The Heaven Charging Army's ten thousand man commander Qi Ying looked up at the Dragon Cliff Mountain and asked, “General, it's said that there's a mercenary group known as 'Dragon Courage Camp' who occupy this ridge and their strength isn't bad. Sir, since we're here, how about we head up to the Dragon Courage Camp to 'borrow' some weapons and supplies?”

He revealed a smile that was very evil.

Lin Mu Yu shook his head, “No need. You'll all rest at the foot of the mountain while I head up to the Dragon Courage Camp to discuss them coming to the Cangnan Province with us to exterminate the Swordsmen Hall. Otherwise, with just our five thousand people, we won't be able to do anything.”

“What!?”

Qi Ying was stunned and he quickly said, “General, you mustn't…..Although this Dragon Courage Camp has registered the capital…..Mercenaries are all vicious, sir will be in danger if you head up alone.”

“Relax, it'll be fine. You just set up camp, don't cause trouble for the civilians.”

“Yes! General, you must be careful.”

“Un.”

Lin Mu Yu only led Wei Chou and Xiahou Sang up the mountain. He found that the Dragon Courage Camp was even stronger than before, with each men no longer looking like rouges, but rather being filled with energy. Luo Yu and Feng Xi's training could be seen just from this.

Not long after, Luo Yu and Feng Xi came out of the main hall with glowing faces. They directly came forward and said with a respectful smile, “Sir, you're here!”

“Un.”

Lin Mu Yu nodded and asked, “How is Dragon Courage Camp's recent developments going?”

Luo Yu said with a smile, “Everything is fine. Other than the Dragon Flame Mercenaries, we have eliminated all wandering mercenaries and Swordsmen Hall members in a five hundred mile radius. Our members count has already reached five thousand four hundred and seventeen people!”

“Over five thousand?!”

Lin Mu Yu couldn't close his lips from his happiness, “How about horses and weapons?”

Luo Yu cupped his hands and said, “Everyone is provided with a horse and both long and short weapons. These five thousand people can either be cavalry on a horse or become infantry once they dismount. Sir does not need to worry about battle efficiency.”

“That's good!”

Lin Mu Yu said with a proud smile, “Immediately pick five thousand people and bring three days of dry rations. Follow me to the Cangnan Province for battle training.”

“Oh?” Luo Yu was surprised, “What is sir attacking?”

“We're eliminating all of Swordsmen Hall from the Cangnan Province.”

“So it's like this. This subordinate will immediately gather the people.”

“Good!”

In less than an hour, five thousand elite Dragon Courage Camp mercenaries were gathered at the summit. They were all on horses and were looked to be filled with power. The weapons and horses of these people were even better than those of the Heaven Charging Army, it was good to have money!

“Descend!”

They raised the flag. The dragon design dancing in the wind looked quite good.

When they came to the foot of the mountain, Qi Ying in the distance immediately jumped onto his horse and shouted, “The enemy is coming, prepare to defend!”

The Heaven Charging heavy cavalry all mounted their horses and raised their lances above the head of their horses. They were all filled with killing intent as they prepared to meet the Dragon Courage Camp coming down the mountain.

But Lin Mu Yu came forward and shouted, “General Qi Ying, it's our own people. It's fine.”

Qi Ying was stunned before revealing a smile, “General is truly heroic, you really made the Dragon Courage Camp mercenaries submit with just words?”

Wei Chou came forward and said with a faint smile, “They were already the general's men, why is there a need to convince them. Alright, let's set off for Silver Fir City!”

“Un!”

Like this, ten thousand heavy cavalry left the surroundings of Orchid Goose City, directly heading towards the Cangnan Province. They reached the Cangnan Province after two days, seeing Silver Fir City in the distance. Two messengers quickly ran ahead and contacted the city's guards.

Lin Mu Yu was filled with mixed emotions. Last time he left Silver Fir City, he was being chased by the Hua Tian father and son with Chu Yao. He never thought that when he came back, he would be bringing over ten thousand troops and would already be a South Guarding General.

Not long after, their army entered the city where they were greeted by two people. One was in official clothing and one was wearing a general's armour.

“This one is Silver Fir City's governor Zhang Yi Da, greetings to sir!”

“This subordinate is Silver Fir City's garrison commander w.a.n.g He, greetings to the general!”

The two of them were very respectful, but Lin Mu Yu didn't find this strange. The official ranking of the empire was very strict and he as a South Guarding General was like a G.o.d in a small town like this.

Zhang Yi Da had a flattering smile as he dismounted to kneel. With his smile, he said, “Sir is the emperor's adopted son, it truly is this little one's honour for you to come to Silver Fir City. If sir does not mind, please follow this little one into the city. This little one has already prepared a grand banquet to welcome sir!”

w.a.n.g He also cupped his hands to say, “Please enter the city sir!”

They were very warm with their words, but Lin Mu Yu felt an endless indifference. He said with a faint smile, “No need. The army will not enter the city, it would cause trouble for the citizens. We'll set up camp in the Seven Star Forest outside the city. Sir governor, please prepare some good food, water, and fodder for our horses, I'll be relying on you.”

