Doing what one is capable of doing is the best way to support the Zhao State. With this thought in mind, Hua Tianxiong ordered the Iron Stone Guards to advance one hundred li every day. Under the tense atmosphere and constant pressure of impending death, the soldiers of the Iron Stone Guards would advance their cultivation even faster, while combat would also effectively hone their lethality. Of course, regardless of how many enemies were killed, it also demonstrated the Great Qin Empire's support for its ally, the Zhao State.
As soon as the Iron Stone Guards set up their camp that day, Hua Tianxiong dispatched four scout squads to search for enemy intelligence further afield, since the enemy was nearby. After another tense day of searching without results, Hua Tianxiong did not lose heart or let his guard down; instead, he increased the density and breadth of the scout patrols. Clearly aware that war was imminent, the officers and men of the Iron Stone Guards consciously and systematically stepped up their cultivation and training without needing Hua Tianxiong to supervise or demand it.
Thus, after two days of tense searching, a scout squad finally caught sight of a Xiongnu force—roughly a Xiongnu hundred-man troop, which happened to be fifty li due west of the Iron Stone Guards, attacking a small Zhao State mountain village.
Chapter 106