As the last light of twilight vanished, night was fast approaching, and visibility in the dense jungle had significantly decreased. Yet, dozens of fully ard soldiers recklessly charged forward, leaping to avoid the protruding tree roots on the ground and wildly spraying gunfire from their weapons. The ferocity of their attack was like fire, extrely fierce, utterly neglectful of the treetops above where many brawny n, bare-chested, were perching with bows drawn and arrows notched, aiming at the fast-approaching pursuers.
Luo Zheng and the others, seeing their pursuers fully enter the ambush circle, ceased retreating. Instead, they turned their gun barrels around, took a kneeling position to aim, and, covered by the large trees, calmly fired controlled shots, killing the exposed enemies. Combat instantly escalated in intensity, with one side delivering a rain of fierce gunfire and the other making precise shots, both sides fighting with equal vigor.
"Da-da-da!" A barrage of bullets poured down, sealing off both sides of the big tree Luo Zheng used for cover. Powerless to return fire, Luo Zheng had no choice but to crouch behind the tree, waiting for an opportunity, while two of the pursuers, covered by their companions' gunfire, ferociously charged toward Luo Zheng's hiding spot.
"Swoosh!" An arrow, like a venomous snake descending from the heavens, struck the back of one assailant's head.
"Thud!" The soldier stumbled and fell to the ground, an arrow made of hardened wood embedded in the back of his neck, humming and trembling in the air, but emitting the aura of Death God, chilling to the bone.
The other advancing soldier saw this and instinctively stood up, looking up, only to see a black dot shooting down like lightning, growing larger within his pupil. In horror, he instinctively rolled to the side to dodge, but it was too late. The arrow, like a venomous snake, tore into him, drilling into the soldier's eye socket.
The arrow, crafted from hardwood and extrely sharp and hard, instantly pierced through the man's eyeball and deep into his brain. Poison Liquid spread out, and the soldier scread in agony, collapsing to the ground, clutching his eyes and rolling around, blood covering his face, his gun lost to oblivion.
"Ah!" More screams rose as the natives took action. Luo Zheng saw the gunfire attacking them thin out, peered out from hiding, and witnessed countless arrows raining down from above, precisely finding their targets, toppling them to the ground with cries of excruciating pain.
"Such accurate archery?" Luo Zheng was greatly surprised. Witnessing the arrows striking flesh with every shot, he knew he had underestimated these people. Seeing the enemy forces in complete disarray, he imdiately rejoiced and bellowed, "Brothers, charge, kill them!"
"Kill!" Lan Xue and the others roared, launching a counter-charge. The guns in their hands were like Death God's scythes, each controlled burst of fire reaping a life without rcy.
"Whoosh, whoosh!" Seeing Luo Zheng and his n counter-charge, the natives, now exposed, realized that hiding in the trees would only make them sitting ducks. They jumped down, and even mid-air, their arrow shooting was not impaired. Their precise bowshots killed enemy after enemy attempting to fire their guns. Once they landed, these n rolled to dodge incoming bullets, quickly drew arrows from behind their backs, aid at their targets, and decisively shot their bows. Their actions were fluid and quick, like shooting stars.
"Impressive." Luo Zheng, seeing the speed of everyone's archery and the enemies falling one by one, couldn't help but shout in admiration. His gun raised to his shoulder, he moved swiftly, his cold gaze seeking targets. Pulling the trigger, he cleared every visible enemy one after the other.
The pursuers were imdiately thrown into disarray, turning their heads and running away. In doing so, they beca moving targets. In the forest, the soldiers simply couldn't outrun the natives, who, of course, didn't miss such a good opportunity. Without waiting for orders, they chased after them, continuously drawing their bows and shooting their targets dead.
The battle ended quickly. Luo Zheng looked at the soldiers who had been shot but not killed, writhing on the ground and emitting shrill moans. Under the poison's effect, they completely lost their ability to fight. His cold face broke into a smile as he called out with a heroic cheer, "Hook, Hook, where are you? Clean up the battlefield right away and take all the usable weapons. Leave the wounded enemies; let them be their own headache."
"Right here." Not far away, Hook ran over excitedly and shouted sothing incomprehensible to everyone, who imdiately sprang into action. Coming up to Luo Zheng, Hook said with admiration, "This battle was satisfying."
"You almost got killed. Didn't you say there were only about fifty people?" Luo Zheng said irritably. These guys hadn't had proper training and needed a proper knock to prevent similar mistakes.
"Eh?" Hook didn't know what to say, looking embarrassed. Lan Xue ca over and advised, "Tell everyone that intelligence must be accurate. Report the exact number, or it will affect our battle plans. It's fortunate it was just over eighty this ti, but what if there had been more? Not only would our plans be ruined, but we would also be exposed. Then we would be the ones lying on the ground, not these bastards."
"Okay, I'll make it clear." Hook's expression turned serious. Glancing at the wounded littering the ground, he felt a chill of fear and imnse relief. With an apologetic smile to Luo Zheng, he ran off to find a few of the leaders.
A few minutes later, the battlefield was cleaned, and the spoils tallied. Aside from seized weapons and ammunition, not a single one of their own had died in battle. A few were injured, but it was nothing serious. It felt good to have one up on the enemy. Ever since they had set out, they had been on the receiving end of the enemy's pressure, suffering heavy losses. This victory had helped to restore so morale.
The group imdiately returned. A few hours later, they arrived at the cave. Luo Zheng, concerned about their safety, found Hook and shared his worries, finally asking, "Are there any other places nearby where we can hide?"
Hook pondered for a while, unable to think of any. He said with a wry smile, "I've been away from ho for so ti. Just wait a mont; I'll ask the others." Saying this, he went off to discuss with Xiong Bi, Bao Li, Lang Sen, and the Wizard.
A few minutes later, Hook ca back, reporting that everyone knew of a place not too far away, a naturally ford cave with an underground river. However, it had many branching paths, and it was easy to get lost inside. Luo Zheng was delighted to hear this; the more complicated paths, the better—it would be easy to escape if they were discovered. He imdiately asked Hook to lead the way, and everyone moved out.
Hook raised no objections. After a quick discussion with a few leaders, the group packed up lightly and left the cave, forming a long procession heading northward through the forest. As for those who had died in battle, everyone chose to leave them behind, to dust they returned, to earth they went. Luo Zheng, considering it a local custom, didn't ask further. Seeing everyone collecting dry wood along the way made him smile; the survival skills of the forest natives were indeed strong.
On the road, Luo Zheng noticed so people collecting herbs for the injured, although he had no idea what they were. Others spread out to hunt. With Hook staying by his side to interpret, Luo Zheng watched everyone bustling about and remarked with a smile, "It's a good thing you're here, or I'd have no way to communicate. Everyone seems to be in good spirits."
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