Inside the big tent, the atmosphere, which was originally so tense that it could almost cut through the air, began to undergo some subtle changes following Hailan Wuha’s words, and the tense atmosphere seemed to be relieved to a certain extent.

However, although the tension on the surface was eased, this relaxation did not truly dispel the haze that shrouded the hearts of everyone present, and that heavy shadow still lingered.

Everyone’s expressions were still complicated and difficult to discern. Their eyes moved back and forth between Hailan Jiabo and Hailan Wuha, with hesitation and uneasiness flashing in their eyes, as if everyone was trying to find the answer from the other’s face.

“Can these words… really be believed?”

A soldier pondered in his heart, with a hint of doubt in his eyes. He was full of doubts, “Hailan Wuha is the general’s most trusted person. Can his words really represent the true situation of the reinforcements?”

“Or… is this simply a show that the general staged in order to stabilize us?”

Another soldier lowered his head in thought, with a complicated look in his eyes. He was also doubting in his heart, “After all, the current situation is already extremely bad, and the general has no choice but to do this.”

Although they had no intention of defecting outright, this incident had already planted a seed of uncertainty in their hearts and began to affect their beliefs and determination.

They began to doubt, to be suspicious, and even to waver as to whether they should continue to persevere and whether they should continue to follow General Hailan Jiabo.

Hailan Jiabo keenly noticed the subtle changes in his subordinates.

He slowly swept his eyes over the crowd, and seeing them lowering their heads in thought, a chill suddenly surged in his heart, and he realized the seriousness of the problem.

“These people… have begun to waver.”

He muttered to himself, with a cold look in his eyes. He knew very well that if he couldn’t stabilize them as soon as possible, it wouldn’t be long before they would completely lose their confidence.

Once the morale of the army collapses, irreparable failure will await him, and under the current situation, he cannot allow such a thing to happen.

“Enough!” Thinking of this, he suddenly spoke in a low and majestic voice.

In an instant, this roar was like a heavy hammer, hitting everyone’s heart.

The expressions of everyone in the tent changed drastically. They lowered their heads, not daring to look Hailan Jiabo in the eye, as if his knife-like gaze would completely cut open their hearts.

How could the general reconcile with Chagan Uli?” A soldier thought to himself, with cold sweat on his forehead.

“But…if the reinforcements don’t arrive, can we really hold on?” Another soldier lowered his head in thought, with a complicated look in his eyes, “Is this really the only way we can do?”

Hailan Jiabo looked at everyone who was silent with their heads down, with a hint of coldness in his eyes.

He slowly walked in front of the crowd, with a hint of oppression in his tone: “Or do any of you think that waiting is not the only solution?”

“If you have a better idea, please tell me!”

He said coldly, his eyes sweeping across the crowd like a knife, “I, Hailan Jiabo, am by no means a stubborn person. As long as you can come up with a better solution, I am willing to listen!”

Upon hearing this, everyone in the tent lowered their heads, with shame and helplessness written all over their faces.

There was a complicated look in their eyes, and obviously no one dared to stand up and respond to Hailan Jiabo’s questioning.

“A better way?”

A soldier repeated this sentence silently in his heart, with a look of confusion in his eyes, “If there was a better way, we would have proposed it long ago. But… do we really have any choice?”

“In fact, we can completely withdraw!” A personal soldier said cautiously, with a hint of tentativeness in his tone.

His words were like a stone thrown into the originally calm lake, causing ripples.

“There are only a few of us. As long as we are careful and leave no traces, we can hide in the grassland.”

The soldier continued, with a firm tone, “As long as we don’t reveal our identities, no one will notice us.”

“Yes!” Another guard immediately echoed, his tone revealing a hint of excitement, “Right now the leader is busy fighting Chagan Uli and the rebels. He is in a state of panic right now. He won’t pay much attention to us!”

