If I made you cannon fodder, how did you manage to achieve your goal of conquering the wolf's l

The night was as dark as ink, and lead-gray clouds hung low over the wasteland, shrouding the entire world in a suffocating chill.

The cold wind from beyond the Great Wall is like a sharp blade, whipping up the snowflakes on the ground and swirling and howling across the wilderness.

Thirty miles northwest of Yunzhou City lies Luoyan Valley.

Nestled in a crevice between two barren mountains, the terrain is low-lying and secluded. Unless one is well-informed, it would be extremely difficult to discover that a rather large estate has been built deep within this sheltered valley.

The village was surrounded by high rammed earth walls, topped with sharpened hardwood chevaux-de-frise, and four simple watchtowers stood at the four corners. Several guards wearing black fur coats and carrying hard bows could be vaguely seen pacing back and forth in the wind and snow, vigilantly scanning the surrounding area.

This is the secret horse ranch that Chen Huaiyi set up in secret. On the surface, it is a base used by the Chen family to breed fine horses for horse farms all over Yunzhou; in reality, it is a top-secret private dungeon used by Second Master Chen to imprison people who cannot be seen in the light of day and to handle shady dealings.

Behind a snow-covered slope outside Luoyan Valley.

Twelve figures, draped in snow-white camouflage cloaks, lay quietly in the snowdrifts, like rocks blending into the ice and snow.

"The map the centurion gave us is amazing; it even has the exact time of the guards' shift change in this manor."

Hou San, lying prone at the front, pulled his face mask down to reveal his eyes, which gleamed sharply in the darkness. While observing the village through his monocular binoculars, he whispered to the barbarian boy beside him, "Aman, have you noticed the gaps in the patrols at the main gate and the rear horse pen?"

Aman lay prone in the snow, his ears pressed slightly against the frozen ground. He had grown up in the wilderness with wolves, and possessed a wild animal-like keen intuition for the sounds of footsteps and hooves.

"Six men at the main gate, they change every two incense sticks. There are only two men in the back stable, they go to the feed room every half incense stick." Ah Man raised her head, her voice low and steady. "The hidden sentry is in the northwest watchtower, the wind is from the east, he can't see the blind spot behind the back wall."

"Good lad, your eyes are sharper than an eagle's." Hou San grinned, then turned to look at the ten fully armed elite scouts of the Zhenbei Army behind him.

These ten scouts were all elites selected through rigorous screening by Xiao Hongluan and Xu Qingshan. They did not carry heavy spears and shields, but wore only light and warm close-fitting leather armor, with fine steel short swords hanging at their waists, two small repeating crossbows specially made by Baizhi Workshop slung across their backs, and armor-piercing short daggers lacquered in black lacquer inserted into their boots.

"Brothers, the centurion has made his instructions very clear," Hou San said in a low voice, his tone becoming exceptionally grim. "Tonight's mission is to rescue people. The guards in the manor are all desperate henchmen raised by Chen Huaiyi; their hands are stained with the blood of countless innocent people. Act quickly and quietly. If it can be done with a crossbow bolt, don't use a second strike. Make sure to dig them out of the cellar before the Yunzhou patrols notice!"

"Yes, sir!" the scouts responded in low voices, their movements synchronized as they cocked their crossbows, producing a soft, crisp sound as the mechanisms clicked shut.

"action!"

Hou San waved his hand, and twelve white figures, like ghosts in the night, silently glided forward along the ground under the cover of the wind and snow.

The vast expanse of snow, tens of meters wide, was traversed in an instant by their ghostly footsteps.

Reaching the dead end behind the wall, Hou San unfastened a pair of steel grappling hooks from his waist. With a flick of his wrist, the grappling hooks silently gripped the edge of the rammed earth wall. He used both hands alternately, like a nimble ibex, and in a few leaps, he scaled the more than ten-foot-high wall.

He crouched on the wall, looking down at the viewpoint.

Sure enough, the backyard had a long row of stables, where dozens of tall warhorses were chewing hay under the sheds, puffing out white steam. A guard was carrying a bucket of steaming black bean soup, slowly walking towards the feed shed.

A cold glint flashed in Hou San's eyes, and he instantly raised the small repeating crossbow in his hand.

"collapse!"

A very faint twang of a bowstring was perfectly masked by the wind and snow.

A finely crafted steel short arrow pierced the guard's throat with pinpoint accuracy. The guard didn't even have time to utter a scream before his body went limp and he collapsed forward. Hou San leaped down from the wall, landing as lightly as a falling leaf, and caught the collapsing corpse and wooden barrel, dragging them into the shadows of the stable.

Ah Man and ten other scouts quickly scaled the wall and entered, their movements swift and efficient, without disturbing any warhorses during the entire infiltration process.

According to the route Han Zhong described in the dungeon of Duanhebao, the underground fodder cellar where serious criminals were imprisoned was hidden beneath the largest hay warehouse in the center of the backyard.

Two of Chen's bodyguards, responsible for guarding the warehouse gate, were huddled in a sheltered spot by a fire, grumbling and complaining about the awful weather. Although they carried long swords at their waists, they clearly hadn't expected anyone to dare infiltrate Master Chen's private estate.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

Two short arrows pierced the darkness and struck their temples. The two assassins stared wide-eyed, collapsing limply beside the brazier.

Aman strode forward and pushed open the heavy wooden door of the warehouse.

