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

Time seemed to stand still on the training ground.

Thousands of eyes were fixed on the white-haired, hunched old man.

A centenarian caught the two front hooves of an enraged Akhal-Teke horse with his bare hands as it stomped down with all its might.

"My God... Am I seeing things?"

A soldier rubbed his eyes hard and pinched his thigh, wincing in pain, but the scene before him remained unchanged.

"Are you seeing things...? I saw it too! The old man caught the horse's hoof with his bare hands!"

"That's an Akhal-Teke horse! A single horse weighs at least a thousand pounds! When it goes berserk, it's stronger than an ox!"

"Two or three thousand pounds of strength... Are the old man's hands made of iron?"

"Even the strongest person couldn't withstand this! This is divine intervention!"

"Do you think this old man might really be a god descended from heaven? Otherwise, how could a centenarian have such great strength?"

"I think so! Didn't you see him single-handedly chasing down hundreds of Northern Di cavalrymen yesterday and beheading Chi Lie? Could a mere mortal do such a thing?"

"Yes, yes, yes! And that Akhal-Teke horse, it doesn't submit to anyone but him! Even General Qin couldn't tame it, but in his hands it's like a kitten!"

"A god descended to earth! He must be a god descended to earth!"

The discussion erupted like a boiling pot, with each wave louder than the last.

Some people stared wide-eyed, some opened their mouths wide, and some were so excited that tears welled up in their eyes.

Beside the drill ground, an old soldier squatted on the ground, smoking a pipe. Through the swirling smoke, he squinted at Su Mu's retreating figure, and after a long while, he uttered a single sentence:

"I've fought for twenty years, seen fierce generals and strongmen, but I've never seen anyone like this."

He tapped his pipe and shook his head.

"This old man isn't human, he's a god."

A young soldier nearby leaned over and whispered, "Brother, do you really think he's a god?"

The old soldier glanced at him, said nothing, but pointed to the hunched figure in the center of the drill ground, and then to the two rows of deep hoof prints on the ground.

"Could a mortal do such a thing?"

The young soldier swallowed hard and fell silent.

……

Qin Hao was on horseback, still a dozen or so feet away from Su Mu.

When he saw Su Mu rush out, his heart nearly jumped out of his throat.

Qin Hao instinctively pulled hard on the reins.

"Whoa!"

The warhorse was reined in so hard that its front hooves reared up high, it neighed, and spun around in place before regaining its balance.

Qin Hao almost lost his balance, but he didn't care.

His eyes were fixed on Su Mu, his mouth was open, and his lips were trembling slightly.

"This old man..." His voice was dry, as if squeezed from his throat, "...he actually caught the front hoof of an Akhal-Teke horse with his bare hands?"

He blinked hard to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"That's outrageous."

"Could this old man be a god descended from heaven?"

No one answered him.

……

In the center of the drill ground.

Su Mu stood in front of the Akhal-Teke horse, his eyes fixed on the horse's still somewhat red eyes.

"Good horse, don't be alarmed." His voice was as gentle as if he were coaxing a child. "With this old man here, everything will be alright."

The Akhal-Teke horse was breathing heavily, its nostrils flaring open and closed, its chest and abdomen heaving violently.

Its eyes still held a lingering bloodshot hue, and its body was trembling slightly.

But when it heard Su Mu's voice, the bloodshot in its eyes slowly faded.

Its breathing gradually calmed down, its front hooves slowly touched the ground, it took two steps back, lowered its head, and nuzzled Su Mu's shoulder with its nose.

Su Mu reached out, his withered fingers tracing the curve of the horse's neck, stroking it gently.

"Don't worry, it's alright now."

"With this old man here, no one can hurt you."

The Akhal-Teke snorted, rested its head on his shoulder, and closed its eyes.

This scene was witnessed by thousands of eyes, and no one spoke.

The soldiers, who had just been discussing the "descent of the gods," fell silent.

……

On the high platform, Xu Shigui finally came to his senses.

He was completely stunned.

Only when he saw the Akhal-Teke horses quiet down did he suddenly snap out of his daze and shout towards the army:

"Medical officer! Where is the medical officer?"

His voice was extremely shrill, and he looked very nervous.

