"Something's wrong! The demon soldiers are attacking!"
While Zhang Yang and the old man were studying the fortress's defensive mechanisms, the person standing guard at the fortress's highest point suddenly shouted. He then struck the warning gong, and a quick-handed woman promptly lit the wolf-smoke at the spot prepared long ago.
Zhang Yang and the old man exchanged bewildered looks. What was going on? It had only been an hour since the demon soldiers retreated.
"This isn't right. Ever since Black Rock Fortress was established, whenever the Mirage Demon Soldiers were repelled, they'd wait at least half a day before attacking again. Especially since their casualties this time weren't light. There's no reason they'd attack again so soon. Boy, are you hiding something from me?"
The old man truly lived up to his reputation as a shrewd old fox. With a single sentence, he had hit the nail on the head.
And he wasn't wrong. Zhang Yang had already figured out what was happening at once.
There had to be a reason the Mirage Demon Soldiers would disregard the heavy casualties they had suffered moments ago and launch a second attack so soon. After all, demon soldiers were flesh and blood, and they needed morale too. They couldn't possibly feel nothing toward their dead comrades. How could they attack simply because they felt like it? That defied common sense.
Therefore, there could only be one reason.
Zhang Yang's identity as a Hidden Dragon had been exposed—or perhaps the other side merely suspected it. But that was enough. Before the game had even begun, taking out a rival Hidden Dragon would be an unimaginable gain, and it would drive anyone to act, including Zhang Yang himself.
However, facing the old man, it was impossible for him to blurt out something as