The cruel truth was like a basin of cold water, poured directly onto Ly Tin's burning heart. Uncle Sword, Trinh Cong, and Lam Vy were not walking a safer path. They were using their own lives as bait, taking on all the danger, solely to exchange for a chance of survival for those who followed.
"Dammit!" Ly Tin let out a muffled roar, the indignation and powerlessness causing the eyes of this lifelong iron-blooded general to turn red. "They... they are walking right into their own deaths!"
He brandished his sword, intending to charge straight in. "I must go in and save them!"
"Wait, General Ly!" Tran Kien reached out, firmly gripping his arm. The strength in the young man's arm was as steady and solid as a boulder, making it impossible for the agitated Ly Tin to break free.
"Going in there now is not saving them, but dying alongside them!" Tran Kien said, his voice incredibly calm. Yet, it was precisely this calmness that carried a weight that forced Ly Tin to sober up. "Look, General. The fog ahead is no natural mist. It is mixed with the poisonous miasma of the Myriad Snake Cavern. The enemy has seized the advantages of timing and terrain. If we charge in just like that, it would be no different from moths darting into a flame."
Ly Tin panted heavily, trying to suppress his agitation. He looked into Tran Kien's eyes. In those eyes, there was no fear, no panic; there was only a terrifying coldness and calculation. He knew that this youth, despite his young age, possessed a mind steadier than any general he had ever met.
"Then... then what must we do?" Ly Tin asked, his voice somewhat hoarse.
"Knowing it is a trap and still charging in headfirst isn't bravery; it's stupidity," Tran Kien repeated his earlier words. "But since we know it is a trap, what if we could turn the enemy's trap into an even greater trap for themselves?"
He no longer looked at Ly Tin but turned to observe the entire terrain surrounding the clearing. The dense forest, the lush trees, the ground covered in rotting leaves and tangled vines. The thick fog obscuring their vision.
"This place," Tran Kien said, a strategist's light gleaming in his eyes, "is a perfect battlefield."
He drew his matte black saber and began carving a complex diagram into the earth. "General Ly, you are a renowned general. You must have read about the Ambush of Chi Lang from years past, correct?"
"The famous ambush site of the Lam Son righteous army?" Ly Tin asked in surprise.
"Correct," Tran Kien nodded. "The enemy believes we have fallen into their trap, so their mindset will definitely be somewhat complacent. We will exploit that very complacency. We will not venture deep; instead, we will lay down a formation right here at the forest's edge. We will turn this place into a second Chi Lang Pass!"
He began to explain his plan, every single detail meticulously calculated.
"First, we need a diversion. I will use the Ten Thousand Li Flying Crane Formation to create illusions, throwing the outer guards of the Myriad Snake Cavern into chaos, making it impossible for them to determine our numbers and direction."
"Second, we need traps." He pointed at the thorny bushes and mud pits hidden beneath the layer of rotting leaves. "We will dig more spike pits and string up simple tripwires. They don't need to kill the enemy, just slow their advance and break their formation."
"Third, and most importantly," he looked at Ly Tin, "we need a 'bait' potent enough to lure the true venomous snakes out of their hole. And that bait is you, General."
"Me?"
"Yes," Tran Kien said, his gaze incredibly serious. "General, use your identity as someone from Duke Dingguo's Estate. With just you and your sword, openly issue a challenge at the main entrance of the Myriad Snake Cavern. Given the arrogance of the Black Dragon Stronghold, seeing an enemy general come to deliver his life on a silver platter, they will definitely mobilize their full force to surround and kill you. They will think you are the entirety of our forces."
"While all their attention is focused entirely on you," he continued, his voice turning cold, "I will be the dagger hidden in the shadows, silently slipping in to find and save the others."
This was an incredibly audacious and dangerous plan. It placed Ly Tin in the most perilous position as bait. But Ly Tin, after hearing it, didn't show the slightest hesitation. He merely let out a hearty laugh, a laugh filled with the heroic spirit of a grand general.
"Excellent! What an excellent stratagem! Using oneself as bait to lure the enemy into a formation. This is the true demeanor of our Duke Dingguo's army! Good! We will do as you say!"
The two didn't waste another second. They immediately set to work.
Ly Tin, with the power of a late Qi Condensation Realm cultivator, easily dug deep pits and chopped down sharp thorny bamboos. Tran Kien used his finesse to string up tripwires and camouflage them flawlessly.
After nearly two shichen, the entire forest edge had been transformed into an ambush site riddled with deadly traps, silently hidden beneath the thick fog.
Everything was ready.
"Young Hero Tran," Ly Tin donned his silver battle armor again, holding his longsword, his entire body radiating a heaven-soaring battle intent. "I leave everything here to you. I shall take the first step!"
Saying so, without a moment's hesitation, his figure shot into the mist like a silver arrow, heading straight for the lair of the Myriad Snake Cavern.
Tran Kien stood there, watching the general's retreating back. He knew that the grandest, most dangerous act yet had officially begun.
He took a deep breath, the Primordial Chaos Qi circulating within his body. He did not follow Ly Tin. He stepped back, melding into the darkest corner of the forest, his figure and aura completely vanishing, as if he had never existed.
The most dangerous dagger had been set in place. Now, all he had to do was wait for the prey to fall into the net.