At 100 years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter, and became a national war god.

Inside the fortress, as Su Mu finished speaking, everyone watched him in silence.

Xiao Yunchuan was the first to come to his senses, took a step forward, cupped his hands, and asked:

"Master, do you already have a plan to repel the enemy?"

Su Mu nodded.

"The numbers are vastly different in this battle, so we can't fight head-on; we have to outsmart them."

"The Nanguan River Estuary is narrow and easy to defend, but difficult to attack. As long as we make a strong impression and keep the Dongyi people from figuring out our strength, they will not dare to attack rashly."

He turned his head to look at Zhou Shouyi, his voice crisp and clear.

"Commander Zhou, take a hundred guards and have them all go up the city wall. Hang up all the usable flags, one every ten steps, covering the city walls, crenellations, arrow towers, and rooftops."

"Remember... plant the flags as densely as possible, so that the city walls look like they're teeming with people."

"You must have a strong presence; even if you're afraid inside, you can't show it on your face."

Zhou Shouyi nodded vigorously.

"Understood! I'll take care of it immediately!"

He turned and ran toward the city wall, calling out to the soldiers behind him as he ran.

"Get to the city wall! Plant all the flags! And hurry!"

Su Mu then looked at Ye Qingzhou.

"Qingzhou, you are the best swimmer. Pick fifty brothers who are good swimmers and take them into the water with chisels and nails."

Ye Qingzhou's eyes lit up, and he said, "Does Elder Su mean that we brothers should go into the water and salvage the boat?"

"That's right. After the Dongyi army's fleet docks, you can dive underwater. You don't need to sink them all. Just puncture the bottoms of the first few ships and let them sink to block the river."

Ye Qingzhou grinned and cupped his hands in response, "Don't worry, Elder Su! Doing this kind of thing underwater is our Qianlong Village brothers' specialty!"

He quickly selected fifty of his best swimmers to go down and prepare.

Su Mu then looked at Chu Tianba, who became excited when he saw that he was about to be assigned a task.

"Tianba, the rest of the brothers, take them to the open space inside the pass and sweep up the dust with branches and brooms."

"We don't need to make too much noise, but we need to create the impression that there is a large army inside the pass, so that the Dongyi people will think that troops are being mobilized inside the pass from a distance."

Chu Tianba was stunned for a moment, then he understood Su Mu's intention.

"Elder Su, are you making the Eastern Yi people think that we have a large army lying in ambush inside the pass?"

"right!"

"Keeping them guessing is more effective than letting them know the truth."

Chu Tianba clasped his hands in a deep fist salute.

"This subordinate will take care of it immediately!"

He led the remaining brothers of Qianlong Village away quickly, and a moment later, the sound of sweeping dust could be heard in the open space inside the pass.

Dozens of withered branches were dragged on the ground, leaving shallow marks. Dust was stirred up and formed a hazy, grayish-yellow mist in the sunlight. From a distance, it looked as if countless people were shuttling back and forth, with dust flying everywhere.

Xiao Yunchuan quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Master, this disciple requests to fight! Let this disciple lead the charge, so that I can help you scout out the strength of those Eastern Yi people!"

Su Mu glanced at him and shook his head: "No need. In this battle, I will personally lead the charge."

Xiao Yunchuan became anxious.

"Master! You're going out alone; there are 30,000 people on the other side..."

Su Mu raised his hand to interrupt him.

"It is precisely because there are 30,000 people on the other side that I must go out in person."

"Only by intimidating the Eastern barbarian bandits will they believe that there are fierce generals guarding this fortress and a large army covering their rear."

"You are still young and lack battlefield experience. This battle cannot tolerate any mistakes, so you cannot go out of the city to fight."

"You all wait inside the pass. No one is allowed to leave the city without my order."

Xiao Yunchuan pondered for a moment, then nodded solemnly.

"In that case, Master, you must be careful."

"If anything unusual happens, give the order, and your disciple will charge out to help you kill the enemy."

The two sisters, Xiao Zhiqi and Xiao Zhixia, immediately stepped forward and declared, "We stand with Elder Su through thick and thin."

Su Mu turned around, descended the city wall, came to the main road, and then mounted his horse.

The Akhal-Teke horse raised its head and neighed loudly, its front hooves raised high, emitting an excited roar.

The horse's hooves landed, pawing the ground twice, its mane fluttering in the wind, as if it too sensed the impending battle.

Su Mu patted the back of the Akhal-Teke horse and laughed, "Old buddy, it's been a long time since we fought side by side."

