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

"brute!"

"I swear I won't be a man if I don't tame you today!"

"Snapped!"

The whip cracked in the air, whistling through the air, and struck the Akhal-Teke horse's rump hard.

He used all his strength to deliver that lash.

The whip tip tore through the air and struck the horse's rump with a crisp sound.

A red mark was left on the white horsehair.

The Akhal-Teke horse's body suddenly stiffened.

"hiss!"

The Akhal-Teke horse let out a deafening neigh, raised its front hooves high, and almost stood upright.

Reflexively, its hind leg kicked backward with tremendous force.

Swift as lightning.

Before Xu Zhaowu could react, the horse's hoof was already at his chest.

"Bang!"

A dull, loud bang.

Xu Zhaowu's body felt as if it had been hit by a thousand-pound weight. He was thrown into the air, drawing an arc in the air, flying more than ten feet away, and crashing heavily to the ground.

"puff!"

A mouthful of blood spurted from his mouth, splattering onto the grass in a horrifying sight.

His face turned deathly pale instantly, his lips turned purple, and a large dent appeared in the bronze armor on his chest.

If it weren't for this armor, that kick would have been enough to kill him.

"Second brother!"

Xu Zhaowen's expression changed drastically, and he rushed over to help Xu Zhaowu up.

Xu Zhaowu leaned against him and coughed twice more, the blood at the corner of his mouth becoming even thicker.

He tried to speak, but only a "hoarse" sound came out of his throat.

Thousands of eyes watched this scene from the sidelines of the drill ground, and the laughter abruptly stopped.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

The force of that kick could be felt even from more than ten feet away.

The ground was dug out by the horseshoes, creating four deep pits and raising dust.

"How much force did that kick have?"

"It must weigh at least a thousand pounds! I can't even imagine what would happen if it kicked me in the head!"

"General Xu probably has several broken ribs!"

Some were shocked, some were terrified, and some secretly cheered.

Zhou Huchen stood next to Qin Hao, arms crossed, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He lowered his voice and said, "That was awesome."

The captains behind him were suppressing their laughter, their shoulders shrugging.

Qin Hao remained expressionless and did not speak. He simply turned his head to look at Xu Shigui on the high platform.

He wanted to see what this general would do next.

On the high platform, Xu Shigui suddenly stood up.

His eyes were fixed on Xu Zhaowu lying on the training ground, his face twitching, his eyes filled with anxiety and anger.

"Zhaowen! Bring your brother back immediately!" His voice was shrill. "Forget about that beast for now! Save him!"

Xu Zhaowu coughed a few more times, and with Xu Zhaowen's help, he staggered toward the high platform.

He took a few steps, glanced back at the Akhal-Teke horse, his eyes filled with resentment and hatred.

Xu Zhaowen handed his younger brother over to the soldiers who ran over, but did not follow them.

He turned around, stood on the training ground, and looked at the white Akhal-Teke horse, his chest heaving violently.

The snickers all around him buzzed into his ears like flies.

"This is General Xu's son? The disciple of the founding general?"

"Not only could he not handle it, but he also got kicked by a horse, hahaha..."

"Shh, keep your voice down, are you out of your mind?"

Xu Zhaowen's face turned pale and then red, and he gritted his teeth, his cheeks puffed out.

His hand slowly moved towards the riding crop at his waist, and he gripped it tightly...

"You beast..."

"It's bad enough that we've become a laughingstock, but you even dared to hurt my brother! You're asking for death!"

He suddenly pulled out his whip and charged towards the Akhal-Teke horse.

"General, stop whipping him!" Su Mu's voice came from afar, hoarse and urgent. "Startling the Akhal-Teke horse will have serious consequences!"

Xu Zhaowen turned a deaf ear.

He was blinded by rage.

At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind: beat this beast to death!

"Snapped!"

The first lash struck the Akhal-Teke horse's foreleg.

"Snapped!"

The second lash struck the Akhal-Teke horse's belly.

The white horsehair was pulled out, leaving streaks of blood.

The Akhal-Teke's eyes turned completely red.

That was no longer anger, but a murderous intent.

