Starting with a Wei Wu soldier

Chapter 114 Decapitation Operation

The firelight from the Black Mountain Army camp cast an intermittent glow on the north wall of Xinghuo Fortress. The air was filled with the smell of burning and smoke, mingled with the faint cries and neighing of horses in the distance. The defenders on the city wall watched the movements in the darkness warily, but each of their faces bore the weariness of fierce fighting and a hint of exhilaration at the prospect of victory.

Inside the main watchtower on the north wall, the lights were still bright. Chen Xing didn't rest; in front of him lay a simple but clearly marked sketch of the Black Mountain army camp, the result of repeated verification by daytime observations and nighttime scouts. Chen Wei and Murong Mingyue stood solemnly to one side, their armor still stained with blood and the smell of smoke, but both were extremely excited.

"With the supplies burned and the camp in chaos, Zhang Kuang must be in a terrible state right now, busy suppressing the unrest and restoring order." Chen Xing pointed to several key locations on the sketch. "But even a centipede with a hundred legs will not die easily. He still has nearly ten thousand soldiers who can fight. If we allow him to stabilize his position, he will fight like a cornered beast after dawn. Even if our army wins, we will pay a much higher price."

"Does the lord mean to not give him a chance to breathe?" A glint flashed in Chen Wei's eyes.

"Not bad." Chen Xing raised his head, his gaze sharp as a knife. "A night raid to counterattack, burning their supplies, only demoralizes their troops and weakens them. To completely incapacitate them, we must plunge another knife into their heart tonight!"

Murong Mingyue immediately understood: "Slay the general and seize the flag? The target is Zhang Kuang?"

"Zhang Kuang's personal guards will surely surround us. A surprise attack now would be too risky and we might not succeed." Chen Xing shook his head, pointing to several forward-positioned, relatively independent camps on the sketch. "Our target is his core generals who can still command troops and organize resistance, especially those who directed the siege during the day and may be in charge of reorganizing the camp defenses tonight. If we kill them, the Black Mountain Army will truly become headless flies."

He looked at Chen Wei: "Chen Wei, you personally select twenty of your most elite assassins, the most skilled in stealth and assassination. They must be absolutely reliable, bold, and meticulous. They will be lowered down the north wall and infiltrate the enemy camp. Your mission: to assassinate at least three of the Black Mountain Army's main generals or their strategist. Don't be greedy for merit; once you've succeeded, leave immediately. Creating chaos is the priority. I will have Mingyue provide support from the outside, creating even greater commotion to distract them."

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Wei clasped his hands in a fist and replied, "This humble general obeys! I will certainly not fail in my mission!"

"Remember, the operation must be swift, ruthless, and stealthy. I will have Li Shu's intelligence personnel confirm the location of the target camp." Chen Xing then looked at Murong Mingyue. "Mingyue, you will lead the cavalry out of the city again. Do not approach the main camp. Roam around the perimeter, harassing from multiple points with small teams, launch rockets, and sound the horns to make it appear as if another large-scale attack on the camp is imminent. This will force Zhang Kuang to be distracted and not dare to fully search for the small teams that have come out of the city."

"Understood!" Murong Mingyue nodded emphatically.

"There's no time to lose, prepare immediately. At three-quarters past midnight, move out on time!" Chen Xing decisively ordered.

……

Inside Xinghuo Fortress, a brief commotion quickly subsided into a tense, expectant silence. Chen Wei selected twenty men from his personal guard and other elite soldiers. These men were all seasoned veterans, possessed extraordinary courage, and each had their own strengths—some were former hunters skilled in tracking and stealth, others were experts in close combat and ruthless in their attacks, and still others were surrendered soldiers with some knowledge of the Black Mountain Army's internal affairs. They changed into dark, tight-fitting clothing, smeared their faces with soot, and inspected their equipment: poisoned daggers, crossbows, grappling hooks, ropes, tinderboxes, and a few oil-soaked cloth bags and pungent smoke balls for creating chaos.

Li Shu personally brought the final confirmed intelligence. By the light of the lamp, he pointed out the locations of the three most likely target camps on the map: one was the camp of "Liu Yanwang," the former commander of the Black Mountain Army. This man was Zhang Kuang's top henchman, fierce and bloodthirsty, and his camp was close to the front line; another was the garrison of "Zhao Balian," the commander of the left battalion. This man had considerable military command ability and was Zhang Kuang's trusted subordinate; the third was the tent of the goatee strategist, located in a relatively secluded place on the edge of the central army. This man was full of tricks and was Zhang Kuang's strategist, of great value.

"At 3:45 AM, people are at their most tired and least alert. The fire in the camp isn't completely extinguished, and morale is low, so patrols will inevitably have gaps." Chen Wei whispered his final instructions to his team. "We'll split into three groups of six to seven people each, each targeting one of these three objectives. After a successful capture, use the hooting of owls as a signal to regroup and retreat to the designated location. If you encounter resistance, do not linger; disperse and break out. There will be reinforcements below the city walls. Do you all understand?"

"Understood!" the twenty men replied in low voices, their eyes gleaming with a cold and excited light.

On the other side, Murong Mingyue had once again gathered three hundred cavalrymen. With their horses' bells removed and their men gagged, they silently left the city through the west gate, using the cover of night to outflank the Black Mountain Army camp.

It is almost 3:45 AM.

At a heavily shadowed corner of the north wall of Xinghuo Fortress, several thick ropes hung silently. Chen Wei was the first to grab a rope, nimbly sliding down the several-zhang-high wall. After landing, he rolled and disappeared into the darkness at the base of the wall. Immediately afterward, one after another, dark figures swiftly slid down, quickly gathering at the foot of the wall as if merging into the earth.

