Chapter 672: An Arrow and the World is Shocked

Chapter 672: An Arrow Astounds the World

The next day, Cui Yuanyong and Xue Canghai each broke camp and marched east, soon arriving at the riverbank.

The night raid to steal the city that Xue Canghai had spoken of yesterday—the facts proved why he was always challenged by those of lower rank; having stayed here for so long, he hadn't even realized that the enemy on the other side was separated by a river...

The reason Puyang had become a stumbling block to the Wang family's westward advance was that a broad river separated them.

It was called the Yellow River.

Not some tributary... it was the main trunk of the Yellow River, the right hook of its great character-ji-shaped bend, flowing all the way northeast up into the Eastern Sea. Therefore, facing across the Yellow River did not necessarily mean north and south; it could also be east and west, as was the case with Puyang and Juancheng on the western bank.

In the past, when everyone belonged to the commanderates and counties of the Great Xia, no one would station heavy troops on the riverbanks to guard against the opposite side. The first to rebel simply crossed the river without any pressure and quickly arrived at the gates of Puyang. Once the fighting paused briefly, both sides established water stockades along the river to construct heavy defenses; now, it was no longer so easy for either side to cross.

It was now the depths of winter, the wind and waves were not great, and the river water had not frozen, allowing ships to sail.

Zhao Changhe stood on the shore gazing into the distance, where the densely packed water stockades and vessels on the opposite bank were faintly visible, a thick forest of banners and flags.

The movements on this side were obviously known to the opposite bank as well; their ships were currently deploying, looking from afar like a swarm of ants forming ranks.

Zhao Changhe glanced at Xue Canghai. Xue Canghai, who claimed to raid cities on snowy nights, was flushed red to his ears, turning his head to curse at his own subordinate: "Your armor is put on crooked, completely topsy-turvy! You are disgracing this seat!"

Subordinate: "?"

As for how to fight a river-crossing battle, Cui Yuanyong had no experience, and Xue Canghai was even more clueless. Both of them were looking at Zhao Changhe, wanting to know how his so-called "the bigger the commotion, the better" was supposed to be played out. They couldn't possibly throw the lives of their own troops into a meat grinder just to make a grand scene.

Zhao Changhe turned to ask Cui Yuanyong: "Who is the enemy commander? He should be a relatively important general of the Wang family, right?"

"It is Cao Biping, ranked nineteenth on the Mortal Ranking. He was originally a Central General of the imperial court, a seasoned veteran capable of warfare."

Zhao Changhe nodded. Setting aside everything else about the former Great Xia court, it truly occupied quite a few spots on the Heavenly, Earthly, and Mortal Rankings. Speaking of the Mortal Ranking alone, Lu Shiheng of Xiangyang, Zhai Muzhi of Ba-Shu, and this Cao Biping, as well as Zhang Ximeng of the Mortal Ranking whom Cui Yuanyong had previously replaced—they were usually nameless in the martial world, but in reality they were all serving as officials, so naturally they had little renown in the Jianghu... Plus the experts of the Demon Suppression Division, the backbones of the various major clans, and so on, you could scoop them up by the handful, and as a whole they were far stronger than ordinary Jianghu sect members.

Learning civil and martial arts only to sell them to the imperial family—this was the normal course of things. It was just that they were both nameless and scattered, making it look as though there weren't many.

"As long as he is on the Mortal Ranking, that will do." Zhao Changhe said no more, suddenly gathering his breath and raising his voice: "Is General Cao present?"

Across the entire width of the Yellow River, his voice carried clearly throughout the water stockades on the opposite bank, and everyone felt as if someone were speaking casually right next to their ears.

Both banks were struck with awe. The strength of this Asura King was indeed unfathomably deep. Legend had it that he had forcefully defeated an ancient demon god at the Cui family estate to win their allegiance. They had originally thought it was just the Cui family's way of saving face, but looking at it now, it truly might not be impossible.

Cao Biping waved his hand to stop the confusion among the officers around him, saying calmly: "The so-called defeat of a demon god is not to be believed. The Scroll of a Chaotic World places him second on the Earthly Ranking, so even if we grant him a generous estimate, he is at most at the tail end of the Heavenly Ranking, on par with Cui Wenjing in his earlier years. When two armies face each other and tens of thousands clash in battle, a single expert cannot decide everything, especially since this is a river-crossing battle and he cannot fly. What are you panicking for?"

The commander's composure managed to steady the surrounding officers somewhat. Truth be told, if it were a camp on land, they would indeed feel faint of heart; if such an expert were to lead a fierce assault as the tip of the spear, he could completely decide victory or defeat, unlike the casual way General Cao put it. Fortunately, however, this was the Yellow River, which did indeed provide a considerable amount of peace of mind.

Cao Biping left the stockade gate attempting to respond, but lacking confidence in his own strength, he walked closer and closer, stepping onto the bow of a ship in front before shouting back: "What guidance does the King of Zhao have to offer?"

Even though he had come so much closer, once the river wind blew, his words were scraped away to the point where they were almost inaudible on the opposite side.

Only a limited number of powerful experts could barely catch it. Zhao Changhe asked Cui Yuanyong: "Is it this dumbass?"

