The Prophet's Peak (Part 3)
Chapter 38
The next morning, Liang Qing assigned tasks to four people: Shi Xiaofeng went out with several people from the tribe to collect food, Nie Yun and Liang Baobao stayed in the cave, Allen went to count the current inventory in the cave with the tribe leader, and he selected young and strong people from the remaining people to form a survey team.
Although no one openly questioned why General Liang Qing did not mobilize thousands of troops, Liang Qing could read the meaning from their eyes.
She offered reassurance, citing an avalanche that had trapped over a hundred elite stormtroopers in the valley leading to the White Pagoda. Many refugees, long deprived of hope, volunteered to join Liang Qing's exploration team. Liang Qing scanned the crowd and selected five individuals, both men and women, the youngest being Sanya. The group, carrying their simple belongings, departed the cave.
Their purpose was clear. The victims mentioned that their timely escape was due to a little-known secret passage within the main fortress. It was the clan leader who risked his life to lead everyone out through this passage before the city was breached. If the passage remained undiscovered, Liang Qing could theoretically use it as a breakthrough back into the city.
Along the way, Sang Ya kept chattering beside Liang Qing, wishing to tell her everything he knew.
"General, are you really good at fighting?"
Liang Qing thought for a moment and said, “It’s hard to say about fighting, but it’s very powerful.”
Sanya's eyes lit up: "Can you fight Lugus alone?"
Lugus was the largest of the victims, a middle-aged man, and a relative of Sanya. Liang Qing looked back at Lugus, who was left at the end of the group. He had a gloomy expression and walked silently with his head down.
She was a little curious: "Has he ever offended you?"
Sang Ya shook her head. "He's not good to my sister... After my aunt died, she kept crying, and he scolded her for being useless... He always said women were useless... He even said the city wasn't taken because of spies at all..."
Liang Qing bent down slightly: "Why is that?"
Sanya blushed: "Grandpa won't let me say it, saying that children shouldn't mind these things..."
He realized belatedly that he had said too much and scurried to the front of the line. Liang Qing raised his lips, but soon watched as Sanya ran back, quickly saying—
"Andes House!"
To avoid the Black Mountain troops searching the mountain, the group stopped and walked frequently, their only rest stop being when they neared the main fortress. The road became wider and smoother as they approached the fortress. Through the sparse shadows of the trees, Liang Qing could see the towering spire of the main fortress.
The top was cut off in half by artillery fire, and there were shadows swaying on it. Archers and gunners could also be seen deployed on the city walls.
There seemed to be a small reconnaissance plane buzzing in the sky.
The team stopped advancing, and everyone took off the leaves and branches covering their robes and temporarily hid in a small cave that was in the blind spot of the scouts.
The person in charge of the logistics of this reconnaissance mission was a handsome young man. He eagerly handed Liang Qing a canteen and asked, "General, should we all take the small path or leave some of us to keep watch?"
Liang Qing raised his head and drank water: "What do you think?"
She looked at the man in front of her, who looked a little embarrassed and lowered his head: "Of course it would be best to leave one or two people to keep watch."
"It's a dead end whether you stay or not!" The man named Lugus yelled, and the remaining people frowned when they heard his voice.
It can be seen that this person is not very popular.
"What are you talking about! We escaped from the alley, don't you remember?" The speaker was the crying woman from last night, her name was Marcie. Her neck was red, and she glared at Lugers.
"Of course I remember. I also remember that after we escaped, the Black Mountain gang captured the last dozen or so civilians in the city and tortured them in every way. Among them was the clan leader's eldest son! Are you sure these people will keep the secret of the secret passage for us who escaped before they die?"
Sanya suddenly stood up, clenching his fists, the veins on his forehead bulging, as if he was ready to fight Lugus. Marcy gasped: "He's your own brother, how can you say that?"
Lugus stared at Marcy coldly: "Any traitor should die."
"Then how come you run faster than anyone else when something happens! You are tall and strong, but I haven't seen you make much contribution to the tribe!" The young man retorted.
Lugus clenched his fists, looking like a scoundrel: "Why, you have a problem with me too?"
Before Sanya could burst out, Liang Qing slowly spoke: "Sanya, Lugus, follow me into the alley. Marcy and you will stay here to provide support."
"I don't want to be with Lugus! He only bullies those weaker than him! What a cowardly, selfish hypocrite!" Sonia shouted immediately.
"Say it again!" Lugus was furious.
"I said you're afraid of death!"
Liang Qing interrupted their argument with a harsh voice: "Anyone who is dissatisfied with my decision can get out of here now! I don't need any help from anyone!"
