Chapter 00197: Ghost Needle Stone Forest
# Ghost Needle Stone Forest
Chapter 197
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 197: Ghost Needle Stone Forest
Everyone understood, and Sun Duwei asked again, "When do we strike?"
"What's the rush? He holds a large army and is convinced we will ambush Weicheng, so he will wait for us to come to him."
This person leaned against the city wall, "Let him wait a bit longer; this season is perfect for camping in the wild."
The generals all laughed.
In the deep autumn of the Panlong Wilderness, the nighttime temperature plummeted to three or four degrees below zero.
Standing guard in the wilderness overnight, the wind and sand could wear away half a person's face.
If their opponent rushed directly from Baling Kingdom to here, they would get a good taste of the ruthless cold of the Panlong Wilderness tonight.
It wasn't until two hours later that the Great Wind Army, having conserved their energy, received the order to prepare to depart.
"Sun Duwei, Liu Duwei, you will take five thousand men to Weicheng, flying my banner; the more ostentatious, the better."
The leader finally issued the command, "If you encounter a strong enemy, do not linger in battle; retreat to Puxie Gorge and hold your ground."
"He firmly believes in the importance of speed in warfare, sending over ten thousand men to catch us off guard. Such reckless advancement, once it fails, leaves no reinforcements or supplies. This is a deadlock; the harder you poke, the better. By the way, does anyone have time to shoot down that large eagle to eliminate the enemy's eyes and ears, facilitating our subsequent actions?"
Both men’s eyes lit up: "Yes!"
"Xiao Xiaowei, bring your prepared Baling military gear. The original plan remains unchanged; we will sneak into Weicheng."
A quarter of an hour later, the gates of Puxie Gorge opened, and the Great Wind Army in red armor and furious steeds charged out.
Several large flags waved in the wind, each emblazoned with a single striking character:
Red!
￥￥￥￥￥
As they entered the Ghost Needle Stone Forest, the air suddenly became damp.
The autumn in the Panlong Wilderness was very dry; a single spark could scorch a large expanse of land.
However, the Ghost Needle Stone Forest had holes and caves, high cliffs and low valleys.
The high cliffs blocked the scorching sun, while the low valleys accumulated rainwater, so even though the rivers had long since changed course, the stone forest remained much more humid than other parts of the wilderness.
By autumn, a significant portion of the dense vegetation was still a rich green.
On the shaded sides of certain rock walls, ponds and streams had even formed, with drum shrimp and small fish stealthily hiding beneath the crevices of the stones.
The plants also released warm moisture.
As He Lingchuan stepped inside, he immediately noticed the tire tracks on the muddy ground.
This won't do.
"Is the road ahead this muddy?" The valley they entered had too much moisture; it would be too easy for the Baling people to track the footprints on the ground.
To avoid strong enemies and buy time, General Nan Ke decisively ordered the entire army to turn towards the Ghost Needle Stone Forest.
He understood well that this place had roads crisscrossing in all directions; some were very wide, while others were extremely narrow, and none had been artificially maintained.
It was unrealistic for all the troops to squeeze onto a single path.
Thus, he divided the entire army into four, with varying numbers in each group, each taking a portion of merchants and carts to advance.
The four teams chose different routes, which could confuse the enemy and minimize losses to the greatest extent.
Fortunately, the Ghost Needle Stone Forest was a necessary passage for merchants, so each team could be assigned a guide familiar with the area.
In the team where He Lingchuan was, the luck of Liu Tang was abysmal.
Out of sixteen small teams, two had to draw the short straw to stay behind, and while others cheered after drawing their lots, Liu Tang's face turned ashen after glancing at his.
Needless to say, their small team of nine had to stay behind.
Menban was furious, glaring and cursing, "Did you not wash your hands after squatting, that you dare to draw lots?"
Liu Tang had no retort and rushed forward to negotiate, ultimately managing to bring back a guide.
This guide also wore a mournful expression, unwilling and reluctant, not even wanting to speak.
One could only wonder how he was treated in the merchant convoy to end up in the rear guard.
What was the difference from sending him to his death?
He Lingchuan patted his shoulder: "Just guide us well, and you will surely survive."
The guide sighed, "I beg you all, I still have an eighty-year-old mother and a two-year-old child to support."
"But your family has only four or five members."
Menban pointed at the thin man, "His family has over ten people, all relying on him alone."
"Alright, stop the bickering."
Liu Tang said sternly, "This place is good; let’s set a few traps."
With just the ten of them, they needed to arrange everything to slow down the Baling army.
After walking over ten zhang, they entered a bamboo forest.
Bamboo was quite rare in the Panlong Wilderness; although the area was humid, the bamboo here was not as thick as in the southern regions, but rather thin and long, resembling whips.
Having come from a family of hunters, Liu Tang was skilled at setting traps.
He Lingchuan had learned quite a bit from her during his previous missions to eliminate demons, and now he was able to lend a hand.
Everyone worked together swiftly to set up five or six traps.
The simplest type involved sharpening bamboo into spikes, bending them, and placing a line near the ground.
Once the enemy triggered the line, they would be struck by the bamboo coming at them.
The spikes on the bamboo would deliver quite a painful blow.
After setting up the traps, the group cautiously retreated over ten zhang, hiding their figures behind the solid rocks.
