The God of War Who Protects the Nation: Starting with Saving a Mother and Daughter in Distress

Hearing this noise, everyone was stunned for a moment, then realized that this was the signal agreed upon by the government!

When danger is encountered or an important clue is discovered, a signal arrow will be launched!

"It's a signal!" Li Zhuang's expression changed. "Something's happened!"

"Where is it?" Han Quan suddenly stood up and looked in the direction from which the whistle came.

"It seems to be in the northwest direction, not far from us!" Old Sun squinted, judging the location.

The crowd immediately started discussing it.

"What should we do? Should we go check it out?" Zhang Ergou hesitated. "Are we going to be the enemy of those spies?"

"Yes, those Baiji spies are definitely elites with rich experience. They're fine for us to hunt and deal with, but if we go to the battlefield..." Zhou Tie echoed.

Old Liu said, "I think it's better to go and check it out. More people means more help. If any of our brothers are in danger, we can lend a hand. Besides, it's always safer to be together than scattered."

"But..." Zhang Ergou wanted to say something, but Han Quan interrupted him.

"We must go!" Han Quan said firmly. "Before we set off, the county magistrate ordered that any team that hears the signal must go to provide support; those who disobey will be punished for disobeying orders, and the entire team will be held accountable!"

Han Quan spoke with righteous indignation, but his eyes flickered, and he didn't say some of his words aloud.

He glanced at the hesitant crowd and said in a deep voice, "I know you're afraid of danger, but don't forget why we're here! What kind of men of Daxing are we if we can't even save our own people? Buckle up and follow me!"

After saying that, he picked up the seven-character flag and took the lead in walking towards the northwest.

Wang Yong quickly followed.

The group looked at each other, but finally gritted their teeth and followed.

Qin An lagged behind, watching Han Quan's retreating figure with a slight frown.

He had a strong intuition that this trip would likely end badly.

Qin An knew that he was of little influence and could not change Han Quan's decision.

In the end, the group forgot about filling their stomachs and quickened their pace, hurrying towards the direction from which the signal came.

The further you go, the more treacherous the surrounding environment becomes. The trees become sparse, replaced by steep slopes and jagged rocks.

"Everyone be careful, this place is dangerous and easy to ambush." ​​Han Quan lowered his voice and scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes.

He drew the sword from his waist, its blade gleaming coldly in the twilight.

Wang Yong also gripped the short knife tightly, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, clearly showing some nervousness.

Qin An followed closely behind, his left hand on the quiver at his waist and his right hand on the handle of the ox-horn bow, his nerves taut to the extreme.

His gaze swept over every rock and every bush, as if afraid that a cold arrow might suddenly shoot out from somewhere.

Just then, Han Quan suddenly stopped and shouted in a low voice, "Watch out!"

Before he finished speaking, several bowstring twangs suddenly rang out, and several crossbow bolts shot out from behind the rocks on the left with a whooshing sound!

"Get out of the way!" Han Quan shoved Wang Yong away from him.

"Pfft!"

A crossbow bolt grazed Wang Yong's arm and embedded itself deeply in the trunk of a nearby tree, its fletching still buzzing.

Wang Yong turned pale with fright and staggered back a few steps before regaining his balance.

Qin An ducked down almost the instant he heard the bowstring. A crossbow bolt flew past his head and struck the ground in front of him, embedding itself three feet into the soil.

He felt a chill run down his spine. These people were extremely accurate archers, and they were using crossbows, which were faster and more powerful than bows and arrows!

"Ah!" Two screams rang out almost simultaneously.

Qin An looked up and saw that Zhang Ergou and another young hunter were unable to dodge in time and were shot in the chest by crossbow bolts. Blood instantly stained their clothes. The two groaned and fell to the ground, motionless.

"Damn it!" Han Quan roared, "Take cover! Find cover!"

Terrified, everyone rushed to the surrounding rocks and trees for cover.

In an instant, the once orderly line became chaotic, with shouts and curses mixed together.

Qin An hid behind a boulder, quickly drew an arrow, and nocked it onto his horn bow.

He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and listened intently to the sounds around him.

The crossbow bolts were coming from behind the rocks on the left, but judging from the sound, there were at least five or six people on the other side.

"They don't have many of them, don't panic!" Han Quan's voice carried a calming power. "Old Sun, Old Liu, you two cover me, the rest of you follow me and find an opportunity to counterattack!"

Old Sun and Old Liu responded. With their rich hunting experience, they didn't show themselves. Instead, they picked up a few pebbles and threw them aside to attract the other party's attention.

Qin An seized the opportunity and suddenly leaned out from behind the boulder. With his exceptional eyesight, he locked onto a figure that had just revealed half of its body.

Without hesitation, he released the bowstring.

"Whoosh!" The arrow flew like lightning, striking the man with pinpoint accuracy.

"Ah!" A scream came from behind the rocks, followed by some noise.

"Excellent archery!" Han Quan couldn't help but praise Qin An after he had hit the target with a single arrow.

But Qin An was not at all relaxed.

Because he did not receive a response from the system.

This means that although his arrow hit the opponent, it was not fatal.

Perhaps Qin An's arrow had an effect, because the crossbow bolts behind the rock suddenly stopped.

Han Quan frowned and shouted, "They're trying to escape! Chase them!"

He dashed out first, running towards the rock behind him. Qin An and the others followed closely behind.

When they rushed to the back of the rock, they found that the other party had already run away, leaving only some bloodstains and a few messy footprints extending down the hillside.

"Chase!" Han Quan didn't hesitate at all and took the lead in giving chase.

Qin An looked at the two hunters' corpses on the ground, then at Han Quan's back, and his brows furrowed even more.

He crouched down and examined the crossbow bolts on Zhang Ergou's body. The arrowheads were sharp, and the shafts were engraved with some strange symbols, clearly indicating that they were specially made crossbow bolts by Bai Ji.

"Brother Qin'an, hurry up and catch up!" Li Zhuang shouted from the front.

Qin An responded and stood up to chase after him.

But his unease grew stronger. The enemy clearly held the advantageous terrain, so why did they only fire one volley before running away?

They must have heard the barking dogs too.

Having already exposed their tracks and left so many traces, hastily fleeing is not a wise choice.

"Officer Han!" Qin An, increasingly uneasy, caught up with Han Quan for his own safety, even though he knew his voice carried little weight, and said in a deep voice, "I feel something is wrong."

Han Quan turned and glanced at him: "What do you mean?"

"I suspect the enemy is using a strategy of besieging a point to lure reinforcements into a trap!" Qin An didn't waste any words and directly stated his guess.

"Block the point and attack the reinforcements? Lure the enemy deep into our territory!" Han Quan was taken aback.

He never expected that such two words would come out of the mouth of a young man like Qin An.

He wasn't angry, but he gave Qin An a strange look: "You've studied military strategy?"