Speed is the Essence of Warfare

After the troop exited the South Gate, they traveled southeast, reaching the foot of the mountain after half an hour.

Before them lay a vast, continuous expanse of mountains; as far as the eye could see, it was a boundless, desolate stretch that seemed to have no end.

As for the name of these mountains, Lu Chuan had heard people mention it on the road: Cangtu Mountain. Spanning thousands of miles, the deep reaches of the mountains were filled with venomous insects and fierce beasts, serving as a natural barrier for Chaoge City.

Upon arriving at the mountain's base, Huang Feihu raised a palm, and the great army came to an immediate halt.

"Everyone, we have reached Cangtu Mountain. I shall now assign tasks. The three thousand Flying Tiger Soldiers will now split up into three hundred squads, with ten men per squad."

Huang Feihu spoke in a resonant voice: "Each squad will be led by a local familiar with the terrain to search for the tracks of that wicked beast."

"For safety, the distance between every two squads must not exceed ten zhang. I shall station myself in the center, with two generals providing support on either flank."

"Once the tracks of the fierce beast are discovered, signal immediately to sound the alarm. The rest of the men will surround the area, and any clues found must be reported to me and the two generals..."

Hearing this plan, Lu Chuan's mood was complex.

Extremely complex!

He was to lead the army when he didn't even know the way himself?

Was this a joke?

He had only snuck into the ranks because he was lost, and now, unexpectedly, he was the one expected to lead the way...

Lu Chuan watched with a complicated gaze as Zhou Ji assigned these civilians into the ten-man squads of the Flying Tiger Army, until it was his turn.

"Good lad, you've got guts!"

Zhou Ji remarked upon seeing Lu Chuan again, then turned to a tall, burly man with a thick beard and smiled: "Wu Qiu, this lad is assigned to your squad."

"Understood!"

The big man replied. He looked at Lu Chuan and cupped his hands: "I shall have to trouble you, little brother."

Lu Chuan remained calm. He walked over and cupped his hands with a natural expression: "My pleasure!"

"Yo, is this kid really not afraid of death?"

Zhou Ji looked at the cool and composed Lu Chuan, then turned to look at the other nervous civilians, rubbing his chin in suspicion.

By comparison, his composure and courage appeared all the more extraordinary.

Men in the military were generally bold and forthright, often facing thousands of troops and blades of fire; such environments naturally fostered a heroic spirit, and what they admired most was courage.

But how could they know that Lu Chuan's confidence actually stemmed from his Five Elements Escape Technique?

If he couldn't win, he could still run. Since he could escape, what was there to fear?

Thinking of this, Lu Chuan felt his heart relax. This relaxed state of mind was crucial and would be highly beneficial for his upcoming battle with the fierce beast.

Only those without fear could be relaxed, and only by being relaxed could one exert their true strength, or even perform beyond their limits. Conversely, being too nervous was a sign of inner fear.

To harbor fear when facing an enemy was to have already lost half the battle before it even began.

"Alright, relax. Look at that young lad over there. He's much younger than you, yet he's so calm—his courage is far greater than yours."

Zhou Ji walked over to the remaining civilians and said: "Look at yourselves. Rest assured, even if the beast appears, our Flying Tiger Army will be the first to hold the line; you just take the opportunity to run."

The crowd looked over and saw the young man, much smaller than them, appearing remarkably calm. Feeling deeply ashamed, they blushed and were assigned to their squads.

Once divided, they spread out along the foot of the mountain, with ten zhang between each squad.

The final formation resembled the shape of a "Ren" (person) character, like a flock of wild geese.

At the very front and center was, naturally, Huang Feihu, riding his Five-Colored Divine Ox and holding a long spear, positioned to provide support wherever a situation might arise.

Zhou Ji carried a large axe, and Long Huan held an iron halberd while mounted. The two were positioned at the far ends of the "Ren" formation, ready to sweep inward rapidly should trouble occur.