The warehouse was piled high with hay bales, and the air was filled with a strong smell of fermented hay. Aman groped around deep in the haystack for a while and soon found a huge floor pull ring made of cast iron.

His arm muscles bulged, and he pulled hard.

With a dull thud as the iron axle turned, a heavy iron door covered in hay was slowly lifted, revealing a downward-sloping, dark stone staircase passage. A pungent stench, a mixture of blood, decay, and moldy hay, wafted from the depths of the tunnel.

Hou San made a warning gesture behind him, and two scouts immediately stood guard at the warehouse door, while the rest drew their short knives and followed Hou San and Aman into the tunnel.

The stone steps were extremely slippery, and several half-burnt pine resin torches were stuck in the stone walls on both sides, casting dim and flickering light.

Descending deep underground, a spacious cellar suddenly opened up before them, reinforced with bluestone. Around the cellar were various chilling instruments of torture, and the ground was covered with dried, blackened bloodstains.

On a thick stone pillar in the very center, a disheveled figure was tightly bound by several iron chains as thick as a child's arm.

The man hung his head limply, his once magnificent cloud-patterned military robe now tattered from the whip, dark red flesh and blood mingling with the scraps, many wounds festering and oozing pus. His wrists were chafed raw by the iron shackles, exposing the white bone beneath, his feet dangling in the air, his entire being radiating an aura of impending death.

Upon hearing footsteps, the seriously injured man trembled slightly, but did not raise his head. Instead, he let out a weak and hoarse sneer from his cracked and bleeding lips.

"Chen Huaiyi... you don't need to waste your time... even if I die... I will never put my fingerprint on your false confession..."

His voice was extremely weak, but his tone revealed the toughness and arrogance of a regular border army general.

Hou San stopped and stepped forward, carefully examining the face covered in blood and wounds by the dim firelight. Although his face was extremely haggard, the thick beard and the familiar scar on his right cheek clearly identified him.

It was none other than Zhao Wu, the Vanguard Commandant of Yunzhou, who had mysteriously disappeared while escorting prisoners from Black Wind Village!

Hou San drew a short knife from his waist, squatted down, and gently tapped the iron chain on Zhao Wu's ankle with the back of the knife, producing a crisp metallic clanging sound.

"Tsk tsk tsk, how did the dignified Grand Commandant of the Yunzhou Vanguard Camp end up like this? Being locked in a horse feed pit by his own dogs to eat rotten grass, how does that feel?"

Upon hearing that familiar yet somewhat cynical and playful voice, Zhao Wu shuddered.

With the last ounce of strength in his body, he slowly lifted his heavy, leaden head. When his bloodshot eyes peered through his disheveled hair and saw the grinning, monkey-faced man standing before him, Zhao Wu's pale face instantly turned a dark green.

"Hou...Hou San?!"

Zhao Wu's voice even cracked slightly from sheer disbelief. He never imagined that in this dark and hopeless place, the person standing before him would not be Chen Huaiyi's executioner, nor Tang Su's personal guard, but the very same Zhenbei Army scout he had once mocked and pinned against the walls of Black Stone Fortress, and with whom he had fought several times in the wasteland!

"How could it be you, you bastard?!" Zhao Wu's eyes widened, and he coughed violently, aggravating the serious injury in his chest, causing his entire face to contort in pain.

Hou San stood up, crossed his arms, and curled his lip in disdain: "Oh, Commandant Zhao, you've got quite the airs of an official. Last time we met outside Black Stone Fortress, weren't you riding a tall horse, calling me a 'desperate bandit from the border' and a 'traitor Xu Qingshan,' constantly shouting that you'd chop off my centurion's head and claim the reward from the General's mansion? How come you've fallen to this state, not even having the energy to curse anymore?"

Zhao Wu gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with humiliation and anger. He snorted coldly and turned his head away: "Falling into the hands of your Zhenbei Army, I admit defeat! Kill me or torture me, just do it quickly, no need for this sarcastic remarks!"

"Kill you? You wish!"

Hou San sneered, turned around and pretended to walk out of the tunnel, calling out loudly to Aman.

"Aman, let's retreat! Commander Zhao thinks our Zhenbei Army's temple is too small and doesn't want to move! Go and close the iron gate outside, and cover it with two layers of dry straw. We're going back to Duanhe Fort to report to the centurion!"

Ah Man stomped her foot heavily in perfect unison, then turned and stepped outside.

As the only fire in the cellar was about to be extinguished as everyone left, Zhao Wu, who had been resigned to his fate, finally broke down.

He was not afraid to die on the battlefield, but he could not tolerate being secretly tortured to death by Chen Huaiyi like a wild dog in this dark underground horse cellar, and then having to bear the huge black mark of treason and collusion with the enemy for the Chen family!

Zhao Wu roared at the top of his lungs, and because he exerted too much force, blood even trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Hou San stopped and turned around, looking at the prisoner on the stone pillar with a half-smile.

"Commander Zhao, what's wrong? Changed your mind?"

Zhao Wu was breathing heavily. The arrogance of a high-ranking officer in his eyes had finally shattered, replaced by overwhelming hatred and resentment. He looked at Hou San and said through gritted teeth:

"Put me down...take me to see Xu Qingshan!"

"The Chen family wants me dead, wants me to take the blame for them... I'll live on! I want to see with my own eyes how those two wolves, Chen Huaiyi and Chen Huaishan, are skinned alive!"