Prey Sets the Trap

After enjoying a lavish "bear steak" dinner, Lam Minh didn't act immediately. He returned to the cave, sat down by the fire, and began the process of "digesting" the information he had just absorbed from the two "Night Shadow" assassins.

This was the first time he had used the "Dragon Soul Devour" skill. It not only brought him Immortality Points but also gave him a huge amount of intelligence. However, these memories were chaotic and fragmented, like the shards of a broken mirror. He needed to sort and analyze them carefully.

He closed his eyes, letting his spiritual sense sink deep into the newly acquired sea of memories.

Images flashed through his mind like a fast-forwarded film.

He saw the brutal training process of the "Night Shadow" unit. They were selected from Madakaros with a talent for stealth and speed. They had to go through life-and-death exercises, killing each other to survive. Only the final survivor was worthy of becoming a "Night Shadow."

He saw their organizational structure. The "Night Shadows" were an independent unit, taking orders directly from one of the highest-ranking elders of the clans invading Earth, a being with a Late-stage Golden Core cultivation.

He saw their secret bases, cleverly disguised underground or in treacherous jungles.

And most importantly, he saw some "classified information" that even the ASEAN military might not know.

"So that's how it is," he murmured as he opened his eyes, a sharp glint within them. "They're preparing for a major plan."

Through the memories of the two assassins, he learned that Lac Long Quan's sudden appearance had caused great panic and shock among the Madakaros clans invading Earth. The ceasefire agreement was just a temporary plan to buy them time to investigate and prepare.

Their plan was to find and destroy the "Dragon Veins" of Earth. They believed that Lac Long Quan could appear and possess such terrifying power because he had absorbed energy from the Dragon Veins. If they could destroy the Dragon Veins, Lac Long Quan's power would be weakened, and humanity would lose its greatest support.

"A sinister plan," Lam Minh frowned.

He also learned the location of one of the "Night Shadow" unit's most important forward bases, which they used as a launchpad and command center for this northwestern region.

The base was located about 300km north of his current position, disguised under an abandoned ancient temple. According to the memories, this base had about 20 other "Night Shadow" members, all at Peak Foundation Establishment, and was commanded by an Early-stage Golden Core cultivator, a being nicknamed "Black Shadow."

"An Early Golden Core and over twenty Peak Foundation Establishment assassins... a lineup sufficient to cause big trouble for an entire legion."

If it were someone else, upon learning this information, the first reaction would be to report it to their superiors, to let the military plan a large-scale attack.

But Lam Minh thought differently.

"Why should I share the 'points' with others?" he chuckled to himself. "This is an extremely high-quality mobile 'point mine.' I have to 'excavate' it myself."

He began to plan his "visit."

He couldn't just charge straight in. Although he wasn't afraid of death, if he was besieged by a whole group of Peak Foundation Establishment cultivators and a Golden Core at the same time, he would also "die" very quickly and repeatedly. That would be inefficient and might also alert the enemy and allow them to escape.

"I have to use my head a little," he thought. "To deal with assassins, I have to use an assassin's methods."

He recalled the assassination techniques, the trapping methods, the ways to use poison that he had just "learned" from the memories of the two "Night Shadows." He combined them with his own knowledge.

A bold and somewhat... despicable plan began to form in his mind.

He wouldn't attack the base. He would "invite" them out.

He would turn this entire jungle into a giant trap, and he would be the bait. He would play the role of a wounded, weak "prey," fleeing with great difficulty, luring the "Night Shadows," who were eager for a kill, to separate from their formation and chase after him.

And once they were in the trap, he would "clean them up" one by one.

This was an extremely risky plan. It required skillful acting, patience, and perfect control of the situation. A single small mistake, and he would be surrounded and fall into a disadvantageous position.

But for Lam Minh, "disadvantage" was just another word for "opportunity." Being surrounded meant there were more targets to "farm."

"Alright. It's decided."

He stood up and extinguished the fire. He didn't head north immediately. He went south, creating false tracks, as if he were trying to flee back towards the Great Wall.

