According to Lord Tree Ancestor, Jiang Yue was the most threatening fighter on the Star City government's side. Jiang Yue was the leader; everyone else was just following along.
"Lord Tree Ancestor, could this be a ploy by the authorities to mislead you? Maybe Jiang Yue secretly slipped back to Star City, while making it seem like he hadn't returned. That way, you'd let your guard down?" Xie Chun offered his guess.
As it happened, the Bizarre Tree was indeed somewhat concerned about that possibility.
Still, after analyzing it again and again, it decided the chances were low.
"Xie Chun, I have my own plans regarding Jiang Yue. Your task is to take Mount Dajin. Since the authorities have already sent people here, you must capture them. That's your task now. You must hold your ground. This is part of the plan."
"But, my lord, our previous plan was to test the military and see how much strength they still had. The authorities weren't part of the plan."
As a Top Agent, Xie Chun obeyed the Bizarre Tree's every word, but he wasn't completely incapable of independent thought.
The Bizarre Tree replied calmly, "Heh. The authorities weren't part of the plan to take Mount Dajin at first. But their involvement isn't an unwelcome complication. It's a good thing."
"How so?" Xie Chun asked, puzzled.
"I was just worried Star City's official forces were too powerful for us to take the city. If their attention is diverted over here, that will give us a chance to break through their defenses."
Xie Chun gave a bitter smile. "My lord, I've only got a few hundred, maybe a thousand people. They haven't even been through the fire of a hard battle. Now we've got both the military and the authorities to deal with.