Chapter 68
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The man trembled as he spoke up, hesitating but eventually managing to get it all out, “General, the passage below is very narrow. People can only walk hunched over and there are many complex pathways. As I went down a few steps, I found them lying on the ground. When I got closer and checked, they were all lifeless. Some were struck by blunt objects, some were stabbed with knives…”
Before he could finish, Nuha was already burning with rage, and he shoved the man aside, “Useless waste! Can’t even handle a few Southern men! I’ll go down myself!”
“General, it’s not advisable,” another person hurriedly held him back, “General, the terrain below is complex, it’s cramped and narrow. We can’t even stand straight down there. If we encounter enemies, we won’t be able to move down there, let alone fight back. We’d just be sitting ducks.”
Clearly, those few men had suffered great losses due to this. People because barbarians like them were tall and sturdy, far beyond what the Southerners could match. The underground passages were narrow and uncomfortable for them. The Southerners might be agile down there, but not them. Furthermore, the complex terrain below meant that if they rushed in again, the outcome might be the same as those five men before.
Nuha couldn’t swallow this, as Southern men had always been at their mercy. Now they were facing failure. They had lost five soldiers in an instant, which naturally infuriated him.
“General, even if these people can’t escape on the ground, now that they’ve hidden in the tunnels, we have no way to deal with them!” one of his subordinates tried to persuade him earnestly.
“Yes, General. Don’t forget the task given by Wang Ye. Don’t act recklessly,” another person added.
Nuha spat angrily, thinking of Wang Ye. He dared not disobey orders.
“Fine, fine!” Nuha could only give up on his impulsive idea for the time being. Still, he couldn’t let go of his anger, he said with resentment, “Set fire to all these houses.”
“Yes!” someone followed his command.
There were also those who looked at the billowing black smoke at the village entrance and sensed something amiss. One with a quick mind stepped forward and reported, “General, something seems off.”
Nuha turned around. “What’s off?”
“General, could the black smoke at the village entrance be a signal? The previous village’s entrance was also lit, likely for ventilation and communication. Otherwise, with our speed, we could have arrived unnoticed. How did they manage to escape?”
This remark jogged Nuha’s memory. He looked at the place where the black smoke was still rising. There was no wind, and the smoke billowed straight into the sky. This was an open wilderness, visible from far away. He chose a higher vantage point and scanned the surroundings. Sure enough, several places in the distance also emitted such smoke, probably as a warning from the Southerners, alerting each other. It allowed them to notice their approach in advance, enabling them to evade danger and prepare in advance. It also allowed them to inform the garrison or escort troops for timely rescue.
Actually, it’s not their fault they didn’t immediately realize it. Generally, smoke signals are lit on beacon towers during border conflicts to transmit messages as warnings. However, here, it’s just an ordinary village. The villagers wouldn’t know how to light smoke signals. So, nobody had considered this possibility initially. Now, it seems that what that person said is indeed true.
Yes, that’s right. This is Ming Yu’s trump card. Ming Yu had even specially trained the villagers in each village. If they spot an enemy attack, they can light smoke signals as a warning. This allows the nearby villages to be alerted, enabling them to take precautions, notify the stationed troops or guards, and ensure prompt rescue.
“General, our whereabouts have been discovered by them. Going forward seems to be futile as well. What should we do next?” someone spoke up.
Nuha’s face turned gloomy. He hadn’t expected that their failure was due to this reason. Indeed, considering the current situation, even if they proceeded to the next village, they might encounter the same situation.
Their remaining food supply was scarce. Originally, according to the original plan, they could travel and plunder resources from the southern people along the way to sustain themselves. But now it seemed that this approach was no longer effective. No matter where they went, the villages were empty, not even a grain of rice left. They couldn’t even seize anything if they wanted to.
Yes, what should he do now? He couldn’t let his subordinates go hungry.
Nuha glanced at the entrance to the underground passage where the people were hiding. Maybe they needed to go down and capture each of those people to force them to hand over their food.
His subordinates guessed his intention. “General, we’re fearless on horseback, but going down there might result in more casualties.”
Nuha hadn’t spoken yet, but someone nearby sneered, “Da Mu, when did you become so timid? You’re afraid of these people? If news of this gets back, won’t people laugh at you? These southerners are as skinny as chickens. Even if i’m unarmed, I could kill one with a punch.” After saying this, he saluted Nuha with a mocking tone, “General, why not let me go down and capture them?”