"Go see my son! Hurry!"

Qin Hao also came to his senses and shouted towards the military camp:

"Medic! Quickly, go and check on the two generals' injuries!"

Several military doctors were already prepared. They rushed out of the crowd with stretchers and hurriedly lifted Xu Zhaowen and Xu Zhaowu onto the stretchers.

The two brothers were deathly pale, with blood at the corners of their mouths, and were both in a daze.

As the stretcher passed by Su Mu, Xu Zhaowen half-opened his eyes and vaguely saw the white-haired figure.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only a muffled groan escaped his throat before he fainted again.

Su Mu frowned slightly as he watched the stretcher being carried away.

He turned around, patted the Akhal-Teke horse's head, and lowered his voice as if he were whispering to an old friend.

"I hope those two brothers are alright."

His voice was so soft that only the Akhal-Teke horse could hear it.

"Otherwise, the General will probably cause trouble for us again."

He sighed, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

"When there's no war, my greatest wish is to stay quietly in the kitchen, chopping wood, fetching water, and basking in the sun. How wonderful that would be."

The Akhal-Teke horse raised its head, shook its mane, and exhaled a breath from its nostrils.

He looked extremely aloof.

It's as if he's saying: Who cares? Let those guys come at me, I'm not afraid of anyone.

Su Mu couldn't help but laugh when he saw its arrogant expression.

"Alright." He patted the horse's neck. "We'll be together through thick and thin."

After saying that, he grabbed the horse's mane with his thin hand, pushed off with his left foot, and leaped up, landing steadily on the horse's back.

The Akhal-Teke horse raised its head, its four hooves lightly trotting, and slowly walked towards the direction of the fire station.

The horses' hooves made a soft "clattering" sound as they trod on the sandy ground.

At the edge of the drill ground, thousands of soldiers automatically made way for each other.

Su Mu walked through the crowd, and the soldiers around him looked at him with eyes full of admiration.

"Grandpa Su is awesome!"

I don't know who shouted it first.

Then, as if a powder keg had been lit, cheers erupted from all directions.

"That old man is awesome!"

"Only you can ride an Akhal-Teke horse with such ease!"

"Truly a god descended to earth!"

"Awesome! Absolutely awesome!"

The shouts rose higher and higher, echoing over the military camp and deeply moving everyone present.

As Su Mu sat on his horse, listening to the cheers, a smile flashed in his eyes.

He didn't turn around, wave, or say anything.

He simply hunched over, riding his Akhal-Teke horse, and slowly made his way forward.

……

Meanwhile, in the cookhouse...

Two hundred or so cooks had already crowded at the camp gate, craning their necks to look towards the drill ground.

As Su Mu strode over with an imposing air, the cooks of the cookhouse were also extremely excited, raising their arms and shouting!

"He's here! The old man's back!"

"Riding a Ferghana horse! How majestic!"

"My God, the old man is truly a lucky star for our cook camp!"

"I've made up my mind, I want to become the old man's apprentice!"

"Yes, me too!"

"Learn horsemanship and swordsmanship from him!"

"If we could learn some skills from the old man, we could even fight and build fortifications in the kitchen!"

Immediately, the two hundred cooks began to discuss the matter.

Even the veteran cooks in their forties and fifties were ignited with fervor by this scene.

"yes!"

"So what if we're fifty? Even at a hundred, Grandpa Su had a heart set on fighting the enemy and serving his country. We should learn from him!"

"Killing one is enough to break even, killing two is a bonus!"

Su Mu rode his horse to the camp gate and dismounted.

Everyone looked at him with an almost fanatical gaze.

A young man was the first to rush forward, taking the reins with both hands and beaming, "Sir, let me help you lead the horse!"

Su Mu glanced at him and handed him the reins.

The young man took the reins, his hands trembling with excitement.

Su Mu had barely steadied himself and hadn't even had time to brush the dirt off his clothes when Zhao Dazui squeezed out from the crowd.

He walked up to Su Mu, took a deep breath, and knelt down on one knee.

Behind him, about two hundred cooks knelt down in unison.

A dark mass of people, all kneeling on the ground.

Su Mu was stunned.