The game of cat and mouse had officially begun. And this time, the mouse was the one setting the trap.

...

The night sky was silent, with only the chirping of insects and the rustling of wind through the leaves. Lam Minh moved in the darkness, but not northward toward the "Night Shadow" base. He headed south, towards the Great Wall.

He didn't move quickly, nor did he try to completely conceal his tracks. On the contrary, he "accidentally" left behind very subtle signs, signs that only professional assassins could recognize.

A tree branch, broken in an unnatural way.

A footprint pressed deeper than normal into the damp earth, indicating its owner was injured or exhausted.

A small smear of blood, which he had taken from the bear earlier, left on a leaf.

He was weaving a story. The story of a powerful "human swordsman" who, after killing two "Night Shadow" assassins, was seriously injured and was now trying to flee to safety.

This was a bait that was impossible to resist. For arrogant killers like the "Night Shadows," the death of their comrades was a humiliation. They would certainly not pass up a wounded prey, an opportunity for revenge and glory.

After heading south for about ten kilometers, creating a false trail full of openings, Lam Minh began to circle back, following a large arc northward. This time, he erased all of his tracks, moving like a true ghost.

He arrived at an area he had pre-selected, a narrow valley flanked by sheer cliffs, with dense vegetation and extremely complex terrain. It was a perfect battlefield for an ambush.

And he began his work of "setting traps."

He didn't use ordinary physical traps. Against Peak Foundation Establishment cultivators, those things were almost useless. He used more sophisticated things, things he had learned from the memories of the two assassins.

He found highly toxic plants and extracted their sap. He didn't use it to coat his weapon, but diluted it and smeared it on the tree trunks and rocks along the only path leading into the valley. This poison wouldn't kill instantly, but when inhaled over a long period, it would slow down the circulation of spiritual energy in the body, and physical reactions would become sluggish.

Next, he set up "sound traps." He used thin vines, almost invisible in the dark, and stretched them across the paths. When someone tripped them, they wouldn't cause damage, but would shake a string of small wooden beads he had hung on a tree branch far away. It was his own personal alarm system.

He also dug shallow pits, not with spikes at the bottom, but with leaves coated in an itching powder extracted from a wild plant. It wasn't dangerous, but it was extremely annoying, enough to make an assassin lose focus for a split second.

He did everything patiently and meticulously. He was like a spider spinning a giant web, and each trap was a single silk thread in that web.

After nearly a whole night of preparation, his "inescapable net" was complete.

He chose a perfect ambush spot for himself: a small alcove high on a cliff, covered by vines, with a commanding view of the entire valley.

Then he sat down, closed his eyes, restrained his entire aura, and became one with the darkness.

He began to wait.

A hunter's wait.

Meanwhile, at the abandoned ancient temple.

Black Shadow, the Early-stage Golden Core commander, was standing before a map, his expression grim. The life tablets of the two subordinates he had sent out had shattered. That meant they were dead.

"Dammit!" he growled. "Two Peak Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they couldn't even kill one human."

"Sir Black Shadow," another "Night Shadow" reported. "We've just found traces of the target. It seems he was injured after the fight and is fleeing south."

"Injured?" Black Shadow frowned. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, sir. We found bloodstains and signs indicating he is exhausted."

Black Shadow thought for a moment. His arrogance couldn't accept failure. Letting a wounded prey escape right under his nose was a disgrace to the "Night Shadow" name.

"Assemble a squad of five," he ordered. "Follow the trail and hunt him down. Remember, do not underestimate the enemy. If he is truly strong, call for reinforcements immediately. I want to see his head before dawn tomorrow."

"Yes, sir!"

Five black shadows quickly left the base and plunged into the night, following the false trail that Lam Minh had created.

They had no idea that they were walking straight into a pre-laid trap. The prey they were hunting was actually sitting at the end of the road, sharpening his knife, waiting for them to deliver themselves to their deaths.

The hunt had now truly begun.