Chapter 272 - 161: The Collaborators
In the end, the four Xiong Family brothers and their men regained their freedom.
It was all because of an excellent suggestion they’d made.
"My lord, you’re here to launch a sneak attack on the Northern Expedition Legion, right?"
"We can lead the way for you. If you turn into birds and perch on our cavalrymen, we can take you near the main camp. It’ll guarantee a perfect surprise attack."
Xiong Da’s proposal made Yuan Xiaobo’s eyes light up. The three of them had been trying to figure out how to inflict greater damage on the Northern Expedition Legion. ’If we can take out the Northern Expedition Legion’s Core Lord,’ he thought, ’this battle could be over.’
The plan was quickly put into action. The four Xiong Family brothers gathered their cavalry, readied their equipment, and rode toward the Northern Expedition Legion’s encampment.
On each and every soldier’s shoulder perched at least one bird.
The birds standing on the shoulders of the four Xiong Family brothers were, in fact, hero-rank members of the Demon Race in disguise.
The group, birds in tow, gradually rode into the distance. Behind them, the Steel-backed Porcupines, Death Devourers, and plant-men, commanded by Amuti and Manqiluo, followed the Xiong Family Cavalry’s route. They concealed their movements, advancing quickly to secure an escape path for the Druids heading to the heart of the Northern Expedition Legion.
...
"Halt! Who goes there?"
Not far from the Northern Expedition Legion’s joint encampment, a sentry emerged from the woods and stopped the Xiong Family Cavalry.
"We’re a cavalry patrol with important intelligence to report. This is our identification token."
One of Xiong Da’s guards took the identification token from him, walked over quickly, and handed it to the sentry.
"Hm, this is from the Northern Expedition Legion."
The sentry confirmed the token’s authenticity and then said, "Password!"
"Password?" The guard looked back at Xiong Da.
Xiong Da thought for a moment, puzzled. He couldn’t recall any information about a password.
"Brother, since when is there a password? When we left camp yesterday morning, nobody told us anything about a password!"
"Oh~ so you’re the subordinates of one of those lords who refused to hand over command of their troops, are you?"
"The commander gave the order. Troops like yours can only return to camp if you give the password. Now get lost, and don’t come any closer."
"Wait!" Hearing the sentry’s words, Xiong Da had no choice but to shout, "Brother, if we have the password, we can get in, is that right?"
"Of course. With the password, you’re one of us, so you can pass. Without it, you can go back the way you came!"
’Heh! I refuse to believe it. A simple password, and I can’t get my hands on it?’ Hearing the sentry’s contemptuous words, Xiong Da’s stubborn temper flared. He was a ranked lord, after all, yet today he was being pushed around by a mere sentry.
The Xiong Family Cavalry didn’t try to force their way through. A post like this was bound to have more than one sentry; where there was a visible guard, there had to be hidden ones. Killing this sentry and forcing their way in would expose the entire cavalry unit.
Xiong Da (Private Chat): "Brother Zhao, you still in the Legion?"
Zhao Rui (Private Chat): "Yeah, what’s up?"
Xiong Da (Private Chat): "Here’s the deal. I’ve got important intel and I’m trying to get back in to report it, but the sentry won’t let me pass. Says I need some kind of password."
Zhao Rui (Private Chat): "Password? Never heard of one. We don’t need a password to get in and out of the main camp!"
Zhao Rui (Private Chat): "How about this: you tell me the important intel, and I’ll pass it along for you."
Xiong Da (Private Chat): "Bah! I can hear your abacus clacking from all the way over here. Don’t even think about trying to steal my credit, you punk!"
Xiong Da (Private Chat): "Fine, if you won’t tell me, I’ll just go ask someone else."
...
Xiong Da (Private Chat): "Brother Wei, you there?"
...
Xiong Da asked around and discovered that none of the lords he knew—the ones who had handed over command of their troops and remained in the Northern Expedition Legion’s main camp—knew anything about a password.
’Something’s not right. It would be one thing if a few people didn’t know, but how could none of them know about the password?’
Xiong Da keenly sensed that something was amiss.
"Brother, is it true that without the password, you can’t get in, and you can’t get out either?"
"Of course. It’s a password for entry *and* exit, not just for getting in."
"Thanks. I’ll go find someone to request it from, see if they can tell me the password."
"Move aside. Stop blocking the way."
"Right, right!"
Accompanied by his guards, Xiong Da returned to his cavalry. He then led the unit off the main road and into the adjacent woods.
"Lord Yuan, did you hear that? I feel like there’s something wrong with this whole password business," Xiong Da asked in a low voice.
"Yes, I heard. Most likely, Mei Yuan is about to make a move against the lords who stayed in the camp."
Yuan Xiaobo confirmed Xiong Da’s suspicion, then asked, "I heard they all surrendered command of their troops?"
"That’s right. They only retained command of their heroes. And among those heroes, some were promoted to Elite Hero status through Mei Yuan’s machinations."
Xiong Da then asked, "So what do we do now?"
"We wait."
"Wait?"
"Yes. Send a message to the lords you’re familiar with—the ones you’re certain haven’t been possessed by an Eye Demon. Tell them to be wary of the heroes who were promoted, and also mention the password situation."
"Some of the sharper lords are bound to realize something is wrong. When they start fighting inside the main camp, we’ll use the chaos to storm in. It would be best if we could capture Mei Yuan. We need to determine if he’s been possessed."
...
Inside the Northern Expedition Legion’s main camp, lords sat scattered in various places, watching the fierce battle in the distance. They were all calculating how many Combat Points they stood to earn. Some lords, too impatient to wait for their troops’ turn, were even trying to find ways to cut in line and send them into the fray early.