Reality

"Yes... how high is this... this.." Si Ning pointed to what seemed like a hill since it doesn’t have a label on it and with the shape, he could never guess wrong since topping BattleXmode was no joke but yet he was quite intrigued by the map which was made from fine clothing material. The woven pattern was amazing and looks authentic.

"It’s sloppy and almost smooth, up to forty feet." Chen An pointed out.

"The passage is narrow which means at least ten horses can pass through at once, to meet them will prove difficult, we will lose many men but this hill.. hmmm this should be good for an ambush." Si Ning's lips curled up at his cleverness. He mentally gave himself an award as he nodded.

"Su Heng?" Chen An called as he turned to the man next to him who seemed to be in deep thought and Si Ning could tell this Su Heng was the strategist.

"But General, no trees to cover us and we would be spotted at daylight since they will probably arrive at the pass before nightfall." Chen An explained. "The hills are quite smooth and will be difficult to climb." He pointed out.

"We do not need to start climbing at the base, the hill is stretched up here and we can begin climbing from here to the top and run across to wait but we will be visible in daylight." Su Heng pointed to a rough surface which would be the best for climbing.

"Have you ever heard of camouflage?" Si Ning announced.

"Camouflage?" Su Heng asked with a puzzled look.

"Yes Camouflage, We will use leaves. Joining them together to cover our armor as we lay low, flat at the top of the hill making sure from General Shen Yu and his troops’ vision will only see the leaves when they look up that if they look up eh eh eh." Si Ning couldn’t avoid laughing evily at his plan. "How I am looking at this pass, they would be cautious of traps so they won’t run ahead instead they will take their time to look around and it is up to us to lead them to do so." Si Ning nodded feeling proud.

"General!"

Si Ning turned to see the man called Ah Dai with a pale face, beaded sweat on his forehead, who had lost his arm dressed in armor, and a woman in robes with a bloodstained apron that seemed to be part of the medics behind him looking worried.

"Ah Dai...."

"Commander Ji Ran..." Ah Dai stopped Ji Ran. "I am General Si Ning shield, forgive me for letting an arrow hit you General but there won’t be a next time since I will be there protecting you." He saluted.

The plot was going crazy that Si Ning's eyes widen as he stared at the man who seemed to be slightly older than him, standing before him with a serious resolution. Si Ning had already concluded mentally that this was nothing but a show and he was the main character but seeing Ah Dai's arm gone was so confusing.

"Ah Dai." Si Ning approached him with a serious look.

"Yes General, I will protect you with my life." Ah Dai stated firmly.

All Ah Dai said was creeping Si Ning out but looking at the woman's ashen face and Ah Dai pale look means Ah Dai wasn’t in a good condition to even be moving around.

"Rest well and wait quietly in bed for us to return." Si Ning choked out as a feeling of uneasiness creep up his back.

"General.. I... I.. want to help please, even if my arm is gone I can still fight!" Ah Dai bowed.

"The only way you can help is to wait till your wound heal." Si Ning tried to be reasonable. This plot might be a test but he wasn’t about to fail it.

"General....."

"That’s enough Ah Dai, Stay at the camp!" Si Ning doesn’t know where his courageous voice came from or why he was able to mask his shaky hands but he wasn’t about to give up till he proves this was nothing but a show.

"Yes, General Si Ning." Ah Dai bowed before stepping out with the woman sticking close to him.

Si Ning walked back to the table. "Let’s continue." He took a deep breath trying to push all the negative thoughts away.

"So we will jump on them?" Ji Ran said. "On the troops from the side."

"Close enough, we first hit them with few arrows as we lay low since we have no time to set traps. Then we jump on them making sure to hit them hard." Si Ning's face began to fall as his plan seemed unrealistic and he had two hundred soldiers and their enemy had five hundred.

This was different from the game. Since it was some sort of a show. The filming crew would be around.

"It can work since the mountain is sloppy and they will never imagine us to climb it since there would be no sign of us climbing." Chen An added.

"Half of the troops will climb, the other half will march and face the troops head-on. That will be our three-way attack." Si Ning nodded. "We will show them it's a mistake to walk in our lair." He finally said a cool statement like a real Actor of a war movie.

"Forgive me, General, I didn’t consider General Shen Yu would chase us this far." Chen An apologized.

"Just make sure there won’t be a second time." Si Ning nodded.

"Yes and..." Su Heng stopped when they heard some ruckus outside.

They turned to the entrance and it was Chen An who first stepped out to see two soldiers holding a soldier who was on his knees. His lips were bloody.

"What is happening?" Si Ning asked.

"General we caught him sprinkling poison on our drinks and wanted to set our rations on fire." The soldier with a large scar across his face said.

The scar looked hideous but nothing cosmetic makeup couldn’t do.

"General forgive me. My sister is in their hands and they plan to sell her off."

This was finally time for Si Ning to shine and he stepped forward and bent to look at his face. He looked like he was beating up badly and it looked real but Si Ning ignored it and straightened up.

"You decided to jeopardize a whole army because of your sister." It was a tricky situation.

"General Si Ning please forgive me.." He begged as he cried. "Please do not take it out on my family."

"What should we do Chen An." Si Ning asked casually. He would not hesitate to push the problem on another person.

"We have to conclude our plan and we don’t have use for a spy, he should die here." Chen An replied calmly, his face cold.

"Yes, kill him." Si Ning ordered and before he blinks the soldier holding the spy down raised his sword and slit his throat cutting the head off.

Si Ning's eyes widen as the head rolled on the floor and blood gushed out from the severed neck. It was like a horror movie.

"General." Chen An called him.

"... Is he dead?" Si Ning asked foolishly.

"Forgive me General for acting so fast." The scared face soldier apologized.

That was it. This was reality!!!