The army set off with Ji You and soon disappeared from sight; Cheng Haoyue felt helpless.

"Deputy... Commander... Do we need to strengthen our defenses now?" The students behind Cheng Haoyue were equally bewildered.

The commander just... left like that?

No kidding?

"Let me calm down." Cheng Haoyue leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath.

Then.

Cheng Haoyue tried to put on a serious face, saying, "Don’t call me deputy commander... I can’t handle it; just call me Squad Leader Cheng."

The students looked at him with innocent faces.

Cheng Haoyue rubbed his temples, saying, "It shouldn’t be that simple. Ji You wouldn’t just leave us behind and walk away."

Someone like her...

Although Cheng Haoyue hadn’t known her for long, she was definitely someone who wouldn’t leave the main position behind. How could she just walk away from such a large territory?

Besides, the array flag has yet to be planted here.

At that moment, someone suddenly reported, "The enemy’s breakout squad has penetrated our position. Please advise."

Cheng Haoyue opened his mouth: "Really... really here?"

"Please advise!"

Cheng Haoyue grabbed his hair, "You guys retreat first, let them come in."

"Yes."

Cheng Haoyue opened his mouth, "...??? really just execute without question?"

That order, that command, wasn’t randomly made by Cheng Haoyue; it was based on the general strategy given by Ji You before she left.

How did Ji You say it at the time?

If the enemies come, let them come freely; don’t stop them.

Besides this, what else?

Don’t face them head-on; if you can hide, then hide. Always keep survival in mind!

Thinking of this, Cheng Haoyue’s mouth twisted slightly.

"Squad Leader."

"Squad Leader?"

"Squad Leader!" A teammate called three times, finally shouting loudly.

"Hey!" Cheng Haoyue finally came to his senses, "What’s the point of shouting so loudly? I’m not deaf."

The teammate said, "The enemies have already leapt over Stone Peak and are swiftly approaching our location. At their speed, they will arrive at the latest in an hour, we..."

The boy speaking had a hint of urgency and anxiety on his face. He felt he couldn’t help but worry—the commander ditched, the deputy commander was clueless, often dazing off... 5th Camp, 5th Camp was doomed.

Cheng Haoyue, upon hearing this, suddenly asked, "What’s the quickest time they can reach?"

The boy said, "If unimpeded, they can arrive at the Commander Camp in about 30 minutes."

Answering with a worried expression, the boy also glanced anxiously at the bright red flag above the watchtower.

—The array flag here is incredibly conspicuous.

"Oh?"

[What? 30 minutes!]

[That fast!!!]

[What to do? What should I do? It’s bad, Ji You didn’t teach me beforehand.]

Internally screaming "damn," Cheng Haoyue kept a calm facade, saying, "Why rush? There’s still 30 minutes, right? That’s enough."

Huh?

The boy and several other students were briefly delighted, the boy hurriedly asked, "Have we already set up contingencies?"

"Enough for us to run away." Cheng Haoyue said seriously.

The boy and others: "..."

"Ahem..." Cheng Haoyue cleared his throat, "Just joking, don’t mind it. 30 minutes is enough to wait for reinforcements."

It was a joke that wasn’t funny, the boys muttered inwardly, but hearing the word ’reinforcement’ made their eyes light up, "We’ll get reinforcements?"

Cheng Haoyue said, "Commander Ji You, when she comes back after fighting, isn’t she our reinforcement?"

The boy and others: "..."

Seeing the expressionless faces inside the room, devoid of any hint of laughter, Cheng Haoyue finally understood the fun of Ji You’s unrestrained speech.

It’s really satisfying.

Ahem...

Although Cheng Haoyue talked nonsense, his spirit was tense, he said, "Let’s let our camp people see from afar, not meet the enemy head-on."

"If you can’t win, then retreat quickly and make way."

"Remember, stay far away, if you lack confidence or assurance, completely avoid the enemy, don’t face them."

Cheng Haoyue was anxious, but thinking of his current ability and the limited manpower stationed at the camp, he simply couldn’t win against Charles leading the army. Since there’s no chance of winning, Cheng Haoyue decided not to rack his brains, opting to follow Ji You’s arrangement.

Isn’t it just hiding?

Isn’t it just surviving?

Isn’t it just making way for the opponent?

Such simple matters.

So—

While Charles’s people thought they had stealthily infiltrated the enemy camp, their forces had unknowingly already sneaked inside, en route, apart from the harsh geography and cold climate, facing no significant enemy resistance.

Something’s not right.

But!

The desire for victory made Charles subconsciously dismiss the anomaly, unwilling to ponder this issue deeply.

While the army stealthily advanced, inch by inch delving into the enemy camp’s core, Charles grew increasingly pleased!

Success was imminent.

Just need to reach the Commander Camp, take down the flag from the watchtower, then everything will end.

With this thought, Charles waved his hand, "Advance just 5000 meters!"

With those words—

Boom—

Charles jumped, looking back, discovering several students had fallen into traps on the ground behind him.

"Ah!"

"Not good!"

"There are lethal weapons in the traps!"

"Cough... help—" life.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Arrows shooting towards struggling people in the traps!

Charles’s eyes were filled with rage, he drew his sword, blocking arrows aimed behind him, also helping several nearby guards, shouting, "Aren’t you running yet?"

"Charge forward!"

The traps were heavily damaging, but fortunately, there were only several traps, thus only three or four students injured, and three students died, eliminated.

After this incident, everyone wore grim expressions, yet became more vigilant.

Despite possibly hiding many traps ahead, Charles didn’t retreat, instead ordering the team to accelerate towards the target.

...

Hearing reports from subordinates, Cheng Haoyue’s expression turned complex, realizing that Charles’s route was preemptively laden with traps.

No wonder Ji You dared to leave the Commander Camp without so much as instructions.