"Oh..." Xi Heng watched quietly for a minute, but there was no change.
The next moment, the light of the lantern over there suddenly flashed, and then several guards fell to the ground silently one after another.
After a few seconds, the three guards were dragged aside and disappeared from sight.
"…Are there other people?"
Senior sister nodded.
"The action was so quick and neat, he extinguished the lantern directly without letting the soldier make any sound. He must be an expert, right?"
"There is more than one person." The sister said:
"They may be elite warriors sent by Jinshi City to harass outside the city... If they are discovered and lead the soldiers away, you and I can sneak into the camp and spy on them."
"I listen to my senior sister."
"Then wait."
"Eh..." Xi Heng pouted.
……
Teams of patrolling guards were killed one after another, and until nearly a quarter of the lantern light disappeared, they were still unable to find the person who had sneaked in.
Xi Heng watched the patrol soldiers die with his own eyes, and felt more and more that Tianliang’s guards were really useless. He might be able to kill them all if he went forward alone.
After a few minutes, a guard finally noticed something was wrong and beat the drum in his hand.
Before the bronze drum was struck three times, one of the arrows scratched the man's neck, causing blood to spurt out and he fell to his knees.
Although they were killed as quickly as possible, the sound of the bronze drums alarmed the camp. The patrol soldiers who were walking slowly immediately moved closer to the source of the sound and shouted loudly, causing more guards to run out of the tents one after another, picking up torches and looking around.
Not long after, corpses piled up in a remote and dark place in the camp were discovered, so they became more serious and cautious, and formed a team of ten to search the entire camp.
While the patrolling guards were still shouting, the large granary tent in the camp suddenly burst into flames, forming a huge column of fire that began to burn fiercely.
"Fire!" A voice shouted, "The thieves set fire to the grain! Bring water to save the grain!"
"Where is the thief?!"
The raging fire set the entire camp in chaos.
When Xi Heng looked around trying to find the arsonist, his shoulder was suddenly tapped.
In a blink of an eye, it was her senior sister who reminded her: "Pay attention to the big account."
She immediately turned her gaze back and saw several people walking out of the circular tent in the center of the camp. One of them, wearing a general's armor, pointed at the guards around and shouted orders. Then he asked the middle-aged man wearing thin cloth beside him to chase and kill the arsonist.
That man could move freely in a coarse white cloth in the cold winter night, and he was obviously a martial arts master.
And the person who gave the orders should be the target they want to assassinate today.
"Liang Mangchen really stayed here." Hong Miao whispered:
"Most of the soldiers are fighting the fire, and the expert has left to pursue one person. This is an opportunity."
"Then let's..." Xi Heng prepared to draw his sword.
"Don't rush, take it step by step."
The words of her senior sister made her stop what she was doing.
I really don’t know why senior sister is so patient.
It was obvious that Liang Mangchen was Senior Sister’s enemy, and it was Senior Sister who wanted to kill him the most.
But the senior sister did not show any murderous intent now, and her tone of action was calm and extremely cautious.
It seemed as if the senior sister had suppressed all her emotions since she was about to take action.
While thinking silently, Xi Heng heard another whistling sound coming.
Looking around, I saw another granary on fire.
This granary was much larger than the previous one, which directly angered the generals in the camp: "Little thief! I will kill you today!"
The roar did not elicit any response.
The general was angry and turned to another skinny warrior in a black robe beside him and said:
"Please ask the monk to capture that little thief. I will chop off his head with my own hands today!"
The man in black robe didn't say much. He jumped high with a step of his toes and landed on the soft roof of the tent very nimbly without making too big a dent. He was obviously a master of light skills.
"Bring water to put out the fire! Otherwise, go and catch that thief!" The general said angrily, and quickly returned to the round tent.
In the woods, Hong Miao suddenly took a few steps forward.
She had been waiting in the forest for more than an hour, and even the siege seemed to be over. Now was the best opportunity to launch a surprise attack in the chaos.
Otherwise, we can only wait for a month or half a month... After they capture Jinshi City, when they are enjoying themselves in Jinshi City or reorganizing their army and relax their vigilance, we can also launch a surprise attack and assassinate them.
But at that time, the poison on the sword was not as strong as it is today - she thought.
Why not do it now?
……
The night was dark and the day was windy.
While the enemy camp was in chaos, the two girls concealed their movements and slowly groped forward.
