He Jiuniang originally wanted to get a good night's sleep before making any decisions, but she didn't expect these people to be so diligent. As soon as they entered the mountains, they were already trying to leave their current group and find their own small group, hoping to squeeze into the top 200 together.
That's right. Out of the total number of people, five or six were spies from Dongting. It wasn't too many, and usually, they wouldn't be discovered. But He Jiu Niang noticed that some of them were secretly going out, and their whereabouts were unknown.
Sometimes when the topic of Dongting came up in the military camp, these brothers would get very excited, as if they had a blood feud with the people of Dongting and wished they could drink their blood. They would say that if war really broke out, they would rush to the front together to protect the peace of the region.
These words moved everyone else deeply, but He Jiuniang saw them as obviously fake. Their acting was so superb that no flaws could be found. However, the lack of flaws was their biggest weakness. He Jiuniang had secretly sent people to inquire, and it turned out that these people had no apparent grudges or dealings with the Dongting people.
Most importantly, if you can't stand the people of Dongting, why don't you try to fight in other military camps instead of staying in such an unpromising army and just letting yourself go?
The changes before and after are inherently contradictory.
If it weren't for the fact that He Jiuniang had initially planned to bring these people to the wilderness to test their abilities and then select the best two hundred for intensive training, she would have been able to lure them out.
He Jiuniang watched quietly as they tried to leave the group, all heading in the same direction, as if they had planned it the night before.
The reason for telling them a day in advance was to give them one night to discuss countermeasures and to contact helpers.
He Jiuniang smiled faintly. Very good, the fish are taking the bait very eagerly.
Before long, something unexpected happened to He Jiuniang again. Several more people started making small movements and quietly began to gather, planning to act together.
At this point, it's impossible to determine their motives—whether they're close friends and decided to go out together, or if they have other tasks.
But He Jiuniang was certain that among these thousands of people, various forces had gathered.
If this is the case in a lousy army, then it's even more true in other armies. If it weren't for the surveillance by drones, He Jiuniang would have had a hard time discovering so many small teams.
The situation was much more interesting than she had imagined; like gold being sifted from sand, she was determined to sift through everything in one go.
The two hundred selected individuals not only had to meet the required standards in terms of ability, but also had to have clean backgrounds, and could not be spies planted by their respective factions.
However, these are all minor issues. What He Jiuniang truly values are those few people in Dongting.
When it was completely dark, the group finally gathered together and found what they thought was a safe place to talk.
"This is our chance. We must get the defense map. Not only will we become a deputy general, but we can also make contributions, which will be more conducive to the victory of Dongting in the future."
“You’re right, but it might be difficult with just a few of us. After all, no one can die during this training.”
"Be careful, who knows it was you? Besides, we don't necessarily have to do it ourselves. I contacted someone last night, we'll have help. They might already be in the mountains. Just keep an eye on things."
"Hey, I'm getting excited. Letting women manage things is unreliable. They can even use the defense map for fun. After this, our status in Dongting will rise significantly."
"Haha, who says otherwise! We've finally made it through, and we'll have to thank her later."
...
He Jiuniang rolled her eyes as she listened to their conversation. Why did they have to resort to personal attacks?
However, she remembered these men; looking down on women would have consequences they couldn't bear.
Over the next few days, the group traveled together and did eliminate quite a few soldiers. However, out of consideration for others, they did not actually harm anyone, but only took their belongings and continued searching for the whereabouts of the defense map.
If it were just about completing the task, there wouldn't be much to see, but soon infighting broke out among these people.
The main reason for the conversation was about who would get the defense map in the end. At this point, they were considered companions, but once they found the map, they would become competitors. After all, there was only one defense map, and the status of the person who found it would rise accordingly, bringing honor to their ancestors. No one wanted to give up this opportunity.
Before this incident, the group had little interaction and were simply playing their roles without any deep emotional connection. Therefore, everyone was looking out for themselves.
He Jiuniang clicked her tongue repeatedly as she read it. She had originally thought that the spies of the Eastern Court were ubiquitous and should not be underestimated, but she hadn't expected them to be so insignificant.
I definitely overestimated them; what a disappointment.
After that, He Jiuniang just looked around casually, and even took some time to go back and see her son.
It's already the fourth day of the competition. Many people have been eliminated, and some have been injured. Everyone is looking for the defense map, but there's not a single clue.
The Dongting group has yet to make contact with their people, and they're even starting to worry that those people have been discovered by He Jiuniang's men.
As time went on, they encountered more and more traps, and everyone was injured to varying degrees. Their initial ambitions were almost gone, and their faces clearly showed their dejection.
Some people have even begun to doubt whether there was ever a defense map at all.
When He Jiuniang heard this, she pouted without any guilt, confirming that there was indeed no defense map; she had never had such a thing.
Offering this temptation was merely a ploy to lure the Dongting people into revealing themselves.
After all, compared to the Eastern Court, the defense map is only useful to the Eastern Court. As long as the defense map is mastered, the weaknesses in the Northern Yan's defenses can be accurately found, and then the weakness can be exploited.
As for the others, they would try to find one at first, but they would give up if they were too tired. After all, there was only one spot, and not everyone could find it. Moreover, they had to compete for the two hundred spots. If they wasted too much time, they would lose everything.
Therefore, the only ones truly willing to risk their lives for that defense map were the spies of the Eastern Court.
He Jiuniang had already calculated everything perfectly, so much so that all the soldiers, whether they had passed the test or not, had left, while the Dongting people were still looking for the defense map.
Furthermore, they didn't meet the people who came to help until the sixth day, and they almost got into a fight because the other party was in such a sorry state, looking even worse off than them, that they almost didn't recognize them.
"What exactly is going on? Didn't we send you a message already?"
The person in charge of making the contact looked at the disheveled compatriots in front of him with a face full of disdain.
"Yes, we went into the mountains the night we received the news, but who knew the mountains were full of traps? We lost many men, and only a few of us are left!"
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