Tiger Wolf Camp, deep in the Xixia Plain, the sole military encampment.

The Tiger Wolf Army was personally established by the Tiger Wolf General Nie Fengxing. In just a decade, this camp had become the most formidable bastion in Northwest Daxia.

Rumors about Nie Fengxing were rife throughout Daxia Country, but those who truly knew him, especially every soldier in the Tiger Wolf Camp, revered him as a deity. Within the Tiger Wolf Camp, Nie Fengxing's word was as good as an Imperial Decree, so when the order to convene a meeting was issued, Ye Huangyu immediately headed to the Commander Camp.

Due to hunting, Ye Huangyu was the last to enter the camp, with Chen Zhong, who had earlier contended with him for prey, and the other eight team leaders, already present—only Tiger Wolf General Nie Fengxing was missing.

"Hey, Ye Huang, you really lack brotherhood, not even leaving us a single wolf hair. Tonight, our team is going to starve," Chen Zhong said with a sly smile, draping his hand over Ye Huangyu's shoulder.

The rule in the Tiger Wolf Camp was that two squads were sent out to hunt for food daily. The game they brought back was shared by the entire camp. The squad with greater hunting success could reduce their training time the next day, whereas the one with fewer catches would have to skip dinner and face doubled training the following day.

What the other teams in the Tiger Wolf Camp feared the most was being paired on a task with Ye Huang's Fourth Team, because under his command, every soldier hunted more ferociously than the Xixia Green Wolves, each one fiercely wolf-like in their pursuit of game.

Chen Zhong had not finished speaking when a cold gaze, sharp as a knife, was cast his way.

The military tent flap was lifted, and Tiger Wolf General Nie Fengxing strode in.

Chen Zhong hurriedly retracted his hand, startled.

"General."

These team leaders, usually carefree to the point of negligence, stood rigid as javelins upon seeing Nie Fengxing.

Nie Fengxing was not old, only thirty-three this year, two years younger than Ye Huangyu.

However, due to the year-round military encampment life and exposure to the elements, Nie Fengxing looked slightly older than his actual age. On the contrary, Ye Huangyu, by virtue of being female and with the aid of various spiritual medicines provided by her daughter Ye Lingyue, appeared to be just in her early twenties.

Nie Fengxing was a legendary figure himself. Originally from a noble background, he joined the military on his own, unwilling to rely on his family's protection.

Rising from a mere cavalryman to the rank of General, Nie Fengxing became another ironclad hero of Daxia after Lan Yingwu.

Before joining the Tiger Wolf Army, Ye Huangyu had assumed that Nie Fengxing, like Lan Yingwu, would be a big, burly man with a booming voice, fond of a good laugh and partial to drinking—a typical military man.

However, upon meeting Nie Fengxing himself, Ye Huangyu's initial thoughts were entirely overturned.

First off, Nie Fengxing was younger than Lan Yingwu. Physically, they were both quite tall; their cultivation level was also roughly in and around the Reincarnation Realm.

Tiger Wolf General Nie Fengxing's appearance, though not as handsome as Feng Xun or the Sixth Prince, was striking with its sharp features: a nose like a mountain peak and eyes like cold stars, giving him a deeply contoured, masculine look.

Perhaps having just returned from practice, Nie Fengxing did not wear an outer garment and came in bare-chested.

The masculine physique of the man flickered past Ye Huangyu's vision.

The other team leaders in the tent were all indifferent; these were all burly men accustomed to fighting bare-chested, and during casual gossip, they would discuss who had the best physique in the camp.

Nie Fengxing's physique was universally acknowledged, particularly his well-defined abdominal muscles, which even men envied.

Although she had already spent several months in the military camp, Ye Huangyu still found this kind of on-the-doorstep benefit very troublesome.

Her ears slightly heated up, and she awkwardly shifted her gaze away.

Although Ye Huangyu was already a married woman, that was something that happened over a decade ago, and her husband had always been only Hong Fang.

Nie Fengxing took a seat on the commander's chair without noticing Ye Huangyu's embarrassment.

"Today, I've summoned you all to inform you that recently, the number of beasts appearing in the vicinity of the Xixia Plain has significantly increased. Apart from the Tiger Wolf Army, many other troops from the Northwest Army have suffered unprecedented losses. It's said that some Spiritual Beasts have even begun to attack the military camps directly. Everyone needs to be on full alert," Nie Fengxing said in a manner as decisive and direct as his name implied.

"General, rest assured, our Tiger Wolf Army is not made up of softies like those others," several team leaders chuckled and smirked.

"Shut your beaks. Who was it last time whose team fell into a beast horde? If it weren't for Ye Huang rescuing with his troops, your wife would be a widow by now. Tomorrow's training will be doubled in duration," Nie Fenghu scolded with a stern face, as he was always strict with these seasoned subordinates.

But when it came to Ye Huangyu, if Nie Fengxing was protective of anyone, it was her. He believed his soldiers could only be reprimanded by him, and if anyone from other military units dared to utter one extra word, Nie Fengxing would make sure they regretted it.

"Another matter: the armies that fell into ambushes have already reported to the court. In half a month, the court's Western Expedition Army will arrive at the Xixia Plain to begin their encirclement and suppression," Nie Fengxing disliked any superfluous words and cumbersome formalities and finished explaining the matter of the Western Expedition Army in just a few sentences.

Western Expedition Army?

Upon hearing this, the team leaders started to discuss among themselves.

The arrival of the Western Expedition Army sent by the court meant that a Western Expedition General would come.

"General, no matter what Western Expedition Army they are, our Tiger Wolf Army has always been roaming the Xixia Plain alone and unbothered. They wouldn't encroach on us, would they?" The soldiers of the Tiger Wolf Army only acknowledged Nie Fengxing as their general.

They wouldn't be convinced by any other generals.

"This time is different. The Commander of the Western Expedition Army is the former Grand Protector Hong Fang, and the Deputy General is Fourth Prince Xia Houhong." If it were any other general, Nie Fengxing would naturally pay no heed.

But Hong Fang and the Fourth Prince were another story.

Others might not know, but Nie Fengxing had already heard the news: for some reason, Hong Fang had been stripped of his position recently, and the Fourth Prince had been deposed from his position as the Crown Prince.

Their arrival at the Xixia Plain, under the pretext of quelling the beast chaos, was in reality an opportunity to redeem themselves and earn merit. In such a situation, Hong Fang and Fourth Prince would certainly launch a large-scale encirclement and suppression to gain even more merit.

Consequently, it would be inevitable to requisition the troops of the Tiger Wolf Army, the strongest and most experienced force in the vicinity of the Xixia Plain.

When the name Hong Fang was mentioned, Ye Huangyu's heart trembled.

Being located in a remote area, Ye Huangyu was unaware of the events happening at the court, and even less aware that Hong Fang had suddenly been demoted from his position as Grand Protector, or that the Fourth Prince had been directly deposed from his status as the Crown Prince.

"Ye Huang, Ye Huang."

Nie Fengxing's voice was impatient, interrupting Ye Huangyu's train of thought, and the entire camp looked towards Ye Huangyu.

"General, this subordinate is at fault for being absent-minded," Ye Huangyu quickly admitted her mistake.