Start with a red name

Upon hearing this, Dong Guan felt dizzy and his body swayed uncontrollably.

At this moment, he finally thought of a possibility!
He glanced around the tent and saw that his trusted advisors were all sitting upright, their faces tense and their lips tightly closed.

Clearly, they had also considered the possibility that he had thought of.

Dong Guan felt a dryness in his throat. After a moment, he looked at the strategist on his left whose expression had changed the most drastically, and said in a hoarse voice:
What were you thinking about just now?

This person did not want to be a "harbinger of doom," so when faced with Dong Guan's question, he subconsciously tried to give a perfunctory answer.

But upon seeing Dong Guan's sinister and sharp gaze, his life instincts led him to make the right choice.

He swallowed hard and said, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, the enemy's purpose in this mission is very likely these lackeys... no, to be precise, those 'filthy bastards'!"

At this point, he seemed to remember something and immediately said:
"Your Majesty, immediately send out scouts to find out about the situation of the other garrisons."

...If what I suspect is true, similar incidents just occurred at several other military outposts!

Upon hearing this, Dong Guan's expression grew even more gloomy.

From this perspective, the enemy's actions tonight become very simple.

First, use the most threatening and strongest cavalry to storm the camp, firmly drawing the attention of their entire army.

Then, the weakest of the "Filthy Blood Bastards," who were used as cannon fodder and menial laborers, used a seemingly reasonable motive to quickly approach the enemy ship.

It's like a magic trick; the real "technique" is concealed by a more conspicuous feint.

Because the entire incident happened so quickly from beginning to end, and all their attention was drawn to the enemy's cavalry, by the time they realized something was wrong, the enemy had already boarded the ship and left.

It's all over.

Before anything happens, who could have imagined that those seemingly insignificant "bloodthirsty bastards" were actually the other side's real target?!

This unexpected change made Dong Guan feel extremely uneasy.

He had a gut feeling that things were rapidly slipping out of his control.

However, upon closer analysis, the current situation is also very bad.

To avoid forming cliques and causing trouble, these "filthy bastards" come from all sorts of backgrounds.

Those from the same tribe would be dispersed and resettled immediately.

Not to mention, many of his servants and attendants had served under him for many years, and were completely different from those who had just been conscripted from various tribes.

This large group of people, with such diverse backgrounds and different motives, were all united under one banner and took the same action without any prior warning!
The truth revealed behind this made Dong Guan's heart tremble.

Did those alien tribes secretly unite a long time ago?

Now, because of the "attraction" of Xuanqinghai, not only have I withdrawn almost all of my troops from the Hanghe line, but the heartland of Xuanyou and Erzhou has also become more empty than ever before!
In Yuanzhou to the south, there is a hero as outstanding as King Liu Wu, who is plotting and scheming, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.

The Xuanyou and Youzhou states, which he thought were completely under his control, were now filled with "filthy blood bastards" who were staring at him with eyes like wolves, ready to strike at any moment.

How did the once impregnable country suddenly become leaky and fraught with crises?
External and internal troubles struck almost simultaneously.

Is it really that much of a coincidence?

Yes, yes, this is a perfect example of "internal cooperation" and "external coordination"!
At that moment, Dong Guan felt that he had truly understood this game of chess!

The bandits in Xuanqinghai used themselves as bait, not only cutting off his southward strategy, but also taking advantage of his determination to eliminate them as soon as possible, causing his troops to continuously gather in Xuanqinghai, moving away from the Hanghe line and converging northward!
The Hanghe River is empty.

My stomach is empty.

At this moment, the true colors are finally revealed, and both the "external traitors" and the "internal traitors" will erupt simultaneously!
With a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, Dong Guan finally saw through the fog that shrouded the entire battlefield.

He finally realized the dangerous situation he was in, the "prey" who considered himself the "hunter"!

The tent was completely silent.

Dong Guan tilted his head slightly.

His eyes were half-open and half-closed, showing no fear or cowardice, as sharp as an eagle, as ferocious as a wolf, and as fierce as a tiger.

This desperate situation, which had been meticulously planned and orchestrated, not only failed to defeat him, but instead stirred up the suppressed and deep-seated ferocity within him!
There's even a sense of carefree abandon and resolute determination!
Are you plotting against me?
Are you treating me like prey?
Dong Guan clenched his teeth, feeling an urge to roar like a wild beast, but he suppressed it tightly in his heart.

