"The city wall is made of wood, two zhangs high, of average thickness, but the entrance and exit are too narrow, not conducive to large troops deploying formations. Additionally, large siege weapons are difficult to use here, making it a fortress that’s easy to defend and hard to attack." Xue San looked down at the military camp below, his brow furrowed. Choosing this location for a camp can only be described as "cunning." Without someone familiar with it, it would be hard to find. Even if discovered, as long as there’s enough food stored, it can hold off enemies many times its size for a long time. If it’s a prolonged war, it would massively drain civilian and material resources. Such a large-scale camp couldn’t be maintained by the strength of just one county. It’s no wonder Baima County has been unable to quell these rebels for so long.

"Record everything I say." Xue San ordered.

"Yes."

"The front is hard to attack, but this cave is a shortcut. If the army enters from here, it can achieve winning by surprise, directly striking the heart."

"Have you finished recording?" Xue San worried about being discovered, urged quietly.

"It’s all recorded."

"Good, let’s return the way we came, move lightly."

"Yes."

The team member holding the map stood up, ready to leave, when suddenly, a rock at the edge split and rolled down the hillside...

"Damn it." Xue San turned his head, watching helplessly as the rock rolled down, feeling intense anxiety as if a heavy stone was pressing on his heart, making it hard to breathe.

"Enemies above, quickly seize them."

"Run!" Xue San shouted, everyone realizing they were exposed, immediately raced back into the cave; simultaneously, hundreds of arrows descended from the sky.

"Watch out." In desperation, Xue San shoved the team member holding the map into the cave, missing the best opportunity to enter himself. An arrow pierced his thigh, while several others hit him but were blocked by his raincoat and the soft armor worn inside, not penetrating.

"Damn." Xue San gritted his teeth, cursing softly despite the pain.

"Commander, are you alright?" Several members saw Xue San hit by arrows and immediately rushed to support him, while the others held crossbows to cover.

"A small wound, it’s alright." Xue San waved his hand, although the arrow hadn’t hit the bone, it pierced the thigh, making movement temporarily difficult.

"Let’s go quickly."

"Yes."

Two or three members lifted Xue San and fled rapidly through the cave, with the rebel Chasing Army close behind.

"Stop, don’t run."

"Catch them."

Xue San faintly heard the shouts of the rebels behind, everyone was extremely nervous, their legs feeling like motors. They all understood, if caught, they would surely die.

"Cover!" The few members covering the retreat sent arrows continuously, temporarily suppressing the Chasing Army, the group finally got a chance to catch their breath, stumbling out of the cave.

"Put me down." Xue San shouted, the group immediately stopped, watching him grit his teeth and pull the arrow from his thigh, then tearing a piece of cloth from his clothes to bind the wound, ensuring no blood flow.

"Take the map and run, don’t worry about me." Xue San commanded.

"No, we can’t leave the commander here alone, forgive us for not being able to comply." Hearing this, the group naturally refused, but Xue San was very determined, almost resorting to curses.

"This is a military order, I’m injured now, it’s inconvenient to move, the blood from the wound will expose our trail, hurry and go. If the map isn’t delivered to the General, the brothers who died at the Eagle Ridge camp will die in vain." Xue San shouted loudly.

"But... commander, we can bring you and the map back together."

"If you don’t leave now, I’ll slit my throat right here." Xue San drew a dagger, placing it against his neck, threatening with his life to make the group leave.

"This..."

"What are you hesitating for, hurry and get out, if the Chasing Army reaches us, we’ll all die." Xue San shouted urgently.

"Run quickly."

"Yes, take care, sir."

Finally, under Xue San’s threat, the team members left, following the path away, while Xue San gritted his teeth and crawled into a patch of grass, using the terrain and vegetation to conceal himself.

"The enemy has disappeared."

"Quick, search thoroughly, don’t let them escape."

"Yes."

Soon, the Chasing Army emerged from the cave, seeing the team members had fled, they split up to search. Xue San lay among the grass, seemingly part of the vegetation. He dared not lift his head to check the situation, not even daring to breathe heavily. He was only about ten meters from the Chasing Army, any carelessness would lead to discovery.

.................................

Eagle Ridge Camp.

"Old Ye, the camp is fully built, the warehouse and barracks are also completed, now most of the troops are stationed within the camp, and all the Generals are waiting for orders."

"So quickly?" Ye Shikai said lightly, surprised that the entire camp was built in just two days.

"The brothers are all holding back a fire in their hearts; the entire army hasn’t slept for a night, rushing to complete it overnight. Luckily there are plenty of trees here, no shortage of materials." Shangguan Jian explained.

"Old Ye, the entire army is waiting for your orders, have you made up your mind?" Although Shangguan Jian didn’t want to disturb, but in recent days, the Generals and soldiers have been requesting to fight, it’s evident they are itching to set off, to enter the mountains and suppress the rebel forces. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"The strategy is ready, but... I’m still missing something very important." Ye Shikai frowned, understanding his troops were eager for a grand victory. If they delayed further, discontent would rise within the army, but now he couldn’t act because... he must wait for Xue San to deliver the map of Beast Mountain. Without it, rashly deploying forces would mean more lives wasted with no gain.

It’s been five days since the capture of the Eagle Ridge camp, but there’s no sign of Xue San returning with the map. Of course, one possibility is they were discovered by the rebels and... annihilated, leaving no one to report back.

"Old Ye, I trust in Xue San’s skills, but now they are deep behind enemy lines, everything is unknown, we can’t delay the battle because of waiting for them." Shangguan Jian advised.

"Wait a bit more, I believe he won’t let me down." Ye Shikai murmured.