Chapter 383: Chapter 325: So What if He’s the Legitimate Son of Prince Zhenbei?

It was in this year and a half that Xiao Mo had already "forgotten" seventy percent of the Godslaying Spear’s techniques.

Though the process of "forgetting" slowed the further he progressed, Xiao Mo wasn’t worried. ’It’s only a matter of time,’ he thought.

As for his military achievements, Xiao Mo never kept track.

He only knew that after he, a Dragon Gate Realm Cultivator, killed an enemy general at the Golden Core Realm on the battlefield, he earned the right to attend strategic meetings in the main command tent.

But even though he could now attend these meetings with the other generals, Xiao Mo remained completely silent.

Xiao Mo’s knowledge of battlefield strategy had, until now, been purely academic. He listened intently to the discussions of the veteran commanders, comparing their insights with his own studies and thoughts to see where they aligned.

The only thing that gave Xiao Mo a headache was when the generals’ frequent disagreements escalated into brawls, forcing him to step in and break them up.

Later, Qin Huo seemed to take an interest in deliberately mentoring Xiao Mo. He would periodically ask for Xiao Mo’s opinions on battlefield situations and have him analyze the mindset of enemy commanders.

Xiao Mo always gave his honest assessments.

After hearing Xiao Mo’s strategies, even some of the most aggressive generals felt they had been too conservative.

But many of Xiao Mo’s ideas were undeniably original, his insights so unique that they often left the other commanders in contemplative silence.

It was then that Qin Huo, acting on his own authority, gave Xiao Mo temporary command of a ten-thousand-strong army. While still officially part of the Iron Tiger Army, Xiao Mo was to lead this new force independently, tasked with breaking the Wey Kingdom’s Ruci City to secure the main army’s right flank.

A general’s duty isn’t just to kill enemies on the field; more importantly, it is to command the army as a whole.

Qin Huo wanted to see what Xiao Mo was truly made of.

And Xiao Mo did not disappoint.

Xiao Mo led his ten-thousand-strong army to the walls of Ruci City and set up camp. Instead of attacking, he simply had leaflets dropped into the city each day. The main messages proclaimed:

"The Qin Kingdom’s army will not take so much as a needle or thread from the people upon entering the city."

"Half the Wey Kingdom has already fallen."

"Generals who surrender will be rewarded with promotions and titles."

"Whoever brings me the head of the Ruci City Lord will be appointed the next City Lord of Ruci City."

Xiao Mo’s methods plunged Ruci City into a state of panic and distrust.

This was compounded by the fact that the City Lord of Ruci City was a tyrant who regularly beat and cursed his men. He even forced them to send their wives to his bed, earning him the deep-seated hatred of many of his subordinates.

Ultimately, the City Lord of Ruci City was decapitated, the gates were thrown open, and the city surrendered to Xiao Mo.

Upon entering the city, Xiao Mo enforced strict discipline. His army behaved exactly as promised in the leaflets, not harming the populace in the slightest. Xiao Mo even took the initiative to review the local legal records. During the four-day period of rest and reorganization, he demonstrated remarkable administrative skill, righting all wrongful convictions and completely clearing the dockets. This earned him significant goodwill from the local population.

After leaving Ruci City, Xiao Mo did not immediately return to the main army. Instead, he received new orders to continue his advance along the flank.

Before besieging any city, Xiao Mo made it a point to study the personality and life story of its defending City Lord.

He would take a city by wits if possible; if not, he would find a way to conquer it with minimal casualties.

The principle of "avoid the strong, strike the weak" seems simple, but in reality, many generals spend their entire lives without ever truly mastering it.

Yet Xiao Mo’s command was different. He was exceptionally sensitive to the shifting tides of battle, always able to spot the enemy’s weakest point and shatter it with a single, decisive blow.

Moreover, Xiao Mo’s favorite tactic was to personally lead a dozen or so riders deep into enemy territory, acting as his own scout.

He was discovered several times, prompting the enemy to give chase. But they would always break off the pursuit halfway through.

After all, what kind of commanding general personally scouts deep behind enemy lines?

It was simply too preposterous.

They suspected it was a trap!

But they soon discovered that this "young general" named Xiao Mo truly was that absurd.

And so, whenever the enemy spotted scouts from the Qin Kingdom, they would pursue them relentlessly, because there was a high chance that Xiao Mo himself was among them!

When discovered, Xiao Mo wouldn’t even let his men cover their retreat. He would personally bring up the rear, loosing one arrow per man as he rode, each shot finding its mark. Occasionally, he would even draw his Long Spear and charge back into the fray for a spell.

After finishing his slaughter, Xiao Mo would shout, "Your daddy’s leaving now!" before galloping away without a care.

