Chapter 319: Something Will Break Once Action Is Taken

Cheng Xu led the army and had already advanced deep into Huanglong Mountain.Honestly, commanding a thousand troops to fight deep in the mountains was also a first for Cheng Xu. He was not a seasoned Great General at all, but had formerly been a mere ninth-rank inspector, so his combat experience was not that extensive.

However, he was cautious by nature and always acted carefully, fearing to make mistakes that might cost him his life—a trait that suited mountain forest warfare well.

Ahead loomed a valley.

Cheng Xu scanned the valley walls on both sides and spotted a pair of grandmothers, one on the left cliff face and one on the right, singing to him: “Good great-grandson, come into the valley, come into the valley. The enemy is on slopes either side of the gorge, ready to hurl boulders down at once. Then you can come see your grandmother.”

The muscles on Cheng Xu’s face twitched rapidly, and he waved his hand, saying: “Shi Jian, take a scout team and go scout the left mountain peak. Ground Rabbit, take a scout team and go scout the right mountain peak. The rest, set camp here and resume marching tomorrow.”

Shi Jian saluted and hurried off.

Ground Rabbit muttered discontentedly: “This invincible Mr. Rabbit gets sent off as a scout—what a waste of talent.”

Cheng Xu snapped irritably: “Scouting is a job only for elite troops.”

Ground Rabbit beamed happily: “Instructor He, you finally admit I’m elite? Hahaha! Hand over this glorious, tough, elite-only mission to me! I won’t let anyone down—let me be the one to save all humanity.”

He took two scouts and dashed toward the right mountain peak.

The ten commanders of the hundred-man teams behind Cheng Xu were all sweating nervously and awkwardly asked: “Instructor He, is it really safe to entrust such a critical scouting task to this guy?”

Cheng Xu said: “Don’t worry. He’s full of flaws, but when it comes to real work, he’s not unreliable… um… maybe… perhaps…”

Everyone sweated: So you’re uncertain too?

Meanwhile…

On the right mountain peak, a troop had just hidden themselves well.

The leader was none other than Big Honglang.

Wang Zuogua’s army had been stationed in Huanglong Mountain for a long time, so they knew the terrain like the back of their hand. Compared to Cheng Xu, who was new here, they were far more familiar—they could identify every hill, every ditch, and every forest patch with their eyes closed.

Big Honglang believed that ambushing from this peak would likely trap the Bai Family Fortress army passing through the valley; by shoving rubble down from the mountaintop, the Bai Family Fortress soldiers would meet a dreadful end.

Just as they had hidden, one of her scouts reported: “Fourth Boss, the Bai Family Fortress army halted two li south of here—they didn’t enter the gorge and seem to be waiting for something.”

Big Honglang frowned and immediately understood: “They’ve sent out scouts, aiming to scout the area before entering. If their spies see us, our ambush will fail… Our scouts? Move out at once and ambush their scouts midway.”

From Big Honglang’s troop, she detached a small squad of elite soldiers; they crouched, slipped into the woods, and crept in Cheng Xu’s camping direction.

The mountains were steep and the forest dense, but Huanglong Mountain wasn’t short of water—the woods here grew lush and verdant, with thick foliage that blotted out the sky and sun.

Ground Rabbit and his nine comrades, grouped in pairs into five squads, scattered across a broad area, cautiously probing forward.

The man paired with Ground Rabbit was Zheng Gouzi.

They could be considered old friends.

Zheng Gouzi whispered quietly: “Mr. Rabbit, do you have any experience as a scout?”

Ground Rabbit said: “Hey! That’s definitely… no.”

Zheng Gouzi had thought he was going to say yes, and instantly looked awkward.

Ground Rabbit said: “But I specially studied military texts, hmph. Listen to me: Since ancient times, before two armies clash, the scouts fight first! Both sides strive to suppress the enemy’s scouting range, hunting down or even capturing enemy scouts to gain intel. To tell which army is stronger, just see whose scouts are better.”

Zheng Gouzi glanced at Ground Rabbit in worry: “Then our side is clearly the weaker one.”

Ground Rabbit: “What do you mean?”

Zheng Gouzi: “Ah, I didn’t mean anything.”

The two of them had just reached this point when Ground Rabbit suddenly threw himself down and also pulled Zheng Gouzi along.

Zheng Gouzi: “?”

Ground Rabbit lowered his voice to just barely audible and said, “Someone’s coming up ahead.”

Zheng Gouzi: “Why didn’t I hear anything?”

Ground Rabbit said proudly, “You’re a human with small ears. I am Mr. Rabbit with long ears. Sounds I can hear, you can’t.”

Zheng Gouzi: “…”

Originally, Ground Rabbit had intended to follow in Wang Er’s footsteps to rebel and start an uprising. But he didn’t catch up with Wang Er. Instead, after beating up an official, he ended up drifting the world. Surviving by stealing food from landlords, he barely lived for half a year. During that time, he did all kinds of sneaky deeds, often slipping into the backyards of rich households late at night to steal food while avoiding patrols by guards. This guy really understood such matters better than ordinary people.

He pricked up his ears and listened: “Someone’s coming from the left front.”

Zheng Gouzi didn’t dare make a sound and only asked with his eyes: “What do we do?”

Ground Rabbit made a “listen to me” gesture and crouched down low.

Before long, indeed two people slowly crept over from the left front.

Scouts from Big Honglang’s side had arrived.

They were also in a pair of two.

Cautiously and lightly, they moved toward the direction of Cheng Xu’s army.

The two of them stretched their ears long and carefully listened to every rustle around them, not daring to slack off at all. Unfortunately, they didn’t know that a rabbit with long ears and unusually powerful hearing had heard them earlier and was already lying in ambush.

The two of them circumvented a large tree, crossed a ditch, and were about to step over a clump of grass. Suddenly, a figure leaped out from the grass, swinging a gleaming silver sword straight toward one’s crotch. With a “thud”, it hit true and severed.

Cut off!

The man screamed and fell backward.

Hitting the ground before he could let out a second cry, Ground Rabbit raised his longsword and with a “thud” chopped into the man’s neck. This time, no cry came out; he was finished instantly.

The other person turned back in shock. Before he could react, Zheng Gouzi jumped up and used a locking technique from the Ghost God Fist Technique. He grabbed and pinned the man’s arms, rendering him immobile.

Only then did Ground Rabbit say triumphantly: “How about that? The Celestial Rabbit Sword—if it doesn’t strike, fine, but once it does, something has to be cut off.”

Zheng Gouzi: “Was the place you cut off a little too cruel?”

Ground Rabbit: “I, your grandpa, am here for revenge! How could I not be fierce?”

Only then did Zheng Gouzi suddenly recall that in that assassination attempt, Ground Rabbit had also been a victim.