Seeing Bai Di Again

More than three hundred men, and nearly all of them had been vanguard troops. The losses were already considerable.

Zhang Xu looked over the forces they had left and said, "Also, be careful. Though the Human Path lost this battle yesterday, the way they retreated shows that their Soldier's Qi remains strong. We won by a sudden stroke of luck; we must not mistake the enemy troops for weaklings."

The other officers listened intently.

Zhang Xu continued, "But looking at it from that angle, it also shows the enemy army's state of mind. Without reinforcements in the previous battle, we would certainly have lost. The enemy already knows how vast the gap between us is, so their ambitions will surely grow arrogant. We cannot go to battle for now. When they see that we dare not emerge, they will only think we fear them. We should seize the chance, break our force into scattered units, and infiltrate quietly. Perhaps some of us may get farther that way."

"Break the force into scattered units..." The adjutant pondered for a moment, then said, "But with the Human Path's surveillance capabilities, wouldn't that be sending us straight to our deaths? Even small roaming units should not be able to evade their observation. The Human Path need only send a few elite squads after us to pounce on and wipe out many teams."

Zhang Xu said, "That is why we cannot simply charge in. We must coordinate. First, we find a dangerous and strategic terrain, make camp against the mountain, and forbid the soldiers from acting rashly. Once the enemy's momentum slackens, once their Heart Qi has grown arrogant and they see that we have not emerged for days, they will surely think us cowardly and surround us. Only then can we lead troops