Under the Blood Moon

At midnight, the night was as deep as the sea, with a crescent moon hanging high, casting a cold, watery glow.

Behind Eagle Beak Cliff, on a hidden mountain path, twenty-one black figures quietly assembled.

Wei Zhe stood at the very front of the group. He and his men had all changed into black night-clothes, easy to move in, their faces smeared with black greasepaint, revealing only pairs of eyes that glinted coldly in the darkness.

Each man carried a steel grappling hook and rope on his back, and a newly forged, strangely shaped, three-edged Armor-Piercing Awl was tucked into his waist.

"Are you all ready?" Wei Zhe's voice was kept very low.

"Ready!" came a neat, suppressed response from behind.

After an afternoon of preparation and Wei Zhe's pre-battle mobilization, the fear in the men's hearts had been replaced by a desperate resolve forged in the face of death and a fervent trust in their leader.

"Very good," Wei Zhe nodded. "Remember our plan. Our target is not to kill, but to burn supplies! Infiltrate, set fire, retreat. Not a moment can be wasted! Move out!"

With a single command, the twenty-one men mounted their horses and, like phantoms melting into the night, silently galloped north.

Wolf Howl Valley, true to its name.

It was a narrow, long valley, with steep cliffs on both sides and only two exits, one to the south and one to the north. The Xiongnu's supply camp was pitched in the center of the valley, with rows of tents and mountains of grain sacks faintly visible in the moonlight.

Around the camp, bonfires blazed, and patrols of Xiongnu soldiers moved back and forth, the guard appearing to be strict.

"Squad Leader, the valley entrance is heavily guarded, at least five hundred men. A direct assault is impossible," Qian Hu said in a deep voice to Wei Zhe, lowering the simple binoculars he held.

"We're not going through the valley entrance," Wei Zhe pointed to the nearly vertical cliff face beside them, tens of feet high. "We're going up from here."

"What?!"

Qian Hu and Hu Lei both gasped in shock.

Such a high cliff, and at night; a single mistake would mean being shattered to pieces!

"Execute the order." Wei Zhe offered no further explanation. He unslung the grappling hook from his back, flicked his wrist, and the heavy hook, along with the rope, whistled upwards, landing precisely in a crevice in the rock.

He pulled hard, confirming it was secure, and was the first to climb, like a nimble monkey, agilely ascending the rope.

His body, strengthened through multiple enhancements, displayed an astonishing advantage in this terrain.

Seeing this, the team members did not hesitate and followed suit. The grappling hooks in their hands were all forged by Wei Zhe himself, with extremely strong grip, giving them an extra layer of security on this precipice.

After the time it took for one stick of incense to burn, the twenty-one men silently appeared at the top of the cliff.

From here, they could overlook the entire Xiongnu camp.

"Qian Hu, take five men and eliminate the lookout post on the east side. Hu Lei, take five men and be responsible for the west. The rest will follow me; our target is the largest granary in the center!" Wei Zhe quickly issued instructions.

"Yes!"

The three small teams, like leopards in the dark night, silently moved towards their respective targets.

Wei Zhe, leading his team, quickly infiltrated the heart of the camp, using the darkness and terrain as cover.

His [Hundred-Man Slayer] title played a huge role at this moment. The sentries dozing in the shadows, sensing the invisible killing intent emanating from him, often had their throats silently slit by the sharp Armor-Piercing Awl in his hand before they could even react.

They moved stealthily all the way, and not a single alarm was raised.

They soon arrived at the area where the grain was piled high. The air was filled with a mixed scent of fodder and livestock.

"Act!"

With Wei Zhe's command, the team members immediately took out cloth strips soaked in oil and fire starters from their pockets.

Just as they were about to light the fires, an unexpected event occurred!

"Roar--!"

A fierce wolf howl erupted from the shadows nearby.

Immediately after, a giant wolf with glowing green eyes, a Prairie War Wolf, lunged out, heading straight for a team member's throat!

"Careful!"

Wei Zhe reacted with lightning speed. His body flickered, and he blocked in front of the team member, his Armor-Piercing Awl flashing out like lightning.

Puchi!

The giant wolf's head was pierced in one strike before it could even let out a scream.

"Ding, killed one Prairie War Wolf, gained 20 Tempering Points."

However, that wolf's howl was like a fuse, instantly alerting the entire camp!

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

A shrill horn sounded, tent flaps were thrown open, and Xiongnu soldiers, armed with weapons, poured out like a disturbed hornet's nest.

"We've been discovered! Light the fires quickly!" Wei Zhe decided instantly and shouted loudly.

The team members no longer hesitated, immediately throwing the lit torches towards the mountains of grain.

Dry fodder met the oil, and a raging fire instantly erupted! The fire fed on the wind, and the wind fueled the fire's might. In the blink of an eye, half the camp was illuminated in a fiery red!

"We succeeded! Retreat!" Wei Zhe roared.

However, as they prepared to return the way they came, they found their retreat route completely blocked by dense ranks of Xiongnu soldiers.

All around them, flickering firelight and surging heads of people, had them, these twenty-one, tightly surrounded in the center of a sea of flames.

"Break through!"

A sharp glint flashed in Wei Zhe's eyes. He knew there was no retreat now, only a fight to the death!

He charged forward first, his glaive dancing like a god of slaughter, forcefully tearing open a gap in the crowd.

"Form ranks! Protect the Squad Leader!"

Hu Lei and Qian Hu also led their respective teams, fighting their way back from both sides, quickly rejoining Wei Zhe and reforming that well-balanced offensive and defensive circular formation.

Twenty-one people, backs against the blazing granary, facing thousands of enemies as fierce as wolves and tigers, not a single one showed fear on their faces, only boundless fighting spirit!

"Hahaha! Rats of the Qin Army, you didn't take the road to heaven, but you broke into hell!"

The crowd parted, and a Xiongnu Chieftain, riding a tall horse, clad in heavy armor, and wielding a massive curved saber, slowly emerged. He looked at the surrounded Wei Zhe and his men as if watching a group of trapped beasts in a cage.

"You burned my granary, and today, all your heads will be taken and made into wine bowls!"

His voice, under the blood-red moonlight, sounded particularly ferocious.

Wei Zhe looked up and met his gaze, his glaive emitting an excited hum.

He knew that tonight would be an unprecedented tough battle, and also... an unprecedented feast of slaughter!