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

Late at night, in Qinjiacun, north of Qinghe County.

The moonlight, as white as frost, shone on the dilapidated village, casting a ghastly white glow on the charred beams and collapsed earthen walls.

A few months ago, this place was swept away by the iron hooves of the Northern Di, most of the houses were burned down, and the villagers fled in panic.

Su Mu's early warning prevented even greater casualties.

But where can the common people escape to?

After being away from home for two months, the dry rations they brought with them had long been gone, and they had dug up all the wild vegetables and tree bark. The children were crying from hunger, and the elderly were too sick to walk.

Upon hearing the news that the Daqian army had won a victory in Qinghe County and recaptured Yuzhou City, they assumed that the Northern Di people would never dare to set foot in Qinghe County again, so they brought their families and returned to this ruin.

In the few mud-brick houses that were barely habitable, flickering candlelight shone through.

The children were asleep, and the adults sat around the dim oil lamp, talking in hushed tones.

"I heard that Elder Su won a great victory in Yuzhou City, and even killed the general of the Northern Barbarians."

"Old Su is truly the pride of our village. He's a hundred years old and can still fight on the battlefield. That's amazing."

"May God protect us and stop the Northern Di people from coming. We just want to live a peaceful life."

……

Four miles outside the village, in a mountain valley.

Five hundred Northern Di soldiers lay in a dark mass on the back of the hillside, their warhorses with their mouths gagged and their hooves wrapped in cloth, not even having their torches lit.

Under the moonlight, only dark shadows and the occasional glint of a blade could be seen.

The leader was a captain named Chi Na Sang, who was a cousin of Chi Lie and Chi Na.

This man had a rat-like face and a pair of triangular eyes full of malice.

He hated Su Mu to the core. Both of his cousins ​​had died under Su Mu's blade, and he wanted to settle this score day and night.

Chi Nasang reined in his horse, parted the branches, and gazed at the faint lights of Qin Family Village in the distance, a cruel smile on his face.

"Is this the old man's hometown?"

"Yes, sir." The adjutant, Hadan, leaned closer and lowered his voice. "According to our spies, Su Mu is from Qin Family Village. His son and daughter-in-law died at the hands of our Northern Di people, and his precious granddaughter was almost kidnapped as well. This is his home."

A sinister glint flashed in China-san's eyes.

"very good."

"Let's wipe out Su Mu's village, kill all his fellow villagers, and capture his neighbors. Let's see how he can remain calm then."

"No matter how good he is at fighting, he is still a human being, and every human being has a weakness. His weakness is this land that gave birth to him and raised him."

He paused, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

"Send word: surround the village, and do not let a single person escape."

"Kill all the old people, arrest the children, and take them back to Qingzhou."

"When we attack Yuzhou City, we'll push those children to the front lines and see if that old man will fight or not."

"Brilliant plan, sir!" Hadan gave a thumbs up, his face full of flattery. "Winning hearts and minds is the best strategy, conquering cities is the next best. No matter how powerful that old man is, he will hesitate at that moment."

"I'm sure I'll receive a reward from the prince!"

Chinasang smiled smugly and waved his hand.

"Let's do it!"

Five hundred iron cavalrymen surged out of the mountain valley like a black tide, silently encircling Qin Family Village.

……

Above the mountain valley, on a large tree with lush branches and leaves.

You Zhongyi lay on a thick branch, his black clothes blending into the night, only his eyes gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

He held the crossbow in his hand, the bolt already strung, aimed at the most conspicuous dark figure in the mountain valley, the Northern Di general riding a tall horse and issuing orders.

At this distance, he was 70% certain of killing the target with a single arrow.

But he didn't make a move.

Because he always remembered what Old Su had said: "Your brain is more important than your knife."

You Zhongyi slowly lowered his bow and arrow and gestured towards the bushes behind him.

Spread your five fingers, then clench them into a fist.

Free hunting.

Five people per group, leave no survivors.

In the bushes, forty-nine dark figures silently dispersed, like water merging into the night.

The 20 days of grueling training were worthwhile.

These special forces soldiers learned how to move silently in the dark, how to pass orders with hand gestures, and how to coordinate perfectly to surround, divide, and annihilate the enemy.

They are like a pack of lurking wolves, silently approaching their prey, waiting only for the fatal blow.

Zhao Tieniu crouched behind a rock, his crossbow aimed at a Northern Di scout twenty paces away.

The scout was squatting by the bushes, relieving himself of water, completely unaware that death was already at his throat.

"Whoosh..."

The crossbow bolt pierced the air with a very soft sound, like the wind blowing through the leaves.

The scout's body stiffened abruptly, a black crossbow bolt lodged in his throat, and before he could even spit out blood, he collapsed limply to the ground.

Zhao Tieniu emerged from behind the rock, caught his body, and gently placed him on the ground without making a sound.

On the other side, Gu Changfeng hung upside down from the treetop, the back of his mace striking a Northern Di soldier precisely on the back of the head. The soldier passed out without even uttering a sound, and Gu Changfeng then cleanly and swiftly slashed his neck.

You Zhongyi slid silently down from the tree and landed behind a Northern Di centurion.

His arm tightened suddenly, locking the other man's throat, and his right hand plunged a short knife under his ribs, straight through his heart.

