In the forest 30 miles outside An Nan City, a group of people stealthily traveled through the woods.

Looking at the people around him, Lu Yu was somewhat speechless. If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have accepted this mission. He thought he would be carrying out the task alone, but it turned out to be a squad.

There were quite a number of familiar faces in the squad. The two leaders were Martial Cultivators from An Nan City—Hong Chu and An Youwei. Other team members included Divine Weapon Pavilion disciples like Li Ruofu and Zhou Lan.

Lu Yu remembered more than half of the people in the team.

Hong Chu walked at the front; he was a Martial Cultivator native to An Nan City and very familiar with the terrain nearby.

An Youwei was at the back of the team; his array masked the sound of their movements and the aura emitted by the group, ensuring that the indigenous tribe would not discover their tracks.

What Lu Yu couldn't understand was why the two obvious masters of the Qi Sea realm would bring a group of Qi Convergence realm Martial Cultivators as burdens to execute such a highly dangerous mission behind enemy lines.

Lu Yu glanced at the two before and after him, thinking: Maybe he too was considered a "burden" in their eyes.

Walking at the very front, Hong Chu suddenly stopped, and everyone else halted their steps, instinctively searching for cover to hide.

"Ahead lies the Witch Spirit Race's main base; we will wait here until they launch their second attack on An Nan City before making our move," Hong Chu told everyone.

Everyone nodded slightly, hid themselves well, and restrained their aura.

Lu Yu gazed into the distance, and through the gaps between the leaves, he could see indigenous warriors patrolling outside the wooden stake walls.

Unable to release his perception, relying solely on eyesight, Lu Yu could not discern the number of powerful indigenous warriors, Southern Barbarian Witch Sacrifices hidden within.

Hiding among the bushes, unable to use Spiritual Power to protect themselves, enduring the bites of insects and ants in the damp foliage and soil was quite a challenge for most Divine Weapon Pavilion disciples.

After all, they hailed from prominent families and had barely experienced such things; they hadn't even seen summer mosquitoes.

Smack—Li Ruofu slapped her calf. She regretted not wearing long pants; her calves had been bitten several times, red welts swelling up.

Looking at Zhou Lan, dressed similarly and motionless, Li Ruofu wanted to ask how she managed, but before their departure, Hong Chu had warned them.

Without permission, they absolutely could not use Spiritual Power, emit perception, or speak, or else they would be abandoned in the forest.

Prefer to abandon a teammate than be dragged down by them; that was Hong Chu's attitude.

Just as she was about to ask Zhou Lan about enduring and avoiding insect bites, the ground shook slightly as a group of indigenous people emerged from the main base.

The troops were chaotic; some rode beasts, others still holding wooden stakes as weapons, speaking loudly as they walked, their voices echoing hundreds of meters through the forest, as if afraid others wouldn't hear they were coming out.

After the majority of the indigenous forces left, the patrol numbers outside decreased significantly.

Hong Chu emerged from his hiding place, gestured for the group to advance, and they crept to a spot 50 meters from the main base's walls.

Hong Chu turned to the weaker members, saying, "You create a commotion, the bigger the better, and draw out the strong ones inside. If you can't beat them, then run."

The few nodded; they knew their task when they came.

Preventing the Witch Spirit Race's sacrifice ritual was never about directly charging in; instead, it was about luring the enemy out of the lair.

Unclear what level of strong ones were inside, barging in recklessly would be suicidal.

The few rose, circled in a direction, and charged toward the indigenous people's main base, not approaching the walls but from afar launching their martial arts, tearing through the wooden stake walls.

The indigenous people inside the main base were attacked and rushed towards them.

Deep within the main base, an indigenous person hurried to report to the shaman about the attack.

Hearing that the attackers were just a few not-so-strong Martial Cultivators, the shaman didn't pay much attention, "Let Jiu go and kill them."

"Yes, honorable Shaman." The messenger retreated to notify "Jiu" to engage and eliminate the intruders.

The shaman looked at the others present, urging: "Quickly set up the altar; we must welcome the honorable Witch Spirit master's arrival."

"Yes, honorable Shaman."

They bustled about, placing various sacrificial goods around the altar, including beasts disemboweled and bled dry, alongside other indigenous tribesmen.

Watching Li Ruofu, Zhou Lan, and others fighting fiercely against the indigenous warriors, outnumbered yet prevailing, Hong Chu showed a disappointed look.

"That's far from enough; their commotion isn't big enough, unable to draw out the strong ones inside."

"Want me to go?" asked a disciple from the Divine Weapon Pavilion of the Qi Sea realm.

"No, once they enter, we can't act anymore. If they can't draw out the strong ones inside, we'll have to find another way," Hong Chu quickly replied.

If there was merely a squad, the indigenous would only think they were a team causing unrest.

Should anyone else engage, the indigenous might suspect there were far more hidden outside, perhaps even recalling their dispatched major forces.

For the tribe, joint siege was indeed important, but not as vital as protecting their own tribe's safety.

Even if it means abandoning the siege, they'd definitely return to aid the main base.

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