Chapter 1104: Risk It All!
Ice Storm understood what Meng Chao meant.
Hundreds of thousands or even millions of rat civilians were running north through the sky-sinking gra.s.sland while being pursued by the Blood Hoof warriors at the same time.
Whoever could escape would be a strong soldier that could withstand a battle.
The sabers sharpened by hundreds of thousands of corpses were destined to be hotter and sharper than those trained by any method.
"Then what should we do?"
Ice Storm said in a deep voice, "Should we go through the sunken gra.s.sland or the war drum forest?"
"Of course, we should follow the main force and go through the sunken gra.s.sland."
Meng Chao looked at Ice Storm"s raised eyebrows and explained with a smile, "That"s right. It"s indeed safer to break out of the war drum forest, but I think that what the two of us need most now is not safety, but more training and fighting. They will help us digest and absorb the ancient treasures stolen from the temple and the fully upgraded totem battle armor.
"In this way, when we arrive at Crimson Gold City and find the person we"re looking for, we"ll be able to give them a big "surprise", won"t we?"
Having made up their minds, the two of them quickly returned to the main force. Like everyone else, they filled their water sacs to the brim and plunged into the vast, sunken gra.s.sland.
As expected, just as they had expected, after only half a day of marching in the gra.s.sland, the entire team had completely dispersed.
The Motley crew that had been put together at the last minute had uneven physical and health conditions. They had not gone through a long period of adjustment, so their pace was completely out of sync.
Yesterday, under the leadership of the old bear skin and the round bone club, they had barely managed to line up and advance. They had exhausted all of their resources.
Today, when they heard that the pursuers were right behind them, they dived into the gra.s.sland that was half the height of a man and had a very bad view. The slightest movement would cause chaos in the formation.
First, it became a long, thin snake. Then, the long snake broke into seven or eight pieces from the middle.
Each piece was like a curled up earthworm, squirming forward.
When they reached the depths of the gra.s.sland, the pits dug by the rodents gradually increased. From time to time, someone would accidentally step into the pits and hurt their instep or ankle.
The injuries were not serious, but the delay was fatal.
The fugitives who were deeply shocked by the mighty image of the "Big-horned rat G.o.d"in their sleep all thought that this was the test given to them by the big-horned rat G.o.d. They did not want others to die with them, so.., they all refused their companions"support, gripped their weapons and divine medicine tightly, and gradually fell behind.
When Dusk arrived, the fugitives had completely lost the concept of formation.
Not only the old bear skin and the round bone club team, but all the hundred-man team had fallen apart. The rat people were all in groups of three or five, like a group of headless flies, groping roughly in the northeast direction.
At this time, everyone was very clear that it seemed impossible to rea.s.semble a disorganized motley crew into a uniform army that could carry out orders and prohibitions.
If they wanted to live, they could only grit their teeth and run forward.
Luckily, the deserters had scattered, which made it extremely difficult for the pursuers to hunt them down.
Just as Meng Chao had said, even if hundreds of thousands of wild boars were to spread out on the gra.s.sland, it would be impossible to capture and kill them all.
Now, it would depend on whose luck was worse and who would be caught by the pursuers, which would buy more time for the other fugitives.
Of course, for the rat people who believed in the supreme power of the Rat G.o.d, perhaps it would be "Lucky"to meet the pursuers and have the chance to die in the most heroic manner, with their souls leaving their bodies, what if they directly ascended to the sacred mountain?
Meng Chao and ice storm continued to follow old bearskin and the Bonebone Club.
Along the way, they gathered the scattered fugitives and gathered thirty to fifty people around them.
This was also the largest group they could barely control in the current environment.
Old Bearskin"s expression was grim.
The wrinkles on his face, which was already full of wrinkles, were squeezed even deeper.
The round bone club translated his expression and told everyone that old bearskin had smelled the scent of Centaur warriors.
Sure enough, the b.l.o.o.d.y dusk had just arrived, and violent shouts and shrill screams were heard from all directions.
The gra.s.sland was un.o.bstructed, and the Blood Hoof Warriors"sound waves mixed with totem power could be transmitted very far, like a war drum that could destroy one"s soul, hitting heavily on the chests of every fugitive.
From the source of the sound, there were indeed several groups of pursuers. They relied on the advantage of being one with their people and horses, as fast as lightning, and circled in front of them.
Although the number of pursuers in each group would not be too many.
But as long as they b.u.mped into each other, there would only be one word, death.
Under the continuous shouts of the pursuers, the nerves of the fugitives were so tense that they almost broke.
No one dared to rest. Even though their legs were numb to the point of losing consciousness and their chests were about to explode, they still stumbled forward.
At midnight, Meng Chao and the Ice Storm"s group of fugitives plunged into a battlefield that had just ended.
The smell of blood floating on the battlefield had already solidified.
They were like red clouds that were pressed down extremely low.
It was also like strange-looking scarlet flowers that had bloomed from the corpses.
