Wanyan Zongwang was shocked and furious, his generals even more incredulous.
Matters of the state could not be neglected; although these officers were indulging in drunken revelry, the Jin Army's vigilance had not slackened. Scouts were spread over a hundred miles, ensuring that any disturbance would not escape their senses.
How could the enemy have approached their camp in broad daylight, silently, only to be discovered within less than ten miles?
Less than ten miles!
For a large army, that distance is as good as being at the bedside!
How did they manage this?
Could it be that heavenly soldiers had descended to earth?
"Prepare for battle!"
Wanyan Zongwang could not understand, but there was no time for him to ponder, so he ordered his generals to go out and meet the enemy.
"Boom!"
The generals rushed out of the tent, mounted their horses to face the enemy, while Wanyan Zongwang climbed a high platform to observe the battlefield.
Looking out, he saw clouds of dust billowing, the earth rumbling, as a force of black-armored cavalry charged from the north like a sharp knife piercing into the left flank of his great army. The brave and battle-hardened Jin cavalry were now in disarray, retreating step by step.
"This…"
"Could the Song people actually have such a formidable force?"
"Men and horses fully armored in iron?"
"No, these people… are all Martial Artists?"
Beside Wanyan Zongwang, several commanders were equally shocked.
"Who is that man?"
Wanyan Zongwang squinted his eyes, seeing at the forefront of the black-armored cavalry, a man in black leading the charge.
He wore common clothes, without a piece of armor, yet his form was taller and more imposing than the fully armored soldiers, wielding a great halberd, leading the army's charge as if in an uninhabited realm.
The black-armored cavalry closely followed, like a Black Flood Dragon, tearing open the Jin army's formation with an overwhelming momentum, leaving cries of suffering in its wake, flesh and blood like waves, unable to be resisted.
"Gang Qi Grandmaster?"
"Follow me into battle!"
Wanyan Zongwang's eyes sharpened, and he immediately leaped from the platform, mounted his horse, and ordered his personal guards to charge into battle.
He was called Prince Bodhisattva for two reasons: one, because his face was plump like a Buddha, and two, because he possessed miraculous Buddhist Martial Arts, being one of the top Martial Arts Grandmasters of Jin Kingdom.
For this reason, he understood the importance of martial arts well, recruiting numerous experts to form personal guards, accompanying him in his conquests, repeatedly achieving success, with a reputation that shocked the world, no less than the Song Country's Imperial Secret Agents.
Though battling armies and dueling in Jianghu were vastly different, facing thousands of troops and strong crossbows, even a Martial Arts Grandmaster, once out of Gang Qi, would die regretfully in the northwest, yet such power remained an essential pillar, leading the charge, capturing flags and killing generals, all indispensable.
Wanyan Zongwang led his personal cavalry, directly attacking the left wing of the main army, intending to block the enemy's advance.
He charged first, the Knights behind him, the great banner raised high, like a dragon leading out, immediately stabilizing the battlefield.
Although he was the commander of the army, as Prince Bodhisattva, he always led by example; when Jin vanquished Liao, he had led a thousand riders, pursuing the Liao Lord for thousands of miles, unmatched in valor.
Now, with his main banner raised high, elite soldiers and fierce generals soon followed, and the Jin army's formation shifted to the left, preparing to engage that black-armored cavalry head-on.
"Boom!"
The sound of killing shook the heavens, hooves thundered the earth, as Wanyan Zongwang led the army, spear in hand, charging straight at the enemy general.
Being a Martial Arts Grandmaster himself, he was confident not to be inferior, even if that supposed number one expert of the Song Country appeared, he could...
"Whinny!!!"
With a horse's neigh, shocking like a dragon's shadow, the man in black galloped forward, his steed beneath him dragon-backed, bird-necked, strong and muscled, neighing like thunder, racing like the wind, an unparalleled godly horse, its rider an unrivaled hero of ages past. With a sweep of the great halberd, fire erupted, blood and flesh along with steel armor splattering, crashing into the rear of the military formation.
"This…"
"Prince?!"
The generals behind, full of horror, watched as Wanyan Zongwang was hit with such force he was cleaved nearly in two, silent shock turning into an astonished outcry, the formation soon falling into chaos, utterly defeated in moments.
Upon Eastern Capital City's walls, a man stood with hands behind his back, gazing below at the golden banners and armored horses. The black-armored cavalry roamed through the Jin army ranks, causing countless casualties, while infantry approached from all directions, continuously compressing the battle lines.
Thus, the two armies fought fiercely from noon until the following morning, the flames of war spanning nearly a thousand miles, finally settling as the dawn broke.
Outside Eastern Capital City, bodies littered the field, rivers of blood flowed.
A regiment of cavalry slowly made its return, heading straight for the gates of Eastern Capital City.
"Rumble!"
The gates of Eastern Capital, sealed for a month, opened, a line of figures waiting within, but not the city's citizens, instead the entire court of Dukes and Divine Capture Forbidden Guards.
At the forefront of the line stood Zhuge Zhengwo with lowered hands, flanked by the entire court of Great Song's Dukes, with two figures bound before them, faces filled with terror, unable to speak, none other than the two sovereigns, Emperor Song and Zhao Heng.
The two sovereigns were bound tightly, faces stricken with terror as they gazed forward, seeing the black-armored cavalry slowly entering the city, like a Demon Army emerging from a sea of corpses and blood, the heavy scent of blood approaching, causing their bodies to convulse, wanting to retch, but gagged with cloth.
This Demon Army, heavily armored, not only on their bodies but their steeds as well, looking like exotic beasts; what kind of breed, or how they were fed to become so fierce, was unknown.
Finally, the cavalry halted, the two raised their heads with difficulty, seeing a black-clothed man leading the army before them, without a trace of blood but exuding a majestic evil aura, like a Demon Lord descending to earth.
Zhuge Zhengwo stepped forward, bowing respectfully to him, then stood aside, revealing the pale-faced two sovereigns and the entire court of Dukes.
Emperor Song and Zhao Heng raised their faces, making muffled sounds, pleading for their lives, but the man before them paid no heed. Only the Divine Capture Forbidden Guards stepped forward, taking each sovereign away in separate directions, allowing the cavalry to enter the city unchecked.