Free Web NovelChapter 1426: Chapter 1426: Chaotic Battle
In the withered yellow bushes, a few figures lay in ambush, holding their breath, nerves taut, quietly waiting for the enemy who was about to walk right into their trap. Swish swish~
Swish swish~
Swish swish~
There were faint footsteps, slowly drawing closer.
The hidden Second Company members all held their breath.
The footsteps got closer, and closer.
Just then, a gust of wind blew over, making the hearts of the few people in the bushes jolt; they almost rushed out on the spot to have a head-on clash with the enemy.
They stayed put, patiently lurking.
Whoosh—
The wind carried a faint tearing-through-the-air sound, shooting straight toward the bushes!
Bad!
They were exposed!
One boy in the bushes seemed to panic; he rolled with the momentum onto the ground and tumbled into the grass on the side, then quickly found cover. After that, he saw a small group of enemies charging up in a swarm, weapons in hand.
The boy’s heart leapt with joy; he knew the enemy had taken the bait.
That’s right!
These few people were the lure! A lure set here specifically to hook the enemy!
The enemy rushed up in a swarm; the boy took a closer look and eyeballed that there were roughly about fifty of them. This enemy force—neither too many nor too few—but if they relied only on the few people hiding in the bushes, they definitely wouldn’t be able to hold them off, so the few of them exchanged a glance, didn’t even think twice, and immediately scattered and started to run.
In the blink of an eye, these few people darted far off and vanished without a trace.
The First Company was being led by a Squad Leader; seeing these people run off so fast, and thinking of what Chu Jiaojiao had said, he pretended to fall for it and ordered his people to quickly spread out and pursue.
Very soon.
The more than fifty people of the First Company also split into several groups at that moment, chasing in the directions the enemy had fled.
They had only been running a few minutes and still hadn’t found a trace of the enemy when suddenly someone felt something attacking toward them. The Squad Leader took one look and, startled out of his wits, shouted loudly, "It’s an ambush! All units, regroup! Regroup, now!"
As the First Company’s Squad Leader spoke, he keenly realized that he himself had been locked on as prey.
Even though he knew he was being targeted, the same anxious expression remained on the First Company Squad Leader’s face; but in his heart he was extremely serious and solemn. This battle was crucial. Since the enemy wanted to split up their side’s forces, then classmate Chu Jiaojiao would simply go with the flow and pretend to be divided. In truth, she had only broken the main force into several chunks; the distance between each group wasn’t far. As long as a signal was sent out, they could quickly regroup!
So—
It looked like he was ordering those teammates who had just fled in fright to regroup, but in reality he was notifying teammates from the other groups that there was a big fish here!
Exactly.
From a rough glance, there were at least fifty people lying in ambush here!
According to the categories Chu Jiaojiao had given, fifty people counted as a big fish; fewer than ten were small fry and crabs and could be dealt with on their own; more than a hundred was a giant whale that required assembling the main force to come and wipe them out.
Wasn’t the enemy from the Second Company planning to split them up and then pick them off one by one?
As it happened, that was precisely the First Company’s plan as well.
What do you call this?
This is called going with the flow.
Before departure, when Chu Jiaojiao led everyone out to battle, she had solemnly said to all of them, "In war, small battles test wits and skill, but big battles are about momentum! That’s right, about that aura of ’if not me, then who,’ that aura of ’with me here, there’s no room for them!’"
"Move out!"
Chu Jiaojiao took the lead and charged ahead. Her figure was agile, her speed fast; in the blink of an eye she crossed the border river and leapt onto the enemy’s turf.
Right then, among the enemies on the other side, there was clearly already a group assigned specifically to keep an eye on her and try to take Chu Jiaojiao out. Chu Jiaojiao fought one against three, not only handling it with ease but also taking them down quickly.
This scene gave the teammates present a huge boost of confidence!
This was exactly that aura of "with me here, there’s no room for them"!
Momentum didn’t just mean charging against the wind; you also had to go with the flow. Since Chu Jiaojiao had opened with a strong play, everyone followed suit, leaping out one after another and charging over.
Since the Second Company led by Chu Jiaojiao was going all-in, there was no way to keep their movements hidden, so Yue Qiyuan picked up on it immediately.
The entry point chosen by Chu Jiaojiao and the others just happened to be the very sector Yue Qiyuan had told Liang Youqing to abandon.
Because of that, the people of the Second Company didn’t panic.
The First Company was fierce and unstoppable, while the Second Company responded calmly, which led to the opening clash between the two. As soon as Chu Jiaojiao rushed onto the enemy’s turf, she knew that this abandoned military base the enemy had left behind definitely wouldn’t have any supplies. If they couldn’t seize supplies or eliminate enemies, there was no need to destroy this empty enemy base; even if they did blow it up, the rules of the exercise wouldn’t award any points.
This was something the enemy had deliberately left for their side; how could Chu Jiaojiao possibly accept it? She did not choose Liang Youqing’s original territory as a logistics base; instead, she led the main force to pursue along the enemy’s trail.
Right then—
Ahead of Chu Jiaojiao’s main force on the march, a large cloud of smoke suddenly billowed up.
Whoosh~
Whoosh~
Whoosh~
Smoke curled everywhere, instantly blocking most of the enemy’s line of sight.
They couldn’t see; anything even a little farther away was a blur.
Chu Jiaojiao frowned and said, "Spread out! Now!"
At that moment, a barrage of arrows sliced through the air resistance with a howl and came flying in. Fortunately, Chu Jiaojiao and the others reacted in time and quickly pulled back.
But!
Under that dense rain of arrows, a few people still got hit and went down.
"Spread out!"
"Spread out according to your numbers!"
"Don’t worry about that smoke. If we can’t see the enemy, they can’t see us either." Chu Jiaojiao calmly gave orders while dodging those arrows aimed specifically at her, and she watched as her main force used the cover of the smoke to quickly disperse.
On the other side of the Smoke Bomb, Yue Qiyuan kept trying to get a bead on Chu Jiaojiao, but she was like a slippery mudfish, impossible to pin down precisely.
In the thick, choking smoke, Yue Qiyuan suddenly said, "The Smoke Bomb won’t hold them. Everyone pull back! Fast!"
Just as he finished speaking, a squad of enemy figures burst out of the smoke and fell into Yue Qiyuan’s line of sight; everyone fired their weapons in unison.
Crash~
A dense rain of arrows shot toward the enemy.
Yue Qiyuan waved his hand. "Move!"
The Second Company had barely begun to retreat when the First Company, led by Chu Jiaojiao, rushed out of the smoke ring. Chu Jiaojiao said, "The enemy hasn’t gone far. Break up and pursue! Everyone remember: act according to the situation!"
After a brief clash, the two sides’ forces crossed through each other and took turns encircling and hunting; it all came down to which team had better coordination and tacit understanding.
Everyone knew that once things shifted from a brief large-scale battle to localized skirmishes, the situation only got more tense.
...
Back to that opening scene: the Second Company contestants hidden in the bushes were being used as bait, trying to hook a big fish.
The First Company’s Squad Leader went with the flow and pretended to be lured ashore. At this moment, both sides were focused on outplaying the other, and under this intense atmosphere, the battle between them was clearly about to erupt at any moment!
