Chapter 1441: The Path of Retreat

After they finished collecting all the salt within sight that they could clearly see, they realized it was already nearly noon. In order to pick the salt clean, so many of them had actually wasted so much time, and one by one, their mouths were covered in dirt, and the insides of their mouths were about to be plastered with mud.

Bosa suddenly felt something was wrong: "Oh no! We let them get away! Stop picking up salt for now, let's hurry and chase them! Since they could leave so much salt here, the salt they are carrying on them must be even more!"

Once everyone heard this, they realized it was indeed the truth. They had even been picking up the salt grain by grain at the end, fearing they would abandon this precious salt, but they had forgotten that it was impossible for this much salt to appear here out of thin air. It was definitely dropped by the people of that cannibal tribe, specifically to make them stay here and pick up salt.

This cannibal tribe was truly wealthy. Not only did they have so many good Weapons, so many cattle, but they even had so much salt that they could just throw some away. Now, there was arguably one more reason to hunt them down.

Thus, Bosa immediately set off again, leading the Soldiers to begin a rapid pursuit. The direction of the escape was very obvious; there was only one path that had traces of people having walked on it.

Everyone was a very experienced hunter. Even the tracks of a single person could be discovered under their careful investigation, let alone such a large-scale tribe. How could they possibly cover up the traces of their escape? Thus, without any hesitation, they pursued in the correct direction.

At this moment, what those Soldiers wanted to do most was to quickly drink water and rinse their mouths to wash the mud out. Although they were not fastidious at all and would eat dirt for the sake of salt, that did not mean they liked having mud in their mouths; the taste of mud was not very good.

Huaxia's speed was fast, and the route was relatively familiar. Because there were Soldiers bringing up the rear and they had not heard any danger signals, everyone's hearts relaxed a little, and they were not as anxious as they were at the beginning.

Seeing that it was already noon, the Regimental Commander noted that the long-term habit of regular eating had left everyone feeling a bit hungry, and their bodies were gradually becoming exhausted.

In order to keep everyone in the best condition, the Regimental Commander immediately announced that the whole group would rest on the spot for one and a half quarters of an hour to quickly eat, drink water, put down the heavy loads on their shoulders, and take a rest.

Then, those who needed to rotate would rotate, and they should be quick. It would be even better if they could wait for the Soldiers bringing up the rear to arrive, so they could rotate them as well.

The method to determine the time was very simple: draw a circle on the ground, then keep dividing it equally, and finally stick a stick in the middle. Although they could not determine the exact time, they could determine how much time had passed based on the speed of the sun's movement and the movement of the shadow. If it was said to be one and a half quarters, then it was one and a half quarters, not a moment more. If there was an emergency, they would set off immediately.

Everyone took out the Dry Rations from their pockets. These Dry Rations were compressed biscuits made with roasted flour, shredded meat, and some dried vegetables, added with some cooked oil and a relatively large amount of salt, then pressed together under high pressure. They were very dry and very hard, and the taste was not good, but eating a small piece could provide enough energy to sustain their activities.

The demand for this kind of compressed biscuit in Huaxia was still very high because many people, whether Soldiers or hunters, might need to be in the wild for several days. Other Dry Rations they carried might taste better, such as unleavened flatbread, but they were relatively easy to mold in the summer and could not be eaten after just two or three days.

Bringing raw rice and such was of course better, but there would always be special situations where you had no way to cook or no time to cook, so this kind of compressed biscuit was the most appropriate and safest. One piece could at least keep you from starving for a few days and ensure you had sufficient physical strength for an entire day.

The situation of this team now was that they needed to eat quickly, so starting a fire to cook was already impossible. Thus, they could only bite it hard with their teeth, bite off a piece, put it in their mouths, and then drink water, using the water to soften it so it was easier to swallow.

Or they could take out a bowl, soak the whole piece in water, wait for it to dissolve, and drink it all at once like porridge. Anything would do, as long as the food got into their stomachs.

"A quarter of an hour has already passed! There is half a quarter of an hour left, hurry up and eat, hurry up and rest!" The Regimental Commander stared at the stick on the ground and shouted at the team.

The cattle were also racing against time to graze on the tender Grass on the ground, and there were Soldiers who cut branches for them so they could eat some leaves. Cattle could not eat while walking, nor could they ruminate. Although the cattle were strong, their endurance was too poor compared to humans. After escaping for a period of time like this, these cattle would likely suffer physical injuries and would need to go back and rest well.

Near the campsite for tonight, there was a water source that was just right for them to replenish their water storage and for the cattle to drink. Fortunately, there was a lot of rainfall at this time, and there were relatively many water sources, large and small. If the climate were the same as in later generations, these cattle would probably be dehydrated within a few days, as it would be difficult to find so many water sources.

One of the benefits of being familiar with the route was that there were stable water sources to use; otherwise, neither the people nor the cattle could stand it.

When the time was almost up, there was a sound from the hillside above, and everyone was immediately on alert. Fortunately, the person arriving spoke up: "It's us! It's us!"

It turned out to be the people bringing up the rear. Everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and the Regimental Commander stepped forward to greet them: "How is it? Is there any situation behind?"

"Regimental Commander, we even specifically observed from a high point for quite a while. On the road we came from, we didn't find anyone. I think they were probably attracted by our salt and didn't chase after us that quickly. At the very least, they were delayed by three hours."

The Regimental Commander's tense heart finally relaxed, and he patted the lead Soldier on the shoulder: "Well done. Now, you few, hurry up and eat, then follow the team. We will rotate you."

The few did not argue, immediately sat down on the spot, and then took out food to eat.

"I'll give you another quarter of an hour. You aren't carrying equipment, so your speed is fast. Just follow behind us and catch up as soon as possible. The rest time for the others is over. I am taking everyone to set off now, understand?"

"Yes! Regimental Commander! We will definitely catch up as soon as possible."

The Regimental Commander put his large pack on his back and then shouted to the crowd: "Rest time is over! Pack up your equipment, prepare to set off!"

"Diyiqipaisiban and the Eighth Squad, you two squads, leave your equipment behind and take over the rear-guard mission!"