Socially anxious people transmigrate to another world; living in seclusion is too difficult.

After receiving the order, the soldiers climbed up the mountainside. Once they reached the mountainside, they began to use elemental power to hollow out the mountainside. Qin Wei, at the foot of the mountain, instructed the chief of staff to contact the military headquarters using a communication board to learn about the defense situation and movements of other troops.

Qin Wei's heart gradually calmed down after the message board relayed back to the other defending forces that there was no large-scale movement from the enemy. His biggest worry was that the Demon Kingdom's army on the southern front would appear here to launch an attack.

After nearly an hour of shift work, a long tunnel was quickly opened up on the mountainside. This time, all the soldiers no longer had to brave the heavy rain to set up camp, so they all hurriedly ran to the mountainside.

At this moment, several figures appeared in the darkness in the distance. After witnessing the 50th Army climbing the mountainside, they immediately set off. They were spies from the Demon Kingdom. They ran back all the way and arrived at a place less than 20 miles west of Little Fox Mountain. There was a military camp there, and the general in charge was none other than Si Yun, the commander of the 5th Army on the western front of the Demon Kingdom.

"General, the enemy has hollowed out the mountainside of Little Fox Mountain and set up camp there."

Upon hearing this, Si Yun sat up in shock, pacing back and forth in the tent. He quickly ordered, "Send the intelligence to Shanfeng County and request permission from the commander-in-chief. Immediately!"

After sitting down again, Si Yun said to his deputy, "I originally thought that Commander Cai was just a defeated general, but I didn't expect that he has really changed in the past ten years. He is a genius in commanding troops. I am ashamed of my inferiority!"

"From now on, you must all respect the Commander-in-Chief and resolutely carry out his orders, understand?!"

"Yes!"

The intelligence, carried on a rainy night, quickly reached Cai Ran in Shanfeng County. After reading it, Cai Ran's eyes lit up. He clutched the intelligence tightly in his hand, looking at the torrential rain outside the window, unable to suppress his excitement. After a long while, he ordered the messenger: "Go and inform General Siyun that at dawn tomorrow, troops will be dispatched to surround the mountain. Only trap them, do not kill them. If the enemy breaks through, a few may be released, but the rest must not be allowed to escape!"

He then summoned three messengers and instructed them: "Go and inform the northern, southern, and central fronts respectively. Order Fang Rongxue to lead 100,000 troops to attack Danhe Valley, but preserve their strength and do not launch a full-scale attack. Order Julian to lead 100,000 troops to immediately set off to support the central forces. If the enemy retreats, pursue them with all your might. Order Chen Han to lead the remaining 70,000 troops to attack Kaiyang City and contain the enemy. In the central front, send an additional 50,000 troops to Balun to ambush the enemy heading to Xiaohushan from the rear. Order Abner to lead the remaining 70,000 troops to retreat from the front lines and rush to Xiaohushan's aid."

The messenger took his orders and left. Cai Ran stood up from his chair, leaned on the windowsill with both hands, looked up at the sky, and couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh: "This day has finally come!"

By the early morning of the second day, the rain had weakened. Following Cai Ran's orders, Si Yun was already on the march, quickly heading towards Xiaohushan to encircle the enemy. In less than two hours, they had reached less than two miles from Xiaohushan. Scouts reported that there were only a few guards on the mountainside of Xiaohushan. Si Yun was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately urged them to speed up.

By the time the deafening sound of horses' hooves pierced the silence of the night and reached the ears of the soldiers of the 50th Army, it was already too late. Qin Wei rushed to the cave entrance and saw that the foot of the mountain was already surrounded by Si Yun's 80,000 troops. Qin Wei realized that he had fallen into a trap and immediately organized his soldiers to prepare for defense, but the Demon Kingdom soldiers at the foot of the mountain did not charge.

Zhu Ning and Su Yang, who had arrived at the front lines, were already on high alert. However, after a long period of silence from the enemy, neither of them could figure out the enemy's intentions. Nevertheless, the scene before them excited Su Yang. This was his first real battlefield experience. Although there had been no fighting yet, the air seemed to be filled with a strong smell of blood.