Chen Wei made a hand gesture, and the twenty men split into three groups, spreading out like ghosts. Taking advantage of the undulating terrain and the lingering darkness, they stealthily made their way towards the Black Mountain Army camp, which was ablaze with fire.

Chaos persisted in the camp. Although the largest fire had been brought under control, embers still burned, and smoke filled the air. Soldiers sat exhausted beside the ruins, or frantically carried salvaged supplies. The shouts of officers, the groans of the wounded, and the occasional neighing of out-of-control horses mingled together. Although patrols had increased in number, they appeared sparse and hesitant in the vast camp, especially in the outer and chaotic areas.

Chen Wei personally led a group whose target was "Liu Yanwang's" camp. They skillfully avoided several patrols with brightly lit torches, and gradually approached under the cover of the tent shadows and piles of supplies. Liu Yanwang's tent was much larger than that of ordinary generals, with two gas lamps hanging outside. Four personal guards stood watch outside the tent, but they were clearly tired and yawned from time to time.

Chen Wei observed for a moment, then gestured to the two team members behind him who were skilled in using blowguns and crossbows. The two understood, took out small blowguns and crossbows, and loaded them with short arrows containing highly poison. Chen Wei himself gripped his poisoned dagger.

With two barely audible "plop" sounds, the two guards standing back to back outside the tent simultaneously stiffened and collapsed to the ground. The other two guards noticed something was wrong and turned around to question them, but then there were two more faint whooshing sounds as poisoned arrows struck their throats or faces, causing them to groan and fall to the ground.

The whole process took only two or three breaths. Chen Wei waved his hand, and two team members quickly stepped forward and dragged the body to the shadows of the tent. Chen Wei then darted to the tent door like a cat, gently slit a crack with his dagger, and peered inside.

The tent was dimly lit. A burly man with a thick beard, dressed only in his undergarments, lay slumped over a table, seemingly asleep. Beside him lay an overturned wine jar, and he snored loudly. This was none other than "Liu the King of Hell." He had suffered setbacks in his siege during the day and had been attacked in the evening. Frustrated, he had drunk quite a bit of wine to drown his sorrows.

A cold glint flashed in Chen Wei's eyes. He gently lifted the tent flap, slipped inside, and lunged at the table. Liu Yanwang, after all, was a man who had tasted blood; though drunk and asleep, he seemed to sense something. Just as Chen Wei approached, he abruptly opened his drunken eyes and mumbled, "Who?!"

His answer was a cold, dark glint of light! Chen Wei's dagger slashed precisely across his throat, instantly severing his trachea and blood vessels. Liu Yanwang's eyes widened, his hands futilely clutching his bleeding neck, his massive body convulsing and sliding off the table, falling silent in an instant.

Chen Wei quickly glanced around the tent, picked up a bronze seal representing the former army commander from the table and stuffed it into his pocket. He then used a dagger to carve a simple star symbol next to Liu Yanwang's corpse. He then left the tent, met up with the team members on guard outside, made a few realistic owl calls, and quickly made his way to the designated withdrawal point.

Almost simultaneously, the other two groups also scored.

The group that attacked "Scarface Zhao's" tent encountered some resistance. Scarface Zhao was quite alert, and there were more guards outside the tent. The assassination team blew poison smoke balls into the tent, causing coughing and confusion, and then stormed in. In the instant that Scarface Zhao was disoriented by the smoke and his guards could not react in time, they hacked him to death with a flurry of blades, leaving a mark before retreating.

The group that attacked the strategist's tent was the most successful. The goatee-bearded strategist seemed frightened and was alone in his tent, sighing and writing something by an oil lamp. The team members sneaked in from behind the tent, killed him with a single blow, cleaned up the evidence, and took the scrolls of documents and the uniquely shaped bronze lamp from his desk.

The three groups successfully rendezvoused near a designated thicket close to the edge of the camp. A headcount confirmed that all twenty men were present, with only two sustaining minor injuries from stray arrows during the evacuation; none were killed.

"Withdraw!" Chen Wei shouted in a low voice.

Just as they were preparing to sneak back towards the city wall, the sharp sound of horns and the rapid clatter of hooves suddenly rang out again from the outskirts of the Black Mountain Army camp! Murong Mingyue's cavalry had launched their harassment attack right on time!

"Enemy cavalry are coming again!"

"Attention! All battalions, attention!"

The new wave of chaos, which had just begun due to the assassination attempt, was completely ignited by this external harassment! Flames flickered again throughout the camp, and shouts, running, and the clash of weapons filled the air. From the direction of the arrogant central army came angry roars and rapid drumbeats, clearly indicating that troops were being mobilized to deal with the "threat" from the outside.

This well-timed chaos perfectly covered Chen Wei's squad's escape route. Like ghosts in the night, they easily slipped through the thinned defenses while the camp's attention was drawn to the perimeter, returning to the foot of the north wall of Starfire Fortress.

The rope was lowered again, and the group climbed up one by one.

When Chen Wei was the last to climb the city wall and step onto solid ground, the eastern sky was already beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

Inside the watchtower, Chen Xing took the bronze seal and the bronze lamp handed to him by Chen Wei. After listening to the brief report, a look of complete relaxation finally appeared on his face.

"Well done." He patted Chen Wei on the shoulder. "Liu Yanwang, Zhao Scarface, the strategist... half of the Black Mountain Army's heads have been chopped off tonight. Order the entire army to rest and have a hearty battle meal. After dawn..."

Chen Xing turned and looked at the still chaotic Black Mountain Army camp in the distance, where the flames had not yet died down. His voice was firm and resolute:

"A full-scale counterattack!"