Willing to Serve as Vanguard

Shi Meng nodded in satisfaction, then turned around to face the high platform once more.

"High General! This subordinate requests assignment!"

He dropped to one single knee, his voice shaking the surrounding fields.

"During this campaign against Han, our army's movement is a feint against Zhao, but a surprise raid in truth. This is a matter of grand state strategy! This subordinate is willing to lead the Yong City newly formed ten-thousand-man unit as the vanguard for the entire army, and for the Great King and Great Qin, chisel open the national gate of Han!"

Behind him, those three thousand new recruits also dropped as one to a single knee.

"Willing to serve as vanguard!"

"Willing to serve as vanguard!"

The mountain-shaking, sea-churning battle cries made the air of the entire encampment burn with fervor!

Meng Tian looked at that forest of black below, and at Shi Meng kneeling like a stubborn boulder on the ground, a trace of approval flashing in his eyes.

He knew that Shi Meng was using his own life to pave the way for the future of these three thousand new recruits.

The vanguard meant first merit, and it also meant the highest casualties.

"Good!" Meng Tian made the final decision. "I appoint you as vanguard commander. Lead the ten-thousand-man unit and set out first! Remember, I want you to take Yiyang, the major strategic border town of Han, within three days!"

"This subordinate accepts the order!" Shi Meng kowtowed heavily.

With the order given, the entire encampment instantly began to operate at high speed like a precision war machine.

The main army, numbering twenty-thousand troops, marched imposingly out of the camp gate with banners fluttering and dust billowing, creating a posture of launching a massive offensive toward the northeast in the direction of Jingxing on the Zhao State border.

On the other side, the ten-thousand-man vanguard unit led by Shi Meng quietly broke away from the main force. Under the cover of night, they turned southeast, resembling a black arrow piercing straight toward the Qin-Han border.

Within this ten-thousand-man unit, Wei Zhe and his one hundred elite warriors clad in fish scale armor appeared starkly out of place.

They did not grow excited or nervous over the impending war like the other new recruits. They merely followed silently along the unit's flank, every step steady and powerful, as though they were not heading into battle but merely on an ordinary armed march.

"Boss, are we just going to tag along like this?" Qian Hu sidled up beside Wei Zhe and asked in a low voice. "The order the Great King gave us was for ad-hoc discretion, completely unfettered."

Wei Zhe's gaze pierced through the jostling crowd to gaze at that distant patch of pitch-black night sky.

"Let Shi Meng be that heavy hammer that smashes the door." His voice was as calm as water without a ripple. "After the heavy hammer smashes open the door, there will always be some stray, fat sheep running around. We are hunters, not butchers."

He paused, the corners of his mouth curving into an ice-cold arc.

"Tell the brothers to save up their energy. Our first battle is not Yiyang City, but the garrison commander of Yiyang City, Bao Yuan's commander's tent!"

Qian Hu's heart gave a violent jolt, instantly grasping Wei Zhe's intent.

To capture the bandits, one must first capture their leader!

Shi Meng's target was to capture the city, while Wei Zhe's target was to perform a direct decapitation strike!

The night grew deeper and deeper.

The Qin Army vanguard unit threaded through the rugged mountain paths like ghosts. Every soldier held a wooden strip between their teeth, and their horses' hooves were wrapped in thick cloth. Aside from the faint sounds of armor plates occasionally clashing against one another, the entire ten-thousand-strong army failed to produce a single shred of excess noise.

Two hours later, the unit stopped behind a mountain ridge.

Ahead, a continuous stretch of firelight was faintly visible, resembling a bizarre sea of stars in the pitch-black night.

That was the largest military camp on the Han border, the Yiyang Encampment.

"Scouts!" Shi Meng lowered his voice and issued the order.

Dozens of black shadows darted out silently like civet cats, vanishing into the night.

Wei Zhe did not move.

He merely raised his head and closed his eyes, as though sniffing the scent in the air with his nose.

"There's the smell of wine, and the aroma of roasted meat," he said indifferently.

Sun He and Hu Lei exchanged glances, both seeing shock in each other's eyes. They were still at least five li away from the Han army camp—how could he smell anything across the mountain wind?

Was this even human?

"Their scouts are all within three li, and most of them are dozing off." Wei Zhe opened his eyes, his pupils flashing with the brilliance of a wild beast. "There are no patrol teams in the camp, and most of the soldiers are already asleep."

He did not need scouts. The five senses enhanced by his system were the finest scouts of all!

A moment later, the Qin Army scouts also returned, and the intelligence they brought back matched what Wei Zhe had stated with not a single word out of place!

The way Shi Meng looked at Wei Zhe changed completely.

He had originally thought this kid could merely fight, but he never expected him to be a born war beast!

"All troops, prepare!"

Shi Meng drew the bronze long sword at his waist, its edge reflecting a bloodthirsty sheen under the faint starlight.

"In an incense stick's time, launch the all-out assault!"

The order was passed down silently.

Ten thousand Qin Army soldiers slowly removed the wooden strips from their mouths and unwrapped the cloth from their horses' hooves. They gripped the halberds and spears in their hands, adjusted their breathing, and gathered their killing intent bit by bit.

On the other side of the mountain ridge.

Up in the watchtower of the Han army camp, a Han scout yawned and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

He tightened the thin leather armor on his body and grumbled angrily about the weather. It was his turn to keep watch tonight, and he was truly having terrible luck.

Just as he was about to lean against the wall and squint for a bit, out of the corner of his eye he seemed to catch something moving on the distant mountain ridge.

"An illusion?"

He muttered a word, yet out of duty he still picked up the horn hanging nearby and peered carefully in that direction with narrowed eyes.

To not look would have been one thing, but at this single look, the blood in his entire body froze instantly!

That was no illusion!

Atop the pitch-black mountain ridge, a tide of black was silently surging forth!

What was that?

It was densely packed figures! It was halberds and spears held erect like a forest! It was thousands upon thousands of helmets reflecting the starlight!

"Enemy... Enemy attack!!!"

A heart-rending, pitch-cracked roar pierced the tranquil night sky.

"Woo—woo—woo—"

The mournful sound of a horn finally rang out within the Han army camp.

Yet, everything was far too late.

"Kill!!!"

The moment the Han scout discovered them, Shi Meng let out a roar that shook the heavens!

"Rumble!"

Ten thousand Qin Army elite warriors charged violently down from the mountain ridge like an unleashed black torrent!

The earth trembled!

Mountain-shaking, sea-churning battle cries instantly swallowed everything up!

Inside the Han army camp, dead silence reigned for a fraction of a second, immediately followed by the outbreak of apocalypse-like chaos.

Countless Han soldiers who were still deep in their dreams were jolted awake by the sudden battle cries. They rushed out of their tents in disarray, their faces plastered with bewilderment and terror.

"What is going on?"

"The Qin Army! The Qin Army is attacking!"

"Quick! Get weapons! Form up!"

"Where is the formation? Where is the general?"

Yet, the iron hooves of the Qin Army did not give them any time to react at all.

The ten-thousand-man army scorched fiercely into the butter like a red-hot iron!

The crude caltrops and wooden fences at the camp gate were easily torn to shreds like rotten wood under the impact of the Qin Army!

The front rank of Qin Army soldiers, clutching large shields, formed a wall of iron and slammed ferociously into the panicked crowd!

"Pfft!"

Sharp long halberds easily pierced through the chests of Han soldiers who had not even had time to don their armor. Fresh blood instantly dyed the earth crimson.

A massacre devoid of any suspense began!