Sudden News of the Enemy's Arrival Throws the Heart into Chaos, Hastily Retreating to the Hills to Temporarily Guard the Troops

Within the Lufan Tribe's camp, the air was thick with a sweltering, oppressive tension.

Lufan Lie wore heavy beast-hide armor as he stood with his hands behind his back atop the highest earthen platform in the camp. His dark gaze was fixed on the direction of the hilly passage, his entire body exuding an iron-like, brooding presence.

His fingertips unconsciously tapped the curved saber at his waist. That tiny motion quietly betrayed a trace of impatience and deeply buried wariness in his heart.

It was not that he was unwilling to end this quickly. It was simply that the mysterious Qin Army that had consecutively wiped out the Jizhou and Gaolin tribes was far too fierce. Only by waiting for the reinforcements at the rear to gather and gaining an absolute advantage in numbers could they ensure nothing went wrong, surround and annihilate this formidable enemy in one fell swoop, and keep his own tribe from repeating the others' fate.

On the open ground beneath the earthen platform, the three tribal commanders—Tuoba Gu, Huyan Du, and Lanye Shan—stood shoulder to shoulder, the more they thought about it, the more something felt wrong.

The yellow sand beneath their feet rustled as their restless pacing ground it up.

All three wore anxious expressions. They repeatedly lifted their heads toward the passage, unable to conceal the impatience in their eyes, while their hearts had long been churning like rivers and seas.

The finest soldiers under their command had been dispatched by Lufan Lie to ambush and delay the enemy ahead. They were worried their own men would suffer losses and weaken their tribes' fighting strength, while also deeply dissatisfied with Lufan Lie's overly cautious deployment.

The stifled emotions were like a prairie wildfire. The tribes' interests and their own selfish motives could no