Young White Horse: The Poison Sword Master of the Wen Family, Shocking the Apocalypse

Silence returned to the tent.

Xiao Ruofeng stood alone in front of the map, gazing in the direction of Juzhou, motionless for a long time.

The candlelight cast his shadow on the tent wall, where he stood tall and straight like a pine tree.

Outside the tent, night was deepening.

The camp, however, did not fall silent; instead, it grew increasingly noisy—the sounds of hooves, footsteps, clashing armor, officers' shouts, and warhorses' neighing intertwined to create a prelude to an impending great battle.

Torches, like dragons, roamed among the camps.

Siege engines, catapults, ladders, battering rams... all sorts of machinery were pushed out of the camp, gleaming with a cold, hard metallic luster under the moonlight.

In the cavalry camp, the warhorses were saddled and ready, and the knights checked their bows, arrows, swords, and spears, talking in hushed tones, their eyes showing both tension and excitement.

The infantry battalion was even busier, with 10,000 elite troops making final preparations—checking weapons, distributing gunpowder, stuffing three days' rations into backpacks, and wrapping tinderboxes tightly with oilcloth.

Everyone knows that after tonight, many people may never come back.

But no one backed down.

The men of the North, their blood has never cooled.

The curtain of the central command tent was lifted, and Xiao Ruofeng, clad in armor, stepped out.

The dragon-scale golden armor gleamed with a cold light under the moonlight, the black cloak draped down to the ankles, and the Haoque sword at the waist hung suspended but not drawn, yet it exuded a chilling killing intent.

He mounted his horse and looked south.

There, in the direction of Juzhou City, all was shrouded in darkness.

But soon, war will break out there.

"Issue the order to the entire army," Xiao Ruofeng's voice was calm, yet it resonated throughout the camp, "It is midnight, launch the attack."

The bugle sounds and the war drums beat.

Two hundred thousand troops, like a giant dragon awakening, rolled towards Juzhou.

In the darkness of night, the iron hooves pounded the ground, their sound echoing across the fields.

At that moment, no one noticed that three pairs of eyes were quietly watching everything from a dense forest three miles outside the camp.

Song Chen, Luo Qinghong, and Zhuo Yifeng lay hidden in the shadows of the trees, taking in the movements of the Northern Li Army.

"The Prince of Langya is going to attack Juzhou," Song Chen said in a low voice. "At midnight tonight, they will split into two groups: one to attack the silver mine and the other to attack the city."

Luo Qinghong frowned: "The drug users..."

"With the medicine man in Qiandong City, Juzhou is temporarily safe." Song Chen pondered, "But if we win this battle, the Prince of Langya will cut off Baili Luochen's financial lifeline, and the situation in the southwest will be completely reversed."

Zhuo Yifeng's voice was ethereal: "Should we report it?"

"Report." Song Chen nodded. "Send a message back to Tianqi immediately. However... the matter of the medicine man must also be investigated more urgently. Ye Xiaoying's army was almost completely wiped out at Ironthorn Ridge, and His Majesty must know about this."

The three exchanged a glance, then quietly retreated, disappearing into the darkness of the forest.

A moment later, a gray falcon took flight and flew north towards Tianqi City.

Less than a hundred miles outside Juzhou City, a troop of soldiers snaked forward like a giant python.

At the forefront of the army, Baili Luochen, with his white hair and blood-stained cloak, sat on his horse, gazing silently at the northern horizon.

Lieutenant Chen Dunru followed behind and whispered, "My lord, the scouts report that Xiao Ruofeng's army has set off, heading towards... Juzhou."

Baili Luochen nodded slowly, a shrewd smile flashing in his eyes.

"As expected, it has come!" he muttered. "Young sir, you do have some strategy. You think that by taking Juzhou you can cut off my supplies? Little do you know... what I've been waiting for is the moment you divide your forces!"

He waved his hand from his horse, and a messenger immediately rode up behind him.

"Send word to Sheng Yanwei," Baili Luochen said in a steady voice, "no matter what method he uses, he must hold off Xiao Ruofeng's main force until dawn. Before dawn, the old man will definitely lead the main force to the outskirts of Juzhou City!"

"My lord, Sheng Yanwei should be fine. Should we speed up our march?" Chen Dunru asked.

A glint flashed in Baili Luochen's eyes: "No need! The roads to Qianzhou are mostly treacherous mountain paths, and we are mostly cavalrymen marching at night. There's no need to increase casualties on the march!"

Sheng Yanwei has followed me for so many years, I believe he can hold out until we arrive to reinforce him! Once we reach the walls of Juzhou, we can march north and encircle the city. At that point, the King of Langya will have a fortified city in front and our army behind him. Let's see how he copes then!

Chen Dunru was startled and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Your Excellency's strategy is brilliant! This humble general will go and relay the order immediately!"

