Arrival at Sanmen Town!

Sanmen Town was over a hundred li from Death Squad Camp.

Even riding swift horses, it still took them several hours to arrive.

"Brother Jiang, Brother Lin! Sanmen Town lies ahead!"

At that moment, Ye Fei sat astride his horse and pointed toward a town in the distance.

"It doesn't look like Barbarians invaded it, does it?"

Someone muttered.

"Whether there are Barbarians or not, won't we know once we get there? This mission was personally assigned by the Deputy Camp Commander. Do you dare refuse to go?"

Lin Jie gave a light laugh, then squeezed his horse's belly and galloped ahead.

Jiang Bei's eyes narrowed at the sight.

All along the way, he had remained cautious.

Yet Lin Jie had made no move.

He guessed that only a handful among this group had been bought over by Lin Jie, rather than all of them.

Otherwise, if everyone had been bribed, making a move on the road would have been far more convenient than waiting until they reached Sanmen Town!

Jiang Bei glanced around the town and found nothing but small hills nearby. There did not seem to be anything out of place.

Then he tightened his grip on the reins and rode onward with Ye Fei and the others.

A short while later, they entered Sanmen Town.

A thick stench of blood immediately rushed into their faces.

The streets were blanketed in bloodstains. Severed limbs lay everywhere, and there were scarcely even a few intact corpses to be seen.

"So the Barbarians really did invade. Those bastards!"

Ye Fei flew into a rage, his hand clutching the reins tightening several degrees.

Jiang Bei's eyes narrowed as well. Those Barbarians burned, killed, looted, and treated human lives like blades of grass.

Sanmen Town's situation was far, far worse than Sunset Village's had been yesterday.

"Judging by this, there must be quite a few Barbarians who invaded Sanmen Town, right? Should we dismount? We shouldn't draw attention. I don't want to throw my life away!"

Someone suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and made the suggestion.

After considering it, the others nodded and dismounted.

Their mission this time was merely to gather intelligence. They did not need to fight the Barbarians to the death, and no one wanted to die.

The group slowly headed deeper into Sanmen Town. They saw countless corpses along the way, yet not a single Barbarian.

"This won't do. Searching like this is far too inefficient. How about this?"

Lin Jie suddenly spoke. Looking at Jiang Bei beside him, he said, "Brother Jiang, why don't you and I each take a group to investigate? I'll go west, and you go east. We'll meet at the town gate in one hour!"

Jiang Bei said nothing.

Ye Fei, standing nearby, gave a slight nod. "This is indeed too slow. Splitting up is not a bad idea. Brother Jiang, I'll go with you."

Jiang Bei looked at Ye Fei, then at Lin Jie, and casually smiled. "Fine. We'll meet at the town gate in one hour."

With that, he turned and left.

Ye Fei and three others followed close behind.

Lin Jie watched Jiang Bei and his group depart. Only after they had completely vanished from sight did a cold smile curl onto his lips. "Now, all we have to do is wait for them to obediently jump into the Barbarians' jaws! Let's go. This way is safe!"

With a wave of his hand, Lin Jie led the other three toward the western side of town.

Jiang Bei and the others, meanwhile, arrived at the eastern side.

But just then, Jiang Bei, who was walking at the front, abruptly stopped and did not continue forward.

He turned to Ye Fei and the others. "Brother Ye, I left something on my horse. I need to go back and retrieve it. Could you search on your own for a while?"

"Sure, it's fine, Brother Jiang. Go ahead."

Ye Fei revealed a smile.

Jiang Bei nodded. After hesitating for a moment, he added, "Brother Ye, don't search too quickly. Wait until I return."

"Alright."

Ye Fei nodded.

Then Jiang Bei left.

"This Jiang Bei, does he really think becoming ranked makes him some grand lord? Why should the rest of us search? What if he finds a place to hide and enjoys himself in peace while leaving us to risk our lives?"

