Chapter 125: Finally Starting to Retreat [Three-in-One]

With over a hundred people moving out at the same time, the momentum was naturally not small.

Even under Xia Hong's exhortation, no one spoke.

But over a hundred people walking together, even if it was just the sound of footsteps on the snow, it became very, very loud, not to mention other sounds.

It was fortunate that the north slope where the Gnawing Rat pack was located wasn't far from the valley, totaling less than two kilometers, and with the Gnawing Rat pack moving south, the distance was even closer.

With so many people moving out collectively, and all being Woodcutting Realm cultivators, Xia Hong was rare and generous for once, not going around from Red Wood Ridge, but going north as soon as they left the valley, directly along the foot of the mountain.

"Everyone stop, we're almost there!"

When they were still over two hundred meters away from the north slope, Xia Hong raised his hand to stop the team.

Xia Hong had already given that Jing Han to Yuan Cheng, and he didn't bring that great axe today either. He held a long and narrow weapon in his hand.

That weapon was wrapped in a sheath, and it wasn't clear whether it was a sword or a knife. Judging from the sheath, it was only an inch wide, and including the grip, it was about 1.7 meters long.

Such a strange weapon had attracted the attention of many people when Xia Hong brought it out of the camp. However, there was a more important matter tonight, so everyone temporarily suppressed the curiosity in their hearts and didn't go to ask.

"Follow what was said before. Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and Yuan Cheng, you three take half the people to guard the west side. Zhao Long, Zhao Hu, Zhao Bao, and the remaining people, come with me to climb the mountain wall for the main attack. You don't need to worry about Gnawing Rats fleeing north. For those running toward your side, just greet them with arrows for your lives!"

"Understood, leader!"

Xia Chuan and the other six nodded solemnly, and then immediately dispersed to notify the people below.

Although the two teams had already been divided before departure, Xia Hong's deployment naturally still had to be made clear to everyone, otherwise it would be easy to have problems later.

Xia Hong looked up and took one last look at the mountain wall terrain, his expression slightly solemn.

Having come here so many times before, he had long known the terrain of the north slope of the mountain wall by heart, and the plan to deal with this pack of Gnawing Rats had long been formulated.

The valley that Does Da Xia took over from the Luo Ge camp was located on the east side of Red Wood Ridge, sandwiched between two high mountains, both two or three thousand meters high.

The two high mountains each extended south and north. The dirt slope station that Does Da Xia had before was extended from the mountain on the south side.

The mountain body extending from the north side also had a length of four or five kilometers. The stations of the Chen Ye and Lu Shang camps were in this four or five-kilometer-long mountain body.

And the station of the Chen Ye camp was less than two kilometers away from the valley. The Gnawing Rat pack now occupied the magpie's nest and was entrenched on the mountain slope directly above its station cave.

The mountain slope was about a hundred meters higher than the ground, and one could only see the Gnawing Rat pack on the slope by climbing the west rock wall.

The mountain slope was less than two kilometers south to the valley; east was the deeper, more mysterious, and more dangerous high mountain; north was the station of the Lu Shang camp, and further back was the arrow bamboo forest; west was Red Wood Ridge after going down the rock wall.

"The deep high mountain on the east side, it would be best if the Gnawing Rats were willing to go; if they weren't willing, driving them a bit further north would also work. Only the south side and Red Wood Ridge cannot let them go. Just guard these two passes. Whether they die or escape depends on themselves!"

That's right, the goal of this operation, which had been prepared for nearly a month, was not to eliminate this pack of Gnawing Rats at all.

Xia Hong's goal from beginning to end was just to drive them away.

With nearly four hundred Gnawing Rats, with Does Da Xia's current strength, wanting to eliminate them all was wishful thinking.

Trying to drive them away was the best policy.

The south side was the valley, so naturally, they couldn't let the Gnawing Rats go there; Red Wood Ridge was an area where they were active for a long time. It wouldn't be a big problem if a small batch of Gnawing Rats went there, but once the number was large, the station in the valley still had the possibility of being discovered, and the risk was too great, so that wouldn't work either.

