Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland

It rains continuously.

The strange big tree in the sky was twisted and twisted, and the huge leaves accumulated rainwater. After exceeding the maximum load-bearing limit, it poured down again.

Dark clouds and leaves blocked most of the light, and even when marching during the day, the surroundings were still dark.

On the ground, the leading troops of the Stone Rat Regiment marched through the rain and mud.

Compared to the big trees around them, they looked as small as ants.

But there are actually nearly two hundred such ants.

The leaders of the three Stone Rat regiments mixed together with their respective teams and marched day and night without stopping, trying to get to Huangshui Village before the large army.

After traveling so far, and with the heavy rain, many gang members looked tired.

But they persist.

It's not because of how well-trained they are, or how much they love the Stone Rats as a collective.

But this task is extremely profitable.

One of the leaders, Yes, wiped a handful of rainwater, with dark red scars crisscrossing his face.

He looked at his younger brothers and shouted to encourage them: "It's only one day away. When we get to Huangshui Village, coins, women, slaves... whatever you grab doesn't matter, it's all yours!"

"I'm afraid you don't have such a big appetite!"

Hearing this, the entire team burst into laughter.

The other leader, Hada, although he said nothing, still had a sarcastic smile on his face at this moment.

In their view, capturing a Huangshui Village would certainly not require the full force of the Stone Rat Regiment.

Although the few of them are called the vanguard, the number of people equipped is actually enough to take down any swamp village.

The only ones to worry about are those swamp ninjas.

If they are nesting in Huangshui Village, then this is not an ordinary swamp village, and it will be quite troublesome to do anything.

This is why Mr. Gary ordered them to arrive at Huangshui Village first, only to investigate the situation and wait for the large army.

Stability comes first.

However, several leaders discussed and combined.

Huangshui Village is not particularly wealthy among many swamp villages. If you wait until you enter the village with a large army, how much will be distributed to each person?

I'm afraid it won't even be enough to eat a bowl of rice. It's a pure loss-making business.

The current situation is:

The large army was encumbered by camps and was advancing slowly; now it was stationed in the rear, cutting off the Water Tribe's path to support the swamp ninjas.

If they capture Huangshui Village before the large troops arrive.

At that time, the spoils of the village will be yours to yourself.

Several bosses can also have additional meritorious deeds.

Yes whistled, feeling quite good.

The whistle is clear and sharp, even in the dense forest in the rain in the swamp, it can float far away and echo endlessly.

call out.

There seemed to be a hint of noise mixed in with the whistle.

At this moment, the third leader who was leading the way at the front of the team trembled, suddenly stopped, and stood there straight.

Yes didn't pay attention, jumped over the tree roots and walked forward.

He patted the other party's shoulder: "What, you kid is lost?"

The other party didn't answer, and his figure swayed as Yess slapped him.

The next moment, his body suddenly collapsed to the ground from the neck down, leaving only his head suspended in the air.

——No, not levitation.

It was a long arrow that passed through the leader's neck and nailed into the tree trunk beside him.

The moment he moved forward, his whole body was hung up.

At this moment, the neck with the arrow wound was torn, and Yes watched helplessly as one of his companion's heads hung on the arrow, spun around, and then fell to the ground.

The rain washed down, and the blood in his chest was washed into the mud before it could even gush out.

[Crossbow: 47→48 (Feature)]

"Enemy attack!" Yes reacted and roared, "There are shooters!"

Everyone in the Stone Rat Group woke up from their exhaustion, got into a mess, and ducked down to avoid it.

They looked around at a loss, the ferns were thick, and they couldn't find where the enemy came from.

"Lord Hada!" Some members of the gang shouted, "We are short of people!"

The other leader heard the sound and quickly used the cover of the tree trunk to check. After a brief inventory, he was shocked.

Unknowingly, they had lost as many as ten people.

——When walking in a dense forest, there is often only one path that can pass people. Such a large crowd will inevitably be stretched and scattered, and the head and tail cannot look at each other.

Even so, everyone is guaranteed to have at least a companion to look after and monitor them.

How could there be so many people missing without anyone noticing?

Hada's heart trembled, and he leaned towards the rear of the team.

He pushed aside a patch of grass, revealing the body of a gang member.

The corpse fell to the ground, looking dazed, as if he still didn't know what happened.

This man's back felt like a sharp knife had been pierced through it. A large opening opened up, and the organs inside could be seen. Under the wash of rain, the wound has turned a little white.

The blood and water merged into a river, flowing along the terrain to Hada's feet.

