure your safety! Can you ride a horse?"

"Yes, sir. My riding skills are passable." Chen An nodded upon hearing this.

At Zhao Daxuan's glance, Zhao Fubao led over two horses and handed them to Chen An. He then patted Chen An's shoulder heavily and looked at him with envy.

"Uncle Chen, take care!"

Afterwards, Zhao Fubao and Qin Lide, along with a group of soldiers and villagers, loaded all the large and small packages onto the backs of their warhorses and then rode slowly southwards.

"drive!"

Zhao Daxuan then had a sudden thought, and with a thought like a rein, his warhorse turned around and shot northward like an arrow.

Li Erlong and the others immediately urged their warhorses on, gripped the reins tightly, and rode after them.

Soon, the group rode their horses across the border of the Great Xia Dynasty and entered the former territory of the Great Xia Dynasty, which was now in ruins.

A boundary stone, half-inserted into the ground, has inscriptions that are now blurred and illegible. On the south-facing side, the characters "Youyun" can be faintly seen.

The official road is no longer in good condition, with only two deep ditches dug out by cart axles or horseshoes remaining. The wheat fields that once stretched along both sides of the road are now overgrown with weeds.

Looking at the scene along the way, Chen An's face showed a nostalgic expression, his lips were pursed tightly, and he remained silent.

Zhao Daxuan and his companions each had two horses: one to ride and one as a spare. When their warhorses began to pant, they would switch horses and continue their journey.

To enhance stealth, Zhao Daxuan kept his perception range constantly active. Whenever he encountered a village or a few scattered pedestrians, regardless of who they were, Zhao Daxuan would lead his team to bypass them.

They traveled north without talking or stopping, only stopping to eat a few bites of dry rations and jerky when they were hungry, or to rest for a while when Zhao Daxuan's spirit could no longer hold up.

Fortunately, Zhao Daxuan recovered exceptionally quickly, and they didn't stop for long along the way. It wasn't until it was completely dark that they found a sheltered hillside to spend the night.

Nothing eventful happened that night, and Zhao Daxuan and the others took the opportunity to rest and recharge. The place they had chosen for the night was relatively secluded, so they didn't have to put in too much effort to keep watch.

The next day, just as dawn broke, they set off again. But after traveling along the official road for only half an hour, just after crossing a hill, Zhao Daxuan suddenly raised an eyebrow and gestured for them to change lanes.

"Sir, what's wrong?"

Li Erlong and the others looked at Zhao Daxuan with solemn expressions.

"There's something going on ahead, we should lay low for a while," Zhao Daxuan said expressionlessly.

Upon hearing this, Li Erlong and the others slightly opened their eyes and looked ahead in the same direction. Sure enough, a yellowish-brown dust cloud rolled in from the front.

But judging from the size of the dust cloud, it didn't seem to be an army of tens of thousands.

"My lord, could that be the vanguard of the Tartar army?" Li Erlong asked, a look of sudden realization on his face.

Zhao Daxuan nodded. In his perception range, a thousand Tatar cavalrymen appeared three kilometers ahead, galloping towards Zhenbei City.

At this point in time and in this number, they are most likely the vanguard of the Tartar army.

Shortly after they turned onto the side road, they heard the continuous sound of horses' hooves coming from the main road several miles away, as well as the slight tremors of the ground.

Li Erlong looked solemn. This was no small force. It was a pity that the terrain nearby made it impossible to scout. Otherwise, the size of the Tartar vanguard would have allowed him to estimate the approximate number of the main force.

"My lord, this is quite a large operation. There are probably over a thousand warhorses, but I wonder how many people are involved."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Daxuan turned his head to look at Li Erlong, surprised that he could make such an accurate prediction.

"You have a good ear, you actually guessed it! That's right, that cavalry force has a thousand men, far beyond our ability to defeat, which is why we need to take a detour."

Li Erlong chuckled, "Of course. Having lived in Zhenbei City for so many years, I still have these basic skills."

Zhao Daxuan smiled, said nothing more, and detoured in the direction from which the Tartar vanguard had come.

They sped along until noon that day, and without Zhao Daxuan's prompting, Li Erlong and the others saw a yellowish-brown column of dust cloud on the horizon 10 kilometers away.

As the sound of horses' hooves grew clearer, like rolling thunder, their faces tightened, and they remained silent, their lips pressed together.

Although they didn't face the army directly, they could feel the overwhelming pressure, which was suffocating.

Five kilometers away from the main force, the ground was already shaking violently, the pebbles on the ground were jumping slightly, and a continuous, low tremor came from underground.

Zhao Daxuan suddenly raised an eyebrow, a slight smile playing on his lips. He reined in his horse and said, "A Yuanlanzi is here!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned serious, and they immediately became more vigilant, looking around.

In a short while, five riders rushed out of the dense forest, three in front and two behind. The three riders in front carried bows, while the two riders behind did not carry bows, but had a bull horn hanging on their chests.

Upon seeing Zhao Daxuan and his group ahead, he immediately showed surprise and uttered a few words in a foreign language.

"@&%#?"

Zhao Daxuan didn't reply. Instead, he spurred his horse forward and galloped away, taking the Sun-Chasing Divine Bow hanging on the horse and nocking an arrow.

Several golden flashes passed by, and two cavalrymen who were about to sound the horn were instantly pierced through the chest by arrows and fell directly from their horses.

The three Tatar cavalrymen in front finally reacted and raised their bows and arrows to prepare to shoot, but they were no match for Zhao Daxuan.

Three more golden lights flashed, striking the bows and arrows in the hands of the three men, shattering their bows into pieces, leaving them with only their hands covered in blood.

The three men's expressions changed. Ignoring the pain in their hands, they gripped the reins tightly and turned their horses around to flee.

But Zhao Daxuan fired three more arrows, hitting the legs of the three men and their horses. The horses neighed and fell to the ground.

The three Tatar cavalrymen and their horses tumbled to the ground, but despite their pain, they struggled to their feet and galloped forward without looking back.

Zhao Daxuan smirked, spurred his horse, and his speed surged again. In just a few breaths, he caught up with the three of them.

As the warhorse caught up with the three men, it kicked them, knocking them to the ground.

Zhao Daxuan used considerable force; his kick left them breathless for a long time, unable to get up from the ground.

Zhao Daxuan sat upright on his horse, coldly watching the three people lying on the ground panting heavily.

At this moment, Li Erlong and the others caught up, took a few steps forward, and slapped the three men several times with both hands, shouting, "You dogs, you think you can get away!"

Without Zhao Daxuan's instructions, the six men divided into two groups, each dragging one person to a different corner to begin their severe torture.

Li Erlong was in a group with Chen An. He grabbed the Tartar's hair and slammed his head against the ground several times, causing the man's face to bleed profusely.

"Alright, now we can begin! How many combat-ready soldiers does your army have in total?"