Chapter 494: The Attack of the Tiger-headed Eagle, the Scout in the Darkness

The two of them, aided by the faint starlight and the light of a rising moon at the top of the hill, could barely make out the surrounding situation. Afterward, they walked down one side of the hill, relying on Priest Bata'er's knowledge of the area around Changmai Cunzi to keep their footsteps as quiet as possible, heading straight toward the small Shulin on one side of the Cunzi.

This small Shulin was not only the closest to them but also the closest to the dirt road on the north side of Changmai Cunzi that led to Lanse-Qingting Cunzi. If Jier were the person in charge of the defeated soldiers at Changmai Cunzi, he would certainly have set up a Scout post here that was manned at all times.

This way, as long as someone came south from the dirt road on the north side of the Cunzi toward Changmai Cunzi, they would be discovered by the people in the Shulin. As for how to quickly notify the others in Changmai Cunzi, striking a piece of metal that could emit a loud sound, lighting a prepared brazier to let damp firewood produce thick smoke, firing a signal Arrow, or even raising small animals that could deliver messages were all faster than the walking speed of an average troop.

"If we just walk over like this, won't we be discovered?" Priest Bata'er whispered to Jier the Warrior, who was walking in front.

Jier had better night vision, so even though Priest Bata'er was more familiar with the surroundings, he still led the way. Hearing the Priest's words, Jier also whispered in response: "No problem. Before the second moon rises, this is the darkest time of the night. Besides, it doesn't matter if we lower our voices; listen, the night around us is so lively! As long as we don't speak loudly or move in a large group, the hidden Scout post shouldn't be able to discover us."

Jier was right; the surroundings were truly lively. Even though there had been no rain all spring, the grass and trees still grew, and the various animals that lived off them were living wantonly in the recent absence of human interference.

Various field mice crawled out from the soil, sniffing around as they headed toward the farmland of Changmai Cunzi. Although Changmai Cunzi had not yet begun much farming this year before being interrupted by the attack of the Defeated Soldier, there were always wheat seeds from last year left in the fields. Without human interference, these wheat plants grew with difficulty, becoming delicious food for many small animals.

Wild rabbits also rustled out of their burrows, braving danger to go out and look for their favorite grass stems and leaves. They carefully pricked up their long ears, keeping an eye on every movement around them. Foxes, badgers, various Poisonous Snakes, and even nocturnal birds of prey were all enemies to their survival.

In the Shulin ahead, various nocturnal birds called frequently and flapped their wings, and bats the size of palms flew constantly in the sky, preying on various mosquitoes and insects to fill their stomachs.

It was a scene of vibrant nocturnal life.

Just as the two were about to reach the small Shulin where the villagers usually picked up firewood, Jier suddenly felt a sense of crisis. His scalp tingled, and he suddenly realized he could die at any moment.

Therefore, Jier immediately turned around, grabbed Priest Bata'er, and the two leaped to the side, quickly throwing themselves to the ground.

A faint sound of flapping wings came from the place where Jier had just been standing. It seemed that a huge thing, the size of a horse, had swept low over the weeds and shrubs, its claws snapping off a few withered and drooping wild flowers near the ground.

"How..." The Priest was just about to ask loudly what had happened when his mouth was covered by Jier's hand. Jier half-crouched, looking around with extreme vigilance, trying to see something in the night sky.

But he could see nothing, though there was no doubt that a huge and mysterious thing had just swept past him.

"Don't make a sound, Priest, it's a Tiger-headed Eagle! We two were walking in the open night without a Torch, humph, we finally ran into this monster-like bird of prey after all," Jier whispered.

"No wonder the Mao Maos have been so well-behaved these past two nights, not going out to catch small animals to eat, but eating our human food instead."

Priest Bata'er was still shaken. He had lived in Changmai Cunzi for many years, but this was the first time he had been attacked by a Tiger-headed Eagle. He hadn't even known before that Changmai Cunzi was within the hunting range of a Tiger-headed Eagle.

