The army set out, and before long, it had vanished without a trace.
Marching through the mountains was no easy task to begin with; traveling by night was harder still. The forests were deep and the grass thick, blotting out the light of the sky—true, utter darkness where one could not see one's fingers before one's face.
But Zhao Cheng had prepared for this. As early as last autumn, he had sent men into the mountains to cut a path and select a route to Wu City.
Moreover, as they opened the road, they tied sturdy grass ropes to trees along the way to mark the direction, preventing the troops marching afterward from losing their way.
More than that, at several key points along the route, Zhao Cheng had people bury food and water in advance for resupply.
They said that before the three armies moved, provisions went first.
Yet Zhao Cheng had prepared long ago. He had merely ordered each soldier to carry three days' worth of food and water, achieving true light and swift travel. Naturally, this allowed them to move with lightning speed.
As for what came afterward, once they took Wu City, there would naturally be no lack of food or water.
Never mind the Wu Family's stores alone—even the great wealthy households within Wu City must have hoarded grain piled high as mountains.
Zhao Cheng had also long prepared for the insects, snakes, rats, and ants in the mountains. On one hand, medicinal powder had already been scattered along the marching route; on the other, every soldier had applied medicinal powder to his body. It could not entirely eliminate the danger, but it could reduce the losses to the lowest possible level.
At the Heaven-Answering Army's camp, Wei Ye looked upon the suddenly emptied encampment,