On one occasion, an old City Lord was so thoroughly humiliated by Xiao Mo’s taunts that he coughed up a mouthful of blood in a fit of rage and nearly died on the spot.

At first, the men in his ten-thousand-strong army weren’t convinced. They even suspected that this pretty boy, Xiao Mo, had only gained the Prince’s favor by selling his ass.

But Xiao Mo always led from the very front of every charge and frequently risked his own life to gather intelligence.

When discovered, it was one thing for him, the commanding general, to cover his subordinates’ retreat. But he would also frequently carve a path in and out of the enemy’s ranks, moving like a roaming dragon.

And once battle was joined, Xiao Mo’s command of his ten-thousand-strong army was impeccably precise and flawlessly executed.

The young Military General’s stature grew immensely in the hearts of his soldiers.

「Another six months passed.」

Xiao Mo had originally been dispatched with his ten-thousand-man army to take a single city. But his performance had been so exemplary that he was never recalled to the main force.

In fact, his command had grown from ten thousand to fifty thousand men, advancing as one of three prongs alongside the left army and the main central army.

In those six months, Xiao Mo took ten cities in succession.

"Xiao Mo."

A name that once would have gone unnoticed, it gradually reached the ears of every soldier in the Wey Kingdom.

If the Qin Kingdom’s left and central armies were a steel dagger thrust straight at the heart of the Wey Kingdom...

...then Xiao Mo was a Long Spear in one hand and a Soft Sword in the other, an unpredictable combination that was impossible to defend against.

However, because of his handsome and refined features, Xiao Mo lacked a threatening aura on the battlefield. Enemy soldiers often shouted challenges at him, calling him a pretty boy.

And so, after much thought, Xiao Mo decided to have the army’s blacksmith forge him a ferocious, intimidating mask. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

From then on, whenever he rode into battle, Xiao Mo would wear this mask to charge the enemy lines.

One day, as Zhu Jian, a Cultivator of the Le Family, was flying over Frost Red City, she felt a heaven-storming killing intent.

As she drew closer, she saw a masked general leading his forces in a bloody battle against the army of Frost Red City.

The masked general led three hundred of his personal guards, carving a path in and out of the enemy’s core with incredible valor. Yet even in the heat of the charge, he maintained a grasp of the entire battlefield, issuing commands and directing his troops.

Half a day later, the masked man’s army had completely broken through the forces of Frost Red City.

As the soldiers of Frost Red City scattered and fled, the man, Long Spear in hand, reined in his horse. Bathed in the twilight, he raised a hand and removed his mask, revealing his face. As if sensing something, he glanced up at the sky.

Their eyes met.

The stark contrast between Xiao Mo’s Fierce Beast-like ferocity in battle and the handsome face beneath the mask made Zhu Jian’s heart skip a beat.

Long after Xiao Mo had departed, Zhu Jian remained floating in the air, unable to banish the image of his face from her mind.

Three months later, inspired by the battle, Zhu Jian composed the "Frost Red Battle Song" for the masked general, a piece that would be played throughout the land.

Xiao Mo, however, knew nothing of this.

Xiao Mo continued his campaign, taking several more cities. A year later, he successfully rendezvoused with the main army at the Imperial City of the Wey Kingdom, ready for the final battle.

「On the eve of the decisive battle.」

Just as Qin Huo had gathered Xiao Mo and the other generals to discuss the siege plan, a scout rushed into the command tent with a letter.

Qin Huo opened the letter, read it, and slammed it on the table, letting out a laugh that was more anger than humor. "This Xiao Yishen... he’s got some nerve!"

At the name "Xiao Yishen," all eyes in the tent turned to Xiao Mo.

Everyone knew that Xiao Yishen was the second son of the Xiao Mansion—Xiao Mo’s second elder brother.

Xiao Mo took the letter and read it. The contents were, in essence:

Xiao Yishen had originally been under imperial orders to keep an eye on the Wei Kingdom. But now, with the Wey Kingdom on the brink of destruction, he had brought his five thousand Snow-Trampling Dragon Cavalry over to claim a piece of the glory for its downfall!

"General Xiao, your thoughts?" Qin Huo asked, turning to Xiao Mo.

Although Xiao Mo was technically only a general in name, the authority he had earned over the years commanded the sincere respect of every man in the army.

Xiao Mo stepped forward and saluted with a cupped fist. "Give me five hundred iron-armored cavalry. I will ensure the Snow-Trampling Dragon Cavalry doesn’t dare come within a hundred miles of the Wey Kingdom’s Imperial City!"

"Excellent!"

Qin Huo’s gaze on Xiao Mo was fervent.

’So what if he’s the legitimate son of Prince Zhenbei?’

’Xiao Mo!’

’Go give him hell!’