Walking to the foot of the mountain wall, looking at the ten rattan vines that had been arranged in advance, Xia Hong turned his head and whispered to Zhao Long, who was closest to him:

"Everyone, you must keep quiet when climbing up, don't make a single sound. After going up, find a good position and wait for my order!"

Zhao Long nodded and whispered to Zhao Hu, who was beside him: "Everyone, you must keep quiet when climbing up, don't make a single sound. After going up, don't talk either, find a good position and wait for the leader's order!"

Zhao Hu continued to pass it on to Zhao Bao, and Zhao Bao passed it on to others. It was passed on one by one like this until all forty-eight people heard the instructions, and everyone cast their eyes toward Xia Hong at the very front.

Xia Hong didn't speak again, but reached out and pointed to the rattan vines.

Zhao Long and the three brothers took the lead in choosing three rattan vines to climb up, and then forty-eight people followed behind him, divided into ten groups, all climbing up.

Xia Hong watched from below, and didn't climb up until everyone had gone up.

On the mountain wall was an area twenty meters long and only two or three meters wide, about a hundred meters away from the Gnawing Rat pack on the north slope, with only four trees in the middle, which didn't have much impact on the field of vision.

This area was small to begin with. Although the fifty-plus people had already been divided into two rows and were all squatting, it was still full, appearing a bit crowded.

Xia Hong squeezed to the very front and took a look at the Gnawing Rat pack not far away. Most of them were still sleeping, and only a few were awake. The tension in his heart immediately relaxed a lot.

Afterward, he didn't speak either, but took out a transparent pill from his bosom and signaled Zhao Long, who was closest, with his eyes.

Zhao Long nodded and immediately took out a pill exactly the same as the one in his hand from his bosom, and then used his elbow to touch Zhao Hu on the side.

Zhao Hu received the signal and made the same action, then informed the next person.

Just like the process of passing the message just now, everyone else, after receiving the signal, all took out the antidote pill exactly the same as the one in Xia Hong's hand from their bodies.

"Thanks to this Green Saliva Fruit, the decoction pot also synthesized the formula for the primary antidote pill, otherwise, relying only on Teng Jiao saliva, I really wouldn't dare to bring people here!"

Xia Hong secretly said in his heart, a look of celebration appearing on his face.

Saliva can only alleviate Teng Jiao toxins through nasal inhalation and cannot achieve complete detoxification.

But at this moment, these primary antidote pills in his and everyone else's hands, after being taken, not only could completely ignore the influence of Teng Jiao toxins, but judging from the name, they clearly also had an effect on other types of primary toxins.

Green Saliva Fruit was the fruit the size of a fist found on the tree occupied by Teng Jiao during the last Teng Jiao hunt. After taking it back and identifying it with the decoction pot, the formula for the primary antidote pill was immediately synthesized.

What was even luckier was that the material consumed the most in the formula for the primary antidote pill was Teng Jiao saliva. Although Green Saliva Fruit was very important, only a little bit was needed for each furnace.

One furnace of primary antidote pills could produce 20 to 25 pills. Xia Hong used up all that Green Saliva Fruit in one go and refined ten furnaces in total. The one hundred-plus people who went out tonight were each equipped with two pills, which was naturally more than enough.

Seeing that everyone had already taken the antidote pill, Xia Hong took the lead and put the antidote pill into his mouth, and the others followed suit.

After the pill entered his abdomen, Xia Hong gave Zhao Long and the three brothers a look.

Zhao Long, Zhao Hu, and Zhao Bao nodded and took out a blue meat chunk the size of a fist from their bosoms. In the middle of the meat chunk was wrapped a pure white round bead, and white airflow was constantly surging on the bead.

The three each took a special iron arrow, then passed the blue meat chunk through the iron arrow and fixed it in the middle, drew their bows and nocked arrows, aimed at the Gnawing Rat pack, and finally turned their heads to look at Xia Hong, clearly waiting for his order.

Xia Hong wasn't in a hurry, but turned to look at the others, stretched out two fingers, and said directly in a loud voice:

"Two things, remember!

First, once the poisonous mist spreads, everyone, while ensuring accuracy, must shoot all thirty arrows on your body in the fastest time.

