Light and shadow dappled the lush woods, scattered like scraps of paper.
An elk bounded lightly through the low shrubs. Suddenly, a soft rustle came from the woods nearby.
The elk stopped short, its black eyes widening as it looked around innocently.
But a moment passed, and there was still nothing ahead.
The elk twitched its ears, tilted its head, and ran off in another direction.
It never saw the leaves in the woods swept up by an invisible breeze, fluttering one after another.
Suddenly, on a patch of earth a few inches across, a leaf seemed to be crushed beneath an invisible weight. It sank deeply, even being pressed into the damp soil.
A moment later, a leaf beside it sank as well.
Soft, rustling footsteps sounded. It was as though an invisible person were treading across the grass toward the slope ahead.
Before long, ripples like those on water spread through the air, and a faint human figure indeed appeared without a sound.
Fang Qianyuan had used the power of invisibility grass to conceal himself and evade the nearby scouts. Now that he had reached the vicinity of the main camp, he no longer needed to hide.
From his elevated position, he looked down at the camp nestled in the woods several hundred yards away, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.
"Who goes there?" Suddenly, a furious shout jolted him from his thoughts. A figure holding a heavy crossbow was rising to his feet, but before he spoke, several sharp bolts had already torn through the air and reached Fang Qianyuan.
These were scouts from the Central Province Coalition Army, and they were highly experienced in combat. The shout was deliberately meant to draw his attention. In fact, another scout had already fired from a different direction, and