Cui Yuanyong heard this as though drinking fine wine: "Exactly, that's him... Wait, wait, wait? What are you trying to do?"

Everyone watched with wide eyes as Zhao Changhe produced a glittering golden bow, nocked a glittering golden arrow, and aimed across the river. Every single one of them was utterly dumbfounded. What are you doing?

What kind of distance is this? Even if you yourself possess infinite strength, what kind of bow could withstand such force?

Not to mention that at such a distance, a person cannot even be seen clearly, and with the northern wind howling, how could you find your aim? Are you joking?

The opposite bank also seemed to see Zhao Changhe drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, and Cao Biping burst out laughing: "If the King of Zhao wishes to vent his anger, he might as well shoot the bird beneath his own crotch; that would have a better aim."

The surrounding troops erupted into roaring laughter, and this time the laughter carried far to the opposite bank, making the Cui family troops cover their faces in shame.

Cao Biping himself threw his head back and laughed wildly with a wide grin, feeling that this greatly boosted morale.

With a sharp twang of the bowstring, a golden light shot straight into his mouth, piercing through several soldiers behind him in succession, yet its momentum remained undiminished as it crashed into the ship's cabin with a thunderous explosion.

The air suddenly fell dead silent, the howling northern wind blew past, and a profound stillness enveloped both banks.

With a thud, Cao Biping crashed backward to the deck, and only then did a spray of blood erupt from his mouth like a fountain.

A golden light flashed across the sky.

"Late eleventh month, Minor Cold. Wan Dongliu leads his troops out of Xiapei, marching north to Langya; Cui Yuanyong leads his troops out of Puyang, confronting Cao Biping across the banks of the Yellow River."

"Zhao Changhe fires a single arrow across the river, slaying Cao Biping from miles away, striking terror into both banks."

"The nineteenth of the Mortal Ranking has fallen, and the rankings shall be adjusted accordingly..."

Everyone looked up at the sky with their mouths agape.

It truly made a massive commotion, the kind known to the whole world, making it impossible not to know.

Never had anyone thought that the Scroll of a Chaotic World could be utilized to make this kind of publicity. The opponent was on the Mortal Ranking, so his death would inevitably be broadcasted, which was perfectly logical... Incidentally, it even announced Wan Dongliu's movements to the world; in the eyes of the Scroll of a Chaotic World, events belonging to the same campaign would often be narrated together, which was also perfectly logical.

The momentum had truly been generated this time; the Cui family and the Canal Gang were launching a pincer attack on Langya, drawing the attention of the entire world.

But even if someone had thought of it, no one could have pulled it off!

When others shoot arrows, the unit is a hundred paces or two hundred paces, but you, damn it, are talking about miles!

Who could shoot across the entire Yellow River to a target miles away and actually manage to pierce the throat with a single arrow? Was this even human archery?

This was indisputably the power of gods and demons, something that even the Heavenly Ranking in people's perception could not possibly achieve. With such power swaying the course of battle, ordinary mortal warfare truly had no reason to be fought...

Zhao Changhe looked around at his left and right: "What are you all still standing there for? You don't need me to command the river-crossing operation, do you?"

"Damn it." Cui Yuanyong boarded a ship and roared: "The enemy's morale is shattered, their army's heart is lost, and they don't even have a commanding general left! If we still can't cross this river, we might as well all jump into it together! Launch the boats!"

Zhao Changhe added another line: "Remember to help me retrieve my arrow! I lose one every time I use one, it cannot be lost!"

Cui Yuanyong: "..."

A hundred vessels advanced together, sailing toward the opposite bank in a massive, dark mass.

The opposite bank stared blankly like wooden chickens for a moment, then with a sudden loud shout, they all abandoned their ships to flee for their lives, and the water stockade instantly fell into a chaotic mess.

For just a few taels of military pay, why throw away your life! There's an immortal on the other side, how the hell are we supposed to fight!

Unless Huang Yang ran out at this moment to withstand Zhao Changhe, if he didn't show up, there was simply no suspense in this battle. But would a dignified god or demon personally run out to participate in a river-crossing battle? He hadn't even given it a single thought.

Let alone a god or demon, even those on the Heavenly Ranking wouldn't do such a thing. In this world, apart from Zhao Changhe, there was probably not a second expert who so completely refused to treat himself as an esteemed figure, utterly discarding all dignity...

Yet at this moment, no one would think that Zhao Changhe had discarded his dignity. This arrow was simply too terrifying, piercing through everyone's mental defenses, leaving even those reading the battle reports trembling with fear.

Truly, a single arrow astounded the world.

South of Langya, Wan Dongliu looked up as the golden characters in the sky faded away, suddenly smiled, and pointed his whip at the small city ahead: "The defending general of the enemy must have no will to fight at this moment. The first to ascend the wall shall be rewarded with a thousand ounces of gold!"

In the lands of Guanlong, someone received a secret message via a snow eagle, and just as they were hesitating, the broadcast from the Scroll of a Chaotic World blinded everyone's eyes.

"It seems this matter is not false... The Cui family and the Canal Gang are pincering the Wang family, and a quick victory will be hard to achieve. It is only natural for the capital to dispatch troops to join the war."

"At this moment, the capital is empty. If we do not take what Heaven offers, we will instead suffer for it!"