Chapter 4

Rin, newly in command and anxious about her inexperience, outlines a cautious approach toward Leiyang—the Beehive—aiming to preserve surprise despite poor intelligence and the Mugenese being embedded among civilians. Zhuden presses on civilian risk; Rin admits they must adapt as they go.

Souji bluntly declares her plan untenable, arguing the roads are watched and their force too small for a prepared defense. He proposes forest routes, contact with local resistance, and boosting numbers with villagers. Rin bristles, but Kitay urges her to listen; Souji insists this is a liberation war requiring deception, not conventional battles.

A sentry reports a nearby Mugenese patrol. Souji orders concealment and orchestrates a swift tree-line ambush: the Iron Wolves erase the campsite, draw the patrol in, and annihilate it with arrows, taking no casualties and preserving secrecy. Chastened, Rin concedes his point about information asymmetry and avoiding alerts.

That night, Souji demonstrates fieldcraft—foraging bamboo shoots, partridges, bajiao bananas, and even fried bees—exposing Rin’s and Kitay’s gaps in survival knowledge. He offers to teach traps and emphasizes self-sufficiency on the march.

Over the next eight days, Souji runs a campaign of deception and harassment: false camps, night strikes, disguises, and bait tactics (including women operatives) that bleed small Mugenese units while concealing Coalition strength. He reframes Sunzi’s principles as cumulative, small-force concentration through mobility and surprise, not set-piece battles.

As supplies and intelligence improve, reports confirm Leiyang holds thousands. Though the raids succeed and their numbers remain hidden, Rin recognizes they cannot annoy a garrison that large into collapse forever; a larger confrontation looms as they close on the Beehive.