"Alright, you can eat whatever you want."

"That's what the man with the binoculars said."

This man was none other than Zhao Xu, the heir apparent of the Prince of Dai.

The attendants were overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately called the others to go into the woods to pick mushrooms.

God knows how many days they haven't eaten properly.

To lighten their load, they did not bring much food during this surprise attack on Nandan, intending to sustain the war by plundering grain from the people on the border.

Who knew that these people were all destitute, with hardly any grain in their jars and not even any crops in their fields!

When asked, they said that some kind of magical flower had been planted there before, which ruined the land, and it would take eight to ten years before crops could be grown again.

Right now, they rely on collecting herbs to exchange for food.

After they occupied the town, these people had no way to exchange food, so naturally they had no surplus grain at home.

With no food to plunder, they had no choice but to hunt for prey and dig up some wild vegetables to eat with thin porridge.

But even the most abundant wild game couldn't withstand the consumption of an army of 60,000.

Within a few days, there were hardly any birds to be seen on the surrounding hills.

Not to mention wild boars and rabbits.

There were many colorful mushrooms in the woods, but they didn't recognize any of them and dared not make any rash moves.

Upon learning that Yi Shuihan had led his troops to the next town and was encamped in the mountains, Zhao Xu's attendants followed him to scout the enemy's situation. They were so engrossed in the rich aroma that their mouths watered.

It smells so damn good.

The aroma of oil, meat, and mushrooms is enough to drive anyone mad with envy.

The attendants couldn't wait to grab a handful of mushrooms and cook them.

After obtaining Zhao Xu's consent, they picked all kinds of mushrooms—red, green, white, and black—from the mountain and cooked dozens of pots of soup.

The soup was so delicious it made my eyebrows fall out.

The attendant drank three large bowls of wine.

Seeing Zhao Xu eating roasted meat with water from his water pouch without drinking a drop of soup, he advised, "Young Master, these mushrooms are even more delicious than meat. Why don't you try some?"

Zhao Xu shook his head: "You guys eat it, I don't like the taste of mushrooms."

The attendants were filled with regret.

Mushrooms are so delicious, yet some people complain about their taste.

What a waste!

Seeing that there wasn't much soup left, he quickly ladled out another bowl.

After drinking it, he saw countless little people dancing in front of him, and he couldn't help but start dancing along.

As I kept jumping, I lost all awareness of what was happening.

When he woke up the next day, he felt nauseous and vomited. After vomiting, his stomach rumbled loudly. His face changed, and before he could run behind the bushes, he soiled his pants.

The attendant was so embarrassed that he wished he could dig a hole and bury himself on the spot.

But he soon discovered that he wasn't the only one feeling awkward; almost everyone in the camp was vomiting and having diarrhea.

The air was filled with all sorts of sour and foul smells, so bad that it almost made people faint.

The attendants were stunned.

"What... what's going on?"

Could it be that someone poisoned them?

He was startled and, without even cleaning his pants, ran to find Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu covered his nose and glared at him with a dark face: "Look what you've done! All the soldiers have mushroom poisoning!"

The attendants were struck dumb as if by lightning.

"Those mushrooms are poisonous?"

Zhao Xu glared at him: "If it's not poisonous, will everyone vomit and have diarrhea after eating it?"

"But they ate them in Nandan too," Zhao Xu asked, puzzled. "Didn't they know the mushrooms were poisonous?"

That's impossible.

They are local natives.

"Ha!" Zhao Xu snorted coldly, "They're perfectly fine. You've fallen into their trap."

The attendant's expression cracked.

Before he could think it through, his stomach rumbled again, and he dragged his weak legs away.

This mushroom poisoning incident claimed the lives of two thousand soldiers, left three thousand on the verge of death, five or six thousand unable to stand up, and another ten or twenty thousand severely weakened.

Of the 60,000 troops, nearly half were lost in one fell swoop.

Zhao Xu was so angry that he killed his attendant.

Yi Shuihan noticed the commotion and seized the opportunity, leading his troops to attack while Zhao Xu's forces were still recovering.

Zhao Xu hastily deployed his troops.

Due to the last-minute replacements, the formation was a bit chaotic. He was initially worried, but when he saw that Yi Shuihan's side only had 20,000 men, which was far less than his own, he immediately felt reassured.

He stood by the gun emplacement, wearing chainmail, and saw dozens of women trailing behind Yi Shuihan's troops. He couldn't help but sneer.

"As expected of the Great General, your combat experience is indeed rich. You even brought a red tent. I, the young master, am ashamed to admit my inferiority."

He was met with three crossbow bolts in succession.

Zhao Xu quickly dodged, but a hair still grazed past his ear, cutting off a strand of his hair.

He glared at Yi Shuihan with lingering fear, still relentlessly saying, "The leader is alright looking. After the battle, I, the young master, will definitely give him a good time."

The person leading the group was Xiao Qingyin.

Hearing this, she smiled slightly.

"Your Highness, please don't kneel down and beg for mercy later."

Zhao Xu laughed loudly: "Are all the men of Nandan dead? Not only do you bring women to the battlefield, but you even leave the shouting and cursing to women. It's a shame that the young master thinks highly of you and specially brought 60,000 troops here."

Xiao Qingyin scoffed: "You cowards don't need men to lift a finger. We women can handle you."

"That's quite a boast."

Zhao Xu said leisurely.

"You wouldn't happen to be that goddess doctor that everyone's been praising to the skies, would you?"

Xiao Qingyin didn't reply to him; the wind she was waiting for had arrived.

She blew her wooden whistle, and the soldiers at the front of the Nandan Legion raised their hands in unison. Countless black powders drifted away with the wind, heading straight for Zhao Xu's army downwind.

Zhao Xu's expression changed slightly, and he immediately ordered, "Fire!"

A thunderous roar echoed through the valley, and a dozen or so cannons exploded before they even hit the ground.

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