"General, what is the enemy's intention?" After waiting for a long time, Zhu Ning couldn't help but ask.

"Surround us without killing us, expand the encirclement, and we'll become bait." Qin Wei said with a wry smile. He was all too familiar with this tactic; it was exactly the kind of strategy he had used in the past. He never expected that Cai Ran would remember it all this time and even want to repay him tenfold.

"Let's make a bet. Do you believe that if we break through, a few of us will definitely escape, and that will be the few we choose. None of the others will get away." Qin Wei was still in the mood to joke and proposed a bet to everyone.

Wang Hao said, "Given the current situation, apart from you, General, and your two brothers from the Shence Army, I'm afraid none of the other brothers can get out."

"Should we break out or not?" Lü Ji asked.

"How much food do we have left?" Qin Wei asked.

The chief of staff immediately replied, "We can hold out for another three days."

"Not many..." Qin Wei sighed. "It seems we have no choice but to fall into this trap. We can't let the soldiers starve to death. Immediately send a message to the military headquarters explaining the current situation. We must make it clear that the enemy's purpose is to use us as bait to lure our troops to come to our aid, and then surround and kill us to break through the city. Please request the military headquarters to mobilize troops outside the front line to provide support."

As dawn broke, chaos reigned at the military headquarters in Huaijing, as urgent military reports poured in. First, Zidanlin and Danhe Valley reported that the Demon Kingdom had launched an attack with ferocious force. Then, news came from the southern front that Kaiyang had been attacked, with the enemy's numbers roughly equal to those of the Kaiyang defenders, likely their main force.

While Wei Bin, Qin Meng, and other military ministers were urgently discussing the situation, another puzzling message came from the central region, saying that the enemy had abandoned the city and retreated overnight, and all the army commanders requested to pursue them.

"They retreated? Where did they go?" Wei Bin looked at the intelligence report, somewhat puzzled.

"It's either supporting the southern front or the northern front. One of them is definitely the main attacking force, or both are the main attacking forces. According to reports, 170,000 enemy troops in the central region have disappeared," a staff officer said.

"Nonsense! It's precisely because these 170,000 people disappeared right under our noses that's the most worrying thing."

Qin Meng then said, "According to intelligence from the northern front, it seems that the number of attackers is not large, and it appears to be just a diversionary tactic. The situation on the southern front is more critical, and the enemy is likely to reinforce the southern front."

As everyone was analyzing the situation, another intelligence report arrived: "Urgent military intelligence! The 50th Army is surrounded at Xiaohushan, with an enemy force of 80,000! General Qin Wei has sent a message stating that the enemy is using them as bait to lure our troops to provide support and plans to ambush them en route. Please order other troops to provide support."

"The 50th Army!? How could Qin Wei be at Little Fox Mountain!" Wei Bin was shocked upon hearing this. He had clearly ordered the 50th Army to wait for further orders, but Qin Wei had acted on his own. He immediately looked at Qin Meng, who shook his head helplessly.

"How many more days can their food supply last?" Wei Bin asked.

"Only enough for three days."

"That Qin Wei!" Wei Bin slammed his hand on the table, his anger rising again. Just when the situation was turning around, this hole appeared, and he couldn't help but be furious.

"General, what do we do now?" As Qin Wei's older brother, Qin Meng naturally couldn't say anything more, and could only ask Wei Bin to make the decision.

Wei Bin took the map and examined it carefully for a while. He then said angrily, "Order the 29th and 30th Armies to go and relieve the siege, the 31st Army to support Kaiyang City, and the 32nd and 33rd Armies to remain in place and await further orders."

This was the last 150,000 men he could mobilize, plus the 630,000 troops deployed at the front, the 30,000 men of the besieged 50th Army, and the 190,000 casualties. In this war, the Empire mobilized one million troops, which was already two-thirds of its total strength, far exceeding the number of the Demon Kingdom's army. If he could not win, Wei Bin would have no face to face Chu Jingwu.