My Cultivation Starting from Archery

Upon the vast expanse of the Great Desert.

The soldiers of Hongze Camp began to construct a pontoon bridge across the broad Agate River using materials collected along the way from the barbarian tribes; this quickly constructed bridge was essentially only wide enough for one person to cross at a time.

The army's crossing of the river would inevitably be discovered, and by then, a retreat would be practically impossible, as the enemy would simply watch as soldiers crossed the bridge one by one.

Therefore.

If they could not achieve victory after crossing, they would face certain death.

There was no way back.

And they.

Fifteen thousand men.

Were tasked with taking down the Great Village ahead, guarded by the Martial Saint, resupply on the go, and swiftly head north to leave this place—all while being encircled and pursued by an army of one hundred thousand.

Even the most skilled military strategists would deem this mission impossible.

...

The Agate River.

The barbarian tribes' Great Village.

"Report—"

"Prince!"

"After passing Fengshuang City, the Hongze Camp pillaged our five tribes as they marched north, their might formidable; they have now reached the Agate River, and by the time they were spotted, they were almost done crossing!"

"..."

"Uncle, they indeed came!"

Prince Yu Wenxin, a mix of excitement and anxiety in his voice, his palm gripping the sword sweaty, proclaimed, "No matter what, I am Chen Sansi's old foe!"

"Back then, he was just an unknown little soldier, and his first enemy was me!"

"Now, his fame shakes the world, and still, it is I who stand in his way!"

"I, Yu Wenxin, am Chen Sansi's old foe!"

"That's the spirit we need!"

Yu Wenjing spoke in a stern voice, "Send the orders down, all troops on alert—if Hongze Camp dares to cross the river, make sure they don't live to return!"

...

Liangzhou.

"Rumble—"

The Blood Sacrifice Array sped up its operation.

The black vortex churned out blood fog that completely obscured the entire sky.

And then...

The sky fell!

Yes, the sky was falling!

Everyone could clearly see that the sky was getting lower and lower and that the distance between the blood fog and the ground was rapidly shrinking, as if it could fall at any moment, swallowing the earth entirely.

"Tat tat tat—"

Walking on the streets, now and then, birds would fall from the sky as their wings touched the blood fog, then dissolve into a pool of blood before the eyes of the onlookers.

"Divine punishment!"

"This... Is this the work of the heavens?!"

"O heavens!"

"Do not panic—"

"There is no divine punishment, it's all chaos caused by the demon folk of the Witch God Sect!"

"The Beiliang Army is outside the city, trying to find a way to rescue everyone!"

The Beiliang Army, trapped within the city unable to leave, naturally took it upon themselves to maintain order.

"Demons?!"

"The demon folk of the Witch God Sect can even cover the skies?!"

The more this was said,

The more panic people felt.

"I've already said, do not panic!"

"There's an army outside the city that will rescue us!"

"Master, if you all are in the city, which generals are outside the city?"

"Lü Ji, General Lü, and Chen Sansi, General Chen!"

"General Chen is outside?!"

Upon hearing this.

The emotions of the people stabilized considerably.

"There's hope!"

"We still have hope!"

"Mr. Chen will surely save us!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

"Strange..."

An Assistant General stopped a civilian and asked, "Why aren't you mentioning General Lü, only General Chen? Is General Lü not brave?"

"Who in the world doesn't know of General Lü's bravery?!"

"But what does that have to do with us?"

"..."

...

Governor Mansion.

"What are we to do!"

Sun Buqi paced back and forth in the courtyard.

Who would have thought.

A well-intentioned Northern Expedition turned out like this.

"This time, even Father is trapped!"

Sun Buqi said, "Does everything really depend on Big Brother and Sansi now? But I heard Sansi didn't go to You State but ran off to the Northern Desert—could something have happened? Then my sister, wouldn't she become a widow before she's even married?"

"Young Master, if you keep spouting nonsense, I'll have to discipline you on behalf of the Master!"

The steward rolled up his sleeves, as if ready to strike.

Though he was called a steward, he was actually one of the earliest brothers to follow Sun Xiangzong.

Sun Li sat in the room, looking through the window at the red clouds in the sky, with cheeks and pupils all reflected in a bloody red hue, making it difficult to see her true expression.

"Second Mother, why have the clouds in the sky turned red?"

Chen Yunxi hid beside the woman, "Everyone outside says, a demon wants to eat us."

"Don't be afraid, Yunxi."

Sun Li clenched the little girl's hand, "Your father will surely take us away. Oh, what did you just call me?"

"Second Mother."

Chen Yunxi said earnestly.

...

Great Wall.

"How is it?!"

"Have all the letters been sent out?"

"Your Highness, they've all been sent! We've also informed them that the Agate River area is now heavily encircled by enemy forces, and it is impossible to go there by any means."

"I hope Chen Sansi comes to his senses in time."

Cao Huan paced nonstop, only sitting down out of exhaustion, "Turning back now, there's still time to participate in the battle for You State, but if not, there will be no way back."

"Almost."

Cheng Wei fiddled with his abacus, carefully calculating the travel time, "General Lü should have almost reached You State by now; if General Chen were to return the same way, he'd only be delayed by about twenty days or so, which shouldn't be a problem."

"Hmm, then..."

"Report!"

A fast horse arrived in front of the tent.

"Your Highness, bad news!"

"General Chen has replied!"

"Not only did they not turn back, but they also sped up crossing the river, saying they want to fight with their backs to the water and chop off Yu Wenjingwen's head to bring back for your Highness with the Divine Eagle!"

"What? Did I not already tell him that the barbarian army is gathering at the Agate River? A battle with their backs to the water, is that not absurd?"

Already displeased by the disobedience, Cao Huan, having urged them in vain, felt anger welling up in his heart as he pointed to the Agate River on the map, "This river is wide, once crossed, there is no way back; I only wanted to save him, can he not see that?"