knife

Chapter 663 Hunting and Counter-hunting
Xiao Zhongren stood against the stone.

The white cloak she wore blended seamlessly with the rocks and the surrounding snow.

His hawk-like eyes were fixed on several figures rapidly approaching from a distance.

At this moment, he was like a beast lurking in the shadows, watching for any intruders who entered his territory.

He's having a very hard time right now.

When Cui Cheng's attempts to persuade them to surrender failed, he immediately changed his tune and began a massacre.

However, Mount Mo is a dangerous place, and Xiao Zhongren has a good reputation in Nanyang, so as soon as Cui Cheng is about to make a move, Xiao Zhongren will receive the news very quickly.

After several targeted deployments that severely dampened Cui Cheng's spirits, Cui Cheng finally realized that it was too difficult to take a place like Moshan by force with the army, and the cost was too high for Cui Cheng to bear.

However, if left unchecked, it would not only be a loss of face, but also a serious problem if the army were to launch an attack on Xiangyang and other places from Nanyang. Having such a thorn in our side would be too much to bear.

It's unclear who gave Cui Cheng the idea, but he changed course and came up with something completely different.

The main force didn't come, but small groups of troops were sent into the mountains.

These elite troops, each consisting of a dozen or so men, all came from the Cui family's private army. They possessed extremely high martial arts skills, and the leaders of these teams were at least at the seventh rank of the Profound Origin Realm.

After infiltrating Moshan, these people were tasked with hunting down Xiao Zhongren's men, both visible and hidden, assassinating lone soldiers, and capturing caravans that dared to enter the mountains.

This tactic is extremely insidious. Although it seems to involve a small number of people, the effect is immediate.

Now it's the mountain people who are in trouble.

Even if you send out a large force, you won't be able to find them at all.
If you are outnumbered, they will launch a brutal attack.
They even dared to attack patrol teams of dozens of people.

Where would Xiao Zhongren find the resources to equip each of his outgoing teams with a Xuan Yuan Rank 7 or higher expert?
He himself was only at the eighth rank of Xuan Yuan.

In the end, the thousands of people on the mountain were forced to retreat into the large village by a mere few dozen people, making it increasingly difficult for supplies from the outside to get in.

If this situation continues, it will truly wear down Moshan to the point of near death, and will also cause morale to plummet.

Xiao Zhongren certainly couldn't allow him to continue like this.

He organized several fierce generals from the army, personally leading a team consisting of one Xuan Yuan Rank 8 peak, two Xuan Yuan Rank 7, and three Rank 6, intending to counterattack the small team sent by Cui Cheng.

Once they successfully eliminate one team, they can no longer continue.

A hunt and counter-hunting ensued on Moshan Mountain.

Cui Min picked up a pine cone from the ground, dug out the pine nuts, and popped it into his mouth to chew. A refreshing fragrance filled his mouth. It had been eight days since they entered the mountains. They had attacked three sentry towers and killed more than a dozen lone soldiers.

The biggest gain was catching a daring little caravan that dared to venture into the mountains to sell goods.

After a brief investigation, it was discovered that the caravan's owner was quite well-known in Nanyang, which was excellent.

Once we get back, everyone can make a fortune.
If we don't squeeze every last penny out of the caravan's owner, how can we justify all the time we've spent climbing snow and lying on ice in the mountains!
Of course, these were just incidental.

The biggest task is still to hunt down Xiao Zhongren.

Once Xiao Zhongren is captured, the entire gang in Moshan will inevitably collapse. "Third Uncle, do you think Xiao Zhongren will fall for this trick?" Cui Min peeled a handful of pine nuts and handed them to an old man in his early fifties.

The old man was named Cui Haogu. He was of the same generation as Cui Cheng and Cui Shu, but he was born out of wedlock. He was a ninth-rank Xuan Yuan expert who came to Dongdu to assist Cui Cheng on the orders of his family.

During this period, he pretended to be an ordinary martial artist of the sixth rank of Xuan Yuan, with the aim of luring Xiao Zhongren into a trap.

"That depends on whether Xiao Zhongren has enough guts!" Cui Haogu took the pine nuts and ate them with relish.

“This man has guts and enough prestige!” Cui Min said. “This time we hit his weak spot. If he doesn’t take action and just watches his soldiers get killed by us repeatedly, and his morale collapses, the result will be the same.”

“Then he will definitely make a move!” Cui Haogu said.

"Hehe, once we find him, it's all up to you, Uncle!" Cui Min laughed. "Uncle said it's best to capture him alive! If we can use him to recruit the entire Moshan army, we can not only strike at the enemy but also strengthen our forces. The Moshan army is quite good at fighting!"

After popping a pine nut into his mouth, Cui Haogu said, "Xiao Zhongren is not much worse than me, and he has been fighting on the battlefield for a long time. He is experienced and not easy to deal with. If we can capture him alive, we will. If we can't, there's nothing we can do. Kid, we have to make sure we stay alive first!"

"Of course!" Cui Min laughed. "Third Uncle, you can make the decision! Third Uncle, there's a semi-enclosed bunker halfway up the mountain. There shouldn't be more than five people stationed inside. It's very well hidden. Let's go and take it down today!"

Cui Haogu took a few steps and then suddenly stopped.

"Third Uncle, what's wrong?"

Cui Haogu stared at the sky for a while, a slight smile appeared on his lips, but he didn't say anything and instead started walking.

Cui Min was extremely intelligent, and seeing Cui Haogu's expression, he immediately understood what was going on.

"What did Third Uncle discover?"

“Killing intent!” Cui Haogu said in a low voice, “The one who can make me feel this way is no ordinary person. If I’m not mistaken, the one above should be Xiao Zhongren!”

Just as Cui Min was about to say something excitedly, Cui Haogu continued, "Don't do anything. Xiao Zhongren has extremely rich combat experience. If you make the slightest move here, he will definitely figure out what you have discovered. If he runs away, it will be difficult to catch him again! We only have this one chance."

"We will suffer losses!"

"You think you can capture someone like Xiao Zhongren without suffering any losses? Is that even possible?" Cui Haogu sneered.

Cui Min glanced at the group of people leading the way, his lips twitched slightly, and he nodded: "Nephew understands!"

The air was filled with the piercing sound of arrows whistling through the sky.

The arrow shot by the Xuan Yuan Rank 8 archer was almost upon its target the moment the sound of its shot rang out. The Cui family member who was attacked could only raise his hand in vain to try to block the arrow, but the arrow had already deeply pierced his chest before he could even raise his hand.

He screamed and fell backward, his body convulsing uncontrollably.

The others around him were luckier. Although they were also attacked by arrows, the archers were not nearly as skilled as Xiao Zhongren. Some managed to deflect the arrows, while others, though hit, were not fatally wounded.

Having successfully landed an arrow, Xiao Zhongren didn't say another word. He leaped up and fired three arrows in quick succession in mid-air, aiming at the wounded and fallen men. After firing the three arrows, he immediately threw away his powerful bow, drew his cleaver from his back, and charged directly at his opponents behind him.

We can't let them get away!

(End of this chapter)