Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely Chapter 1604 - 504: What Are We Waiting For? Soul Fragrance, War Begins (Part 2)

The newcomer was none other than the former Commander of the Xiao Mountain Army, Xiao Kangcheng.

Xiao Kangcheng landed directly in front of everyone, motioned to the others with a wave of his hand, and then with a smile, cupped his hands towards Mu Longhe.

"Lord Xiao, it’s good that you’ve arrived. If you hadn’t, I, the old man, could still wait, but they are almost pressing me to order an attack..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Kangcheng was taken aback, and then seeing Mu Qinghe and Xiahou Cen among the generals behind him, he immediately laughed and said, "It seems all the generals are eager for battle! No rush, let me first scout a bit!"

After joking, his expression suddenly turned serious. He turned to look towards the Central Yang Camp, raised his hands slightly, and dozens of strands of glowing green aura started emanating from his hands.

These green strands of aura rapidly danced in his palms, seemingly trying to escape control but unable to do so. After several attempts, they began crashing towards different directions.

There were 36 strands of spiritual light in total, 33 of which were breaking through towards the east and south; only 3 strands crashed towards the west.

At the moment, to everyone’s west was the Central Yang Camp.

"Three of them, Beishuo sure hid a hand!"

Seeing the state of the green aura strands, Mu Longhe immediately reacted, with his spirit slightly lifting, confirming his suspicions.

Xiao Kangcheng’s power wasn’t strong. Last year, he broke through to the Xianyang Level, and now his strongest power was less than 4 jun.

But he had a formidable technique, which was tracking.

Thanks to the Soul Fragrance Green Jade he fused last year, Xiao Kangcheng could mark all Xianyang Levels, and this mark from the green aura strands was virtually lifelong. At least so far, apart from Yellow Candle and individuals with extremely strong soul bodies like Xu Ning, who could clear the marks themselves, Great Xia hadn’t found any other method to remove them.

With such means, how could Great Xia not plan in advance?

Xiao Kangcheng organized the Xiao Mountain Army the year before last, broke through to the Xianyang Level last year, and after fusing the Soul Fragrance Green Jade, Xia Chuan directly made him relinquish the position of Commander of the Xiao Mountain Army and appointed him as the Vice Building Master of the Treasure Tower, just to allow him easy access to the Xianyang Levels of the Northern Five Towns and to mark them in advance.

"Lord Xiao, you came from Yangqu, right? How’s the situation there?"

Mu Longhe already knew about the change of ownership of Dragon Valley Town. He was well aware that the main target of Great Xia’s northern expedition this time was the five big towns. After the change of ownership of Dragon Valley, the next step was inevitably to resolve the isolated Yangqu, which was why he asked.

Xiao Kangcheng did indeed come from Yangqu. He frowned slightly and shook his head, saying, "Director Yuan has already led the army to completely encircle Yangqu. Cao Qianyang is stubborn, unyielding to coercion or persuasion, refusing to surrender. Director Yuan speculates that aid from Cai Qiu and Chen Cang must have arrived, so he hasn’t rushed to attack the city, only sending messages to the other three armies."

Aid from the feudal towns has arrived!

Mu Longhe frowned and shook his head instinctively, saying, "That can’t be right, can it? If help from Chen Cang and Cai Qiu arrived, why are there only three Xianyang here? By the way, just now you detected Yang Qin and Yang Ping, who’s the third Xianyang level?"

"Duan Heyang, with only 2 jun of power!"

Upon hearing that the third Xianyang Level’s power was only 2 jun, Mu Longhe’s expression immediately relaxed. Then he turned to look at the Central Yang Camp, his face slightly lifted, clearly starting to calculate in his mind.

Meanwhile, Xiao Kangcheng appeared confused, pondering over Mu Longhe’s earlier words about the two vassal towns’ aids arriving yet finding only three Xianyangs here at the Central Yang Camp.

"Since the other side has three Xianyang levels, we should ensure stability. The Xiao Mountain Army is conveniently stationed in the Allies’ Five Camps—since Lord Xiao is here, unless there’s other urgent business, why not stay and help us take the city? As Commander, I guarantee it’ll be over in less than three hours, before dawn."

Xiao Kangcheng turned to look at the Five Camps military tents on the left, spotting the familiar Xiao Mountain Army’s flags. After a slight sweep over the soldiers below, a smile appeared on his face, and he nodded, saying, "I was originally a Battle Formation Order Flag, moving across the battlefield. In the absence of critical military intelligence, I can stay in any battle area. Once Governor Mu captures Zhongyang, I can go report the victory to the Director, how about it?"

