CHAPTER 282: CHAPTER 279: DING YANG ARMY’S FIRST VICTORY_1

Meanwhile, as Ma Chao led the Blood Fight Army to attack Sky Thunder Pass, Huang Zhong’s Ding Yang Army was on the verge of encountering the main army of the Fenghua Divine Court. The Fenghua Divine Court’s territory was predominantly flat, especially its eastern regions, which consisted mainly of plains. This lack of tactical terrain made organizing a large-scale defensive battle impossible.

"Report to the General! The Qin Dynasty Divine Court’s army of 300,000 has appeared on the Fenghua Plain!" a scout reported upon returning to the city.

Seated on the commander’s chair was a young general. Clad in white armor, he was strikingly handsome, with a keen gaze that exuded an air of nobility.

His name was Guan Zhiyun, young Clan Leader of the Guan Clan, the oldest noble house in the Fenghua Divine Court. He had displayed extraordinary military talent from a young age, his most glorious achievement being the recent defeat of the Langya Sect’s army. This victory elevated him to prominence, overshadowing even the veteran generals.

It was precisely for this reason that the Divine Emperor of Fenghua had entrusted him with the critical responsibility of repelling the Qin Dynasty Divine Court.

In truth, however, only a select few knew that the Langya Sect—supposedly the strongest power in the neighboring domains—had been utterly routed with surprising ease.

Only 300,000 of them?

Guan Zhiyun fell into thought, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the armrest. He appeared to be in deep contemplation, but in reality, he was mulling over a simple mathematical problem.

To repel the Qin Dynasty’s invasion, the Fenghua Divine Court had mobilized its full strength, dispatching a massive army of 3,900,000 soldiers—thirteen times the size of the Qin Dynasty’s forces.

Thirteen to one odds? Why even hesitate! Crush them!

Having solved this ’complex’ equation, Guan Zhiyun’s confidence swelled. He rose to his feet and boomed, "Relay my orders! The army is to assemble and march out of the city to engage the enemy!"

The war drums thundered, and the army assembled swiftly.

Leaving 200,000 soldiers to defend the city, Guan Zhiyun led the remaining 3,700,000 troops in a mighty procession towards the Fenghua Plain, determined to annihilate the Qin Dynasty army in a single, decisive blow.

At noon the following day, the two armies met unexpectedly on the vast, featureless plain.

"This..." Huang Zhong murmured, stroking his white beard, somewhat bewildered. The Fenghua Divine Court is deploying on open grassland? Isn’t this like sheep walking into a tiger’s den?

Behind him, the 300,000 soldiers of the Ding Yang Army silently nocked arrows to their bows, their collective battle spirit coalescing.

The clear sky became shrouded in a sanguine glow, resembling a sea of blood. However, any powerful expert probing with their spiritual sense would discover that this crimson expanse was, in fact, composed of countless arrows.

"Order the cavalry to charge upfront! Infantry will follow closely, with archers behind the infantry!" Guan Zhiyun commanded. He glanced at the mere 300,000 soldiers of the Ding Yang Army, then back at his own forces, numbering in the millions. His confidence soaring, he issued the order to attack without a shred of concern.

Millions of soldiers surged forward, their battle cries thundering across the plains, the very earth trembling beneath their advance.

Viewed from a distance, they appeared as an unstoppable torrent of steel, surging forth as if to engulf everything in its path.

"Fire!" Huang Zhong raised his right hand and decisively brought it down.

In the next instant, an overwhelming killing intent erupted from the Ding Yang Army. Three hundred thousand arrows arced into the sky, a deadly cloud that swept through the heavens towards the charging cavalry of the Fenghua Divine Court.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The cavalry at the vanguard fell in droves.

Bodies were hurled through the air, riddled with arrows. Thick, viscous blood stained the yellowed grasslands crimson.

"Charge! Keep charging!" Guan Zhiyun bellowed, his eyelids twitching. He simultaneously ordered his own archers to retaliate. Unfortunately, the enemy was too distant; their arrows fell short, nearly striking their own advancing cavalry. The soldiers of the Fenghua Divine Court pressed on, shouting, "If we can just break through, victory will be ours!"

