At the border.

"Reporting to General! All stones have been launched!"

"Eighty percent of the stones are piled on the bridge! We've successfully blocked their retreat!"

Under the bright moonlight, a soldier was reporting to Huo Qubing.

Huo Qubing nodded slightly, a strange light flashing in his star-like eyes.

Looking at the piles of boulders on the bridge, Huo Qubing said in a deep voice, "All the larger stones here have been used. First, put away the siege equipment."

"Retreat three miles outside and set up camp, do not let them discover us. Wait until tomorrow to join forces with the Lord before launching a counter-attack!"

"By the way, you lead a squad back to the city first and relay the news to our lord!"

"Yes, General!" The soldier immediately led several others away.

Immediately, Huo Qubing led his men back, holding a map in his hand. Therefore, Huo Qubing had already chosen a suitable camping location earlier.

Upon arriving at the predetermined location, several horsemen could be seen riding towards them from afar. They were the scouts that Huo Qubing had sent out earlier to investigate the enemy's military situation.

"General! Our army has won a great victory!"

"I saw the Tu Yuan army marching toward their camp from a few miles away. They were all heads down in defeat, I reckon they had suffered a crushing defeat on the battlefield of Xijing!"

Upon hearing this, Huo Qubing's face lit up with joy. He immediately asked, "How many of them are left?"

"Well... there are quite a lot of people, at least 200,000 or so.

Huo Qubing touched his chin, pondering silently.

If the Tu Yuan army is left with only tens of thousands, then tonight I can lead my troops to intercept them, even directly charging into their camp and preventing their retreat.

But if there were 200,000 people, with their own 30,000 going into battle, they would inevitably suffer heavy casualties.

Now that we have cannons and triple-barreled crossbows, there's no need to inflict unnecessary casualties.

But——

Wouldn't it be a waste to just let them return to the barracks peacefully?

Upon reaching this point, Huo Qubing raised an eyebrow and looked towards the round moon in the sky. Then, he lowered his head and addressed his subordinates:

Most of the stones here have already fallen into the bridge, so it's too time-consuming to look for them now.

Take your weapons into battle. If they counterattack and take our weapons, we'll be in even more trouble.

"In that case, those of you with bows, follow me! Even if they retreat to their camp, I'll leave some of them behind to explain!"

They were defeated, and they spent the night anxiously. They will be weary tomorrow, and I will see how they fight!

As soon as the words left his mouth, the mounted archers with bows and arrows immediately lined up.

Huo Qubing's main mission on this expedition was to cut off the rear of the Xiongnu army, so he did not bring archers and only had over 2,000 soldiers.

But Huo Qubing didn't feel that the Yuanshun army would come to pursue him with a large army in this situation.

After suffering a crushing defeat, the Totem army is now terrified and will not dare to launch any reckless attacks!

Soon, Huo Qubing led over two thousand archers towards the Tu Yuan army camp under the cover of night...

---

The full moon rose higher and higher, and the temperature in the air grew colder and colder. The crumbling remnants of the Tu Yuan army were now only two or three miles from their camp.

In front of the great army, Mokoding's mind was still replaying the day's battle.

He couldn't understand, no matter how hard he tried, why the person across from him would have such powerful weapons today.

If he had known beforehand that the enemy had such long-range artillery and ballistas, he would have definitely chosen not to engage in battle.

The kingdom also possessed ballistae, with a range of about 800 meters. He knew the power of such weapons; today, facing hundreds of projectiles flying across from the enemy, he could only tremble in fear.

Could it be that they have been keeping their forces in check for these past ten days, simply to transport the artillery to Xi'an?

Moko sighed.

To his recollection, this kind of weapon was not widespread in the Great Qin dynasty, to be precise, there was absolutely none in Xijing!

In all previous engagements, I had never seen them use such weapons in Xijing.

"Could it be that I'm wrong? Is there truly no distance between the Great Qin Emperor and this King of Beiping? Are they just acting?"

These weapons, from nothing to something, couldn't have just appeared out of thin air!

"It seems they've already prepared to fight us. These weapons must be those transported by the Emperor of Great Qin to Xijing. They're waiting for us to attack!"

"Damn it! They got me!"

Moko Ding thought the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. His face flushed red, and he gritted his teeth, muttering to himself:

"Such deep scheming! Intentionally showing weakness, pretending to be at odds...are they all illusions?!"

