Chapter 13

"Some people just look good, but their heads are full of grass." Fu Kang snorted coldly. He still harbored resentment over Ji Ming's previous retort and said, "Isn't it obvious? The chieftain asked us to go to Jiangning County overnight, which means we need to bring the Black Water Army there by tomorrow. How can we achieve this by taking the long route?"

"Oh? Not only do you look good, but your hearing is better than others. I didn't hear the chieftain specify when we need to complete the task. Also, if you feel that way, there's a checkpoint set up by the Qinglong Mountain bandits on the shortcut. Have you already figured out how to get through it?" Ji Ming countered. Fu Kang couldn't help but snort loudly.

Su Peng saw this and shook his head. Fu Kang's capacity was indeed too small, and Ji Ming was also not one to back down. These two together would sooner or later cause problems.

However, today was just a temporary team-up. Su Peng coughed and said, "Our goal is to complete the task. Both routes are options. Let's analyze the pros and cons and make a decision."

"That's very clear. Taking the shortcut saves time, but we might encounter the Qinglong Mountain bandits. If they all come out, it would be better if they are hiding somewhere nearby. We might only encounter a few weak bandits guarding the checkpoint. But if the Qinglong Mountain bandits return to their stronghold, we will have to take the long route again."

"But if we take the long route, and the Green Mountain Stronghold is attacked tonight, we won't have enough time to complete the task, and the mission will fail." Ji Ming explained simply.

"We... should still take the shortcut, right? I feel that the bandits won't just give up after attacking the stronghold today..." Sun Shijia hesitated and expressed his opinion.

"I also think we should take the shortcut," Su Peng said. "There are three reasons. First, as Sun Shijia said, the Qinglong Mountain bandits might be determined to capture the Green Mountain Stronghold. There seems to be something they are after. Second, since they have an insider giving signals, they won't return empty-handed. Third, since the first two possibilities are highly likely, the number of bandits left to guard the checkpoint must be small. The Qinglong Mountain stronghold is not there, and the checkpoint is just a small barrier. Even if we use force, we have a good chance of breaking through."

Actually, Su Peng had a fourth reason he didn't mention. He strongly felt that there would be a fierce battle at the Green Mountain Stronghold tonight. This was one of the reasons he accepted the chieftain's task without hesitation. He wasn't sure if staying in the stronghold would mean being required to defend it, and if the stronghold was breached, whether the bandits would massacre everyone.

Su Peng's intuition was extremely accurate. He rarely had premonitions, but when he did, they were usually right. He could still see the look the Qinglong Mountain chieftain gave before leaving, which felt like being stared at by a wild beast in the mountains.

"I told you, this task is so urgent, we must reach Jiangning County tonight," Fu Kang said angrily.

"I also think we should take the shortcut. Clearly, the long route is easier and less dangerous. Since we were given this task, the difficulty of completing it might affect the final reward," Ji Ming added his opinion.

"What! Didn't you say we should take the long route? Now you're saying we should take the shortcut? Are you trying to contradict me?" Fu Kang shouted again after hearing Ji Ming's words.

"Hmph... When did I say we should take the long route? I just proposed possibilities. Analyzing possibilities and deciding to take the long route are two different things. Your 'grasshead' comment can be returned to you," Ji Ming said with a cold smile, looking at Fu Kang.

"Ji Ming doesn't seem to like Fu Kang much..." Su Peng thought to himself but still tried to mediate. "Alright, since we have the same goal, let's make a specific plan."

Ji Ming ignored Fu Kang and started explaining his plan...

...

In the end, the four decided to take the shortcut to Jiangning County. Ji Ming had a rough map of the area and drew a route. They discussed what to do if they encountered enemies at the checkpoint and how to avoid areas with powerful wild creatures. After making these decisions, they quickly moved through the mountains toward Jiangning County.

As they moved, Su Peng observed everyone's equipment.

Each of the four had their own gear. Ji Ming carried an iron sword and a hunting bow with a quiver of arrows. He seemed to have completed the prerequisite tasks for both a hunter and a swordsman, making him capable in both ranged and melee combat.

Fu Kang carried an iron hammer and had two pieces of leather armor, indicating he had been doing well as a blacksmith's apprentice. Su Peng, with his experience of killing pigs and learning gray-level martial arts, estimated that Fu Kang had a few self-taught martial arts moves.

Sun Shijia carried a small round wooden shield and a long spear, which seemed mismatched. Su Peng guessed the shield was a reward from a task, and Sun Shijia probably had a few gray-level martial arts moves.

