Ambush Hidden in the Shadowed Formation, Quietly Awaiting the Whales and Sharks to Enter the Trap

The mist still hung thick in the air, while the lingering echoes of screams and arrows slicing through the wind reverberated through the mountain forest.

The ground was strewn with Xiongnu corpses and scattered bows and arrows. Thick blood seeped into the soil, mingling with the damp mountain chill and lending the air a heart-stopping, deathly silence.

The Xiongnu soldiers hiding behind tree trunks and rocks were still trembling. Cold sweat had soaked through their armor, and the fear had yet to leave their eyes. They were silent as Cold Cicadas; only the occasional muffled sob broke the dead silence.

The officers of the first wave of ambushers struggled to lead their men, scrambling and crawling all the way back uphill.

Only after a long while, once they had confirmed that no one was pursuing them, did they slowly poke their heads out from behind the rocks.

Thinking of the horrific sight of corpses strewn everywhere earlier, and listening to the suppressed weeping of their soldiers, regret and fury tangled in their hearts, nearly swallowing them whole.

One of them slowly rose, brushed the dust and blood from his body, and swept his gaze over the other equally bedraggled officers nearby. Unable to conceal his anger, he enunciated each word: "See? What did I tell you!

"I warned you again and again not to press forward rashly, not to let your heads get overheated. The enemy really can pinpoint locations by sound—but what about you?

"None of you listened. You thought I was trying to scare you. You thought I was afraid you'd steal my thunder!"

His voice grew louder and louder, his regret and reproach sharper by the moment. "And now? Look at your recklessness! So many brothers have been buried for nothing!

"They could have lived. They could