Cat Brother curled up his legs to fit."This is a birthday present for Funi, do you like it"Li Zhensheng hugged his little niece and laughed, asking, "As expected, I've been covered in drool again.""Li...Li Lao Si immediately panicked, "That won't do, Lord Hou. The Vanguard Army has always been under my command. Besides, as the Supreme Commander, you naturally need to take charge at the border!"

The Marquis frowned, pleadingly, "A detour to ambush is the key to this decisive battle. I can't rest easy not leading the troops myself."

Li Laosi vehemently disagreed, “Absolutely not, I have to lead the troops. I’ll be extra careful!”

For the first time, they had a disagreement that neither could sway.

At this time, Jiang Cheng helplessly smiled and suggested, "Lord Hou, Four Generals, why don't you all lead your troops to detour I'll take care of things here at the border. Isn't it just a matter of showing strength and deploying troops I'm sure I can handle it! If anything goes wrong, my head is yours!"

"Besides, we're about to achieve a triumphant victory! As a general, I haven't even led an army into battle once. If this gets out, it would be humiliating! Just think of me as someone who's trying to take credit and demanding a share of the work!"

It's hard to refuse at this point.

Li Lao Si and the Marquis exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, and both nodded.

Thus, the plan to encircle and attack from all sides while using the mountain valley as a path was finalized.

To maintain secrecy, the Marquis did not tell anyone else, but instead took his personal guards to inspect the defenses at various places along the border.

Three thousand Vanguard soldiers, having eaten and drunk their fill, with their horses well-fed, left the border pass under the leadership of Lord Hou and Li Laosi as dusk began to settle.

Mu Xu led several scout squads to set out early, scouting the way ahead.

Jiang Cheng stood on the city wall, gazing at the departing troop, his expression unreadable.

A scout walked over and said, "General, the brothers on duty have all been briefed and they won't reveal that the Lord is deploying troops."

Jiang Cheng nodded and replied in a low voice, "This military campaign is top secret, crucial to the outcome of the final battle. We absolutely cannot leak any information. We must conceal it for at least one more day and be careful not to ruin Lord Hou's plans."

The deputy general was truly curious and asked, "My lord, you personally brought the Vanguard Camp this time. I wonder how you plan to arrange it You must surely be able to kill all the barbarians, and afterwards, we can rest easy."

Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes and snapped, "Don't pry into things you shouldn't. When the fighting starts, just focus on swinging your sword."

Having said that, he descended the city wall. The remaining deputy general didn't care and sent him off with a laugh...

Then the vanguard wrapped their horses' hooves and quietly circled the hill.

When we arrived at the valley, it was already midnight.

The lord ordered everyone to rest in place, preparing to march rapidly after crossing the valley and encircling the barbarians as soon as possible. They would aim to launch a surprise attack.

Within an hour, there was a risk of being discovered by the barbarians and ruining the plan.

Mu Xu and his men had circled the hills on both sides of the valley, making sure there was no danger before hurrying back.

"My Lord, there are no problems on the mountain, you can pass through with peace of mind."

The lord stuffed the water pouch and dry rations into Mu Xu's hands, then his gaze remained deep as he looked at the valley.

Perhaps because of this final battle, he was too nervous.

Why did he always feel that the pitch-black valley, like a giant beast's mouth, was just waiting to swallow his team

Lao Si choked on his dry rations, gulped down some water, and finally recovered. He muttered in a low voice, "Hurry up and finish this battle, then we can go home! It's really not a life for humans. I dream about the food at home!"

Mu Xu also smiled and said, “That's right. The county princess has come up with a new dish called cold noodles. The sour and sweet soup, paired with smooth noodles, along with slices of braised meat, cucumber ribbons, kimchi, and plenty of sesame seeds, is simply delicious and refreshing, a perfect summer treat.”

The threshold of Xiankelai was almost trampled by diners, all rushing to eat the cold noodles. Other restaurants followed suit, but unfortunately, their taste was far inferior to ours.

Everyone burst into laughter, even the Marquis couldn't help but smirk.

When it comes to making food, perhaps many people in the world are better than me at home cooking, but when it comes to the word "novelty," no one can compare...

After resting for two quarters of an hour, the crowd got up and prepared to pass through the mountain valley.

When it came time to depart, the Marquis issued an order: "Divide into two groups, front and rear. The fourth son leads the way forward. Once you are across, I will lead the rear group into the mountain valley."

Li Lao Si wanted to say that it was too much trouble, but with the soldiers standing nearby, he couldn't argue. He just took half his men and left first.

The valley was not long, only five or six miles.

In just a few short moments, the tail end of the vanguard would be out of the mountain valley.

When the lord saw that everything was alright, he led the rear troops swiftly into the mountain valley.

When he had gone halfway, the originally silent hills on both sides suddenly lit up with countless torches.

The warhorses of the Northern Expeditionary Army were startled, all sneezing and extremely agitated.

Before anyone could react, countless rocks of various sizes rolled down the mountain. A deafening roar, like thunder, accompanied their descent as they crashed down.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" everyone shouted!

The lord drew his sword and issued an order in a loud voice.

"Climb the left hillside! Don't run away, don't panic!"

The vanguard soldiers were seasoned veterans, not cowards by any means. It was just the sudden attack that caught them off guard and threw them into disarray for a moment.

Upon hearing the head coach's command, everyone charged toward the small hill on the left.

Large stones rolled down, inevitably hitting horses or soldiers.

But it's still safer than being concentrated in the valley and mashed into meat.

More and more soldiers were smashed down, and the warhorses neighed in terror.

But the enemy is on the mountain, only by climbing up can we turn the tide!

The Lord led the charge, rushing to the top of the mountain. Sure enough, hundreds of barbarians were pushing stones there. Upon seeing the Northern Expeditionary Army arrive, they drew their waist knives and roared as they charged up.

For a time, both sides were engaged in a fierce melee!

Li Lao Si originally brought half of the Vanguard Army, already crossed the mountain valley, was about to scout ahead, when he heard a noise, and jumped in fright.

This peaceful valley had, in the blink of an eye, become a place of bloodshed and carnage.

"My Lord!"

Li Lao Si was so startled that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He turned his horse's head and led his men to the rescue.

Despite serving in the military for many years, he remained unclouded by rage.

He led half the vanguard troops straight up the slope, knowing that only by eliminating the enemies on the summit could he save the majority of his men trapped halfway up the hill!

In the night, screams, neighs of horses, and the clash of swords and blades mingled together, thick with the stench of blood!

As dawn broke, the battle finally came to an end.

On the remaining peak, there were only the Northern Expeditionary troops left. Almost all the raiding barbarians had been killed.

Of course, the losses of the Northern Expeditionary Army were also considerable.

At least half the warhorses had died, and those that were still alive were many with broken legs, crying out in pain.

Three thousand troops went north, with five hundred killed in action and seven or eight hundred wounded. Their combat effectiveness was almost halved!

They still split into two teams to enter the valley. If they had gone through together, I'm afraid that even today, there wouldn't be three or four hundred who were unscathed!

He was the lord, with a hole in his thigh from a spear.

Li Laosì felt so much pain, regretting bringing the team forward and leaving the danger for the Marquis.

Mu Xu's face turned ashen. He had personally led a team to investigate, and found no ambushes on the peak. So why did the barbarians appear suddenly

Could it be that the barbarians had already learned of the news and were lying in wait behind the mountains, only to strike after he had finished his investigation

Today's updates are here ~~tween them, accounting for five out of ten, but there was also a desire for the Jia family to have a reliable place to repair their fleet during their return journey."Unexpectedly, on our way back, th...