You are still the one with the brilliant mind.

It was entirely within the realm of normalcy that nobody looked up, as they never believed there could be any threat descending from the sky aside from arrows, let alone considering that Ning Ye and his men were merely a small cavalry detachment.

However, when the barbarians arrived at the previous location, they discovered nothing left behind except for empty barracks.

The barbarian minor chieftain found this extremely strange. Could these people genuinely have escaped right under his very nose?

At this moment, Ning Ye and his companions had already begun flying over the mountain ridge in their hot air balloons. Although the altitude of the balloons was indeed not very high, crossing over the peak posed no problem at all.

Some of the bolder soldiers had already begun peering outward, knowing that such a magnificent scenery was something they would likely only witness once in a lifetime.

No one was willing to miss out on such a novel experience, and even Hu Laosan, who suffered from a fear of heights, occasionally glanced outward to gaze at the tiny world beneath his feet.

Ning Ye used his telescope to confirm their direction. As long as they continued forward for about another half-an-hour, they would completely exit the frontier region and enter their pre-determined landing site.

If the endurance of the hot air balloons could be even slightly better, he would have preferred to travel further. After all, the barbarians only had a single imperial highway available to them; the further they were from the border, the safer Ning Ye's group would be. Since the enemy had already committed their entire force, the threat from the front was far greater than any coming from behind.

"Old Wang, once we land shortly, everyone must immediately seek out concealment. The moment those grain wagons appear, that is when we strike."

Wang Wu was also holding a telescope. "My lord, both sides of the highway down there are practically devoid of any cover. Isn't it going to be rather difficult for us to ambush them?"

"After we land, you are to dig pits on both sides for yourselves, bury your entire bodies inside, and then cover yourselves with green grass. That way, you will be completely hidden."

"My lord, you truly have a brilliant mind to come up with a method like this."

Ning Ye smiled and said, "I've taught you before that you must consider your own situation and the surrounding environment to figure out how best to conceal yourself. It seems you still haven't learned it well enough."

Wang Wu scratched his head and said, "My lord, the things you teach are simply too numerous. For thick-headed fellows like us, who knows how long it will take to fully master them? You'll just have to bear with us for now."

"Very well, Old Wang is talking back now, is he? I don't wish to quibble with you over these details at the moment, but mastering these skills is for your own benefit, so you must still take them to heart."

Wang Wu silently committed it to memory. He also understood that everything he was currently exposed to seemed completely different from the past.

Never before had any commander cared whether the soldiers under his command could read or do arithmetic.

As long as they could recognize flags and charge forward blindly upon receiving orders, they were considered good soldiers. Ning Ye's requirements, however, were evidently far more demanding and unorthodox.

Wang Wu had no idea what kind of army could be forged through such a training method, but as of right now, he knew that the brothers under his command far surpassed ordinary elite troops.

Throughout the flight, Ning Ye was uncertain whether anyone had discovered their presence, but even if someone had, the enemy would never have imagined that people could travel through the sky above.

When they finally touched down, Ning Ye immediately led everyone to set up an ambush along both sides of the road. The days ahead promised to be rather arduous; unless the enemy's supply convoy was spotted, they would have to remain motionless inside those tiny earthen pits at all other times.

Ever since the frontier pass was breached, Zamut had led his massive army pressing forward at high speed without encountering any obstruction along the way.

Yet halfway through their march, vast mountain forests appeared on both sides of the imperial highway. These mountains were towering and densely wooded, making it utterly impossible to spot a single person hiding within them.

It was precisely in this stretch of terrain that Zamut suffered an assault. Countless arrows and stones flying from hidden vantage points inflicted heavy casualties in an instant.

Li Ruochen had even led a force of over a thousand men to launch a direct charge against Zamut's army. Though extremely swift and leaving the enemy no time to react, the attack still cost them over a hundred lives while simultaneously thoroughly enraging Zamut.

This was because such ambushes were not a one-time occurrence, but rather came wave after wave. It took a considerable amount of time for an entire army to pass through this region completely, and Li Ruochen's assaults never ceased.

Having lost the city walls, Li Ruochen indeed lacked the strength to fight a head-on battle, but when it came to guerrilla warfare and ambushes, she had mastered the craft to perfection.

Every surprise attack was kept strictly brief. As soon as engagement began, Li Ruochen would either feign a strike and retreat immediately, or withdraw only after securing a specific victory.

Such tactics were utterly unpredictable, leaving Zamut with no time to actually trap Li Ruochen. After all, pursuing someone through these wilderness terrain was no easy feat.

This expansive mountain forest served as Li Ruochen's ultimate sanctuary. Once pursued into the forest, any chasing forces would inevitably face hidden arrow volleys and ambushes coming from all directions.

In a mere two days, Zamut had already lost over a thousand men, and the speed of their march was being indefinitely delayed. After all, he could hardly just barrel through blindly with his men—what would happen to the remaining supplies and provisions?

The soldiers under his command would likely riot if starved for a single day, and might outright rebel if left hungry for two. Furthermore, the grain and provisions were already scarce; if Li Ruochen were to destroy them, they would be reduced to eating dirt.

While Zamut was consumed by impotent rage, Li Ruochen, hidden deep within the mountain forest, was leaning against a large tree and bandaging her own wounds.

She had barely rested while at the frontier pass, and now, having gone two full days and nights without closing her eyes, her injuries had long since become harrowing to look at, her eyes completely bloodshot.

The tightly bound strips of cloth seemed less intended to stop the bleeding than to force her body to keep functioning.

Upon finishing the bandages, Li Ruochen sat weakly beneath the tree. The remaining soldiers around her numbered merely six or seven hundred. Every single one of them had their heads turned toward the opposite direction, and not a single person looked back to steal a glance.

The dried, caked blood had matted Li Ruochen's flowing long hair together, making her entire person resemble a bowstring on the verge of snapping.

The longsword that had accompanied her for many years was now battered and tattered, its blade long since curled and deformed, leaving it uncertain how many more heads it could possibly sever.