The Tyrant of the Great Qian Dynasty: Not only will I refuse to arrange a marriage alliance, but I w

On the horizon, the initially thin black line rapidly thickened and enlarged in a very short time.

In the end, it turned into a boundless black ocean.

The torrent of over 400,000 northern barbarian cavalry, forming a shadow that blotted out the sky, swallowed up the entire plain north of the city.

Countless flags fluttered in the wind, swords and spears clashed, their cold light reflecting in the sun.

"Rumble..."

Hundreds of thousands of hooves pounded the earth, and the earth-shattering roar caused even the heavy city walls of the capital to shake.

The solid ground beneath their feet groaned under the trampling of iron hooves.

On the city walls, many of the garrison troops were temporary conscripts of civilian laborers and reserves from the three major camps of the capital.

They had never seen such a devastating spectacle.

The oppressive aura, formed by the combined killing intent of hundreds of thousands of people, swept over us, so oppressive that it made our chests feel tight and even breathing difficult.

Many young soldiers' faces turned pale, their hands gripping their weapons trembled so badly they could barely hold on, and their teeth chattered.

Some people trembled and slumped on the city bricks, staring blankly out of the city, their spirits extinguished.

"All of you, stand up straight!"

A loud shout exploded on the city wall, its sound carrying for hundreds of feet and drowning out all other noises.

Unlike other generals, Su Zhe did not hide in the safe city tower to command.

He stood personally at the forefront of the wall, letting the overwhelming murderous aura rush towards him.

With a clang, he drew his longsword from his waist, the tip pointing directly at the black sea below the city.

Look at your feet! This is your home!

"Look behind you! There are your parents, wives, children, brothers, and sisters!"

"If you retreat even a step today, tomorrow, the barbarians' swords will be on their necks!"

"Tell me, do you want to be groveling slaves, or heroes who defend your country?"

His voice, imbued with inner strength, resounded throughout the entire northern city wall.

Those soldiers who were originally limp and fearful, upon hearing these words and thinking of their families behind them, had their dim eyes regain their color.

They supported each other, using their weak legs to prop themselves up, and gripped their weapons tightly.

The Northern Barbarian army stopped about a mile from the city wall.

The massive army spread out to both sides, opening a rift ready to devour the heavens and the earth.

From the center of the army formation, a rider slowly rode out.

The man on horseback was tall and imposing, like an iron tower, with a full beard; he was none other than Huyan Ba, the Great Chanyu of the Northern Barbarians.

One of his lieutenants spurred his horse forward, channeled his inner strength, and shouted in broken foreign language. His voice was loud and clear, echoing throughout the entire city wall:

"Listen up, Su Zhe, you good-for-nothing prince in the city!"

"My Great Chanyu has given you half an hour to open the city gates and surrender!"

"Then, offer up your elder sister, Su Yunxi! My Great Chanyu might consider granting you a complete corpse!"

"Otherwise, in half an hour, the army will attack the city, and on the day the city falls, not a single chicken or dog will be spared!"

These extremely insulting words filled the Daqian defenders on the city wall with righteous indignation. Their eyes turned red, and they cursed loudly.

But more than anything, there was a deep fear of that 400,000-strong army.

Half an hour.

This is the final ultimatum.

All eyes instinctively turned to Su Zhe, awaiting his decision.

To fight or to surrender?

Su Zhe did not reply.

He didn't even glance at the shouting deputy general.

He only said to Chen Baipao beside him, "General Chen, do you see that?"

Chen Baipao followed his gaze and saw a dark mass of people below the city, their heads thronging about, which puzzled him.

Su Zhe's lips curled into a smile that was hard for others to understand.

"Those are all walking battle achievements."

Far from showing the slightest fear, he instead displayed the burning intensity of a hunter locking onto his prey.

Upon hearing this, Chen Baipao stiffened slightly, and when he looked at Su Zhe again, his eyes were filled with fervent worship.

Facing an army of 400,000, he was not alarmed but rather delighted.

Throughout history, how many people have possessed such spirit?

Ignoring everyone's reactions, Su Zhe took a crossbow from the guard beside him.

This crossbow was a specially prepared enhanced version for him, more powerful and with a longer range than the standard version issued to officers.

He slowly raised the Divine Arm Crossbow in his hand, facing Huyan Ba, who was riding an arrogant horse a mile away.

Everyone on the city wall thought he had gone mad.

Only a mile away!

At this distance, even the best archer in the army, using the strongest horn bow, would exhaust his strength by the time his arrow reached halfway.

Shooting a crossbow bolt that far? That's pure fantasy!

Chen Baipao also wanted to step forward to dissuade him, but Su Zhe stopped him with a gesture.

Su Zhe poured a surge of pure internal energy into the crossbow bolt.

That ordinary armor-piercing arrow emitted a faint, shimmering light.

He narrowed his eyes, aimed, and fired!

The entire movement was completed in one smooth motion!

"Buzz—!"

A string twanged, sharper than ever before.

The crossbow bolt transformed into a black streak with an indistinguishable trajectory, emitting a piercing shriek, and instantly traversed a thousand meters!

Below the city, Huyan Ba, the Great Chanyu of the Northern Barbarians, awaited the reply from within the city with a disdainful expression.

In his view, this isolated city was already his for the taking.

He even wondered how he would enjoy the legendary, beautiful Princess Daqian after the city fell.

Just then, one of his bodyguards suddenly cried out in alarm and instinctively raised his specially made steel shield to block him.

"when!"

A deafening explosion!

That specially made steel shield, strong enough to withstand sword and axe blows, was actually pierced through by this arrow!

The arrow's force was only slightly reduced, and it flew past Huyan Ba's cheek, leaving a trail of hot blood on his face.

"puff!"

Finally, the arrow pierced the flagpole of the wolf-head banner behind him!

The arrow's fletching continued to tremble, emitting a mournful "buzzing" sound!

The entire battlefield fell into an eerie silence at that moment.

Both the garrison on the city walls and the barbarian soldiers below stared in disbelief at the scene.

Hu Yanba slowly reached out and touched the burning bloodstain on his cheek.

He stared at the crimson mark on his finger, then turned to look at the trembling arrow fletching, his contempt and arrogance vanishing completely.

His face turned into the fury of a beast provoked, and his eyes held an undisguised look of astonishment.

After a brief silence, thunderous cheers erupted from the city walls!

"Your Highness is truly awe-inspiring!"

"The Great Qian will surely prevail!"

The defenders looked at the commander's flag nailed to the city walls, and at the northern barbarian chieftain who had almost been blown in the head by an arrow. The fear in their hearts was dispelled by their hot blood!

Their morale is at an all-time high!

Su Zhe casually tossed away the Divine Arm Crossbow in his hand, as if he had only done a trivial matter.

He gave the order to the messenger beside him:

"By my order, the entire army is to prepare for battle and prepare to meet the siege!"

He looked down at the enraged Huyan Ba ​​below the city walls, knowing that his arrow had exhausted all of Huyan Ba's patience.

The real bloody battle is about to begin.

Meanwhile, in a secluded mansion in the capital, several wealthy-looking merchants were gathered around a map of the city's defenses, whispering and plotting something.

They were the last batch of spies left behind by Zhao Kang.