Second, Gnawing Rats might drill through the ground. Before the arrows are finished, you can flexibly find positions yourself. Individuals, cooperation, no matter what method you use, as long as you can shoot and kill, it's fine; once the arrows in your hands are used up, run immediately, but don't run toward the valley, only run toward Red Wood Ridge!"

"Understood, leader!"

With the experience of the previous life, Xia Hong had also thought before whether he should concentrate everyone, take turns shooting, and form an uninterrupted arrow rain, which should have stronger impact and lethality.

But after trying it once in the valley, he immediately gave up.

First of all, they only had a hundred-plus people in total, the number of people was too small, and the arrow rain range formed by taking turns was too small, which fundamentally couldn't cause much group damage.

Secondly, the archery method of taking turns seeks speed, not accuracy. Even if Gnawing Rats are affected by Teng Jiao poisonous mist, they still have some speed. If the accuracy isn't good, the arrows shot out are basically wasted.

With multiple factors superimposed, after consideration, Xia Hong still chose to let everyone play freely. After all, they were all Woodcutting Realm cultivators, possessing basic strength of over five thousand jin, plus the blessing of bows and arrows. As long as the hit rate was sufficient, hunting Gnawing Rats affected by Teng Jiao poisonous mist, no matter how you looked at it, wasn't difficult.

"Act!"

While speaking just now, it had already alarmed the few Gnawing Rats that were awake. Xia Hong saw that some Gnawing Rats had already started to make moves toward this side and immediately gave the order.

Swish... Swish... Swish...

As soon as Xia Hong's voice fell, Zhao Long and the three brothers, who had long been ready to go and had drawn their longbows into a full moon shape, immediately let go.

Sss...

The moment the three special iron arrows rubbed against the bow body, they brought out a burst of violent sparks, instantly igniting the blue meat chunk fixed in the middle.

The three iron arrows were like fire meteors, flying fast, moving forward without looking back, drawing a straight white smoke in the air, breaking the silent night.

Zhao Long's arrow shot toward the left, Zhao Hu's toward the middle, and Zhao Bao's toward the right.

The three brothers' targets were almost just right to cut the entire rat pack into three pieces, shooting straight at the three places.

Of course, they weren't shooting at empty ground.

Pfft...

The three brothers' strength was equal to begin with, and they not only shot the iron arrows at the same time, but the target distance was also not far apart. The three iron arrows almost pierced the heads of three Gnawing Rats at the same time. Under the silent night sky, only one sound was made.

The three Gnawing Rats didn't even let out a scream before they were pierced through the head by the sharp arrows and pinned to the ground.

Boom...

At the same time, the blue meat chunk on the iron arrow was just burned through, the Teng Jiao poison sac inside instantly burst, and three thick white mists spread out instantly, quickly shrouding the entire Gnawing Rat pack, and even constantly expanding outward.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak..."

"Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak..."

"Squeak, squeak..."

As early as when the three Gnawing Rats were shot just now, the Gnawing Rat pack had already been alarmed, but everything happened too fast. After the white mist spread, one after another, dense rat squeaks were transmitted.

Unlike the squeaks of ordinary rats, hundreds of Gnawing Rats with huge physiques screamed and squeaked together, and the momentum was terrifying to the limit.

"Everyone, find your own targets, quick!"

Although the white mist was thick, it became much thinner in a moment and had no impact on the line of sight.

At Xia Hong's order, forty-eight people, plus Zhao Long and the three brothers, all drew their bows and nocked arrows, shooting crazily at the rat pack in the white mist.

Swish... Swish... Swish...

Countless iron arrows flew past their bodies. The wave of the rat pack closest to them hadn't reacted yet, and their bodies were already covered with arrow shafts, and even ten-plus pupils were pierced, directly killed by one arrow.

The Gnawing Rat pack, dealing with it in a panic, all raised their eyes to look at the crowd on the south side, opened their terrifying gnawing teeth, and the fierce light in their eyes was fully exposed.

"Squeak..."

A clear rat squeak suddenly sounded, and the Gnawing Rat pack immediately started to act.

They actually braved the arrow rain and started to move quickly toward the south.

This group of evil beasts, actually not afraid!

Xia Hong saw it very clearly. The Gnawing Rats shrouded in Teng Jiao poisonous mist had already become very slow in action. In the first wave just now, everyone basically shot three or more arrows. Although there were few one-shot kills, at least forty or fifty had been seriously injured.

