Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

Their breathing seemed extremely weak and slow, the rise and fall of their chests barely perceptible. Despite wearing the standard leather armor of Cao Cao's army, the cold, stiff, and eerie aura that clashed with their surroundings was strikingly similar to that of the incredibly strong and painless Divine Marchers outside Guzang City in the past!

But there are some differences.

Although these two "sentinels" had empty eyes, their posture and the way they held their spears seemed to follow some fixed rules, making them more like disciplined soldiers than monsters acting purely on instinct.

Han Lie nudged Ishikawa lightly with his elbow, speaking in a very low whisper.

“Look into their eyes…”

Ishikawa nodded slightly, his sharp gaze sweeping across the area. By the dim light of day and the occasional flickering torches in the distance, he could vaguely make out some similar figures moving slowly deep within that area, but they were not very clear.

Chen Wu took out a small charcoal pencil and a piece of oil-soaked thin paper from his pocket. In the extremely dim light, he quickly sketched the surrounding terrain and the location of the unusual area, and made a special mark.

The chill emanating from that cold, stiff figure had not yet dissipated. The three held their breath, concealed their bodies, and continued to sneak deeper into the camp.

The closer one gets to the heart of Cao Cao's camp, the more the air, which was originally filled with the smells of sweat, leather, and horse manure, becomes permeated with an indescribable and strange feeling.

It was an extremely faint yet undeniable aura of decaying energy. Unlike the intense and violent aura of the towering evil array within Guzang City, it was more subtle and stagnant, like the cold, damp air slowly seeping from deep underground, or like some unclean substance quietly fermenting in a poorly ventilated corner.

Occasionally, from directions heavily guarded and hidden by numerous tents, a low, suppressed roar, completely unlike a human voice, would drift on the wind.

Or it might be the sickening scraping sound of metal chains dragging across the ground, but it's usually fleeting, quickly drowned out by the normal sounds of the camp at night, making one wonder if it's just an illusion.

The three men's hearts sank deeper and deeper. Chen Wu gestured, pointing to an area to the northeast where the lights were relatively sparse, but the unusual aura was faintly strongest. Normally, a large army's granary and key defensive location would not be so dimly lit.

That place might be one of the key things our lord wants to investigate.

Ishikawa carefully discerned the wind direction and the patterns of the nearby patrols, and whispered.

"I'll go take a look nearby. You two stay here to provide backup. If anything seems amiss, retreat immediately via Route 3."

Chen Wu and Han Lie knew that Shi Chuan was the most meticulous and had an exceptional memory, so it was most appropriate for him to observe closely. They nodded, each gripping their short blades tightly, and hid in the shadows between the two tents, watching their surroundings warily.

Ishikawa moved like a gecko, skimming the ground and the shadows of the tents, his movements becoming even slower, almost blending into the surrounding darkness.

He bypassed a patrol that had just passed by, and avoided two seemingly random piles of debris that might actually contain tripwires or bells, gradually approaching the outer edge of the unusual area.

The security here has clearly been upgraded. In addition to the regular sentries and patrols, Ishikawa keenly noticed several seemingly deserted but actually well-hidden sentry posts.

He dared not approach the fence any further, and instead used a makeshift storage area for broken shields and arrows as cover, crouching low and peering through the gaps in the wooden planks into the secluded area.

The sight that came into view instantly sent a chill down his spine.

There were very few tents in the area, and in the central open space, several strangely shaped buildings that were definitely not typical of military camps stood out.

It was a platform roughly constructed from dark stone and some kind of metal, about the height of a person, with twisted, writhing dark red patterns carved all over its surface. Even from a distance, one could feel the faint, eerie light emanating from the patterns.

On the ground around the platform, one could vaguely see that there were also huge and complex strange patterns drawn on it, with faint streams of light flashing by from time to time.

Even more chilling was the sight of several figures clad in wide black robes, their faces obscured, silently moving between the "altars," seemingly inspecting or maintaining something. The putrid energy in the air became clearly tangible here, even causing a slight nausea and dizziness.

Ishikawa forcibly suppressed the pounding in his heart and tried his best to remember everything he saw.

He tried to see more clearly the approximate number and location of the altars, the activity patterns of the black-robed men, and other conspicuous landmarks in the area, especially behind those altars, where there seemed to be several large, irregularly shaped objects completely covered by thick black cloth, and he wondered what was hidden inside.

Just as he slightly adjusted his angle, trying to peek at the outline under the black cloth, he suddenly felt a resistance that was almost imperceptible at his ankle!

Oops!

