Chapter 84 Burning the Grain Supply
The north wind howled, and the night was as dark as ink.
The Northern Yan camp was stationed on a plain thirty miles outside Liangzhou City. The continuous rows of tents resembled a cluster of white mushrooms, stretching as far as the eye could see. Campfires flickered in the camp, and patrolling cavalrymen, carrying torches, would cross-check every fifteen minutes, making the defense virtually impregnable.
However, outside this tight defense line, in a patch of withered yellow grass, lay twenty-two "mounds of earth".
These mounds trembled slightly with the wind, slowly inching towards the camp's granary like worms.
Jiang Mianmian lay down next to Shen Jin, her face covered in black ash, only her bright eyes showing.
[Wow, is this the legendary 500,000-strong army?]
[It looks intimidating, but the defense is actually so-so. The patrol route is too rigid; there's a gap every three minutes, enough time for us to slip in.]
[Chen Jin, the archer on that watchtower on the left is nearsighted; he was yawning just now. You'll be attacking from there later!]
Shen Jin lay beside her, draped in that ugly but practical ghillie suit, blending perfectly into the night. He listened to her thoughts, nodded slightly, and made a gesture to Ying Yi behind him.
"action."
At a command, twenty-two dark figures sprang up like ghosts, taking advantage of the momentary blind spot to quickly pass through the first line of defense.
"who?!"
A Northern Yan soldier who got up to urinate in the middle of the night seemed to sense something and turned his head in a daze.
"puff--"
Before he could even see clearly, a cold dagger had already slit his throat. Shen Jin covered his mouth with one hand and gently laid the body down with the other, his movements fluid and silent.
Jiang Mianmian, watching from the side, gave a thumbs up.
[Awesome! This assassination skill is a waste of talent; he's a true assassin!]
Is this what it feels like to be carried by a max-level pro? It's so awesome!
The group stealthily made their way to a large open area behind the main camp without any major incidents.
There were mountains of grain and fodder piled up there, covered with tarpaulins to keep out the rain, and heavily guarded around the area.
"arrive."
Jiang Mianmian lowered her voice and took out the bundled "special explosive packs" from the cloth bag behind her.
"Listen carefully, the wind here is from the northwest."
She pointed to the arrangement of the haystacks, "We need to place the explosives under those haystacks upwind. Once those are lit, the fire will spread with the wind and set all the tents stretching for miles on fire!"
"This is called—burning down the enemy camps!"
Yingyi and the others were thrilled. They took the explosive packs and, following Jiang Mianmian's instructions, moved along the ground like geckos, quickly stuffing the "death packages" deep into the grain pile.
Jiang Mianmian was also busy.
She was in charge of the most crucial step—detonation.
She found the best observation point, took out a tinderbox and a long fuse that connected all the detonation points.
[Hehe, Xiao Yi, are you ready to receive this big gift?]
This explosion will send all the money you've plundered from the people to the heavens!
[Countdown begins... ten, nine, eight...]
Just then, a commotion suddenly arose not far away.
"Who goes there?!"
"There's movement at the grain depot!"
It turned out to be a Northern Yan general in charge of inspecting the provisions, leading a wolfhound along. The wolfhound had an extremely keen nose and seemed to have smelled the scent of a stranger, barking wildly in the direction where Jiang Mianmian was hiding.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
"Oh no! We've been discovered!" Yingyi's expression changed.
"Don't panic!"
Shen Jin's eyes turned cold, and his soft sword instantly flew out of its sheath. "You set them on fire! I'll hold them off!"
"Need not!"
Jiang Mianmian suddenly grabbed Shen Jin's hand, a crazy smile curling at the corner of her lips.
"Now that we've been discovered, then... we don't need to sneak around anymore."
She suddenly blew on the tinderbox in her hand.
That tiny spark of light was particularly glaring in the darkness.
"Who is that?!" The Northern Yan general saw the firelight and was horrified. "Quick! Fire arrows! Capture that woman!"
"Too late!"
Jiang Mianmian laughed loudly and threw the tinder onto the fuse without hesitation.
"Sizzle—"
Sparks shot up instantly, traveling at an astonishing speed along the fuse towards the grain pile.
"Run! Run!"
Jiang Mianmian grabbed Shen Jin, turned and ran, "Only five seconds! Run if you don't want to become a roast pig!"
The special forces team scattered instantly, running frantically out of the camp.
The Northern Yan soldiers hadn't even realized what was happening and were still charging towards them with their swords raised.
"Five, four, three, two..."
Jiang Mianmian silently recited in her heart.
"one!"
"BOOM—!!!"
A deafening roar shook the earth, as if the ground itself trembled.
The largest grain pile, located upwind, was instantly engulfed in flames. A massive shockwave, carrying flames and debris, spread wildly in all directions.
Then came the second sound, the third sound...
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A series of explosions occurred.
The originally dry and flammable grain and fodder were instantly transformed into enormous torches with the help of explosives. Fueled by the northwest wind, the fire roared and swept across the entire rear camp.
"Ah—! Fire!"
"Help! The granary has exploded!"
"Water! Quick, put out the fire!"
The Northern Yan camp was instantly thrown into chaos. Countless soldiers fled through the inferno, warhorses neighed in fright, and trampled each other.
Xiao Yi rushed out of the central command tent, his face ashen and his eyes bloodshot as he looked at the raging fire.
"My provisions...my provisions!"
"Who?! Who did this?!"
On a hillside a few miles from the main camp.
Jiang Mianmian stopped, panting, and looked back at the firelight that illuminated half the sky, a radiant smile spreading across her face.
How beautiful!
This is what they call—art is an explosion!
This fire burned at least half a month's worth of their rations. Without food, let's see how this 500,000-strong army can still be so arrogant!
Shen Jin stood beside her, also gazing at the sea of fire.
The firelight illuminated his stern face, giving it a golden-red rim. He turned to look at the woman beside him, her face covered in soot, yet her smile more radiant than fireworks.
At that moment, his heart was pounding.
It wasn't just because of the life-or-death race just now, but also because of... her.
This woman always manages to bring him this kind of soul-stirring shock.
"princess."
Shen Jin reached out and wiped a streak of ash from her cheek. “Your ‘return gift’… is indeed quite generous.”
"That's right!"
Jiang Mianmian proudly raised her chin, "This is called 'enthusiasm from a great effort.' How about it? Hot enough?"
Shen Jin chuckled softly and pulled her into his arms.
"It's hot enough."
"It's so hot... my heart is melting."
Amidst the raging flames and chaos, the two embraced tightly.
This battle not only burned the Northern Yan's supplies, but also burned away the fear in the hearts of the Da Gan soldiers.
The clarion call for the counterattack has been sounded.
However, just as they were preparing to retreat to Liangzhou City, Shen Jin's gaze suddenly sharpened, looking towards a direction deep within the sea of fire.
There, an extremely cold and eerie aura seemed to be slowly rising, even overpowering the raging flames.
Hmm? Why do I feel a little cold?
Jiang Mianmian also shivered. [The fire is burning so brightly, how come there's a chilling wind?]
"Walk."
His cautious intuition told him that the danger was not over; on the contrary, it had only just begun.
"Go back. Immediately."
He grabbed Jiang Mianmian's hand and quickly disappeared into the night.
Behind them, amidst the sea of fire, a mysterious figure dressed in a black robe and wielding a bone staff slowly emerged from the shadows.
He looked in the direction the two had left, his eyes, which were mostly white, gleaming with a ghostly green light.
"An interesting soul..."
"Unexpectedly, during this major undertaking... there were some unexpected events."
"Since you're here, then... stay and be buried with us."
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