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

At dawn, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, the city of Yuzhou was still asleep.

Su Mu has already woken up.

For the past month, he has been getting up at this time every day.

At 100 years old, he needs little sleep and naturally opens his eyes before dawn.

It's been twenty days.

After twenty days of grueling training, that special forces unit had selected fifty truly elite members from among three hundred men.

Cross-country running with heavy loads, rock climbing, swimming, wilderness survival, night marching, camouflage and infiltration...

Every training session is an elimination round; those who remain are the cream of the crop.

The Mo Dao, hand crossbow, and Ma Zha Dao have all been completed.

Today, Su Mu plans to lead these fifty special forces soldiers, along with three thousand elite troops, to the deep mountains south of Yuzhou City to conduct a live-fire exercise.

Su Mu finished dressing, picked up the Dragon-Slaying Saber, and was about to leave the tent...

"Old Su! Old Su!"

A series of hurried footsteps came from outside the tent, accompanied by Zhou Huchen's anxious voice.

The tent flap was suddenly flung open, and Zhou Huchen burst in, his expression grave.

"Elder Su, there's movement from the Northern Barbarians! General Qin requests your immediate presence at the government office for a meeting!"

Su Mu narrowed his eyes slightly, said nothing, nodded, hunched over, and strode towards the government office.

……

The main hall of the Yuzhou Prefecture government office.

Before Su Mu even stepped inside, he heard a sound of crying.

The cries were so mournful and heart-wrenching that they sent shivers down one's spine.

Upon entering the main hall, he immediately saw the three children.

Two boys and one girl.

The older one was about sixteen years old, his face covered in mud, and his eyes were red.

The younger one was twelve years old, dressed in tattered coarse cloth clothes, with dried bloodstains on his face, his hair a mess like a bird's nest, and he was crying with sobs.

When Su Mu saw the youngest child, his eyes narrowed sharply.

The little child had two small pigtails, wore a faded floral cotton jacket, was thin and small, had a dirty face, and had big eyes filled with tears...

Su Mu recognized her.

It was the little girl he met in Qingfeng Town, Er Ya.

"Er Ya?" Su Mu's voice trembled slightly, and he unconsciously took a step forward.

Er Ya heard the voice and suddenly looked up.

The moment those big, tear-filled eyes saw Su Mu, it was as if they had grasped at the last straw.

"Grandpa!"

Er Ya broke free from the big child's arms and stumbled towards Su Mu.

She was running so fast that she tripped and almost fell, but she didn't care. She threw herself into Su Mu's arms, grabbed his clothes tightly with her little hands, and burst into tears.

"Grandpa...Grandpa...Grandpa...he..."

She cried so hard she could barely breathe, her words incoherent, tears streaming down her face like broken beads, landing on Su Mu's withered hand.

Su Mu crouched down, reached out and gently patted Er Ya's back to comfort her:

"Er Ya, don't cry, tell me slowly, what happened to your grandfather?"

Er Ya raised her head, her eyes blurred with tears, and looked at Su Mu. Her lips trembled, and her voice was broken and intermittent.

"Grandpa...Grandpa...he was killed. Er Ya doesn't have a grandpa anymore..."

Su Mu's heart skipped a beat; he was quite shocked.

He raised his head, his cloudy old eyes looking at Qin Hao and Zhou Huchen, and asked:

"What's going on? How did a child from Qingfeng Town end up in Yuzhou City? And who killed her grandfather?"

Qin Hao's face was ashen, his fists clenched, and his face was filled with anger.

"Old Su, a few days ago, several groups of Northern Di cavalry, under the cover of night, carried out a... massacre of several villages near Qinghe County."

"Qingfeng Town is one of them."

"These three children are the only survivors in Qingfeng Town."

"They fled all the way to the vicinity of Yuzhou City, where they were discovered by the patrolling brothers and brought back."

Su Mu remained silent.

He slowly stood up and looked at the sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy.

The child's face still had traces of blood that hadn't been wiped clean, and his eyes were filled with hatred and fear.

"Child," Su Mu's voice was gentle, "come here and tell the old man what happened."

The older boy wiped his eyes, walked up to Su Mu, and knelt down with a thud.

"General... we beg you to avenge the people of Qingfeng Town!"

He kowtowed three times heavily, his forehead hitting the blue brick floor with a thud.

"Get up and talk." Su Mu bent down, his withered hand supporting his arm, and pulled him up.

The older child stood up, composed himself, and began to speak.

"Three nights ago... a large troop of Northern Di cavalry, taking advantage of the darkness, sneaked in from the direction of Qingzhou."

"They didn't seem to be here to fight. They had no flags, no bugles, and even their horses' hooves were covered with cloth. They quietly surrounded Qingfeng Town."

"By the time we discovered them, they had already stormed into the town... and were killing everyone they saw."

"They...they took everything edible and usable from the town."

"What you can't take, burn."

They also... they also kidnapped several young women. Those people aren't human... they're beasts...

Er Ya huddled in Su Mu's arms, trembling all over, her voice soft like a wounded kitten.

"Grandpa...Grandpa is standing in front of me..."

"Those bad guys stabbed Grandpa with knives, and he bled a lot..."

Inside the main hall, Su Mu and the others had grim expressions and were extremely angry.

Zhou Huchen roared angrily:

"Beasts! These beasts! If they're so capable, they should go to the battlefield and fight honorably. What kind of skill is it to kill civilians?"

"They're retaliating," Qin Hao said in a low voice. "We fought too fiercely outside Yuzhou City last time, and Tuoba Han, cornered, sent troops to raid the village, trying to force us to split our forces."

Zhou Huchen turned his head sharply: "Divide their forces? What are they planning to do?"

Qin Hao walked to the map, pointed to the location of Qinghe County, and then swiped to Yuzhou City.

"They sent men to raid the villages behind our base. If we send troops to rescue them, our forces will be scattered."

"Once our forces are stretched thin, they can concentrate their superior forces and take Yuzhou City... or Qinghe County in one fell swoop."

He paused, his brow furrowed.

"Tuoba Han's move is quite vicious."

Su Mu remained silent.

He just stood there, hunched over, with one arm around Er Ya.

Silent for a long time.

Su Mu spoke.

"Regardless of the purpose."

"Those who slaughter my people of the Great Qian Dynasty must pay with their blood."

Qin Hao and Zhou Huchen exchanged a glance and then clasped their hands in a fist salute.

"Old Su, what should we do?"

"Should we send troops to wipe out those Northern Di cavalry who launched the surprise attack?"

Su Mu shook his head, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"No need. Sending a large force would be exactly what Tuoba Han wants."

"What he wants is for us to divide our forces so that he can take the opportunity to attack Yuzhou City."

"General, please have the government office properly settle these children."

"As for the rest, leave it to this old man."

"I will make those Northern Di cavalrymen who swept through the villages and slaughtered the people know what it means to pay for blood debts."

After saying that, he turned around and strode out of the main hall.

Su Mu mounted his horse and returned to his tent, immediately summoning a messenger.

"Someone, pass on the order!"

"Special forces, assemble!"