Nighttime, Mingdou Mountain Range, Star Luo Camp.
Dai Hao was reading a battle report under the light of a soul guide lamp, while his other hand pressed against his brow, inadvertently soothing his mind.
"Please report to the Commander, Dai Yaoheng requests an audience."
At this moment, a hurried shout suddenly came from outside the tent.
Dai Hao looked up. "Come in."
The tent flap was violently thrown open, and Dai Yaoheng hurriedly walked in from outside. Striding up to Dai Hao's desk, he cupped his hands in a salute.
"Commander!"
"How did it go?"
Dai Hao lowered his head again, calmly inquiring about military affairs.
"Following your orders, Commander, this subordinate led a squad to harass the Sun Moon Army's supply lines. Through a mix of feints and real attacks, we have confirmed a great deal of information."
Dai Yaoheng replied in a deep voice, but even so, one could faintly hear a hint of suppressed excitement beneath his words.
Since the war had now entered a stalemate phase, both sides were competing over who had more resources. This was most obviously reflected not in ammunition, but in rations. Once the supply line was cut, the Sun Moon Army would face massive trouble.
As long as they seized this opportunity... they could inflict a severe blow to the Sun Moon Army!
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Dai Hao abruptly looked up. "Are you saying the previous intelligence was all real?!"
"Indeed."
It turned out that a while ago, the Star Luo Army had occasionally received intelligence regarding the Sun Moon Army's supply lines, but the informants had hidden their identities, clearly not wanting to leave any traces. But previously, Gu Tianchen had come to the Star Luo Camp and informed Dai Hao and the others of all the messages Chen Junting wanted to pass on. This allowed Dai Hao and the others to see through this secretive informant. By now, it had become an unspoken mutual understanding between both parties.
However, for the sake of the army, as the Commander, he couldn't so easily trust Jing Hongchen's intelligence. Thus, he had sent Dai Yaoheng's squad to carry out a mix of real and fake harassment attacks on the Sun Moon Army's supply lines.
For this purpose, Gu Tianchen had even run a trip to the Star Dou Great Forest after delivering the message, coordinating a few Titan Giant Eagles as strategic "equipment." Precisely because of this, he hadn't made it to Mingdu in time, missing out on the surprise attack on the Sun Moon Imperial Palace.
After obtaining the Titan Giant Eagles, the Star Luo Army didn't use them recklessly. They only used them to transport Dai Yaoheng's squad over the Mingdou Mountain Range, bypassing the detection of the ultra-high-altitude soul tool detectors, and entering Sun Moon Empire territory. As for afterward... It could only be said that there weren't many ultra-high-altitude detectors. The vast majority were deployed to the main battlefield. How could they possibly deploy them along supply routes that were extremely long and numerous?
In the end, no matter how much the Sun Moon Army wracked their brains, they couldn't detect that it was Titan Giant Eagles carrying the Star Luo squad over the mountain range, and they were still puzzled as to how they had crossed over.
"Since the intelligence is real..."
Dai Hao paused slightly, taking out a secret letter from a soul tool. This had been transmitted by Jing Hongchen at dusk. However, he had waited until Dai Yaoheng's final confirmation before taking it out.
"This is the latest intelligence. A Class-8 Soul Engineer will escort the rations, an amount sufficient for the entire Sun Moon Army for half a month. If all goes well, they will depart from Mingxing City tomorrow morning."
Smack—
Dai Hao slapped the desk fiercely, and the letter turned to dust.
"Only a single Class-8 Soul Engineer, and the escort convoy isn't an elite soul engineer corps. Tonight, you will lead the squad alone to harass them and ambush them halfway. As for the Titled Douluo powerhouses in our camp, they cannot be moved lightly. You're on your own."
It was the same old saying: in any war, the simplest and most direct method was always to cut off the enemy's supply lines, the most prominent of which was the grain route. If the food was cut off, they wouldn't be able to move an inch.
"Yes!"
Dai Yaoheng immediately agreed! If successful, this would be a massive merit.
"Good!"
Dai Hao stood up and patted his eldest son's shoulder. While a flash of relief showed in his eyes, there was also an unquestionable addition, "However, it's not safe for you to go alone. I will have another Soul Douluo accompany you to assist and supplement your forces. That way, we can be prepared for any eventuality."
Dai Yaoheng froze for a moment, asking curiously, "Father, who are you talking about?"
"Someone from the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect."
Dai Hao paused slightly, seemingly remembering something else. "...But also an old friend of yours—Chen Zifeng."
"Zifeng!? He came to the Star Luo Camp too?!"
Hearing this, a hint of excitement leaked into Dai Yaoheng's voice. As someone who had also participated in the Soul Fighting Tournament back in the day, his relationship with Chen Zifeng was undoubtedly the best. But later, he had returned to his country to join the military, while Chen Zifeng had brought his family to join the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, causing them to gradually lose touch over time.