Encountering such heavy damage, the Gnawing Rat pack actually still tried to rush toward their side!

Could that squeak that issued the order just now be the leader of the rat pack?

Xia Hong, whose gaze had never left the Gnawing Rat pack from beginning to end, didn't find any abnormalities in the rat pack, and a fierce light also appeared on his face. He opened his mouth and gave a sharp shout to the crowd.

"Continue to accelerate shooting arrows, everyone press forward, find your own positions!"

Clang...

As soon as Xia Hong's voice fell, he pulled out the ultra-long weapon at his waist and took the lead to rush out from the slope side first.

"Charge!"

"Brothers, follow the leader and press forward. This group of beasts, poisoned, and still want to turn the sky over from so far away, kill them!" "The leader has charged, what are we afraid of? Get closer and shoot. I've already hit two just now. This group of Gnawing Rats isn't that powerful."

Hundreds of Gnawing Rats still gave people a great sense of oppression.

The clamor in everyone's mouths was actually covering up the fear in their hearts.

The ones who really rushed out with Xia Hong the fastest were still Zhao Long and the three brothers. Their strength was stronger, and the fear in their hearts was naturally less.

And others, under the clamor of a few people taking the lead, also followed one after another and rushed out from the slope.

Of course, everyone rushed out, not to engage in close-quarters combat with the Gnawing Rats.

When the Gnawing Rats rushed toward them, they had already gathered together from a large group. The purpose of Xia Hong ordering everyone to press forward:

Firstly, it was to find a position with a better field of vision to shoot arrows; secondly, it was to shorten the distance and improve accuracy; thirdly, it was purely to boost the momentum of their own side and give this group of Gnawing Rats the greatest pressure from a psychological level.

Xia Hong didn't doubt the intelligence of cold beasts at all.

Especially the Gnawing Rats, which he had dealt with several times, their intelligence was definitely not low.

The north slope was only a little over a hundred meters away from them, with only four trees in the middle. After rushing out ten-plus meters, the crowd automatically divided into four waves, each occupying a big tree, using the big tree as a rampart, and started shooting arrows crazily at the Gnawing Rat pack that was still approaching.

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Swish... Swish... Swish... Swish...

The sound of the wind scraped by the iron arrows resounded in his ears. Realizing that he was only ten-plus meters away from the Gnawing Rats at the very front, Xia Hong's gaze tightened slightly. He put his hands behind his back, gave a gesture to the rear, and continued to charge forward.

Seeing the gesture, everyone immediately understood and followed suit. The iron arrows shot from behind were all raised a bit, no longer aiming at the front of the Gnawing Rat pack.

And here, Xia Hong had already collided with the Gnawing Rats at the very front.

The ultra-long weapon in his hand could be identified as a knife from the end.

But as a knife, its blade was really too narrow, only an inch; at the same time, it was too long, 1.7 meters including the grip. If it weren't for the sharpened blade, it looked like a long stick from afar.

Compared with the big knives they used before.

Everyone felt that this knife was strange no matter how they looked at it.

However, Xia Hong, who was charging forward holding the knife with both hands, soon let everyone understand the terrifying power of the long knife in his hand.

The moment he was about to make physical contact with the first Gnawing Rat, Xia Hong's body suddenly accelerated. With both hands horizontal, the long knife went from right to left, accompanied by the body's forward charge, suddenly pulled obliquely, bringing out a sharp blade light.

The Gnawing Rat, poisoned by Teng Jiao mist, had its speed slowed down and its reaction slowed. Facing this suddenly accelerating blade light, it could only dodge in a sorry state.

Compared with other cold beasts, its body length was only one meter, so its flexibility was naturally higher. With a light leap, it dodged toward the flank.

Rip...

However, its body dodged it.

But the tail couldn't be taken back in time.

Not to mention Xia Hong's basic strength, the width of this blade light, which was a full 1.5 meters, far exceeded imagination. With one slash, it almost cut off the long tail of the Gnawing Rat without any suspense, and even cut off a large part of the back of its body together.

Pfft...