After Jiang Bei left, someone said disdainfully.

"Brother Jiang isn't that kind of person. I carried out a mission with him before, and he would never abandon his comrades. But that last thing Brother Jiang said just now... I vaguely feel like he was warning me about something."

Ye Fei pondered.

"What could he be warning you about? He was just making polite noises. He probably can't wait for us to search the entire eastern side as quickly as possible!"

That man spoke again.

"No. Let's just search nearby and not go too deep into town. We'll wait until Brother Jiang returns."

Ye Fei made up his mind.

At that moment, Lin Jie and his group were not heading into the western side of town to search at all. Instead, they walked straight out of town.

"Brother Jie really is amazing! Without lifting a finger, you let us mooch off another mission count!"

Someone grinned and flattered him.

"Once Jiang Bei dies, Brother Jie's mission count will be complete, and no one will be able to stop you from transferring out of Death Squad Camp. When Brother Jie returns to the military camp, don't forget us brothers!"

Another person beside him chimed in.

"Of course I won't forget."

Lin Jie wore a smug smile.

"Brother Jie, should we go take a look? What if Jiang Bei doesn't die? He killed a ranked Barbarian just yesterday."

Someone suddenly suggested.

"Doesn't die? Impossible!"

Lin Jie said with absolute certainty, "Do you think Sanmen Town is the same as Sunset Village? There are more than ten ranked Barbarians here alone! Right now, all of them have gathered at the temple on the eastern side of town. As long as Jiang Bei dares approach, he'll definitely die!"

"More than ten? Good heavens! Brother Jie, how did you know all this?"

Someone exclaimed in amazement.

"You don't need to concern yourselves with that. Just remember what you're supposed to say after we return."

Lin Jie answered indifferently, his gaze fixed on a hilltop in the distance that was gradually becoming clearer.

Naturally, this intelligence had been leaked to him by his brother-in-law.

Sanmen Town had originally been Tiger Camp's next target for extermination. Tiger Camp had long since investigated the Barbarians' movements, numbers, and gathering place with crystal clarity.

After killing the people of Sanmen Town, those Barbarians had settled down in the town, mainly stationed at the temple on the eastern side.

Yesterday, he had contacted his brother-in-law and learned that Tiger Camp would make its move today.

He immediately realized that this was a perfect chance to kill with a borrowed knife.

All he had to do was bring Jiang Bei to Sanmen Town, then lure him to the east. Jiang Bei would naturally die at the Barbarians' hands.

Then no one would compete with him for the quota to transfer out of Death Squad Camp!

As for whether the Barbarians might fail to appear according to routine? He was not worried in the slightest.

Tiger Camp's reconnaissance showed that this group of Barbarians held a ritual at East Temple every day at noon, with every member present.

And right now, it was noon!

At the same time, he had secretly arranged for a man to lie in wait on the eastern side of town. The moment he heard sounds of battle, he would fire a signal flare.

That was the signal for his brother-in-law.

By now, the force led by his brother-in-law should already be lying in ambush on the nearby hilltops.

The moment he saw the signal flare, his brother-in-law would understand that Jiang Bei had entered the eastern side of town and fallen into a Barbarian encirclement. It would be time to move.

Then his brother-in-law would lead his men into Sanmen Town and wipe out the Barbarians.

Jiang Bei, Ye Fei, and the others would unfortunately be discovered by the Barbarians and perish on the battlefield.

The few of them, meanwhile, would escape amid the chaos and narrowly preserve their lives.

Everything would be perfectly reasonable!

"Jiang Bei, Jiang Bei, you're still too green to fight me!"

"If you have anyone to blame, blame yourself for being exiled to Death Squad Camp at the same time as me!"

Lin Jie sneered again and again in his heart.

In his mind, he could already see Jiang Bei being butchered by the Barbarians at that very moment!

Whoosh!

Just then, a burst of icy chill shot up from his back, racing straight to the crown of his head!

"Who?!"