Upon hearing such bold words, Li Zhaowen was momentarily stunned, then began to laugh, saying, "Ha, truly bold! Although I feel sorry for the many soldiers of Anxi City, this time, I must borrow their lord!" "Come, let’s don the armor." Li Zhaowen personally took Li Guanyi to the Duke Mansion’s armory. This place stored many Treasure Armors and weapons. With Li Zhaowen personally leading the way, naturally, no one dared to say anything. Upon seeing these two people coming together, Li Yuanchang quickly avoided them. He turned his thoughts to inform Li Jianwen of the matter. But Li Jianwen merely held his forehead, feeling weary at heart. It was already a situation where nothing could be done. All fifty thousand Wolf Teeth Inverted Hook Arrows had been given away. Li Jianwen said, "Let them be." Even though Li Yuanchang felt uncomfortable inside, he dared not provoke both his elder brother and second elder sister, so he sulkily went to find a singer to vent his frustrations. Li Guanyi donned a brocade battle robe, clad himself in Cold Iron Thousand-Forged Mountain Armor, a Fierce Tiger Swallowing Waist band, Civil and Military Sleeves, and switched to various weapons—his strength was immense, but because the Fierce Tiger Sky Shouting Halberd was within the Nine Provinces Tripod, he could channel the aura of the Divine Weapon into the weapons. He picked up a mystical weapon-grade heavy spear. There was also a battle halberd, but Li Guanyi wanted to conceal his identity as much as possible; wielding a spear was just as convenient for him. Thus, he and Li Zhaowen led eight hundred men, leaving the city in haste to rush to the battlefield. The goal of this battle was to break formation and stance, using hard blades and spears. The silver-haired girl, not possessing martial skills, could not accompany them. Shaking Light’s forte was in large-scale troop movements, not in small unit raids, so Li Guanyi told Shaking Light many things, instructing her to conceal her presence and wait here. Changsun Wuchou had already sent a message to Anxi City using Li Zhaowen’s unique golden roc. Mr. Lei received the message and reported it to Breaking Army without mentioning it further. Breaking Army read the letter and laughed, prompting Fan Qing to curiously inquire. Breaking Army calmly said, "My plan has succeeded. But General Fan Qing and General Qibi Li, you two have followed the lord for a long time, both have battlefield experience." "Yet, you haven’t become famous throughout the world." "This situation is like a flood dragon about to soar; do you two generals wish to lead a force on a journey? Trade leather armor for iron armor, and there are three thousand sets of horse tack, over ten thousand sharp weapons." Both were astounded, but Breaking Army provided each with strategies, instructing Qibi Li to lead three thousand cavalry wielding golden scimitars, with his subordinate Tiele nine divisions’ original leaders, Fan Qing, and other generals each leading their troops to gather ten thousand men. "The lord is there, leading your armies to him." "Unfurl the banners, stretching over dozens of miles, drums sounding in unison, as if a grand army is on the move." Fan Qing said, "What about Anxi City then?" Breaking Army responded, "Divine Shooter General Wang Shunchen, renowned in all directions, must not act rashly this time. Stay in Anxi City to guard it. You generals lead your troops out with such grandeur, letting the Western Regions know that the elite of Anxi City have all set out." The strategist’s face showed a slight smile, with a purple glint in his eyes: "They must believe our city’s defenses are empty." "They will lead armies to join in the frenzy, and with the grand occasion, we’ll execute an empty city strategy, fiercely curbing the surrounding arrogance." Fan Qing, Qibi Li, and the other generals were all thoroughly impressed by Breaking Army’s wisdom. Without saying much, they assembled the troops—Qibi Li led six thousand, Fan Qing four thousand, gathering ten thousand soldiers and stretching the battle line, appearing ready for an expedition, magnificently marching towards Yemen Pass. Anxi City had made a powerful impression during this time. The surrounding small and large city-states had been subdued, and now, seeing the armies rolling out continuously, they were cautious and careful at first, not daring to act rashly. Breaking Army then employed various strategies to feign weakness in Anxi City’s inner defenses. The nobles were greatly moved by it. At the same time, forces in Xiyi City were also moving according to Li Zhaowen’s strategy, making a grand show. Yemen Pass was surrounded, with a tremendous army of ten thousand soldiers, forming an endless line. It consisted of seven divisions—Da Wan, Great Shi, Yuezhi, Shule, Gongyue, Qiuci, Shatuo—a grand assembly of one hundred thousand, all fierce and powerful. Though not as elite as the Qiang’s Qie Xue Army, they were still formidable warriors. They surrounded the city, yet had not expected that the unremarkable Duke Li Shude of Ying Country actually possessed considerable skills. Although they suffered initially in field battles, returning to the city, those bold generals led the defenses, and the allied army could not easily defeat him. Originally planning to besiege, they sent out scouts. The information received was that a mighty army from Xiyi City was advancing, and it was heard that the damn Central Plains merchant Tian Ge’er had also dispatched his elite cavalry of a hundred clans, attacking from two directions, flags blazing, stretching over dozens of miles. "Surely there must be over a hundred thousand troops!" Scout reports were relayed, and the Shatuo country’s Great General was furious: ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NovelHub(.)net "Impossible, absolutely impossible!" "Just that poor beggar, that money-grubbing fellow from Anxi City, where would he get the funds to assemble an army of over a hundred thousand?" "That man is foolish, spending all his money on buying serfs and slaves, even allowing wandering tribes to stay in his city; where would he have an army?" "Right now, Ying Country is embroiled in a major battle with Chen Country and the Turkic, and tension is everywhere. That old geezer came out this time with sixty thousand troops; it’s impossible for him to dispatch an additional hundred thousand, let alone the ones guarding the city."