Chapter 878: First Volume, Chapter 878: Xiongying Ridge, Mighty Tiger

First Volume, Chapter 878: Xiongying Ridge, Mighty Tiger

The Garrison Commander of ZhuZhen rushed to the Shuaizhang to notify Lü Ci; when he pulled back the curtain, a strong stench of blood hit him, and then he was stunned to see Lü Ci lying stiff on the bed, blood splattered everywhere, and his head… gone!

Realizing the Main General had been assassinated by the enemy, the Garrison Commander turned pale—he was in charge of night watch tonight, yet the enemy had secretly infiltrated right under his nose and killed the Main General; if this were investigated, his head would surely roll!

With no way to clear himself now, Garrison Commander Zhao Huan gritted his teeth and decisively led dozens of confidants away from the Military Camp in the chaos, racing straight into the open wilderness, vanishing without a trace in an instant.

With even the night watch Garrison Commander fled, the entire camp descended into utter chaos.

Although several arriving Garrison Commanders and Deputy Generals began organizing soldiers to pursue the Enemy Army, they had already missed the optimal window; over a thousand men searched for nearly half a Envoy and found no trace of the enemy.

Meanwhile, Lei Hu and his men had already escaped more than three li away.

The group ran continuously without stopping.

Yet, the sound of hooves still came from behind.

Lei Hu did not hesitate; he waved his hand, signaling his men to slow their pace and pretend to be searching for the enemy.

In just a few breaths, twenty cavalrymen arrived; their leader was a junior officer. Seeing Lei Hu and his men wearing the same Light Armor as themselves, the officer was puzzled but showed no hostility.

"Why are you running so fast?!"

"We were riding horses, yet we ended up behind you."

Facing the officer's question, Lei Hu's eyes showed no tension; he replied calmly: "Since the enemy attack, we rushed out to chase them—of course we're faster."

Hearing this, the officer believed him and asked: "Have you spotted any trace of the Enemy Army?"

Lei Hu pointed north: "We spotted some scattered footprints—they must have fled north."

The officer nodded, said nothing more, and immediately led his men toward the North.

But as he rode further, he grew increasingly suspicious of that group.

"If they rushed out of the camp first, they must have been the night watch soldiers."

"Yet why are their weapons and Armor so fully equipped?"

Recalling Lei Hu's appearance, the officer frowned.

Full Bow and Arrow, Step Bow, single-edged sword—all carried; waist hung with water bags and grain sacks…

"Wrong!"

The officer yanked the reins hard, spun his horse around, and glared toward Lei Hu's direction: "I nearly got fooled!"

"The Enemy Army disguised themselves in armor like ours—the group we met was the infiltrating force!"

The officer immediately turned back with his men, racing to the spot where they'd met Lei Hu—but found no one.

"Hmph, I don't believe these bandits can fly away!"

"Search everywhere…"

Just as the officer ordered a sweeping search, a whistling arrow pierced the silent night and shot toward him.

Because the officer held a Fire Torch, he was a clear target—and was struck in the shoulder, tumbling off his horse.

The "whistle" on the arrow emitted a piercing sound—clearly an attack signal.

Lei Hu, anticipating a Returning Lance Strike, had already arranged his men in a Bandit Trap; as the signal sounded, Lei Hu and his fifty Bow Infantry simultaneously unleashed a barrage of Ranged Attacks from all directions.

Due to the close distance and suddenness, the twenty cavalrymen had no time to react—each was struck and fell from their mounts.

"Ambush!"

"Retreat to camp!"

The remaining seven or eight cavalrymen broke through a gap and fled without looking back toward ZhuZhen.

Lei Hu barked: "Cease firing!"

The fifty Bow Infantry obeyed instantly—sheathed their bows, drew their Step Bows and single-edged swords, and charged forward, cutting down the wounded cavalrymen in moments.

"Recover arrows!"

At the command, all Bow Infantry immediately scoured the ground, retrieving every arrow they'd fired—arrows were vital Materials and Supplies, reused repeatedly; no unit could afford to treat them as disposable.

After the Bow Infantry recovered all arrows, Lei Hu gave further orders to take all Warhorses.

Dozens of Warhorses were insufficient for fifty men to ride away, and Lei Hu would never abandon his men to escape alone—these horses were to be preserved as Materials and Supplies for maneuvering against the enemy.

On their way to Zhuozhou, they faced multiple pursuit attempts—either evading or setting ambushes to counterattack—until dawn broke, still no one captured them.

As they neared Zhuozhou's border, victory seemed within reach, but Lei Hu decisively ordered a turn westward.

The reason was simple: after prolonged maneuvering, they'd lost the initiative; the enemy would surely send swift riders into Zhuozhou to organize intercepts—entering Zhuozhou now would be walking straight into a trap.

At this moment, the border between Sangzhou and Zhuozhou was in utter chaos.

To capture Lei Hu and his men, Sangzhou's ZhuZhen deployed large forces, while Zhuozhou's Military Camp also sent troops to block them.

This massive mobilization caused the loyalists of Bei Di Wang Du in Zhuozhou to mistakenly believe an enemy invasion had begun—they immediately mobilized forces to prepare for defense.

Meanwhile, the news reached Xiongying Ridge.

Upon learning Lü Ci had been infiltrated and beheaded, Li Zhang showed no reaction, only coldly said: "Expected."

"Lü Ci's talent is only fit for a Guerrilla Garrison Commander—excellent at leading small units, but now he's become Main General of the Wild Emperor Party; the gap in status is too great—he's utterly unfit."

"A main Military Camp, infiltrated by a small enemy force, with the Main General assassinated in his sleep—this reveals how lax the garrison's defenses are!"

"Putting a pure Martial man in command is absurd."

"Military operations are barely passable, but internal administration, vigilance, and logistics? A complete mess!"

Sitting beside him, Jing Qianying frowned slightly; even a Professional Soldier like Lü Ci was dismissed by Li Zhang as worthless—she wasn't even a soldier, so she dared not offer any advice.

Jing Qianying humbly asked: "Lü Ci was the Main General—now that he's dead, won't the Wild Emperor Party be leaderless?"

Hearing this, Li Zhang laughed: "Hahahaha, Fourth Miss, don't take it so seriously."

"The Wild Emperor Party may be a dragon, but Lü Ci is certainly not its head—not even a snake's head."

"The true head is still in Di Royal Capital."

Jing Qianying knew well—Li Zhang's "true head" referred to Qin Feng.

But now both Sangzhou and Zhuozhou are in chaos—doesn't that disrupt the original strategic plan?