Real Mount and Blade Game

Inside the large tent, the air was so still it felt like it could crush a person.

Broken cups, spilled wine, frozen dance—everything was frozen in Yang Di's roar, filled with despair and murderous intent:
"Zhang Bo! You traitor, you turn your back on your master and seek personal gain, you betrayer!"

"No! Mr. Yang! Brother Zhang Song! It's not like that!" Zhang Bo's face drained of all color, and his body trembled violently from extreme fear and grievance.

He screamed with all his might, his voice cracking with fear, pointing at the chaos and flames outside, shouting desperately, "It's them! It's Shen Mu! They never trusted me! Today's negotiations were a trap! They never intended to negotiate from the beginning!"

"What? What do they mean by that? They say Shen Mu never trusted him? What happened?"

"Zhang Bo is a spy?! Zhang Bo is the spy for the Green Leaf Group?! Zhang Bo is the spy?!"

"How is this possible? How is this possible? How is this possible?"

The panic on the faces of Sun Zhiru and the ten Deherme negotiation experts was instantly replaced by immense shock.

They stared in disbelief at the prophetic mage who had just been speaking eloquently on behalf of Shen Mu, now spouting such outrageous and inhuman words.

“Manager Zhang…you…what did you say?” Sun Zhiru’s voice changed: “Green Leaf…a spy from the Green Leaf Group?!” His eyes were filled with anger and a sense of absurdity at being fooled when he looked at Zhang Bo.

They always thought Zhang Bo was one of Shen Mu's most trusted confidants, a representative of Deherem's "Blue Star Civilization" project, and the guide who led them in "peace negotiations"!
Now they're telling him that this is actually a spy planted by the enemy?!
The other negotiation experts turned pale and were too shocked to speak.

They felt like the whole world had collapsed. Not only had the negotiations become a joke, but even their safest protector—Zhang Bo—had instantly become their most dangerous enemy!
No wonder the Khergit guards left in such a hurry and with such force!
It all makes sense!

Fear quickly replaced shock.

"explain?!"

Yang Di's eyes were bloodshot with rage, and his sword suddenly pointed at Zhang Bo, the tip trembling violently with fury: "I spent countless efforts, even sacrificing my elite guards, to infiltrate you! How much hope and resources did I give you?! Tell me, why did the 'Grand Plan' fail completely?! Why did every step we took precisely fall into Shen Mu's trap?!"

He didn't believe Zhang Bo's explanation at all, convinced that Zhang Bo was the culprit behind tonight's destruction, and his anger was about to burn away his reason.

"And all that nonsense you told me this afternoon about how good and kind Deherm is, wasn't that just to lull me into a false sense of security? Wasn't it just to create an opportunity for Shen Mu to launch a sneak attack?!" Yang Di pressed closer, his eyes burning with the raging flames of utter betrayal and destruction.

Zhang Song, standing beside him, remained relatively calm, but his eyes were equally piercing, like ice picks. He took a deep breath, his voice carrying an extreme chill, and began to logically and clearly recount the fatal flaws in the grand plan, each question directly pointing to Zhang Bo's decisions at the time:
"Alright, Zhang Bo, since you say you're not a traitor, then explain the failure of the grand plan! You gave a very good warning about the crisis on the other side of the city wall, and even said the city wall was very dangerous! You directly told Shen Mu, 'The wall is about to collapse, it's dangerous!'"

Zhang Song imitated Zhang Bo's tone at the time:
"You dragged Shen Mu into the main castle building, 'prophesying' that it was the safest place. And what happened? Deherem's troops were already lying in ambush outside the library! Our elite decapitation squad was teleported out and immediately surrounded there! That safe place was actually where you led us into a trap! Why was the safe place you predicted a carefully designed ambush site? Didn't you reveal the secret of our teleportation point to Shen Mu?"

Zhang Bo's face was ashen.

He recalled the scene at the time. He had indeed suggested going to the main building of the castle in order to carry out the grand plan and lure Shen Mu away from the danger zone so that he could be beheaded. Little did he know that it was a trap.
The coincidence was so absurd it made him want to cry!

Zhang Song gave him no chance to breathe and continued to press him for answers:

"You even predicted the crisis on the east side of the city wall, saying, 'The atmosphere there is terrifying, a great calamity is coming!' You were the one who desperately urged Shen Mu to send troops from the main castle tower to provide support, saying it was more dangerous there. And what happened? The legion of the Seventh Dynasty from Black Arrow Tower that we invited got stuck on the other side of the city wall. Didn't the terrifying atmosphere you 'predicted' refer to the 'great calamity' that you yourself couldn't even explain, which just became a perfect excuse for them to mobilize their forces and plug the gaps in their defenses?!"