But the source of the blood was not the corpse in front of him, but it had been flowing out from the grass in front.

As you can imagine, there are the remaining ten missing gang members.

Hada felt as if he had an illusion.

For a moment, he seemed to see a flash of blood in the grass.

"Gather!" "Disperse!" Hada and Yes ordered at the same time, but the contents were contradictory.

Hada knew very well that the opponent could only take advantage of their scattered formations to stay on the edge and continuously succeed in sneak attacks.

And Yes also knew very well that the person lurking in the dark was an archer with excellent archery skills.

In the jungle, there were not many shooting angles. As long as his men spread out and looked for cover, even the shooter could do nothing to cause too many casualties.

If they gather in this open space, they will become a living target.

Hada and Yes looked at each other, and they could see the shock in each other's eyes.

The enemy is calculated.

The leaders did not come up with a solution, but their men fell into chaos:

"Who do you want to listen to?"

"I don't understand! Listen to your boss."

"Our boss just died..."

For a time, the members of the Stone Rat Group either moved closer to those around them or sneaked into the dense forest alone. The contradictory orders caused them to get into a mess and collide with each other.

At this moment, several arrows came from the sky again, piercing the forest and breaking leaves.

Every ray of cold light penetrated a person's chest accurately.

The gang members who had just gotten closer were frightened by the death of their companions and fled quickly.

However, the gang members who fled did not seem to have a good ending.

The jungle is deep, and from time to time there are screams and screams, mixed with the sound of rain, making it even more hazy and shrill.

Unable to see clearly what was going on, the pressure added to the fear in the hearts of everyone in the Stone Rat Group, causing chaos.

"Don't panic, just listen to me and gather here!"

Seeing that the vanguard was about to collapse, Yes quickly ordered.

Dispersion can certainly avoid arrows, but with the level of organization of the Stone Rat Group, once the members stay away under this kind of pressure, they may flee on their own and never try to gather again.

Now they can only hope to withstand the shooter's sniper attacks and break out of this murderous rainforest.

"puff!"

The forest leaves swayed, and people fell one after another on the way back.

Through the rain, Yes saw a hazy figure.

He roared and drew his sword, rushing forward to cut off the opponent.

The next moment, a long arrow hit the tip of his knife accurately.

The steel knife tilted and struck the tree trunk.

The figure took advantage of the gap and hurriedly retreated, causing a sound of beating leaves.

"It's a swamp ninja!" Yes recognized the other party's costume.

The rusty mask and the dark green body straps were like camouflage in this dense swamp forest. With the rain and fog covering them, it was no wonder they couldn't be spotted.

"Brothers, rush out!" Yes was not surprised but happy.

As we all know, swamp ninjas are good at stealth assassination, but their frontal combat capabilities are not strong.

He and others were only disrupted by the initial sneak attack. Now that they have discovered the opponent's whereabouts and know the enemy's origin, the threat is not that great.

With a way to deal with it, with these hundreds of gang members, we can definitely rush out head-on.

Hada was overjoyed when he heard the news, and quickly directed his men to charge in the right direction.

According to intelligence, there are not many swamp ninjas occupying Huangshui Village.

If these people were hiding in the village, there was nothing he could do to them... Now that the swamp ninja actually came to the door, wouldn't that mean they were going to die?

It seems that the other party was forced into a hurry and made this move.

That's fine. When we break through the siege, we can in turn strangle these swamp ninjas who have left their nests and eliminate the threat in advance - then the resistance to breaking through Huangshui Village will be much smaller.

Hada saw seven or eight dark green figures appearing in front of him, as if they were coming to stop him.

Judging by their attire, they were just the lowest level of genin.

Hada laughed ferociously and rushed forward. The hammer in his hand was enough to smash these thin and fragile tribesmen.

The weapons resounded.

A 'swamp ninja' swung a big knife and blocked the heavy hammer. The next moment, his companions cooperated tacitly and slashed Hada's throat with the sharp knife.

Before dying, Hada only faintly heard a few words:

"Damn, this money is so good."

"Stop talking. Boss Lu has told me that your accent doesn't sound like..."

"We're not like him, the old drama star..."

While the few people were talking, they continued to rush towards the besieged Stone Rat Group.

From beginning to end, the iconic ninja swords on their waists were never drawn out, and were just like mere decorations.

And high up in the treetops, above everyone's heads.

A man wearing a camouflage raincoat and a mask holding an old-world crossbow jumped from time to time between the side branches of the ancient trees, as agile as an ape, as if walking on flat ground.

While he was cocking the gun to snipe, he was also observing the battle situation below with the scope.

