Midnight. The night was as deep as the sea, and a waning moon hung high, casting a glow as clear and cold as water.
On the back mountain of Eagle Beak Cliff, twenty-one black shadows quietly assembled on a concealed mountain path.
Wei Zhe stood at the very front of the formation. He and the brothers under his command had already changed into black night-raid garments that facilitated movement, and their faces were smeared with black paint, leaving only pairs of eyes flashing with cold light in the night.
On each person's back was strapped a pair of fine steel grappling hooks and ropes, while at their waist was tucked a newly forged, bizarrely shaped triangular armor-piercing awl.
"Are you all ready?" Wei Zhe's voice was kept very low.
"Ready!" A neat and suppressed response came from behind.
Through an afternoon of preparation and Wei Zhe's pre-battle mobilization, the fear in the brothers' hearts had been replaced by a desperate resolution and a fanatical trust in their leader.
"Very well." Wei Zhe nodded. "Remember our plan. Our objective is not to kill people, it's to burn provisions! Infiltrate, set fires, retreat—we cannot delay for even a moment! Move out!"
At the order, the twenty-one of them vaulted onto their horses, galloping toward the north in utter silence like ghosts melting into the night.
Wolf Howl Valley lived up to its name.
This was a long and narrow valley with steep cliffs on both sides and only two exits, north and south. The Xiongnu provisions camp was pitched right in the center of the valley floor, where continuous tents and mountain-like piles of provision bags were faintly visible under the moonlight.
Around the camp, bonfires blazed brightly, and teams of patrolling Xiongnu soldiers walked back and forth, their guard seeming tight.
"Squad Leader, the valley mouth is heavily guarded by at least five hundred men. Charging straight through is impossible."
On a hillside, Qian Hu lowered the simple monocular in his hand and spoke in a deep voice to Wei Zhe.
"We aren't taking the valley mouth." Wei Zhe pointed at the dozens-of-zhang-high, nearly vertical cliff walls beside them. "We're going up from here."
"What?!"
Qhan Hu and Hu Lei both drew in a sharp breath.
A cliff this high, and in the middle of the night besides—the slightest carelessness would end in shattered bones!
"Execute the order." Wei Zhe offered no further explanation. He untied the grappling hook from his back, gave his wrist a flick, and the heavy hook with its rope flew upward with a whistling sound, precisely catching in a crack in the rock.
He tugged on it hard, and after confirming it was secure, he was the first to climb upward along the rope with the agility of a nimble monkey.
His body, having undergone several enhancements, displayed astonishing advantages in this kind of terrain.
Seeing this, the members hesitated no longer and followed suit. The grappling hooks in their hands had all been personally forged by Wei Zhe and possessed tremendous gripping power, granting them an extra layer of life insurance upon this sheer precipice.
An incense stick later, the twenty-one of them appeared silently at the top of the cliff.
From here, one could look down upon the entire Xiongnu camp.
"Qian Hu, take five men and eliminate the eastern lookout post. Hu Lei, take five men and handle the western one. The rest of you, follow me. Our objective is the largest grain storehouse in the center!" Wei Zhe swiftly issued his commands.
"Sir!"
The three squads slipped toward their respective targets as soundlessly as panthers in the dark of night.
Wei Zhe led his squad, using the cover of night and terrain, and quickly infiltrated the depths of the camp.
His [Hundred-Man Slayer] title played a tremendous role at this moment. Those sentries dozing off in the dark, upon sensing the formless murderous intent radiating from his body, usually failed to react before having their throats silently slit by the sharp armor-piercing awl in his hand.
Infiltrating all the way, not a single person managed to sound an alarm.
They quickly arrived at that mountain-like pile of provisions. The air was thick with a mixed scent of fodder and livestock.
"Strike!"
At Wei Zhe's order, the team members immediately drew cloth strips soaked in burning oil and fire-starters from their bosoms.
The instant they prepared to ignite the fires, a sudden change occurred!
"Awooooo!"
A fierce wolf howl rang out from the shadows beside them.
Immediately following it, a gigantic grassland giant wolf with green light gleaming in its eyes leaped out fiercely, heading straight for a team member's throat!
"Careful!"
Wei Zhe reacted extremely fast. His figure shifted, blocking in front of the team member as the armor-piercing awl in his hand thrust out like lightning.
Splat!
Before that giant wolf even had time to emit a miserable screech, its skull was pierced through by a single strike.
Ding! Slain one Prairie War Wolf, obtained 20 Tempering Points.
Yet this wolf howl acted like a fuse, instantly alarming the entire camp!
"Enemy attack! There's an enemy attack!"
Piercing horn sounds rang out. The door curtains of countless tents were whipped back, and Xiongnu soldiers wielding weapons poured out frantically like a poked hornet's nest.
"We've been discovered! Light the fires quickly!" Wei Zhe made a prompt decision and shouted loudly.
The team members hesitated no longer, immediately hurling the burning torches toward the mountain-like piles of provisions.
The dry fodder met the burning oil and instantly ignited into a blazing inferno! The fire borrowed the wind's force, and the wind aided the fire's might; in the blink of an eye, half the camp was reflected in a brilliant, fiery red!
"We succeeded! Retreat!" Wei Zhe roared.
Yet when they prepared to return by their original route, they discovered that their retreat path had been thoroughly blocked off by densely packed Xiongnu soldiers.
From all four directions came flashing firelight and swarming heads, tightly trapping the twenty-one of them in the center of a sea of fire.
"Break out!"
A fierce glint flashed in Wei Zhe's eyes. He knew that at this moment there was no retreat, only a battle to the death!
He took the lead, his long halberd dancing like a god of slaughter as he forcefully tore an opening through the crowd.
"Form up! Protect the Squad Leader!"
Hu Lei and Qian Hu also led their respective squads back in a charge from both sides, swiftly merging with Wei Zhe to once again form that circular formation balanced in offense and defense.
The twenty-one of them, backs against the fiercely burning granary and facing thousands of enemies like wolves and tigers, did not have a single trace of fear on their faces—only soaring fighting spirit!
"Hahaha! Rats of the Qin Army, heaven has a road yet you refuse to walk it, hell has no gate yet you crash on in!"
The crowd parted as a Xiongnu Chieftain riding a tall steed, clad in heavy armor and wielding a massive curved saber, slowly stepped out. He looked at the trapped Wei Zhe and the others as though gazing at a group of caged beasts.
"You burned my granary. Today, every single one of your heads must stay behind to be made into wine bowls!"
His voice sounded exceptionally ferocious under the blood-colored moonlight.
Wei Zhe raised his head to lock gazes with him, the long halberd in his hand emitting an excited hum.
He knew that tonight would be an unprecedented bitter battle, and also... an unprecedented slaughter feast!
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