Zhang Bo trembled all over; this matter was the greatest pain and incomprehension in his heart!

He made it up on the spot, only wanting to divert the defensive forces in the core area of ​​the castle so that the wood elf troops could carry out the decapitation!

Little did anyone know that Shen Mu would use the transferred troops to precisely deploy them on the east side to deal with the skeletal giants, and actually create what appeared to be a usable opening in the main castle building!
Zhang Bo was speechless; he couldn't say anything. It was all too coincidental.

It was such a coincidence that even he himself couldn't believe it.

But Zhang Song was still saying:

"You also predicted an unknown crisis, 'Danger is gathering throughout the castle, and soldiers should be dispersed to guard key points!'—This was your last and most crucial 'warning'! As a result, Shen Mu completely believed it and dispersed all the guards to various parts of the castle area, including the walls and towers! How interesting! Now tell me!"

Zhang Song's voice suddenly rose, filled with oppressive force: "What's the difference between this and diverting defensive forces in advance, making it easy for our decapitation strike team to launch a surprise attack?! You had Shen Mu voluntarily withdraw all close-range protection, wasn't that so that our assault team could carry out the decapitation mission without any hindrance?! Why did your meticulously prepared 'prophecy' precisely clear obstacles for Shen Mu's trap at every step?!"

"No! That's not right! It's not like that! I don't know! I really didn't know it would be like this!"

Zhang Bo felt like he was suffocating.

Zhang Song's logic was terrifying; every sentence struck him like a heavy hammer, nailing him to the cross of traitor.

"I...I was genuinely worried that the undead attacks would be too fierce, which is why I made that suggestion...I wanted the main force to withstand the real danger...so that Shen Mu would have fewer people around him..."

His explanation was weak and unconvincing, sounding like a foolish attempt to cover up the truth after the fact.

"You do not know?"

Yang Di laughed in fury, his laughter filled with scathing mockery and despair: "My people in Deherem reported everything to me clearly! You know, Zhang Bo, you're not the only one reporting to me in Deherem! They reported everything clearly! Shen Mu himself said that if any one link in these reinforcements is missing, he's finished! Why did all the reinforcements arrive on time? Why did every step of our plan seem to have been precisely calculated, hitting his strongest point?! How could he be so prescient?! If you hadn't tipped him off, could he have predicted it all?!"

Yang Di's questioning went straight to the heart of the matter, which was the "interlocking" system that Shen Mu himself felt lingering fear when reviewing the situation and believed was indispensable!
Zhang Bo was completely speechless.

Yeah, why do those damn reinforcements always show up when we need them the most?
This is something that even he, as a prophetic mage, cannot explain!
The intervention was so precise, almost divine, that it was completely beyond Zhang Bo's comprehension!
Even if he had a hundred mouths, he couldn't explain it!

This was Shen Mu's top secret, but it was the final straw that broke Zhang Bo's back!
He didn't know about the "Mount & Blade System," let alone that the "targeted rewards" given by the system had disrupted everything!
In Yang Di and Zhang Song's eyes, the only reasonable explanation for the fact that Deherim's reinforcements arrived like divine soldiers was Zhang Bo's betrayal!
He tipped them off! "I...I don't know what Shen Mu has up his sleeve...He seems...he really does have the ability to foresee the future..." Zhang Bo's voice was choked with sobs, filled with despair and collapse, but he himself felt that his words were ridiculously stupid.

"Precognition? Hahahaha!"

Yang Di burst into a maniacal laugh, a laugh tinged with blood and tears: "Well, well, what a prophetic mage you are! So you not only foresaw our 'grand plan,' but also 'foresaw' our inevitable failure, so you betrayed us in advance to gain a new position in front of Shen Mu! Zhang Bo! I was truly blind!"

"It wasn't me! I really didn't tell on you!" Zhang Bo roared in despair, knowing that any explanation would be utterly futile in the face of the devastating reality before him.

Just then, a sharp whooshing sound rang out!
Accompanied by the sound of a tent being violently torn apart!

"Pfft!"

A cone-shaped arrow pierced through the tent curtains and embedded itself deeply in the banquet table, leaving only its tail feathers still humming and trembling from the force of its trajectory.

