Su Fan and Li Changmin were studying a map of the area near Beiling City inside a tent.
They were about to embark on a bandit suppression operation.
This was not like before, where it could be resolved in a day. They would need to set up camp and prepare for a long-term battle.
"We can set up camp here and start dealing with these two mountain strongholds. They are in the same direction, so even if their forces unite, there's no risk of being outflanked," Li Changmin said, pointing to a spot on the map.
Su Fan nodded.
He didn't have much experience in warfare and mostly relied on Li Changmin's expertise.
"Alright, you decide. Pass down the order, pack up, and let's go," Su Fan said to Li Changmin.
Su Fan brought Xia Yun with him this time. Although following the army camp would be tough, it was much safer for her than being in the bandit suppression camp. Su Fan didn't want a repeat of what happened before.
He also brought Fang Wenxing along to prevent Fang Shijie from rescuing him.
The entire bandit suppression camp was left with the four main generals and a few old soldiers to handle recruitment and train new recruits to replenish the front lines.
Xia Yun was very quiet and seemed to have no complaints about fighting alongside Su Fan.
"Do you feel like you're just a burden fighting with me?" Su Fan asked Xia Yun out of curiosity.
He had expected Xia Yun to have some questions for him about bringing her to battle.
"Fighting with my father is different from fighting with you. There were traitors in the front-line army camp, but not here. The danger comes from within, not from outside," Xia Yun said, her mind clear. She knew everything and didn't need Su Fan to worry about her.
Su Fan chuckled.
It was rare to find such an understanding young woman.
The army arrived at the pre-selected location and set up camp.
The presence of so many people camping nearby naturally did not escape the eyes of the two larger mountain strongholds.
Feihua Village and Shuiyue Village soon received the news.
"What? The bandit suppression camp has set up camp nearby? Who gave them the courage!"
Feihua Village was a well-known bandit force in the area, with over a hundred members.
They viewed the bandit suppression camp as cowards who wouldn't dare to fight them, so the sudden appearance of the camp surprised them greatly.
"How many people?"
The leader of Feihua Village was a woman, burly and strong. She asked her subordinate in a deep voice.
"We didn't dare to get too close. From a distance, it looked like no less than a hundred people," the subordinate replied.
"A hundred people? It's fine. With Feihua Village's geographical advantage, they won't be able to attack!"
The leader of Feihua Village didn't take the bandit suppression camp seriously, mainly because of the deeply ingrained image they had of the camp from previous encounters.
Shuiyue Village was in a similar situation. The leader was unconcerned about the arrival of the bandit suppression camp.
"They probably have a mission from above and are just going through the motions. Don't worry about them."
A large army camp was set up right at their doorstep, and they were unconcerned. Truly remarkable.
After the camp was set up, Su Fan summoned Long Jianye.
Su Fan didn't ask what Long Jianye had been doing before, as long as he was back.
"Go to Feihua Village and scout the enemy's situation. See what their strength is like," Su Fan instructed Long Jianye.
Long Jianye looked at Su Fan and nodded slightly.
Then, he headed towards Feihua Village.
Su Fan wasn't worried about him. With Long Jianye's strength, ordinary people couldn't do anything to him.
Level 45 elites were rare.
Long Jianye left the army camp and headed straight for Feihua Village.
Along the way, Long Jianye easily spotted Feihua Village's lookouts and cleverly avoided them.
He reached the mountain without being discovered by anyone.
Inside Feihua Village, they were gathered, drinking. There was nothing interesting to see.
Long Jianye briefly counted the number of people in Feihua Village.
Then, he prepared to return.
"Leader, how about a sparring match to liven things up?" the second-in-command of Feihua Village suddenly proposed to the leader.
"Good idea, I was just thinking the same!"
The leader thought the suggestion was good and, fueled by alcohol, felt a desire to fight.
"Roar! Go, Leader!"
The people below immediately started cheering.
The leader and the second-in-command rarely sparred, so they were excited to see it today.
The burly leader stretched his wrists and assumed an offensive stance.
Long Jianye became interested as well. Su Fan had asked him to scout Feihua Village's strength, and this was a perfect opportunity to see how capable the second-in-command and the leader were.
The second-in-command would certainly not be a match for the leader in a fight.
However, as Long Jianye watched, he began to feel strange.
As they fought, why did they start getting physical? And was the second-in-command's taste a bit too casual? How could he lay hands on the leader's burly physique?
When the two of them moved into a room, Long Jianye lost interest.
He was afraid of getting an eye infection.
He then returned the way he came to report to Su Fan.
"The leader and the second-in-command were fighting enthusiastically, and then..."
Long Jianye recounted everything he saw at Feihua Village to Su Fan in detail.
Su Fan: ...
"You really didn't need to be so explicit."
Good heavens, he described exactly where they placed their hands and how they squeezed them, as if he had been watching with extreme focus.
"Alright, I understand."
Su Fan had a general idea of Feihua Village's overall strength.
There were a total of 93 bandits, with two high-level fighters: the leader and the second-in-command.
According to Long Jianye's description, these two seemed to be a couple.
Their strength was around level forty. In Long Jianye's words, they could take on ten of him without breaking a sweat.
They fight in groups of ten, Su Fan could only say, "Impressive!"
Although Su Fan had strong burst damage, capable of instantly killing even Long Jianye, he was a "three-second man." After using up his skills, Su Fan's damage output would significantly decrease. However, with the experience point bonus from leveling up, he could still put up a fight.
Having learned of the enemy's overall strength, Su Fan began to plan the attack on the mountain strongholds.
He found Li Changmin and asked him to figure out how to attack.
"I think it's best to lure them down. With our current provisions, we can starve them out," Li Changmin said. Unlike Su Fan, he preferred a slow and steady approach, which would save more troops.
By surrounding the mountain stronghold, with Feihua Village's numbers, their provisions would run out in a few days. Then, they could be easily captured without a single soldier being lost.
The strategy of cutting off supplies was the optimal combat method on the battlefield.
However, Su Fan didn't want to use this method. He didn't have that much time. If he had to surround each stronghold one by one, how long would it take him to deal with so many?
"No, let's attack proactively. You devise the battle plan and take them down as quickly as possible," Su Fan told Li Changmin.
"Yes."
Li Changmin had no choice but to obey Su Fan, as Su Fan was the commander.
However, Li Changmin still felt that Su Fan was too eager for quick results.
The encirclement strategy could capture Feihua Village without a single soldier being lost, yet Su Fan chose the lowest-quality method of a frontal assault.
"Sigh!"
Li Changmin sighed and went to make arrangements.