Northern Expedition to Tiandou!

"Soldiers, raise your spears and point them toward your enemies!"

Swish, swish, swish!

Within the ranks of the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, sharp spears were raised in unison.

"Kill!"

A roar that shook the heavens echoed across the land, so perfectly synchronized that it sounded as if it had come from a single throat.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The trampling of iron hooves and the howling of the wind erupted simultaneously.

Clang, clang, clatter!

The ferocious charge of the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry tore through the battlefield, devouring the Heaven Dou Allied Forces step by step.

At the center of the Heaven Dou Allied Forces, Xue Yi watched as his army, which had been on the verge of capturing Gulei City, annihilating the remaining Dragon Armor Army, and slaying the Great Ming's top general, Xu Yi, suddenly fell into chaos. He never imagined that one moment his forces would be crushing the enemy and securing a grand victory, only for a group of silver-armored, white-robed troops to scatter his army the next. With Xu Yi and the remnants of the Dragon Armor Army right before his eyes, he couldn't help but wonder: why did he fail every time it reached the critical moment? His eyes turned bloodshot in an instant.

"What... what is happening!"

"What the hell is going on!"

Xue Yi's roar echoed throughout the Heaven Dou Allied Forces.

Before long, a scout rushed over to report.

"It's bad, General! Gulei City is now completely surrounded by the Ming Army."

Whoosh.

Hearing this news, Xue Yi's gaze sharpened. He instantly looked toward that group of silver-armored, white-robed troops. Within that massive army, flag-bearers holding the Sun and Moon Great Ming Flag flashed into view from time to time. The scout was indeed correct; this was the Ming Army. Moreover, the number of troops that had arrived far exceeded his own Heaven Dou Allied Forces.

"Damn it, bastards! Shouldn't these damned Ming troops be on the battlefield of the Star Luo Empire right now? How could they... appear here!"

Upon hearing that these were the Ming troops—and so many of them, clearly the main force of the Great Ming—Xue Yi was startled. He took one last deep look at Xu Yi, who was still being besieged not far away, and decisively issued an order.

"Retreat! Withdraw the army!"

Since the main force of the Great Ming had returned, there was no need to continue this battle. No matter how they fought, they would not win.

Heaven Dou Empire Imperial Palace!

It was only on the third day after Star Luo City was surrounded by the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry that the Star Luo Empire announced their defeat and the signing of a peace treaty. By the time this news reached the Balak Kingdom, a day had already passed. The Balak Kingdom could have relayed the news to the Heaven Dou Empire that same day, but the kingdom situated between them was no longer on their side. The Balak Kingdom had to send messengers on a long detour to deliver the news to the Heaven Dou Empire, which took another day. In other words, it was five days later before the Heaven Dou Empire received the news.

Upon receiving the report, the entire Heaven Dou Empire was stunned. The Star Luo Empire had been defeated? In less than a month of fighting, an army of eight hundred thousand had lost? After learning this, the Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Ye, immediately summoned his ministers to discuss what should be done next. They knew that under normal circumstances, the Star Luo Empire was stronger than the Heaven Dou Empire. If the Star Luo Empire was no match for the Great Ming Empire, then the Heaven Dou Empire stood even less of a chance. Furthermore, the Star Luo Empire's defeat had come without any warning. The terms of the peace treaty left the Heaven Dou Empire trembling with fear. One billion—one billion Gold Soul Coins was one thing, but there were also various military restrictions.

It was only natural; as long as a monarch's brain wasn't broken, no ruler would ever sign such a treaty.

This also indirectly ruled out the possibility that Great Ming and the Star Luo Empire had secretly joined forces to sign some clandestine agreement.

"Immediately cease all military operations against Great Ming."

"Withdraw to the Mingdou border."

After a long silence, the latest directive was issued from the Heaven Dou State Council.