"hiss!"

The Akhal-Teke horse reared up and neighed loudly, its neighing tearing through the sky.

Its forelegs are raised high, its entire body is almost perpendicular to the ground, and then it slams down, its forelegs hitting the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust!

It turned around and faced Xu Zhaowen.

Xu Zhaowen's terrified face was reflected in those amber eyes.

Then, it rushed over.

Like a white lightning bolt, like an arrow released from a bow.

Xu Zhaowen was intimidated by that aura.

He instinctively raised his riding whip, wanting to strike again!

"Slap! Slap!"

The whip cracked in the air, but before it could fall, the Akhal-Teke horse was already in front of him.

Then he used a powerful tail sweep to leave.

With tremendous force, its hind hoof struck Xu Zhaowen's chest with lightning speed.

"Bang!"

The sound was like a hammer striking a cowhide drum—dull, heavy, and with a crisp cracking sound like bones breaking.

Xu Zhaowen's body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, tumbled in the air, crashed heavily to the ground, and rolled twice more before coming to a stop.

"puff!"

Blood spurted from his mouth, staining the armor on his chest red.

His face was as white as paper, his eyes were half-open and half-closed, and his consciousness was beginning to fade.

The area around the drill ground was deathly silent; everyone was stunned by the scene.

The Akhal-Teke horse stood in the center of the training ground, its mane flowing, its nostrils flaring, and the bloodstains on its body were shockingly visible in the sunlight.

Its eyes were still red, staring at the immobilized person on the ground. It pawed the ground twice with its front hooves, raising a cloud of dust.

It hasn't stopped yet; it will continue.

The Akhal-Teke horse strode forward, step by step, toward Xu Zhaowen.

horse

Xu Zhaowen lay on the ground, watching the white behemoth approach step by step, its two front hooves, each the size of a bowl, grow larger and larger before his eyes.

He couldn't move his body, his chest ached as if it were about to split open, and he tried to shout, but could only make a hoarse sound.

His eyes were filled with despair.

On the high platform, Xu Shigui's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw this scene.

"Qin Hao! Save my son!" His voice was shrill and distorted. "If anything happens to them, this general will not let any of you off the hook!"

Qin Hao's heart sank.

He disliked the two brothers and wished they would suffer.

But he knew that no matter how incompetent these two men were, they were still vanguard generals personally appointed by the current emperor.

Dying in battle is one thing, but being kicked to death by a horse in the military camp is more than just a matter of losing face.

The Emperor will punish you!

"drive!"

Qin Hao mounted his horse, spurred it on, and the warhorse neighed and charged toward the center of the training ground.

But he was too far away; it was too late.

Seeing this, Su Mu quickly ran towards Xu Zhaowen!

His actions were not to save Xu Zhaowen, but to save the Akhal-Teke horse!

He knew very well that if the Akhal-Teke horse killed Xu Zhaowen, Xu Shigui would definitely try every means to kill it.

The Akhal-Teke horse walked up to Xu Zhaowen, let out a long neigh, and then raised its front hooves high.

The horseshoes gleamed coldly in the sunlight, like two guillotines hanging in mid-air.

Xu Zhaowen closed his eyes.

He heard the sound of horses' hooves clattering in the wind.

"boom!"

Xu Zhaowen opened his eyes.

Two horseshoes, each the size of a bowl, hung above his head, less than a foot away.

But they didn't fall, because a pair of hands caught them.

A pair of thin, withered hands covered with age spots and bulging veins.

The ten fingers of those hands gripped the edge of the horse's hoof like iron clamps, remaining completely still.

Xu Zhaowen followed the hands upwards and saw a hunched figure, white-haired and stooped...

The one who came to the rescue was Su Mu.

Xu Zhaowen was dumbfounded. The centenarian he had just been looking down on, mocking, and cursing in his heart as "the old thing that's about to die" was now standing in front of him, raising his hands above his head and catching the two front hooves of the Akhal-Teke horse with his bare hands.

The powerful charge of the thousand-pound Akhal-Teke horse was stopped by his bare hands.

There was a deathly silence around the drill ground.