It felt as if a fierce and dangerous wildfire was burning wildly in my heart.

His silence seemed to last for a long time, yet it also seemed to be only a moment.

No one spoke up to interrupt his long period of deep thought.

until--

"Da da da--"

The faint sound of horses' hooves approached rapidly from afar.

Based on the experience of those inside the tent, they could even simulate that several riders of Xuanyou horses charged into the camp without any scruples or concealment, heading straight towards the direction of the tent.

Except for a brief slowdown in front of the military camp, there was no stopping at all.

This change alone tells us that this is one of our own, and that it carries an urgent message!
Soon, the sound of horses' hooves stopped as they approached the camp.

Then, the tent flap was lifted, and a travel-worn figure rushed into the tent.

Upon seeing Dong Guan, the man immediately knelt down and reported, "Your Majesty, enemy cavalry have stormed the camp at Yongkang Post Station!"

Yongkangyi was another large-scale military garrison.

It is about two hundred miles north of Hongyun Post Station, where Dong Guan and others are currently located.

Dong Guan withdrew his gaze, looked at the man, and said quietly, "Was there an enemy cavalry charge into the camp tonight?"

The person kneeling to report paused for a moment, then immediately replied, "Yes."

"So the enemy cavalry feinted and took all those 'filthy bastards' with them?" Dong Guan asked again.

The person who reported was again taken aback, until he saw the enigmatic look in Dong Guan's eyes, then he shook his head and said:

"When the enemy cavalry appeared, my subordinates immediately headed south. We have no idea what happened after that."

Dong Guan's opinion remained noncommittal.

After a while, seeing the person who had reported the situation looking helpless, he said gently, "Then let's wait a little longer."

and many more?

What are you waiting for?
The messenger was still wondering when he heard the sound of horses' hooves coming from the north.

Soon, another person lifted the curtain and entered the tent, kneeling beside him and reporting:
"Your Majesty, the enemy cavalry charged the camp at Yongkang Post Station, but it was just a feint. After taking advantage of the chaos to sweep away all the 'filthy blood bastards,' they immediately fled into the Xuanqing Sea."

General Xia said, "The enemy's schemes certainly don't stop there. Your Majesty must be extremely careful!"

Dong Guan nodded slightly, but his gaze shifted from the man to the ground beside him.

There, a man with a sunken chest, weak breath, and critically injured was lying unconsciously curled up next to the person who had reported back.

Dong Guan's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Are these prisoners?"

"...Yes, although the enemy cavalry came and went in a hurry and suffered few casualties, we still managed to leave some behind, and some of them were not completely dead."

"This man is in the best condition. General Xia asked me to bring him here." A faint smile finally appeared on Dong Guan's face.

He turned to the person next to him and said, "Go, try your best to save him first, and then—pry his mouth open!"

For a long time, this group of thieves, hiding in Xuanqinghai, have kept their secrets to the extreme, like a black box or a fog of mystery.

His information was very limited.

For this, he even risked the entire "Shadow Wind Hall," but gained nothing.

Dong Guan had a feeling that this time, he could finally pry open a crack in this "turtle shell".

A while later, news also came from another military camp further north of Yongkang Post Station.

The situation he reported was exactly the same as what he had witnessed and what had happened at Yongkang Post Station.

Even the timing of the events was remarkably consistent.

At the same time, two critically injured survivors were also brought along.

After a while, the person he had arranged to interrogate the first survivor quickly entered the tent, came to Dong Guan's side with a solemn expression, and quickly recounted what he had learned during the interrogation.

As he listened to the man's story, Dong Guan's expression grew increasingly grim.

Finally, he issued several urgent orders in succession.

The first three.

First, the order was given to the navy, which was still gathering strength and preparing to launch a new round of fierce attacks in two or three days, to immediately head north without regard for anything else!
Even if it means sacrificing the entire navy, we must use the fastest speed to "pin these thieves to their deaths in the water!"
—These are Dong Guan's original words.

Of course, Dong Guan no longer expects to accomplish this with just the navy; he simply wants to wear down and restrain this group of enemies at all costs!
The second urgent order was to have the troops along the Xuanqing Sea coast quickly converge on him.

He has now stopped seeking "offense" and started to switch to "defense".