This was one of their tactical formations for military campaigns.

With everything prepared, Huang Feihu gave the order, and the army began its grand march into the mountains.

Seeing squads not far to his left and right, Lu Chuan breathed a secret sigh of relief.

It was fortunate that they were close by; he could simply follow the squad forward without worrying about getting lost, both as the guide and the guided.

The path was relatively easy at first, but as they ventured deeper, the terrain grew difficult, with dense forests and tangled vegetation.

Fortunately, these were common folk, not pampered aristocrats. They were accustomed to making a living in the mountains and were quite skilled at navigating such terrain, so their speed did not drop significantly.

Over an hour later.

The group stopped to rest, as the civilians were utterly exhausted. Even though they were adept at mountain travel, three hours of trekking required a break, especially in such sweltering heat.

However, because of the many venomous insects in the mountains, no one dared to remove their clothing, leaving them drenched in sweat and gasping for air, as if they had been boiled in it.

As for Huang Feihu, although he didn't have to walk thanks to the Five-Colored Divine Ox, his mind was constantly strained, keeping a sharp watch on every movement and sound from all directions.

After a long time, he too grew weary and ordered a halt to rest, drink water, and eat dry rations.

The Flying Tiger Army carried water and rations. Furthermore, Lu Chuan noticed that over a hundred horses were loaded with tents and other camping supplies.

"I thought we could return in a day, but it seems it won't be that easy. Even Huang Feihu has prepared for a protracted battle..."

Lu Chuan rested against a large tree and looked up at the sky. In this forest, most of the sky was obscured by the dense, lush canopy of leaves.

He wondered if the area covered by so many people over three and a half hours even amounted to a fraction of a percent of this vast mountain range.

After all, searching for a single fierce beast in a mountain range spanning thousands of miles was no less difficult than fishing a needle out of a well—to say "fishing a needle out of the ocean" would be an exaggeration and mere boasting.

At this moment, Lu Chuan could not help but admire Huang Feihu; his method of breaking the whole into parts was incredibly wise, though, of course, the term "breaking the whole into parts" did not yet exist.

Admittedly, concentrating forces to search for a fierce beast in these boundless mountains was certainly safer and more secure.

However, the efficiency was low—extremely low.

If they concentrated their forces to search such a massive mountain inch by inch, who knew how many years it would take?

Furthermore, the fierce beast they were hunting was a living creature, one that could run, jump, and move; could one really expect it to stay in one place, obediently waiting for an army to come and capture it?

Don't be ridiculous.

If it were that stupid, it would have been caught by the army during the previous attempts, and there would be no need for things to reach the point where even Huang Feihu had to be deployed.

According to Lu Chuan's estimation, at the very least, that fierce beast had already opened its meridians and developed intelligence just like him, and it already knew how to seek advantages, avoid harm, and protect itself.

If the situation were more serious, the beast's intelligence might even crush everyone else's, which would be quite awkward.

Although the probability of such a situation was small, it was not impossible.

Therefore, there was only one key to finding that fierce beast in these boundless mountains: speed!

Troops value speed; everything must be done quickly.

By searching the entire mountain range in the shortest possible time, even if they didn't run into the beast, they could at least drive it out of Cangtu Mountain.

Once it left the mountains and lost its cover, it would be much easier to deal with.

The method Huang Feihu had devised to break the whole into parts increased efficiency many times over compared to a collective search.

However, no matter how fast they were, searching such a massive mountain would take anywhere from half a month to several months, which was why Huang Feihu had even prepared tents.

"Little brother, have some water!"

While Lu Chuan was deep in thought, the man named Wu Qiu handed him a gourd.

In addition to their weapons and armor, every one of the three thousand Flying Tiger Army soldiers had a water gourd hanging from their waist, which could be refilled whenever they encountered mountain springs or streams along the way.

Having walked for so long, Lu Chuan was indeed thirsty, so he took it, offered his thanks, and drank a few mouthfuls.