Booby Traps

Huo Yuhao naturally had no need to launch a banzai charge himself. The Soul Saint adjutant Dai Hao had assigned to him did it in his stead.

This was a victory greater than any they had seen in the past three to five years. By the time the White Tiger Duke emerged, the battle was already over.

The Sun Moon Empire's entire front line had pulled back five hundred meters, more ground than they had previously lost altogether.

"That's my boy! We've reaped quite a harvest this time."

The White Tiger Duke laughed heartily and patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder, giving him a thumbs-up before continuing.

"Say no more. Take your pick of the military stores. Anything I can get my hands on, just ask!"

Huo Yuhao, however, had not let victory go to his head. He merely wiped the blood from his face and said to Dai Hao,

"Anything I want, I just have to ask, right?"

Dai Hao paused, then nodded and told Huo Yuhao,

"Yes. Anything you want."

Huo Yuhao drew a deep breath, gazing intently toward the Sun Moon Empire ahead. Then he slowly said to Dai Hao,

"In that case, give the order to clear the battlefield as quickly as possible. Take everything we can carry. Have the main force start withdrawing in ten minutes, and leave me ten soldiers with nimble hands and quick minds to cover the retreat."

Dai Hao was rather baffled and almost immediately asked Huo Yuhao,

"What are you thinking? We went through so much trouble to capture this camp, and now we're just going to give it up?"

Huo Yuhao pointed toward the Sun Moon Empire, his gaze deep and intent, and said to Dai Hao,

"As things stand, there's no way we can swallow up the entire Sun Moon Empire. Holding this patch of ground would cost us dearly, and in my opinion, it would be virtually impossible."

Dai Hao frowned at Huo Yuhao, a trace of hesitation showing in his eyes.

"But we spent so many days struggling before we finally took this place."

Huo Yuhao sighed softly, then said to Dai Hao,

"We have no choice. Who told us to be the weaker side? Still, I have a way to make them choose not to reclaim it, turning this stretch of land into a buffer zone between our countries."

That piqued Dai Hao's interest. He looked at Huo Yuhao and said,

"You've got talent, brat, and plenty of ideas that sound frightening just to hear. All right. Since you've made your decision, we'll do it your way."

Huo Yuhao wasted no more words. As Dai Hao began withdrawing with the troops, he took the quick-witted soldiers Dai Hao had chosen and set his plan in motion.

"Did you see that clearly? This is called a booby trap. Move or take away the supplies covering it, and you'll trigger the fuse underneath. Then... boom!"

Huo Yuhao demonstrated once for the soldiers. True to their status as elite troops handpicked by Dai Hao, they quickly grasped the essentials.

Not long after everyone in the White Tiger Legion had withdrawn to the Main Camp, an explosion rang out from that position.

Their opposing commander had some ability, however. After that first explosion, no further sounds came.

That alone gave Huo Yuhao some insight into his opponent: they were probably a high-ranking Soul Engineer well versed in Soul Tools.

Strictly speaking, high-ranking Soul Engineers were nothing rare in the Sun Moon Empire.

But the pool became much smaller when it came to someone who possessed both formidable military skills and the abilities of a high-ranking Soul Engineer.

Huo Yuhao quickly ran through the names that had appeared in the book, along with any code names that might identify them.

At the same time, he weighed which of them was the likeliest candidate.

Meanwhile, among the Sun Moon Empire's border garrison, the commander who had long been stationed there spoke to an Inspector beside him who wore a robe with an orange-red collar.

"Your judgment was truly inspired, sir. The method you taught us has indeed prevented any further explosions. But for the enemy to possess such means... I fear this won't be an isolated incident."

The Inspector lightly tapped his fingers against his leg, his gaze equally deep as he looked toward the Star Luo Empire's border.

"From what I know of the White Tiger Duke, he shouldn't possess such means... There must be an expert advising him behind the scenes. Interesting. If you try to contend with them, I fear it will be like an old man toying with a naughty child."

Although the commander could not see the Inspector's face, he still shot him a faintly hostile glare at those words.

Didn't you fall for the first one too? That makes you another naughty child.

The Inspector turned away and waved a hand at the commander as he said,

"We most likely cannot keep this stretch of ground. If my judgment is correct, he will certainly bring men to launch a surprise attack within the next two days."

The commander hesitated, then said to the Inspector,

"Sir, we absolutely cannot abandon our territory like this. I am willing to lead the officers in guarding this place day and night."

The Inspector sighed softly. After an almost imperceptible shake of his head, he told the commander,

"Since you are so loyal to the empire, do as you see fit."

With that, the Inspector waved to the men he had brought. A squad of Soul Engineers followed him farther into their territory.

After the Inspector left, the commander spat softly and said with considerable resentment,

"What the hell does he think he is? An Inspector fresh out of the imperial palace—how many battles has he even fought? And the moment he opens his mouth, he wants to abandon this huge camp. A grandson feels no pain selling off his grandfather's fields."

The deputy beside him reminded him in a low voice,

"Mind your words, General. Officials from Mingdu are not like those elsewhere. Tangled roots and interwoven branches of connections are commonplace among them. We cannot afford to offend them."

The two generals snorted coldly, and a fist swung out, smashing an earthen wall beside them into crumbling rubble.

"This is so fucking stifling!"

The general cursed, but at that very instant, the earthen wall exploded with a thunderous roar.

The explosion was particularly violent, sending a sizable shock wave out from the collapsed section. It forced the commander back two steps, while the deputy was shaken so badly that he coughed up blood.

"Have they got no humanity at all? Burying explosives behind some lousy earthen wall?!"

The commander cursed furiously. Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao was also rather bewildered back in the White Tiger Military Camp.

He had indeed planted the explosives there, but he had not intended them to go off now. He had planned to use them only after repeated harassment had left the enemy hearing threats in every gust of wind and every crane's cry.

He had never expected them to trigger already. Why were they smashing walls for no reason? Had some discord arisen within the Sun Moon Empire's military camp?

Huo Yuhao sucked lightly at his teeth. A complicated situation was troublesome for him as well; the harder a situation was to control, the more irritating it became.

On the following evening, Huo Yuhao watched cooking smoke rise from the Sun Moon Empire's camp. He personally led a unit of White Tiger Guards out to launch his first night raid...