Chapter 1442: Poisoning

"Now, move out!"

Everyone stood up and, without a word, shouldered their gear. As for the equipment that the two Squads remaining behind were to leave, others went to carry it; once these two Squads currently resting caught up, it would be handed over to them to carry again.

Not a single person spoke any unnecessary words; they simply shouldered their packs and moved out immediately. Those who were still eating did not even spare a glance, racing against time to rest while eating their own food.

The two Squads that needed to stay behind also immediately headed toward higher ground. Only on high ground was the field of vision good, allowing them to discover enemy movements in time. They would linger in this vicinity for now, and only when this last group finished eating and set off to catch up with the main force would they continue forward.

It was precisely because they had relatively longer rest periods that they could better traverse the mountain forests, and if they encountered enemy movements, they could run back faster to report.

The Wulengge Tribe was somewhat different; their ranks lacked much organizational discipline. To call them undisciplined would be an overstatement. Their marching speed was not slow, and knowing that Huaxia had so much salt, they were anxious in their hearts, thinking only of running, running, so they could rush over and snatch the goods.

It was just that their food supply was insufficient, and they had no unified meal times, so their endurance was entirely trained through starvation. Although they could still run, their combat effectiveness had dropped significantly.

They had pursued for a long, long time and indeed saw traces of Huaxia along the way, but they could not see a single shadow of a person. Being strung along like this made them extremely miserable.

The autumn noon was very hot, not much better than summer. Even in the forest, with trees blocking the sunlight, it was still somewhat hot. Coupled with the fact that they had been walking for so long, their bodies were already very tired, and they did not have much to store water, so they could only drink when they saw it on the road, leading to them being both thirsty and hungry now.

"Bosa! Let's rest a while; everyone can't take it anymore." Finally, a Soldier could not help but speak up.

Bosa's brows were tightly furrowed, and his mood was somewhat displeased. As the person in the entire tribe with status second only to the Tribal Chief, and the priest who played the tiger during every sacrifice, the resources he could obtain were certainly not on the same level as these ordinary people.

He had eaten his fill yesterday, and in the morning, he had eaten a roasted bird. He was not short of things to drink, using a water bag made of some animal bladder with cowhide sewn on the outside. Although the taste was not very good, he could ensure he had water to drink at any time; the gap between him and the ordinary Soldiers was truly vast.

His physical strength was still fine for now, but seeing everyone like this, he could not force them anymore. He could only let everyone rest for a while, then continue following the traces of Huaxia, and he did not forget to dangle a carrot before them: "Water follows them; we will definitely be able to find it. With so many of them, they must also need to drink water."

"Don't worry about food. They have so much salt, are you afraid they don't have food on them? Once we defeat them, I'll kill a cow for you all to eat! I'll make sure you all get to eat your fill!"

Although everyone knew Bosa was dangling a carrot, they could only force themselves to believe it now. After all, they were already starving to the point of being unable to bear it; if they didn't give themselves a little hope, how could they keep going?

The distance between the Wulengge Tribe and Huaxia grew further and further. The Soldiers bringing up the rear could no longer see the shadow of the Wulengge Tribe, and some even had the illusion that they were no longer pursuing. But this kind of thinking was definitely unacceptable; they had to prepare for the worst.

Upon reaching the next water source, they were very close to the Huaxia camp. Because the situation was safe, the Regimental Commander let everyone rest on the spot to replenish water and let the cattle drink until they were full.

Because the area of the water pool was very small, this was only the result of them clearing out the spring eye every time they passed by. Otherwise, the water volume of this small pool would be empty just from everyone filling a gourd, let alone feeding the cattle.

Yesterday, after they took the water, they cleared out the spring eye, so today the water volume was plentiful, the stored water was sufficient, and it was also very clear, enough for them to use.

After the water was taken and the cattle had finished drinking, only a little remained at the bottom of the small pool. The Regimental Commander, who was originally preparing to leave, suddenly had a vicious idea. He called over the Military Doctor: "Tell me, aren't there many plants that are poisonous if eaten? If those plants were put into this water, would the water become poisonous?"

The Military Doctor was greatly shocked. This was poisoning; Huaxia strictly prohibited it. Moreover, they had to use this pool themselves; what would they do in the future? So the Military Doctor shook his head nervously: "Regimental Commander, although it's possible, if we put poison in, what will we eat? Are we not going to eat anymore?"

The Regimental Commander said in a dilemma: "There are pursuers behind us now, and they must be short of water too. If they pursue us, they will need to replenish water, right? If they drink the poisoned water, not to mention making them die, even if it just causes other problems to hinder them, that would be fine."

"This pool, when we use it next time, we can just clear it out again, and it should be fine, right?"

"This... Regimental Commander, what you say also makes sense, but if we put in the poison, we won't be able to use this water in the short term."

The Regimental Commander excitedly pressed the Military Doctor's shoulder: "Good! Then it's up to you. See what kind of plants you have here and put them all in."

The Military Doctor hurriedly shook his head: "No, the plants I have here won't have an effect. To poison so many people, and in such a large pool, we would need quite potent poison, and a relatively large amount at that."

"But, where would we find that?"

The Military Doctor searched around and soon dug out a plant from a pile of Grass: "This one is poisonous. Have everyone find more, then break it—never mind, find a rock, smash it into juice, and pour it in. Don't let it touch your hands; it's like milk, but it's poisonous."

The Military Doctor turned elsewhere and pulled up a handful of Grass: "This one, this one is also poisonous. Anyway, any Grass that can't be eaten is basically poisonous. As long as we find a bit more and put it all in, even if the pool fills up again in a while, we don't have to worry; the toxicity will still be there. It will definitely be able to take them down. Even if they don't die, they won't be able to come after us."

The Regimental Commander made the final decision: "Good! We'll do as you say! I'll arrange for everyone to find Grass, and you direct the poisoning. This pool must be carefully cleared out before it can be used in the future."

The Military Doctor reminded him once more: "We need to put a mark here so the Soldiers coming from behind don't drink it. They will definitely pass by here to replenish water. Just write a few large characters on the side here. Anyway, those savages won't recognize them. If they drink the water by mistake, I have no way to help; I don't know how to detoxify it."