In chaotic times, skill points are added: from hunter to martial saint, only killing and no mercy!

Gumu Da is now under Li Yi's command, serving as the head of a garrison, mainly responsible for guiding many troops during the Northern Expedition against the Xiongnu.

Under Gumu Da's personal tutelage, his soldiers gained a better understanding of the Xiongnu steppe, and some Xiongnu people who were willing to join Li Yi were also recruited into Gumu Da's ranks.

Based on the current progress, after a period of training, the soldiers under Gumu Da's command will be able to be dispatched to various armies to serve as guides.

Combined with the intelligence on the Xiongnu gathered by the Chen state, this would greatly reduce the possibility of the Chen army getting lost and missing their deadline.

"Li the God of Slaughter is going to fight the Xiongnu again!"

When Li Yi led two thousand elite troops northward, many Chen people in the Yanmen Pass area looked at the spirited army with expectant expressions.

Some bolder civilians even brought their own wine and dried meat to the army, stuffing food into the soldiers' hands and urging the army to kill more Xiongnu.

"Now the morale of the troops is high!"

Li Yi rode his warhorse in the middle of the army, looking around at the situation with a smile on his face.

For this battle, Li Yi assembled his elite forces, including generals such as Han Jia and Liu Ye.

After marching for dozens of miles, the army finally arrived at the grassland.

Gazing at the vast grassland, everyone stopped and awaited Li Yi's orders.

Gu Muda unfolded a map and displayed it in front of Li Yi.

This map is a topographical map of the Xiongnu that Gumu Da redrawn based on intelligence from the Chen state.

On this map, three places are marked with red circles.

These three places are the three tribes of Muyang, Lieshan, etc., that were previously cleared out by Li Yi and his men.

Looking down at the map, Li Yi pondered for a moment before drawing a route on it.

This route avoids the three red circles and many dangerous places, heading straight into the depths of the Xiongnu grasslands.

"This time we have enough supplies, so we don't need to be in such a hurry as last time."

"Following this route, we'll reach Huangyang Plain within seven days!"

Huangyangyuan was an important area on the Xiongnu grassland, named after the abundance of yellow sheep in the area.

This is why a large number of Xiongnu people gather here every year.

In the words of the Chen state, this place was a market town of the Xiongnu.

After looking at the route drawn by Li Yi and pondering for a moment, Gu Muda nodded in agreement with Li Yi's plan.

After the previous northward expedition and the beheading of the Xiongnu envoy, it's highly likely that there are no Xiongnu tribes left on the Xiongnu steppes near the Chen state. Saving time and energy to strike directly at the core is the best option at present.

After Li Yi set the marching target, the two thousand troops rested on the spot and then headed north along the map.

Along the way, the cold wind howled and snowflakes occasionally fell.

Even in the dead of night, you can hear the howling of hungry wolves.

However, under the intimidation of the two thousand troops, Li Yi and his men made no progress and, apart from shooting some wild animals that didn't know any better and using them as food for the army, there was nothing else unusual.

Six days later, Li Yi stood by a stream and ordered the army to rest and water their horses.

Gu Muda held the map and compared it with the surrounding terrain to confirm his location.

"My lord, we'll reach the vicinity of Huangyang Plain in two more hours!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yi's eyes lit up.

Having learned from the previous experience, the journey to Huangyang Plain, which originally took seven days, was completed in just six days. This saved time could be used to accomplish many things.

At this time, Huangyang Plain was more than 400 miles deep in the grasslands, in the heart of the Xiongnu territory.

"Liu Ye, take a cavalry unit and go scout ahead!"

Looking at the map, Li Yi quickly made arrangements.

With a few clattering sounds, a troop of cavalry charged out from the army and headed towards Huangyang Plain.

About an hour later, Li Yi had the rested army pack up and continue their march towards Huangyang Plain.

At this point, Liu Ye's cavalry was only about an hour's journey away from Huangyang Plain.

Just as the army was about to reach Huangyang Plain, Liu Ye led his soldiers to scout out the situation and then returned to report to him.

Two hours later, the army crossed several hills and looked into the distance, where they could see a large, flat grassland.

Surrounded by dense forests on the surrounding hillsides, the grasslands on Huangyang Plain are noticeably greener, and the temperature is much higher.

This uniquely advantageous terrain explains why a large number of gazelles could survive here, turning the area into a marketplace for the Xiongnu people to exchange goods.

But just as the army halted, Li Yi, relying on the exceptional eyesight granted by his [Hunting] and [Reconnaissance & Concealment] skills, spotted a small troop of cavalry on the Huangyang Plain, galloping towards him without any attempt to conceal themselves.

What's going on?

Looking at this cavalry unit that seemed vaguely familiar, Li Yi suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

A moment later, the cavalry had arrived at the foot of the hill and were driving their horses uphill.

"It really is Liu Ye."

Seeing the cavalry below the mountain, Li Yi spurred his horse forward, revealing himself.

"grown ups!"

Liu Ye led his cavalry and quickly arrived at Li Yi's side, dismounting and bowing deeply.

Thinking of Liu Ye's blatant disregard for his own actions just now, Li Yi quickly asked:

"What's the story behind this gazelle?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Ye looked puzzled and somewhat uneasy, and said:

"My lord, I arrived at Huangyang Plain half an hour ago, but there are no patrolling Xiongnu cavalry here, not even a human presence."

