章 71: The Battle of the Three Borders [1]

The point where Yuu Ren was located was practically within Zhao territory, but for Jun to get there, he first needed to cross Wei's land. If he wanted to do it properly, a handful of soldiers would not suffice due to the numerous assassin villages as well as the Yuu tribe.

To do things right, Jun needed an army, and this inevitably drew the attention of Zhao toward Wei, who was unaware of the movements in that part of the border, as they had bigger enemies to worry about namely, Qin, due to the recent war.

"Everyone, get ready. Just like before, we will split our forces into four and eliminate all the soldiers stationed along the path to our target's grave. Remember, don't give them any chance. Even a single fugitive could mean the failure of our mission. If that happens, we will retreat immediately and let the other troops deal with them in the future." Jun looked at the fifty elite soldiers he had been training over the last two years.

Yuu Ren was unaware that Kyou Kai was searching for her. At most, she could assume that Jun was looking for her to claim her, believing that he wanted to fulfill the ceremony that both clans, to which they belonged, shared. Since it wasn't common for them to have romantic relations, this was the way Jun would cover up her death at the hands of Kyou Kai, so there would be no further resentment between the Shiyuu Clan and Kyou Kai.

"Troops ready, sir." A soldier named Shen, who commanded the archers in Jun's personal troops, responded. Despite this, Shen was an excellent warrior, highly versatile in combat.

Hearing the muffled sounds coming from the forest, a faint smile appeared on Jun's lips as he waited for news. Zhao soldiers might be weak, but it would be foolish to assume they lacked intelligence.

To survive the periodic purges Zhao carried out against Wei or Qin spies, one had to possess superior strength or extraordinary caution to defend their borders. Since they couldn't be stronger than the well-prepared troops or assassin villages in this area, they had to be the latter to keep their borders secure.

Even rats developed their own strength to survive, so once they learned that spies were roaming the forest, Zhao sent prisoners as bandits to this area to hinder the spies who frequently roamed near the border.

This not only increased the complexity of the mission for Jun and Kyou Kai but also the time they were dedicating to this place. During this period, they had been very passive, only moving when necessary, but now it seemed they were about to carry out the elimination mission, finally massacring everyone who stood in their way to the Yuu village.

Some generals in the group lacked worldly experience, underestimating the nature of this mission. They thought they could easily suppress the bandits who had been plaguing the border with Wei in this area with sheer force, and it was this mentality that would doom them if they were alone.

From the beginning, Jun knew that the complexity of this mission not only needed careful planning but also required caution to avoid being ambushed by the enemy.

On the other hand, no matter how late at night it was or how tired their members might be, the bandits ensured there were always men stationed to watch for enemies, and the same was true for the Zhao army.

Without eliminating the bandits around the perimeter of the Yuu village, it would be impossible to eliminate everyone, and more importantly, to reach them.

Some Wei soldiers who had previously attempted to pass through the forest should have understood this fact after their first failure, but perhaps due to inexperience or underestimating the bandits, they overlooked this crucial factor and attributed their failures to bad luck.

"Prepare!" After clearing the perimeter of the scouts, the troops regrouped at the rallying point, and now, under Jun's command, they moved.

Afterward, Jun raised his hand and signaled the troops to enter the border camp.

At that moment, most of the bandits were still sleeping soundly.

…

On a hill about twenty kilometers from where Jun was, Zhao's flags could be seen along the mountain, with hundreds of camps where soldiers were resting.

"What? Wei soldiers near our border that connects to the forest?" On the main road, at the foot of the mountain, after receiving the spy's report, a general named Xu Gan of the Zhao army, stationed here along with his second-in-command, Huang, looked at each other in shock.

Since the start of their watch, they had never taken seriously the suspicions that Wei was attempting to invade Zhao after their defeat by Qin, as it seemed absurd. Of course, this was not the view of Zhao's king, who had ordered the release of criminals into the forest to make things difficult for Wei in this area where large-scale battles couldn't be fought.

Meanwhile, a Zhao army had ventured to investigate, but they always failed to find anything.

They thought that the numerous times they had failed to capture anyone were due to a series of coincidences working against them. Although they had managed to eliminate some spy soldiers along the way to the border, they never imagined in their wildest dreams that those simple soldiers would go so far as to plant a large group around their camps and dream of crossing their borders, especially at this point where the forest connected.

"An estimated fifteen thousand deaths among criminals acting as bandits in Wei territory, and now they are heading toward their camps to eliminate them."

"To think they've killed so many bandits in all this time, it seems they aren't just an ordinary army." Xu Gan wasn't pressured; he knew this could happen, which is why he had hired several assassin villages to act as his private army in this area.

Even though his men were being massacred, he needed to wait and be patient.

…

Elsewhere in the forest, terrifying screams echoed.

"Ahhhh!!!"

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Hundreds of arrows shot out from the bushes toward the alerted soldiers within seconds.

Jun looked at these Zhao soldiers, who shouldn't have been there. Who had informed them that he, along with his private army and part of the Wei army, was attempting to massacre the Yuu village and the criminals released here?

But it didn't matter; he was well prepared to face any battle that arose in this forest.

"Is she in position?"

Shen, who immediately understood who Jun was referring to, nodded slightly and said, "The Valkyrie troop is being led by Commander Kyou Kai. They are waiting for good news from our battlefield."

"Then we should begin." Jun watched as the other squads arrived, and as soon as part of his force was gathered, they began the attack to find their target.