Fatal Strike: Paladins Mercenary Road

Chapter 763 Hunting
The eagle did not force Jacob to immediately reveal what he knew...

Because this guy is clearly not afraid of death. His current thought is that it would be best if he died. If he is not allowed to die, he must be given treatment and relatively reasonable treatment so that he will have some ability and space to resist when facing retribution.

These are the most difficult people to deal with because living is more stressful for them, and tough methods are completely ineffective against them.

The mountain eagle wasn't one to dwell on a single issue. Jacob neither spoke nor pressed him for details, but instead added a few more pieces of firewood to the campfire, then tied the doctor up again, and finally told a horse-riding wolf to stay and guard the three of them...

He then walked out of the sparse woods and came to the area where the wetlands met, finding a relatively flat spot where the helicopter could land...

After sending the coordinates to Dalia, Mountain Eagle found a fallen tree, sat down, and while observing the sleds' situation through the crows, he called Old Joe at the camp...

"Hey, boss..."

Hearing Old Joe's hoarse, deep voice on the phone, Mountain Eagle laughed and said, "Old buddy, do me a favor. Have Queda go with you to the little lake where we camped the other night and renovate the hunter's cabin there."

Old Joe paused for a moment, then asked nervously, "Boss, what happened?"

Looking at the vast snow-covered wetlands before him, Mountain Eagle shook his head and said, "I'm not sure, so I hope there's more room for maneuver."

The small lake is in a secluded location, and the hunter's hut is in a good spot; with a little modification, it can serve as a temporary shelter.

The enemy may have some methods I'm unaware of, so I need to be fully prepared.

Old Joe was silent for almost a minute before saying, "I understand. I'll go find Queda right away. We'll bring tools and materials, and we can get the hunter's cabin ready in two days at most, plus we can set up a few more tents."

Mountain Eagle sensed Old Joe's worry and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I'm just taking precautions to prevent my judgment from being wrong and to give myself some strategic depth and room for maneuver."

Things are unfolding as I expected, except the enemy seems to have some methods I'm unaware of, which is why we need to prepare for both possibilities.

After saying that, Mountain Eagle hung up the phone and started thinking about it himself...

He wasn't worried about Jacob's so-called 'secret' because he had already considered all possible scenarios beforehand...

The camp's only weakness is in the air...

If the enemy can mobilize jet fighters or bombers, then everything he has done in the past is a joke, because with such a large size difference, what's the point of fighting? He should have surrendered long ago.

Rationally, Mountain Eagle didn't believe the enemy had such capabilities, but having his family around forced him to be cautious.

Once the battle truly begins, moving Xiaowan, Tessa, and the children to the lake is the best solution he can think of.

Just as the mountain eagle was deep in thought, gunshots rang out from the wetlands to the south...

After a series of surprise attacks, the Cod Squad and the Chimera Squad have 13 members left, including one wounded.

They were locked in a stalemate with the sleds for about forty minutes before the group, unable to withstand the pressure, began to attempt a breakout.

These people were all highly skilled. They maintained a large distance between themselves and rolled away in one direction during their retreat. There were always three to five gunmen keeping an eye on the approximate location of the sled, and two others were in a position to turn around and encircle it...

Separated by a large patch of bushes, the two sides couldn't see each other at all...

The sled was like a patient old wolf, grinning as it circled the perimeter of the demon group through the bushes. It didn't even fire a shot, just occasionally revealing its form in the gaps of the wetland bushes, which made the other side extremely nervous.

The two MacGypsy wolves carrying bounding mines put immense pressure on the opponent...

"Bang bang bang bang..."

A gunman with a thick beard fired more than a dozen shots into the bushes where there was movement not far away. Hearing the call on the radio, he stared intently at the spot where he had fired and shouted, "Come on, come on..."

Just as he roared, a low 'woof' sound came from his side...

The bearded gunslinger turned his head at the sound and saw a Magenie wolf staring at him from behind a bush several meters away...

As he nervously turned his gun to fire, he heard a noise behind him.

Instinct compelled him to turn around and glance back, only to be horrified to find another wolf standing behind him.

The bearded man was very experienced. He pulled the trigger without hesitation and then turned and ran without even checking whether he had succeeded.

Hitting a moving target in bushes is already difficult enough; in this pincer attack situation, the best approach is to move and change the positions of both sides, allowing you to deal with only one side of the enemy.

