Vanished

"Among the Xiongnu, there was a method for training hawks to scout. Damn it, our position has been exposed." Wang Wu's expression suddenly changed drastically.

"Damn it, we overlooked this. This is a scouting hawk raised by the Xiongnu. We may have fallen into a trap. Those three small transport units were bait, deliberately meant to lure us in." Guo Xiaoping's face was equally grim.

Sheng Huai'an frowned and immediately took a bow and arrow. He nocked the arrow, drew the bow, infused true essence into the fletching, and shot at the eagle.

Yet with his current archery skills, he simply could not shoot the eagle down.

The soldiers behind Sheng Huai'an frowned when they saw that he had failed to bring down the eagle.

Once that eagle kept following them, they would never escape the Xiongnu Cavalry's pursuit.

Sheng Huai'an immediately spent Slaughter Value to raise his archer level.

He spent fifty Slaughter Value to raise his archer level to Gold rank.

Then he spent another two hundred Slaughter Value to raise his archer level to Master Archer.

Sheng Huai'an immediately nocked another arrow and drew his bow, aiming at the eagle in the sky. At that moment, his divine sense seemed to merge with the entire bow as he poured immense true essence into the arrow.

The arrow flew out, streaking through the sky like a golden flash toward the eagle.

The soldiers stared blankly at the sight. Only a Master Archer could loose such a terrifying arrow.

Sensing danger, the eagle spread its wings and fled, but it was already too late.

An arrow shot by a Master Archer was impossible to evade. It could only be destroyed with overwhelming force.

Screech!!

The arrow pierced through the eagle's chest, and before the soldiers' eyes, the eagle fell from the sky.

"Go. Leave this place."

Without bothering with the slain eagle, Sheng Huai'an led his men away at speed.

Not long afterward, a cavalry force of four thousand arrived at the spot.

They saw the dead eagle.

"Damn it, we were discovered. It seems there's a Master Archer in that force." Tuoba Tao spoke.

"They can't have gone far. Chase them! We cannot let them escape." Hu Nanlei looked at the dead eagle; its blood had not yet congealed.

These four thousand cavalrymen were formed from two units combined together.

"They dared run wild across the grasslands? Then let them bury their bones here and nourish next year's lush grass."

The four thousand riders surged forward, following the hoofprints on the ground.

After realizing they had been targeted by the Xiongnu Cavalry, Sheng Huai'an's group raced over a hundred kilometers in one breath without stopping.

"Battalion Commander, we can't just keep running like this," Guo Xiaoping said.

If they continued fleeing like this, they would be caught sooner or later.

"What else can we do but run? If the pursuing force behind us only has one or two thousand men, we can still handle them. But if there are more than two thousand, then with this handful of men, we'll likely be surrounded and slaughtered on these grasslands," Sheng Huai'an said.

Their cavalry force was not particularly strong. Including him, they only had three Houtian martial artists, barely enough to make a showing. The remaining soldiers were not very powerful either. There were not many martial masters or martial artists; the overwhelming majority were soldiers at the martial apprentice realm.

Once they encountered a large Xiongnu cavalry force, all they could do was flee.

"We need to find out how many Xiongnu cavalrymen are on our trail. If there aren't many, we'll turn around and kill them a swift carbine." Hu Bing said with a vicious gleam in his eyes.

"Battalion Commander, I'll take some men and sneak back to take a look," Wang Wu said.

Sheng Huai'an looked at Wang Wu and slowly nodded. "Be careful. Come back safely."

"Don't worry. I'm not ready to die yet. Little Cui at Yichun Tower is still waiting for me to return." Wang Wu grinned.

Then Wang Wu led two scouts back the way they had come.

The three receding figures were like lonely travelers moving against the current. No one could guarantee that they would return safely.

Sheng Huai'an watched the three of them go until they vanished from sight, then withdrew his gaze.

"Leave a signal behind. Find somewhere more concealed and wait for them," Sheng Huai'an said.

They found a place nearby to stop and rest. Sheng Huai'an also sent scouts out to keep watch.

He had to be as cautious as possible. A single slip could lead to the annihilation of his entire force.

Now that the Xiongnu had deployed large forces to transport grain and supplies, they could no longer keep attacking the armies escorting those provisions. It seemed their operational target had to change.

Since they could not strike at the Xiongnu grain convoys, then they would turn their blades on the small tribes and sweep every one of those Xiongnu tribes away. That was Sheng Huai'an's plan.

While they rested, the soldiers began preparing food.

Half an hour later, Wang Wu and the other two returned safely.

"You're finally back." Only then did the worry in Sheng Huai'an's heart ease.

"I'm blessed with good fortune. I won't die just yet." Wang Wu grinned broadly.

"How is the situation, Brother Wang Wu?" Tang Yunshan was the first to ask.

