Chapter 1 Zhang Wei's Observation

Zhang Wei didn't share Barrett's worries. At this moment, he was observing the hundred-plus Feihu (Flying Tiger) Battalion warriors from a distant hilltop, feeling slightly puzzled. The banner they flew identified them as Zhu Lve, the Southern Pacification Envoy of the Western Route Army. But Zhang Wei knew very well that Zhu Lve was currently on the front lines of Zhongjun Town, responsible for building defenses against the immense pressure from Dongping. He hadn't gone to Yanjing to report for duty. Moreover, the Western Route Army had no reason to report to Yanjing now; they only answered to Gao Senqi. Zhu Lve was certainly qualified to use a hundred Feihu Battalion soldiers as guards, but few others had that privilege.

As Zhang Wei continued his observation, another warrior with exceptionally sharp eyes quietly crawled to his side and said, "Boss, something's not right. Look at the fourth guy in the left row; that's Han Peng, the best fighter in the Fourth Battalion of the Feihu Battalion."

"Are you sure?" Zhang Wei didn't speak, but his eyes conveyed the question. The warrior nodded and said, "One of my old neighbors died at his hands. Boss, do you think I could mistake the guys the intelligence bureau sent out to investigate?"

Zhang Wei spat and said, "Damn it, then this group must be Gao Senqi's people. No wonder they're in such a hurry; they're probably rushing back to their lair. Barrett's hiding in the wrong place, and there's no time to notify everyone individually. Ah, tell the guys to get ready; we'll go up and support them too. Those guys are tough; Barrett's team alone might have a hard time."

Someone in Barrett's team had also vaguely guessed the situation and felt a surge of excitement. The Special Operations Battalion wouldn't cancel the operation just because they didn't receive Barrett's signal, especially since it was already too late. When the enemy's cavalry regiment hurriedly entered the center of the ambush, the soldiers launched a full-scale attack without hesitation.

The Special Operations Battalion didn't carry heavy equipment, but the fire oil bombs buried on both sides of the road were ignited by simple fuses. Although they exploded in place due to the lack of spray pressure, and their destructive power seemed insufficient compared to the larger area that could be covered by projectiles, the warriors of the Special Operations Battalion valued the moment of distraction and loss of focus that the explosions caused in the enemy. Besides, they were facing a cavalry regiment. Even if every warrior was a seasoned and loyal elite, their horses couldn't handle the flames as well as they could.

In the instant the fire oil bombs exploded, the four teams of Northern Liao cavalry occupying the high ground were the first to be attacked. Barrett jumped out of the cave as soon as he heard the explosions. He threw two short spears in quick succession, knocking two cavalrymen to the ground. This was his specialty, and the spear tips were coated with a special poison, the dosage of which was absolutely sufficient. It could bring down a cow after a few struggles, and its effects on humans were even more potent. Two spears felled two men, and Barrett immediately drew his scimitar and slashed at the third. The cavalryman didn't react in time, but his horse did. The horse reared up on its hind legs, and its flailing front hooves forced Barrett to dodge to the side. He rolled on the ground, inwardly cursing his misfortune. He had lost the initiative. Although he was skilled in combat, facing two cavalrymen would be difficult. Just then, an arrow whistled from the side, piercing the neck of one of the cavalrymen, who instantly collapsed. Another warrior under Barrett's command circled around from the other side, throwing a lasso and pulling the last enemy to the ground. Barrett immediately rushed over and finished him off.

"Captain!" the two reinforcements called out cheerfully.

Barrett breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the battle below, and said, "Let's go; we owe this to you guys. We need to go help those below."

With two men guarding his flanks, Barrett could fully unleash his underhanded tactics. He pulled a fist-sized object from his pack and threw it far towards the heavily guarded center of the enemy formation. At the same time, he shouted loudly, "Watch out, I'm making my move!"

Hearing this, his comrades wore strange expressions. The warriors fighting in the front quickly forced back their opponents and put on their masks. It turned out that the object Barrett had thrown was the now-famous "stink bomb" of Yunzhou. The sour, pungent odor was unbearable. The warriors of the Special Operations Battalion naturally knew how destructive this thing was. Even though they had smelled this odor more than once during training and testing, and had become somewhat accustomed to it, they still found it uncomfortable. Basically, within the stink bomb's area of effect, it was impossible to concentrate…

The stink bomb wasn't heavy, and it floated gently down. Mistaking it for a fire oil bomb or something similar, a Feihu Battalion warrior, fearing that it would splash and affect the battle, actually jumped up and tried to deflect it with his shield. But the stink bomb was different from a fire oil bomb. As soon as it touched the shield, it exploded with a bang, and yellowish-green powder immediately spread out.

