How can you rule the world if I'm just a substitute for you?

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

At the foot of the Qilian Mountains, banners fluttered and armor gleamed.

Including Prince Lin Xuan's hundred-man team, all seven participating teams have assembled, and a chilling atmosphere spreads with the mountain wind.

The main battlefield for this six-nation hunt was set in the Qilian Mountains. Emperor Qian personally led civil and military officials to attend the ceremony, while envoys from various countries lined up on both sides, waiting for the opening command.

At the end of the mountain path, a group of people slowly approached.

Leading the group was Lin Xuan, with Su Ling Shuang close behind him, followed by Lin Mo, Zhang Shi Tou, Zhou Yi, and then a full hundred soldiers.

The team marched in perfect unison, remaining silent. The moment they appeared, all eyes turned to them.

Simply put, this outfit is really eye-catching.

The other troops, whether they were the elite troops under the Third Prince, the Wei army, or the Western Shu army, all wore heavy, solid plate armor, which clearly demonstrated their maximum defensive capabilities.

But Lin Xuan and his hundred men were all wearing black fish-scale armor, with the armor plates densely stacked, making them look almost half the thickness of plate armor.

Each person had a standard long sword hanging at their waist, and a short crossbow about the size of a palm slung across their back. There were about thirty people in the group, and they also carried a round shield on their backs.

It looks completely out of place and seems "incongruous".

The Third Prince Lin Fu glanced at him sideways, a cold smile creeping onto his lips. He scoffed in a low voice, "I thought he had concocted some divine weapon, but it turns out he only made these inferior goods. This thin armor can be cleaved through with a single slash. How dare they wear it into the mountains to hunt? They really have a death wish."

He knew that Lin Xuan made his own armor, and he was initially a little wary, but now that he saw it, he was completely relieved. The fish scale armor looked exquisite, but in terms of defense, it was far inferior to a solid plate armor. It was purely flashy and impractical.

Beside him, Wei Heng, the second prince of Wei, crossed his arms, his face full of disdain. He glanced at them twice and then looked away, scoffing, "All they do is put on a show. A hundred men, plus a set of tattered armor, won't last three days in the mountains."

Only Nangong Cang, the commander of the Western Shu army, stroked the hilt of his sword at his waist with his fingertips, and looked the Crown Prince's team over from head to toe with a deep gaze.

He fought in the mountainous areas of Sichuan for many years and knew the ins and outs of mountain warfare best.

Others only noticed the thinness of the armor, but he could see that this fish-scale armor was lightweight and allowed for unrestricted movement at the joints, making it perfectly suited for the complex terrain and dense forests of the Qilian Mountains when paired with a short crossbow.

"Interesting," he muttered to himself, a hint of seriousness creeping into his eyes.

At the front of the Northern Di army, Tuoba Yu'er stared at Lin Xuan's figure with great interest.

After spending the night at the post station, she was already curious about this drastically changed crown prince, and now that she saw that even his military equipment was different from what she had imagined, her curiosity only intensified.

She wanted to see what kind of tricks this unassuming outfit could pull off in the mountains.

While everyone was lost in their own thoughts, the sound of the imperial carriage rang out, and Emperor Qian ascended the main platform surrounded by his officials.

His gaze swept across the entire arena, naturally landing on the Crown Prince's team's striking black fish-scale armor, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

He had assumed that Lin Xuan's privately manufactured weapons were of some quality, but now that he saw them with his own eyes, he found their design strange and they looked far less sturdy and reliable than the Imperial Guard's plate armor.

But it didn't matter much. His original intention in having Lin Xuan participate in the Six Kingdoms Hunt was simply to gain military merit and better counterbalance Duke Qin Lie. He didn't have too many expectations for Lin Xuan.

Emperor Qian then raised his hand to quiet the room, and the entire hall fell silent instantly.

His deep voice echoed across the foot of the mountain: "Today, six nations are hunting together. Our Great Qian Dynasty is the host, inviting athletes from all nations to compete in the Qilian Mountains. On the field, there are no personal relationships; each will rely on their true abilities. I, along with the envoys from various nations, will witness your brilliance! I wish you all great success and a triumphant return!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a bugle sounded from the foot of the mountain, its sound echoing through the valley.

Once the order was given, the seven teams did not stop.

