Chapter 1440: The Delaying Tactic

"This isn't a question of being afraid or not, but rather that they have so many people, and we have so few; we cannot outlast them. Moreover, if they really are the Wulengebu, then they certainly have more than just this many people. We only have about three hundred people, and we want to wipe out one of their large tribes? That is purely dreaming."

"Things have already reached this point, and there is no room left for the relationship to ease. We cannot go to the Golden Autumn Gathering. If we force our way there, absolutely none of us will be able to reach it; we will all be killed. Therefore, for the sake of safety, we must retreat."

"We will try our best to focus on defense and strive to return to the Western Development Group. Once we reach the Western Development Group, we won't need to be afraid. At that time, even if only one of us makes it back alive, they will be able to bring the news to Huaxia."

"Brothers, Soldiers, what is most important now is to bring the situation here back to Huaxia. The message sent by carrier pigeon was too brief; it only let them know what happened here. Only if we all make it back alive can we let Huaxia know what happened here."

"These Wulengebu people are attacking us now; in the future, we will make them all become our Slaves to avenge this, understand?"

The Soldiers immediately understood the urgency and all loudly agreed. In truth, they also wanted to return; after all, if they could live, who would want to die?

In order to return as quickly as possible, they directly abandoned some useless items. For example, they poured the salt water directly onto the surrounding ground to free up transport capacity. Those oxen were used as mounts for the wounded. The Porcelain and Glass were smashed and thrown into the fire, and even the crates were burned along with them.

If these things were not brought to the gathering, they would have no value, and for Huaxia, they were not worth much either, so smashing, throwing away, and abandoning them did not make them feel heartache.

This abandoned salt might attract a large number of wild beasts. Likewise, after those Wulengebu people discover it, they might first leave a portion of their men behind to collect this salt here; after all, this is the most important material.

Although Huaxia also needs salt, they have Salted Fish. The Salted Fish they carry is enough for them to use as salt. As long as they can hold out until they return to the Western Development Group, it will not be a difficult task.

If they could use a little bit of salt to delay the enemy's movements, the Regimental Commander would naturally be very willing.

At night, no one dared to take off their armor, and they did not dare to sleep soundly. They rested in three shifts, and there were always people closely watching the surroundings. The oxen and dogs could also serve as a warning.

But fortunately, only some wild beasts came to drag away the corpses; no people came. After trembling through the night, nothing happened, and the Regimental Commander immediately called everyone to pack up their things and leave this place quickly.

On the Wulengebu side, because they had suffered heavy losses, they were a bit unable to understand why they had so many people yet failed to take down the other side, and why their own Soldiers, who were so fierce, were actually ineffective.

"Bosa! Why, with the protection of Yutu, did you not take them down, did you not defeat them!"

"Could it be that they are even more formidable than Yutu?"

A person with paint smeared on their body like the markings of an ordinary tiger felt a bit embarrassed by the Tribal Chief's questioning: "Tribal Chief, the Soldiers were fierce enough, it's just that their Knives and axes are sharper than ours. Their clothing is like it's made of stone; you can't cut into it, and even if you strike it, it won't bleed. It really was impossible."

The Tribal Chief did not go personally; he just felt that such a situation was very unreasonable. How could anyone be like stone?

"Bosa, I believe you, but don't lie to me. If you take them down, I will reward you with one of their oxen. Other wealth will also be given to you in the greatest amount, understand?"

Hearing about the reward, Bosa immediately perked up: "No problem, Tribal Chief! I will definitely plunder this small tribe! They are still a cannibal tribe; no matter how far they run, I will kill them all!"

"It is night now, let the Soldiers have a good rest, and tomorrow we will track them down. We must kill this cannibal tribe!"

Huaxia had already traveled a long way along the path they came from. The wounded were carried by their comrades, and because the road was not easy for the oxen to ride on now, they could only let the oxen carry the equipment.

They were relatively familiar with these roads and traveled quite quickly. Behind them, they also did not hear any sounds of pursuit for the time being.

In order to be informed of the situation in time, dozens of Soldiers finally detached from the main group. They did not walk on the path that had already been trodden, but walked in more secluded positions, constantly observing the situation behind them. If they discovered the enemy catching up, they would have to be prepared to sacrifice their lives, blow the Whistle, and let the main force in front prepare.

If they all traveled together, it would be difficult to notice the situation behind them, and if they were ambushed, it would be hard to discover. Appropriate risk-taking was necessary.

The Wulengebu arrived late. By the time they arrived, Huaxia had already left. Huaxia had not eaten the corpses of their tribesmen, but they had been torn to shreds by wild beasts. However, in the eyes of these people, this was Huaxia eating them—tearing off parts of their tribesmen's bodies and roasting them to eat. This was absolutely unbearable.

The wild beasts that came to eat the meat were all driven away or killed by them. The camp did not have the figures of Huaxia, which made them a bit angry, but the snow-white particles scattered on the ground caught their attention.

A savage directly used his hand to pick up a little, and after putting it into his mouth, he shouted excitedly: "Bosa! It's salt! It's salt!"

That Leader also tasted it in disbelief; it really was salt! Even though it was covered in dirt and had a very obvious earthy smell, it was much better than the alkali salt they ate. There was actually so much salt on the ground here! This was completely a windfall from Heaven!

"Pick it up quickly! Pick all this salt clean, pick it all up!"

Without needing to be told, everyone had already started picking. Everyone knew the importance of salt, and while picking, they were also stuffing it into their own mouths. Once this salt was all picked up, there wouldn't be much chance for them to get their hands on it; it would definitely all be divided by the Tribal Chief and the Leaders. What they stuffed into their mouths now was their own, even if it was stuffed in along with the dirt.

As for picking up the salt, it was actually just scooping it up along with the dirt and then putting it into bags. How to clean it up in the end was not their business; anyway, only by picking it up along with the dirt could it be collected, otherwise how could it be picked up grain by grain?