"My greatsword has been itching for a long time."

"I suppose you are too."

"This time, we must kill the Eastern barbarian bandits to our heart's content."

Let's go!

After saying that, Su Mu, holding the Dragon-Slaying Saber, walked towards the closed door.

A white horse, an old man with white hair, and a dark gold longsword.

Moving forward slowly.

The horses' hooves clattered on the stone slabs, making a crisp, clear sound that was particularly distinct in the quiet river breeze.

On the city wall, Zhou Shouyi led a hundred guards to plant flags at every crenellation.

The Azure Dragon Banner of the Great Qian Dynasty fluttered in the wind, so densely packed that from a distance it looked as if the city walls were filled with people.

The wind blew across the flag, making a rustling sound like the footsteps of a thousand horses.

On the open ground inside the pass, dust was still flying, and yellowish-gray mist was slowly rising in the sunlight.

From a distance, it looked as if countless soldiers were preparing for battle, and the air was filled with the sounds of people.

At this moment, the first ship of the Dongyi army docked.

The atmosphere outside the pass suddenly became tense.

Dozens of large ships, their sails blocking out the sun, stood on decks densely packed with soldiers.

The bow of the boat broke through the water, creating white spray.

With a command from the commander, the ships behind slowly approached the shore, and thousands of Dongyi soldiers swarmed off the ships and quickly formed ranks on the dock.

A dark mass, with swords and spears clashing and flags waving.

The warhorses were led off the ship, and the soldiers' footsteps echoed loudly on the dock.

Prince Oden rode a black warhorse, clad in dark blue iron armor, his face stern and his brows furrowed.

His gaze passed over the dock and landed on the city wall at the mouth of the South Gate River in front of him.

The blue dragon flags were spread out in abundance, dust swirled within the pass, and the faint sound of what sounded like soldiers and horses running could be heard.

His pupils contracted slightly, and he was surprised.

"General..."

A lieutenant rode forward from behind, bowed slightly, and said respectfully, "General, something seems amiss at the Nanjiang Pass."

"Didn't the scouts say there were only a few hundred soldiers guarding the South Gate River Estuary? But this troop deployment... it's clearly a heavily fortified position!"

The other deputy general also looked grave.

"yes!"

"General, look at those flags! There's one every ten steps, and there are countless figures on the city wall—at least several thousand! This doesn't match the intelligence!"

"But now that we're here, let's not look back."

"With our 30,000 troops, are we afraid of a mere few thousand?"

"Let's press on and charge in!"

Oden-no-miya remained silent.

He squinted, staring at the city gate, his gaze shifting uncertainly.

He reached out to stop the deputy general behind him.

"Don't rush to attack. Send someone to challenge them and test their strength."

He turned to look at a lieutenant on his right.

"Miyamoto Yoshi, go up and challenge them, test their reaction."

The lieutenant was seven feet tall, broad-shouldered and burly, with a scar running diagonally across his brow bone, and carried a heavy iron mace in his hand.

He grinned, and said smugly, "General, rest assured! This humble general will go and meet those Great Qian soldiers right away!"

He spurred his horse forward, rushed to within a hundred paces of the pass, reined in his horse, pointed his iron mace forward, and made a loud, booming sound.

"Listen up, you on the city walls! I am Gong Benyi, the vanguard of the Eastern Barbarians! Who is your commander? Tell him to come out and face his death!"

The shouts echoed across the river, but only the flags fluttered on the city walls; no one answered.

Just as Miyamoto Yoshimasa was about to start cursing again, the door suddenly opened.

A white warhorse slowly emerged.

An elderly man with a hunched back sat on the horse, his white hair as white as snow, fluttering gently in the wind.

The old man, dressed in a gray robe and holding a golden longsword, calmly gazed at the dark mass of Dongyi troops ahead.

Behind him, there was only the darkness deep within the city gate. There were no soldiers, no flags, only him alone.

Miyamoto Yoshi was stunned.

He glanced at the densely packed flags on the city wall, then at the dust billowing inside the pass, and finally at the lonely, white-haired old man before him, and couldn't help but sneer.

"Old man, are you coming out here alone to die?"

Su Mu did not answer.

He simply rode his horse forward at a leisurely pace, stopping about fifty paces away from Miyamoto Yoshi.

Then he raised the Dragon-Slaying Saber, coldly snorted, and said, "You treacherous bastards from the Eastern Barbarians, you have invaded my Great Qian territory and slaughtered my Great Qian people! You deserve to die!"

"You scoundrel, come forward and meet your death!"