Yes always thought that the shooter was playing guerrilla action on the ground, but he didn't know that their positions were not at the same level at all.

Lu Meng did not plan to take action personally, but was just training [Crossbow] and [Perception], and controlling the battle situation.

Not to mention the elite mercenaries, the blood spiders and the newly joined swamp people all need actual combat experience.

…

The center of the swamp.

Shark Village.

Legend has it that this was the first village opened by the ancestors after they came to the swamp. Up to now, it still retains its old name. In fact, it is far more prosperous than other gang strongholds, and its size is no different from that of a small city.

The rain fell like a curtain on the lake, causing mist-like splashes.

A man wearing a three-cornered leather hat, the second-in-command of the Hound Gang, Iles, walked along the suspended plank road over the lake.

Unlike any settlement in the swamp, the entire Shark Village is actually built on top of this large swamp. Steel frames are embedded in the bottom of the lake, supporting bamboo and wood buildings or iron shacks at random heights. The buildings are connected by pontoons and plank roads.

All these passages are connected to one place.

Ils couldn't help but stop and look up at this shelter poured out of molten iron. It is the oldest building in Shark Village. Even though it is now rusty, all the newly built buildings in the future still cannot match the grandeur of this place.

The Iron Dome, the throne of the swamp, now belongs to their hound gang.

Of course, such a statement is endorsed by at most half of the gangs in the Swamp, and most people just call it Hound's faction headquarters.

Ilse stepped through the door and the lights were bright.

"Lord Iles."

A 'hound' saw him, came up to him, lowered his head and reported the current situation in the swamp...

"Good hunting dog." After hearing this, Ilse praised him.

Then a trace of gloom appeared on his face.

Now among the five major factions in the swamp, the black converters have come to join the alliance as promised.

The Double Blades made their verbal promise, but in fact no one showed up. It seemed that they wanted to check the wind direction first, acting like a fool.

Needless to say for the Skinner Gang, the situation has not stabilized yet, and it is impossible for them to come to Shark Village without adequate preparations.

Otherwise, both sides can only work directly.

However, the Stone Rat Group surprised Iles.

"Then what's Al's plan, not to come to Shark Village at this time, but to deal with the swamp ninjas by himself? He's late, not to mention eating meat, he doesn't even have to drink soup." Ils shook his head and smiled, "Maybe this is it Their Shaq pride?"

Ils didn't believe that the Stone Rats wanted to challenge the Swamp Ninjas and Water Tribe on their own. If they did, they would both lose.

The only possibility is that the village has been occupied and it is hard to save face.

'The Stone Rats have a large number of people, and their opinions cannot be ignored - it is best to lose both sides. ’ Ils calculated, ‘This way when the Shaq comes to join the alliance, he will have no leverage and can only rely on our hounds. ’

Ilse didn't doubt Al's safety.

In fact, Big Green once commented in private: The Stone Rats are a bunch of rotten fish and shrimps, but only their leader Big Al is a hero.

It's just because there are too many members of the Stone Rat Group, and the good and the bad are mixed, which affects their image as a leader.

Big Al hadn't made a move for a long time, so his strength was obscured.

Strictly speaking, excluding the injured Gray the Skinned Man, Big Al is the number one person in the swamp after Big Green.

That's why Iles made a plan to recruit. The rest of the Stone Rats didn't matter, but if Big Al sided with the Hound Gang, they would gain a huge advantage in the fight for the King of the Swamp.

"Where's Big Green?" Ils asked the hound members beside him.

He looked around, but did not see their big leader in the iron dome.

These plans should have been discussed with her.

The hound said coquettishly: "Da Gelin, she must have gone to the 'Dancing Skeleton Man' again..."

Ilse sighed, not surprised.

The Dancing Skeleton Man is the largest bar in Shark Village and the most famous gold-selling cave in the swamp.

The Hound Gang allowed the shopkeeper to open a shop in Shark Village, originally with the intention of harvesting other people's money, but unexpectedly, their boss became a regular customer.

But Iles knew that Da Gelin was not indulging in extravagance.

She was simply bored.

Even if it was an alliance that might determine the ownership of the King of the Swamp, she didn't care much about it.

Because there is no need for this.

Who to win over, who to plot, who to suppress... are just games played by the weak.

And Da Gelin has absolute confidence.

Since it’s all a game, it might as well be the dice in ‘Dancing Skeleton Man’.

Damn, this is the first time you trigger an audit, so be careful...

Thanks to Mr. Niye for the 1,500 points reward——