Beauties in Simulation Cross over into Reality

The Northern Wilderness Army split into five divisions, advancing on the Wei Kingdom’s Imperial City from five different directions.

The entire Wei Kingdom was thrown completely onto the defensive.

Within the Imperial Court, factions had already formed: one advocating surrender and another determined to fight to the death.

The pro-surrender faction consisted mainly of civil officials—the very same men who normally lived in decadent luxury, sold off official posts and titles, and behaved with arrogant impunity.

In their eyes, as long as they surrendered, their own worthless lives would be spared.

The Sovereign of Wei entertained this idea as well, believing that ceding territory in exchange for peace was the best course of action.

However, the moment the Sovereign of Wei considered it, he was dissuaded by the Military Generals.

The faction that favored fighting to the death strongly advised the Sovereign of Wei—

The Qin Kingdom had mobilized its full strength to attack the Wei Kingdom. With the war having already progressed this far, it was clear the enemy’s goal was total annihilation.

How could this possibly be resolved by the Wei Kingdom simply ceding a few prefectures?

For the Sovereign of Wei to sue for peace now would accomplish nothing, aside from crushing the morale of the troops.

Not to mention, with the Northern Wilderness Army’s morale at its peak, why would they ever agree to peace talks at a time like this?

And so, with a great battle imminent, the Imperial Court descended into utter chaos.

In the end, however, at the urging of the Wei Kingdom’s Prime Minister, the Sovereign of Wei agreed to at least put up a fight before considering other options.

Meanwhile, Xiahou Nan gathered his remaining troops and returned to the Imperial City of Wei.

Xiahou Nan went directly to the palace to plead for punishment for his failure.

Xiahou Nan had lost the Southern Realm. For such a failure, he should have faced severe punishment. The truth, however, was that the loss was largely due to the backstabbing and mutual suspicion among the degenerates in the Imperial Court, not to mention the Sovereign of Wei’s own indecisiveness.

But how could the Sovereign of Wei ever admit his own mistakes?

Yet this was a time of great need. Xiahou Nan was a renowned general who held the deep respect of the army. If he were to be punished now, the military would surely descend into chaos.

Therefore, the Prime Minister staunchly defended Xiahou Nan, even threatening to smash his head against a pillar to prove his point.

The Prime Minister had given the Sovereign of Wei a perfect way to save face. The Sovereign seized the opportunity, allowing Xiahou Nan to remain in command and atone for his failure by achieving new merits on the battlefield.

However, the loss of the Southern Realm demanded a scapegoat for the people. So, the Sovereign of Wei executed the general deemed most at fault—pointedly selecting a relative of Xiahou Nan for the role.

At this critical juncture, with the very survival of the kingdom at stake, the Sovereign of Wei no longer dared to be reckless.

He granted full military authority to Xiahou Nan, giving him free rein to appoint whomever he wished and command the war as he saw fit.

As long as he could win.

Oh, no.

As long as he could stop the Northern Wilderness Army from getting any closer to the Imperial City, all would be well.

As for Guo Xin...

His sister was the Empress of Wei.

Guo Xin was originally supposed to atone for his failures with his life, but he was ultimately spared.

However, it was now impossible for him to ever hold military command again.

Thus, Xiahou Nan promoted many officers he had long favored, rallied his troops, and prepared to march out to battle once more.

Xiahou Nan would march from the direct south to once again face Xiao Shi.

Mighty General Fu Liu would face Zhang Kui.

King Xifeng, Bai Canfeng, would face Fang Weiming.

The newly promoted young general, Zhong Wen, would face Liu Xing.

But when it came to Xiao Mo, Xiahou Nan was stumped.

Xiao Mo might have been just a young general.

But the problem was that this very same young general had held Yanmen Pass for thirty days!

His performance was in no way inferior to that of veteran generals.

In fact, it was precisely because he was young, full of Blood Qi and vigor, that the army he led was like a Long Spear—all the more sharp and piercing!

Therefore, Xiahou Nan dared not underestimate him.

’But who could possibly stand against this young general?’

In the end, Xiahou Nan decided to pay a personal visit to a certain individual.

This person was none other than a veteran who had served three generations of sovereigns in the Wei Kingdom—the Great Pillar of the Country, Du Beiwang.

The Great Pillar of the Country, Du Beiwang, was extremely old. He had long since retired from public life and was living out his days on the outskirts of the Imperial City, paying no mind to the court’s affairs.

At first, Du Beiwang wanted nothing to do with Xiahou Nan.

But after a night-long discussion with Xiahou Nan, Du Beiwang finally decided to take command of an army himself and see what this young upstart, Xiao Mo, was made of!

However, just as the Wei Kingdom’s Great Pillar of the Country, Du Beiwang, was marching out to intercept Xiao Mo...

...Xiao Mo had already led the Snow-Trampling Dragon Cavalry to conquer two cities in the span of half a month.

Upon reaching the strategic military stronghold of Fengshang City, Du Beiwang and Xiao Mo formally came to a standoff.

Du Beiwang did not immediately opt to shut the city gates and hide.

’In my view,’ Du Beiwang thought, ’how could the elite troops and powerful generals I lead possibly fear a mere brat like Xiao Mo?’

’Besides, the Northern Wilderness Army’s momentum must be blunted!’

Du Beiwang ordered his Vice General, Gu Yuan, to lead troops out of the city and engage Xiao Mo in battle.

Du Beiwang observed the battle from atop the city walls.

After the initial taunts were exchanged, Xiao Mo, the commander himself, advanced and slew three of Wei’s Military Generals. Despite all three generals being at the Golden Core Realm, none of them lasted more than twenty rounds against him.

Seeing that his army’s morale had peaked, Xiao Mo pointed his Long Spear forward and led the charge.

Fifty thousand Snow-Trampling Dragon Cavalry, their faces covered by Asura masks, charged forward with Xiao Mo, looking like a heavenly legion.

Gu Yuan likewise led fifty thousand iron cavalry and a four-hundred-thousand-strong army to meet Xiao Mo’s charge.

The two forces of iron cavalry clashed head-on. Though the Wei cavalry was formidable, they were shattered to pieces by Xiao Mo’s charge.

Furthermore, Gu Yuan’s every tactical adjustment was seen and understood by Xiao Mo. Xiao Mo would counter ingeniously each time, even laying traps that made the battle excruciatingly difficult for Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan felt as if he were stripped bare, completely exposed for Xiao Mo to see.

Standing on the wall and observing the battlefield, the Great Pillar of the Country could not help but shake his head and sigh. He turned to the men beside him and said, ”This man’s mastery of the Military School’s arts surpasses all of yours. He is destined to be renowned for a thousand ages!”

Gu Yuan suffered a crushing defeat in the first engagement and retreated with his army back into the city. Fengshang City’s gates were sealed, and its army refused to venture out!

Xiao Mo knew that the enemy’s defending force outnumbered his own by more than one hundred thousand. ’If I launch a frontal assault,’ he reasoned, ’my losses will be devastating, even if I manage to take Fengshang City. I’d be in no position to fight the battles to come.’