It was clear that the strength Great Ming was currently displaying far surpassed that of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Otherwise, the Heaven Dou Empire's five-hundred-thousand-strong army would not have been completely buried in Mingdou Canyon.

Now, the Heaven Dou Empire needed time; they wanted to verify exactly what was happening over in the Star Luo Empire.

To just stop fighting because they said so? What a joke—wasn't that just selling out the Heaven Dou Empire in disguise?

Unfortunately, Xu Nian'an would not give them that chance.

Gulei City.

"Lost... we lost!"

Xue Yi watched helplessly as his personal guards fell one by one, the Heaven Dou Allied Forces being segmented and slaughtered, with some even attempting to surrender.

But the Great Ming army acted as if they hadn't heard a thing; there was only one word in their eyes: kill.

When it came to competing in speed against the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, the Heaven Dou Allied Forces had clearly lost.

One hundred thousand men were captured, along with him, the commander-in-chief of the allied forces.

"No... you can't kill me. I... I am the commander-in-chief of the Heaven Dou Allied Forces, a kinsman of the Heaven Dou royal family, the youngest commander, the youngest general—you cannot kill me."

"I surrender! Don't kill me, please don't kill me! I can bring you a lot of money!"

Xue Yi looked at the corpses covering the ground and the people around him begging for mercy, only to be decapitated by the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry without a moment's hesitation.

Their cold, ruthless expressions made it seem as if they were merely slaughtering livestock.

At this point, he couldn't help but feel a sliver of fear.

It wasn't until he was pressed down in front of a luxurious carriage draped in a massive Great Ming Flag that his composure finally shattered.

He couldn't die. He was the youngest commander in the Heaven Dou Empire, the youngest general; he still had a brilliant future ahead of him. He was a kinsman of the Heaven Dou royal family; he couldn't die like those common soldiers on this godforsaken battlefield.

"Look up."

The faint voice rang out, causing Xue Yi to tremble and his body to stiffen.

"This Emperor commands you to look up!!!"

In the next instant, a thunderous roar echoed through the air.

Swish!

Xue Yi instantly lifted his head.

Under the glare of the setting sun, the Sun and Moon Flag shimmered, and a towering, majestic figure slowly came into focus.

Is this... the Emperor of Great Ming? This damn oppressive aura.

Xue Yi was forced to his knees, looking up at the man before him with terror in his eyes.

"Who... who gave you permission to cross the Great Ming border!"

"Who gave you the gall to touch This Emperor's Dragon Guard?"

"Who was it? Tell This Emperor!!!!"

The Dragon Guard that Xu Nian'an had obtained from his initial sign-in rewards totaled two hundred thousand.

These two hundred thousand could absolutely be used as if they were five hundred thousand.

Because of the war started by Star Luo, Xu Nian'an had been forced to split them up, placing one hundred thousand at the Mingdou border to protect Great Ming.

He personally led the other hundred thousand to attack the Star Luo Empire.

War was never without casualties, and although Xu Nian'an had been mentally prepared, he truly hadn't expected the losses to be this severe.

Of the one hundred thousand Dragon Guards, only three thousand remained after being slaughtered by the allied forces. Those three thousand had fought to the death to protect Xu Yi, holding out until the arrival of the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry.

This was exactly why Xu Nian'an was so furious.

One had to understand that the Dragon Guard were a system reward, possessing one hundred percent loyalty to him. They were the strongest infantry, capable of awakening their martial souls; the energy these one hundred thousand men would have provided him in the future was worth no less than a million elite troops.

Now that they were all lost here, the pain in Xu Nian'an's heart was immense.

It was worth noting that on the Star Luo battlefield, to avoid losses to the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, Xu Nian'an had dropped a nuclear bomb without regard for the lives of seven hundred thousand people.

"You... you cannot... urgh!"

Clang!

Before Xue Yi could finish his sentence, a sharp sword appeared in Xu Nian'an's hand, easily severing the man's head.

"Northern Expedition, Heaven Dou!!!!!!"