Li Man'er, as if sensing A'si's gaze, gestured after dragging the dead barbarian to the side.
This terrified A'si, who feared her movements might attract the barbarian guards.
Fortunately, Li Man'er and her two companions encountered no issues and successfully infiltrated the barbarian camp.
"Miss A'si, has the General gone in?"
"Be quiet."
Seeing A'si's stern demeanor, the others dared not ask further and obediently lay low, feigning timidity.
Initially, A'si could still see Li Man'er and the other two through her telescope, but gradually, she could see nothing. Searching around, she could only glimpse the barbarian camp.
This was a good sign, indicating that Li Man'er and her group were well-hidden and undiscovered.
In truth, Li Man'er had already separated from Lu Fang and Zhang Jingfeng.
Zhang Jingfeng had left with a mission, carrying numerous poisons and sleeping powders. Li Man'er had tasked him with using these substances as much as possible to reduce the barbarian's combat effectiveness.
She, accompanied by Lu Fang, headed in a different direction, seizing an opportunity to hide behind a barbarian's handcart. The cart was laden with hay, clearly for warhorses—a stroke of luck.
With unspoken understanding, they sprinkled various poisonous powders onto the hay, quickly contaminating all of it.
Afterward, they returned to their hidden position behind the cart, awaiting news from Zhang Jingfeng.
"General, we don't know when the horses will eat this hay. Will the medicine expire?"
"Don't worry, the medicine I concocted has never failed."
Lu Fang breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."
"The matter of Gao Yujuan's chin being dosed, you instigated her, didn't you?"
Lu Fang was stunned. He had never expected Li Man'er to confront him at this moment. Caught off guard, his expression turned extremely grim.
"I don't know what you're talking about." In the darkness, Lu Fang's features contorted, losing all trace of his former honest demeanor.
"You don't know? I know about your dealings with Feng Wuyun. I know your plans too."
Lu Fang's hands trembled. He asked Li Man'er darkly, "Why must you ask me at this very moment? Does the General intend to eliminate me?"
He had planned to kill Li Man'er on the battlefield and blame it on the barbarians. Could Li Man'er not use the same method to eliminate him?
The minds of the intelligent were often alike. Perhaps Li Man'er felt the time was ripe, and his death on barbarian territory would be plausible, hence choosing this moment to break the unspoken understanding.
Lu Fang immediately formed a plan. If Li Man'er dared to make a move, he wouldn't hesitate to take her down with him. If a commotion ensued, the forty-plus men outside would also perish, which wouldn't be a loss.
Just as Lu Fang was about to try and gain some advantage, he heard Li Man'er's light, dismissive remark, "It's too late."
Too late for what?
Lu Fang felt an inexplicable dread upon hearing those two words. He tried to shout, but to his horror, his throat felt as if it had malfunctioned, and he couldn't utter a sound.
Li Man'er had set a trap for him!
He suddenly recalled being pricked by something while poisoning the hay earlier. He hadn't thought much of it then, assuming it was the hay pricking him. Now, he realized it was Li Man'er who had done it.
How could he have been so foolish, letting his guard down, believing Li Man'er wouldn't act rashly on barbarian territory? The result was that she had intended to finish him here all along.
Lu Fang resigned himself to his fate. He wanted to stand up, expose himself, and lure the barbarians. But as he moved, a flash of white light appeared before his eyes. The light was blindingly brilliant, making him feel as though he were blind. Immediately, a sharp, needle-like pain shot through his head, and he lost consciousness, knowing nothing further.
Li Man'er let out a cold laugh and erased any trace of Lu Fang's hiding spot.
This location was very concealed, making it difficult for the barbarians to discover them. Even with A'si's telescope, they could only vaguely discern carts of hay. This was why she had felt emboldened to directly absorb Lu Fang into her space.
As the mistress of the space, she could control everything within it. If a person entered the space after losing consciousness, their body's functions would be maintained, suffering no damage. However, forcibly bringing a conscious person into the space could cause significant harm to their body.
In her previous life, Li Man'er had experimented a few times. Several unfortunate individuals, brought into the space while awake, emerged either insane or deaf, with some form of lasting issue.
Of course, they had no idea what had happened. Upon entering the space, their consciousness was sealed, and their senses were blocked by a barrier.
Lu Fang's life or death rested in Li Man'er's hands. Naturally, she wouldn't let him live, but this wasn't the time to deal with him.
Li Man'er took out the sleeping powder from her space and lit it slowly. Before long, barbarian soldiers in her vicinity began to fall unconscious one after another.
Simultaneously, a commotion erupted on Zhang Jingfeng's side. It was unclear how, but he had been discovered, and the barbarians were beating gongs and drums to sound the alarm, alerting everyone.
"Disaster!" A'si exclaimed in a hushed voice.
"What do we do now?"
"Shouldn't we go rescue the General quickly?"
A'si shook her head. "Wait a moment." She raised her telescope again, gazing toward the camp. She saw something catching fire, a vast expanse of red, flames soaring into the sky.
"It's the handcarts. It looks like someone is pushing carts, it's the General!"
Indeed, Li Man'er had set the haycarts ablaze and was charging into the crowd, pushing the burning carts towards the tents. In a short while, a sea of fire erupted.
"Catch the assassins, there are assassins."
"Enemy attack, someone is assaulting the camp."
"Extinguish the fire first."
The barbarian camp descended into chaos. Some soldiers who had not succumbed to the sleeping powder ran out with weapons. Other unfortunate soldiers would never wake up, consumed by the raging fire.
Despite the immense commotion, the culprit remained at large.
The barbarian camp was filled with fire and smoke. In the middle of the night, everyone was panicked.
Suddenly, a bald, burly man emerged from a tent. He was tall and strong, his armor gleaming, clearly a person of high status, at least a deputy commander.
"Don't panic, put out the fire first. You few, follow me, and let's kill those despicable scoundrels from the Zun Kingdom."
Li Man'er targeted him. Like a phantom, she emerged from her space. She was now dressed in barbarian attire and held a barbarian spear, but no one noticed her.
"Extinguish the fire, enemy attack."
Li Man'er shielded her face with her sleeve, her crossbow already cocked. When the burly man entered her range, Li Man'er raised her hand and fired an arrow...