Yun Zhe did not return all night, nor did he leave any useful information. A heavy atmosphere of gloom permeated the large tent at Yun Zhe's camp.

Inside the tent, Cyrus feigned composure, Morrison was burning with anxiety, while Blazer didn't want to join the two and simply watched coldly from the sidelines.

More scouts were deployed, but they gained nothing of value except for more clashes with Belvedere's forces.

"Should we retreat? If we stay here, we might be discovered and annihilated by the Belvedere army," Blaze said quietly, looking at the latest batch of returning scouts.

Cyrus frowned slightly. He had disliked the newcomer, Blazer, for a long time, and couldn't help but snort, "If you want to leave, you can leave."

Upon hearing their conversation, Morrison slumped to the side, not really caring whether he left or not; what he cared about was how Yun Zhe was doing.

Of the three people in the tent, he was the one who would likely meet a bad end without Yun Zhe.

Blazer, who had been retorted, didn't argue. He hadn't thought Cyrus would agree to let them leave anyway. He just wanted to make his point clear.

Around noon, bad news arrived. Approximately five thousand cavalrymen were scattered and rushing towards the vicinity of the camp.

This news startled Cyrus, who had just been refuting Blazer's arguments. His thousand or so men were no match for these cavalry.

The three looked at each other, and for a moment they all thought of one sentence.

"If Yun Zhe were here, that would be great."

But at this moment, the soldiers around them were all staring at the three of them, forcing them to make a decision immediately.

“How about this: the soldiers ambush around the camp, leaving it empty. When they see the empty camp, they'll naturally think we've retreated, and then we'll be safe. After the enemy retreats, we can return to the camp. Since they can't find anyone, they won't bother with this forest anymore,” Morrison suggested first. His main reason for this idea was that the camp couldn't be lost; he needed to give Yun Zhe a place to return to. If Yun Zhe could come back…

Upon hearing Morrison's words, Cyrus's eyes lit up. As expected of someone Yun Zhe valued, although he also found Morrison somewhat of an eyesore, this plan already had the feel of Lord Yun Zhe.

“This plan is too wishful thinking…” After listening to Morrison’s words, Blazer thought for a moment and then expressed his opposition.

At this moment, Cyrus acted entirely on his likes and dislikes rather than logic, and immediately retorted, "How is this plan wishful thinking? I think this plan is excellent. If we can't win, can't we at least avoid it?"

“One or two people, ten or a hundred people, maybe this plan will work, but we have a thousand people. What about supplies, horses, and all kinds of materials? How far can we go with these? How far can we hide without them? Besides, how can we move more than a thousand people without the enemy noticing? Even if the enemy doesn't notice, what if they don't leave? What if they use this place as their camp?”

Blazer's series of rhetorical questions, each refuting Morrison, were nonetheless directed at Cyrus. Blazer had always felt that Cyrus lacked intelligence and was merely a product of Yun Zhe's thousand Aluru mercenaries, which was why he had been placed in his position. Therefore, Blazer was utterly blunt with Cyrus.

Cyrus sensed the hostility in the words, but he was frustrated because what the other person said wasn't entirely unreasonable; rather, every sentence pinpointed a potential problem. Cyrus wanted to curse and refute, but he had no good reason, and he suppressed his anger until he felt internally injured.

Morrison, however, was quite shaken after hearing Blazer's words. He realized he had indeed been too concerned and had come up with such a crude plan. Blazer criticized it as utterly worthless.

"So what are your thoughts?" Although Morrison was thoroughly refuted, he wasn't angry at all; he was just curious about what Blazer would think.

Hearing this, Cyrus perked up again. He already considered Morrison to be on his side, so he naturally felt that Morrison's words were meant to teach Blazer a lesson. He chimed in, "Exactly! Tell me your plan! Don't talk a good game about others but be speechless when it's your own turn!"

Blazer shrugged. "If you ask me, if we're going to do it, we should do it properly. We'll still retreat, but if they dare to come here, we'll launch a counterattack. If they come and leave, we'll burn this camp down and dampen their spirits. If they dare to sleep in the camp, well, they can't blame themselves for sleeping so soundly at night!"

After saying this, Blazer couldn't help but feel a little excited. A thousand men against four or five thousand cavalrymen certainly didn't have an advantage, but war is never a matter of simply having more people and still winning.

After hearing Blazer's words, Cyrus and Morrison both fell silent.

Cyrus was impressed by Blazer's boldness and the mindset of a young person. Morrison, on the other hand, analyzed the situation carefully before cautiously asking, "Isn't this too risky?"

"Running away only allows you to passively hide and rely on the enemy's cues for a chance to survive, while actively fighting is the only way to change this dead end. Have you ever seen a small animal cornered in a desperate situation? Doesn't it always bare its sharp teeth even when it knows it's going to die? If you bare your teeth, you might scare the enemy away. Besides, even if the ambush fails, it can still create chaos, increasing our chances of escaping alive, right?"

Cyrus was still reluctant to agree with this ill-conceived plan, but Morrison was clearly swayed by its audacity. It was obvious that, despite his high position, he had lost any grounds to object.

“If we have no choice but to retreat, then I will lead the troops back to Herak village.” Cyrus said this without much certainty. He simply wanted to show everyone that he also had suggestions for the plan, rather than being a mere nodding puppet.

“Then let’s retreat to Herak village!” Morrison glanced at the other two and gave an unexpected affirmative answer. Blaze was about to say something harsh, but upon hearing Morrison’s reply, he couldn’t help but tilt his head and let out a soft, cold laugh.

“Then I’ll lead my troops to prepare firewood. Cyrus, you tell everyone to pack up what they can take with them, and leave the heavy stuff behind. Blaze, you…” Morrison couldn’t think of what to assign Blaze for a moment.

“I’ll lead my troops out to scout, and buy you some more time,” Blazer shrugged and stepped out of the tent first.