On the morning of the fourth day, Wen Zhong donned his armor and led his army out through Chaoge's north gate.
He rode an ink-black qilin beast, holding the Male-Female Twin Whips. The divine eye between his brows was slightly open, radiating brilliant light.
Behind him, the banners of two hundred thousand soldiers blotted out the sky as they marched north in a mighty procession.
Wen Zhong's marching strategy was seasoned and shrewd.
He avoided the main roads, taking only secluded shortcuts.
After leaving Chaoge, the army marched swiftly north along the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains, evading the mounted scouts Yuan Futong had stationed on the main roads. In just half a month, they reached the borders of Youzhou.
Meanwhile, Wen Zhong dispatched several detachments, which recaptured a number of passes occupied by Yuan's forces with the speed of thunder.
These detachments were small, but every soldier was an elite member of Wen Zhong's personal guard. Having followed him through years of campaigns north and south, they fought fiercely and worked together seamlessly.
Though Yuan Futong had more troops, his army had been cobbled together from the Seventy-Two Lords. Their commands were inconsistent, and the various contingents distrusted one another.
Wen Zhong's detachments struck only at the weak points where Yuan's contingents met, retreating after a single blow and never lingering in battle.
Within half a month, Yuan's army had been split into several isolated sections, unable to support one another.
When Yuan Futong received the reports from the front in Youzhou City, his face turned livid.
"Wen Zhong-" The hand gripping the reports trembled slightly, his knuckles cracking.
Of course he knew who Wen Zhong was.
The Shang Kingdom's Grand Preceptor, a veteran minister who had served three reigns, an Immortal of the Interception Sect-a man who