My Cultivation Starting from Archery

"Immortal Master Cui! Twentieth Brother!"

Cao Huan hurried forward to greet them, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "Good, good, it's good that you've returned alive! Where is Chen Aiqing, is he still alive? Are we to flee to Beiliang now?"

"How many troops are left?!"

The Minister of War, Ming Qingfeng, struggled to his feet in a disheveled state and said mournfully: "Could it be that the entire army has really been wiped out?"

"What are you talking about?"

Cui Zhichen frowned and said: "Chen Sansi set Chibi ablaze days ago, utterly defeating the enemy army. The 400,000-strong naval forces of Jiangnan have vanished into thin air."

Vanished into thin air!

"Utterly defeated the enemy army?!"

Cao Huan was shocked.

...

Capital City.

Zhongjue Hall.

"Chen the Hunter was only capable of such petty tricks!"

Regent King Qin said coldly: "Sending troops through Ziwu Valley, it sounded impressive, but in the end, didn't he just scurry back to Chibi to meet his death!"

"This person truly deserves death!"

The Minister of Revenue, Tian Guang, cursed: "Before losing the battle, he even destroyed our army's massive supplies!"

The Assistant Minister of War, staring at the sand table, said: "After Chibi, Chen Sansi might not be dead. I believe we should send the Ling Family's Ancestor and Immortal Master Dan Liangcheng personally to hunt him down."

"Let's calculate the days."

Yan Maoxing stroked his beard and said: "The battle report from Chibi should have arrived by now, right?"

As everyone awaited with great anticipation.

Finally, there came some movement from outside.

"Prince Qi!"

"His Highness Prince Qi has returned!"

"..."

Upon hearing the words.

Everyone crowded outside the hall.

They saw a cultivator steering a flying boat rapidly approaching with two individuals on it, none other than Prince Qi and Nie Yuan.

But their appearance was completely contrary to their expectations.

Both looked disheveled, and Prince Qi was severely wounded, his face pale as though on the brink of death.

Witnessing this scene, everyone present was stunned, and their hearts sank, feeling as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over them, realizing that disaster likely loomed.

"..."

Outside the hall.

Everything fell into a dead silence.

No one dared to speak for a long time, fearing to acknowledge this catastrophic news, as if by staying silent, the event would be as though it never happened.

How could it be...

How could Chibi be lost?!

The civil and military officials looked at each other in disbelief amidst the deathly silence.

Not long ago, the battle report had clearly stated that the 200,000 rebel army had been driven into the East Han Lake, their retreat blocked, leaving them with no ability to resist!

Yet, in the blink of an eye...

Prince Qi and General Nie Yuan returned in such a state.

This grim news was nothing short of earth-shattering for everyone.

In the Imperial Palace square, nobody paid heed to the gravely wounded Prince Qi and the dust-covered Nie Yuan; they just stood there, hesitating for half a cup of tea's time, not daring to speak up.

Ultimately.

King Qin mustered his courage and proactively asked: "Eighth Brother, did you let them escape?"

He was still unwilling to believe.

With a second-tier formation and forces capable of suppressing Chen Sansi, could the elite naval forces of the court really have been so soundly defeated?

So he clung to a glimmer of hope.

Could it have been a minor loss, with Chen Sansi merely fleeing with his people?

To them, this was actually good news.

After all, as long as they weren't advancing on the Capital City, it was manageable.

However...

"Fourth Brother!"

Prince Qi lay on the ground, weeping bitterly: "It's over, all over! The 400,000-strong army was entirely consumed by fire!"

"Your Highness! This subordinate is incompetent!"

Nie Yuan collapsed with a "thud" to his knees: "The entire army has been wiped out, all the warships burned, Veteran General Yan Hongyuan has fallen, Veteran General Zeng Ren is missing, all the Ling Family's martial cultivators are dead, and... Governor Zhou too, is feared to be lost!"

Complete annihilation!

The hearts of the civil and military officials, which were hanging at the edge, were finally struck violently at this moment.

"How could it, how could it be?!"

King Qin paced frantically, repeatedly slapping his hand: "Weren't we just a step away from annihilating the enemy forces? Even if we didn't win, it shouldn't have been complete annihilation!"

"Your Highness! It's the Liangshan bandits!"

Nie Yuan then recounted the details of the defeat.

"Ah!!!"

In his fury, King Qin punched and collapsed a stone pillar in the square: "Bandits, all bandits! When did Chen the Hunter collude with this group?!"

"..."

"Chen Sansi's maneuvers through Ziwu Valley were a ruse; his true intention was to incinerate the supplies, forcing us to transport food from Mangshan Prefecture, thereby inviting wolves into the fold?!"

The officials felt chills down their spines.

Because upon careful reflection, it appeared that although they seemed at an advantage at every turn, they had already lost from the start!

This battle...

How could it be fought any further?!

"It's terrible!"

"Chen Sansi is going to attack the Capital City!"

"..."

After the defeat at Chibi.

More than half of the kingdom was about to fall into rebel hands.

The true court was left with only the surroundings of the Capital City, the adjacent three states, a small corner!

Meanwhile, the rebel army's supply lines and official roads were completely open.

Next.

Chen Sansi would lead the rebel army straight towards the Capital City.

Fei River!

It was the court's last line of defense!

Once the enemy crossed the Fei River and suffered another defeat.

The court would have no defense left, no troops to mobilize.

The Great Sheng Dynasty would...

fall!

From the uprising in Liangzhou until now.

Less than two years had passed!

Yet it had turned from quelling a rebellion into the defense of the Capital City!

The atmosphere in the Capital City became instantly heavy.

Almost everyone felt suffocated.

"Where is Immortal Master Dan Liangcheng?!"

"Quickly!"

"Hurry and summon the Immortal Master!"

"From today, no officials are allowed to return home!"

"Deliberate day and night on strategies to defeat the enemy!"

"Until the end of the great battle!"

This is...

The last battle!

The 300-year-long reign of the Great Sheng has reached its last moments of life and death!