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

The north wind howled, and dust flew up on the official road.

Of the original 50,000 Northern Di troops, less than 5,000 remain.

They fled all the way, and finally gathered together in a sorry state.

Those once invincible cavalrymen are now covered in dust, their armor askew, their weapons discarded, like a pack of stray dogs chased by hunters with nowhere to run.

Some had broken arms, some were clutching their chests, and some were lying on horseback, barely alive.

The warhorse was panting heavily and staggering.

Tuoba Han lay prone on his horse, his golden armor covered in dust and blood, his hair ornament askew, his hair disheveled, and his face bruised and swollen. Where was the slightest trace of a prince's majesty?

His eyes were bloodshot, his lips were cracked and bleeding, and his throat felt like it was on fire.

He was not reconciled.

Fifty thousand troops, the elite cavalry of the Northern Barbarians, and the two great warriors of the Northern Barbarians, Man Tu and Man Xiao, were defeated just like that? Defeated by a hundred-year-old man?

"Your Highness, hold on!" the captain beside him whispered anxiously. "Once we reach Qingzhou, we'll have a chance to catch our breath. Qingzhou has high walls and ample supplies; we can hold out for several months without any problem. Then we can ask the King for reinforcements and definitely make a comeback!"

Tuoba Han remained silent.

He just stared intently at the road leading to Qingzhou, with only one thought in his mind!

Faster, faster.

Behind them, the shouts of battle grew closer and closer.

The barbarian owl, mounted on his horse, glanced back.

Su Mu's white horse appeared and disappeared in the dust, and the white-haired figure, like a death warrant, caught up again, impossible to shake off.

Barbarian Owl gritted his teeth.

"Your Highness, you all go first! This subordinate will lead men to stop him!"

He turned his horse around and shouted to the cavalry behind him, "Brothers, follow me!"

Several hundred exhausted cavalrymen gritted their teeth, followed the barbarian owl as they turned and charged toward Su Mu.

They knew that this journey would be extremely risky, with a slim chance of survival.

But they had to stop the old man.

They must protect the prince!

Barbarian Owl charged ahead on his horse, took the giant bow from his back, nocked a wolf-tooth arrow, and aimed at Su Mu.

The arrow pierced the air like a shooting star, heading straight for Su Mu's face.

Su Mu held the Dragon-Slaying Saber horizontally in front of him, flipped his wrist, and the blade stood upright. With a clang, the arrow was deflected and flew away.

The tyrant did not give up.

He drew another arrow, nocked it on the bowstring, and pulled it back sharply.

This time, he didn't shoot Su Mu, but instead aimed at a Daqian captain next to Su Mu.

"Whoosh!"

The captain was charging forward on horseback when, caught off guard, he was struck in the shoulder by an arrow and fell off his horse with a muffled groan.

"General!" the soldier behind him exclaimed, quickly dismounting to help him up.

A sinister smile crept across the owl's lips as he drew another arrow.

The third arrow struck another centurion's horse.

The warhorse neighed and fell, pinning the centurion to the ground, rendering him unable to move.

Su Mu frowned slightly, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

He wasn't afraid of the barbarian owl's arrows; he was heartbroken for the fallen brothers.

"Bring me the bow," Su Mu shouted.

The soldier behind him was taken aback, then took a stiff bow from the saddle and handed it over with both hands.

"Old Su, the bow!"

Su Mu took the bow, his withered fingers gripping the bow arm, and tested its strength.

With a gentle pull, the bowstring vibrated with a "humming" sound.

Then, he squeezed the horse's flanks with his legs, and the Akhal-Teke horse accelerated suddenly, rushing out from behind the shield.

His white hair fluttered in the wind, his hunched body hunched over his horse, his right hand holding a bow, and his left hand drawing two arrows from his quiver.

Both arrows were nocked at the same time.

The bow is drawn to its fullest extent.

"Whoosh...whoosh!"

Two arrows were fired at the same time, their sharp, piercing sound cutting through the air.

The first arrow struck the fourth arrow fired by the owl precisely in mid-air.

With a crisp "crack," both arrows shattered simultaneously, scattering wood chips everywhere.

Barbarian Owl's pupils constricted sharply, utterly shocked!

Intercepting arrows in mid-air?

What kind of archery is this?

Before he could react, the second arrow had already flown in front of him.

"puff!"

The arrow pierced the owl's left shoulder, slipping through the gaps in his armor, and the arrowhead emerged from his back, leaving a cloud of blood.

The barbarian owl let out a miserable cry and his body jerked backward, almost falling off his horse.

He clung tightly to the horse's mane, lying on its back, his face pale and his forehead covered in cold sweat.

"Retreat! Retreat now!" the barbarian owl roared.

He lay prone on the horse's back, no longer daring to raise his head, much less turn around to shoot an arrow.

The excruciating pain in his chest made it almost impossible for him to breathe, and blood flowed down the arrow shaft, staining the saddle red.

He had only one thought in his mind: the old man's archery skills were too good; he couldn't show his face to him.

Two arrows were fired simultaneously; one intercepted the target, while the other struck.

This kind of archery skill is unparalleled; you won't find another like it anywhere in the world.

The morale of the hundreds of cavalrymen following behind the barbarian owl completely collapsed when they saw their commander hit by an arrow.

They turned their horses around and scattered in all directions.

……

The city gates of Qingzhou were tightly closed.

With his remaining troops, Tuoba Han finally saw the outline of Qingzhou City.

A surge of elation, a feeling of relief at surviving a catastrophe, welled up inside him.

"Open the city gates! Open the city gates now!"

He reined in his horse and shouted towards the city wall, "Strategist! Open the city gates! I'm back!"

The captain beside him also shouted at the top of his lungs, "The prince is back! Open the city gates! Are you deaf?"

