I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 73 Mutual Traps
What is the purpose of stabbing your butt with a knife?
He's looking for someone to kill.

As an old player, Xiaodao Zhabuti has fought in too many battles. When a dozen new players including Ku Ge went to monitor the fortress, he and other old brothers began to search the mountain in detail with Bolas Fortress as the center.

Such a fortress in such a place, with hundreds of people stationed there, must be a very important checkpoint.

Since it is important, there must be many watchtowers, sentries, and small checkpoints near the fortress... there must be.

The number of people in these watchtowers may be very small, starting with two people, and up to a dozen or more than twenty people.

However, no matter how many people there are, their existence is important... blocking the path that can bypass the fortress, or discovering the army marching towards the fortress in advance, and then burning the signal smoke to warn the fortress,

These sentry towers may seem insignificant, but they are actually very important. If we don't take them down, once the smoke of war rises... Wait, what is that?!

Xiaodao Zha, who was trying hard to climb the mountain, and several old friends following behind him all looked up and saw the black smoke column appearing on the other side of the mountain, and they looked at each other in silence.

"Fuck it! Didn't I trick the new recruits into going to see the fortress? Aren't the ones who took action the veterans?"

Looking at the furious Xiaodao, the other players shrugged.

"Who knows? Never mind, never mind. It's a leak, so let's get on with it. Let's take down the sentry tower first.

The player's main force, as well as the thousand-man grain transport team led by Prince Chris, are only one or two days away. If we don't remove these nails, they won't be safe, and the large group won't be able to hide."

"Well, go get to work first."

Xiaodao Zha's buttocks sighed helplessly and took the lead to continue climbing the mountain.

This mountain is the highest one within a radius of two kilometers. It has a good location and a good view. If you look out from it, you can cover a lot of areas.

It is easy for a few people passing by to avoid the observation of possible sentries, but if a large group of more than a hundred people passes by, it is difficult to conceal their tracks.

Xiaodaozhabushi understands the importance of intelligence better than any other player. Compared with the fortress defenders, their biggest advantage is not the players, but being in the dark.

Therefore, it is crucial to pull out these eyes. Even if some idiots have already done their job poorly and allowed the sentinels to successfully light the signal fire, they should still be pulled out.

Xiaodao and his friends continued to climb the mountain. They climbed fast and well. The steep slopes covered with thorns, weeds and bushes and without roads could not stop them.

The player's entire body, arms, neck, legs, and face are all wrapped in green silk clothing. He wears thick hiking gloves on his hands and professional hiking boots on his feet.

Such protective equipment allowed Xiaodao and others to completely ignore the thorny plants that could easily cut the skin and tear ordinary clothes.

In addition to protective gear, everyone like Xiaodao is also proficient in the technique of climbing mountains quickly.

Thanks to the advanced technology and the particularly developed entertainment industry in the 25th century, some niche hardcore games can survive in such a context, such as mountain climbing simulators that specifically teach players mountaineering skills and accumulate mountain climbing experience.

Xiaodao and his friends took time out to participate in such games to hone their climbing skills. Therefore, they were very fast during the climbing process. The seemingly dense bushes could not stop their dragon-like figures at all.

In half an hour, Xiaodao and others climbed the mountain which was more than 700 meters high, and soon found a wooden house under a stone peak on the north side of the mountain.

Three men wearing furs and looking like hunters were standing in the open space in front of the wooden house. One of them was chopping firewood in front of the house out of boredom, while the other two were gazing at the unchanging scenery below the mountain.

Xiaodao, who was hiding behind the tree, drew out the exquisite crossbow from behind him without hesitation and pulled the trigger on the chest of a man thirty meters away.

With the sharp sound of the bowstring tearing through the air, the crossbow arrow flew out and penetrated into the man's chest in an instant.

The man who was shot by the arrow took two steps back. He didn't realize what had happened until he looked down and saw the tail feathers of the crossbow still shaking on his chest. Then he opened his lips and turned back with all his strength, trying to warn his companions.

However, what made the man despair was that when he turned around, he only saw two figures falling backwards... They were also hit by crossbow arrows, and more than one.

Holding a crossbow with new arrows, Xiaodao walked out from behind the trees with the two of them and walked towards the wooden house lightly and quickly.

When they approached the corpse, one of the three men was not dead yet. He was lying on his side on the ground, trembling, and stretched out his hand towards the approaching knife, begging for mercy.

