Chapter 53: Jade Gate Mountain
“Where did you come from?”
A young man who seemed to be a waiter approached the table and asked in an impolite tone.
“It’s no use telling you, so just bring the drinks.”
When I sent a slight hint of murderous intent in my voice, the waiter flinched and trembled.
But it seemed to have caught the attention of the bandits who were drinking.
They stopped drinking, grabbed their weapons that were leaning against the table, and stood up.
“Hey, mister. If you misspeak here, you’ll be heading straight to the afterlife.”
I calmly absorbed the murderous intent they were pouring out.
“Green Blade King has taught his subordinates poorly.”
As I casually mentioned the bandit leader’s nickname, the bandits quickly withdrew their killing intent.
“Where did you come from, young man?”
“Haven’t you heard the rumors that all the Barbarian Lords died in Red Cliff Stronghold? Is Four Heavenly Flames in the mountain stronghold?”
I asked the bandits instead.
The bandits hesitated and answered.
“We…… don’t really know who is who. We only know that a tremendously strong female martial arts master and her subordinates are staying at the stronghold.”
‘Who is this tremendously strong female martial arts master?’
The bandits’ favorite things were, first, wealth, and second, women.
But there was a faint fear on their faces.
I was momentarily flustered but quickly racked my brain and guessed.
It was because they wouldn’t know even if I told them.
“Three Heavenly Flames is in the stronghold. I’ll go up to the stronghold early tomorrow morning and greet him personally, so you guys just pretend you don’t know. You wouldn’t know my identity even if I told you.”
“Uh…… alright.”
The bandits, sensing the mood, went back to their seats.
And unlike before, they drank quietly.
I beckoned the waiter who was standing still to one side.
The waiter approached with a pale face.
“D-do you need anything?”
I took out three silver taels from my money pouch.
“Get them some good food and a few bottles of alcohol. Bring me a good bottle of alcohol and a dish too. You can keep the rest of the money.”
“Th-thank you.”
The waiter, delighted, quickly swept away the silver.
Perhaps hearing my voice, the bandits who were quietly drinking also stood up and bowed.
“Thank you!”
I, without changing my expression, raised my hand and acknowledged their greetings.
‘Ah…… I’m dying. I can’t do this anymore.’
I felt awkward doing things I don’t usually do, and I felt bad about the silver too.
The waiter brought out a dish with steam rising from it and a bottle of alcohol.
A few bottles of alcohol along with what seemed to be a generous dish were placed on the bandits’ table.
Sigh……
‘I wonder if this will work.’
I slowly filled my glass with alcohol.
Hehehe……!
Khahahaha……!
Whether it was the bandits’ nature or whether they had changed, they returned to their previous state.
The drunken bandits raised their voices, spewing s*xual jokes and boasting.
I sipped my drink little by little, waiting for an opportunity.
At that moment, the bandits’ voices trailed off as they emptied their glasses.
“The Four Divine Units have entered Taiyuan, have you prepared the stronghold?”
At my question, the bandits started chattering without hesitation.
“The general headquarters is impregnable. If they attack the headquarters, Blood Serpent Stronghold and White Forest Stronghold will cut off their retreat, so they won’t be able to avoid annihilation.”
“Even if the Four Divine Units attack Blood Serpent Stronghold and White Forest Stronghold, we have no worries because the general headquarters will send support.”
“Our general headquarters cannot be captured even if a hundred thousand troops attack.”
“There are over two hundred skilled archers in the general headquarters.”
I pretended to be slightly surprised.
No, I was actually surprised.
“Why are there so many skilled archers?”
Hehehe……!
“They’re all guys who left the army.”
It wasn’t unreasonable if they were soldiers who had been in the army.
The army was originally meant to train to k*ll the enemy most efficiently.
“I see. If the stronghold’s preparations are at that level, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Yes. Even if the Four Divine Units are masters, there are less than four hundred of them. On the other hand, we have over two thousand in the general headquarters alone.”
Having grasped the general atmosphere of the stronghold, I raised my glass.
The bandits continued drinking pleasantly.
I beckoned the waiter.
“I’m going to sleep, so prepare a clean room.”
“A-are you going to sleep already?”
It was still early evening to go to sleep.
“I’m tired from the long journey.”
“Understood. Please wait a moment. I’ll prepare the cleanest room in the inn.”
Thud!
Ugh!
The bandits collapsed one after another.
I strapped my bow back on and walked along the mountain path.
It had already been three hours since I left the inn, waiting for it to get dark.
“How much further do we have to go? Mister.”
“We’re almost there.”
“You said the same thing an hour ago.”
“This brat? ……It’s still far.”
Ugh……
I sighed and walked on and on.
As I climbed over a ridge, a mountain with a bizarre shape appeared before my eyes.
The mountain, bathed in the bright moonlight, looked very different from other places.
“That’s Jade Gate Mountain.”
Even without the mister’s words, I recognized that mountain as Jade Gate Mountain at a glance.
The white cliff was vertically split, and at the bottom, there was a round and deep darkness.
The stronghold was probably located within that round and deep darkness.
“How did you and your brothers get in there?”
“How else would we get in? We walked in through the front gate. Back then, the bandits shot so many arrows, I thought it was raining.”
I shouldn’t have asked.