The centurion's eyes widened suddenly, and he opened his mouth as if to shout, but his throat was locked, and he only managed a faint "click" before falling silent.

The silent killings spread through the woods in the mountain valley.

Thirty people fell.

Sixty people fell.

One hundred people fell.

The Northern Di soldiers began to sense that something was wrong.

"Hey, have you seen Bagen? He went over there to purge the water, why hasn't he come back yet?"

"I don't know, I didn't see Huhe either."

"There seems to be a sound over there... Shall we go check it out?"

Several Northern Di soldiers, swords in hand, cautiously made their way into the depths of the woods.

After walking less than twenty steps, he tripped and looked down to find a corpse.

His throat had been slit open, the blood had drained away, but his eyes were still open, staring at the dark sky.

"There's...there's an ambush!"

The soldier finally shouted, his voice shrill and piercing in the silent night air.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"Where are they? Where are the enemies?"

"I don't know! I can't see anyone! There are dead people everywhere!"

Panic spread like a plague among the five hundred iron cavalry.

The soldiers, swords and spears in hand, looked around, but could see nothing in the darkness.

There were only shadows of trees, only the sound of the wind, and only the occasional scream.

The screams came from their companions, but when they turned to look, they saw only a fallen corpse; the attacker had already vanished into the darkness.

"A ghost...there's a ghost..."

"This isn't human! It's a ghost! It's Death!"

A young soldier was trembling so badly he could barely hold his knife.

He fell to the ground with a thud, turned and ran, but after a couple of steps, a crossbow bolt flew from the darkness and struck him squarely in the back. He collapsed to the ground, twitched twice, and lay still.

Chinasan's expression also changed.

He sat on his horse, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, looking around, but he couldn't see anything.

He only heard screams coming from all directions and saw his soldiers falling one after another, but he couldn't even see the shadow of the enemy.

"Don't panic! Don't panic!" he roared hoarsely. "There aren't many of them! Gather together! Back to back!"

But his voice was quickly drowned out by more screams.

In the darkness, the fifty black-clad Grim Reapers continued to silently reap lives.

They worked in perfect harmony, their actions were decisive, every strike was deliberate and every arrow was used effectively.

The force of five hundred men was reduced to less than two hundred in less than half an hour.

Chinasan's heart sank little by little.

"Retreat! Retreat!" He finally couldn't hold on any longer, turned his horse around, and charged out of the ravine. Hadan followed closely behind him, both of their faces as white as paper.

Before they had gone a hundred paces, a dozen bloody heads flew out of the darkness, rolled in front of their horses' hooves, and blocked their path.

When China looked down, his pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints.

Those heads all belonged to his soldiers!

The terrified faces and the unseeing eyes looked particularly grotesque in the moonlight.

"Whoa!"

The warhorse was startled, its front hooves rearing up high, almost throwing China Sang off its back.

He gripped the reins tightly, his whole body trembling.

"My lord... what should we do, my lord?" Hadan's voice was already trembling with sobs.

China Sang gritted his teeth and spurred his horse: "Run! Run! Forget about them..."

Before the words were even finished, two black crossbow bolts shot out from the darkness with lightning speed and precision like a venomous snake's tongue.

One arrow pierced Chinasang's throat, while another arrow entered Hadan's left eye and exited through the back of his head.

Both of them froze at the same time, their eyes wide open, their mouths agape, still mouthing the word "run".

Then, they slowly slid off the horse and fell to the ground with a "thud".

The warhorse neighed and galloped away.

In the mountain valley, the remaining Northern Di soldiers, seeing that their captain and deputy general were dead, completely collapsed.

"The master is dead! The master is dead!"

"Run! Run faster!"

Some threw down their weapons and ran, some knelt on the ground begging for mercy, and some collapsed on the ground, unable to stand up.

But those black-clad grim reapers did not let them go.

One by one, heads fell to the ground, and corpses collapsed. Screams, pleas for mercy, and cries of agony mingled together, echoing through the mountain valley.

Another half hour passed, and the valley became completely quiet.

Five hundred corpses lay scattered all over the ground.

Blood flowed like a river, staining the withered yellow grass red.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, which attracted a flock of crows that circled and cawed in the night sky.

You Zhongyi emerged from the darkness, covered in blood, but not a single drop of that blood was his own.

He walked up to the body of China Sang, glanced down at the unseeing eyes, and kicked the head aside.

"Take stock of casualties."

Fifty black-clad grim reapers emerged from the darkness one after another, counting heads under the moonlight.

There were no casualties.

Only two people sustained minor injuries, which were easily treated with bandaging.

"Captain, no casualties, we annihilated 500 enemy soldiers, and cut off all their heads."

You Zhongyi nodded.

"Clean up the battlefield, leave no survivors."

"Then select fifty strong horses for our use, and tether the rest near the village. After this matter is over, have our men come and take them back to Yuzhou."

"The warhorses of the Northern Di people are truly prized!"

"Then take the heads of the leader, the deputy general, and ten Northern Di soldiers."

"Captain, what are you doing?" Tie Niu asked from the side.

You Zhongyi said, "We need to send some gifts to the Prince of the Northern Barbarians!"