Sun Bangyuan was slightly taken aback, thinking he had misheard.

He kicked the spy, yelling, "What did you say?"

"Reporting to the commander, a large army of at least 30,000 men is approaching from 20 miles ahead."

Sun Bangyuan glanced at Liu Zhiwu, and both of them saw shock in their eyes.

When did such a large army appear on Shaanxi Road?

Tang Ke's Xingqing Army has already marched south towards the capital and could not possibly appear in Shaanxi Province.

Liu Zhiwu quickly regained his composure and said, "General Sun, I think they are just lowly people and nothing to worry about. I will immediately lead 30,000 troops in the city to slaughter those lowly people without leaving a single one alive!"

After hearing Liu Zhiwu's words, Sun Bangyuan nodded and said, "You're right, go and do it quickly!"

"yes!"

"So, should we kill these eight hundred people now?"

"Why kill? We can kill you when you get back!"

Sun Bangyuan hurriedly returned to the city.

He didn't want anything to go wrong.

Seeing that the military commissioner had entered the city, the other officials quickly followed suit.

The constables also escorted the prisoners into the city.

Liu Zhiwu quickly mustered 30,000 troops within the city and sent them to attack the rebel army outside the city.

Liu Zhiwu may boast to Sun Bangyuan, but when it comes to actually leading troops into battle, he is still very cautious.

He would never rashly charge into the rebel army and start hacking and slashing; instead, he planned to have his scouts explain the actual situation first.

Make sure the defensive formation is in place and that everything is foolproof.

From his perspective, with 30,000 regular troops, well-equipped and well-mannered, victory was assured as long as he didn't act recklessly.

His tactics were absolutely correct.

But at this moment, his adjutant Du Chong said, "Our army is strong now, and the rebels are weak. If we only defend, the rebels are likely to escape. According to Marshal Sun's idea, it would be best to annihilate the rebels completely."

"You mean, we'll be the main force in the attack?"

"Exactly!"

"What if the rebels have some kind of conspiracy or trickery, and something goes wrong?"

Du Chong laughed and said, "Shangguan, how could that be? Those are just rebels made up of lowly commoners!"

Liu Zhiwu pondered for a moment and said, "What you said makes sense."

He immediately worked with Du Chong to devise a new strategy, planning to launch a three-pronged attack to surround and annihilate the rebels.

At this time, Sun Bangyuan and Liu Zhiwu were unaware that the fragile defenses of the prefectures and counties in the northwest of Jingzhao Prefecture had been breached.

The Imperial Guard swept across the vast Qin land like a sharp sword, cutting through everything in its path.

An arrow whistled through the air as it flew through the woods, striking a Song army officer in the neck, who fell from his horse.

Liu Zhiwu was shocked and quickly said, "Enemy troops!"

The soldiers around him quickly surrounded him and protected him.

Yue Yun held a massive, dark bow weighing over a hundred pounds, and with his right hand, he drew it into a full moon shape.

On his arms, veins bulged out like writhing dragons.

Bang……

The bowstring vibrated with a dull sound the moment the arrow left the bow.

Yue Yun actually fired three arrows in one go, each of which could shoot down a person.

Liu Zhiwu looked over in shock, completely panicked.

Weren't these rebels supposed to be lowly people? How come they're so powerful!

Just as they were in a panic, they heard the sound of iron cavalry approaching, and when they looked closer, they saw clouds of dust ahead.

Amidst the dust, the Imperial Guard cavalry, clad in black armor and wielding long, sharp swords, charged toward them, wearing bronze demon masks.

Liu Zhiwu hurriedly used his telescope to take a look, and what he saw shocked him greatly.

"This is!"

How could Liu Zhiwu not recognize which army it was!

Several months ago, when the emperor passed through Chang'an, he personally received the officers of the Imperial Guard.

For a moment, he stood there, frozen in place.

My whole body stiffened.

A tall figure kept appearing in his mind—the majestic figure of Zhao Huan—and he seemed to hear the emperor's voice again.

Suddenly, he was so frightened that he fell off the horse.

Everyone else stared at him in astonishment.

Du Chong, standing to the side, asked, "Prefect Liu, what's going on?"

"It's the emperor... the emperor has returned..."

Du Chong was shocked: "Prefect Liu, do you know what you're saying?!"

Liu Zhiwu was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he was helped up by others.

"It's the Emperor... His Majesty has returned... I can't be mistaken..."

He immediately scrambled forward, his fear of Zhao Huan so deep it was now beyond his control.

Before everyone could react, the Imperial Guards were rapidly closing in.

Everyone felt a sharp killing intent pressing down like a tidal wave.

The troops under Liu Zhiwu were local militia. Although they were regular troops, in terms of strength, they could not compare with the elite Imperial Guards.

The garrison troops immediately lost their composure, and even their horses sensed the Imperial Guards' murderous aura and became restless.

When the Imperial Guards advanced and stopped on the opposite side, Du Chong and the others were completely stunned.

How could these be lowly commoners and bandits!

This...this is clearly His Majesty the Holy Martial Emperor's Imperial Guard!

Yue Yun roared, "Who are the traitors ahead? State your names! I do not kill nameless nobodies!"

"It's General Yue Yun, the Fire General!"

Someone recognized Yue Yun. He was holding a bow in his left hand, with two large hammers on his back. He had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and his face was as resolute as if carved by a knife.

His years of military service have given him a very sharp temperament, and he exudes a strong killing intent at all times.

This is definitely someone who has taken the head of an enemy general amidst a vast army.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!