Frontier Hero: From Receiving a Convicted Woman to Becoming an Emperor for All Time

Night is the best cover.

Shen Chuxiao led the Jingnan Army on a march through the darkness. The horses' hooves, wrapped in rags, made almost no sound as they trod on the frozen ground. The column of several hundred men stretched out in a thin line, like a silent knife, gliding forward along the grassland.

Tie Niu followed behind Shen Chuxiao, no longer thinking about Amur.

Shen Qiao is right; war is not a dinner party.

People with soft hearts don't live long.

He chewed on those words several times, and felt a metallic taste of blood in them.

Soon, under the cover of night, the group made their way to the vicinity of Xiaoxi Village. Upon closer inspection, they found it to be a small tribe with only a few dozen herder households and no garrison.

Normally, the Jingnan Army wouldn't even give a second glance to a place like this.

But things are different now.

They were a lone army deep in enemy territory; every grain of food and every horse they owned was earned with their lives. Xiaoxi Village had horses, food, and tents. If they captured it, they could get a warm night's sleep.

If we can't take it down, we'll have to eat rock-hard dry rations again tomorrow.

Therefore, we must fight.

And it has to be fast.

The scout went ahead and circled the area beforehand, then returned to report: "Everyone's asleep; nobody's on guard."

Shen Chuxiao nodded and said, "Kill."

The crowd surged out of the darkness at the same time, the sound of horses' hooves drowned out by the wind, and the blades reflected the last bit of starlight.

In just one charge, the entire tribe was wiped out.

After resting for a night, the group set off at dawn the next day with the captured horses and provisions, heading to the main camp that Amur had assigned them.

The grassland is completely exposed during the day with little cover, making it unsuitable for any action.

Shen Chuxiao led the group at a leisurely pace, allowing everyone to conserve their energy.

As night fell, the outline of the main camp finally appeared on the horizon.

The firelight could be seen from three miles away.

Shadows moved about in the firelight, and the sound of singing drifted on the wind.

Tie Niu was stunned for a moment, then cursed, "This little barbarian is living a good life, huh?"

He thought the main camp would be a larger version of Xiaoxi Village, but the camp in front of him had hundreds of tents, surrounded by a fence, and torches were lit on the four watchtowers.

A crowd gathered around the campfire; some were drinking, some were dancing, and the aroma of roasted meat wafted on the wind, so strong it was almost sickening.

These barbarians are still having a banquet.

Shen Chuxiao lay on the grassy slope for a long time, his lips twitching slightly, it was hard to tell whether he was smiling or something else.

"They never dreamed we would come."

Qian Wanli lay down beside him, his tone carrying an indescribable quality.

"That's why they're drinking and eating meat here."

Shen Chuxiao withdrew his gaze. "Let them drink. The more they drink, the faster they'll die."

He turned to look at Shen Qiao.

"You sneak in first, find the main leader's tent, and kill him."

Shen Qiao didn't speak, but her sword was already drawn.

They then stealthily made their way towards the camp.

Tie Niu stared in the direction Shen Qiao had disappeared, recalling the way that person on the Ling Shuang Pass city wall had killed someone. That clean, efficient manner, that almost blissful tranquility.

He shivered and gripped the axe tightly.

The drums in the camp grew louder and louder, and the singing grew more and more intense.

No one noticed the extra eyes in the darkness.

He avoided the main roads, choosing instead to slip through the gaps between tents. In the darkness, drunkards could be seen sprawled haphazardly outside the tents, and he nimbly navigated these obstacles like a cat.

Two patrolling sentries were dozing off under the watchtower, their snores rising and falling.

Shen Qiao held her breath and quietly slipped past, close to the shadow of the watchtower.

In the center of the camp stood the most conspicuous tent, three times larger than the others. The black flag atop the tent fluttered in the night wind, and the eagle on its banner, with its outstretched wings, seemed poised to take flight at any moment.

Shen Qiao secretly lifted a corner of the tent flap, and the aroma of roasted meat and women wafted out.

The scene inside the tent was a bit too much for my eyes.

An obese man lay half-reclined on a leather rug, his belly piled high with three layers of fat. He clutched a silver-inlaid wine bowl in his hand, and grease clung to the corner of his mouth. Several young women lay beside him, their skin so white it shone in the oil lamp. Some were pouring him wine, some were massaging his legs, and some were already asleep, emitting soft snores.

This person must be the leader here.

Shen Qiao observed quietly from the shadows for a moment, then suddenly sprang into action, rushing into the room like a black lightning bolt.

A flash of sword light appeared, and the woman closest to him, still intoxicated, hadn't even had time to open her eyes when a thin line of blood appeared on her throat. Her fingers remained in the grip of the wine jug, but she collapsed to the ground with a thud, amber-colored wine gushing from the shattered jug, meandering like a river on the bluestone floor.

The other screamed shrilly the moment she heard the noise and staggered backward. But Shen Qiao's sword was faster than her terrified scream; a flash of cold light and it pierced her chest precisely, pinning her to the wine-stained animal hide rug.

When the leader opened his eyes, he saw Shen Qiao kill two people. When he saw Shen Qiao's typical Da Jing face, his pupils suddenly contracted, his mouth opened wide, but his throat seemed to be blocked by something, and he couldn't squeeze out a single word.

This is impossible!

This is the heart of the grasslands, how could a Da Jing person suddenly appear here?

Shen Qiao remained calm and asked a question slowly in her broken barbarian language.

The fat man trembled all over, his lips quivering for a long time before he managed to squeeze out a few indistinct words. His voice was urgent and rapid, with a clear sob in it, as if he were pleading for something.

Shen Qiao listened quietly.

As a result, the two couldn't understand each other, and when Shen Qiao couldn't get any information out of him, he killed him with a single sword stroke.

His obese body collapsed onto the animal skin rug, blood gushing from his neck, staining the corpses of the women and his own belly red.

Two of the oil lamps inside the tent were extinguished by blood splatter, but the remaining ones were still burning, illuminating the mess on the ground.

Shen Qiao lifted the tent flap and gestured to the outside.

On the grassy slope, after the scouts reported that everything went smoothly for Shen Qiao, Shen Chuxiao immediately stood up and drew the knife from his waist.

"Kill! Raze this place to the ground, leave no chicken or dog alive!"

Now, the sound of horses' hooves was no longer concealed; their iron hooves shattered the frozen earth, and the blades reflected the firelight in the camp. Archers first fired fire arrows, dozens of arrows soaring into the air simultaneously, piercing tents, fences, and the still-dancing crowd.

The screams and the drumbeats were mixed together, making it impossible to distinguish one from the other.

Tie Niu charged ahead, swinging his axe in a wide arc to cleave through the fence in front of him. Shen Qiao burst out of the camp, her sword still dripping with blood, and joined forces with the Jingnan army outside, effectively cutting the main camp in two.

The barbarians finally realized it was an enemy attack, but it was too late.

Tie Niu cleaved a barbarian soldier in two, then turned to see more men pouring out from the depths of the camp. In the distance, he could hear the sound of horses' hooves; he couldn't tell if they were reinforcements or trying to escape.