The third urgent order was to assign many Xuan You horses as light cavalry scouts to investigate the situation in those alien tribes.

After making a series of arrangements, Dong Guan looked at the man again and asked, "Anything else? What else did you find out?"

The man shook his head and said:
"The injuries were too severe; despite all our efforts to save him, he still died."

Dong Guan gritted his teeth and said:

"Bring back two more this time. Continue interrogating them. I need information about the leader of the 'Black Wind Army,' the more detailed the better!"

"……Yes!"

Dong Guan's reaction was undeniably decisive and swift.

However, for Geng Xuan, who is also adept at "using speed to fight speed", it was still a bit too late.

……

Just as the red names contributed by several "one of our own" who were seriously injured and left behind in the enemy camp and eventually could not withstand the torture and interrogation began to disappear into Geng Xuan's brow.

He has not only returned to the sand island where he set off, but has also reunited with the team led by Liu Mu, Song Mingzhu, Tie Lang, and others.

They also absorbed all the spoils of this operation—more than 60,000 “Crowds of the Wolf”—into the “Black Wind Army.”

The "Black Wind Army" suddenly expanded to more than 100,000 men.

After completing this absorption, Geng Xuan clearly saw that the morale, which had been declining due to repeated defeats and retreats to the north and seemed on the verge of collapse, once again surged to an unprecedented high.

Not only did it restore all the morale that had plummeted over the previous month, but with the addition of these more than 60,000 "Crowds of the Wolf," it also reached a whole new level.

On the one hand, this is certainly due to Geng Xuan's generous blessing.

For the first time, the good fortune consumed by Geng Xuan's blessing exceeded the gains from this operation.

In this operation, the enemy cavalry suffered a total of over 5,600 casualties, while our side suffered over 4,500 casualties.

Overall, our side appears to have a slight advantage.

However, if we exclude the operation in which he personally led the team, the casualties on his side were even greater than those on the enemy side.

This was achieved through a surprise attack and a quick in-and-out maneuver.

If we keep fighting to the death with the enemy, our own casualties will be even more exaggerated.

The combined casualties of just over 10,000 on both sides brought Geng Xuan nearly 400,000 points of good luck and 6,800 points of bad luck.

After absorbing more than 61,500 "Crows of the Blue Wolf", the total number of "Black Wind Army" exceeded 100,000, reaching a terrifying scale of more than 106,000.

Although the vast majority of these "Children of the Azure Wolves" are at the lower levels of skin and flesh refining, the number above marrow refining is much smaller.

As a result, among the current "Black Wind Army" of over 100,000, there are more than 45,000 skin refiners and more than 38,000 meat refiners.

The average strength of the "Black Wind Army" has been significantly reduced.

But when such a large team reunited, their previously low morale soared.

Ultimately, the previous continuous decline in morale was not significantly related to the constant casualties suffered by the "Black Wind Army," which lost tens of thousands of men after just a few battles.

The real reason is the continuous failure.

This operation was undoubtedly a huge victory for the "Black Wind Army".

"Winning Theory" once again sustained the spirit of every member of the "Black Wind Army".

Morale naturally stopped falling and started to rise.

To incentivize merit and to demonstrate his "divine power" to all the newly joined "Canglang people," Geng Xuan generously bestowed blessings upon more than 106,000 people after the recruitment.

The amount of good fortune consumed in this process is unprecedented.

Even though the vast majority of people only received a little bit of good fortune and tasted a small bit of sweetness.

The total amount of good fortune consumed reached more than 476,000 points.

I lost nearly 80,000 points of good fortune.

Such a cost yields very significant results.

The "Children of the Blue Wolf," bathed in the "divine grace," became utterly fanatical.

Compared to the older generation who had followed him for longer, they were the ones who came later and became his most devoted followers.

If he had more time, Geng Xuan planned to conduct another comprehensive reorganization of this force of over 100,000 people.

But external conditions simply didn't allow it.

Tonight's operation is far from over!
Bringing these "wolf subjects" into our hands is only the first step.

Even without witnessing Dong Guan's response firsthand, he could easily imagine that if the "Black Wind Army" stopped here, it wouldn't be long before the enemy navy, which was resting and recuperating in the southern waters, would rush towards this side like madmen.

This is not what he wants.

He had to jump out of the Xuanqing Sea before anyone else!
Head west! (End of Chapter)