Chapter 76

In fact, Count Munde Goss also had his own difficulties. The 57th Heavy Infantry Regiment, consisting of about 1,500 heavy infantry, was divided into five battalions.

Among them, three battalions belonged directly to Count Munde Goss: the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Battalions. The 3rd Battalion was a composite unit made up of the retainers of various small lords within the count's territory. The 5th Battalion was even more mixed, consisting of not only some logistics personnel but also young nobles from various territories who had been sent to serve their military terms. They needed to safely complete this period of service and then happily return home to inherit their family estates.

Among these young nobles, some were willing to use some of their private wealth to secretly purchase military honors, adding a touch of glory to their military careers.

The battalion commanders of the 1st and 2nd Battalions were the two most trusted subordinates of Count Munde Goss. Baron Sidney, the commander of the 4th Battalion, owed his position to some nepotism.

In reality, apart from his youth and arrogance, Baron Sidney was also a rare and excellent commander. However, his military career had not yet smoothed out his sharp edges, making him very individualistic, or in other words, not very cooperative.

When assigning the battalions to the task of clearing the forest paths, the count most wanted to send the 3rd Battalion to the foot of Mount Moyun, letting this mixed unit from various territories bear the wrath of the demons on Mount Moyun. This way, the count would preserve his own strength to the greatest extent.

However, if Count Munde Goss did this, he would completely ruin his reputation.

When there were benefits, like cleaning up the battlefield, performing search and rescue missions, or escort duties, he would unhesitatingly send his own direct subordinates. But when faced with difficulties and dangers, he would push the mixed units to the front. Once or twice, people could tolerate it, but if it happened too often, who among the small lords would still be loyal to him?

Therefore, this time, Count Munde Goss, knowing that the task of clearing the forest paths would become more dangerous the closer they got to Mount Moyun, could only send one of his own battalions to the front.

The 4th Battalion had recently fallen into a trap set by the natives in a large mountain hollow, almost being wiped out.

During this period, the 4th Battalion not only received a batch of new recruits but was also assigned the easiest tasks. However, Baron Sidney completed these tasks exceptionally well.

Thus, in this task assignment, Count Munde Goss could only push Baron Sidney to the front.

Before setting out, Count Munde Goss specially called his brother-in-law to his side and personally instructed him to be cautious, not to be overly ambitious, and to always be on guard against demon ambushes.

Under these circumstances, Baron Sidney led the 4th Battalion toward Mount Moyun.

In fact, Baron Sidney had some talent; otherwise, Count Munde Goss would not have favored him among his many brother-in-laws.

However, Baron Sidney had previously looked down on the natives of Handanar County. The operation to hunt the native hunters did not receive enough attention from him, which led to the reckless Baron Sidney falling into the trap.

This time, the situation was completely different. The enemy was the demons on Mount Moyun, so Baron Sidney led the 4th Battalion with much more caution.

The 4th Battalion had more than half veterans, who had experience fighting demons. They naturally sent out a large number of reconnaissance teams to gather information along the way.

Suldac's 2nd Squad was the most outstanding team in the 4th Battalion. Recently, they not only found the missing Bajale swordsman in the mountains but also helped this renowned swordsman destroy a demon gate, earning praise from Count Munde Goss.

Therefore, it was no surprise that the 2nd Squad became the reconnaissance team for the vanguard. They needed to reach the foot of Mount Moyun first and investigate the situation there.

After receiving the task from Baron Sidney, Captain Suldac took a simple map and led 13 warriors into the green sea.

...

Perhaps because the demons had occupied Mount Moyun, the closer they got to the mountain, the fewer beasts they saw in the forest.

In the past, they could still see a few beasts from a distance in the mountains, but these beasts were not foolish. Seeing a large group of human warriors, they would launch suicidal attacks. Beasts with initial intelligence knew how to avoid danger.

Only when they got close to Mount Moyun did they realize that not only were there fewer beasts, but even the small animals in the forest were much fewer than elsewhere.

The 2nd Squad discovered a huge skeleton at the foot of Mount Moyun. It was the skeleton of a mountain bear, which was only slightly smaller than a thunder rhinoceros. This mountain bear seemed to be the master of Mount Moyun and had likely advanced to a third-stage demon, yet it could not escape the fate of being slaughtered by the demons.

The mountain bear's skull was shattered into several pieces scattered in the forest, and its body had been completely devoured by the demons. The ground was littered with white bones, and the forest was severely damaged, as if it had been trampled by a herd of wild bulls. Many trees were uprooted or broken, and the forest was covered with bloodstains.

Seeing the惨状 in the forest, Suldac raised his hand, signaling the 2nd Squad to stop advancing. Moving forward any further might bring them into the line of sight of the demon army. At this point, the 2nd Squad was not yet capable of defeating the demons. Upon discovering the demons' movements, they needed to either quickly retreat or quickly hide.

At this moment, He Boqiang, who had walked up from the back of the group, looked at Suldac.

Suldac and He Boqiang often exchanged ideas, and even a simple glance from He Boqiang could be understood by Suldac.

"Are you suggesting we use the sentry scroll here?"

He Boqiang nodded.

Initially, the emaciated old man at the magic sundries shop thought the sentry scrolls were of little use to them, so He Boqiang casually bought two.

No one expected that the team entering the mountains would actually receive the most dangerous reconnaissance task. Although using a sentry scroll cost several dozen silver coins, at this critical moment, no one would still cling to this item.

Under the full alert of the 2nd Squad, He Boqiang walked to the center of the mountain bear's skeleton. The chest bone, as large as a house, lay on the ground, and the sturdy ribs formed a cage-like structure. He Boqiang inserted a magic item resembling a branch into the center of the chest bone cage and then retreated.

"Done?"

He Boqiang nodded again.

"Guys, let's retreat..."

This area was filled with the footprints of the demons, and Suldac did not intend to follow the demons' tracks.

The demons seemed to be ill-suited to mountain paths, and their heavy bodies always left a clear trail in the forest.

The 2nd Squad infiltrated this forest area not only to track the movements of the demons but also to find a suitable place to camp, preparing for the subsequent cavalry regiment to enter Mount Moyun.