Chapter 578: The Game in the Mist

Northwest of Yan City, a hillside camp.

Torches crackled and burned, driving away the darkest darkness before dawn, yet they could not dispel the bloody stench and the yin‑cold miasma lingering in the air.

The battle had ended.

After dropping seven or eight "corpses", the attacking shades retreated like a tide, vanishing into the deeper darkness on all sides.

They came strangely, left abruptly.

Lin Chong stood with his spear slung over his shoulder, breathing heavily, his armor newly scored with several deep gashes oozing dark red blood.

A wound on his left arm went numb; he quickly slit his leather armor, squeezed out some blackened blood, and applied the Northward Aspiration Army's universal detox powder he carried.

Guan Sheng was struck in the shoulder by a poisoned bolt, his face turning pale, and the army medic was urgently treating him.

Huoyan Zhuo's thigh was slit, blood soaking his pants; after a hasty bandage he still persisted in patrolling.

Yue Yun was young and quick‑reacted, suffering only scrapes, but his face was pallid and his hand gripping the twin hammers trembled slightly.

Obviously, facing such a bizarre, non‑human foe for the first time, his emotions were unsettled.

The camp was in utter disarray.

The Northward Aspiration Army and the Defiant Army suffered over a hundred casualties, nearly thirty of them dying on the spot or quickly succumbing to poison.

Most of the wounded had wounds ominously tinged bluish‑black; although detox medicines were used, they seemed ineffective, and their groans revealed weakness and pain.

"Take roll, treat the wounded, strengthen outward sentries, and have the dark posts send out signals three li!"

Lin Chong hoarsely gave the order, his gaze sweeping over faces exhausted, shocked and angry yet still resolute.

"Collect the fallen comrades' remains, cremate them on the spot, and take the ashes with us."

He walked up to the remnants of a shade that had not yet fully dissipated.

It resembled a deflated black skin sack, filled with rapidly withering vine‑like matter and several dim pieces.

Fragments of neither metal nor stone, emitting a faint chill akin to the lingering evil‑ritual aura at Wang Family Hollow.

"Iron Crow Army..."

Lin Chong crouched, probing the fragments with his knife tip, his eyes icy.

The sovereign and Zhao Lao Nian had once described this aura in detail; it was related to nether energy but far more foul and refined.

"They're panicking."

They did not hesitate to directly employ this hidden power, launching the attack on the eve of the breakout.

Their purpose was all too clear—weaken the blocking forces and sow chaos.

They even tried to behead him and Yue Yun, utterly destroying the breakout support planned for the next night.

This shows that the Iron Crow Army's control over the situation in Yan City has encountered a variable they did not want.

The arrival of the Northward Aspiration Army and Yue Fei's decision to change the breakout plan both exceeded their expectations.

"Instructor Lin, these ghostly things… will they come again?" Yue Yun stepped closer, his heart still pounding.

"I don't know."

Lin Chong shook his head and rose to his feet.

"But their attacks are not without cost. These things are not easy to make, and driving them consumes resources."

"Having suffered a setback tonight, they should be unable in the short term to launch another attack of the same scale."

"However, small‑scale harassment and covert sabotage must be guarded against at all times."

He looked at Yue Yun, his tone solemn:

"Junior General, the Iron Crow Army's methods are cunning, far beyond ordinary troops."

"Tonight's events must be firmly remembered."

"When you later command troops, you must not only guard against swords and spears in the open, but also be wary of the poisonous thorns hidden in these shadows."

Yue Yun nodded firmly, etching these words into his heart.

"Instructor, our losses are not light, especially the poisoned wounded who may not recover quickly; tomorrow night's blocking mission…"

Guan Sheng finished treating his wound, gritted his teeth and walked over, his face heavy with worry.

Lin Chong fell silent for a moment, gazing toward Yan City; there was no movement inside.

He did not know whether General Yue was safe, or if he too had faced a similar attack.

"The mission remains unchanged."

He finally spoke, his voice not loud but firm and unyielding.

"General Yue entrusted us with the most perilous duty, showing his trust that the Northward Aspiration Army, even if reduced by half, would not bend its spine."

"Place the wounded brothers, concealing the severely injured where they can be hidden."

"As for the lightly wounded, if they can still draw a bow or lift a blade, they will take the field tomorrow night as usual!"

His gaze swept over Guan Sheng, Huoyan Zhuo, and the other leaders and soldiers gradually gathering around.

"The Iron Crow Army wants us to fear, to fall into disorder, and to dare not go to the mountain pass."

"We'll go anyway!"

"Moreover, we must fight harder and fiercer than the original plan!"

"Let those demons lurking in the shadows know: some roads they cannot block, some people they cannot slaughter completely!"

A low yet powerful chorus of assent rose among the survivors, dispelling some of the chill and unease brought by the night raid.

Under the same night sky, a hundred li away.

Chen Wen reined his horse behind a ruined earthen wall, his chest feeling faintly oppressed, as if struck by an invisible hammer.

It was not an injury.