Upon hearing this, Da Mu furrowed his brows, clearly disagreeing with the speaker. This Ba Bucuo person usually clashed with him, seizing any opportunity to mock him. However, this was a serious matter, not a child’s play. Just as Da Mu was about to retort, Nuha burst into laughter.
“Good! This is the kind of spirit our barbarians men should have. I grant you a team of soldiers. Make sure to capture these rats alive,” Nuha promptly agreed to Ba Bucuo’s request without hesitation.
Babuco accepted the command with enthusiasm, leading a small team of ten people. He descended into the underground passage. Clearly, the previous few men had fallen victim to the southern people’s ambush due to carelessness. However, Ba Bucuo team was prepared, so such an incident shouldn’t happen again.
With great confidence, he entered the tunnel and realized that Da Mu’s words were accurate. The passage was too narrow. They couldn’t even stand up straight and had to crouch as they moved forward.
Tsk tsk! Only the southerners would be suitable for crawling through such tunnels. They were like creatures that shunned the light.
The group entered, but soon they were puzzled by the sight in front of them. Several small and large tunnels were chiseled into the tunnel wall. Each one led to an unknown destination. This left Ba Bucuo in a dilemma. With so many paths, which one should they take?
“Let’s go in pairs, and explore separately?” someone immediately suggested.
After considering the situation, Ba Bucuo had no choice but to agree. If they explored each tunnel one by one, who knew how long it would take? He nodded, “Alright! Go and investigate, but don’t go too far. If you find anything amiss, come back immediately.” He was slightly more cautious, given the recent loss of five comrades.
The others acknowledged and set off. They were well aware of the dangers; otherwise, they wouldn’t have lost men. All of them were crouched, clutching their short blades, cautiously exploring.
Ba Bucuo remained stationary, gripping his saber and staying vigilant. If any problems arose on either side, he would quickly provide backup.
After some time, people returned one by one to report. Some said their tunnel led to a dead end and was impassable.
Others reported nothing unusual, claiming the tunnel was just like the area they were currently in.
After waiting for a while, two people still hadn’t emerged. Ba Bucuo grew impatient. They had agreed not to go far, so why hadn’t these two come out yet?
“Perhaps we should go check on them,” someone suggested.
Ba Bucuo thought the same, so he agreed. The group headed towards the tunnel where the two were last seen. Before long, they found that both had already died.
Ba Bucuo was shocked as he approached. He saw that each of them had an arrow pierced through their chests, the shafts going straight through their hearts, with only the feathered ends protruding.
Clearly, they had been killed instantly. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been any sounds. They wore armor, so how did these small arrows manage to pierce through it and cause instant death?
Ba Bucuo couldn’t fathom it, but he understood that the southern people must have hidden in the darkness and secretly shot these cold arrows. This was why it was difficult to guard against them. He finally realized how the previous five men had perished. They weren’t facing unarmed southerners; they were facing southerners who fought back and able to kill people.
Everyone held their breath and concentrated. They weren’t afraid to fight for their lives, but in this situation, they might not find their opponents and instead fall victim to a silent, deadly arrow. This unsettled them. They could become living targets. The air was eerily quiet. Some began to contemplate retreat while they still hadn’t gone too deep, hoping to save their lives.
Others remained vigilant, longing to drag the hidden southerners out and dismantle them.
“Now what do we do? Should we retreat and report to the general?” Finally, someone spoke up.
Ba Bucuo gave him a sharp look. Weren’t his earlier promises to the general resolute? Now they wanted to retreat? Wouldn’t that be a slap in the face?
“I plan to proceed further. Maybe the southerners are ahead. We must honor our fallen comrades with their blood,” he glanced at the group, “Those who don’t want to go, feel free to return.”
With this statement, even those who were hesitant to retreat dared not show it. If they fled at this critical moment, the southern people might not even need to take action – their general could just take their life.
Ba Bucuo stepped forward, unaware that a dark figure had flashed past the corner at another fork in the path.
The figure crouched and entered another tunnel, took a few turns, and then stopped. Unlike the narrow tunnels, this one was more spacious, accommodating around ten people comfortably.
Several people were already waiting there. Seeing the familiar figure, someone lit an oil lamp. They were the village patrol team.
“Xiao Liuzi, how’s it going? How many enemies are there? Where are they now?” someone impatiently asked.
At this moment, Xiao Liuzi’s heart was pounding intensely. He glanced around, not seeing a familiar face, and replied with a question, “Where’s General Ji? Has General Ji returned?”
