"What are you studying?" Seeing that Chen Mo was not resting, Xia Zhining naturally couldn't rest alone either. She walked forward to see if she could analyze him a bit.

Seeing Xia Zhining approaching, Chen Mo withdrew his thoughts from the map, pulled her into his arms, and skillfully kneaded the dough, saying softly:

"I'm researching if we can use the terrain to launch an ambush, hopefully to kill one or two upper-grade martial artists of the enemy. That way, the pressure would be much less."

Although the information from Zhao Liang indicated that the enemy had only two upper-grade martial artists out in the open, in a life-and-death war like this, you have to consider the worst-case scenario.

That is to say, Chen Mo had to assume that King Chong and Lu Sheng also came to Huai State, and that there were at least four upper-grade martial artists on the opposite side.

If we don't find a way to first eliminate one or two of the enemy's upper-grade martial artists, this battle will be challenging to win.

Lu Sheng is suspected to be an upper-grade martial artist, and he certainly needs to be dealt with by Chen Mo. But as for the remaining three upper-grade martial artists from the enemy, Xiao Jing and Wu Yanqing can at most hold off one each, leaving the extra upper-grade martial artist to cause significant losses to the Chen Army.

Xia Zhining shrank forward in Chen Mo's embrace, wanting to get away. Of course, it was just a symbolic struggle, as she grabbed Chen Mo's hand and gave him a coy glance, then said:

"This might be very difficult. Huai State is not like other places. To put it bluntly, the enemy knows the terrain of Huai State better than us. After all, Prince Huai has controlled Huai State for so many years. Besides, the enemy has come aggressively, and they must have learned about your tactics in advance. Prince Huai suffered so much at your hands that he would certainly have summarized these failed lessons to inform King Chong and others..."

"So we have to look for opportunities." Chen Mo sighed, then his big hand moved down Xia Zhining's body, saying as he went:

"I've observed Zhao Liang and the others facing the enemy's assault over this period, always adopting defensive measures. This won't work. We have to confront them head-on once to test their real strength; otherwise, the situation is too passive for us."

Xia Zhining blushed and quickly restrained the mischievous hand, angrily saying, "Be serious."

"Who told you to come over and tease me, and now you want me to be serious." Chen Mo patted Xia Zhining, saying, "Be good, lie down."

Xia Zhining's body grew softer, knowing she couldn't resist Chen Mo, she said coyly, "Not... not here, the bedding is newly laid."

But feeling Chen Mo's burning gaze, Xia Zhining reluctantly lay down on the table.

Unfortunately, just as Chen Mo lifted her skirt and covered Xia Zhining's head, footsteps sounded outside the tent.

Frightened, Xia Zhining let out a small scream, then quickly shut her mouth, hurriedly pushing Chen Mo away and lowering her skirt, sitting upright neatly.

Chen Mo also sat up straight quickly.

Soon, Sun Meng's voice came from outside the tent: "Marquis, urgent report, He County is lost, and General Zhao and his troops have retreated to Xiongmen County."

Chen Mo furrowed his brow and said, "Come in."

Sun Meng lifted the tent flap and walked in, not daring to look around. He placed the urgent report down and then stepped out.

Chen Mo quickly picked up the urgent report and read it.

The urgent report explained Zhao Liang's reason for retreating to Xiongmen County.

After reading it, Chen Mo completely lost interest in his cultivation, and hurriedly issued an order for a timely departure at dawn tomorrow.

.....

September 8.

Chen Mo led the Personal Guard Battalion to Xiongmen County.

Zhao Liang, Xiao Jing, Wu Yanqing, Liu Ji, and others welcomed him at the north gate.

Chen Mo dismounted, Sun Meng took the reins.

Without saying much idle talk, Chen Mo walked into the city while inquiring Zhao Liang about the enemy's situation.

"Reporting to Duke An, since King Chong and Lu Sheng's alliance captured He County, they have remained inactive. I suspect they might already know of your arrival in Huai State, and since the news hasn't reached Huai State about Prince Huai's defeat, they are likely waiting for reinforcements," Zhao Liang reported.

"Duke An, the enemy's armored ratio is over seventy percent, clearly all elite troops. During the last attack on He County, it was estimated they used at least a hundred catapults and bed crossbows," Liu Ji added from the side.

"How many troops does the enemy alliance have?" Xia Zhining asked curiously.

Zhao Liang glanced at Xia Zhining, knowing she was from Duke An's side, and respectfully said, "During the enemy's several attempts to capture the city, they didn't use full force. The last fierce assault happened at night, making it hard to determine their numbers, but from the scale, it seems no less than fifty thousand troops."

After listening to his subordinates' reports, Chen Mo stopped in thought for a moment and said, "Are we only dealing with King Chong's army and Lu Sheng's Imperial Guard? What about King Anping's troops?"

"Duke An, it is indeed strange. Since the enemy invaded Huai State, our scouts have found no trace of the Yan Army, it's as if King Anping is not involved at all," Zhao Liang said.

"What about the movements of King Chong and Lu Sheng?" Chen Mo asked.

"Their whereabouts have not been discovered either," Xiao Jing interjected.

"Who are the upper-grade martial artists on the opposite side?"

"Preliminary understanding suggests one of them is Liang Mu, the patriarch of the Liang Family, and the other is the leading general under King Chong, Gongsun Yan."

"They're all under King Chong, what about those on Lu Sheng's side?"

"It seems to be someone named Hui Cheng. We don't know much about him, only that he comes from the same school as Lu Sheng, with his sole achievement being leading a large army to defeat the Western Liang Qiang Race," Xiao Jing relayed the information he knew to Chen Mo.