It was the newly made token in his sleeve and the old token in his pocket, sharing the same origin as Yue Fei's jade pendant, which almost simultaneously sent a strong, tumultuous throb and a faint sensation of heat!

This feeling differed from the clear transmission when he had previously bestowed power from afar; it was more chaotic, full of aggression, yin‑coldness, and… a sense of dissipation.

The south…… something has happened.

Chen Wen's face grew solemn.

He could not know exactly what had happened, but the token's movement clearly pointed toward the direction of Yingcheng, and was vaguely related to the Iron Crow Army's distinctive foul aura.

Was it the Iron Crow Army that acted directly?

Who was the target? Lin Chong? Yue Fei?

He tried to use the token to sense more details, but the distance was still too great, and this passive perception remained vague.

All he could confirm was that a fierce clash involving the Iron Crow Army's power had occurred, and…… our side might have suffered casualties.

Unable to transmit information.

All he could do was to press forward, get closer as quickly as possible, hoping that Lin Chong and Yue Fei could withstand this wave of attack.

He also hoped that the new and old tokens in his hand might play some role at the critical moment.

"Accelerate."

Chen Wen whispered to the few elite shadow guards beside him.

"We must reach the designated point before dawn."

Yingcheng, the central commander's tent.

The bloodstains had been cleaned up, and the bodies of the two personal soldiers were temporarily placed to one side, covered with a military flag.

Core commanders Niu Gao, Zhang Xian, Wang Gui, and others gathered, each face filled with grief and indignation, plus a suppressed anger.

"We've found out."

Wang Gui's voice was low.

"Wang Jun and his two aides are missing. In his tent we found unused poison, tools for forging documents, and…… a small piece of a strange bone artifact that feels cold to the touch."

He presented that pallid bone whistle.

Yue Fei took it, glanced at it once, and immediately sensed that familiar, nauseating yin chill, identical to that on the assassin earlier.

"Indeed it's him."

Yue Fei spoke calmly, threw the bone whistle to the ground, and stomped it to pieces: "A traitor who betrays from within deserves no pity in death."

"Marshal, the Iron Crow Army dares to infiltrate the commander's tent to assassinate, so audacious! Should we……" Niu Gao said, furious.

"Should we strengthen defenses? Should we search the whole city?"

Yue Fei interrupted him, his gaze sweeping over everyone.

"The assassin missed his strike and fled at once; he is no longer in the city now. A citywide manhunt would only sow panic and alert the enemy."

He walked to the map and pointed his finger at it.

"This move by the Iron Crow Army shows they are desperate."

"The Northward Aspiration Army has come to reinforce us; our army intends to break through, disrupting their arrangements."

"They intend to use assassination and disturbance to delay us and intimidate us."

"We insist on being fast!"

He turned, his eyes sharp as a blade.

"Issue the order: all units shall eat a shichen early, inspect equipment, especially dry rations and water, which must be checked by designated personnel!"

"Gather the wounded, have reliable military medics attend to them, and distribute the last reserves of detoxifying medicine."

"Wang Gui, you personally lead trustworthy personnel to thoroughly inspect the supply camp, especially grain, fodder, arrows, and water sources; any suspicious item, better to destroy it by mistake than to leave it!"

"Zhang Xian, send three times the usual scouts to reconnoiter the vanguard breakout route, repeatedly verify, clear any possible lurking obstacles. Upon encountering suspicious persons, regardless of identity, kill them without mercy!"

"Niu Gao, increase the rear guard's patrols, expand the vigilance zone, especially watch shadowed corners and underground drains, to prevent enemy infiltration and sabotage."

Orders were issued one after another decisively, making the most pragmatic response to the Iron Crow Army's deceitful tactics.

"As for the assassin's words 'clear out accelerate'……" Yue Fei's eyes flashed with icy light.

"What he wants to clear out is none other than me, Yue Fei, and the unyielding backbone of my Yue family army."

"Let him see whether their shadow blades are faster, or the steps of my Yue family army's breakout are faster!"

"Everyone!" he raised his voice! "

"The more desperate the Iron Crow Army becomes, the more it shows we are on the right path!"

"Tomorrow's breakout concerns the life and death of tens of thousands of brothers, and even more whether the northern expedition's fortune can continue!"

"Even if there are thousands of difficulties and perils, even if there are demonic tricks——"

He slammed his fist on the table.

"We, too, will press forward without hesitation!"

"Yes!" the generals roared in agreement, their grief and indignation turning into blazing fighting spirit.

Outside the tent, the sky was on the verge of dawn but not yet bright.

Inside and outside Yingcheng, the two armies that had endured a night of bloody harassment.

Like an angered wounded tiger, they did not scatter in fear; instead, under the deadly threat,

they tensed every nerve and sharpened every tooth.

The breakout plan had not changed; rather, because of this sudden attack, it was carried out more resolutely and more cautiously.

And in Lin'an, in the deeper shadows, some beings might be waiting for news of 'chaos' and 'collapse'.

But what they will await is a more decisive charge, and even more intense flames of war.

In the mist, the game continues.

Blades and shadows are already drawn taut.