Chapter 10

The climate of Yubei Mountain is cool in the mornings and evenings, but the temperature is very high during the day, especially in summer, when the mountain becomes so hot and humid that even the locals find it hard to bear.

Zhang Yan had never experienced the summer of Yubei Mountain. It was still early spring, but he had already felt the chill of the mornings and evenings.

Counting the days, it was the eighth day of the second month, the twentieth day since Zhang Yan arrived in the Wasteland Domain. After several days of training, his group was about to embark on their first mission outside today.

The leader of Zhang Yan's group was Qin Hao, a martial artist at the middle stage of the Kaiyuan realm.

Including Zhang Yan, there were ten others. This number was a few more than the usual "group." Moreover, Zhang Yan found out that apart from him, Old Zhang, and Old Yu, the other seven were all martial artists, with strengths ranging from the initial to the middle stage of the Queti realm.

Old Zhang was a local from Yubei Mountain, having grown up here and practiced martial arts since childhood. He had served in the Yubei Mountain fortress for thirteen years and knew all the ins and outs of the area, serving as the group's guide.

Old Yu came from a hunting family and had been in Yubei Mountain for four years. Although he wasn't very good at combat, his skills in setting traps and tracking were top-notch.

This confirmed what Lin Zedong had said before: ordinary people couldn't come to the Explorers' Flag, and those who did were all capable.

"You're an exception, probably just here to make up the numbers," Old Yu had joked with a smile. Compared to others, Zhang Yan's "thrust" technique wasn't particularly impressive, and it wasn't even as useful as Old Yu's and Old Zhang's.

So be it, if he was just here to make up the numbers. Zhang Yan had never considered joining the Explorers' Flag as a great achievement. If he had a choice, he would rather return to the city wall. At least he had already figured out the intensity of the killing on the city wall and was confident he could survive. Unlike now, when he lived in constant fear.

Before, it was still manageable, as the training in the camp was just tiring. But today, before dawn, as they descended from the fortress along a long rope, his heart couldn't help but feel uneasy, and he walked with his ears perked up, being extra cautious.

In the past, the Yubei Mountain fortress had never actively ventured into the territory of the demon tribes, always relying on the city wall for defense, like a turtle year after year.

But this year was different.

During the training in the camp, Zhang Yan often heard Lin Zedong rally everyone, which he saw as a form of belief-building in another world. Despite Lin Zedong's rugged appearance and burly build, he was an excellent orator, skilled at inspiring people. Even veterans like Old Zhang and Old Yu, who were usually cynical, had become enthusiastic and eager to take on missions and achieve glory in just a few days.

Zhang Yan saw this but had no faith in Lin Zedong's so-called belief. Although he clapped and cheered along, he didn't take it to heart.

Why bother with all this? Let's talk about belief after I'm no longer a criminal soldier, okay?

Although he didn't agree with Lin Zedong's encouragement, Zhang Yan did learn a lot from his words. For example, the reason why the Yubei Mountain fortress had never launched an offensive before but now wanted to "anticipate the enemy" was because of a new commander.

The newly appointed fortress general, Song Qinghe, was clearly dissatisfied with the status quo and hoped to make some tangible improvements. He wanted to try a strategy that had never been used in Yubei Mountain before.

The idea was to gain advance knowledge of the offensive plans and strength of the Xianwu and Fengxiao tribes, so they could prepare in advance and avoid heavy losses. This would also give the soldiers in the fortress a chance to rest, rather than being constantly on edge.

Zhang Yan agreed with this strategy. Even if it was just for the early warning, it would reduce casualties, which would benefit the frontline soldiers.

However, as a scout, Zhang Yan didn't want to venture outside the city walls.

"Crack... crack..."

No matter how careful he was, his shoes still made some slight sounds on the ground, which were hard to hide in the silent night.

The first half-mile was open ground, with only a few inches of grass and rocks, allowing clear observation from the city wall without any trees blocking the view.

After half a mile, the terrain became hilly, and it was impossible to clear the trees, so the path would enter the forest, requiring even more caution.

This mission was simple, as Qin Hao put it: they were to move about ten miles west, familiarize themselves with the terrain, and train the troops.

Of course, if they encountered a demon attack, their first priority was to inform the fortress, then hide to avoid being discovered, and finally, if they were sure of their safety, look for an opportunity to kill the enemy.

Although Zhang Yan was on high alert, nothing dangerous happened along the way. They smoothly reached their designated position, a relatively high point with a clear view over a mountain valley, allowing them to spot the enemy from a distance. It was an excellent lookout point.

Upon reaching the designated position, the mission was not yet complete. They needed to build a simple beacon platform. It didn't have to be large, just two feet square, covered with stones to protect it from rain, and equipped with materials to produce smoke, which could be quickly ignited in case of an emergency.

"Unfortunately, this place is much lower than the fortress and is blocked by dense trees. The smoke can be seen during the day for warning, but it's useless at night. We need to find a higher point to use light for night alerts," Qin Hao, an experienced soldier, said. Although he had only recently arrived in Yubei Mountain with Song Qinghe, he was well-versed in military tactics. He found this location regrettable, thinking it could only serve as a daytime lookout and not as an all-weather optimal point, which was similar to his earlier assessment of the terrain.

"Yes, the leader is right. This place is good, but it can only serve as a warning during the day. At night, the position is not ideal," someone agreed. There were no objections to this view.

Only Zhang Yan looked down at the mountain valley, then back at the dense forest behind him, and finally up at the sky, which was visible through a gap in the rocks where no large trees had grown.

This... such a geographically advantageous place is being called "regrettable" and "not good enough"? Zhang Yan felt his brain was not functioning properly.

Using smoke during the day to quickly alert the fortress to a demon attack was fine. But it could also be effective at night, just not with smoke. What if they used fireworks or sky lanterns... Ah, Zhang Yan realized.

This wasn't Earth, and the inventions of fireworks and sky lanterns from Earth's Xia Kingdom were unknown here.

In that case...