Since the Cunzi was founded, there had never been an incident of a Tiger-headed Eagle attack. It wasn't that those birds of prey didn't eat people, but rather, who among the Villagers would go out of the Cunzi at night for no reason? And who would go out at night without carrying a Torch?

"Will it come back? Is it safe now?" the Priest asked in a low voice.

Jier told the truth: "Not sure, but for safety, let's hurry toward the Shulin; it will be safe once we reach the Shulin."

After saying this, Jier pulled the Priest's arm, exerted force with his legs, and moved quickly forward, left and right, in a mix of running and jumping.

In the three-hundred-meter distance from where they were attacked to the Shulin, Jier dodged at least two more attacks.

Being pulled by the arm and moved quickly by Jier like this, Priest Bata'er's arm felt like it was about to be torn off, but he could see nothing and hear nothing. Furthermore, to avoid being discovered by the enemy Scout post that was likely in the Shulin, the Priest didn't even dare to gasp in surprise.

But fortunately, Jier ran very fast; even while carrying a person, his speed was faster than a horse.

When they approached the edge of the Shulin, the feeling of danger from behind finally disappeared.

The Tiger-headed Eagle, which was larger than a horse and had an estimated wingspan of over ten meters, was not suited for flying in the Shulin. Even though their feathers, hard as iron, were not afraid of hitting branches and trunks, a successful bird of prey like the Tiger-headed Eagle did not like to have its groomed feathers messed up by branches.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, that thing, did it not follow us?" The Priest leaned against the trunk of a small tree, panting in a low voice, and asked Jier.

Jier was also standing next to a small tree trunk nearby. He looked at the sky outside the Shulin, but he could see almost nothing. He could only vaguely see some of the original positions of the stars in the night sky suddenly replaced by blackness, and this existence that blocked the starlight was moving rapidly in the night, without making a single sound or stir.

"What a successful hunter," Jier exclaimed.

The Priest felt much better now. After standing up, he complained in a low voice: "In the future, I will strictly warn the Villagers not to go out of the Cunzi alone at night without a Torch. Because one might be attacked like this for no reason and then disappear."

Jier gave a firm "um": "The most troublesome thing is that once you light a Torch or something for illumination, they won't come near and launch an attack. But without one, unless you are an experienced Warrior, it is very difficult to survive their attacks."

"Let's not talk about this. We have entered the Shulin now; don't speak again. I'll go first, you follow. Let's carefully follow the edge of the Shulin along the dirt road to find the enemy stationed here on guard."

The Priest gave a low "um." He knew that Jier the Warrior had sharp ears, so he didn't need to make much sound for Jier the Warrior to hear him.

Jier took out the Soldier Bow he had captured earlier from behind his back, grabbed three Arrows with his right hand, and moved carefully along the edge of the Shulin. Priest Bata'er followed behind him, muttering a Prayer under his breath, and then a faint Cyan Divine Power flowed over his shoulders and arms. The hidden injury he had sustained from being dragged by his arm by Jier was simply healed.

The Priest had also been taught by Jier before how to move in the Shulin without making a sound. The key was for the ball of the foot to land first, and then, as the ball of the foot landed, it should slide forward to make room for the heel to land behind it.

This way, the foot wouldn't snap dry branches or crush dead leaves to make a sound when it landed.

Moving this way was not easy, but the sound was very small. Coupled with the nocturnal activities of various birds in the Shulin, the sound of the two moving was basically masked.

Because Jier had dealt with the Scout team of the Defeated Soldier in the Shulin outside Lanse-Qingting Cunzi before, he paid special attention to the high parts of the bushes near the edge of the Shulin, because the enemy would most likely climb into the trees, relying on the leaves at high places to conceal their position. And because they were in the trees, even if someone approached, they wouldn't discover the Scout post in the tree at the first moment.

After walking for a while, Jier did not find the enemy. Just as he and the Priest were becoming a bit restless, Jier's left leg, which was reaching forward, suddenly pushed aside a thin rope that was stretched across the height of a human calf.

'Damn it!' Jier cursed inwardly, but it was already too late.

The thin rope was pushed by Jier's leg, immediately triggering a Stone connected to it to fall from a branch.

Thud!