The battle in the front city was still in full swing, and there were apparently only a few hundred soldiers left in the camp to guard the logistical supplies and rations.
As long as no large army came back to rescue, Xi Heng felt that he alone was enough to kill these defenders.
Listening to the sound of soldiers putting out the fire not far away, Xi Heng and his senior sister groped their way towards the central tent in the dark place where few people came.
Halfway through the journey, a loud shout was heard from a distance.
"Thieves, please leave!"
Xi Heng frowned and looked over stealthily, and saw a black-robed figure flash past the source of the sound. It was obvious that the figure was chasing someone else instead of discovering them.
Senior Sister Hong Miao, who was also disturbed, withdrew her gaze and continued to grope towards the big tent in the darkness and shadow of the tent.
The two of them slowly groped their way through the messy tents of various sizes, and the thickest general's round tent in the camp also came into view.
The senior sister moved closer and poked a small round hole with a red line on the back of the darker part of the tent with her fingertips, and looked into the tent through the gap.
After a while, she took out a small bottle from her waist where some hidden weapons were hung, and dropped a few drops of transparent colorless liquid into the tent.
Xi Heng vaguely heard some footsteps approaching, and when he turned around, he saw a flickering torchlight at a corner not far away.
"Someone is approaching." Xi Heng put his lips close to his senior sister's ear and reminded her softly.
"Listen to the footsteps, there are only two."
There seemed to be even fewer guards in the innermost part of the camp than in the outer areas.
Hong Miao didn't look or say much, she just pointed her left index finger at her neck and gently stroked it.
Xi Heng took the order and slowly stood up from a half-squatting position, placing his left and right hands on the scabbard and hilt respectively.
The hidden power and blood were brewing in the muscles, bones, fingertips and sword blades. In just a few seconds, a boot suddenly appeared at the corner.
The military boots landed on the muddy ground that had become wet due to the melting snow, splashing mud and water and making a hissing sound when they were stepped on.
Xi Heng's shuriken blade also shot out silently, a red line appeared and disappeared in an instant.
The two patrolling guards dropped the torches in their hands to the ground without even a groan, then knelt on their knees and fell flat on the snow and mud.
Xi Heng slowly approached the two corpses and observed them for a moment with the residual light of the torch.
There were two bloody holes in the heads of these two men, overflowing with blood and light-colored brain matter.
The blood-nail sword energy pierced through the heads of two people in its first actual combat.
Although these two were just ordinary Tianliang soldiers, Xi Heng was still quite satisfied.
She skillfully pulled the collars of the two corpses, slid them lightly across the mud, and then hid the bodies in the shadow of a dark corner.
On the side, Hong Miao saw Xi Heng's skillful movements of dragging the corpse out of the corner of her eye, and felt a little surprised and curious.
Her junior sister seemed to do this kind of thing often...
However, the situation was urgent now. Hong Miao was distracted for only a moment, then she withdrew her thoughts and continued to stare into the tent.
There were only two figures in generals' armor in the big tent, pointing and waving small flags on the table, as if they were discussing something.
"With the Huangmeishan army helping in the city, Jinshi City has few defenders, most of the wealthy families have fled, the court is in chaos, and other cities don't provide support, so we will definitely be able to break it... But what should we do after taking Jinshi?" Someone sighed.
"In the northern Xiuzhou and Gui'an, there are local imperial troops and a large number of officials defending the city with refugees fleeing famine. These two places are not as big as Jinshi, which is a large city on the lake plain. The mountain roads are steep and it won't be long before it turns into deep winter. A large number of the rebels have no military equipment or warm cotton clothes. If they force their way forward, I'm afraid half of them will be killed or injured on the way." The two people in the tent gestured at the map.
"It's still because of insufficient strategic planning. Until now, Tianliang has been fighting wherever it can. Although Marshal Fang is proficient in escape techniques and formations, he lacks in overall strategy and long-term planning. It's still difficult to drag a group of old and weak soldiers..." The man in green clothes in the armor shook his head.
Hong Miao happened to see the man's profile clearly, and it was Liang Mangchen, the person she was going to kill today!
A trace of hatred quickly erupted after seeing the real person. Hong Miao forced herself to calm down, but the murderous intent in her eyes gradually dissipated.