Xiaodao glanced down at the man. His face, beneath his messy chestnut hair, was still very young, even childish. There were a few pimples mischievously scattered on both sides of his cheeks, and the fuzz on his lips had not yet faded.

man?

No, it should be a boy.

Xiaodao looked away, and as he passed by, he raised his foot without mercy and kicked the boy's neck with a football, kicking him quickly and fiercely.

Amid the sound of his Adam's apple cracking, the boy's joyful eyes froze, his outstretched hand fell to the ground, and the dagger hidden in his arms rolled out.

Xiaodao did not see any ill intention in the boy. He simply did not want to let anyone inside or outside the cabin go.

Xiaodao walked lightly to the door of the wooden house. The sound of footsteps, neither hurried nor slow, was heard from inside the wooden house, which had not been closed. It was obvious that the sound of three people falling outside had attracted the attention of the people inside.

Without waiting for the person inside to come out, Xiaodao took the initiative to flash out, and pulled the trigger on the hanging knife towards the frightened figure two meters away. The crossbow arrow fell accurately into the latter's open mouth, and the red arrow tip protruded from the back of his head.

Without waiting for the corpse to fall, Xiaodao threw away the crossbow in his hand, drew the ring-handled sword at his waist and strode forward. Behind him and on both sides were his companions holding crossbows.

At this point, everyone else in the room knew that there were enemies attacking outside. The sharp sound of the crossbow arrows breaking through the air was so distinctive that anyone who had experienced it on the battlefield once would never forget it.

"boom……"

A musket explosion rang out in the house, and lead bullets flew out from the darkness, hitting the player on Xiaodao's left with a whoosh. The latter fell forward without a sound, and it was obvious that his health bar had been emptied.

One person died, and his companion's blood splattered on Xiaodao's face. Not only was he not afraid, he even showed a hideous smile and laughed loudly.

"Large-caliber flintlock rifles... Damn, they're elite!"

The veteran player on the right calmly pulled the trigger and shot the crossbow towards the spot where the gunfire had just erupted, followed by the sound of a thud falling to the ground.

The next second, loud shouts of killing came from deep inside the wooden house. Five enemies rushed out of the house holding axes and armed swords. Xiaodao and the remaining person also rushed over.

There was the loud clashing of swords, the wails of the dying, and the muffled sound of bones being broken.

A minute later, the sound disappeared, and soon a thick and straight smoke burst out from the chimney of the wooden house, which even the strong wind in the mountains could not blow away.

Shortly after the smoke appeared, Xiaodao, covered in blood, and the second player walked out, their steps brisk and their tone relaxed.

Xiaodao held a captured heavy flintlock rifle, and the second man carried the body of the dead.

"These five guys are quite tough. If we put armor on them, it would be difficult for us to defeat them."

"That's right, damn it! I spent thirty-five silver dollars on this ring-handled sword, and it actually broke into two pieces..."

At this time, two veteran players walked out of the low, sparse coniferous forest at the edge of the wooden house clearing. They also had some gains. One of them was dragging a dog, and the other was holding a blood-stained but intact breastplate.

"Hey, brother, good harvest, how many heads did you chop off?"

"Two... unlucky guys. When I killed a small boss, he actually let go and dropped his bow, which looked pretty good. I couldn't find it after searching for a long time." "I only have one, but I also brought back a hunting dog. We can have dog meat tonight... Who of you brought any big spices?

By the way, Xiaodao, since you won, why did the signal smoke rise? "

"I lit it on purpose. Since a signal smoke signal has appeared, the guards inside the fortress will definitely be on high alert. In that case, why not light it here as well to distract the enemy and prevent them from knowing our exact location?"

The meaning of stabbing the butt with a knife is very clear. If smoke signals are lit everywhere, it means that no smoke signals are lit.

He logged off and told other veteran players who were also veterans of the game about his thoughts. Soon, smoke signals came out from other hilltops as well.

Although there was a little accident, the old players were still very reliable. It only took them one day to run through all the big hills within a ten-kilometer radius of Bolas Fortress and killed nearly thirty sentries.

With such a small number of people, there are bound to be some who slip through the net.

But when the smoke signals were lit in all directions, the fish that had managed to survive fled back to Bolas Fortress in a panic.

Immediately afterwards, the fortress guards sent nearly a hundred scouts, ten teams into the forest, to the hilltop where the signal fire was lit, in an attempt to check the situation.

