Chapter 2888: Fighting for Hope

The door panel interjected, speaking frankly: "With so many troops, it's impossible for them all to crowd onto the battlefield."

If Panlong had such abundant manpower, it would have long since driven the Bekka people back to their homeland!

Hu Min then noticed a detail:

After setting up the sand table, the general sat down, leaning on the bench, his waist and back no longer as rigidly straight as before.

His complexion was poor, the dark aura between his brows growing denser.

Bai Ke again said: "His main camp is stationed on Long Gang."

"Are you sure?" Menban doubted, "After enduring an assassination attempt, Gao Huaiyuan may have changed locations."

"The wasteland opposite Panlongcheng is nearly flat, and Long Gang is the only high ground; as battlefield commander, Gao Huaiyuan would hardly abandon it." Hu Min continued, "But his guard force will certainly be greatly strengthened, possibly with many traps laid. For us to infiltrate, the difficulty is not small."

The heavily guarded enemy commander's great camp, to this small team of ours, truly deserves the name dragon's pool and tiger's den.

He Lingchuan took out the sand table and placed it on the long table, reconstructing the terrain of the Bekka army's logistics camp, and had Bai Ke identify the main tent's position.

"There are three hills there, spaced tens to hundreds of zhang apart, each with tents. Moreover, the tents on each hilltop constantly have soldiers coming and going." Bai Ke added, "Furthermore, the entire army is fighting against the wind, only these three hills are calm and windless, even the banners are motionless."

"There must be a wind-stilling formation or treasure there." He Lingchuan said, "Indeed, it resembles the commander-in-chief's location."

Hu Min frowned: "Then we must first confirm which tent Gao Huaiyuan is in!"

Bai Ke, however, asked: "What does Gao Huaiyuan look like?"

He Lingchuan immediately produced a portrait, and lightly tapped the back of it; the figure in the painting sprang out, three-dimensional, appearing no different from a True Person.

This is a newly developed divine ability in recent years, previously used to capture fugitives, very intuitive and vivid, unlike flat paintings which are so abstract.

"I've seen this person!" Bai Ke flapped his wings, lightly touching the northernmost hilltop, "Although far away, I did indeed see him issuing orders to others in that tent!"

Hu Min also asked it: "This matter is of great importance—are you certain?"

"Nonsense!" Bai Ke rolled his eyes, "This is my innate gift of sight!"

The Lu Shan bird's innate ability is x-ray vision. Originally capable of seeing the five viscera and six bowels of prey, applied to enemy detection it works just as well; to it, the enemy's tents are nearly transparent.

He Lingchuan summoned it for aid mainly because of this trait.

"Excellent, now formulate the decapitation plan." Time is precious, He Lingchuan casually circled the hills on the sand table, "Once the assassination begins, Gao Huaiyuan will surely flee as quickly as possible. Our task is to confine him within a certain area, preventing his escape!"

Gao Huaiyuan commands a great army; once in danger, his first reaction certainly isn't to charge forward for melee combat, but to flee far from danger, putting as much distance as possible, then using countless troops to slaughter these clueless assassins.

What the assassination squad must do is prevent him from running far. For everyone understands, to assassinate within a myriad of troops, the chance of a one-strike kill is truly slim.

"Formation isolation?" Fu Ji Shangren pondered, "But Pili Tian is proficient in spatial divine arts; even if he isn't in the logistics camp, he likely left some means behind."

Pili Tian only needs to give Gao Huaiyuan a small trinket, and the likelihood of the enemy successfully trapping Gao Huaiyuan will plummet in a straight line.

"Gao Huaiyuan is also a coward who fears death; who knows how many protective talismans he possesses."

Hu Min looked at He Lingchuan:

"Unless it's like the general's dark heavenly canopy, self-contained as a space, he would have nowhere to flee."

He Lingchuan shook his head: "It can no longer be used now."

It has been overdrawn.

Everyone felt it was troublesome; Hu Min and Fu Ji Xianren proposed several more ideas, all still rejected.

He Lingchuan's mind flashed with inspiration, suddenly recalling one of his old collections:

"I do have an item that might temporarily trap him."

"If it's an ordinary labyrinth, it probably won't work." Fu Ji Xianren reminded, "He himself possesses yuan power to see through labyrinths, and those several thousand elites could also break through the labyrinth to rescue him. Unless we trap him and immediately kill him on the spot."

"This item is rather special." He Lingchuan himself hadn't expected it to have a use one day; he had merely kept it as a plaything before, "When unfolded, it forms a self-contained entity, completely isolated from the outside. Even if he uses Pili Tian's talisman, he cannot directly escape from it."

He said it can, so it can. Others didn't ask further, immediately going to find the next difficulty in the operation:

"How do we infiltrate?"

Gao Huaiyuan's great tent uses the wind-stilling divine ability, wind and sand are blocked outside, the barrier within is very quiet; those who can enter the barrier are certainly not ordinary soldiers, and entry/exit inspection should be strict.

Most crucially, the time allotted to He Lingchuan is too tight; the opportunity bought by Zhong Shengguang and all frontline soldiers with their lives, every breath is especially precious, leaving no room for delay.

"Infiltrating the periphery of the great tent is not difficult; the wind and sand of the sandstorm season are the best cover." Menban said in a deep voice, "The difficulty lies in entering the wind-stilling barrier itself."

Pili Tian's barrier, fixed with twelve silver pillars, can only stop wind dragons and sandstorms, having no blocking effect on ordinary winds. Thus, Bekka's logistics camp has been engulfed by wind and sand, wind howling, sand blinding the eyes—who would still notice abnormalities around?

Only now did He Lingchuan realize how far ahead Zhong Shengguang had considered his assassination operation.

"Gao Huaiyuan's great tent is actually within two barriers." Hu Min also said, "Outside is Pili Tian's stabilizing barrier, and around the great tent is another layer of wind-stilling barrier. We can at most reach the outside of the wind-stilling barrier; going further in requires double caution."

"Perhaps Gao Huaiyuan has concentrated eighty percent of his defensive forces within the barrier." Placing them outside would be useless, a waste.

"We have no time to devise a reliable infiltration plan; if so..." He Lingchuan lightly tapped his fingertip several times within the circle on the sand table, "Then we won't sneak around!"

After their discussion, He Lingchuan walked out of the broken house, holding high the Tiger Wing General's talisman:

"Your Majesty, please lend us your aid."

He wanted to first try pure force. As the saying goes, one force can overcome ten skills; sometimes violence works best.

Just as his words fell, a gust of wind and sand blew from somewhere, forming a small whirlwind before him.

This was Zhong Shengguang's response; He Lingchuan felt a pang in his heart.

Zhong Shengguang ultimately failed to escape his own fate; by swearing an oath upon the great square vessel, he became the wind of the wasteland.

History repeats itself.

But Panlongcheng still has a chance, He Lingchuan still has a chance. Zhong Shengguang willingly transformed his body into a demon spirit, this time not out of despair, but full of hope!