Zhang Yi Da was stunned, “Sir, you….you're not entering the city?”

“Right, I'm not.”

Lin Mu Yu respectfully cupped his hands and said with a smile, “I'll have to trouble sir governor and general w.a.n.g He to prepare these for us immediately!”

“Yes…..”

Zhang Yi Da and w.a.n.g He were dumbfounded, but they quickly left with their people.

Lin Mu Yu watched them go and softly said, “We'll set up camp in the nearby Seven Star Forest, don't block the main roads and dig some firepits. We'll rest up tonight and attack the Swordsmen Hall headquarters tomorrow morning.”

Qi Ying had a look of admiration as he said with cupped hands, “Yes, general!”

That night, the stars filled the sky and it was very cold. The temperature dropped and it seemed like it was about to snow.

Lin Mu Yu had brought all cavalry this time, so he had to fight a quick battle. If he couldn't settle it quickly, the feed for the horses would be a large problem. Silver Fir City was just a small city, it could support ten thousand horses for one or two days, it could even barely hold on if it was a month.

Under the dancing flames, Wei Chou opened a map of the Cangnan Province and pointed at a red mark while saying, “The Cangnan Province headquarters is on a mountain called 'Fire Axe Mountain'. This Fire Axe Mountain is not high, but the terrain is very steep, taking the form of a fireax, giving it its name. According to my intelligence, there are currently over four thousand and two hundred rangers on Fire Axe Mountain, as well as one Great Envoy and two Envoys. Ke, ke…..One of the Envoys was killed by sir last time, so these people must be filled with hatred towards us.”

Qi Ying said, “There are many Swordsmen Hall ears around and we openly came to Silver Fir City, so they must know about us. We must take this slowly. I think…..How about we wait for sir Chen Yang's fifteen thousand infantry to come and attack together?”

“No time.”

Lin Mu Yu shook his head and said, “It'll be too late by the time the infantry is here. Send people out tonight to check over the terrain and be on guard against any ambush. We'll attack them tomorrow morning.”

“Yes!”

After Qi Ying and the other officers left, Wei Chou's eyes dimmed as he asked, “Sir, why are we in a rush to attack? This is not like your personality…..”

Lin Mu Yu let out a breath and said, “Stalling will cause trouble. Swordsmen Hall is related to Five Valleys City, so we have to attack quickly. Otherwise once Five Valleys City reacts, it won't be that easy for us to eliminate Swordsmen Hall.”

“Does governor Hu Tie Ning dare publicly defend Swordsmen Hall?”

“No, he doesn't, but he wouldn't make it too smoothly for us.”

“Yes, this subordinate understands……”

The next morning, the army of ten thousand set off for Fire Axe Mountain. This Fire Axe Mountain was less than two hundred miles away from Silver Fir City, being half a day of travel for cavalry. Lin Mu Yu looked over the army, seeing that the heavy cavalry of the Heaven Charging Army had small s.h.i.+elds, long spears, and swords, suited for close range combat. The cavalry of the Dragon Courage Camp were suited with longbows, which had an absolute superiority. If they wanted to win without a single casualty, they needed a suitable long distance weapon. The Dragon Courage Camp mercenaries were familiar with the bow, which was more suited for a mountain battle.。

On the way, there were many reports from the scouts. The terrain was already clearly investigated, so it wasn't too likely for the Swordsmen Hall to ambush them.

Right before noon, they arrived at the bottom of Fire Axe Mountain!

Looking up, Fire Axe Mountain was like a giant red axe soaring into the sky, with stone that was scarlet red. Their flags fluttered in the wind and horses stood in their lines. There was a stone fortress at the entrance to the mountain, guarding against all invaders.

It was already hard for the horses to walk on mountain terrain, not to mention that it was a 45 degree slope.

Qi Ying knit his brows and said, “General, how do we attack?”

“No need to attack.”

Lin Mu Yu sat on his horse as he said with a smile, “I have already looked through the reports. Although this mountain has plenty of food, they send people down the mountain to obtain water from springs. There are over four thousand people in the headquarters, they need quite a bit of water each day. We'll surround them without attacking and within three days, they'll come down for a decisive battle.”

Saying this, Lin Mu Yu revealed a faint smile as he confidently said, “They chose this Fire Axe Mountain as their nest, but they forgot to include a water source. This is simply digging their own grave!”

Qi Ying was stunned. He said with cupped hands, “I never thought the general would be this powerful while being this young…..”

“Don't think too highly of me.”

Lin Mu Yu raised a hand and said, “Surround the mountain and archers prepare to fire at any moment. Wait for them to come down on their own.”

“Yes, general!” Everyone had a happy look on their faces.

Most of the soldiers thought that forcefully attacking the mountain would cause quite a large loss, but it seemed like they didn't need to suffer this large loss with a brilliant strategist like Lin Mu Yu.

As the strategy showed, an army relied on food, but it was still the same when changed to water.

Lin Mu Yu felt that he had a shallow understanding of strategy, but compared to the Great Envoy on the mountain, he could be considered to have a deep understanding of strategy.