Chapter 54: The Plan

I liked Bai Ling and wanted her to be my disciple. That was why I had already began to reach her, even if it was indirectly and subtly.

"Look at their disposition," I said, pointing toward the outer ridges flanking the canyon mouth. "The imperial vanguard arrived as a unified column of eight hundred and fifty, yet their commander was so arrogant, and so terrified of letting a single rebel slip away, that he immediately divided his strength. Those two flanking detachments scouring the rocky slopes contain barely two hundred light infantry each. Two hundred men, isolated on rugged, unmapped terrain, completely cut off from the main camp by nearly three miles of dark ravines. That means on either wing, their numbers are merely twice your own, not ten times."

Bai Ling stared at the distant ridge where faint torchlights flickered among the crags. For a split second, her eyes flashed with interest, but she quickly shook her head, rejecting the idea.

"It is still too dangerous, Senior," she murmured, her tone solemn. "Even if we muster every able-bodied fighter in the sanctuary, taking on two hundred imperial light infantry on an open ridge is a brutal, bloody brawl. The clash of iron sabers, the screams of dying men, and the blare of warning horns would echo straight across the canyon walls."

She paused before continuing.

"The moment the main camp hears combat on their flank, Governor Yan’s mounted shock troops could ride up that ravine and pin us from behind within twenty minutes. Not to mention, even if my people miraculously wiped out that flank, my soldiers would be thoroughly exhausted, battered, and wounded. How could ninety weary men turn around and defend Wolf Fang Gorge against six hundred heavy troops at sunrise? Wouldn’t it be far wiser to preserve our strength, stay hidden behind our barricades, and let the gravitational rock traps and venom pits do the killing tomorrow?"

"Every point you just raised is entirely valid for mortal warfare," I replied calmly, an amused, wicked smirk spreading across my face. "Your logic is airtight, Leader Bai. Except for one small detail."

I raised my right hand, tapping my chest with my thumb. "You forgot that I am standing right beside you."

Bai Ling froze.

"I already told you that I won’t step in to slaughter mortal soldiers on your behalf, this is your war to win," I said, my voice rich with calm, absolute authority.

"However, providing non-lethal tactical support happens to be well within my duties as your guest. You are worried that the sounds of battle will alert the central encampment? A simple matter."

I smiled and continued. "The moment your men engage, I will blanket that entire ridge in an invisible dome of my spiritual energy. Not a single clash of steel, not a single dying gasp, and not even the blare of an imperial brass horn will escape into the night. To the four hundred men sleeping by the bonfires, that mountain spur will be as silent as a tomb."

I gestured toward the distant slope, my eyes gleaming under the moonlight. "As for exhaustion, ambushing two hundred men in the pitch-black will take you less than an hour. That leaves your soldiers four full hours to return to the cavern, eat a hearty meal, rest their muscles, and greet the morning assault with blood on their blades and absolute confidence in their hearts. You eliminate a quarter of their total army before sunrise without suffering a single counterattack."

Bai Ling stood completely motionless, her amber eyes widening as the sheer elegance of the plan washed over her.

With the sound barrier guaranteed by an immortal master, the greatest risk of a midnight raid was instantly reduced to zero.

A slow, fierce smile, the smile of a natural predator who had finally found her opening, curved the corners of her lips.

"It can work..." she breathed, her knuckles cracking as she clenched her fists. "In the dark, the terrain belongs entirely to us. The imperial soldiers do not know these crags, while every single one of my scouts has spent the last three years running night patrols through these exact ravines without torches. We can slaughter them in the shadows."

SHING.

Beside us, the clean, crisp chime of steel sliced through the night breeze.

Shen Qingxue stepped forward, drawing her steel longsword from its scabbard. Under the silvery moon, the polished blade shimmered with cold, pale light, perfectly matching the lethal intensity in her dark obsidian eyes.

"I will take the head of their detachment commander," Qingxue said, her voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper that carried the raw, unyielding weight of her Asura Dao Heart. "The moment their leader falls, their formation will collapse into utter panic."

Watching my first disciple eagerly anticipating the hunt, I couldn’t help but chuckle warmly, giving her a proud nod.

"Well then, Leader Bai," I said with a grin, gesturing toward the rocky descent leading toward the eastern ridge. "What are you waiting for? Let’s go trim Governor Yan’s claws."

Bai Ling took a sharp, resolute breath. "I will prepare the men immediately"

She pulled out her brass whistle, keeping her breath low to produce three muted, rhythmic clicks that signaled the squad captains. Within two minutes, most of the resistance’s finest fighters, veteran hunters, border scouts, and disciplined militia armed with short swords, recurve bows, and black cloth wrapped around their boots, assembled silently along the ledge.

Bai Ling didn’t waste a single breath on long speeches. She laid out the ambush coordinates in a dozen crisp sentences, designated the three kill zones along the rocky spur, and ordered every man to discard anything that rattled.

"Move out," she commanded in a low hiss.

Like a colony of dark mountain vipers slipping through the rocks, the seventy rebel fighters melted into the shadows of the gorge, heading straight for the eastern ridge where the first two hundred imperial light infantry had established their patrol lines.

I fell into step right beside Shen Qingxue and Bai Ling, my white scholar robes blending seamlessly into the pale moonlight.

"Remember," I murmured to the two women as we crested the shadowed limestone ridge overlooking the enemy’s isolated outpost. "Move fast, strike clean, and trust your blades. If the main camp below shows even the slightest twitch of movement, I will send you a mental ping immediately. Now... go paint that ridge red."