The city gates opened. Sheng Huai'an and the others dismounted, leading their horses into the city.
Looking at the grand procession of warhorses, every single one was a top-tier steed.
General Sun Hao, Martial Commandant, and the others widened their mouths in shock.
These warhorses were enough to form an elite cavalry force of over a thousand men.
One had to know that their entire Anning Army, with a scale of thirty thousand men, only possessed two thousand cavalry.
The reason for this, naturally, was that the Great Wei lacked warhorses and had no proper grasslands for grazing and raising them.
"General Sun!"
Seeing General Who Breaks the Barbarians Sun Hao come out to welcome them, Sheng Huai'an and the others hastily performed the military salute.
"No need for formalities. Did you guys go and rob the Xiongnu Cavalry? You brought back so many good horses." Sun Hao looked at those warhorses, his eyes shining.
"Martial Commandant!" Sheng Huai'an and the others also saluted Martial Commandant.
After all, Martial Commandant was their superior officer.
Martial Commandant waved his hand, signaling Sheng Huai'an and the others not to stand on ceremony.
He looked at Sheng Huai'an, feeling increasingly curious now. This kid truly possessed remarkable skill.
He disappeared with his subordinates for five or six days, and upon returning, he brought back so many warhorses.
"Reporting to the General, we indeed went to raid the Xiongnu," Sheng Huai'an replied with a smile.
"Tell me in detail!" Sun Hao grew interested.
Looking at the sixty or so men Sheng Huai'an brought, they actually had such capability?
Sheng Huai'an recounted the experiences of the past few days.
Martial Commandant and the surrounding soldiers opened their mouths wide enough to fit an egg.
This experience was truly too magical, galloping and fighting across the Xiongnu grasslands, slaying countless enemies, while their own casualties were practically negligible.
Although it sounded simple, actually doing it was probably extremely difficult.
After all, they had never heard of such guerrilla tactics before.
"More than a thousand warhorses, so many supplies, and you even killed so many enemies. You have rendered a great service. When I report this to General Yang, there will surely be a heavy reward," Sun Hao said with a smile.
This kid was truly extraordinary. Added to the merit of raiding the enemy camp, if his cultivation level was sufficient, he could be promoted directly to Colonel.
Moreover, judging by the aura on Sheng Huai'an's body, how long had it been, and he had already reached the Martial Practitioner Great Perfection?
A few days ago, this kid was only at the Martial Disciple realm?!
This speed of cultivation growth was even more monstrous than the proud talents of those great sects and grand noble families.
The return of Sheng Huai'an and his men, along with the warhorses and numerous supplies, quickly spread throughout the Anning Army.
"Old Wang and the others actually didn't die!?" Zhang Da Niu widened his eyes upon hearing the news.
Old Soldier glanced at Zhang Da Niu. "You were really hoping they'd die?"
"No, I don't mean that. I mean, they actually came back to life."
"Ah bah, no, that's not it, they actually didn't get hacked to death by the Xiongnu."
"Shut your mouth!" Old Soldier couldn't bear to listen anymore.
If he didn't know how to speak, he should just keep quiet.
Zhang Da Niu scratched his head, obediently shutting his mouth. He was just a bit too excited upon hearing that Sheng Huai'an and the others were still alive, and his tongue had slipped.
The warhorses and supplies were handed over to the Anning Army, while the spoils such as gold, silver, and jewels belonged to them.
The surrendered supplies and warhorses would also earn them a considerable amount of military merit and reward money.
Especially since the supplies included quite a few healing pills.
Sheng Huai'an and his men were arranged to go and rest.
Up on the city wall, Yang Ye looked at the Xiongnu army camp, his brow slightly furrowed.
"The Xiongnu army has reinforced their troops!"
The other four generals saw the Xiongnu army's reinforcement, their brows carrying a hint of sorrow.
"The frontier is in critical emergency, yet they pay no heed and are still fighting over that seat. In their eyes, what on earth are the frontier people?" General Polu Zhao Yong'an said in exasperation.
"Silence, watch your words!" Yang Ye glared at Zhao Yong'an.
Were such words something that could be spoken recklessly!?
Only then did Zhao Yong'an realize he had spoken out of turn.
Although the other generals didn't say anything, they shared the same sentiment as Zhao Yong'an, feeling more or less dissatisfied and angry.
The battle of Anning Pass had lasted for over twenty days, and now the Xiongnu had reinforced their troops once again. Anning Pass was in perilous danger, yet there was still no sign of reinforcements from the imperial court.
How could this not angering the generals guarding the pass?
"Kill!"
The war was still ongoing. Corpse after corpse of Xiongnu soldiers tumbled down the city walls, and soldiers on the walls were also targeted and shot dead by Xiongnu cavalry.
"Wuwu..."
The horn of war sounded so desolate.
The battle had dragged on until now, and the garrison of Anning Pass had already lost more than half of its troop strength consumed by the Xiongnu army.
The soldiers coming to reinforce from the commanderies and counties in the rear were not many at all, completely just perfunctory.
Presently, Anning Pass relied entirely on the garrison of Anning Pass to hold out to the death.
Sheng Huai'an and the others, resting in the military camp, lazily basked in the sun, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
During those five or six days on the grasslands, they had been walking on eggshells day and night, never truly feeling at ease.
If it weren't for the city being under martial law and in a state of war right now, Sheng Huai'an would have wanted to take his subordinates to Yichun Tower for a grand time to vent their stress and cultivate their sentiments.
The war drew to a close at dusk. The setting sun was as red as blood, and the heaven and earth were filled with an aura of stern desolation.
