A beauty's favor is a heavy thing—Ian Song naturally had no reason to let her down.
An hour later, Princess Jade Fox stepped out of the Grand General's study.
Though she did her best to hide it, her gait was still a bit awkward.
............
The Burial Ground is a plain beneath the Qilian Mountain Range, once an ancient battlefield where armies from many states clashed. Beneath its soil lie the bones of hundreds of thousands.
At dawn the next day, Ian Song led fifty thousand fully armed Qi Kingdom troops straight to the Burial Ground. As they set out, the entire populace turned out to see them off.
By noon, the fifty thousand Qi troops finally reached the Burial Ground, where the Yan–Zhao coalition had already arrayed their forces, waiting for their arrival.
Just how many is two hundred thousand troops?
A dense, black mass—the formation stretched so far you couldn't see its end at a glance.
Finally, the two armies stood facing each other, five hundred meters apart.
On the Yan–Zhao coalition side, the commander, General Qi Mu, sat astride a not particularly tall warhorse, gazing across the several hundred meters at Ian Song. A hint of admiration flashed in his eyes—he'd long heard of Ian Song's reputation, the man who invented paper, liquor, glass, and other goods, earning the Qi Kingdom a fortune beyond imagination.
Now, Ian actually dared to lead fifty thousand troops to face off against two hundred thousand. That kind of boldness alone was enough to win Qi Mu's respect.
"Grand General, would you care to come forward and speak?"
Suddenly, Qi Mu spurred his horse forward, calling out loudly to Ian Song.
"Of course, no problem."
Ian Song answered, also riding forward. The two finally stopped their horses five meters apart.
"Haha, seeing you in person is better than hearing your reputation. I've long heard of the Grand General's renown, and now I see it's truly deserved."
Though it sounded a bit like flattery, Ian Song could feel Qi Mu meant every word.
Ian Song smiled lightly. "I've heard of you too—the Yan Kingdom's war god, undefeated in countless battles. Pity."
"Why do you say that, Grand General?" Qi Mu's expression darkened.
Ian Song smiled, "It's simple. If you weren't the coalition commander this time, your undefeated record would remain intact. But since you are, I'm going to break it today. Tell me, isn't that a pity?"
Qi Mu didn't get angry at this; instead, he smiled. "Grand General, you really are confident. But I can give you a chance to surrender—what do you think?"
"Not interested," Ian Song shrugged, then suddenly switched gears. "How about this, old general—I'll give you a chance to surrender instead. What do you say?"
"Grand General, you really are a character!" Qi Mu laughed, shaking his head.
"Well, since you don't want to accept, that's fine. By the way, I have a proposal—would you be interested, old general?"
"Please, Grand General, go ahead."
"Before the main battle, why don't we have a contest of champions?" Ian Song said with a grin.
"What kind of contest?"
"Each side sends out a few generals to fight in front of the formations—call it a warm-up before the real battle. What do you think?"
"Agreed!"
The two rode back to their respective armies and announced the contest of champions—both sides' generals were itching to take part.
Victor Zhao, spear in hand, rode to the front and called out loudly to the coalition, "I am Victor Zhao! Who dares face me in battle?"
"Traitor to the Zhao royal house! I, Zhao Heng, will take your life!"
The moment Zhao Heng saw Victor Zhao—who also possessed royal blood—he flew into a rage, brandishing twin swords as he charged on horseback, shouting insults.
"So it's you! For the sake of our shared royal blood, I'll spare your life!"
Victor Zhao pointed his spear at Zhao Heng, full of confidence.
"Still mouthing off on the brink of death? Traitor, prepare to die!"
With a furious shout, Zhao Heng charged at Victor Zhao, his twin swords slashing viciously through the air.
Clang! Clang!
Victor Zhao flicked his spear, easily deflecting Zhao Heng's swords. Then, with a swift thrust, he sent Zhao Heng flying off his horse.
Zhao Heng didn't even last a single exchange before being knocked off his horse.
This left the Yan–Zhao coalition's generals furious.
But on the Qi side, morale soared.
"Who's next?"
Victor Zhao pointed his spear at the Yan–Zhao coalition and shouted loudly.
"Traitor, don't get cocky! I'll fight you!"
Suddenly, a figure burst out from the coalition ranks.
He wore black iron armor, was powerfully built, and wielded a razor-sharp sabre.
In a flash, he was right in front of Victor Zhao. His sabre swept up, a cold gleam slicing straight at Victor's neck—he clearly meant to take his head in one blow.
Bang!
But what no one expected was that Victor Zhao was even faster. Sitting tall in the saddle, he didn't dodge or flinch—his spear swept out in a wide arc.
With a heavy thud, the opponent was knocked flying, crashing to the ground several meters away.
Defeated again!
The Yan–Zhao coalition's morale sank even lower, while Qi's troops cheered wildly, shouting Victor Zhao's name.
"Anyone else?"
Victor Zhao held his spear skyward, radiating dominance as he taunted the enemy.
"I'll fight him!"
A general started to ride out, but Qi Mu stopped him. Whether it was Zhao Heng or the burly general, both were strong fighters, yet neither lasted even a single exchange against Victor Zhao. Clearly, Victor's skill had reached a transcendent level. Sending anyone else would just mean another defeat.
That would only deal another blow to coalition morale.
If this keeps up, it could spell disaster for the coming battle.
"Archers, ready! Shoot him down!"
Qi Mu made his decision instantly.
Immediately, a hundred archers stepped forward and drew their bows.
Swish, swish, swish!
A hundred sharp arrows shot straight toward Victor Zhao.
But Victor Zhao didn't turn to flee. His spear seemed to transform into a dragon, flicking, sweeping, and thrusting.
In an instant, not a single arrow came close—all were knocked aside by his spear.
Seeing this, the Yan coalition generals gasped in shock.
"Ha! Qi Mu, you old fox, so much for playing fair!"
Ian Song's voice rang out, leaving Qi Mu and his generals looking rather embarrassed.