Chapter 33: Hollow?

The group, alert, spread out to look around; the surroundings were just as before, very quiet, and they noticed nothing unusual.

Qian Feng's puzzled gaze fell on Li Bucai.

"A few dark shadows leapt over our heads," Li Bucai said, glancing at Wu Zhuoran and the others; from their expressions, it seemed no one had noticed.

"Big brother, you're joking. The few people in Sand Spring could silently fly over our heads without anyone noticing, even I didn't see them, and together they wouldn't even be five? Wei Zidan is in the tent flirting with that pretty girl, and aside from them, who else could have several shadows leaping over our heads?"

"Perhaps it's an illusion," Li Bucai could only say, but he had clearly seen five or six dark shadows leap over heads just now, and he was sure it wasn't an illusion.

The group continued forward, and Li Bucai had to press on, hurrying to catch up…

In front of the cave entrance, four white soldier ants were positioned on either side; the two auras on their antennae showed they were Level 2, and their size was a notch larger than those encountered during the day, clearly elite soldier ants.

The group hid behind the rubble; Li Bucai's men were on the left side of the path, and Qian Feng's men on the right.

Qian Feng made a downward gesture to Li Bucai, indicating the ambush was set. Then he said to Mu Nan, "Ready? In a moment we'll have the archer lure them over, and first take out the four gate guards."

Mu Nan nodded.

Qian Feng called out, "Archer ready, fire… wait."

Seeing Li Bucai already charging forward, Fang Ling'er and Xianghong followed closely behind. Behind them, Wu Zhuoran flipped onto a large rock, drew a bow, and let a raptor feather fly, striking the rear of a soldier ant with precision, causing it to collapse. The other three soldier ants sensed something amiss, turned around, but Li Bucai was already in front; with a Qinglong Tail Sweep, the three ants were caught off guard, a massive spear blossom struck their legs, sweeping them all to the ground. Li Bucai then drew his bronze sword, slashed each of them, and cleanly dispatched the three soldier ants.

"Watch out!"

When Qian Feng shouted to stop, the archer's arrows had already left the bow, three arrows flying toward the backs of Xianghong and the others, about to hit. At that moment, hearing Qian Feng's voice, they turned to block; Li Bucai had already leapt behind the two, executing a Swinging Sword Form, lightly deflecting the three feathered arrows, standing steady, sheathing his sword, and said, "We came to attack, not to set an ambush; you can come out now."

"Big brother, aren't you being a bit too aggressive? I wasn't prepared, almost hurt our own people."

"You'll get used to it gradually," Li Bucai replied. Five maidens rushed to the rear, leading everyone into the cave, and Qian Feng followed shortly after.

The cave interior was pitch black, nothing could be seen clearly.

"Big brother, we can't see anything here. We're in the light while they're in the dark; maybe we should wait until sunrise tomorrow."

Li Bucai smiled, "Big brother, the cave doesn't have a sun; coming in daylight will let us see, right?"

Xianghong glanced at him and said, "Since we're here to attack, why not light the torch and advance in broad daylight."

"Fine, let's make a bold, open attack, light it," Li Bucai said to Qian Feng with a smile. "What about you? Do you want to attack with us, or come back tomorrow, or stay here as a substitute for us?"

He was after the Magic Crystal, so serving as a substitute would probably net him no benefit; he replied, "Alright, light it."

The group immediately lit the torch; the cave instantly became brightly illuminated, only fading to darkness after a few dozen meters, revealing a very deep cave.

The group found it odd; when they had just taken down the gate guards, the noise was loud, yet for a long while no reinforcements emerged from the cave.

Qian Feng thought to himself: It's probably not as expected inside, hiding countless ant soldiers. If there were only a hundred or eighty, the cave couldn't accommodate them; with my Level 5 Vajra Mantra I could hold them off. The Magic Crystal is so rare, and Li Bucai is so fierce that even his maidens' morale has surged, making it unlikely I'd even get a single hair if he stays at the front.

"Big brother, look… our two detachments aren't coordinated yet; we almost injured your men just now. What do you think… could we split our two detachments into separate routes, one as vanguard, one as central army commander? I have more men; how about I take the commander role?"

Li Bucai gladly said, "Sure."

Qian Feng was startled, thinking, "Damn, you're too selfless; I wanted you to stay at the rear."

At that moment, Wu Zhuoran said impatiently, "My lord's talent surpasses yours a hundredfold; how could I be your vanguard? If I were to serve, I should be your marshal."

From Li Bucai's perspective, Qian Feng, though occasionally clever, had a good heart, and saying that in front of his subordinates was a bit harsh, so he hurried, "Eh? Zhuoran, how can you say that? Sir Qian is my friend; I know his abilities. Can a mere marshal not bear the responsibility? Quickly apologize to Sir Qian."

Wu Zhuoran could only bow reluctantly and say, "Zhuoran was momentarily rude; please, sir, do not mind."

This was an excellent opportunity, Qian Feng quickly said, "You, your lord, understand me best. You're his servant, so of course you speak for him; no need to apologize." He then turned to Li Bucai, "You and I are both commanders; everyone knows that. Yet the world has too many who judge by appearance. You are a tad more handsome than I am, so you have more of a marshal aura. If I were marshal, even the beauties would be out of my reach. Ah, all talk and no handsome face. Fine, you take the central army, I'll be the vanguard, and you won't snatch this from me again."

"This…"

"Our master…" Mu Nan tried to speak for him.

Qian Feng suddenly glared, shouting, "Stay still, you beauty, I can't control you any longer." Mu Nan's face turned ashen; then he turned to Li Bucai with a forced smile, "I'm new, don't know the rules, sorry. It's settled: you take the central army, I take the vanguard. Watch me; I'll guarantee to carve a bloody path for you, and you just clean up the battlefield behind me."

With a wave of his hand, he led a dozen or so servants deeper into the cave.

Li Bucai didn't vie for credit; after they had gone a short distance, he followed behind, staying within sight at all times for safety.

After about two hundred meters, the path curved; after another bend, there was a fork. Because Qian Feng disappeared from view around the turn, by the time they reached the fork his men were gone.

"Qian Feng! Qian Feng!" Li Bucai shouted twice from his spot.

"I'm here, everything's fine. The cave entrance is too narrow, so we split routes; I'm in the left tunnel."

Thus the two groups walked separately, traveling far, without seeing even a trace of the ant tribe inside.

Wu Zhuoran said, "We've walked this far and still see no ants; could this be a hollow?"

"If it's a hollow, there's no reason to station a few guards," he thought. Could those dark shadows just now be the ones? Yet the guards were unharmed; if the shadows had rushed in first, how did they bypass the guards unnoticed? Or perhaps the guards were actually those dark shadows, and those shadows were their leaders? …