Chapter 21

In the night, the dense forests on the mountain ridges echoed with the cries of nocturnal beasts. The heavy infantry of the Fourth Battalion had been marching through the forest all day.

Although there had been two brief rests, it was already late, and the warriors, clad in metal armor, were inevitably exhausted. The formation began to show signs of stragglers.

Although the sky was filled with stars, the forest was pitch black, and the formation could only slowly feel their way forward.

To climb the western ridge of the Great Mountain Pass, they still had a long detour to make.

Small forest animals, which were active at night, were frequently startled from the bushes, occasionally startling a group of gray mountain magpies that had already returned to their nests.

Baron Sidney walked at the front of the formation, leaning on a silver cane. He had ridden a horse all day, and by the time he walked on the mountain path at night, he was naturally more energetic than the other warriors. Even so, Baron Sidney was also in a sorry state, having been tangled by the thorny bushes on the slope.

His meticulously combed light blond hair had become greasy and disheveled, and a leaf was stuck to his head.

The squadron leader who followed closely behind Baron Sidney said tactfully, "My lord, perhaps we should let the formation rest for a while."

Baron Sidney looked at the pitch-black forest and slowly shook his head, saying, "Let the soldiers push on a bit more. This is not a place to rest. We need to make a concerted effort to reach the summit."

The squadron leader looked grim, seeing that Sidney did not look back and continued forward, and could only pass the order to the rear: "Everyone, keep up!"

In the pitch-black forest, countless vine traps were hidden among the bushes and dense trees. If the warriors were not careful, they would be caught by the vine traps and hung from the trees. Although these traps were not lethal, most of the warriors who were rescued from the trees were covered in injuries, causing a significant reduction in numbers.

In the dark night, the dense forest was like a terrifying monster with a gaping abyss, slowly devouring the combat effectiveness of the Fourth Battalion.

...

He Boqiang gently nudged Suldak, his gaze falling on a vine hanging from the left.

Suldak immediately understood, quickly avoiding the vine, and turned to whisper to Garcia, who wore red socks, "The native hunters have set many traps in the forest. We need to be careful."

Garcia passed the message to his companions and closely followed Suldak, avoiding the taut vine.

Suldak walked behind He Boqiang and complained in a low voice, "We could actually find a sheltered cliff to rest. We've been walking all day, and everyone's stamina has dropped significantly. Fighting at night is simply unrealistic."

He Boqiang carefully felt his way forward, cautiously dealing with the traps in the bushes ahead.

In fact, He Boqiang had no experience with this. His ability to detect the traps in the forest was purely due to his cautious nature, maintaining a suspicious attitude towards everything that appeared ahead. The traps, though cleverly disguised, always had a slight inconsistency with the surrounding environment. He Boqiang relied on this to identify the traps in the dense forest.

He Boqiang walked at the front of the formation, moving very slowly, so the Second Squad gradually fell behind.

The slope of the mountain became steeper, making the path even more difficult to traverse.

...

"Whoo~~"

A mournful howl echoed through the forest.

The last heavy infantryman in the formation quietly asked his companion,

"What was that sound?"

His companion, dragging his heavy legs, replied weakly,

"It sounds like a hyena. In my hometown, these creatures like to stay in graveyards, and they eat anything."

The heavy infantryman touched the weapon at his waist, and his slightly uneasy heart gradually calmed down. He joked,

"Even the bodies buried in graves?"

His companion stopped, his face showing a stunned look of fear, and his voice turned cold,

"Even the gravediggers."

The heavy infantryman followed his companion's gaze and saw a pair of blood-red eyes greedily staring at them in the dark forest.

The two warriors hurried to catch up with the formation ahead, but in the darkness, another pair of blood-red eyes appeared, followed by many more, totaling dozens.

The two warriors wanted to warn those ahead, but the eyes only distracted them. Two large shadows appeared behind them, and a pair of furry paws landed on their shoulders. The heavy infantrymen thought it was a companion tapping them and quickly turned to look back. However, they were met with a gaping mouth that bit into their throats with lightning speed, knocking them to the ground.

Before they could struggle much, their bodies went stiff and were dragged into the darkness.

'Crunch, crunch'

A bone-chilling sound of tearing came from behind.

He Boqiang felt a chill run down his back.

At this moment, the other heavy infantrymen at the back of the formation also sensed something was wrong and looked back.

They saw a pair of blood-red eyes following them closely, the nearest pair already showing the outline of a hyena, covered in spotted fur. The hyenas had gaping mouths, each as large as a calf, with white fangs bared, reflecting a chilling light in the dark night.

"There are hyenas..."

Someone shouted in the darkness, and the entire formation stopped, everyone looking back.

Sure enough, many hyenas emerged from the bushes, and countless pairs of blood-red eyes appeared in the darkness, making it impossible to know how many hyenas were following.

The last formation was the Sixth Squad. At this moment, the Sixth Squad leader of the Fourth Battalion immediately stepped forward and sternly ordered the rear warriors,

"Everyone, remain quiet, do not shout. The shield warriors to the rear, the longbowmen prepare, follow my command!"

The warriors of the 57th Heavy Infantry Battalion, Fourth Battalion, were all well-trained veterans. Upon receiving the order, they immediately picked up their shields and quickly formed a shield wall. The members of the Second Squad also joined in, with He Boqiang raising his small round shield and Suldak shielding him with a square shield.

The well-trained warriors formed the array very quickly.

The longbowmen in the middle of the formation immediately strung their bows and lined up, placing steel arrows on the bowstrings, aiming at the dense forest behind.

The squad leader decisively issued the order, "Ready, fire!"

A rain of arrows shot out from the formation, instantly disappearing into the forest, followed by a chorus of hyena howls.

Just as the squad leader was about to order the longbowmen to fire a second volley, the hyenas charged out from the dense forest behind.

"Roar~"

They charged at the shield wall formed by the rear warriors, and someone in the formation immediately shouted,

"Watch out, they're charging!"

"Hold them off, the spear wielders form an array behind..."

The warriors quickly responded, forming a defensive line.