He never expected that he was actually in the camp right now.
Dai Hao nodded slightly and didn't explain further. He just replied, "He's in the reinforcement squad sent by the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect."
...
The next day, within the Sun Moon Empire territory, it was already dusk. Looking out, the setting sun was as red as blood.
The organized Star Luo squad, riding twenty Titan Giant Eagles, had long since crossed the Mingdou Mountain Range without alerting the Sun Moon Army. Dai Yaoheng and Chen Zifeng each led three hundred soldiers to intercept the grain transports heading from Mingxing City to the frontline at the Mingdou Mountain Range.
Conveniently, there was a hilly terrain along the route. The two men each led their three hundred soldiers, lying in ambush within the woods of the hills. Using the cover of the mountain foliage, they were hidden from the humanoid-detection soul tools. Furthermore, with the low-tier Heaven-Deceiving Array Discs provided by the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, their squad's movements were even more concealed.
Dai Yaoheng lay prone under a tree at the highest point of the hill, gazing into the distance. He saw the grain transport convoy from Mingxing City winding like a long snake, looking quite imposing. It was a pity there weren't many soul engineers or soul masters among them. Even though there were no fewer than three thousand ordinary soldiers, all fully armored with strict vigilance, ordinary people were still just ordinary people.
"Although our previous harassment was to confirm if the intelligence was accurate, it ultimately still alerted the Sun Moon Empire. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, they would definitely be exhausted and slack by the time they marched here."
"Mhm."
Chen Zifeng nodded slightly, seemingly in agreement.
Afterward, Dai Yaoheng changed the subject and slightly raised his voice: "However, although their formation looks strict and highly vigilant, our army is well-rested and waiting in ambush. We will definitely win with a single strike!"
Obviously, he was saying this for the squad members to hear. For no other reason than to boost morale!
"Zifeng, take your three hundred men and ambush them on the left side of the grain route. Once I make my move, you come out to back us up."
Knowing he was inferior to Dai Yaoheng in military strategy, Chen Zifeng nodded, indicating he would follow his orders. "Alright! Once I get your signal, I'll directly move against the grain carts."
"That's the plan!"
As the sky gradually darkened, the Mingxing City grain convoy had reached the depths of the forest. The head of the convoy was just about to exit the forest, while the tail had only just entered it.
As for Dai Yaoheng's squad, they were positioned right around the middle of the convoy, like a snake being pinned at its seven inches.
Seeing the timing was right, Dai Yaoheng let out a loud roar: "Kill!"
Instantly, the sound of killing filled the forest as the ambushers fully revealed themselves. This immediately threw the Mingxing City convoy into a panic!
Dai Yaoheng took the lead, directly activating his Martial Soul True Body, transforming into a massive White Tiger. With eight soul rings shining around him, he let out a furious roar and pounced straight at the soldiers!
The momentum of a fierce tiger descending a mountain instantly intimidated everyone. It was as if he was bringing a bloody storm as he swept in!
While they were stunned, "Roar—" Dai Yaoheng's fourth soul ring lit up. White Tiger Meteor Shower!
Golden light erupted. With his body as the center, countless golden light spheres the size of fists—like soul-guided shells—frantically bombarded the army, destroying a large amount of the rations.
With a single swipe of his claws, he took the lives of many. Even when soul engineers stepped forward to stop him, they were slapped into the ground by Dai Yaoheng's tiger palm, directly reduced to a puddle of mush.
With Dai Yaoheng leading the charge, his soldiers had also broken into the enemy ranks. Like tigers among a flock of sheep, they charged left and right, throwing the convoy into complete chaos.
Hearing the killing shouts, Chen Zifeng led his troops out of the dense forest on the left. He swung his sword, sending a Soul-Chasing Sword flying like a streak of bloody light. In a matter of seconds, dozens of men lost their lives.
In an instant, they started fires, burning the grain carts.
Soon, the Class-8 Soul Engineer at the front of the convoy noticed something was wrong. Flying directly toward the rear, he saw people attacking the convoy and setting fires, instantly becoming both shocked and furious!
Wielding an eight-level soul tool spear, he charged at the most conspicuous Dai Yaoheng! Planning to capture the ringleader first!
Sensing the killing intent, Dai Yaoheng instantly canceled his Martial Soul True Body and pulled out a Rank 8 soul tool greatsword—the Tyrant Tiger Soul-Refining Blade. With a clang, the sword and spear violently collided.
At this moment, the advantage of being a primary soul master with soul tools as a secondary supplement was revealed. This Class-8 Soul Engineer was forcefully suppressed by Dai Yaoheng, nearly stumbling and falling over.