The signal smoke was lit, but the commander of the fortress was puzzled as to what was going on.

Is this a small group of enemies attacking, or is it the large army of the Restoration Army approaching?
Then, a few unlucky ones among the twenty or so new players who were wandering outside the fortress ran into these scouts head-on, and a series of small-scale encounters broke out in the mountains and forests.

It's fast and brutal, with players winning and losing.

That night, in a hidden, narrow valley five kilometers away from Bolas Fortress, the remaining thirty or so new and old players were gathering here.

"Boss, I know we are all newcomers, but we are brothers from the same regiment after all. Don't trick us like this."

In a cave that used to be a bear's den, my cool brother complained loudly to the knife stabbing his butt across from the campfire.

The main reason was that what happened this afternoon was too deceptive. The signal fire set off by the old players harmed the newcomers, which made the new guys led by Cool Brother a little indignant.

It's easy for the winner, as he not only gets merit but can also exchange his equipment after the battle. However, the unlucky loser will have his body and equipment dragged away, which is a considerable loss.

"You can't blame me for that."

The knife pierced his butt and he spread his hands.

"According to my original plan, as long as our raid is successful, there won't be any smoke rising, and the defenders of the fortress will be blinded."

"So, who messed up?"

"I don't know either. I asked everyone, and they all said it wasn't them."

Cool guy was very dissatisfied.

"Is this matter over?"

"Let's not just let it go this way. What else do you want? The Mountain Tigers are a loosely organized group. You can all come and go freely. Can I really kill them just because they didn't do their job well?"

Ah, that’s right too!

Cool Brother and several other new players were speechless.

Yes, a relaxed group is easy to join, which is an advantage, but the disadvantages are also obvious. The boss above has no constraints on the people below, and the players in the group work entirely on their own initiative. There is no reward for good work, and no punishment for bad work.

"No... I'm asking you why you hid the raid on the watchtower from us!"

"It's no use telling you. You don't even want to climb the mountain, and you can't climb fast. Why should I tell you this?"

"No, it's wrong to hide it."

"Okay, okay, I'll let you know next time."

He stabbed his butt with a knife just to be polite.

On the other side, when a small unpleasant incident occurred within the Tiger Regiment, inside the Bolas Fortress, the fortress's supreme commander, Colonel Bernard Bowen, looked at the scout in front of him and a corpse lying on the ground with a grim face.

"Tell me, what's going on? I sent so many people out, but only half of them came back?" (Minicia)
"We encountered the enemy and suffered tenacious and vicious sniping attacks."

The scout captain had one arm hanging down, and there were faint red marks of blood on his face. Several rings on his mail armor were broken, apparently the result of being chopped by a sharp weapon.

"What enemy?"

Bernal, who was wearing a blue and white military uniform without any markings, looked down at the corpse and a musket lying on the ground.

"Flintlock?"

"Yes, sir."

The scout captain quickly bent down, picked up the 1.3-meter-long flintlock rifle, and handed it to Bernal.

At first, Bernal was a little skeptical because the flintlock rifle looked too crudely made, with barbs on the wooden butt, a simple bolt, and an unevenly painted black barrel.

However, after looking at it for a few times, Bernal's face changed.

Something is wrong, absolutely wrong. How could this flintlock rifle be so light?

He put his index finger into the barrel of the gun and felt around twice. The inside was as smooth as a mirror. Bernard couldn't believe it.

Colonel Minisia quickly opened the bolt of the flintlock and pulled the trigger. Feeling the tension of the spring and the sparks flying when the flint hit the gunpowder pool, his face froze.

Bernal turned around suddenly and shouted a stern order to the sergeant standing beside him.

"Quick, sound the alarm! The fortress is now on high alert! The Restoration Army is coming!"

Soon, as the alarm bells rang, the soldiers in Bolas Fortress rushed to the weapon rooms in various places to retrieve the collected weapons and equipment.

The suspension bridge connecting the secondary fortress to the other end of the cliff was even pulled up. This scene stunned a group of people hiding not far away.

Soon, in a poplar forest eight kilometers away from the front of Bolas Fortress, a corps of the Restoration Army with more than 5,000 people also learned the news brought back by the scouts.

Suddenly, the commander of this army also started cursing in his tent.

"What the hell is going on? What on earth happened?"

(End of this chapter)