46: Chapter 46 The Divide and Conquer Scheme

“Trash!”

Bear Overlord cursed angrily, not believing his nonsense at all.

In his view, this was just an excuse Nie Kong made to absolve himself after suffering a defeat.

His gaze turned to Du Wei.

“What about you? You led five hundred main troops, how could you also be defeated?!”

Du Wei raised his head, meeting Bear Overlord's gaze, and said in a cold voice: “Panshi Stockade was well-prepared. They set up a fire attack strategy at the pass. Our soldiers were caught off guard, suffered heavy casualties, and their morale was shattered, leaving them unable to continue fighting.”

“Fire attack? Another scheme!” Bear Overlord's fists clenched until they cracked. “What exactly is the background of this Panshi Stockade?!”

His gaze finally fell upon the strategist, Liu Chengfeng.

“Strategist! Didn't you say your plan was flawless? Now, explain this to me!”

Liu Chengfeng's face was also full of gravity and confusion.

“Big Brother, this matter was my miscalculation.”

He frankly admitted his mistake, “I calculated everything, but I never expected that Panshi Stockade would actually be raising a Tier 3 exotic beast.”

“Furthermore, they knew our army's movements like the back of their hand, as if they could predict the future. This indicates that our intelligence has serious problems. Even...”

He paused, voicing a speculation that made everyone's heart tremble.

“Even, there is a mole within our stronghold!”

“A mole?!”

These two words exploded in the hall like a thunderclap.

All the leaders subconsciously looked at the people beside them, their eyes filled with suspicion and doubt.

Bear Overlord's face also instantly became extremely ugly.

What he hated most was this kind of backstabbing hidden in the shadows.

And the Second-in-Command, Nie Kong, and the Third-in-Command, Du Wei, felt a chill in their hearts when they heard the word “mole,” and they subconsciously exchanged a glance.

In each other's eyes, they both saw a trace of imperceptible... hostility.

Nie Kong suspected whether Du Wei had intentionally slacked off on the front battlefield to preserve his strength, causing his own rear to be raided.

And Du Wei suspected whether Nie Kong, fearing death, had exaggerated the enemy's strength, leading to the total annihilation of the surprise troops.

The existing conflicts were completely ignited at this moment and brought to the table.

“Shut up, all of you!!!”

Seeing that the two were about to draw their swords against each other in the Great Hall, Bear Overlord slammed his armrest, letting out a heaven-shaking roar!

“We haven't even been killed by outsiders, yet our own people are fighting among themselves! What does this look like?!”

Bear Overlord roared furiously, “Get out of here, all of you! Go back and reflect on yourselves!”

“Tomorrow, whoever dares to mention the word ‘mole’ again, or dares to gossip behind my back, don't blame me, Bear Overlord, for not recognizing brotherhood with my axe!”

He knew that at a time like this, internal suspicion was the biggest taboo.

Whether there was a mole or not, he had to forcibly suppress this matter first.

Otherwise, before Panshi Stockade even attacked, they would fall apart themselves.

Although Nie Kong and Du Wei were still unconvinced, facing the furious Bear Overlord, they dared not say anything more, and could only cold-snort and flick their sleeves as they left.

Although the argument was forcibly suppressed, that rift had already become even larger and more shocking.

...

At this moment, at Panshi Stockade.

The council hall was brightly lit.

Gao Feng, Luo Shu, Old Qiu, and others were sitting around a sand table, conducting a post-battle review.

Skinny Monkey reported in detail the news that the scout team had risked their lives to gather.

“Stockade Master, our men saw with their own eyes the remnants of Dushan Stronghold fleeing back to the stronghold in a sorry state. Although it was far away and we couldn't hear exactly what they were arguing about, the commotion was significant, and Bear Overlord lost his temper several times; it seems they are having internal strife.”

“Great! They are having internal strife!” Old Qiu slapped his thigh excitedly, “Stockade Master, this is our golden opportunity!”

A trace of a smile appeared on Gao Feng's face, but he did not express his stance immediately.

The situation was developing in the direction he predicted, but it was not enough.

He needed more precise and lethal intelligence to completely tear this rift open.

He looked at Luo Shu beside him: “Luo Shu, how is the interrogation of those captives we caught this time going?”

Luo Shu nodded and reported: “Brother, the few we caught this time are all bullies who fear the strong and intimidate the weak. Old Qiu hadn't even used torture instruments, just scared them a bit, and they confessed everything.”

“Oh? What did they say?” Gao Feng became interested.

“They have practically exposed all the secrets of Dushan Stronghold.”

Luo Shu said while holding back a laugh, “The recklessness of the Chief Leader, Bear Overlord; the sinister cruelty of the Second-in-Command, Nie Kong; the integrity of the Third-in-Command, Du Wei... and the various conflicts that have long existed between the leaders, they told it all clearly.”

“Very good.” Gao Feng nodded with satisfaction.

This intelligence was the most lethal weapon he would send to Dushan Stronghold next.

A bold and sinister plan quickly took shape in his mind.

“Bring me brush and ink.”

Luo Shu quickly prepared the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

Gao Feng pondered for a moment, picked up the brush, and began to write.

The letter was written to the Third-in-Command, Du Wei.

But Gao Feng knew that this letter must never fall into the hands of the upright Du Wei.

Its final destination must be the most suspicious and sinister Second-in-Command of the entire Dushan Stronghold, “Ghost Shadow” Nie Kong!

The letter was written as follows:

“To be opened by Big Brother Du Wei:”

“Last time, following Big Brother's plan, the frontal feint attack and the rear sneak attack were indeed a complete success! My troops have successfully crushed Bear Overlord's spirit, beheading over a hundred of his elite soldiers, causing him to be furious, and furthermore, he is now suspecting a mole within the stronghold, causing panic. This plan of yours, Big Brother, is truly brilliant!”

“Now, Bear Overlord is already a dead man walking, and Nie Kong is nothing but a sinister villain, not worth worrying about. The great cause will soon be completed, and success is just around the corner!”

“Just wait for next time, when my younger brother and you, Big Brother, coordinate from inside and outside, and we will further trim his wings. When the time is ripe, we will take the heads of Bear and Nie, and the position of Chief Leader of Dushan Stronghold will be yours, Big Brother! By then, our two houses will divide Ghost Sees Sorrow equally, wouldn't that be delightful!”

“Enclosed is a copy of our Panshi Stockade's defense map, to show my sincerity. I hope Big Brother will keep it safe and wait for good news.”

“Your younger brother, Panshi Stockade Master, Gao Feng, personally written.”

The content of this letter could be said to be extremely vicious.

It was written entirely in the tone of a “co-conspirator,” deliberately attributing the “credit” for Dushan Stronghold's previous disastrous defeat to Du Wei's “counter-strategy.”

This looked full of loopholes, because everyone knew that last time it was Dushan Stronghold that initiated the attack.

But, precisely because it was full of loopholes, it looked even more like a secret letter written between allies who were eager to claim credit and were carried away!

Especially for Nie Kong, who was already full of hostility toward Du Wei and was naturally suspicious.

When he saw this letter, what he imagined in his mind was by no means the authenticity of this letter.

But rather — —

“Good! So the previous disastrous defeat was not an accident at all! It was a play acted out by this thick-browed and big-eyed guy, Du Wei, in collusion with outsiders!”

“They deliberately sent me to the back mountain to die, and deliberately let Du Wei slack off at the front, the goal was to weaken Big Brother's strength and get rid of me, a thorn in their side!”

The seeds of suspicion only need a little soil and water to grow into a towering tree.

And this letter was the most fertile soil and the most violent catalyst!