The eldest young lord of Nangong had always prided himself on his prestigious birth, never even holding his own brothers in high regard — how could he possibly hold a mere woman in any regard at all!

He’d already felt it beneath him that the Lord of Nangong City had assigned him to lead the charge for the Xiliang army.

He simply wanted a swift, decisive victory — establish a stronghold in the small Mobei town, join forces with the Xiongnu troops, and together march straight toward Xijing’s Akbachu, avenging his eldest sister Nangong Mei’s family grievance, and giving his father the satisfaction of settling his score with Jun Beiyue!

Martial artists of the wulin, though they valued freedom and prized martial arts above all else, simply couldn’t compete with an imperial army when it came to true military strength. The eldest young lord of Nangong, ambitious as ever, naturally wanted to seize this opportunity to make a proper name for himself!

But the second young lord of Nangong was far more cautious. “Elder Brother, I’ve heard this Princess Consort Yao is no ordinary opponent. We shouldn’t be careless.”

Unfortunately, the eldest young lord had no intention of listening. With real authority in his hands, he shot his younger brother a glance and said with displeasure, “She’s just a mere woman — even with three heads and six arms, she’d still be a woman! And that’s enough to scare you into this state?”

With that, he snorted disdainfully and waved his hand. “Whether she comes or not, first come, first served — Mobei is ours! Move out!”

They advanced in a straight, unbroken line, cutting through the forest path until they reached the outskirts of the small Mobei town — and, exactly as the scout had reported, there was no defense of any kind here at all!

The scene left the second young lord of Nangong thoroughly confused. Could the information have been wrong? Had Han Ziqing genuinely not come at all?

The eldest young lord, still mounted on his horse, couldn’t help but laugh loudly. “Who was it that said Han Ziqing came to seize Mobei? With Nangong City holding this ground, who would dare challenge us here!”

“Elder Brother, both the Xiongnu and Xijing troops received the same information — it couldn’t possibly be wrong!” the second young lord said earnestly.

“Then it must be that she learned this young lord himself had come personally and slunk away with her tail between her legs! If Da Zhou has any real courage, let Jun Beiyue come himself!”

The moment the eldest young lord finished speaking, he barked out coldly, “Someone — report to Xiliang and the Xiongnu, the crisis is over, they may advance their troops. This young lord has already prepared fine wine and food in the small Mobei town to welcome them!”

“Yes, sir!” A guard immediately rushed off to carry out the order.

The eldest young lord’s mood soared. A cold smile curled at the corner of his lips as he declared loudly, “Brothers! This is Nangong City’s very first time taking part in a war — every one of you had better bring your absolute best, we cannot afford to lose to the Xiliang and Xiongnu forces! From this moment on, we’ll adopt military ranks as well. This young lord shall serve as General, and all of you… heh, listen up — whoever reaches the small Mobei town first, whoever arrives at the clan elder’s grand estate first, this young lord will personally promote to Deputy General!”

The moment the eldest young lord finished speaking, nearly ten men behind him spurred their horses forward at once, and wave after wave of riders followed close behind, all charging straight into the forest. Once past this stretch of forest lay the small Mobei town itself!

Seeing this, the second young lord of Nangong found himself stirred as well, cracking his whip to catch up. The eldest young lord laughed loudly and cracked his own whip in pursuit, quickly surging to the very front of the charge!

In an instant, the once-silent forest erupted into thunderous chaos, hoofbeats pounding the earth, shaking heaven and ground alike!

Ziqing lay flat on the ground, her all-white attire blending seamlessly into the snow. Her sharp eyes remained calm and cold, as though nothing on earth could shake her in the slightest, narrowing as she watched the commotion drawing steadily closer!

At the horses’ current speed, it would take less time than half a stick of incense to burn to trample this entire stretch of forest flat beneath a thousand horses and riders.

Yingzi watched from high up in the tree, his heart pounding with fear, sweat inexplicably soaking his palm gripping the arrow!

These were all elite fighters, after all. Though the princess consort’s archers had concealed themselves masterfully, the speed at which arrows could be loosed might not necessarily outmatch them!

If they managed to break through, the consequences would be unthinkable!

Yingzi glanced at the princess consort, lying completely flat on the ground, then back at the approaching herd of horses, his heart pounding wildly, holding his breath without realizing it.

“Clop clop clop! Clop clop clop!”

The hoofbeats grew closer, more urgent, on the verge of breaking through, nearly upon them!

Why weren’t they firing yet, why wasn’t anyone moving!

Yingzi grew frantic, about to drop down from the tree, when suddenly — “Neeeigh…”

A horse’s shrill whinny!

What was happening?

Before anyone could even process it, one anguished whinny after another rang out in quick succession!

Yingzi scrambled higher for a better view, and what he saw left him utterly stunned.

This… how could he even begin to describe this!

Everything had already been laid out in ambush beforehand — the forest floor was riddled with traps, specially made oversized rat-traps, waiting for the horses’ hooves to draw near!

The charging horses, wave after wave, one after another, all came crashing down in a chain reaction, and the riders atop them were sent flying in wave after wave, thrown clear!

The faster a horse had been galloping, the greater the impact force, and the farther and harder its rider was flung!

Almost no one had time to react, wave after wave of them tumbling from their mounts and flying far through the air — and in the very instant they were flung outward, flashes of white flickered across the ground, and streaks of sharp arrows flew forth, striking with perfect precision, never missing, each one a killing blow!

They were using specially crafted crossbow bolts, fireable one-handed, with three times the power of an ordinary bow!

How could this small group of archers possibly withstand these elite martial artists!

And yet, as if they had been waiting precisely for this exact moment, the instant the riders were thrown from their horses, utterly defenseless and disoriented, sharp arrows plunged straight into their hearts!

No matter how formidable one’s martial skill, a single moment of disorientation was enough to prove fatal!

This was Han Ziqing’s battlefield. Though there was no modern gunfire raining down, there wasn’t a single moment of margin for distraction — the slightest lapse and the price paid was total annihilation.

Hundreds of the martial world’s finest fighters were wiped out almost entirely, not a single horse surviving either. Only the two young lords of Nangong, thanks to their formidable martial skill, survived.

But even they hadn’t escaped unscathed for their carelessness — one took an arrow to the shoulder, the other to the leg!

The two brothers stood back to back, tense and on guard, scanning their surroundings warily.

But everywhere around them, calm had already returned. Every archer, having loosed two or three arrows in an instant using their specially made crossbows, had already flattened themselves back into concealment. In the chaos and panic of the moment, their movements had been so swift that no one had noticed them at all!

At that moment, the ground was littered with silent, hidden archers everywhere. Modern weaponry and strategy, combined with ancient breath-suppression techniques, had achieved a perfect fusion of concealment and camouflage!

The two Nangong brothers had no idea a field of white lay all around them — their attention remained fixed on the trees above the snowy ground.

And Ziqing sat leaning back against a large rock, her wide white snow-hood completely covering her face, head lowered, her attention fixed entirely on the two pairs of feet not far away.

Within her sleeve, her fingers gripped the crossbow’s mechanism tightly, the sharp bolt ready to fly forth at any moment.

The martial world was the martial world, the imperial court was the imperial court — the two had always kept to their own affairs, never crossing paths. Since the Lord of Nangong City had been the first to shatter that unspoken understanding, he had no grounds to expect fair treatment from her in return.

What did it matter if they were a prestigious martial family? What did it matter how skilled they were? Whoever won would be the one who ruled!

A cold, sinister smile curved at the corner of Ziqing’s lips. Taking aim with one eye, she abruptly rose to her feet…

…