However, right at that moment, a flash of bloody light streaked past.
The Class-8 Soul Engineer's heart jolted in shock! He instinctively dodged, and a bloody gash appeared on his neck. In an instant, cold sweat poured down his back. If he had been a step later, he would have lost his head.
At this moment, he immediately realized he couldn't beat these two. With this in mind, he wanted to prioritize saving his own life.
But the moment this thought arose, he lost his will to fight to the death, thereby exposing a sliver of an opening. And this seemingly insignificant opening was caught by Dai Yaoheng.
Caught off guard, swish— this Class-8 Soul Engineer was decapitated with a single blade stroke, losing his life.
Seeing their commander fall and the grain carts burning, the Mingxing City convoy lost all hope of counterattacking and instantly collapsed.
In the ensuing chaos, not to mention the soldiers killed by the Star Luo squad, the casualties from them trampling each other were incalculable.
Even though the vice-commander tried to reorganize the troops, it was already hopeless by now. He even became a target for the Star Luo squad; a Class-6 Soul Engineer "enjoyed" the treatment of a Class-8 Soul Engineer, getting surrounded and attacked by Dai Yaoheng and Chen Zifeng, and was beheaded in a single encounter.
Thoroughly, this Mingxing City grain convoy was considered finished.
...
Sun Moon Camp.
"Report! The Mingxing City grain convoy has been hijacked!"
"Nonsense!"
An angry roar spread through the camp, temporarily suppressing the slightly nervous emotions of the soldiers. "Men, drag this bastard who is spreading panic in the army out and execute him on the spot!"
Thump, thump, thump—
After temporarily quelling the commotion, everyone had gathered in the command tent to discuss matters. The officer who had interrupted the messenger earlier entered the tent, cupped his fists, and reported, "My Lord, scouts just reported that the Star Luo Empire organized a squad to launch a surprise attack on the Mingxing City grain convoy. The convoy suffered heavy losses, and all the rations were burned to ashes."
"Such audacity!"
Ye Yulin was furious, slamming his palm fiercely onto the commander's desk!
"How many times has this happened now?! Have you figured out how the Star Luo Army crossed the Mingdou Mountain Range defensive line to invade our grain routes and attack our transports within Sun Moon Empire territory?!"
However, beneath his towering rage, he was met with silence.
If they knew, they would have brought it up long ago.
(Of course, Jing Hongchen was an exception.)
"This matter still needs to be investigated, but the most important thing right now isn't this."
Facing the silence, Jing Hongchen spoke up to suggest: "Regardless of the circumstances, let's first try to leave that Star Luo squad behind."
Ye Yulin deeply agreed with this. Thus, he ordered two Class-9 Soul Engineers to lead a team to intercept them, while ordering the main army to keep a close eye on the Star Luo Army powerhouses at the Mingdou Mountain Range, watching for any unusual movements.
Obviously, their actions had no effect.
Racing all the way there, they didn't find a single trace. By the time they reached the dense forest, under the power of soul masters and the effects of soul tools, there was only scorched earth left. Even if there were some remnants of grain, they were obviously inedible.
When this news was relayed back to the Sun Moon Camp...
"Bastards!"
Ye Yulin was enraged.
Smack—
The commander's desk could no longer withstand the force and collapsed with a rumble.
The faces of the other officers and powerhouses didn't look good either.
Half a month's worth of rations! And now they were completely gone! What kind of concept was this!?
The Sun Moon Empire was fighting a two-front war, so their consumption of rations had massively increased! These rations had been gathered by the Empire over a considerable amount of time. Even though the Sun Moon Empire was massive and powerful, once these rations were gone, they couldn't just magically conjure up more immediately. According to the news sent back from the Empire, it would take at least two months to gather this amount of grain again.
If calculated carefully, even if they exhausted all their currently stockpiled rations, there would still be a three-day deficit.
Three days! It might sound short, but if the army went without food for three days, a mutiny would inevitably arise. When that happened, their Sun Moon Army would be finished.
"This opportunity cannot be seized by the Star Luo Army!"
Ye Yulin's eyes flashed with a cold light as his gaze swept across everyone in the command tent.
He actually suspected someone was selling out the Empire's intelligence; otherwise, how could the Star Luo squad have so precisely locked onto the transport route. But he couldn't confirm it; he really couldn't!
He didn't even... dare to confirm.
Who among his subordinates wasn't a pillar of the imperial court?
"Two months!"
Ye Yulin made up his mind, his tone exceptionally resolute. "Within two months, we must take the Mingdou Mountain Range again!"
As for whether two months' worth of rations would be enough...
Don't people die in wars anyway? Once a war starts, it's a meat grinder. Soldiers will be crazily harvested, and human lives will become as cheap as weeds. When they die, won't there be enough rations to go around?
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