Seeing everyone shaking their heads, Xiao Liuzi was almost overwhelmed with excitement. He exclaimed with joy, “You guys don’t know, General Ji is amazing. He killed two enemies all by himself.”
Everyone exclaimed in awe, “Really? Tell us all about it. How did General Ji defeat the enemy?” They were all members of the village patrol team, gathered here and ready to strike if needed after securing the villagers.
Xiao Liuzi, brimming with pride, recounted the scene truthfully. Everyone showed respect. General Ji was truly worthy of the guard battalion – they wished they could be as capable as him.
After Xiao Liuzi finished speaking, he seemed unsatisfied. “If I had that thing General Ji has, I could also kill enemies.” He sighed, admiringly saying, “General Ji might still be watching them. Let me come back and report to everyone. They’ve gone towards the third passage. With General Ji there, this group of people won’t have an easy time.”
The crowd was excited too. Being able to defeat enemies like General Ji was their dream. Someone immediately stood up, “Let’s go, let’s go help.” Though they didn’t have the same kind of weapon General Ji used, they had hoes and kitchen knives – they could also fight.
Everyone nodded. This was their territory. If enemies entered, they wouldn’t let them leave alive. General Ji had said that they would kill as many as came. With him leading, what were they afraid of? They had to counterattack the enemies head-on.
The sky was gradually darkening. Nuha stared at the entrance of the passage. The people they had sent out hadn’t made any noise yet. These were the bravest men of the barbarians; dealing with the southerners was a trivial matter. But having been delayed for so long, could something have gone wrong? It was impossible, right? They were prepared – it shouldn’t be like the first time. Thinking of the first batch of five who went down, Nuha, who was once confident, now had doubts.
Everyone was eagerly waiting, hoping for good news.
Da Mu furrowed his brows, recalling the Wang Ye’s instructions before departure. He looked at Nuha, feeling uncertain. Maybe they should distance themselves from here to be safer. He had seen the terrain below; it wasn’t advantageous for them. Sending people down one by one, how was it any different from sending them to their deaths? Even if they all went down, they’d only be slaughtered.
He was about to say something when there was movement at the tunnel entrance. Nuha rushed forward a couple of steps. From inside, a person covered in blood crawled out – who else but Ba Bucuo?
Ba Bucuo had a short arrow sticking out of his arm. He wiped his face in embarrassment. Upon seeing the general, he breathed a sigh of relief. Remembering his ordeal below, he still had lingering fear. He was just relieved to have escaped.
Nuha scrutinized him up and down and asked in a stern tone, “Why are you alone? Where are the others? Did you capture any southern people?”
Ba Bucuo shook his head dejectedly. “General, all our men were ambushed and killed. I barely managed to escape.”
Nurha unsheathed his saber, glared fiercely, and shouted, “You damned fool! None of the people who went with you made it out, yet you have the nerve to return?”
Nuha was now determined to kill. Men from their Suixi Kingdom nly died in battle; they never fled. Ba Bucuo had abandoned his comrades and escaped alone. He no longer deserved to live.
Ba Bucuo trembled. He had been too arrogant. He hadn’t expected that the sheep that had always been bullied would turn into a pack of fierce wolves. They were all ruthless, and in the narrow terrain, facing hidden enemies while being exposed themselves, their side had no way to effectively attack. They had become targets instead.
Da Mu managed to stop Nuha’s saber in the end. “General, calm down a bit. While Ba Bucuo is at fault, he doesn’t deserve to die. Our manpower is already scarce, and we’ve suffered significant losses. It might be better to let him make amends. We can punish him later after he reports back. Let’s hear what he has to say about the situation down there first. Otherwise, we won’t understand the situation and won’t know how to deal with it.”
What Da Mu said made sense. Nuha begrudgingly accepted the advice, sheathed his saber, and let out a heavy snort. “Fine, I will spare your life for now. But if there’s a next time, you’ll be sacrificed to our fallen comrades.”
Ba Bucuo had reclaimed his life. He dared not say much, just repeatedly nodding, and then recounted their experiences below.
They continued moving forward. Unexpectedly, traps with hidden arrows lay ahead. After narrowly avoiding those, several of them sustained minor injuries. Later on, they encountered a layer of animal fat on the ground, which was set ablaze. They were scorched, but that was a blessing compared to what happened after they escaped. More enemies were waiting, ready to close in and reap their harvest.
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