"I was greatly alarmed, so I ordered my fifty cavalrymen to disperse and patrol and explore the Huangyang Plain."

"However, apart from the yellow sheep, no other Xiongnu people were found."

"It seems that this place has been abandoned by the Xiongnu."

Listening to Liu Ye's story, Li Yi looked up in surprise and exchanged a glance with Gu Muda.

Li Yi could understand why the Xiongnu tribes had previously fled and gone into hiding, but Huangyang Plain was one of the most important strongholds for the Xiongnu. Even when Emperor Taizong of Chen launched his northern expedition, the Xiongnu had not given up on this grassland!

There's definitely something wrong!

Thinking of this, Li Yi immediately led two thousand troops toward Huangyang Plain.

In the Huangyang Plain, a large camp where the Xiongnu people had gathered and lived was now deserted, with only some abandoned tents and miscellaneous items remaining.

Gumu Da, a high-ranking archer among the Xiongnu, immediately led his men to search the Yellow Sheep Plain upon seeing this.

After a long time, the soldiers that Li Yi had sent out all returned empty-handed.

"It seems these Xiongnu people are completely terrified!"

Han Jia scratched the back of his head, looking around blankly, feeling only that he was intimidated by Li Yi's reputation as the reincarnation of the Wolf God.

Ignoring Han Jia's words, Li Yi discussed the matter with Gu Muda for a few minutes before personally searching the Huangyang Plain.

[Reconnaissance and Concealment]! Activate!

[Hunting]! Activate!

With the help of his two skills, Li Yi quickly found some clues in the messy camp.

"Gumu Da, what kind of place is that?"

Li Yi pointed to a dense forest north of Huangyang Plain and asked Gu Muda.

"Does Your Excellency know anything about shamans?"

Instead of answering Li Yi's question, Gu Muda asked a question in return.

"I know a little about shamans. The Xiongnu people do not believe in Buddhism or Taoism, but only in the Eternal Heaven."

"And this shaman is responsible for worshipping the Eternal Heaven and communicating with the Xiongnu!"

"It is said that these shamans possess incredible abilities, including the ability to communicate with various nature spirits."

Li Yi recounted everything he knew about the Xiongnu shamans.

Gumu Da nodded, gazing at the dense forest to the north, and said in a deep voice:

"I have spent many years practicing archery in seclusion among the Xiongnu, so I am not very familiar with the situation of the various tribes. However, as far as I know, the reason why a large number of yellow sheep have gathered in this Yellow Sheep Plain, forming this place for exchanging goods, is because, according to Xiongnu legend, a shaman who serves the spirit of the yellow sheep lives here!"

"The spirit of the yellow sheep protects this grassland, making it spring-like all year round, allowing the Xiongnu people to get through the cold winter snow."

Hearing Gumu Da's words, Li Yi was startled:

"A shaman who serves the Yellow Goat Spirit?"

While using his two skills to search for traces of the Xiongnu, Li Yi discovered a large number of human and livestock footprints leading into the dense northern forest.

Among these animal footprints, there were also very small sheep hoof prints.

"Gumu Da, look, aren't these the footprints of a gazelle?"

Squatting on the ground, Li Yi drew a few unique sheep hoof prints from a pile of messy footprints.

Gu Muda squatted down to take a look, and then nodded. "Sir, these are indeed the footprints of a gazelle."

"However, these footprints seem somewhat different. Compared to those of ordinary gazelles, these footprints are more powerful, clearly indicating that the gazelles that left these footprints were larger and stronger!"

Are they larger and stronger than ordinary gazelles?

Li Yi seemed to be deep in thought, and turned his gaze toward the dense forest to the north.

It seems there's something wrong in the dense forest north of Huangyang Plain!

"Han Jia, order the army to rest here and regroup. We will leave this place early tomorrow morning!"

As night fell and given the unusual conditions in the dense forest, Li Yi decided to have his men set up camp and rest, allowing him to recover to his best condition.

The next morning, Li Yi snapped out of his breathing exercises.

Outside the main tent, the soldiers were already roasting the freshly hunted gazelles and feasting on strong liquor.

The Xiongnu grasslands were bitterly cold. In order to ensure the soldiers' fighting strength, Li Yi ordered people to bring strong liquor and have the soldiers drink it regularly and in measured amounts to maintain their body temperature.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Yi led his army away from the camp.

"Everyone stay alert and follow me!"

Li Yi looked down at the messy marks on the ground and led his army northward toward Huangyang Plain.

To the north of Huangyang Plain lies a vast, dense forest.

Thanks to the terrain advantages of Huangyang Plain, this dense forest is very lush and has not been stripped bare by the cold wind.

As they drew closer to the dense forest, Li Yi and his companions vaguely sensed an inexplicable pressure, and even their warhorses became quieter.

This unusual situation caused everyone to instinctively grip their weapons tightly and stare intently at the dense forest in front of them.

At the entrance to the dense forest, there were numerous footprints and even some remnants of rags.

"It seems we'll soon find out why the Xiongnu people disappeared here!"

Looking back at the vast and warm Huangyang Plain, Li Yi took the lead and rushed into the dense forest.