A warning bell rang in Ishikawa's mind! He looked down and saw a strange thread, as thin as a hair and almost transparent, wrapped around the edge of his boot in the grass at his feet. The other end of the thread extended toward a small copper bell hidden under the grass roots not far away!

He triggered the alarm!

“Ding-ling-ling——!!!”

The piercing, sharp sound of the copper bells didn't originate from beneath their feet, but rather erupted suddenly from the depths of the sorcery-infused area ahead! The sound was exceptionally high-pitched and shrill, instantly shattering the silence of the camp!
"There's a spy!"

"Alert! Northeast District alert!"

"Seal off all the gates! Seize him!"

Almost simultaneously, countless torches lit up from all directions, illuminating the area as if it were daytime! The previously sparse guards now seemed to spring up from the ground.

Groups of people surged out, and further away, the originally regular patrols also immediately turned around. The rapid footsteps, the clanging of armor, the shouts and horns that rose and fell were like boiling oil poured on water, instantly making the entire Cao camp boil over!

Without hesitation, Shi Chuan broke free of the silk threads and turned to flee back the way he came! He knew that Chen Wu and Han Lie must have heard the alarm as well.

Sure enough, he had only taken a dozen steps when he saw Chen Wu and Han Lie emerge from their hiding place. Chen Wu said urgently.

"Over here! Quickly!"

The three disregarded any need for concealment, pushing their stealth skills to the limit. Relying on their memory of the route they had taken and their instinctive use of shadows, they frantically fled towards the outskirts of the camp.

Behind them, the light of torches spread rapidly like a pursuing venomous snake, and the whistling sound of arrows piercing the air began to ring out, embedding themselves in the ground or tents they had just passed.

"Let's split up! We'll meet at the usual spot!"

Han Lie let out a low roar and suddenly turned in another direction, deliberately kicking over a weapon rack next to a tent, making a loud crash, in an attempt to attract some of the pursuers.

Chen Wu then drew a short crossbow, turned around and fired two arrows with a "whoosh". Although the aim was poor in the dark, it still caused a commotion and angry curses from the pursuers, slightly slowing down their pursuit.

Ishikawa gritted his teeth and pushed his speed to the limit, clearly replaying in his mind every turn and obstacle he had noted during his infiltration.

He deliberately chose narrow, dark, and cluttered routes, constantly changing direction in an attempt to break free of the lock.

However, Cao Jun's reaction and mobilization speed exceeded expectations. Not only were the pursuers behind them relentlessly chasing them, but small teams also began to appear in front, attempting to encircle and intercept them.

A stray arrow grazed his shoulder, leaving a trail of blood. Ishikawa groaned, but instead of stopping, the pain spurred him to break through and increase his speed.

He knew he absolutely could not stop; once surrounded, there would be no way out. The escape had become a race against death.

Using the tents for cover, they leaped over makeshift drainage ditches and even risked forcing their way through the gap between two camps that were not yet fully closed.

The shouts, footsteps, and twang of bowstrings behind him clung to him like maggots. The brief shouts and clashes of weapons coming from Han Lie's side quickly ceased. Ishikawa felt a pang of pain in his heart, but dared not turn around.

To buy him time, Chen Wu deliberately faced a group of pursuers at a corner. His short blade flashed coldly, but he was quickly overwhelmed by more Cao soldiers, and his roar was quickly drowned out.

With his eyes bloodshot, Ishikawa used his last breath to finally reach the outermost camp area.

This area has also been alerted, but the defense is somewhat looser than the core areas we passed through earlier.

He spotted a gap where a patrolman had just passed, lunged at the fence, swung his grappling hook, hooked it onto the top, and used both hands and feet to vault over it at an astonishing speed. He stumbled and almost fell when he landed.

Behind him came shouts of Cao soldiers discovering him and the sound of arrows whistling through the air. Without turning his head, Ishikawa rolled into the darkness outside the fence, then used both hands and feet to tumble and crawl down the earthen slope, disappearing into the deeper wilderness.

He dared not walk in a straight line, constantly changing direction, until the firelight and noise behind him gradually faded into the distance, until his lungs burned with pain, almost as if they were about to explode.

Only when blood loss and exhaustion began to blur his vision did he, with his last ounce of willpower, struggle to move towards the agreed-upon abandoned beacon tower, far from the main camp…

When Ishikawa, covered in blood and barely clinging to life, was found near the abandoned beacon tower by the rescue team sent by Zhao Yun, a faint glimmer of light was already appearing on the horizon.

What he clutched tightly in his hand was a thin piece of paper soaked in his own blood, with extremely messy and blurry handwriting and drawings.

Inside Gu Rubing's central command tent, the atmosphere was as heavy as iron. The light from the oil lamp shone on Gu Rubing's face, reflecting his extremely serious expression.

