Morning mist still clung to the earth, and a fine frost dusted the leaves in the foothills of Yulingxi.
Li Song knelt on the damp ground, fingers brushing aside gravel and grass roots. His gaze was sharp, fixed on a set of faded hoofprints—heavy cavalry and infantry mixed, deeply embedded in the soil. The enemy had passed through last night.
He stood slowly, his cloak rustling in the wind. Behind him, Bai followed with twelve elite scouts of the Dark Forest Squad. Each wore gray-brown cloaks for forest concealment, armed with short bows, curved knives, and coiled capture ropes.
"There's a burned-out fire and lingering smoke by the eastern stream," Bai whispered. "Looks like their cavalry camped there. If we move fast, we can intercept their vanguard before they loop around us."
Li Song nodded, drawing his eagle bow and gesturing toward the slope. "Split into two teams. Five to the right for a flanking ambush. The rest follow me—direct assault."
Orders were silent but clear. The scouts vanished into the undergrowth like shadows.
Within the quarter hour, the enemy vanguard emerged—about fifty cavalry, thirty infantry, moving casually. Their formation was loose. Helmets off, weapons slung. Laughter echoed.
Li Song exhaled, muscles taut. The eagle bow rose.
"Loose."
Arrows cut through the still forest. The front line of enemy cavalry fell in a tangle of limbs and hooves.
"Leave no survivors," Bai said coldly, unsheathing his blade and charging.
From trees and stones, the Dark Forest Squad emerged like ghosts. Blades flashed. Screams cut short.
An enemy commander—bare-chested beneath a leather vest, blue tattoos winding up his neck—charged with an axe, bellowing like a beast.
He met Bai head-on. The axe swept horizontally with brutal force. Bai ducked, twisted, pivoted—then drove his sword between the ribs, blood gushing from the pierced armor.
Elsewhere, Li Song mounted a stray horse and plunged into the fray. His dog blade swept low, dropping three men. Steel rang as he countered blow after blow.
"To the right! Cut off their escape!"
Two cavalry broke ranks—only to be felled by the eagle bow, their bodies tumbling into the ravine.
The skirmish lasted barely the time for a cup of tea. When silence returned, the glade was littered with corpses. Blood soaked the roots. Broken helmets glinted.
A deputy tried to flee, shield raised. One scout tripped him with a rope trap. Bai was already there—blade to throat. Done.
The count: fifty-six enemies killed, six captured, three of their own wounded—none seriously. Not one scout dead.
Li Song grabbed a prisoner, voice like ice. "Who commands you?"
The man stammered, "Raymond... Raymond ordered us to probe the defenses at Yulingxi. Rear reinforcements arrive tonight..."
"Diversion," Bai muttered.
Li Song nodded grimly. "Return to camp. General Kai must hear this."
——
By afternoon, inside the command tent, General Kelid examined the fresh intel. He clenched a fist over the battle map.
"Raymond's encircling Dongling. This isn't just a frontal assault."
He looked to Li Song and Bai. "You've earned another merit. Deploy the Dark Forest Squad. Before first light, ambush Yushixia Gorge."
His voice dropped. "We don't repel them—we eliminate them. I want prisoners. I want answers."
He added, "Our scouts say an enemy logistics convoy is moving southwest. After this battle, your squad will track them. Use the mountain trails. Find their route. Report back. A decisive battle is coming. We can't wait to be struck."
Li Song and Bai saluted. "Understood."
Outside, war drums echoed faintly. Snow whirled in the night wind.
And the edge of the sword was no longer sheathed.