Baili Luochen rode on his horse, the Wind-Breaking Army advancing in an orderly fashion in the night wind behind him. He glanced towards the direction of Qiandong City—

"Chengfeng, Zhao'er..." he murmured to himself, "I'm leaving Qiandong to you. Ye Xiaoying's group is finished, so the eastern route of the Northern Li Army is not a concern for now. But Xiao Ruofeng's main force... is the real tough nut to crack!"

The night was deep, and the clouds of war hung heavy.

In the southwest, three armies, like three sharp blades, are about to clash.

Meanwhile, in the Zichen Palace in Tianqi City, Xiao Ruojin looked at the secret report that had just been delivered, a cold smile appearing on her lips.

"My dear brother, you must fight this battle well. If you win, my empire will be secure; if you lose..."

He paused and didn't say anything else.

However, the white jade thumb ring in his hand was being squeezed so hard that it made a cracking sound.

Outside the palace, the night wind howled.

A great battle that will determine the fate of the world is about to begin.

……

At Zhenfeng Silver Mine, at 3:45 AM.

The night fog, like a veil, enveloped the continuous mining mountains.

The iron-black mountain stood silent like a giant beast under the moonlight, and the mine entrances resembled bottomless mouths.

Luo Shengzhi led 10,000 elite troops from the Northern Frontier, moving through the outer defenses like ghosts.

Surprisingly smooth.

The "Windbreaker Army" guards outside the mine were utterly ineffective—they patrolled in groups of three to five, were easily picked off by the Northern Army's sentries, and didn't even have time to sound the alarm.

Occasionally, there would be skirmishes, but the enemy would put up only a little resistance before collapsing and fleeing, leaving behind dozens of corpses and scattered weapons.

"General, why do I feel like this is going a little too smoothly? Is this all the world-renowned Breaking Wind Army is capable of? This is too easy!"

A captain leaned close to Luo Shengzhi, lowering his voice but unable to hide his excitement, "Isn't the Pofeng Army supposed to be the strongest army in the world? How come it's as weak as paper?"

Luo Shengzhi frowned slightly.

He looked around—the fences around the mine were dilapidated, the tents were broken, and mining tools and ore fragments were scattered on the ground, indeed resembling traces left by a hasty retreat.

“Sheng Yanwei is a veteran; we shouldn’t be so negligent,” Luo Shengzhi pondered. “Unless…”

"Unless what?" the lieutenant asked.

Luo Shengzhi shook his head, suppressing the unease in his heart: "Never mind, military orders are absolute. Pass down the order to divide into three teams according to the plan: one team to control the outer perimeter of the mine, the second team to follow me into the tunnel, and the third team to provide support outside."

Remember, our objective is to destroy the main mine and smelter, not to annihilate the enemy. Act quickly, and retreat as soon as you've succeeded!

"Order!"

The 10,000 elite troops were quickly divided into three groups.

Luo Shengzhi personally led three thousand men, carrying torches, and filed into the largest mine shaft, number three.

The tunnel was deep and dark, with fresh chisel marks still visible on the rock walls, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of saltpeter and minerals.

The further you go in, the larger the space becomes. The main tunnel is over two zhang wide, with a roof supported by thick wood. There are also branch tunnels on both sides, extending into the depths of the mountain like a spider web.

"General, the main mine is just ahead!" the vanguard captain reported. "The mine walls are full of silver ore, and the mining area is huge. If we just bury the charcoal and gunpowder we brought in, it will be enough to blast down half a mountain!"

Luo Shengzhi nodded: "Begin the setup. Team one, bury the explosives; team two, stand guard; team three, prepare the fuses! Remember, the explosives must be buried in a dispersed manner, and the fuses must be extended. We must retreat to a safe distance before the explosion."

"Yes!"

The Northern Army moved swiftly.

Boxes of raw charcoal and gunpowder were carried deep into the tunnels. Soldiers used iron chisels to dig shallow pits in the mine walls, filled them with gunpowder, and covered them with gravel for camouflage.

The hemp rope, twisted into a thread, spread out like a spider web on the tunnel floor, extending all the way to the entrance.

Everything was going so smoothly it was unsettling.

Luo Shengzhi stood in the middle of the tunnel, holding a torch and looking around.

The rock face was slippery, and the sound of dripping water was particularly clear in the silence. He suddenly noticed that the rough timbers supporting the tunnel were of varying ages.

Some of the wood still had bark on it, clearly indicating that it had been recently replaced; but much of the wood was rotten and blackened, with holes riddled with wormholes.

This is not right!

The Zhenfeng silver mine is Baili Luochen's cash cow; logically, tunnel maintenance should be the most important thing. How could they have allowed the supporting timbers to rot to this extent?

"Stop!" Luo Shengzhi shouted suddenly.

The soldiers inside the tunnel were taken aback.

Almost at the same time——

“Rumble——!!!”

A muffled roar came from deep within the mountain, followed by a violent tremor throughout the entire tunnel!

The rock face cracked, and rubble rained down. The rotten supporting timbers groaned under the weight of the tremors, snapping one after another!

"General, this is bad! The tunnel has collapsed! Run!"

……