"This Great Qin is gathering all its forces to wage war against us!"

Mittler, who had been listening intently with his ears pricked up, turned serious and spoke.

"Marshal, the war isn't over yet, we haven't lost!"

Since they are already prepared, we cannot continue fighting like this. In my opinion, we should return home as soon as possible, gather more troops, and have the Emperor send the strongest army from Tu Yuan!

They have these weapons, I, the State of Tu Yuan, with all our national strength, are not inferior to them!

Today's crushing defeat was our own fault. We underestimated them. As long as we prepare properly, we can definitely beat them.

Mo Ke ding frowned and looked at him, saying: "Of course I have to go back home, but after that, I won't be able to fight anymore."

At least we have to get through this winter.

Mitt nodded and said in a low voice:

No matter how long it takes, I Mettler will definitely return here and achieve final victory!

Saying that, he took out a cross pendant again, put it to his mouth and began to mutter.

Mo Ke ding turned away, no longer speaking.

Just then, a panicked shout came from the rear of the army.

The enemy soldiers are coming! Run!

"Run!"

Mo Ke Ding's heart tightened.

Mittler immediately shoved the cross pendant into his breast pocket and shouted, "Hurry! Hurry!"

"Return to the camp quickly!"

"Don't linger, they have an ambush!"

Between their words, he spurred his horse and galloped away.

Fortunately, the camp was just ahead, not too far away. Therefore, in a short while, the people at the front had successfully entered the military camp.

But in the rear, Huo Qubing did not pursue deeply. He only had his archers attack from afar with arrows.

Under the cover of night, the arrows loosed by their archers were barely visible. The enemy troops panicked and didn't even fight back, only fleeing for their lives. With each volley of arrows, an unknown number of men at the front of their ranks fell dead.

After a moment.

Seeing that most of the enemy had fled into their camp, and his quiver was nearly empty, Huo Qubing smiled faintly. With a few arrows remaining, he addressed his archers:

Watch out! I'll be back later!

After shouting several times, Huo Qubing led his archers to retreat.

A soldier asked, "General, we're running low on arrows. Should we still attack tonight?"

"Huo Qubing shook his head and smiled faintly,"

"There's no need to come. Frightening them is enough; they're a pack of scared dogs now, jumpy at every rustle. A few noises from us will keep them up all night."

"Let's go, let's head back to our tent for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow is the day of the big battle!"

——

Meanwhile, as everyone returned to the camp, the Tu Yuan soldiers immediately blocked the entrance. In this way, everyone finally let go of their worries.

In the tent, Mokoding's face was filled with rage.

"What did you say? There were only a few thousand people chasing us just now?"

That subordinate sighed and said, "Yes, Marshal, there are only a few thousand people. "

"But no one knows how many people there are behind them, so they dare not go forward to fight. If they were held back by them...."

Mo Ke-ding frowned and waved his hand to interrupt her: "I know."

"Make arrangements for the night shift and be careful as they may come back at night."

Besides, let the rest of you get some rest early. After a day like this, everyone is exhausted and needs to recharge.

"Yes, Marshal!"

After his subordinates left, Mo Ko Ding slumped onto a stool, dejectedly. He removed his helmet and ran his hand over his smooth head, letting out a heavy sigh.

After a sigh, Mocoting rubbed his scratchy eyes.

"So many people died... how can I possibly live with myself..."

"How am I to report back to the Emperor now....Ah well!"

Mo Ke Ding clutched his hands in dejection, sighing repeatedly within the tent...

Another tent.

Mitya paced restlessly in his tent, a sullen expression on his face, muttering to himself.

"No...no, I can't stay here. They're definitely going to come after us again."

"My illustrious name cannot be destroyed here like this! I must return home as soon as possible!"

Speaking of this, he took out the pendant from his chest, knelt devoutly on the ground, and placed the pendant by his mouth, chanting:

"My lord, the oracle I received in a dream on the day of our departure was that I would be victorious in Xijing. But today..."

"Your divination could not be wrong, could it be a matter of timing? Isn't it today?"

He lowered his head, fell silent for a moment, then said:

"God, protect my journey home safely. I will return to complete your vision."

As soon as his words left his lips, Mete stood up and hurried out of the tent...

(Editor in charge：graphic novels)