There was no response from the city wall.

Tuoba Han frowned.

He raised his head, squinted, and looked carefully at the city wall. The figures were not wearing the leather armor of the Northern Barbarians, but the military uniforms of the Great Qian!

I was immediately dumbfounded.

"No...no..." His voice began to tremble.

The captain beside him also noticed something was wrong, his face changing drastically: "Your Highness, on the city wall...the flags hanging on the city wall aren't ours! The Northern Barbarian wolf flags are gone!"

Tuoba Han looked in the direction the captain pointed, and sure enough, it was so.

On the city wall, a flag is slowly being raised.

It's not the wolf-head flag of the Northern Barbarians, but the Azure Dragon flag of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Immediately afterwards, more than a dozen flags were raised on the city wall at the same time, and the city wall of Qingzhou City instantly became a sea of ​​Daqian flags.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

A loud voice came from the city wall, filled with smugness, mockery, and a sense of satisfaction at finally getting revenge.

You Zhongyi stood behind the battlements, hands on his hips, looking down at the disheveled remnants of the Northern Di soldiers below, laughing so hard he almost fell over.

"Tuoba Han! You didn't expect this, did you? Qingzhou City is no longer yours!"

Behind him, dozens of special forces soldiers in black uniforms and armor shouted in unison.

"Qingzhou has fallen to the Great Qian! Tuoba Han, you've lost!"

"Surrender!"

Tuoba Han's body jolted violently, as if he had been hit in the chest with a hammer.

He sat on his horse, his face pale, his lips trembling, and his eyes bloodshot.

His chest heaved violently, and his breathing became increasingly rapid.

"Impossible...impossible..." he muttered to himself, "When I left, Qingzhou still had three thousand garrison troops...the city's defenses were strong...how could...how could you have taken it..."

You Zhongyi laughed heartily.

"Three thousand defenders? Your three thousand defenders were wiped out by us last night! Not a single one was left!"

Tuoba Han's mind went blank with a "buzz".

He finally understood.

Su Mu's delaying tactics outside Yuzhou City were not out of fear or cowardice, but rather a matter of waiting.

Once Qingzhou City is captured.

"puff!"

Tuoba Han's mouth suddenly opened, and a mouthful of blood gushed out, splattering onto the horse's back and into the dust, a shocking sight.

His body swayed a few times on the horse's back, and he almost fell off.

The captain beside him reacted quickly and caught him.

"Your Highness! Your Highness! Hold on!"

Tuoba Han wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, raised his head, looked at the Azure Dragon Banner of the Great Qian Dynasty on the city wall, and at You Zhongyi's smug face, a strong sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart.

He lost.

He thought he had made a perfect plan and that he had driven Su Mu to a dead end.

In the end, however, the one who was truly outmaneuvered was himself.

"Your Highness, what should we do?"

"Qingzhou is gone, and the pursuers will be here soon..."

Tuoba Han gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the churning in his chest.

"Go to Cangzhou."

Tuoba Han turned his horse around, spurred it on, and galloped wildly toward the official road to the east.

The remaining soldiers behind them hurriedly followed, their horses' hooves clattering haphazardly, a scene of utter disarray.

"Retreat! Protect the Prince to Cangzhou!"

"Hurry! Hurry!"

On the city wall, You Zhongyi watched Tuoba Han's disheveled escape, a slight sneer appearing on his lips.

……

Half an hour later, Su Mu led his army to the city of Qingzhou.

He reined in his hands, looked up at the Great Qianlong Blue Dragon Banner fluttering in the wind on the city wall, and a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes. You Zhongyi had not disappointed him.

"Elder Su!" You Zhongyi clasped his hands in a fist salute on the city wall, his voice booming, "This humble general has lived up to his mission! Qingzhou City has been captured!"

Su Mu nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Good, well done."

Qin Hao spurred his horse forward, glanced in the direction Tuoba Han had fled, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Elder Su, Tuoba Han has fled eastward, probably heading towards Cangzhou. This humble general will lead a troop of cavalry to pursue him..."

Su Mu shook his head and raised his hand to stop him.

"There's no need to chase after them."

"Why?" Qin Hao asked, puzzled. "Elder Su, Tuoba Han only has a few thousand remaining soldiers with him, and their morale is low. This is the perfect opportunity to capture him! If he escapes to Cangzhou, it will be much more difficult to catch him later!"

Su Mu gazed at the dusty official road to the east, his eyes calm as still water.

"Cangzhou is easy to defend but difficult to attack, with high walls and thick fortifications. Our forces are currently scattered, our cavalry are exhausted, and our supplies are running low."

"Even if we catch up to Cangzhou, we won't be able to take it in a short time. If the King of Beidi sends reinforcements, we will be put on the defensive."

He paused, his voice hoarse yet steady.

"Instead of risking a pursuit, it would be better to hold Qingzhou and Yuzhou first, recuperate, strengthen the defenses, and then take Cangzhou in one fell swoop when the time is right."

Qin Hao was silent for a moment, then nodded and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Elder Su is absolutely right."

"Although our army won this battle, we also suffered heavy losses. The Northern Di's iron hooves were simply too powerful."

"Let's go, let's enter Qingzhou City!" Su Mu slowly walked towards the city gate of Qingzhou.

On the city wall of Qingzhou, the Great Qian Azure Dragon Banner fluttered in the setting sun.

The city, which had been occupied by the Northern Di people for nearly three years, finally returned to the hands of the Great Qian Dynasty.

You Zhongyi led his brothers down the city wall, clasped their hands in greeting, and shouted.

"We, your humble servants, respectfully welcome Elder Su into the city!"

Behind him, dozens of special forces soldiers shouted in unison.

"Welcome Elder Su to the city!"

Su Mu smiled and rode his horse into Qingzhou City!