A Stone the size of a fist hit the ground. The sound was very clear and obvious.

Jier immediately turned around, handed the bow and Arrow from his left hand to his right, and then pressed his left hand on the Priest's shoulder, signaling him not to move with a gesture.

Afterward, Jier moved his left leg slightly on the ground to stir the dead branches and leaves. The movement was not big, but not small either, just as if a small animal were wandering here.

On the edge of the pitch-black Shulin, in an environment that was noisy but only had the movements of birds, the two of them stood motionless. Time passed second by second. Jier even used his left foot to bump against a small tree nearby, just as if a small animal were trying to climb the small tree.

"What is it, it's just an animal. Scared me..."

A complaining voice sounded abruptly from a tree in front. When this voice sounded, Priest Bata'er didn't even realize that the enemy was not on the ground in front, but in the tree!

It was a good thing he had nervously gripped the Agricultural God Wooden Statue in his hand just now, vaguely aiming it at the ground in front.

The hand on the Priest's shoulder patted him three times gently and then retracted. Vaguely, Priest Bata'er noticed that Jier the Warrior in front seemed to have drawn his bow and Arrow, because he heard the sound of the Bowstring being tightened.

After three breaths, the sound of the bow and Arrow breaking through the air sounded instantly—not once, but three times in rapid succession.

Swish, swish, swish—

Thud!

Whew—

Puchi!

"Ah~?" It seemed the third Arrow had hit the enemy in the tree.

The next moment, before the enemy in the tree could do anything other than let out a cry of pain, Jier exerted force and jumped forward. In the process of jumping, he reached behind his waist with his backhand and, with a *clang*, drew a Steel Longsword.

After landing, Jier jumped upward again, waving the Longsword to hack away the branches blocking his path. After hacking several times, he cut an enemy in the tree into two pieces.

The Priest also took a quick step forward on the ground, but when he arrived under the tree, all that fell from above were severed limbs and a large amount of blood.

"Warrior! Did you kill the enemy?" Priest Bata'er asked immediately.

But Jier's reply made his heart tighten: "Be careful, the enemy sentries are configured in pairs! There is still one more!"

But until Jier landed while carrying the severed corpse and looked around nervously for a while, the second sentry he spoke of did not appear.

Jier felt a bit embarrassed and also somewhat nervous: "There might be some mistake, but previously the enemies were configured in groups of two."

Priest Bata'er was also very nervous; he raised the Agricultural God Wooden Statue in his hand and swayed it left and right with himself as the center, but he did not fire a Divine Power Impact.

Because that so-called "second person" never appeared.

The two of them waited motionlessly like this for quite a while, and only then could they finally confirm that there was truly only one person responsible for keeping watch.

"Phew, looks like I was mistaken." Jier dropped the half-corpse in his left hand, pulled a piece of fine cloth from his waist, and carefully wiped the Long Sword in his hand in the dark.

Priest Bata'er no longer used his Divine Power for a Divine Power Impact, but instead gathered it onto the wooden statue in his hand, letting it emit a faint cyan glow of the Agricultural God's Divine Power.

With this meager illumination, the two of them gathered the corpse and stripped off the weapons and equipment on the corpse.

Jier inspected it; there were not many Metal Armor Plates on the enemy, so it seemed their status in the troop was not high. The weapons were three steel-headed, wooden-shafted Short Throwing Spears, along with a combination of a Short Sword and a Small Round Shield.

The enemy was wrapped up very tightly from head to toe; in this hot weather, being wrapped up so tightly made Jier admire this person's lack of fear of heat.

But after taking off the enemy's hat, he discovered that the enemy's hair was not dampened by sweat, which made Jier somewhat concerned, but the lighting was poor now, and Jier could not examine it carefully, so he had to let it go for the time being.

Subsequently, Jier also found a small birdcage covered with cloth on the enemy's belt.

But after lifting the cloth on the outside, he discovered that what was inside was not a bird, but a Giant Locust the size of an adult's palm.

This thing would kick its legs from time to time in the cage, wave its antennae, and then move its mouth to eat a piece of carrot fixed inside, eating with great relish.