"Hahaha, thank you for Brother Xiao’s good words..."

Mu Longhe naturally wasn’t so divinely skilled to foresee Xiao Kangcheng’s arrival. From the start, he was merely waiting for military intelligence from other battle areas.

If he remembered correctly, for this northern expedition of the Xia Army, a total of six Battle Formation Order Flags were set up, all involving individuals with special skills, with Xiao Kangcheng being just one of them.

Who would have thought his luck would be so good as to actually run into Xiao Kangcheng?

The number of Xianyang Levels was plenty enough to turn the tide of the battle. Knowing that there were only three Xianyang Levels at the Central Yang Camp, Mu Longhe was utterly relieved.

He turned and led a group of generals back to the main tent inside the camp, then boldly sat in the commander’s seat, glanced around at the generals below, thought for only a moment, and immediately began speaking:

"The terrain of Zhongyang isn’t particularly dangerous, but a blind aggressive attack won’t work. As we known the news from the Southwest Mountain Road, we must make preparations in advance. Director Lu’s seven apprentices have already infiltrated the interior of the Central Yang Camp. As soon as we launch a frontal attack, they will create chaos inside, and also coordinate with us to seize the Southwest Mountain Road.

"Lord Xiao, you will lead 2000 of the Xiao Mountain Army to flank around to the southwest under the cloak of night, and wait at the mountain road entrance. Once we launch a frontal attack, you can cooperate with the insiders to seize the Southwest Mountain Road, effectively gaining half of the Central Yang Camp."

This was indeed a favor—ambushing from the Southwest Mountain Road, and with insiders to boot, clearly presented a greater opportunity for merit than gaining credit through direct confrontation.

The current commander of the Xiao Mountain Army was Xiao Kangcheng’s cousin Xiao Yuan, whose sons Xiao Hen and many other relatives were soldiers in the Xiao Mountain Army. It was clear that Mu Longhe was granting him a favor for Xiao Kangcheng’s willingness to stay and help him.

Xiao Kangcheng certainly understood, smiling and cupping his hands, saying, "Rest assured, Governor, I will lead my troops to seize the mountain road!"

"Time is of the essence. Depart now and prepare, though it is night, the movement of 2000 troops will stir commotion. It’s not easy to conceal from the opposing side..."

Not that it’s not easy, but rather it’s outright impossible to conceal.

Not to mention the Xia Army camp is only over 300 meters from the Central Yang Camp, with them constantly watching, even at a greater distance, it’s impossible to sneak 2000 men past their noses undetected, given the capabilities at Xianyang Level.

Therefore, dividing out 2000 to attack the mountain road amounts to a surprise attack, as well as a strategy to split the enemy’s forces—just depends on how well the insiders perform, and how much effort Yang Ping and Yang Qin are willing to invest in the response.

"I’ll be off now!"

The opportunity to earn merit often comes with great risk. Being of considerable age, Xiao Kangcheng understood this principle well. He just nodded gently, cupped his hands, saluted to Mu Longhe, and directly exited.

"The remaining 8000 will be led personally by me to attack from the eastern front. The entire army will charge with an Arrow Formation at the fore; Xiahou Cen, you will lead the Yellow Armor and Red Sun troops to bridge the gap and charge directly. Mu Qinghe will lead 4000 to operate the Divine Machine Crossbows from behind, and we must take down the Zhongyang Village Gate in one swift strike."

"I follow orders!"

Mu Qinghe and Xiahou Cen bowed deeply, their expressions were very excited.

They had arrived at Zhongyang just as night fell, crouching for nearly seven hours, and now it was finally time for action.

"Sound the drums and trumpets, prepare to march!"

Boooom......

With Mu Longhe’s order, the generals quickly exited the tent. In less than five breaths, a massive horn’s blast resounded above the camp.

The sound of war horns, whether it was the 2000 already out in the Xiao Mountain Army or the 8000 Xia Army standing ready in the camp, instantly sent a flush of excitement racing to their cheeks, their pupils full of anticipation and exhilaration.

"Merit in battle, the chance for military merit has arrived!"

"I’m only 50 merit points away from earning a title, one battle is enough!"

"Seeing as the situation at the Southern Slope has basically taken shape, knowing that once this northern expedition ends, there will no longer be any Nine Towns, it’s unlikely there will be such a good opportunity to gain military merit for some time. This chance must be seized!"

......

Countless soldiers were rubbing their hands eagerly; the fierce blaze of the Central Yang Camp to the west not only didn’t deter them but instead reflected the excitement and desire in their eyes.

Today, they will earn their titles!