A thick blanket of black smoke swallowed the battlefield.
Visibility had fallen to almost nothing.
Not even a horse could be seen beyond several paces.
Then…
SHHHH! SHHHH! SHHHH!
A rain of arrows suddenly descended from above.
"AAAGHH!"
"They're shooting from outside the smoke!"
"Shields! Raise your shields!"
The first wave of Qin soldiers was thrown into chaos as countless arrows pierced through the haze with frightening accuracy.
Before they could recover…
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Heavy chariots burst out from the smoke behind them.
"Wei chariots!"
"They're attacking our rear!"
The chariots crashed into Qin's formation while archers continued to rain death from unseen positions.
Inside the smoke...
General Gen Pou slowly smiled.
"So... you've entered my battlefield."
Hyou Ren cut down another Wei charioteer before looking around.
Another volley of arrows landed only a few steps away from him.
"How are they seeing us through all this smoke?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"No..."
His ears twitched.
GONG!
A metallic sound echoed somewhere within the smoke.
Moments later…
Another gong answered from another direction.
Then another.
Then another.
Hyou Ren's eyes widened.
"So that's it..."
"They aren't seeing us."
"They're listening."
Bao Jun turned toward him.
"What do you mean?"
Hyou Ren spoke quickly.
"Wei scattered small groups throughout the smoke."
"They're carrying gongs and signaling devices."
"They surround our army while keeping track of our movements."
"They relay our position through sound."
"The archers outside simply fire according to those signals."
Tian Hao immediately understood.
"So chasing those signalers is exactly what they want."
Hyou Ren nodded.
"If we stop advancing to hunt them, we'll become completely lost inside this smoke."
He raised his sword.
"Listen carefully!"
"Do not scatter!"
"Advance only!"
"Forward!"
"As long as we continue moving, we will eventually crash into the enemy."
"The moment we stop..."
"...we lose."
Bao Jun laughed despite the situation.
"Hah! Straight through it is!"
Tian Hao raised his glaive.
"The First Wave!"
"Advance!"
The three armies ignored the unseen signalers and continued charging deeper into the smoke.
Behind them...
The Second Wave finally entered the smoke.
Leading them were Lu Shen and Mo Yun.
The instant the first gong echoed...
Lu Shen frowned.
"...Interesting."
Mo Yun looked around.
"They're guiding the archers with sound."
Lu Shen nodded.
"Exactly."
"And Milord Hyou Ren has already figured it out."
Mo Yun looked surprised.
"So are they hunting those signalers?"
Lu Shen shook his head.
"No."
"Hunting them is exactly what Gen Pou wants."
"General Hyou Ren would never fall for something so simple."
"He will keep pushing forward."
Mo Yun smiled.
"Then what do we do?"
A cold grin appeared on Lu Shen's face.
"We'll do something Gen Pou won't expect."
He pointed toward the nearest gong.
"We eliminate every signal team we can find."
"And after that..."
"Capture some of them then learn the signal patterns"
"We become the signal team."
Mo Yun's eyes widened.
"...Using their own instruments?"
Lu Shen smiled.
"We lure the Wei troops toward false positions."
"Then ambush whoever answers the call."
"For every signal they lose..."
"We gain another weapon."
Mo Yun laughed.
"Hah!"
Lu Shen unsheathed his spear.
"Cavalry!"
"Archers!"
"Silence every gong you hear!"
The Second Wave spread throughout the smoke.
Wei signalers were hunted one after another.
Before they could strike their instruments…
THUD!
An arrow pierced a man's throat.
Another signal team attempted to flee.
Mo Yun's cavalry crashed into them.
Steel flashed.
Heads rolled.
One gong after another fell silent.
Then…
GONG!
A familiar sound echoed once more.
Except...
This time...
It was Lu Shen's soldiers striking the instrument.
Several nearby Wei units immediately changed direction.
"They took the bait!"
Lu Shen's hidden archers released a volley.
"Fire!"
The Wei soldiers walked directly into the ambush.
Screams echoed through the smoke.
Again.
Another false signal.
Another Wei detachment rushed toward it.
Another ambush.
The invisible battlefield had begun turning against its creator.
Far ahead...
Hyou Ren suddenly noticed something.
"The arrows..."
He looked upward.
"They're becoming fewer."
Another volley landed, but much farther away than before.
"Their accuracy is dropping."
Bao Jun looked over.
"What does that mean?"
Hyou Ren smiled faintly.
"The Second Wave."
"They've found the solution already."
"They're destroying Gen Pou's ears."
A moment later...
Silence.
Then…
...GONG...
A single, distant sound echoed through the smoke.
Different.
Lower.
Heavier.
Unlike the scattered signals from before.
Hyou Ren closed his eyes and listened carefully.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then his eyes opened sharply.
"...Found you."
Bao Jun looked over.
"What is it?"
Hyou Ren pointed his sword toward the faint sound.
"That's the command signal."
"The headquarters."
"The source of this entire smoke formation."
Tian Hao grinned.
"So we've finally found Gen Pou."
Hyou Ren raised his sword high.
"All armies!"
"Form on me!"
"We charge toward that sound!"
"If Gen Pou wishes to hide inside the smoke..."
A fierce smile spread across his face.
"...then we'll drag him out ourselves!"
Thousands of Qin soldiers roared in unison.
"OOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!"
Deep within the endless sea of smoke...
The First Wave charged toward the mysterious signal...