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the tent suddenly brightened up, and the originally gloomy atmosphere seemed to be dispersed by a faint hope. There was a hint of hope in their eyes, and they all looked at Hailan Jiabo, as if waiting for his response.

Who are they? They are the people who grew up on this grassland!

They are hunters who gallop on the grassland and chase prey all day long!

As hunters, they know better than anyone how to hide their scent, how to avoid being discovered, and how to survive on this vast grassland.

Now, they see an opportunity to escape the dilemma.

“As long as we can escape and hide on the grassland, we will definitely survive!” A soldier muttered to himself, with a hint of excitement in his eyes.

However, in the face of these hopeful gazes, Hailan Jiabo did not respond immediately.

His eyes swept coldly over everyone in the tent, with no expression on his face, as if he was thinking about something.

The atmosphere in the tent became tense again, and everyone held their breath, waiting for Hailan Jiabo’s response.

“Will the general agree?” A soldier wondered in his heart, with a hint of uneasiness in his eyes, “Or will he directly refuse?”

“If the general disagrees, what should we do?” Another soldier lowered his head in thought, with a complicated look in his eyes, “Should we continue to stay here, or… find a way to leave by ourselves?”

“Withdraw and disappear without a trace?” Hailan Jiabo repeated these words in a low voice, with a hint of complexity in his tone.

In fact, he had already had this idea long before these people proposed it.

He knew very well that as long as he was willing to abandon everything in front of him and quietly retreat with these people, he could take advantage of the confrontation between the Northern Barbarians and the rebel army to disappear without a trace.

As a former scout, he knew better than anyone how to hide his tracks and how to survive on this grassland.

Moreover, his subordinates were all scouts, so this was an easy task for them.

However, thinking of this, Hailan Jiabo’s eyes suddenly became deep. His hand slowly tightened the long knife at his waist, and a complex emotion surged in his heart.

“But if I do this…” he thought to himself, with a heavy look in his eyes, “I will have to abandon everything I have—my status, my glory, and my name.”

He knew very well that if he chose to withdraw, he and his men would forever bear the shame and stigma of deserters.

At that time, not only could they not use their current names, they couldn’t even live a normal life.

“We will become rats crossing the street, and everyone will shout and beat us.” Hailan Jiabo muttered to himself, with a bitter look in his eyes, “We can only wander on the grassland like wild animals, living a life in the dark.”

A deep disgust and unwillingness surged in his heart.

He couldn’t imagine that he would live such a life – a northern barbarian general who once galloped on the battlefield and made the enemies tremble in fear, actually fell to such a state.

“At that time…” Hailan Jiabo’s gaze became deeper, as if he saw the grassland in the distance through the tent, “Can I still be considered Hailan Jiabo?”

A deep questioning surged in his heart. He began to ask himself, is this really the life he wants? Is he, Hailan Jiabo, going to give up like this?
“I used to be the pride of the northern barbarians and the eagle on the grassland.”

Hailan Jiabo muttered in his heart, with a complicated look in his eyes, “How can I hide in a corner of the grassland like a stray dog ​​and linger on?”

His fists slowly clenched, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

His heart was full of struggles and contradictions. On the one hand, he longed to live, but on the other hand, he could not accept this way of living.

“Is being alive really more important than anything else?”

Hailan Jiabo said in his heart, with a cold look in his eyes, “If that’s the way to live, it’s better to die on the battlefield!”

His gaze slowly swept over the people in the tent, and seeing the hope and anxiety in their eyes, a complex emotion surged in his heart.

“These people…” Hailan Jiabo muttered in his heart, with a heavy look in his eyes.
“They are my subordinates and my brothers. I cannot let them lose hope, and I cannot let them fall into despair because of my decision.”

He knew that these people were willing to follow him because they still had a little trust in him. If he chose to withdraw, he would not only betray his own beliefs, but also betray the trust of these people.

“I can’t let them become deserters.” Hailan Jiabo said in his heart, with a firm look in his eyes, “I can’t let them live such a humiliating life.”

