Chapter 1416: Chapter 1417: Lax Guard

Tobanya wasn’t very assured, so she said, “General, let Wuyu go back. I’ll accompany you to scout the enemy.”

“When I was mapping the terrain, I noticed that there seems to be a river between Jingye City and the mountain. Wuyu’s swimming skills are better than yours.” Although Tobanya’s combat skills were superior to Li Wuyu’s, in terms of swimming, Li Wuyu was indeed better.

Among the ten female soldiers, Li Wuyu was the best swimmer.

Hearing An Jing say this, Tobanya also felt that Li Wuyu was more suitable to accompany her, so she let it go and said no more.

Then, An Jing took Li Wuyu toward the other side of the mountain, while Tobanya and the others continued descending toward Xilin City.

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.

An Jing decided to infiltrate the enemy’s rear to gather intelligence because she wanted to understand the enemy’s situation better, ensuring Xiyun’s invincibility.

Moreover, she had observed the terrain through a spyglass while standing on a tree; there might be slight discrepancies between what she saw and the actual terrain. Going in person to verify it was prudent.

An Jing and Li Wuyu hacked their way through the dense forest and arrived at the area where Jingye City bordered the mountain.

The two of them quietly hid in an overgrown and dense thicket. Wearing camouflage suits designed to blend with the forest, they were almost indistinguishable from the foliage, making it nearly impossible for those from Jingye City to spot them.

Just as An Jing had observed, there was indeed a river between Jingye City and the mountain. The river appeared to be man-made, approximately five meters wide and quite long, encircling only the base of the mountain adjacent to Jingye City.

Across the river, there were numerous campfires.

It was clear that the river had been dug to prevent wild beasts from descending the mountain and attacking the people of Jingye City.

The river had been constructed with meticulous care. From Xilin City’s vantage point, the river between Jingye City and the mountain was completely hidden from view.

The mountain was vast and teemed with ferocious beasts, making it a place no one dared to enter. As a result, the people of Jingye City never considered the possibility of someone crossing the mountain to reach their city. This led to a lax defense on the mountain-facing side of the city, with only a handful of guards stationed there.

The purpose of those few guards was simply to report any dangerous wild beasts that might venture down the mountain and attempt to cross the river.

Since it was still broad daylight, An Jing and Li Wuyu couldn’t risk swimming across the river and exposing themselves. Instead, they continued to wait in the thicket, planning to cross the river under cover of darkness to scout for enemy intelligence.

As nightfall approached, An Jing and Li Wuyu consumed a bit of their rations. Since they didn’t know when they could return to Xilin City, Tobanya and the others had given them all their rations.

Their current rations, if consumed sparingly, would last them five or six days.

Fearing detection by the soldiers on the other side, An Jing and Li Wuyu didn’t dare speak. The two communicated by writing words on each other’s hands.

Once the night darkened to the point where visibility was nearly impossible, An Jing and Li Wuyu removed their camouflage suits and entered the river, intending to slowly swim to an unguarded segment of the opposite bank.

In February, the river water was still bone-chillingly cold.

Yet An Jing and Li Wuyu endured the discomfort. With a look of resolve on their faces, they continued swimming forward as if prepared to face whatever came.

Their swimming strokes were pronounced, but the noise they produced was minimal; it was almost impossible to hear any sound coming from the river.

As a result, they didn’t disturb the Jingye City soldiers stationed by the riverbank.

Those soldiers weren’t the same ones from earlier in the day. Even though there had been a shift rotation, the guards at night were just as lax as their daytime counterparts when it came to monitoring the river.