At midnight, the highest ridge of the Border Mountains finally lay beneath their feet.
Dai Mobai stood on the ridge as the night wind howled in from the west, carrying grains of snow that had never melted atop the mountains. They struck his face, cold and hard.
He brushed the frost from his shoulder and looked east.
Beneath the moonlight, the lands of the Heaven Dou Empire stretched out unobstructed, the flat expanse of the Lima Plain reaching all the way to the horizon.
A few scattered lights could just be seen on the horizon, like stars fallen from the sky, hanging alone in the boundless darkness.
More than a hundred people crossed the Border Mountains without a sound and emerged inside the Heaven Dou Empire.
Yang Wudi had indeed led them along a well-hidden route. The path was tucked on the sheltered side of a cliff, with rugged boulders and dense cedars on either side. From the outside, there was no way to tell that a passable trail lay there.
The path down was just as rough and treacherous, but its slope was much gentler than the ascent, and their pace picked up noticeably.
By the time the entire party had set foot on Heaven Dou Empire soil, the moon had only just begun to sink westward.
At the foot of the mountain stood a Heaven Dou Empire outpost.
It was small, enclosed by a low rammed-earth wall that surrounded a few barracks. Thatched roofs covered the tops of the walls, and a feeble oil lamp hung in the watchtower.
The night wind blew the flame this way and that, making the watchtower's shadow sway across the ground.
By all rights, a border outpost like this should have been manned around the clock, with at least two sentries taking turns on watch in the tower.
But the Heaven Dou Empire guards did not believe anyone from the Star Luo Empire could cross the perpetually snow-covered, seldom-traveled Border Mountains.
In their eyes, that three-thousand-meter snow-capped range was a natural wall, more effective than any fortress.
So when Dai Mobai and his party crept up to the outpost, the watchtower stood empty. There wasn't even a sentry in sight.
From inside the barracks came the faint, uneven chorus of snores.
Someone was snoring, slow and steady, with a few indistinct murmurs in his sleep mixed in.
Dai Mobai glanced sideways at Yang Wudi. The young man's face was calm in the moonlight.
He lowered his voice and said, "So they can get a little more sleep, let's not wake them."
Yang Wudi understood at once and raised a hand, making a crisp, decisive gesture.
Several elites of the Breaking Clan slipped into the barracks as silently as ghosts, their figures swallowed by the darkness. A moment later, they emerged just as quietly.
Their movements were clean and restrained. They didn't even make the door hinges creak.
The chorus of snores inside the barracks stopped, replaced by absolute silence.
A deep, heavy silence that would never be broken again.
Dai Mobai didn't look back.
He had more than a dozen of his clansmen change into the outpost guards' clothes, clean up the traces inside the barracks, and remain behind to take control of the outpost.
They would hold the post and ensure that no one cut off their retreat, while also standing ready to support the next phase of the operation if necessary.
Once everything was in place, Dai Mobai led the rest of the group onward.
Their next target was the city standing amid the night on the Lima Plain.
Just before dawn, the first rays of morning peered over the eastern horizon, like a golden sword cleaving through the night.
The light spilled across the boundless Lima Plain, illuminating the morning mist drifting through the lowlands. The fog shimmered faintly with a golden-pink hue in the dawn light, making the whole plain look like an ink painting not yet dry.
Far across the plain, the gray-black outline of a city was just visible, the crenellations atop its walls traced in gold by the morning light.
That was Dai Mobai's target: Suotuo City.
As the sun rose, Dai Mobai told the Breaking Clan elites to enter the city in separate groups to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.
More than eighty people dispersed. Some posed as a caravan heading to the morning market, with mules carrying several bundles of cloth and medicinal herbs.
Others pretended to be a band of mercenaries traveling together, weapons slung over their shoulders as they chatted on their way to the city gate.
In twos and threes, one group after another, they blended into the morning-market crowds of Suotuo City without attracting notice.
Dai Mobai himself strode openly through the main gate with Li Yue and Yang Wudi.
Li Yue was on his right and Yang Wudi on his left, flanking him and keeping him firmly at the center.
Li Yue still wore her neat, practical outfit. Her expression was cool and her gaze stayed forward. The soft sword at her waist served as a belt, accentuating her slender figure.
Yang Wudi followed half a step behind Dai Mobai's left side, his lean frame held ramrod straight.
He looked like an ordinary old man, but the sharp aura that seemed to cling to him was impossible to hide.
As they entered the city, the guards at the gate gave them a second look.
A distinguished young master, handsome but dressed plainly, with an indescribable air of nobility in every movement.
A beautiful young woman as cold as frost, whose looks would rank among the finest in Suotuo City, but whose gaze sent a chill down one's back.
A thin, upright old man who looked at least sixty, yet had eyes sharp enough to stab right through a person.
There was no denying that the trio looked unusual.
The guard hesitated, opening his mouth as though he wanted to ask them a few questions.
But as Dai Mobai passed him, he merely glanced at him, his gaze calm and composed.
For some reason, the guard suddenly felt an urge to submit. Had Dai Mobai not walked right past him, the guard's knees—which had started to buckle without his realizing it—would have hit the ground the next moment.
Suotuo City was one of only two cities in the Balak Kingdom. Though it could not compare to Star Luo City, it was still far better than Nuoding City.
Four carriages could travel abreast along its main street. The road was paved with neat flagstones, recently doused by the morning watering cart, and glistened with a thin sheen of water in the sun.
Shops lined both sides of the street, their signboards packed side by side. Shop assistants had already removed the wooden shutters one by one, revealing shelves laden with goods inside.
The people passing by were relaxed, chatting and laughing.
The city seemed wholly untouched by the silent standoff along the border. It remained lively and prosperous, with shops opening and vendors calling out, all the air of a peaceful, prosperous age.
Meanwhile, at Suotuo City's main gate,
Ma Hongjun strode at the very front. He stopped at the city gate and stretched hugely.
The fat on his body jiggled twice with the movement, and his round face was brimming with barely contained excitement.
Because of Yu Xiaogang's hellish training, he had gone nearly half a month without letting off steam.
Fortunately, Yu Xiaogang had announced today that they would begin their second phase of training in Suotuo City, saving Ma Hongjun's body just as it was about to give out.
"We're finally in the city! I was about to die of boredom cooped up in the village all day. I've been holding it in for so long—I'm going to let off some Evil Fire!"
As he shouted, he charged through the city gate.