Everyone else also looked at Wang Wu, waiting for the news he had brought back.

Wang Wu's expression turned grave. "Behind us are four thousand elite Xiongnu iron cavalry. They're still around thirty li away from us."

After hearing Wang Wu's words, everyone's expressions grew solemn. Four thousand elite iron cavalry—they had only a little over nine hundred men, with no chance of victory against them.

Unless Sheng Huai'an broke through into the Xiantian Realm now and could face a thousand troops alone.

This was a gap in both numbers and strength.

"How are we supposed to shake off this Xiongnu cavalry force?!" Hu Bing said heavily.

"If we could make the hoofprints disappear, the Xiongnu cavalry wouldn't be able to find our trail. Then we could easily escape their pursuit." Hai Dahe suddenly spoke.

"Isn't that just nonsense? If we erase the hoofprints, naturally the Xiongnu cavalry won't be able to follow our tracks. The key is, how do we make the hoofprints disappear?" Tang Yunshan said irritably.

"If I knew how, wouldn't I have said so already?" Hai Dahe rolled his eyes at Tang Yunshan.

Their bickering reminded Sheng Huai'an. Right—if they made the hoofprints disappear, the Xiongnu cavalry would lose their target.

"Among the supplies we captured, do we have leather or cloth?" Sheng Huai'an asked.

"Battalion Commander Sheng, what do you need leather for?" Guo Xiaoping asked.

The others also had no idea why Sheng Huai'an had suddenly asked for leather.

"I have a great use for it. If we have any, bring it here at once."

Tang Yunshan scratched his somewhat disheveled hair. "Battalion Commander, all the supplies we captured and took with us are food, weapons, and the like. There's no leather."

Sheng Huai'an looked at Tang Yunshan as the breeze stirred Tang Yunshan's battle robe.

When Tang Yunshan saw Sheng Huai'an staring at him without blinking, his scalp prickled.

"B-Battalion Commander, I... I haven't done anything wrong, have I?" He could not help swallowing.

"Take off your clothes."

"What?"

Tang Yunshan was dumbfounded. It was still daytime.

No, he didn't have that kind of preference.

Everyone looked at Sheng Huai'an with stunned expressions.

"W-well, Battalion Commander, I... I don't have that sort of hobby." Tang Yunshan was terrified.

"Do you want to die? I said take off your battle robe." Sheng Huai'an's face darkened with black lines.

"Oh, oh, you wanted the battle robe. You scared me half to death." Tang Yunshan had been frightened out of his wits.

If Sheng Huai'an had used force, he feared his later years of honor would have been ruined. Fortunately, that was not what Sheng Huai'an meant.

Tang Yunshan quickly untied his battle robe and handed it to Sheng Huai'an.

"What do you need that battle robe for?" Wang Wu and the others were utterly baffled, unable to understand why Sheng Huai'an wanted Tang Yunshan's battle robe.

"I have a use for it."

Sheng Huai'an did not explain. Instead, he cut the battle robe into several pieces and wrapped them around the horses' hooves.

After wrapping the hooves, Sheng Huai'an rode his warhorse in a circle. The hoofprints left in the grass were much fainter, and before long, they would disappear entirely.

Everyone's eyes widened at the sight. It could be done like that?!

Guo Xiaoping and the others felt as though they had gained some wisdom today.

"Wrap every horse's hooves with cloth, quickly!" Seeing that it worked, Sheng Huai'an immediately gave the order.

Very soon, his soldiers all removed their battle robes or brought out tent cloth and wrapped the horses' hooves.

After the hooves were wrapped, they left the place. Before long, the traces they left behind could no longer be clearly distinguished.

When the Xiongnu cavalry caught up, they saw signs that the group had camped there, but they could not find the direction in which they had departed.

"Report! Commander, the trail disappears here. We can't find any traces of where the enemy went."

"What happened? The trail vanished?" Hearing his subordinate's report, Tuoba Tao frowned. This was not good news.

"The other side clearly camped here, yet there are no hoofprints showing where they left," the scout reported.

"Could these people have burrowed underground?"

Hu Nanlei was furious. Without a trail to follow, finding a force on these endless grasslands was like fishing for a needle in the sea.

"Search. Split up and search. Even if we have to dig three feet into the earth, find them for me," Tuoba Tao said unwillingly.

"Fine. We'll split up. Use scouting hawks to communicate. The moment anyone finds the enemy, contact the others immediately. Even if we have to surround them, we'll trap them," Hu Nanlei agreed.

If they returned without results, their positions as commanders would be finished. Sheng Huai'an's force had suddenly vanished, catching Tuoba Tao and Hu Nanlei completely off guard.

To find Sheng Huai'an's force, they could only helplessly divide their troops once more.