"My lord! My lord! Those Deherem human cavalry are charging at us! We can't hold them off! We must retreat immediately!"

Outside, a Wood Elf Sword Dancer, covered in blood and with several spiked arrows stuck in his body, waist, and back, rushed in, crying out in anguish, "We must retreat immediately!"

The resounding crash of the arrow piercing the wooden table still echoed within the tent, and the blood-soaked warning from the Wood Elf Sword Dancer was like a bucket of ice water poured over him. The anger in Yang Di's eyes instantly transformed into a ruthless decisiveness. He grabbed the ashen-faced Zhang Bo, and simultaneously growled at Zhang Song, "Grab them! Take them all! To the Sacred Tree House!"

However, when Yang Di and Zhang Song, holding Zhang Bo and attempting to control the terrified Sun Zhiru and ten other Deherem negotiation experts, rushed out of the large tent, a hellish scene instantly overwhelmed them.

The area outside the tent had already been turned upside down.

The entire village of wood elves was transformed into a burning slaughterhouse.

The mournful sound of horns still echoed in the night sky, but even more jarring were the continuous clanging of swords and spears, the galloping and neighing of warhorses, the screams of the dying, and the crackling and popping of burning houses.

The once peaceful and tranquil village is now engulfed in flames and billowing smoke, reflecting countless twisted and fleeing figures and coldly wielded blades.

The Swadian heavy cavalry, led by Rezarit, swept through the narrow village roads like an iron torrent.

The heavily armored, towering horse, carrying unparalleled force, trampled over the fragile wooden fences and muddy ground with its massive hooves covered in fine steel horseshoes, crushing anything that dared to stand in its way—

Whether they were the weak and vulnerable old wood elves or the hastily organized remnants of the army, they were all knocked away and crushed like scarecrows!
The knights' lances shot out like venomous dragons, each thrust bringing forth a spray of blood.

They formed a tight wedge formation, leaving behind only a path paved with blood and flesh and raging ruins in their wake.

On the other side of the village, Bestur's Khergit heavy archers were waging an even more brutal and efficient massacre.

They did not charge straight into the enemy lines, but rather, like circling vultures, they used their unparalleled horsemanship to weave and maneuver at high speed between the burning houses.

The Kujit scimitars flashed silver arcs in the firelight, precisely reaping the lives of fleeing people, often decapitating them with a single blow.

Even more deadly were the arrows they fired like locusts, which had amazing penetrating power at close range, mercilessly piercing through survivors hiding in corners or behind trees.

They roamed around setting fires, precisely igniting unburnt thatched roofs, completely engulfing the heart of the village in flames.

Yang Di and Zhang Song understood instantly.

Negotiation experts and prisoner-of-war plans became mere pipe dreams in the face of Deherem's overwhelming power.

The scene before our eyes is Shen Mu's brutal execution of reciprocal revenge!
Witnessing this bloody massacre, Zhang Bo's body went limp. Overwhelmed by fear, he was filled with boundless injustice and despair. Yang Di and Zhang Song's accusations echoed in his ears, but he was powerless to prove his innocence. He also had no idea how Shen Mu had managed to launch this deadly attack without his prophetic perception.

The wood elf swordsman who delivered the message pointed into the distance to a colossal, ancient tree that required more than a dozen people to encircle. The structure of a wooden house could be vaguely seen spiraling upwards from the tree. That was the soul of the village, the direction of the "Great Tree House," and also their theoretical last stronghold.

"Go!"

The swordsman screamed and swung his sword again to deflect a stray arrow, only to be grazed by another feathered arrow, inflicting a new wound on his body.

"Let's go! To the big treehouse!"

Zhang Song pulled Yang Di, his eyes sweeping over Zhang Bo, Sun Zhiru and the others who were being held hostage and looked pale.

At this moment, they are not only prisoners, but also a burden and hostage in the chaos.

In this hellish chaos, the goal of breaking out has been reduced to simply reaching that enormous treehouse, using its terrain for a final desperate struggle, or praying for a miracle.

"I still have my last trump card!" Yang Di gritted his teeth, no longer looking at Zhang Bo's face that he hated.

Leading his few remaining trusted wood elf sword dancers, and escorting the negotiators of Deherim, he staggered desperately through the burning village, braving a hail of arrows and towering flames, towards the only standing ancient tree that symbolized hope.

The destruction of the Wood Elf village begins at this very moment.

The end of the Green Leaf Group is relentlessly approaching with the sound of horns and the thunder of hooves. (End of Chapter)