"Forget about scouts. There are too many enemies around here, and they're too scattered. If we send them out, they might not come back. You just stay and hold the first line of defense. Remember, the enemy's goal is to keep us busy and exhaust our energy while we wait for the right opportunity. Don't leave the line of defense. I'll go scout ahead."

"Sir, this is too dangerous... Let us handle it." Chen Da advised.

"You guys can't do it, it's more convenient for me to do it alone."

Qin Che brought enough dry food and once again ventured alone into the mountains. After investigating the guerrillas' tracks, he learned some of the raiders' whereabouts. He was extremely careful along the way, not alerting the people, and instead crossed the border to reach the northern mountains.

Crossing a mountain range with continuous peaks,

The ground beneath our feet was almost a cliff.

"How did these guerrillas, who dared not walk on the main roads, manage to climb up here?"

Qin Che was puzzled, but if raiders in the mountains and wilderness didn't even have this much skill, they wouldn't be qualified to be guerrillas.

Those should all be among the few elites.

Judging from their fighting style, they fight and run, clearly afraid of suffering too many losses.

Black Flag City serves two purposes: first, to test the waters; and second, to deploy personnel there to gather intelligence on the desert people's defenses. The longer the two sides are in contact, the more intelligence they will naturally acquire.

Clearly, Black Flag City has not yet dispatched troops immediately.

But it may already be on its way.

This cliff stretches out in both directions, seemingly without end.

Qin Che deliberately fell from a height, then teleported to the ground and landed gently.

He disappeared into the jungle, constantly changing his location through teleportation, making him untraceable even to the most sensitive wild animals.

For three consecutive days, Qin Che ventured deep into the northern mountains and encountered vast swathes of raider camps and their fortresses.

The fortresses here are similar in style to those in the eastern mountains. They have totems with a consistent style, which are clearly present in the architectural style of the fortresses. There is also a considerable population, but unlike usual, he rarely sees any young or middle-aged people.

The settlements were mostly inhabited by women, the elderly, and children, and there were many slaves.

There are very few truly young and strong men.

Qin Che also saw a lot of supplies being transported out of those fortresses and sent to a certain area.

He followed them and waited for two days before finally reaching the final stop for the supply.

A massive fortified city located southwest of Black Flag City.

Qin Che didn't know the name of the place, so he randomly grabbed someone and asked them. They found out that the place was called Southwest Corner, which was under the jurisdiction of Black Flag City, and that they had already assembled their army here.

He was lucky; the fortress contained a large number of troops that had come south from the north, including the one he had captured.

The raiders were everywhere.

Qin Che's scalp tingled at the sight.

This fortified city can accommodate at least 60,000 to 70,000 people.

Their supplies piled up like mountains and were continuously transported into the fortress.

Black Flag City controls the northern mountainous region and has the power to collect taxes.

The confiscated supplies were of all kinds, including food, equipment, weapons, and people...

"Are all these preparations for a southward invasion? Even raiders from the north have come. Has Black Flag City already convinced the Cult of the Sun? With the border army marching south, the border will inevitably be vulnerable. Since they are making such preparations, it means that the two sides may have already reached an agreement."

The intelligence department's people are in the northern mountains, and Wei Tuozhi personally led a small group to operate there.

However, their location was very well hidden.

Qin Che knew where they were, but he wouldn't bother them.

Using intelligence resources arbitrarily behind enemy lines could easily be exposed and affect Wei Tuozhi and his team's work.

Although he was also there to investigate, he already knew enough.

However, they acted faster than Wei Tuozhi and his group. Perhaps the telegram has already reached Tiger Leopard Peak, and the first line of defense has already learned that the raider army is gathering.

Then the remaining objective becomes clear.

Qin Che narrowed his eyes and stayed outside the fortress city for two days to continue observing.

Their supplies were always delivered into the city, making it difficult for Qin Che to infiltrate. The fortified city was full of soldiers, and their organization was extremely meticulous. Even someone as extraordinary as him would find it difficult to sneak in and remain hidden.

Wei Tuozhi naturally had no spies or informants here.

Because the non-combatant personnel here had already been eliminated before the supplies were delivered.

However, it is not impossible to cause some damage.

What Qin Che needed to confirm was whether there were a large number of superhumans in the city.

If that's the case, he'll also need to make arrangements for the retreat when the time comes...

After sensing for two days, he finally discovered some strange psionic particles patrolling the edge of the city.

The energy state of those particles was similar to that of the superhumans, but no special characteristics were detected.

Psionic particles are a form of energy.

Extraordinary factors can only be possessed by 'characteristics'.

In other words, what he sensed was a 'pseudo-supernatural' predator without any special characteristics.

Qin Che observed for four or five days, and she was the only one who appeared.

A city this big can't possibly have only one extraordinary being.

But Qin Che could no longer wait.

Judging from the speed at which they are gathering resources and the continuous accumulation of personnel, the time for deploying troops is not far off.

"You people all know how to launch a preemptive strike to harass our borders, do you think we don't?"

Qin Che scoffed inwardly, then, lurking in the jungle, he teleported in!

...

Takakawa is on inspection.

These days have been quite boring, but the time for them to march south is not far off.

I heard that the city lord has invited the people of the Sun God Cult to a gathering in Black Flag City.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!