He examined the blood-stained parchment closely. It had been hastily sketched in charcoal, showing a rough map of part of Cao Cao's camp. The northeast corner was highlighted, with the words "altar," "black robe," "evil aura," and "extremely heavily guarded" written crookedly next to it. There was also a line of small print that read, "Suspected creation, strange noises and movements."

"Was he the only one who came back?"

Gu Rubing's voice was low and unreadable.

Zhao Yun's face was filled with grief.

"Yes. Chen Wu, Han Lie... failed to return to the team. Shi Chuan was hit by three arrows and lost too much blood. The arrow wound in his shoulder was deep into the bone, and his left leg was also injured by a blade. Although he has been treated by the physician, his life may be spared, but..."

Gu Rubing waved his hand, indicating that he understood.

His gaze fell on the intelligence report again, and his finger lightly tapped the circled area.

"Cao Cao... was indeed unwilling to accept only some remnants of defeated troops. He was trying to master, and even improve, the system of Penglai. The altar... the creation..."

A cold light flashed in his eyes.

"Did he set up this area of ​​evil magic in the camp as a secret weapon, or does he have some other motive?"

Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, and several key strategists were all present in the tent.

An older strategist stroked his beard and said.

"My lord, the scouts risked their lives to retrieve this message, its value immeasurable. This area must be a vital concern for Cao Cao, heavily guarded. However, the evil magic is unpredictable, and the lesson of Guzang is still fresh in our minds. A direct assault on this area is fraught with unpredictable risks. If there are indeed unfinished evil artifacts or traps within, our army may suffer unexpected and devastating losses."

Another strategist's interface.

"However, the existence of this area is also Cao Cao's weakness. Since he attaches so much importance to it, he must be tying up a considerable portion of his elite troops to defend it. Perhaps we can make a move on this point."

Ma Chao clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"My lord, why don't I lead a cavalry force to launch a surprise attack on this area under cover of night and set fire to his altar! Whatever evil spirit it is, let's burn it all down!"

Zhang Fei also shouted.

"Mengqi is right! Burn down that hellhole, and let's see how Cao Cao can keep up his tricks!"

Gu Rubing slowly shook his head.

"No. Cao Cao is a shrewd and experienced commander. Given the importance of this area, how could it be undefended? Moreover, it is located deep within Cao Cao's camp. Even if you manage to break through the outer perimeter, once you are surrounded, the enemy from all four camps will come out at once, and you will have no chance of returning. This is not a victory, but a death sentence."

He stood up and paced in front of the map, his gaze shifting back and forth between the layout of Cao Cao's camp and the marked area of ​​sorcery.

"However, what you all say makes sense. This place is both a weak point and a trap... Cao Cao anticipated that we would not dare or be willing to launch a full-scale attack here, so he placed a large force here. On the one hand, he was protecting the secret, and on the other hand, wasn't he using stillness to control movement, making our army hesitant to attack and distracting us?"

He stopped in his tracks, a sharp glint in his eyes.

"Since he attaches such importance to this place, let's pretend to attack it! And we must adopt a posture of being willing to do anything to destroy it! Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, listen to my command!"

Zhang Fei and Ma Chao were invigorated and stepped forward.

"The general is here!"

"I hereby order you two to each lead three thousand elite infantry and cavalry, and prepare plenty of banners and drums. At dawn tomorrow, just before daybreak, launch a feint attack with great fanfare towards the northeast of Cao Cao's camp, roughly in the area marked by the scouts as a place of sorcery!"

The momentum must be immense, the offensive fierce, to create the impression that our army has already detected their vital points and is determined to eliminate them! But remember, your mission is a feint, a diversionary tactic, and a show of force!

Do not engage the enemy too deeply. Once Cao Cao's main force and reinforcements launch a large-scale attack, immediately retreat under cover of each other to a safe area, defend the terrain, and do not linger in battle!

Zhang Fei was somewhat puzzled.

"Brother, is it just a feint? If we don't actually break in, how are we going to destroy that hellhole?"

Gu Rubing glanced at him.

"What I want is not to destroy that place, at least not now. What I want is to see just how nervous Cao Cao is about this place, how many troops he will mobilize to protect it, what the patterns of his troop movements and reaction speed are, and... when his attention is drawn to the northeast corner, will the defenses in other directions show any weaknesses!"

Upon hearing this, the strategists nodded in agreement, and some even praised it.

"My lord, this plan is brilliant! It's a classic case of 'beating the grass to scare the snake,' or 'luring the tiger away from the mountain.' No matter how Cao Cao responds, our army can glean information from this and seize the initiative." (End of Chapter)