They were waiting for a glimmer of hope. And just when the deputy officers could no longer bear to wait, a troop arrived.
“The enemy is here.”
Everyone readied themselves for battle. However, as the enemy drew closer, they noticed something amiss. They recognized the faces – they were their own people, disguised in the enemy’s coat.
“Members from the second, fourth, and sixth teams.”
They watched this troop emerge from the north. Some recognized them as their own people, wearing the uniforms of South Land soldiers.
“Commander, the mission is accomplished,” reported three team leaders as they approached Black Wolf.
“What is this?” The deputy officers were bewildered. What was happening?
Previously, they had been divided into eight small teams to harass the enemy. Upon returning, they found that members of the second, fourth, and sixth teams were missing. They had assumed these teams had encountered a formidable enemy and had been sacrificed. This was the source of their frustration, which had been forcefully suppressed by Black Wolf.
Now, they discovered that these three teams hadn’t been sacrificed. Instead, they had returned wearing the enemy’s uniforms.
“The orders they followed were different from yours. I instructed them to go northwest, to a forest with a unique terrain. If the enemy shrank their encirclement, that place could be used to ambush a small enemy force. However, the terrain is too small, unsuitable for large-scale cavalry warfare,” Black Wolf explained. Then, he asked, “But, is the other mission completed?”
“Yes, bring him here.”
One of the team leaders waved his hand, and a South Land man, bound tightly, was brought forward. His mouth was gagged with a pair of socks, making speech impossible.
“Remove it.”
Aaron Linton behind Black Wolf, despite his weak state, ordered.
Once the gag was removed, the South Land man immediately began to curse, “Despicable Kisia people, what are you using me for? Let me go; South Land will flatten Kisia one day.”
His incessant chattering ignited the fury of the surrounding Kisia officers, who were eager to strike him. However, their attention ultimately fell on Aaron Linton, the current decision-maker.
“Take him away and beat him,” Aaron Linton commanded weakly, adding, “Don’t kill him.”
“Sure, we’re experienced in this.” The officers chuckled.
Then, they approached the South Land soldier. Soon, the sound of painful wails filled the air. Shortly after, the South Land soldier, bloodied and bruised, was dragged back. He was barely alive, having taken a severe beating from the Kisia officers, who were incredibly ruthless.
After all, the hands of these South Land soldiers were stained with the blood of Kisia people. There was no need for gentleness.
“Sir, have mercy.” The South Land soldier, his eyes filled with fear, begged for mercy. He was no longer the brave man he had been.
After all, he was just a foot soldier, and such torture was unbearable for anyone. He had endured till the end before begging for mercy, which was commendable, but the Ghost Wolf Cavalry didn’t care about that.
“Are you a flag-bearer?” Aaron Linton finally asked.
“Yes,” the South Land soldier answered with a bitter smile.
“Good, tell our people your signal flags,” Aaron Linton ordered.
On this battlefield, communication devices were useless. Armies used flag-bearers, who would wave flags of different colors to relay messages.
This was an ancient method, but the most applicable, and had been passed down to the present. Each army’s flag signals were unique, designed to prevent the enemy from decoding them.
“Sir, if I tell you, can you let me live?” the South Land soldier pleaded.
“We can.” Aaron Linton responded.
“Alright, I’ll tell you.” The South Land soldier had given up on everything else; he just wanted to survive. It wasn’t that he lacked backbone, but the pain was simply unbearable.
In a short while, the flag bearers of both sides began to exchange information. After the exchange was complete, the cavalry flag bearer came to Aaron Linton and reported, “We have basically learned it. We can use it.”
“Good. The fifth and seventh teams, along with the previous three teams, change into these South Land uniforms. We will find an opportunity for you to rejoin the South Land army,” Aaron Linton ordered.
Eight teams changed into the uniforms of the South Land soldiers, leaving three teams as the main force. As for the uniforms, they had enough. They had ambushed an enemy squad of almost twenty thousand.
After all, they too had suffered heavy losses.
This formation, if not for the terrain that facilitated escape, would have left no chance for these three teams to survive. This formation was indeed hailed in the military as the most complex but also the most powerful. It was not something anyone could set up.
“Yes.” At this moment, the various deputy officers had no complaints but obeyed orders.
At this moment, they understood that there was not only a real ambush but also real hope that this man could lead them to break out. After all, under such circumstances, he had managed to ambush an enemy squad. And he had calculated this in advance, predicting that the enemy squad would pass that place.
This was something they could not do.
Suddenly, the other two teams, a total of five teams, put on the enemy’s uniforms. They brought the South Land flag bearer with them, who bitterly laughed, “Sir, didn’t you say you would let me go?”
“What we said was that we would let you live. The battlefield is chaotic, and you are injured. We will ensure your safety if you come with us.”
This was not Aaron Linton who spoke, but Black Wolf.
Aaron Linton, now at death’s door, had stopped speaking to conserve energy. However, he still managed to utter, “The remaining three teams will have to fight desperately.”
“Although we have underestimated you, you have also underestimated us. We are the Ghost Wolf Cavalry, born for battle, and we won’t stop until death.” One of the deputy officers who previously wanted to kill Aaron Linton said.
He was the captain of one of the remaining three teams.
However, he knew that Aaron Linton was not taking revenge on him, but rather making judgments based on each team’s strength.
So, he stood out, apologized to Aaron Linton, and expressed his stance.
“The War God said that we are cavalry. Even if we die, we must die on the road to charge.”
“If I can kill a few more of these scum who invade Kisia before I die, I will be satisfied.”
“I must die on the road to charge.”
Many from the Ghost Wolf Cavalry expressed their resolve, full of murderous intent.
“Is that so?” Aaron Linton, pale and still keeping his eyes closed, smiled, “War God, it’s good to have you as brothers.”