"Scout again!"
Shegan abruptly raised a hand, his tone stern. "Send more scouts. I want to know exactly how many troops they have, who their commanding general is, and what they intend to do!"
With the order issued, another batch of Donghu scouts set off at once.
Each of them was swift and nimble, like wild wolves lurking in the dark of night. Keeping low, they darted through the streets and alleys, quickly melting into the labyrinthine corners of the outer city and vanishing from sight.
Yet this time, the wait became a long and agonizing ordeal.
The agreed time for the scouts to send back word had long since passed, but those dispatched had vanished like stones sunk into the sea. Not the slightest message came back—not even the faintest sound of fighting. Whether they lived or died was unknown.
"Something's wrong..."
Shegan Chanyu's face darkened completely, and the unease in his heart grew ever stronger.
At last, he realized that matters were likely even more serious than he had anticipated. This unidentified army was no ordinary force.
He rapidly weighed his options. If the other side had also come for the Yan army, then he could temporarily avoid their edge, withdraw his troops to the rear to rest and regroup, and sit atop the mountain to watch tigers fight. He could let this unknown army and the Yan army tear each other apart, then swoop in to reap the fisherman's gain.
There was no need to shield the Yan army from disaster here and do such a thankless, exhausting thing.
But just as the thought of retreat arose in his mind, hurried footsteps sounded once more.
A scout assigned to investigate the rear came scrambling back, practically rolling and crawling, his face deathly pale as he howled, "Report—!