Chapter 271: Chapter 163: A Completely Unfair Test Chapter 271: Chapter 163: A Completely Unfair Test Gu Changsheng and Zhou Mu stood hand in hand at a distance, watching ten thousand soldiers march grandly into Baili Mountain…
Unknown to the ten thousand soldiers on Jiangnan Road, they quickly located the lair of Dark Camp Fortress according to the map, only to find that the people had evacuated the stronghold, not a single person was encountered!
“Commander, we’ve searched thoroughly, not a soul to be found, fled clean!”
Commander Zheng Su, tasked with exterminating mountain bandits, stamped his foot in anger, “Search! Even if it means digging three feet into the ground of Baili Mountain, I must capture those mountain bandits!”
Although Zheng Su was over forty, his vigor hadn’t diminished. Being a Taiping soldier and having bottled up his frustrations, now given a chance for a full-blown battle, how could he let it go!
Capturing the mountain bandits! Each one of them was determined to do so!
A thousand men hidden not far uphill watched as ten thousand soldiers marched out of Dark Camp Fortress, swiftly maneuvering like ghosts. Before they began a carpet-style search, they found a loophole and returned to Dark Camp Fortress.
Diao Chan, hiding in the dungeon, uncertainly spoke to Han Qiu beside her, “Are we really not going to get rounded up hiding here?”
Han Qiu, holding Han Mo’s hand, shook his head. “Lady once said, the most dangerous places are the safest. They just turned this place inside out; they probably won’t come back anytime soon.”
Upon hearing “Lady said,”, everyone fell silent.
“Since it was said by the Lord, it must be right. Let’s hide here for three days, and this final test should be passed!” Jiang Liu and General Qi looked at each other and laughed, managing to avoid being captured or killed was just like passing a game of hide-and-seek!
Han Qiu glanced at them and shook his head, “The commander coming from Jiangnan Road to root out bandits is Zheng Su. I’ve heard my father mention him, a man of great courage, meticulousness, and strong Kung Fu skills. If not stationed in the peaceful Liuzhou, he would have definitely earned great military merits on the frontier.”
“At most half a day, when they don’t find anything in their search, he will definitely notice something is amiss and turn back! That’s when the real challenge begins!”
Seeing Han Qiu’s high regard for the extermination commander, everyone’s expression grew serious.
“What do we do then? A thousand against ten thousand, we only have death to await!” Diao Chan anxiously paced in circles. “By the look of things, they completely do not know this is a test–they really think of us as mountain bandits and are genuinely fighting. We can’t go all out, we’re bound to lose!”
Lady Changsheng, truly too tricky!
This is a battle utterly devoid of fairness!
Han Qiu, with a furrowed brow and solemnity, spoke, “The Lady once said, if we can’t overpower, then we must outsmart them. For our thousand to directly confront their ten thousand would merely be crushing an egg against a rock. Even if we could win, the loss would be devastating!”
“The Lady mentioned a three-day period, meaning we are to maneuver around them in Baili Mountain with the aim of minimizing our losses!”
Everyone nodded in agreement; Han Qiu, from a General’s family and having been with Gu Changsheng the longest, undoubtedly became the strategist among the thousand.
With a grave face, Han Qiu recalled his wife’s teachings and, after a long time, finally looked up with hopeful eyes from the crowd, “The Lady once said, when direct confrontation is not an option, we should divide and conquer, we won’t go head-on but break them down one by one!”
“They will definitely split up for the search in the mountains. If we ambush them halfway before they return, we could gradually weaken their forces!” Han Qiu concluded, seeking affirmation from those around him.
Everyone nodded vigorously; sitting passively waiting for death was no solution–they definitely had to counterattack. Otherwise, within three days, with the enemy maintaining their ten thousand strong army, they would just be worn down to death in Baili Mountain.
“How shall we proceed, you tell us.” Yhan Ting spoke coldly, already not savvy in strategy, at this moment he surely wouldn’t show senseless bravery!
“To prevent being steamrolled, we too shall split and transform! After two Shichen, groups of fifty will infiltrate the mountain. If they encounter smaller groups of soldiers, take them by surprise, incapacitate them by breaking their arms or legs, rendering them unable to fight!”
“Should we encounter larger groups of soldiers, then we must hide and escape, we absolutely cannot confront them head-on! We’re more familiar with the terrain in Baili Mountain, naturally having an inherent advantage. Besides, we are much faster than them!” Han Qiu said with a cold smirk, “The Lady said to maximize our advantages, let’s play a good game of hide and seek with them. It’s still uncertain who is the cat and who is the mouse!”