However, they were smashed into pieces by Meng Chao"s team and turned back into a disgusting stench that rushed into the nostrils and pierced into the brains of every fugitive.
What was even more exciting than the smell of blood was the gruesome corpses.
There were at least a hundred corpses that were presented before their eyes.
The reason they said "At least"was because all the corpses had been ravaged to the point that it was almost impossible to tell if they were still corpses.
These fugitives, who had set off earlier than Meng Chao and the others, had unfortunately encountered the pursuers. They had been killed by the Centaur Warriors as an example, using the cruelest methods to torture them.
Even though the rat people were used to death and torture.
They could not imagine that fresh corpses that had just lost their vitality for half a day could be manipulated like this... it was as if they had been placed between vultures and hyenas for ten days to half a month during the hottest season on the prairie.
If they hadn"t received the revelation from the Rat G.o.d in their sleep before they left...
Many people were almost scared out of their wits by the terrifying scene in front of them.
Even if they still maintained their illusory courage.
However, this courage would at most make them fearless of death, but it wouldn"t be able to stop the arrival of death.
Everyone fell into silence in front of the pile of corpses that were as messy as mud.
Not to mention the old bearskin who was originally a man of few words.
Even the round bone club, which was full of energy yesterday, was now biting down on its cheeks, as if it wanted to devour the non-existent Centaur warriors, including their skin and bones.
"Why don"t we stop running?"
At this moment, an overly calm voice broke the suffocating silence.
Everyone"s gaze was cast on Meng Chao, who was also covered in dirt and dirt like them.
"Even if we still want to run, we should fight and then run. We have a better chance of escaping,"Meng Chao said calmly.
Before this, he and ice storm did not say a word because they were worried that the great horn army hidden among the fugitives would see through them.
However, after a day and half a night of observation, this group of fugitives who were completely defeated were all rat slaves from black horn city.
The round bone club and the old bear skin were only the ignorant ordinary soldiers of the great horn army.
In that case, there was no need for them to hide anymore. They could try out their skills and take the initiative.
Although the two of them had used the pursuers as tools to test ancient treasures and sharpen their totem combat skills.
They had never thought that they could kill all the pursuers by themselves.
If possible, he had to mobilize the strength of the mouse people"s soldiers to tie down the pursuers on the front line.
Only then would they be able to deal a fatal blow to the pursuers from the flanks and behind.
"What did you say?"
Perhaps because he had sensed an indescribable deterrence from Meng Chao, the round bone club took a few steps toward him and stopped. He asked hesitantly, "Why do you say that we have a better chance if we fight and then run
"If the pursuers are still behind us and their speed is about the same as ours, we can bury our heads and run away. But since the pursuers have already killed their way to us and are wandering around nearby, if we continue to run like stray dogs, we will be courting death."
Meng Chao looked at the ground full of corpses and sighed, "These brothers died too miserably. But originally, it shouldn"t have been like this -- we clearly have the Rat G.o.d"s blessing, the divine medicine bestowed by the Rat G.o.d, and the determination to perish together with the enemy. Even if we die, we will still bite off a large chunk of flesh and blood from the enemy"s skin and bones. How Could We lose so shamefully and be tortured and killed by the enemy?"
It was indeed a question that the rat soldiers, who had fervent faith in the Rat G.o.d, could not answer.
"It was because we forgot that this was a trial and a great opportunity to show our courage and determination."
Meng Chao said, "Many of our brothers ran. The more they ran, the more scattered they were. The more scattered they were, the more guilty they were. The more guilty they were, the faster they ran. While their physical strength was exhausted, there was no formation or battle formation to speak of. In the end, how could they not be crushed by the enemy when they ran into the fully-armed pursuers in groups of three or five?
"Actually, with the blessing of the Rat G.o.d, the rat soldiers might be able to compete with the warriors of the clan. However, one of the most important prerequisites is the quant.i.ty. As long as we acc.u.mulate enough quant.i.ty, we will be like an iron wall and stormy waves. We are definitely not pigs and sheep that are at the mercy of others!"
The round bone club opened its mouth.
Of course, he knew the reason.
The great horn army had always used the tactic of using numbers to exchange for quality.
The problem was that he and old bearskin were just ordinary soldiers. It was already their limit to gather 30 to 50 people to escape with them. Even if another 300 to 500 people came, they would not be able to command them!
"That"s why I said that we won"t run anymore."
Meng Chao explained very patiently, "Wanting to quickly march while gathering the scattered fugitives to form an elite squad of 300 to 500 people is obviously a pipe dream.
"But what if we stop here?
"What if we stop here, dig trenches and pits around us, set up simple barricades, gather the fleeing soldiers in all directions, and gather a huge number that our pursuers will never expect.
"Do we have a chance to fight the pursuers head-on? Do We not hope to win, but only hope to beat the pursuers and show our bravery so that the rat G.o.d can see our efforts