The Xiongnu army retreated, leaving behind thousands of corpses once again.
That evening, Sheng Huai'an had originally planned to go see Old Soldier, but General Yang summoned him, so he had no choice but to go see General Yang first.
The highest-ranking general of the Anning Pass garrison, Pacification General Yang Ye, a fifth-rank general and a Grandmaster-level powerhouse.
If not for Yang Ye guarding Anning Pass, this pass would have long been trampled flat by the iron cavalry of the Xiongnu.
Summoned by General Yang, Sheng Huai'an still felt somewhat apprehensive.
Regardless of the other party's status or cultivation level, it was someone he currently needed to look up to and face with caution.
"General, Sheng Huai'an has arrived!" The messenger brought Sheng Huai'an into Yang Ye's council chamber.
"Bring him in!" Inside the council chamber, Yang Ye's voice rang out.
Composed and majestic!
Sheng Huai'an was led into the council chamber, where all five Brigade Generals were present.
Sheng Huai'an looked at the six men. These six were the highest-ranking generals of Anning Pass.
"Greetings to General Yang and all the generals!"
Everyone looked over at the saluting Sheng Huai'an. Facing the gazes of a crowd of generals, Sheng Huai'an felt the pressure was mountainous.
Every single person seated here was a martial artist above the Xiantian realm. Even when restraining their auras, the majesty accumulated from years in the military was still very heavy.
"No need for excessive formalities. This is the newly rising young general of our Anning Pass. Truly a man of outstanding talent," Yang Ye said with a smile upon seeing Sheng Huai'an.
Based on military merit, Sheng Huai'an was fully qualified to be enfeoffed with the rank of Colonel and command a battalion.
"Indeed quite good. That night you raided the enemy camp, you took the top merit," General Polu Zhao Yong'an said with a smile.
"Daring to fight and scrap, in the future he can be a commander of men," another Brigade General also praised.
"My command lacks a Battalion Commander. What do you say, interested in coming to my corps?" Pacification General Li Daoru looked at Sheng Huai'an and smiled.
"Old Li, you're snatching people right in front of my face, isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Sun Hao immediately spoke up.
The seventh battalion where Sheng Huai'an belonged was under his military corps.
"You can't put it that way. How is this snatching people? It's just that the position of Battalion Commander suits him better. Putting him in your corps is somewhat wasting his talent." Li Daoru thought very highly of Sheng Huai'an.
He had a brain, dared to charge and breakthrough, and was decisive in killing.
Sheng Huai'an watched in a daze. Why were these big shots starting to fight over someone!
Was he really that outstanding and eye-catching? How come all these generals were paying so much attention to him?
"Alright, stop arguing, you lot. I have other uses for this kid," Yang Ye spoke up.
Seeing this, the several generals realized that the commander-in-chief was prepared to make great use of this kid!
Yang Ye looked at Sheng Huai'an and said with a smile, "Sheng Huai'an used to be a scholar who was conscripted as a laborer. In his very first battle, he displayed extraordinary archery talent, and later, an old soldier passed down military cultivation techniques to him. His martial arts talent is prodigious, his combat is fierce, and he is decisive in slaughter."
Hearing this, Sheng Huai'an felt a jolt in his heart, somewhat startled. They had already investigated his background!?
"Don't be afraid. I am not prying into your background. I called you here now because there is a matter I want to entrust to you," Yang Ye said.
"Please speak, General!" Sheng Huai'an said respectfully.
Yang Ye nodded. "Today, the Xiongnu army has started reinforcing their troops again, estimated at fifty thousand soldiers, yet we have no reinforcements."
Sheng Huai'an frowned. Another fifty thousand reinforcements, and they had no support. This was definitely not good news.
"I have heard of your exploits these past few days. Now I need you to lead troops and make another trip to the grasslands. Do you dare to go?" Yang Ye stared at Sheng Huai'an.
It was because he heard Sun Hao mention Sheng Huai'an's actions leading troops on the grasslands these past few days that he thought of letting Sheng Huai'an go cause trouble on the grasslands once more.
"Of course, this matter is very dangerous. I won't force you. I'll give you two days to consider, and you can give me your answer in two days."
"No need. I can go, but I have one condition," Sheng Huai'an said immediately.
Going to the grasslands to kill enemies at will was better than defending the city and killing them.
Possessing the Slaughter System, only through slaughter in warfare could he rapidly grow stronger.
Therefore, he did not refuse this mission.
"Oh, let's hear it. As long as it's something I can do, I will satisfy you." Seeing that Sheng Huai'an agreed without hesitation, Yang Ye nodded with a satisfied smile.
"I want a few more soldiers," Sheng Huai'an said.
"Alright, I'll give you five hundred elite cavalry and promote you to Battalion Commander. As long as you go to the grasslands and cut off the Xiongnu army's food supplies, that will suffice," Yang Ye said.
Sheng Huai'an was slightly stunned. He got promoted again?
A Battalion Commander was a commander of a thousand men, leading a thousand troops, a Principal Eighth Rank military official.
"Remember, you only need to raid and harass the army transporting the Xiongnu food supplies. You don't need to do much else," Yang Ye exhorted.
"Guaranteed to complete the mission!" Sheng Huai'an cupped his hands and executed a military salute.
"Go down and rest for two days. I will select five hundred elite cavalry to hand over to you. Whether we can delay the Xiongnu army's siege depends on you," Yang Ye nodded and said.
Sheng Huai'an never expected that he had just returned, only to head back to the grasslands once again.
Before you continue