Chapter 6: Mock battle, Part 1 of 5
The thirteenth day of training.
Evening.
Sunset, in two hours time it’s going to be completely dark, they didn’t train last night, Boss said tonight there will be a very important and demanding training, everyone’s heart is in his throat, because usually when Boss claimed it’s not too difficult or when she trained them as it pleased her, the way they had been trained they were more dead than alive, this time even she warned it is going to be a harsh training … they really dare not imagine!
Gu Yun brought all the soldiers quickly to the back of the mountain, about five or six miles away from the area in the forest where they usually trained. Here, to their back is the mountain, in front is a wide, open plain, there is no place to take shelter, the soldiers were all nervously waiting for Gu Yun’s command, but she was roving around the vicinity, they didn’t know what exactly she was looking for.
Finally, she found a finger-thick twig, took out a small triangular banner tucked inside her sleeve, facing them all, very casually she smiled and said: “Still two more days and the night raid battle will begin, tonight is the final night training, I want to test the results of your overall training, tonight’s training exercise is – a night raid mock battle.”
Mock battle?!
Not expecting there’s a training exercise such as this, the soldiers all stared blankly, Gu Yun not minding their reactions, blithely continued: “Tonight the offensive side is Ge Jing Yun’s team, the defensive side is Leng Xiao’s team, until the conclusion of the exercise, I will not give you any advice and instructions, you engage in the battle each with two hundred and forty people.”
Handing over to Leng Xiao the twig and the small banner she was holding, Gu Yun continued: “This is the commander’s banner, Leng Xiao, your team protects and defends this commander’s banner, if Ge Jing Yun’s team s.n.a.t.c.hes it away, then you lose the battle, conversely, if Ge Jing Yun’s team fails, the group loses. Here is Leng Xiao’s camp, the area where we usually trained is Ge Jing Yun’s camp. Now you have two hours to prepare, after these two hours, the mock battle officially starts.”
These men are all new army recruits, having truly not experienced any so-called battle, at the moment everyone just looked at each other in blank dismay, still some even just gaped there stupidly.
“Do you understand?” Gu Yun’s sudden yell, finally jolted them back to their senses, hurriedly they stood in attention and replied: “Yes!”
“Everyone prepare respectively, okay?” Gu Yun nodded her satisfaction, indeed she has got nothing more to say. Leading the remaining twenty people, she climbed halfway up the mountain to a spot where she got a wide, open field of view of the entire area, sitting there leisurely.
Tonight, she wants to determine who will be her upcoming night’s vanguard!
Twenty soldiers stood perplexed behind Gu Yun, watching below them both teams have already begun to actively deploy, they did not understand, why did Boss let them come up here? Although confused, however this two-week training has allowed them to deeply understand a basic principle, and that is, never refute Boss, whatever she does, regardless if it seems on the face of it to be strange, certainly she has a reason for it.
Sure enough, probably after a quarter of an hour, Gu Yun finally turned her head, facing them she said: “Two people in a group, covering the distance from the forest to the camp, you fan out in five areas, observe everything along the way, everytime anything happens come and report it. You only need to watch, under no circ.u.mstances will you intervene. Do you understand?”
Without hesitation, twenty people replied in unison: “Yes.”
In response she waved them away, Gu Yun leaned back against a rock, a pair of bright eyes quietly gazed at the situation below, though she appeared calm and relaxed on the surface, her mind actually worried for these soldiers. They are new army recruits, inexperienced in battles, yet they will have to face Su Ren and his elite troops, in this night raid battle to beat the recruits trained by Su Yu would not be difficult, but to meet Su Ren head-on, she’s not quite sure of the outcome.
This exercise is not so much in order to test their skills, but rather, it is to test their courage and insight, and their ability to meet and plan for all possible contingencies, she hopes they will not let her down too much.
Gu Yun who was the whole time gazing attentively below suddenly narrowed her eyes, what’s Leng Xiao doing?!
In the open area, he lined up over two hundred soldiers and divided them into five teams, except for thirty soldiers who stood still behind Leng Xiao, the rest of them ran and fanned out in four directions.
Gu Yun’s face darkened, her hands slowly clenched into fists, after taking several deep breaths and slowly releasing them, she continued to stare coldly at the open area where the remaining soldiers appeared to be somewhat idling their time away, and although ever deadpan, Leng Xiao’s face could not help but display a few moments of triumph.
It was getting dark, the time has come for the night raid to start, Leng Xiao lit two fires in the open area, now and then he kept on looking towards the direction of Gu Yun, but because where Gu Yun sat the spot was dim, and the sky was dark as well, Leng Xiao could hardly see her face, still he could feel her pair of sharp eyes coldly watching him.
Before he would never believe that a woman could have such clear and bright penetrating eyes, such a tough and intrepid character, but since meeting her, he came to believe, in this world there’s really a woman whom he could not help but admire.
He knew that tonight she will choose between him and Ge Jing Yun the night raid’s captain, he must prove to her that he is more outstanding than Ge Jing Yun, more resourceful, and more talented.