The Gnawing Rat, which lost its balance due to the broken tail, only struggled a few times on the ground before being pierced through the skull by Zhao Long from afar and pinned to the ground.

"Leader, what's the name of this knife? So powerful!"

Zhao Long, who supplemented the kill of the Gnawing Rat with an arrow, looked at the long knife again, his eyes full of surprise.

"Yi Dao (Ceremonial Knife)."

Xia Hong said the name of the weapon in his hand and didn't look back, continuing to rush toward a few other Gnawing Rats on the side. With both hands slashing in the air, the blade light brought out cut two or three Gnawing Rats along the way directly into two sections, and even more had their tails cut off.

Gnawing Rats have small bodies, long tails, flexible movements, and speeds far faster than other cold beasts. Using that heavy great axe naturally wasn't very suitable. Before helping Zhao Long and the three brothers forge those three ten-thousand-jin iron-fetal bows, Xia Hong had been thinking about what weapon he should use.

Big knives could be used, but against a Gnawing Rat pack, the advantage wasn't obvious.

Xia Hong thought for a long time and finally thought of the Yi Dao, one of the four systems of Tang Dao.

As the name suggests, Yi Dao appeared earliest. Because of its length and exquisiteness, it could highlight solemnity and prestige. For a long time, it was used as a ceremonial instrument for royalty or important occasions, and its practical significance wasn't great.

But during the Ming Dynasty, a famous general combined the Yi Dao with a long spear and researched a set of methods suitable for beheading generals and seizing flags on the battlefield, which made the Yi Dao have practical significance and carried forward this kind of weapon again.

Yi Dao is most suitable for charging formations, fighting few with many, and because its blade is long, the attack range is wide enough, which has a miraculous effect on speed-type enemies.

For dealing with cold beasts like Gnawing Rats that have long tails, are fast, and have large populations, Yi Dao is simply the best weapon.

These weren't just Xia Hong's guesses.

At this very moment, Xia Hong was using actions to prove how powerful the restraint of Yi Dao was on Gnawing Rats.

As time passed slowly, the Gnawing Rats were increasingly affected by Teng Jiao poisonous mist. Their speed became slower, and their reactions became duller.

Xia Hong's Yi Dao was almost invincible. He slashed all the way, and any Gnawing Rat he touched, even if its body wasn't cut open, its tail was cut off at least by a section. The most miserable ones even had their skulls directly shaved off.

Even if some were lucky enough to survive under Xia Hong's Yi Dao, they couldn't escape the subsequent arrow rain.

Xia Hong rushed up, and in less than ten minutes, the people around the big tree shot an average of four to five rounds, and the number of Gnawing Rat corpses on the ground increased by another

fifty or sixty.

Added to the first wave, the Gnawing Rat pack had at least died sixty or seventy, and even more than a hundred were seriously injured. This was almost a quarter of the number of the Gnawing Rat pack.

"I don't believe it, still can't kill you group of evil beasts!"

Although the intention was to drive them away, if there was really a chance to kill them all, how could Xia Hong easily let it go? After secretly saying this in his heart, seeing that the Gnawing Rat pack still didn't retreat, the fierce light on his face became even more intense. He turned his head and shouted to the crowd behind him:

"Continue to press forward, if they don't run, kill them all!"

Xia Hong's body charged even more fiercely, and the others surrounding the four big trees, after hearing his shout, also moved forward again and launched a new round of offensive.

The Yi Dao's cold light was rustling, and the iron arrows were like a storm.

The entire north slope of the mountain wall had only two kinds of sounds: one was the squeaking sound made by the Gnawing Rats, and the other was the sound of iron arrows galloping.

Moreover, it was very obvious that the sound of the former was getting smaller.

"Drilling through the ground, dream on!"

Xia Hong, who had just cut off the long tail of another Gnawing Rat, suddenly swept his peripheral vision to the flank and found three or four Gnawing Rats, opening their gnawing teeth, eating the ground crazily. Realizing that they wanted to drill through the ground, he immediately rushed toward them.

Swish... Swish... Swish...

Under the influence of Teng Jiao poisonous mist, the drilling speed of these Gnawing Rats was also not a little bit slower than before. Before Xia Hong could get there, three iron arrows broke through the air from the rear and pierced directly into the mouths of those few Gnawing Rats.