"This... could it be that those Defeated Soldiers rely on this kind of Giant Locust to communicate?"

Jier was very surprised, but after looking closely, there was indeed a small pocket artificially attached to the abdomen of this Giant Locust, which seemed capable of holding a rolled-up piece of paper or something similar.

Jier re-examined the enemy corpse that had been cut in two by a sword, and then discovered a Charcoal Pencil and several small pieces of rough paper on the inside of the enemy's left forearm.

Several types of symbols and marks had already been drawn on the paper with the Charcoal Pencil, and one last blank sheet was left, presumably prepared for writing something temporarily.

"These should be the secret codes they agreed upon beforehand within the army." Jier and the Priest crouched together, checking these communication codes by the faint light emitted by the Agricultural God statue.

"This one is a sword; it should mean that an enemy is approaching, get ready for battle," Priest Bata'er judged while pointing at a code.

Jier nodded: "That's right, and this one, a bunch of little people, presumably means that there are many enemies, they are no match, and they need to retreat."

"Then what about this one? A triangle?" Priest Bata'er asked, pointing at the third symbol mark.

Jier thought for a moment and concluded that this was a shield.

"A shield, does it mean to defend? The enemy has come, but the number is not small enough to be easily crushed, nor is it too large to require a retreat, but rather to enter a defensive posture and fight to win?"

Jier began to speculate.

Priest Bata'er felt that Warrior Jier's guess was probably correct, because the situations the enemy sentries needed to judge were roughly these three: those they could fight, those they could not fight, and those they could only fight if they defended.

"But I still don't understand why the enemy keeps occupying Changmai Cunzi? Didn't they take all the Villagers away to dig mines?" Jier scratched his head, unable to understand. If it were him, after capturing the people, he would naturally shrink back into the Shulin so that potential enemies outside would never find him. He wouldn't even send people to harass Blue Dragonfly Cunzi, but would instead consolidate his strength. If he really needed more people to dig mines, he wouldn't be making small disturbances to harass other villages.

Instead, he would directly send troops to attack other villages again and concentrate his strength to use them.

Regarding Jier's question, Priest Bata'er shook his head: "Warrior Jier, you have completely failed to consider one thing."

"What thing?"

"That is the food storage of Changmai Cunzi, specifically how much there is. Without freight wagons to transport it, relying solely on humans carrying supplies themselves, how much food do you think those soldiers, plus the captured Villagers, can carry away at one time? How long will this food last for everyone to eat? Mining and reclaiming farmland are both heavy physical labor; without eating meat, just eating grain, a normal person eats quite a lot in one meal."

The Priest gestured: "Just a wheat cake this big, one person has to eat four at a time."

Only then did Jier understand why the enemy still had to send people to guard Changmai Cunzi after capturing the Villagers. It turned out that there was too much food in Changmai Cunzi, and their transport capacity was too low; it was impossible to transport it all at once. They needed to control the Cunzi for a long time so they could provide a steady stream of food to the people at the mine.

After the two finished discussing this, they moved the enemy corpse to the open space outside the Shulin. Of course, the corpse and the weapons and equipment on the corpse were placed separately to guard against animals destroying or stealing the weapons and equipment.

As for the enemy's corpse, it didn't matter; it didn't matter if it was destroyed or eaten by wild animals.

Anyway, it was deserved that these guys ended up with this fate.

Next, Jier and the Priest continued to search this Shulin to see if there was a second Shulin sentry set up by the enemy.

But the good news was no; in the entire Shulin, the enemy had only set up one sentry.

"Really careless; if it were me, I would definitely have set up several more groups of people," Jier shook his head and said disdainfully.

The Priest reluctantly tried to put himself in the enemy's position to think: "But staying in the Shulin alone is a bitter chore, right? Setting up one person for this kind of work is probably already making people dissatisfied. If they set up a few more, the enemies left here would probably start fighting among themselves first. After all, whether anyone will come to seek fairness and justice for the people of Changmai Cunzi is also a hard thing to say. Sigh."

Jier patted the Priest's shoulder, and the two discussed the direction to take next.

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