Thinking of this, Hailan Jiabo’s eyes suddenly became cold and fierce. He stood up slowly, and his eyes swept through the people in the tent like a knife.

“Withdraw?” His voice was low and majestic, with an unquestionable power in his tone. “Is this what you think?”

Upon hearing this, everyone in the tent lowered their heads, not daring to look at Hailan Jiabo.

There was a complicated look in their eyes, and they had obviously realized that Hailan Jiabo would not agree to this proposal.

“I’m telling you!”

His voice became increasingly high-pitched, with a hint of sharp chill in his tone, “Even if we fail, we are still warriors on the grassland, not deserters.”

“Have you forgotten why we did this in the first place?”

“If we don’t succeed, we will die. One general’s success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers. As long as we can hold on, we will surely wait for the arrival of reinforcements!”

Seeing Hailan Jiabo’s firm attitude, everyone looked at each other, but in the end no one said anything.

They understood that once Hailan Jiabo decided, no one could change it, especially at such a critical moment.

“The general’s will… is unshakable.” A soldier muttered in his heart, with a complicated look in his eyes, “Perhaps, we can only trust him.”

Although their hearts were still filled with hesitation and uneasiness, Hailan Jiabo’s majesty forced them to suppress their hesitation and choose to continue following him.

Just like that, everyone wisely left the tent, and the atmosphere inside the tent immediately returned to its previous calm.

When the atmosphere in the tent calmed down a little, Hailan Jiabo slowly sat down and stared coldly at the grassland outside the tent.

His hand slowly tightened around the long knife at his waist, his eyes revealing a hint of coldness and deep thought.

“Hailanhaq… maybe you want me to die here.” Hailan Jiabo thought to himself, with a cold look in his eyes, “But I won’t let you do as you wish.”

His eyes swept across the horizon outside the tent like a knife, as if looking for some answer.

However, his thoughts were quickly pulled back and his gaze fell on Hailan Wuha again.

Hailan Wuha’s heart tightened under this sudden gaze, and cold sweat instantly oozed out of his forehead. He lowered his head, not daring to look at Hailan Jiabo, but his heart was already in turmoil.

“General… why are you staring at me?” Hailan Wuha thought to himself, with a hint of panic in his eyes, “Could it be that he has seen through something?”

Just as he was daydreaming, Hailan Jiabo’s cold voice suddenly came, like a heavy hammer, hitting his heart hard.

“Do you know why you are still alive today?” Hailan Jiabo’s voice was low and cold, with an unquestionable majesty in his tone.

Upon hearing this, Hailan Wuha’s face turned pale and his legs trembled slightly involuntarily.

Hailan Jiabo saw Hailan Wuha’s frightened look and glared at him coldly, with a deep warning in his eyes.

“What you said just now can be regarded as making up for your mistake.” Hailan Jiabo said slowly, with a hint of coldness in his tone, “But from now on, you stay by my side and are not allowed to leave for a moment!”

When he said this, his tone suddenly became particularly serious, especially the last few words “one step away”, as if every word carried a biting chill.

When Hailan Wuha heard this, his heart suddenly tightened, and the cold sweat on his forehead slid down his cheeks. He lowered his head and nodded repeatedly in response: “Yes… yes, General!”

He understood that Hailan Jiabo had become completely suspicious of him.

The reason why we haven’t taken action against him now is purely because he has very few subordinates and we dare not act rashly.

If it were in the past, he would have died long ago.

However, since Hailan Jiabo has made such a statement, it means that he is safe for the time being, at least that seems to be the case now.

As for what happens next, we will talk about it later. Now that he is under Hailan Jiabo’s supervision, he can only obey.

Any action will only result in death!

“You…you…it’s OK as long as you understand!”

He nodded in satisfaction, but his expression remained serious: “All I want is to escape, that’s all!”

(End of this chapter)