The Fenghua Divine Court’s army charged relentlessly. The ceaseless thundering of hooves trampled the bodies of their fallen comrades into a bloody pulp, creating an exceptionally gruesome scene.

"Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!" Huang Zhong commanded repeatedly.

Wave after wave of arrows sliced through the air, reaping enemy lives.

Before long, corpses piled up on the grassland like small hills. Soldiers of the Fenghua Divine Court fell one after another, their dying eyes seemingly questioning the heavens: Why are the enemy’s arrows so devastatingly powerful?

Rivers of fresh blood flowed, and the metallic tang of gore hung heavy in the air, almost unbearable.

Under the sunlight, the blood-soaked earth seemed to transform into a macabre, glittering crimson jewel, radiating an eerie, captivating light.

"Re-form! Disperse the main force and charge!"

Guan Zhiyun, observing from the rear, finally grasped the issue. His forces were too densely packed; a single volley targeting them resulted in massive casualties. Only by dispersing their ranks and attempting a pincer movement could they mitigate the arrow fire.

If he were facing ordinary archers, his tactic might have succeeded.

Unfortunately for them, they had encountered the Ding Yang Army.

How could an army personally trained by Huang Zhong—renowned as the foremost archer of the Three Kingdoms era—possess ordinary archery skills?

Every arrow found its mark!

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Arrows sliced through the air, fanning out in mid-flight as if guided by an unseen intelligence, each one striking a different enemy.

"Damn it! Have the shield-armored soldiers form a wall at the front!" Guan Zhiyun, stunned by the display, finally shouted after a long pause, having devised a countermeasure.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

When the shield-armored soldiers, equipped with heavy shields and thick armor, moved to the vanguard, their presence indeed proved effective, deflecting the lethal volleys.

They managed to advance several hundred yards, with only a few unlucky soldiers falling to stray arrows.

"Haha! Victory is assured this time!" Guan Zhiyun exclaimed, punching the air, convinced that triumph was within his grasp.

"Sea of Arrows—activate!" Huang Zhong smirked coldly. Utterly unperturbed, he calmly issued the command.

RUMBLE!

The blood-red cloud of arrows above the Ding Yang Army began to churn violently. Imbued with an infinite sharpness, it surged towards the enemy, engulfing the over one hundred thousand shield-armored soldiers.

A horrifying scene unfolded.

Within this crimson torrent, the over one hundred thousand shield-armored soldiers shrieked in terror. They watched, horrified, as their sturdy shields and heavy armor disintegrated under the assault of countless, impossibly sharp arrow-constructs. Once their protection vanished, their very flesh began to be flayed away, piece by piece.

Each sliver of the crimson tide that swept past them seemed to shear off a layer of flesh. As hundreds, then thousands, of these lethal currents passed, they were reduced to bare skeletons.

In the span of a mere breath, the ground was strewn with over one hundred thousand skeletons. Their stark whiteness gleamed like a polished white gemstone, blindingly bright, creating a horrifying contrast with the nearby ’gem’ of crimson-soaked earth.

It was an utterly terrifying spectacle! The potent stench of death hung in the air, causing the advancing soldiers of the Fenghua Divine Court to falter, their feet refusing to carry them forward.

"Begone!" Huang Zhong declared, taking a step forward. He drew his bow, and potent Spiritual Energy condensed into an arrow that pulsed with a scarlet glow. He loosed it. The arrow streaked across the vast expanse of the sky, striking Guan Zhiyun, who was still in the rear.

PFFT!

Guan Zhiyun’s expression froze. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his gaze slowly lowering to the bloody cavity in his chest. He shrieked in horrified disbelief, "This... this is impossible! How can such a thing exist in this world..."

Before he could finish his sentence, his body erupted in a gory explosion!

The commanding general was dead!

The morale of the Fenghua Divine Court soldiers plummeted to an absolute nadir. Thoughts of retreat consumed many, and they turned to flee.

"Slay them!" Huang Zhong bellowed, leading the Ding Yang Army in a relentless pursuit. They thundered across the grassland, cutting down vast numbers of the fleeing enemy.

Wherever their blades fell, heads rolled.

They pursued them for hundreds of miles, leaving a gruesome trail of blood stretching for a hundred miles in their wake. Only then did the Ding Yang Army finally halt their chase.