The generals of each country led their troops toward the seven pre-designated mountain passes.

The mountain path wound its way through the forest, and the various groups quickly dispersed and disappeared into the vast forest.

All seven teams ventured deep into the Qilian Mountains. A simple palace had been set up at the entrance to the forest, where Emperor Qian, along with his civil and military officials, stayed for seven days, waiting for the hunt to end.

In front of the palace stood a thick wooden board about ten feet high, divided into seven columns, each labeled with one of the seven teams, recording the number of survivors in each team in real time.

Every so often, someone updates the data with the latest information.

Many city residents rushed over upon hearing the news, crowding around the scoreboard and peering out, pointing and discussing the scores of the teams from different countries, creating a noisy scene.

Within the mountains and forests, the Third Prince Lin Fu and his men had only walked half a mile when he immediately waved to stop the group and unfolded a map of the Qilian Mountains for each person to examine closely.

This hunt lasted for seven days, with the entire mountain range divided into three concentric zones: outer, middle, and inner, with extremely strict rules.

Two days later, everyone must reach the middle circle, and before nightfall on the fourth day, everyone must enter the innermost circle.

Each of the three concentric circles has a supply point: six in the outer circle, three in the middle circle, and only one in the inner circle. The amount of food and supplies is limited, and those who arrive first occupy them all. Those who arrive later can only rely on hunting in the mountains to fill their stomachs, which forces each team to compete with each other and confront each other head-on.

Lin Fu glanced at the map and immediately noticed that his own entry point into the mountains was very close to a supply point number five on the outer ring. He chuckled to himself, thinking that the Duke of Zhenguo, as the chief planner, had indeed planned everything meticulously for him.

He turned his head and summoned a trusted guard, lowering his voice to instruct, "Quietly take a detour to find the Southern Barbarian leader and tell him that the time has come to deal with the Crown Prince and his entourage."

The guards bowed and accepted the order, then left alone under the cover of the dense forest. Lin Fu did not linger any longer, waving his hand to lead three hundred elite troops straight towards the nearby granary.

On the other side, Lin Xuan's hundred-man team had just entered the mountains and forests when they also stopped and spread out a map to check the terrain.

But the more Lin Xuan looked at it, the more something seemed off.

He muttered, "This shouldn't be happening; how could it be so close to supply point number three!"

Shen Hu leaned forward and glanced around, then asked in a gruff voice, "Brother-in-law, our location is so close to Supply Point Three, that's a good thing, why are you frowning?"

Lin Xuan pointed to the supply points on the map with his fingertip, and shook his head with a solemn expression: "Something's not right. The location of each supply point at the entrance to Qilian Mountain was arranged by the Duke of Zhenguo. He and I have always been enemies. It's already a blessing that he didn't deliberately set traps for us. Why would he deliberately place the granary near us? There's probably a trap hidden here."

Zhang Shitou scratched his head, half-believing and half-doubting: "Brother Lin, could it be that this time the Duke of Zhenguo has put aside his personal grudges and handled things fairly?"

Su Ling Shuang shook her head slightly, her tone calm: "Impossible. The Duke of Zhenguo is wholeheartedly supporting the Third Prince and would never make things convenient for His Highness. There must be an ambush here."

Zhang Shitou's heart tightened, and he quickly asked, "Then what do we do? Are we still going to supply point number 3?"

"We must go." Lin Xuan said firmly. "Supplies are the foundation of the seven-day hunt. Hunting in the mountains is time-consuming and exhausting, and we are also prone to encountering wild beasts or ambushes from other teams. Only with dry rations stored at supply points can we proceed steadily."

After saying that, he turned to Lin Mo beside him and said, "Brother Mo, take the Shadow Hunters ahead to scout ahead and carefully find out what's going on around Supply Point No. 3. Don't miss any blind spots. If there's anything unusual, come back and report immediately."

"Understood." Lin Mo replied, and led the Shadow Hunters to quietly sneak into supply point number three ahead to investigate.

Lin Xuan, along with Shen Hu, Zhang Shitou, Zhou Yi, and the remaining ninety-odd soldiers, slowed their pace and followed the reconnaissance team at a distance. Their black fish-scale armor was hidden in the shade of the trees, and the men held their weapons, always on guard for any movement around them.