"Sir, it's bad! They've caught up from behind!" The rearguard captain hurriedly caught up with the main force and nervously told Yun Zhe about his discovery.
"Don't panic, how many of them are there?" After thinking it over, Yun Zhe felt much better and was much calmer in the face of trouble.
"About twenty or thirty people," the soldier answered truthfully.
"Only twenty or thirty people?" Yun Zhe frowned slightly. "Didn't you see more people?"
"Reporting to Your Excellency, that's all. There were only twenty to thirty people."
Yun Zhe pondered. Their numbers weren't large, and they were in the woods, making it easy to ambush them and then retaliate. However, being in the woods, annihilating them all would be difficult; if any escaped, the entire situation would be hard to control.
But if only these people get in, then the others will definitely go around to another place to intercept them. Thinking about it this way, it seems impossible to proceed the way they came. At that point, they'll be blocked in front and pursued from behind, which will be even worse.
“Let’s go, turn around, and go back, but we need to let them know we’re going back.”
Xi Xi's eyes lit up; she vaguely guessed Yun Zhe's thoughts. Yun Zhe glanced at the soldiers around him, and they, too, vaguely guessed what he wanted to do. This pleased Yun Zhe greatly; everyone knew what he was going to do, which was a very important matter for them at the moment.
So, right under the noses of the Nightfire mercenaries, Yun Zhe and his group circled back again.
When Garan realized this, he became extremely nervous. He was unable to notify the main force on the perimeter, and if he let these people go back, his boss's interception plan would be ruined.
However, the anxious Garan didn't worry for long. When he found out that the other side really only had less than twenty people, and they were all Aruru mercenaries, Garan laughed out loud.
"Brothers, hahaha, our chance to make money has arrived! You all know that whoever kills that leader of the Aruru, the one named Yun Zhe, gets 20% of the money! But what you don't know is that if any squad can directly take down Yun Zhe, that squad gets 50% of the money—an extra 50%!!" Garan laughed arrogantly. When the boss received this mission, he said that Yun Zhe was just an ordinary Aruru, with only a bit of brains and mediocre fighting skills. Now they had the numerical advantage and were confident in their skill level compared to the soldiers. This was truly a golden opportunity.
"Yun Zhe, Yun Zhe, why didn't you bring more people!" Jia Lan thought to himself as he excitedly licked his axe.
The underlings around him got excited too. Since the new boss took over, they'd been drinking soup every day and hadn't eaten any meat. Today they finally had a chance to eat meat, and it was even an easy-to-eat fatty cut. It was like having someone hand you a pillow when you're sleepy, or someone bring you an umbrella when it rains.
"Let's go, boss, let's do it!"
"Boss, they also have a woman with them, hahaha, look..."
Galan glanced at the sleazy-looking henchman, then waved his hand magnanimously, "Don't worry, we'll capture that woman alive and make sure the brothers have a good time! Hahaha."
"Long live the boss!"
"Long live!!"
These mercenaries have been incredibly bored lately because they've changed leaders and have nothing to do. They've finally got this opportunity, so naturally they want to cherish it.
"The adults" seem to have caught up, and it seems they're not just following closely, but rather trying to eliminate us.
Yun Zhe snorted, "A bunch of rabble trying to fight against a trained regular army. Proceed according to plan!"
"Yes, sir! This time, we'll make sure they don't leave alive!"
"Don't be greedy. Fight as many as you can. Preserving yourself is the most important thing. The primary goal is not to eliminate the enemy, but to preserve yourself!"
"Yes, sir. Don't worry."
Garan split his forces into two groups and directly surrounded them. He was confident, and so were his men. On the other side were a group of mercenaries who had never seen Aluru before, but the Aluru were very familiar with them. Facing this group of mongrels, they felt an unusual sense of superiority.
This sense of superiority and confidence vanished completely after they encountered the crossbows of the Aruru people.
Yun Zhe's method was actually very simple: he divided his soldiers into teams of five, with himself and the two extra men serving as substitutes. The three teams executed the simplest three-stage firing technique, firing a continuous barrage when the enemy approached.
Aside from the first wave of fire, which was somewhat awkward as it only killed one person, the subsequent shots were very effective. The sustained pressure prevented the enemy from retaliating; they were unable to fire arrows or crossbow bolts, yet suffered heavy casualties.
The initial setback did not sober up Garan and his men; instead, it fueled their fighting spirit, leading them to launch an even more reckless attack!
This gave these Aruru mercenaries an opportunity to train.
The Aruru mercenaries, who were initially tense, found themselves in a much more comfortable position after a few rounds of shooting, and even gained a numerical advantage.
Although they also lost five men, the enemy lost no fewer than fifteen.
Under the encirclement and suppression of Yun Zhe and his three companions, Jia Lan and the remaining few were also shot dead.
The battle ended quickly, far exceeding either side's expectations. Yun Zhe was even worried that he wouldn't be able to get behind the enemy in time.
The exchange ratio of 5 to 26 far exceeded everyone's expectations. And on their side, one player was only seriously injured, not yet dead.
"My lord..." The squad leader was overwhelmed with emotion; he had never achieved such a resounding victory. At the beginning of the battle, he had been somewhat worried and nervous, but seeing such a result, he was now too excited to speak.
"Very good. The enemy took the initiative and fell into a disadvantageous position. Moreover, they were too complacent and obviously did not expect our ambush and three-stage attack. This was a well-fought battle. Bury the bodies, treat the wounded, and we must leave quickly."
"Sir... the wounded might not be able to keep up with our speed." The squad leader hesitated. He didn't want to abandon this brother, but based on his understanding of Yun Zhe and his experience, wounded soldiers like this were usually abandoned.
"Take it with you. It's just a penetrating wound, not a serious matter like losing an arm or leg." Seeing that the captain was a bit agitated, Yun Zhe added, "Of course, I'm not saying that you can abandon someone just because they've lost an arm or leg. No wounded soldier should be abandoned casually!"
"Yes, sir! I understand, sir!" The squad leader's eyes welled up with tears as he solemnly bowed.
"Hurry, we're pressed for time. Oh, and make a stretcher so he can rest properly." After saying this, Yun Zhe went to check the dead mercenaries, pondering whether he should make use of the corpses again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