However, these two didn't have any internal energy.

Su Peng looked at his own gear. He had a steel knife that he could use to perform the pig-slaughtering technique, a piece of leather armor he bought with the funds from completing tasks for Aunt Li, which provided 3 points of ordinary defense. The most important feature was that the leather armor had been modified with pockets under the armpits to hold four throwing knives.

Additionally, Su Peng had an iron knuckle on his left hand, obtained from a small task at the blacksmith's, which added 2 points of attack, better than nothing.

In terms of skills, Su Peng had the gray-level pig-slaughtering technique, the white-level wild ball punch, and the white-level throwing knife technique. While the pig-slaughtering technique might have higher attack power, Su Peng had tested that this world had critical hit mechanics. Hitting the right spot could result in a critical hit, even on thick-blooded monsters.

As for the three martial arts manuals he received from Xu Guohan, Su Peng's martial arts experience and combat experience were not enough to learn them, but he was close.

The moonlight shone down, and the moon in this world was larger than in reality. The four traveled in silence. Ji Ming was the fastest, followed by Su Peng and Sun Shijia, with Fu Kang, carrying the iron hammer, being the slowest. Ji Ming's route was good, and they only encountered two lone wild wolves, which they quickly dealt with.

Three hours later, the four finally reached the checkpoint that Ji Ming had mentioned, where the Green Mountain Stronghold bandits had set up a checkpoint on the mountain gorge.

Su Peng and the others observed the checkpoint from a distance. It was indeed a place that was easy to defend but hard to attack.

In front of them, the terrain formed two inverted V-shaped cliffs to the north and south. However, the two cliffs were almost touching, with the closest point being only two to three meters apart. An average adult could jump across with a good running start, but the distance between the cliffs quickly widened, with the widest point being about ten meters.

The cliffs were dozens of meters high, and the bottom was filled with jagged rocks. If anyone fell, they would surely die.

At the closest point of the two cliffs, there was a wooden bridge, three meters wide and four meters long, connecting the two cliffs. The distance between the cliffs widened rapidly on either side of the bridge.

On the other side of the wooden bridge, there was a two-story wooden building, about twenty square meters in area, due to the terrain. It was brightly lit by the moonlight, and there seemed to be no one guarding it.

On the side of the wooden bridge where Su Peng was, there were two watchtowers, one on each side of the A-shaped terrain, about thirty meters apart. Each tower had a team of three and a team of four bandits, respectively, patrolling between the towers.

In front of the wooden bridge, there were some scattered wooden barriers, and there were also some barriers on the other side of the bridge, but they could be bypassed with caution.

On the left side of the cliff, behind the watchtower, there was a small path leading up the mountain, which was likely the route to the Qinglong Mountain stronghold.

Beyond the cliffs, there were forests on both sides, extending to the middle of the A-shaped terrain. Su Peng and the others were currently hiding in these forests.

"Damn! There are actually people guarding here!" Sun Shijia cursed, looking at the three watchtowers and the wooden bridge.

Su Peng and Ji Ming remained silent. After about five minutes, Ji Ming said, "There are eight people in the three watchtowers."

"Right, there's one person in the left watchtower who has come out twice in five minutes, seemingly to supervise the patrols. He doesn't patrol himself, indicating he might be a higher-ranking leader, and his strength might also be higher."

"Additionally, there are patrol teams on both the left and right sides, each patrolling every three minutes. Due to the terrain, they can't see the forest in the middle. The patrols are likely to prevent anyone from using trees to cross the cliffs."

"Beyond the wooden bridge, there is about twenty meters of flat path. The obstacles in front of the bridge can be bypassed, but the time it takes to do so would be enough for the patrol teams to discover us," Su Peng said.

"What do we do? We can't get through! The equipment of the bandits guarding the checkpoint suggests their strength is on par with ours, or even stronger. They also have the advantage of terrain, and there are twice as many of them, plus a leader. We definitely can't beat them!" Fu Kang said, growing anxious and asking Su Peng.

"We will inevitably have to fight to cross the bridge, but how we fight can be considered. We might not be able to defeat the bandits guarding the bridge, but we can divide and conquer them," Su Peng said, looking at the checkpoint.

"Easy to say, but how do we divide them? They aren't stupid and won't easily scatter. Even if we send someone to cause trouble, what if they don't come out? Then we won't be able to get through. Moreover, if we can't separate them, we'll still face eight enemies together!" Fu Kang said.

"Ha... Have you heard the story of the clever Wang Erga?" Su Peng looked at the three watchtowers and suddenly asked his companions...

...

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