Chapter 25

A stone the size of a coconut fell at He Boqiang's feet and shattered, the debris splashing onto his legs. Although he was wearing leather armor on his legs, the fragments still cut him painfully.

Many pieces of debris fell into the fire, instantly causing sparks to fly.

He Boqiang, pulling Suerdak's arm, rushed towards the forest outside. The red-eyed mad hyenas tried to pounce on He Boqiang and bite him, but as large pieces of debris rained down from above, the hyenas lost their courage to stay. They let out a series of urgent howls and turned to flee into the dense forest.

He Boqiang and Suerdak were among the first to rush out of the camp. Just as He Boqiang was about to run down the hill, he was stopped by Captain Sam from behind.

Behind Captain Sam were Jelonnan, Red Socks, and others. At this moment, they pointed to the eastern slope.

He Boqiang and Suerdak immediately understood and followed Captain Sam to run towards the eastern forest. Relying on their alertness and excellent reflexes, they managed to avoid several large rocks that fell along the way.

Several hyenas were about to pounce but were buried by the falling rocks. The hyenas behind them quickly fled with their tails between their legs.

He Boqiang held up his square shield with one hand, trying to block the debris flying down from above. Fortunately, everyone moved fast enough and reached the safe area on the left side of the hill before the large amount of debris fell.

Baron Sidney and his guards also ran out from under the mountain wall, leading a large group of warriors.

Several large rocks fell from the sky, but the indomitable Baron Sidney split them in half with his two-handed sword. The white vortex around his body turned into white flames, making him look incredibly powerful.

The hyenas let out a series of mournful howls and disappeared into the dark forest amidst the rain of debris.

...

Baron Sidney, with the surviving warriors of the Fourth Battalion, stood in the forest on the hillside. A bloodstain ran down his face, clearly injured during the escape from under the mountain wall. His two-bladed greatsword was stuck in the ground beside him.

Rolling rocks, large amounts of sand and gravel, and old tree branches and leaves mixed with soil rushed down the mountain wall like a mud dragon.

The entire mountain wall was buried by the falling rocks, and the dense forest below was completely destroyed.

Many warriors, who had taken off their armor to rest, now stood in the forest wearing only linen shorts and bare-chested.

Everyone watched as boulders the size of houses rolled down from the mountain top, leaving deep gullies on the mountain path.

As the rolling rocks slowly came to a stop, the mountain wind blew away the dust on the hillside. The sky was already showing a hint of dawn, and the stars gradually disappeared from the sky. The dark sky gradually turned a deep blue, with a few clouds floating between the distant hills.

A group of soldiers stood on the hillside in a disheveled state. Apart from the members of He Boqiang's Second Squad, who were still in armor, only the night-duty soldiers of the Second Company were still wearing armor.

This time, Baron Sidney had brought out the Fourth Battalion and the First Company of longbowmen, but now only about two hundred warriors remained standing on the hillside.

Suerdak patted his chest hard and asked Red Socks, who was beside him, somewhat dazedly, "Am I still alive?"

"Yes, you're still alive, we're all still alive!" Red Socks said, looking at the gradually subsiding landslide with a somewhat blank expression.

Blackie sat under a crooked tree.

Captain Sam walked up to He Boqiang, patted his shoulder, and said with gratitude in his eyes, "If it weren't for your alertness, we might not have made it out."

...

The experience of the past day and night was a nightmare for Baron Sidney, plunging him from the heights of power into a hell of flames. His eyes were filled with anger, and even his guards dared not approach him at this moment.

Baron Sidney did not comfort his dispirited warriors. With a dark face, he pulled his two-bladed greatsword from the rock at his feet, slung it on his back, and rushed up the mountain alone, like a madman.

His steps were large and his jumping ability astonishing. Each time, he accurately stepped on a protruding rock, moving against the flow of the rockslide.

The guards, worried about Baron Sidney's safety, hurriedly followed him. The company captains had no choice but to lead the remaining soldiers in pursuit.

The western ridge of the mountain valley was a branch of the Gandaur Mountains, with the highest peak being this cliff. The western side of the cliff was a gentle slope, while the side of the mountain valley was a sheer cliff. The rocks at the top of the mountain were like rolling waves, but now most of them were gone.

Baron Sidney rushed up the several hundred-meter-high mountain top in one breath. Looking at the chaos on the mountain top, he saw a large pit about ten meters in diameter next to the debris. One side of the pit had been dug out, and this side was the cliff side.

Baron Sidney found it hard to believe that the native hunters could move such a large boulder. He jumped into the large pit on the mountain top, walked to the edge of the pit, and looked down at the cliff that no longer existed.

He Boqiang noticed that there were dozens of large wooden stakes that had been cut down at the edge of the pit. He instantly understood that the large boulder on the mountain top was not pushed down by the natives but was dug out from below and supported by large wooden stakes. As long as someone on the mountain top cut the stakes, the boulder would roll down the mountain under its own weight, taking the wooden stakes with it.

The Fourth Battalion had almost been buried by these native hunters in the mountain valley. Just thinking about it now made him shudder.

The dawn was gradually brightening, and the distant view became clearer. He Boqiang could vaguely see a group of natives entering the forest on the other side of the mountain valley.

Judging by their route, they seemed to be heading deeper into the Gandaur Mountains.

Although he had almost been buried by the rockslide, He Boqiang felt a sense of admiration for the distant native hunters.

These natives, driven from their homes by imperial soldiers, had not given up their resistance in the face of the empire's overwhelming military power...

At this moment, Baron Sidney, standing on the mountain top, felt an indescribable sense of humiliation.

Despite the native hunters using the natural environment of the mountain valley, the red-eyed hyenas, and the rockslide to eliminate half of the Fourth Battalion's fighting force, the remaining soldiers' combat effectiveness was greatly reduced. Even so, the native hunters still did not have the courage to engage in a direct battle with Baron Sidney's warriors.

It seemed that the strength gap between the natives of Handanar County and the imperial soldiers was not just a little bit.

Dawn arrived, and the red-eyed hyenas had already retreated into the dense forest. The sun, carrying hope, slowly rose between the hills...

He Boqiang and Suerdak sat back-to-back on a large rock on the mountain top, gazing at the rising sun in silence for a long time.