The cave instantly fell silent. After a few seconds, Liang Qing glanced at the four people, each with a different expression, and added, "Sangya is small, so if there's anything difficult on the trail, you can explore first. Lugus is strong, so if there's an obstacle that needs to be cleared, he can help. Now, does anyone have any objections?"
This reason was impeccable, and Sanya Lugus fell silent. The remaining two also had no objections.
Ma Xi diligently divided the dry food in the bag into three portions and gave two to Liang Qing: "Don't worry, General, we will notify you if anything goes wrong."
Sanya handed over the dry food and said in a muffled voice: "How did you notify us? Our communication bugs have been confiscated."
Marcy blinked, stunned for a moment. Liang Qing waved her hand. "It won't be a problem. If things go wrong, we'll turn back immediately. You have only one mission. If there are surveyors near the cave entrance, leave to distract them and buy us some time."
Marcy and the young man nodded in agreement.
After the five-person team split up, Liang Qing, under the guidance of Sangyaluges, came to the entrance of the path into the city. The three of them stood at the entrance for a moment, then slipped in and disappeared.
A mile away, Marcy expertly found the telescope her advisor had left her. A blue light flashed across the screen, clearly showing infrared images of three people disappearing into the cave entrance. She swiftly climbed down the tree and nodded to the young man.
In the darkness, no one spoke for a moment. Sangya, feeling somewhat bored, tore open a bag of air-dried lamb shank from his rations, took a bite, thought for a moment, and then stuffed it back into his pocket. Liang Qing stood there, eyes slightly closed, counting the time. It had been almost five minutes, and she figured Masi and the others must have already decided they had entered the path. She opened her eyes and smiled at the two people in front of her: "It's our turn."
The recklessness and contempt on Lugus's face disappeared completely. He knelt on one knee and gave a military salute: "General, we have finally waited for you."
Liang Qing nodded: "Thank you for your hard work. Have you notified the others?"
Lugus took out the communication bug from his pocket. It was a device similar to a firefly, with the tentacles on its head flashing blue light.
"Yes, they are waiting for us on another road on the edge of the city."
"How many people?"
"Besides me, there are thirteen other people. Ten of them are scattered in different teams in the city, and the other three are on several important hills in Shengji." Lugus thought of something, his eyes slightly red. "My brother exposed himself to protect us before, and was later imprisoned in a water dungeon by the Black Mountain Military Advisor. He didn't make it to the third day..."
He looked at Sanya, who lowered his head, kicked the stones at his feet, and forced himself not to look into Lugus's eyes.
"Sangya, when did you know all this?" Liang Qing asked in a low voice.
The young boy sniffed, "Lugus has a second map of the main city. That map was drawn by Dad, and he didn't even give it to Grandpa but gave it to him."
Lugus patted him and said, "Boy, you acted well. I almost thought you really hated me."
Sonja rolled her eyes at him. "That part is true."
Lugus: ...
Not long after entering the small path, the three of them turned directly into a secret passage. Compared to the grimy environment of the small path, the secret passage was clean and spacious. As the secret door closed behind them, Lugus hummed a little tune: "We come here often. To improve running efficiency, we cleaned it well."
"Hush..." Liang Qing suddenly stopped. She turned around in the dim environment. The secret door behind her was made of a special metal that could block all kinds of reconnaissance and imaging weapons. Even so, her enhanced hearing and vision in this level still allowed her to keenly detect something.
Lugus and Sanya also stopped. Liang Qing pressed her ear against the heavy metal door. She heard a group of people running down the path. Their footsteps were heavy and well-trained, each carrying a large number of heavy weapons. The one leading the group, with light and unsteady steps, was the woman named Marcy.
The chattering sound was not very clear. Liang Qing turned around and saw that Lugus had timely activated the surveillance camera buried in the rock wall of the trail.
A three-dimensional translucent image was projected in front of the three people.
“…They really came in! Infrared imaging doesn’t lie!”
"That's right! We both watched them come in."
"Could they have already run into the main city?" Marcy's knees were shaking, and her body was trembling slightly. It was obvious that she was very afraid of the soldiers in front of her.
Beside her, the frail young man had disappeared, replaced by a young woman with a different appearance. Her height and clothing were identical to the previous person, except for her long hair, she no longer deliberately concealed her gender.
"This person..." Lugus frowned and thought hard.
"General! She is the maid! I saw her in the inner hall when my father and I went to look for the city lord a week before his death!"
Lugus's brows relaxed, and he looked as if he understood.
Liang Qing wasn't surprised at all. She stared at the pair who looked like mother and daughter and sneered, "Very good, we can close the net over there."
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