I wanted to see the Green Forest’s general headquarters with my own eyes.
After walking inwards for a while, I sensed a presence.
And it wasn’t just one or two people.
I hid myself in the darkness and carefully approached.
“It’s cold, cold. Is there any alcohol left?”
“We drank it all earlier. I wish we could build a fire.”
“Didn’t we get scolded for building a fire last time?”
“If we build a fire in that pit, they won’t see it from the stronghold.”
I took my bow and drew three arrows from the quiver.
The distance wasn’t that far, so the sound of the arrows flying wouldn’t be too loud.
Whoosh.
I could see the bandits collapsing into the darkness.
“Why the h*ll are you suddenly falling down…… huh?”
Along with the bandits’ surprised voices, three more arrows flew.
Whoosh.
Thud. Thud.
I walked past where the five bandits had fallen.
The Green Forest general headquarters looked different from other strongholds from the outside.
Other strongholds had wooden fences made of logs, but here, stones replaced the wooden fences.
Furthermore, with watchtowers built on top of the high stone walls, it looked more like a castle than a stronghold.
Although the stone walls weren’t built with neatly cut stones like the Martial Alliance’s, they looked sufficiently solid and sturdy.
“Are you going to turn back now that you’ve come this far?”
The mister whispered beside me as I looked at the walls.
“They say there are over two thousand people inside. And there are masters I don’t know about too.”
Tsk tsk……
“You’re a man, yet you’re so cowardly. How are you going to achieve anything like this?”
The mister even clicked his tongue, expressing his disapproval.
“Then shall we just say hello and go?”
I held my bow in one hand and grabbed an arrow from the quiver.
“You’ve said enough hello to the guards. So, smash that big gate over there.”
The mister pointed to the huge wooden gate in the center of the wall.
It was a double-leafed gate with a width and height of over nine feet.
“Ak Family’s younger brother smashed that gate with a spear. So you try smashing that gate too.”
If I smashed that gate, two thousand bandits would pour out.
I nocked two arrows.
‘I think this is more recklessness than courage……’
Whoosh……!
The arrows that flew through the air accurately pierced the bandits in the watchtower.
I dashed towards the main gate of the wall like the wind.
As soon as I leaped into the air and extended my right foot, a strong impact was transmitted.
Crash……!
The stone hinges that were supporting the huge gate fell off, and the door shattered and flew inwards.
“Let’s go back now.”
Having smashed the main gate, I immediately turned around.
“The subordinates have found twelve corpses.”
At the military strategist’s report, the large man twitched his thick, caterpillar-like eyebrows.
“What happened to the b*stard who smashed the main gate of the stronghold?”
“We couldn’t find him.”
“D*mn it……!”
The large man slammed his fist on the table in front of him.
B*ng! C*ack……!
One corner of the table was shattered by his fist.
The middle-aged military strategist, who looked like a scholar, quickly bowed his head.
“But I have a good guess who the culprit is.”
“Who is it?”
“The corpses all had arrows accurately embedded in their heads. The culprit is probably the guy called Crow from the Four Divine Units.”
Uwaaaaah……!
As the large man roared, the pillars and main beams of the room shook.
I found out later, but even during the incident with the Martial Emperor’s tomb, everything had gone awry because of that guy.
“Bring that b*stard to me immediately! Right now!”
The military strategist bowed deeply, absorbing the bandit leader’s rage.
“It might be difficult right now, but it won’t take long to bring him here.”
Phew……
The large man exhaled deeply, calming his anger.
This scholar-like military strategist was the most favored among his subordinates.
He was someone who had never held a sword, just as he looked, but he was in charge of the finances of the general headquarters, White Forest Stronghold, and Blood Serpent Stronghold, and he was also excellent in military strategy.
Perhaps because the stronghold was full of uneducated bandits, his abilities stood out.
“How are you going to bring that b*stard before my eyes?”
“The reason he moves alone is to cause chaos in the stronghold.”
“Do you think I wouldn’t even know that much?”
The large man burst into anger.
If he were a fool, he wouldn’t have become the leader of the general headquarters.
The military strategist didn’t flinch at all.
“Don’t wait for him to move, set a trap first and wait for him to make his move.”
“How?”
“The subordinates are familiar with the surrounding geography. Send them to a place where he can’t escape and lure him there.”
It was a plausible plan, so the large man’s anger subsided.
“Indeed, you are my bag of tricks.”
As the large man was admiring him, the door suddenly opened.
Creak……
The person who opened the door and entered was a very beautiful young woman in red silk clothes.
The woman’s face was as beautiful as it was alluring.
Especially the small mole under her lips accentuated her decadent beauty.
As the woman entered, the military strategist quickly bowed his head, and the large man also rose from his seat.
The military strategist’s face was pale, and the large man’s face wasn’t relaxed either.
“Welcome.”
The woman smiled brightly.
At that moment, the bandit leader quickly turned his head.
‘Bewitching woman.’
That woman was only beautiful on the outside, her insides were no different from a devil.
She was someone even the bandits, who would go crazy over any woman in a skirt, were reluctant to face.
As soon as she entered the stronghold, she killed twenty bandits in an instant for making s*xual jokes.
“Does a scholar who only reads books know the urgency of a battlefield filled with blood and death?”
The woman scoffed at the military strategist’s plan.