The bearded gunman shouted into the radio as he sprinted nearly 30 meters across the snow with high kicks. The moment he saw his companion, he flipped over, sat down, and raised his gun to retaliate... But when he tried to pull the trigger, he discovered that the two wolves hadn't followed at all. Behind him were empty bushes and frozen wetland waterways.

A wave of immense fear and tension instantly washed over the bearded gunman. His heart pounded wildly, and the surge of adrenaline caused a thin layer of sweat to appear on his tense body.

Sweat rolled down his face from inside his hat, freezing into ice beads before it could even fall. A gust of cold wind blew by, sending a chill down his spine...

The moment his companion's hand touched the bearded gunman's shoulder, the guy jumped up as if he'd been electrocuted, delivering a vicious elbow strike with his backhand...

His companion was struck in the chest and stumbled back a few steps. Seeing the bearded gunman turn around with his gun, he decisively raised his own and shouted, "Hey, calm down, it's me..."

The captain has ordered us to retreat!

The bearded gunman paused for a moment, cursed under his breath, then lowered his gun. He walked over and helped his companion up, saying, "That guy is like a ghost, and those two wolves are like spirits. Let's go..."

His companion glanced in the direction the bearded gunman had come from, nodded vigorously, and said, "Let's get out of here. The terrain isn't suitable for a counterattack..."

Just as the two were making their escape, Carl, who was leading the way, encountered trouble...

The lead soldier stopped at the edge of a thicket. Karl heard the call from the other side and cautiously approached, saying, "What happened..."

The scout pointed to the marks on the frozen waterway a dozen meters to the west and said, "Someone just passed through here..."

Carl frowned and looked around. To the west was a vast wetland, and to the east, about a kilometer away, was a mountain range.

At this point, the commander's role was to make quick decisions. After thinking for a few seconds, he decisively said, "Let's head east. The mountainous terrain is complex, and once we get inside, we can find enough cover."

The scouts clearly thought so too...

The wetland has a simple terrain, but the ground conditions are very complex, which severely slows down their movement speed and ability to fight back. At this time, going up the mountain to wait for nightfall or seeking support is the best option.

Nodding to indicate that he understood the captain's meaning, the scout called to another comrade, and they disappeared back into the bushes to begin clearing a path eastward...

As they turned east, the occasional noises behind them disappeared...

This instant relief from pressure was very noticeable for those who had been fighting for a long time. They had moved less than a kilometer to the east when Cohen, the Chimera squad providing rear cover, sensed something was wrong...

"Karl, stop, I feel something's not right..."

Karl, who had been pushing eastward with all his might, stopped in his tracks. Just as he was about to ask why, two screams came from ahead...

Ignoring Cohen's doubts, he cautiously and quickly approached the scouts' position, gun in hand. He then saw two scouts sitting on the ground, one in front of the other, each with a large animal trap hanging from their feet...

Cohen rushed over to check, and then suddenly felt a chill run down his spine...

These two bear traps were certainly not designed to catch wild animals, and the probability of two people stepping on them at the same time should be negligible, but that's exactly what happened...

First, the scout stepped on a bear trap, and then when his comrade on the left flank tried to check, he stepped on another one...

The only explanation is that the other party was well-prepared and even knew their modus operandi.

Cohen glanced at the mountains to the east, gritted his teeth, and rushed to the scout's side. While helping to dismantle the bear traps, he said over the radio, "There are traps to the east. We'll continue south..."

"what……"

Before Carl could finish speaking, a companion who had followed behind to check on the situation suddenly stepped through the snow, got his foot stuck in a hole in the ground, and twisted his ankle...

At the same time, a series of minor explosions suddenly occurred in the bushes they had come from, followed by thick smoke and acrid gas, blocking their retreat to the west.

The Chimera squad leader, Cohen, led his men in firing a burst towards the rear, then decisively moved towards Karl's position...

During the breakout, one of the team members attempted to jump out of the bushes and break south, setting up a defensive line on the edge of the bushes on the other side of the frozen waterway. However, after only a few steps, he tripped over a rope and fell. In the ensuing chaos, he accidentally slapped a trap with one hand...

"Snapped"

The moment the trap tightened, the creature let out a scream...

"There's a trap to the south..."

(End of this chapter)