The powerful penetrating power of the iron arrows directly pierced their heads and came out from behind by a large half.

"Leader, retreating, the Gnawing Rat pack is retreating!"

Xia Hong, who had already engaged in close-quarters combat with the Gnawing Rats at the very front, couldn't notice the situation in the rear. Hearing Zhao Long's excited shout, he hurriedly stopped his movements, raised his head to look into the distance, and a look of joy immediately appeared on his face.

Sure enough, quite a few Gnawing Rats had already started to flee toward the west side, and the rest of the Gnawing Rats had also followed suit one after another.

Really afraid!

"Slow down first, give them time to go down!"

After several rounds of offensive, Xia Hong didn't need to look to know that everyone's arrows should only have ten left at most. The Gnawing Rat pack had started to retreat, and the hit rate of supplementary shooting was definitely not high, so he immediately ordered everyone to slow down.

On the other side, the Gnawing Rat pack, which had poured down from the west mountain wall in a huge crowd, thinking they could escape, had two iron arrows that were exactly the same as the ones on the north slope just now, carrying poison sacs, shot over.

The two Gnawing Rats at the front were directly pinned and flew away by the iron arrows, the poison sacs burst, and the white smoke that had gradually become sparse was replenished again.

"Kill!"

Xia Chuan's cold and crisp voice sounded. Having been ready for a long time, the other forty-eight people, who had long been unable to hold back, drew their bows and nocked arrows, and launched another round of storm-like arrow rain baptism at the Gnawing Rat pack that had just fled in a panic.

"Everyone continue to shoot and kill, don't let them come back, lean toward the south side, don't leave a path for them."

The panicked and messy Gnawing Rat pack, just turned their heads, wanting to return to the top of the mountain wall, when Xia Hong's cold and sharp voice came from the top of the slope.

Accompanied by his voice were dozens of iron arrows breaking through the air.

The west side of Red Wood Ridge was blocked, and the east side of the mountain wall was also sealed.

And Xia Hong also took everyone to gather toward the south.

The end of the Gnawing Rat pack seemed to have arrived.

Of course, they still had one way out, which was the north side.

"I want to see, this group of evil beasts, run or not!"

Xia Hong looked around at everyone, specifically checked the arrow quivers on everyone's backs, and found that most people still had seven or eight arrows left. His mind flickered slightly, and a bold thought popped up in his mind.

But looking at the Gnawing Rat pack, finding that about two-thirds were still left, he immediately dismissed all the thoughts that had just risen in his mind.

"Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, continue to accelerate, keep them all here!"

Xia Hong shouted to the crowd on the west side, and also gave the same order to the crowd behind him, while he himself, like before, rushed toward the Gnawing Rat pack below with great momentum.

The ultra-long Yi Dao showed its power again. As on the north slope, Xia Hong was like entering no man's land, constantly pressing the Gnawing Rats on the outermost edge of the east side inward, and killed six or seven in no time.

The Gnawing Rats on the periphery constantly retreated and squeezed inward, clearly afraid.

But Xia Hong, who saw such a situation, although his hands were energetic, his heart was beating more and more, and even his face, also implicitly became ugly.

"This group of beasts, kill not afraid? Actually still not running!"

Whether Gnawing Rats are afraid or not, Xia Hong doesn't know.

But in his heart, he was really a bit panicked!

Because he clearly felt that the arrows shot from behind him were getting fewer and fewer.

Zhao Long's wave of people's arrows were almost gone.

Of course, Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan's wave of people still had quite a few arrows.

But the current great situation was formed by pincer attacks from both sides.

Once the Gnawing Rat pack realized there were no arrows on the east side, the result might not be good.

No bows and arrows, Woodcutting Realm cultivators engaging in close-quarters combat with Gnawing Rats, even if they are poisoned by Teng Jiao mist and their strength is greatly reduced, that is still a dead end!

"Still not leaving!"

Xia Hong gritted his teeth and rushed forward, killed a few Gnawing Rats, and rushed a distance again.

Until he had almost rushed to a position ten-plus meters inside the Gnawing Rat pack, he saw from afar.

The Gnawing Rat pack at the very north side finally started to retreat.

"Phew..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 126 =====