After the first wave of enemies fell into the traps, they would observe the movements of the Baling people and plan their next scare tactic.
Indeed, the traps might not injure many, but they could greatly deter the opponent and slow their advance.
Aside from that, tricks like ghost walls and illusions might work well against civilians, but they would have little effect against an enemy with similar Yuan Power.
As long as their Yuan Power wasn't too weak, the enemy could see through it at a glance.
Then, everyone held their breath and waited.
An excellent hunter must also possess ample patience.
Last night, while hunting the bear demon, they had crouched by the pond for three hours.
Thus, they stared at the bamboo forest, waiting for over two quarters of an hour.
The thin man couldn't help but murmur, "Why haven't they come yet?"
"Isn't it good that they haven't come?" Liu Tang snapped at him to be quiet, "Shh!"
Another half an hour passed.
The sky darkened, and the wind picked up, rustling the bamboo forest and causing countless leaves to fall.
But apart from that, there was nothing.
He Lingchuan only saw a large toad casually crossing the path, jumping over the thin line of the trap.
Not even a toad could be caught.
"In another two quarters of an hour, it will be a full hour."
The thin man slapped a mosquito on his face, "In this open fifteen li, the Baling people still haven't reached here?"
"We're not waiting any longer; let's move forward."
Liu Tang decisively said, "While we can still see the tire tracks."
They did not know that the Baling army had actually already arrived at the Ghost Needle Stone Forest.
The army was pressing in, yet they did not advance.
Torches had already been lit in the rear to light the way, but the front line quickly relayed orders: "Extinguish the torches, leave not a single one!"
The leading general, scarred on his face, was none other than Hua Muco, the Baling commander who had taken Weicheng.
He stared at the iconic stone screens of the Ghost Needle Stone Forest for a while before asking those around him, "Nan Ke's army has all entered; are you sure?"
"The eagle in the sky sees clearly; Nan Ke has indeed entered, and his troops have split into several paths. But the mist and shadows in the stone forest are too heavy for the eagle to see."
"That's good."
A strange smile appeared on Hua Muco's face, "Four thousand men from the rear will turn to guard the northern exit of the Ghost Needle Stone Forest. Remember, no one is allowed to light a fire, not even a spark; no one is allowed to step into the Ghost Needle Stone Forest! If any of Panlong's soldiers come out, kill them!"
His subordinates took their orders and left.
Hua Muco looked at the Ghost Needle Stone Forest in the twilight and said slowly, "Nan Ke, oh Nan Ke, I hope you come out alive, so I can gouge your eyes and skin you alive, to comfort my brother's spirit in heaven!"
……
He Lingchuan and the others pursued the direction of the main army's advance, while also not forgetting to erase the tracks left by the convoy.
But the rear remained eerily quiet, with no one pursuing them.
The sun had set, and the Ghost Needle Stone Forest was shrouded in darkness.
The Baling army, without any concerns, should have lit torches to pursue.
However, behind them was pitch black, with only the sound of the wind howling.
Could it be that they hadn't caught up?
Or was it that this route happened to have no pursuers, and Liu Tang and the others were just lucky?
Menban murmured, "Praying to the Maitreya before departure really works!"
Liu Tiao glanced sideways: "You’ve never done that before?"
Menban chuckled awkwardly: "Not really, sometimes I’m just too busy…"
A "shh" from the side interrupted their conversation.
However, the voice belonged to He Lingchuan, not Liu Tang.
He whispered, "There's movement ahead!"
Another gust of wind blew, and Liu Tiao, the thin man, and the others also heard it; it sounded like—screams?
The group exchanged glances and quietly crept forward.
To move silently through the forest, the most important thing was to go slowly, especially since each person was leading a horse that couldn't make too much noise.
After walking out over ten zhang, they saw flickering lights ahead, with horses neighing and people shouting.
The team also noticed fine white threads beginning to appear on the plants around them.
This is a net?
The guide grabbed Liu Tang's arm, frantically waving his hands, signaling them not to go.
The team ignored him.
As the rear guard team, they at least needed to find out what was happening.
They hid downwind, parting the dense foliage, and saw a slope leading up to the mountain wall ahead, where there were about sixteen or seventeen people and seven or eight horses.
These people waved torches, stabbing their swords into the ground.
They seemed to be surrounded by a black tide, which moved, hissed, and was fuzzy…
The firelight blazed, and He Lingchuan clearly saw what surrounded them, feeling a chill run down his spine.
Spiders!
A tide of spiders, each larger than a cat, were attacking the few guards frantically.
Thousands of spider legs scraped against the ground, creating a sound that resembled waves crashing on the shore.
Every moment, a dozen spiders were slain, but their companions immediately took their place, rushing forward to bite.
Some were spitting warriors, brewing for a long time, then turning to face the humans, shooting out a large mass of dense webs from their abdomens.
These webs were incredibly sticky; even with Yuan Power assisting, it was difficult to cut through with swords.
Several guards were already entangled in webs, unable to clear them away, and soon became even more ensnared.
Some spiders were so large they were nearly the size of jackals, and after spitting, they tugged at the webs, trying to drag the guards down the slope.
They were not afraid of the torches, nor did they care about the Yuan Power on the soldiers; they pressed forward relentlessly.
(End of Chapter)