Liang Mangchen continued, "If we can make a concerted effort to cross Xiujiang and continue to occupy these two important military towns, we will have occupied two bridgehead fortresses. Whether we continue to advance north or stop here and hold on, the decision is in our hands in Tianliang."
"And if we stop at Jinshi, the war will fall into a passive situation. When the Zhao family stabilizes the situation and transfers the northern army back, Tianliang will inevitably fall into a losing position and it will be difficult to turn the tide."
"But Xiuzhou and Gui'an are really hard to attack. Both cities are guarded by famous generals. We can't transport carts there due to the steep terrain. We have to get materials locally, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. If we encounter a sudden cold snap like today, I'm afraid half of the soldiers will be frozen to death before we even attack the city..."
"You won't fight when you are in trouble? Tianliang is rebelling, how can a rebel army retreat when they are in trouble? What's more, with our large army, it is not impossible to capture these two cities!" Liang Mangchen snorted coldly:
"Wang Shisi and Lu Daoan actually proposed that Marshal Fang personally lead the main force back to the south for expansion. They don't understand the overall situation!"
"If this is true, Tianliang may be in danger..." The two generals in the tent were obviously on the same side.
"But Marshal Fang doesn't seem to want to continue northward... Alas." Liang Mangchen exchanged glances with the people around him, looked around, and after confirming that there was no one else, he whispered: "If the situation is going to be over, you and I should find another way."
"..." The person next to him hesitated for a long time and nodded slightly.
"Recently I received a secret letter from the Great Zhao court..." As Liang Mangchen said this, his voice became smaller and smaller, so small that even the dark force masters with keen hearing outside the tent could hardly hear it clearly.
Outside the tent, Xi Heng had just hidden the body and returned to his senior sister, only to see her half-crouching with her sword drawn.
In the snowy night, a cold light flashed.
The girl gave her senior sister a look: Do it?
The senior sister just whispered: "Use the sword falling blood rain style to aim at the torso of the person on the right. Don't aim for the vital parts and try to put away the killing intent, otherwise it may alert him... After swinging the sword, no matter what the result is, you must guard outside. If you encounter an expert, flee immediately."
Xi Heng nodded.
Hong Miao turned her gaze back, her itchy palms tightly grasped the hilt of the sword, and the murderous intent in her eyes gradually boiled.
She turned slightly, took a deep breath, and focused her mind on the enemy's chest through a thick sheepskin tent.
Xi Heng also pushed the long sword out of the scabbard, and the sound was so light that it was only a momentary buzzing sound like an insect.
The Qi and blood in the body circulated rapidly, and traces of hidden strength penetrated into the muscles and bones, and were transmitted to the palms of the hands and the blade of the sword.
Hold the sword with both hands forward and backward, and raise it in front of your right shoulder.
As if they had telepathic connection, Xi Heng and his senior sister swung their swords at the same time.
The senior sister stepped forward and drew her sword, a surging sword wind whistled, and a red line of sword energy flashed between the sword chants.
Xi Heng pulled with his left wrist, twisted his right wrist violently, and chopped with sword energy.
Two sword energies burst out at the same time, leaving a cross sword mark on the surface of the thick sheepskin tent.
The next moment, Hong Miao immediately rushed into the tent from the sword marks. Only then did a muffled groan of pain come from the tent.
One of them had his heart cut by the sword energy, and blood was gushing out continuously. The iron armor on his body could not block such sharp sword energy. He knelt on the ground, waiting to die.
The other man was obviously a very skilled martial artist, as he managed to move his body in the instant he was attacked, so that the red sword energy that should have cut half of his neck and heart only left a bloody mark on his shoulder.
Although blood was oozing out, the sword wound did not even expose the bone, nor did it cut through the tendons and veins, so it was obviously not a serious injury.
Liang Mangchen turned around immediately after being attacked, his eyes widened and he shouted angrily:
"Who is coming?!"
"Hong Miao Liao of the Bloodline Sword Sect! Kill your people!"
The senior sister's sword and body movements did not stop at all, and a dagger was already pointing towards the enemy's chest.
The opponent tried his best to dodge, but the red line on the tip of the sword suddenly swung, leaving a conspicuous blood mark on his right side.
This minor injury gave Liang Mangchen the opportunity to draw his sword from his waist. The broad and long sword shone with a cold light and blocked Hong Miao's next sword attack.
There was a clanging sound and sparks flashed.
