Reinforcements Arrive Bearing Armor, Stepping Through Mist and Smoke; False Signals Lead to a Perilous Pool

Thirty li west of the hills shrouded in Shaman Smoke, a great Xiongnu army was on its way.

Forty thousand troops spread across the open grassland in a vast black mass.

The thunder of galloping hooves roared in chaos like a raging tide, then gradually subsided like an ebbing sea, leaving only the snorts of warhorses.

At the very front of the column, a burly man reined in his horse and stood still.

Helai Tu.

A fierce general under the Xiongnu Left Worthy King, he stood eight chi tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted. His square face was etched with gullies carved by wind and sand, and his gaze was as sharp as an eagle's.

He wore heavy armor, and at his waist hung a horse-cleaving blade a foot longer than an ordinary saber. The cowhide wrapped around its hilt had been soaked dark brown with sweat and blood.

Squinting, he gazed toward the distant hills blanketed in Shaman Smoke.

The grayish-yellow haze was like a heavy quilt, smothering the entire forested range airtight.

No trees could be seen. No roads could be seen. There was only rolling fog.

"This is... Shaman Smoke."

Helai Tu let out a breath, his voice carrying a trace of relief.

A deputy general beside him leaned closer and said in a low voice, "General, the Lufan Tribe's Shaman Smoke is said to have been passed down from the Linhu. It can cover dozens of li in every direction.

"The smoke is still there, which means the battle inside hasn't ended. The enemy should still be bogged down within it."

Helai Tu nodded, the tension on his face easing somewhat.

"Thanks to Lord Lufan Lie."

He spoke from the heart, with a touch of respect in his tone. "If the Lufan Tribe hadn't laid down a net