Chapter 20

The warriors of the Fourth Battalion walked through the dense forest for half a day without encountering a single native, and Baron Sidney's expression grew increasingly grim.

The battalion stopped by a stream in the valley, and Baron Sidney gathered the officers above the rank of squad leader for an initial battle deployment.

The rest of the heavily armored infantry drew some water from the river and started a fire on the stone beach to cook their meals.

The troops on external missions carried extremely simple rations. He Boqiang had been eating this stuff for the past few days. It was a food similar to rice flour that could quickly dissolve in boiling water to make a pot of porridge, which was then eaten with hard, baked wheat cakes. If the wheat cakes were too hard, they could be broken into pieces and soaked in the porridge.

It wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't delicious. It was purely a convenient fast food to quickly fill one's stomach.

Each ration was wrapped in dry banana leaves, which could be easily torn open when needed.

Jialongnan scooped a spoonful of thick porridge into a wooden bowl and stared at it without any appetite. Ian, sitting beside him, was eating with great relish, even using his fingers to scrape the edges of the wooden bowl clean at the end.

Five reconnaissance squads had left one after another, and the atmosphere in the battalion became tense, with no one talking loudly.

He Boqiang didn't find the rations particularly unpalatable and quietly finished the food he had been given, then leaned against a large rock to rest with his eyes closed.

The black boy Jialongnan refilled the marching water flask with clear stream water.

Sulidak squatted by the fire, pressing the unburned charcoal with a stone. Jiaxian approached him curiously and asked:

"Daik, what do you think Baron Sidney is discussing with the squad leaders?"

Jiaxian was also a member of the second squad, but everyone preferred to call him Red Socks because he wore a pair of red socks all year round. Despite the patches on the soles, he was reluctant to throw them away. It was said that these socks were knitted by his fiancée when he joined the army.

He was the best archer in the squad, and one of the two alloy bows equipped to the squad was in his possession.

Sulidak turned to look at Jiaxian and said:

"Who knows! But we are still far from the mountain pass, so there's no need to worry about being ambushed by native hunters in the dark. Being part of a large battalion is definitely easier than acting alone."

At this moment, Captain Sam returned from Baron Sidney's side, leaned against a rock, and Jialongnan immediately ran back to hand over a portion of food he had set aside for the captain.

The porridge in the wooden bowl had cooled and congealed into a lump. Sam pushed the bowl aside and grabbed half a wheat cake, munching on it dry.

Sulidak said, "I always feel something is not right. We need to be careful on the next stretch of the road."

Sam tore off another piece of the wheat cake but didn't put it in his mouth immediately. He asked Sulidak, "What's wrong?"

Sulidak glanced at He Boqiang and slowly said, "I think these natives are leading us into a trap."

Sam pondered for a moment without speaking.

Ian, on the side, said, "This time, the entire Fourth Battalion is mobilized, and we have borrowed a company of longbowmen. Dealing with those natives is more than enough, there's nothing to worry about."

Jialongnan and Jiaxian clearly agreed with Ian's view, echoing his words and agreeing that Ian was right.

At this moment, He Boqiang seemed to sense something and lifted his head, feeling as if someone was peering through the dense trees. However, he couldn't find any convincing evidence.

...

After resting for nearly an hour, the Fourth Battalion continued along the dense forest toward the large mountain pass.

In the afternoon, there were not many wild animals in the forest, but some venomous insects occasionally caused some trouble for the battalion. However, almost every warrior carried antidotes, so the battalion did not suffer any casualties due to poisoning.

At this time of day, the forest always felt stiflingly hot.

The battalion stretched out in the forest, and the path was not easy to walk. The forest was filled with dead leaves and branches that had accumulated over the years. These leaves, when rotted, turned into fertile leaf mold, but some leaves fell into natural pits, covering them and creating many natural traps.

A heavily armored warrior was walking in the battalion when he happened to look up and saw a green snake crawling on a branch. The snake was coiled around the branch, continuously flicking its tongue, and its cold eyes stared down. As the battalion passed under the branch, the green snake dripped a drop of venom. The warrior was startled.

Just as he was thinking about warning his comrades behind him, he heard one of them shout, "Hey, be careful..."

Before he could finish, the heavily armored warrior's foot slipped, and he fell forward into a deep pit filled with dead leaves.

Fortunately, the pit was filled with thick dead leaves and nothing else. The warrior was pulled out of the pit by his comrades without any serious injuries, but he had twisted his ankle.

The battalion passed by a man-eating tree with sharp thorns. The tree swung its vines, tightly wrapping around the heavily armored soldiers who couldn't react in time, dragging them toward the trunk. If not for the help of their comrades, they would not have been able to break free.

After entering the dense forest, such accidents occurred frequently, slowing down the battalion's progress.

...

As the sky began to darken, the Fourth Battalion finally reached the large mountain pass where the native hunters were hiding. In the twilight, a bare white rock wall could be seen on the west side of the valley. According to the intelligence gathered by Jialongnan, the native hunters were hiding there.

Baron Sidney ordered the Fourth Battalion to stop and rest, planning to launch a surprise attack on the native hunters after nightfall.

The five reconnaissance squads that had left the battalion earlier returned one after another, and Baron Sidney again gathered the officers above the rank of squad leader for a meeting.

The camp was set up on a sloping hillside in the forest within the mountain pass, not far from the river valley in the pass.

Dinner was much more abundant, with a reconnaissance squad specifically responsible for hunting, bringing back two spotted wild boars from the forest. Dinner consisted of wild boar meat, wild celery, and white bread. According to Sulidak, Baron Sidney always provided the warriors with a good meal before a battle, and this time was no exception.

The battle horn sounded as the sky turned completely dark.

The second squad followed the battalion to the base of the cliff. There was only a narrow rock cave at the base of the cliff, and climbing up the rock tunnel for about 200 meters led to a natural cave in the middle of the cliff. With just two or three people guarding the upper entrance of the cave, the passage could be secured.

Baron Sidney left the first company to guard the entrance and personally led the Fourth Battalion to climb the mountain under the cover of darkness. According to the baron's plan, after the assault team reached the top of the mountain, they would lower ropes and the warriors would rappel down to the halfway point, entering through a ventilation shaft in the middle of the mountain.

This area was all steep cliffs, and to climb the mountain, they had to go around to the back of the pass.

The mountain path at night was even more difficult to navigate, and Baron Sidney had to abandon his horse and follow the battalion on foot.

He Boqiang followed the battalion, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease.

After nightfall, some faint firelight could be seen on the cliff face, indicating that people indeed lived there. However, the natives seemed so calm, and the Fourth Battalion had not encountered any resistance from the natives along the way, which made He Boqiang increasingly worried.