"Prepare to retreat!" Taking advantage of the stink bomb's power and the enemy's momentary confusion, after continuously hacking down several opponents, Zhang Wei gave this order. Although the enemy was in a disadvantageous position, it seemed impossible to eliminate Gao Senqi today. The guys guarding Gao Senqi were really too tough. Although the warriors of the Special Operations Battalion were skilled, one of them had actually blocked four, while two others were supporting Gao Senqi, easily scaling the ridge, preparing to break out from a direction that the Special Operations Battalion couldn't cover.

"Boss, this…" The warrior was still somewhat unwilling, but since Zhang Wei had given the order, he could only shrug helplessly. Who could be willing? A guy nicknamed Big Bear tore off his shirt, collected small fire oil bombs from several comrades around him, wrapped them up, and muttered, "I'll let you run, I'll let you run," and swung the bundle, throwing it towards the direction where Gao Senqi and his expert guards were escaping. But he suddenly realized that he hadn't pulled the fuse, and he was stunned for a moment.

An arrow slowly rose into the sky, catching up with the flying bundle, instantly turning the entire bundle into a huge fireball, without changing the original exceptionally accurate trajectory of the throw. This skill with archery and the precise control of strength was truly amazing.

Several small fire oil bombs ignited in mid-air, forming a large cluster of flames, blanketing the escaping men, making it impossible to avoid. Although one of Gao Senqi's guards desperately jumped high and knocked away the fire cluster with his body, he still couldn't prevent the fire cluster from engulfing the others, and they were still on a high rock wall, forced to endure the burning flames as they quickly climbed over the wall. Through his telescope, Zhang Wei saw that Gao Senqi had suffered burns over a large area on his body and back. On top of the rock wall, the guards were still putting out the embers for him. Of the four elite guards, the one who had desperately knocked away the fire cluster fell off the cliff and died on the spot, while the other three were also injured to varying degrees.

"Boss, Captain, they won't get far, let's chase after them quickly," a warrior reminded him.

"It's difficult, we don't have climbing equipment, we don't have the skill to climb over this rock wall. It would take at least fifteen minutes to go around from both sides. Fifteen minutes… they can run at least five *li* in that time. I remember there are quite a few barracks nearby," Zhang Wei said with regret. "That's enough, we've attacked and severely wounded Gao Senqi. That should reduce Marshal Ye's troubles by a few months."

Although Barrett felt regret, he could only accept this outcome. He sighed and said, "Then let's go quickly. This is already the territory of the Western Route Army. Gao Senqi is injured, those subordinates will definitely come back to visit him. Maybe we can get a few more kills."

Barrett's suggestion made Zhang Wei's eyes light up, and he repeatedly agreed, "Good idea, but let's not disperse, let's concentrate and block them, one at a time. They will definitely be careful and wary of these kinds of attacks, don't let us get caught in it ourselves."

The Special Operations Battalion's attack was quickly reported. Since they were not far from Yanjing, the news naturally reached the hands of those in Yanjing, and when Kong Xinhua heard the news, an unusual gleam flashed in his eyes. What was Gao Senqi's status and position now? Everyone in the world knew, and there were many who wanted to get rid of him quickly. Dongping certainly disliked him, but that was mostly because his methods in the battle of Wangchuan were somewhat unsavory. As for his other intentions and personality, there were still many who admired him. But in Northern Liao, there were many who wished he would die immediately. The Special Operations Battalion did encounter Gao Senqi by chance and launched an attack, but this attack, this coincidence, could be explained in other ways. Kong Xinhua and others discussed it and quickly released news that Gao Senqi had encountered the ambush so coincidentally because someone had deliberately leaked his whereabouts. At the same time, there were various similar news, such as His Majesty the Emperor intending to strip Gao Senqi of his military power and negotiate peace with Dongping, or that some people in the court were dissatisfied with the Gao family and were preparing to take advantage of this opportunity to replace Gao Senqi under the pretext that he was unable to manage affairs, etc. The true and false information made the atmosphere in Yanjing become confusing in an instant.

After the attack, Gao Senqi's party still rushed to the nearest Western Route Army barracks. The Feihu Battalion quickly pulled out a force of more than three thousand men, and arrived at Gao Senqi's side in less than three days, taking over all of Gao Senqi's security affairs. The Western Route Army also launched a comprehensive search in the area under its jurisdiction, wanting to drive out the Special Operations Battalion. At first, there was no problem, but then things became wrong. The Northern Liao Emperor actually had the Ministry of Works combine forces to release one of the two precious airships that were being tested and reverse-engineered to assist in the search. The Special Operations Battalion felt that something was not right, so they traveled by day and rested by night, and after several days of continuous travel, they returned to Zhongjun Town…