A dozen minutes later, a group of people entered the minefield laid by Liu Tiezhu.
Zhang Guoyong, walking at the front, suddenly stopped. As a thug who had come off the battlefield, he felt something off about the atmosphere around him. It was too quiet—not even a single insect chirp could be heard. Such an environment usually only appeared when danger was near.
He scanned the surroundings for a moment, his gaze finally settling on Liu Yusheng. "You lead the way up front. Try any tricks, and I'll blow your head off."
Hearing this, Liu Yusheng felt a surge of joy inside but kept his face expressionless. Being told to lead the way greatly increased his chances of escape. If these people let their guard down even a little, he could dart into the bushes and vanish without a trace.
Under Liu Yusheng's guidance, the group advanced another dozen meters. As the glow of fire grew closer, smiles spread across their faces. Just as they continued stepping forward, two men suddenly tripped over a thin rope. They froze for a moment, bewildered, before their bodies were engulfed in flames.
Boom!!!
The explosion of the grenade echoed through the mountains for a long time. Countless clods of dirt flew into the air, and sparks shot skyward along with scattered nails. The blast covered a ten-meter radius centered on the two men.
Pfft, pfft...
Seven more men were instantly riddled with nails like a beehive, their spurting blood terrifying the rest. Two timid men screamed and turned to flee back the way they came. They hadn't gone far before tripping over another thin rope.
Boom! Boom!
Deafening roars reverberated through the hills, and a dense hail of nails shot toward the group like iron rain. Still in a state of panic, the men were pierced through by the nails, their breaths ceasing entirely.
In five minutes, three grenade traps had been triggered, and the dense barrage of nails had killed half of Zhang Guoyong's men. Three massive craters on the ground billowed with thick smoke. Some, not yet dead, lay on the ground, reaching out their hands, desperately signaling for help from their comrades. The gruesome scene sent chills down everyone's spine.
"Liu Yusheng, you son of a bitch, you're asking for it!" Zhang Guoyong roared in fury, his eyes darting forward. But Liu Yusheng was nowhere to be seen.
When the first grenade trap exploded, Liu Yusheng had seized the chance to slip away. At that moment, he was hiding less than five meters to Zhang Guoyong's right. Listening to the harrowing screams, his face turned pale as a sheet. He had never dreamed that Liu Tiezhu would set up so many grenade traps. Now caught between a rock and a hard place, he could only wait there, letting Zhang Guoyong's men trigger all the mines before finding a chance to sneak out.
After searching in vain for any sign of Liu Yusheng, Zhang Guoyong was fuming. Even a pig could tell by now that they had been duped by Liu Yusheng. "Liu Yusheng, I'll fuck your ancestors! You'd better get your ass out here now! Otherwise, when I get back, I'll break your father Liu Yanhai's bones one by one!" Zhang Guoyong shouted into the void, his voice seething with rage.
But the surroundings remained silent, with no response. At this point, Liu Yusheng couldn't care less about anyone's life or death. He knew that even if he came out now, he couldn't save his father. "You bastard, you won't come out, huh? Then you'd better hide well and pray you never fall into my hands again, or I swear I'll skin you alive!" Zhang Guoyong clenched his fists, finished threatening Liu Yusheng, and then signaled the group to split into two teams, turn around, and slowly retreat.
With grenade traps everywhere, moving forward would be suicide. So he decided to pull back first and then go get reinforcements. Zhang Guoyong's plan sounded good enough, but he didn't realize that his group had already entered the heart of the minefield. Getting in was easy, but getting out unscathed was another story.
The twenty-odd men carefully crept a few meters without spotting any traps on the ground, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. Eager to escape the area quickly, they picked up their pace. Just then, a man focused solely on the ground brushed against a nearby branch. His face changed, and he quickly dropped flat on his back.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Almost simultaneously, six bamboo arrows shot over. Two men standing upright were killed on the spot. The thud of their bodies hitting the ground instantly made everyone crouch down, afraid to take another step. They had thought only the soil held traps, so they had kept their eyes glued to the ground. They never expected such terrifying crossbow traps to be set up all around them.
Now Zhang Guoyong was truly stumped. He had brought fifty men, but not only had Liu Yusheng escaped, they had also lost twenty-nine. Even if he managed to get out safely, it would be hard to explain to Zhang Mingtao. After thinking it over, Zhang Guoyong gave orders. "Everyone, line up in two rows, side by side. Four men will scout ahead—the two in the middle watch the ground, and the two on the sides watch left and right. If you want to live, keep your wits about you!"
Hearing this, everyone quickly shuffled backward. No one wanted to take the lead and be a sacrificial lamb. Zhang Guoyong cursed loudly and directly named four men. Those called out were extremely reluctant, but under the threat of gun barrels, they could only swallow their anger and grit their teeth as they stepped forward.
While Zhang Guoyong's men were trying to flee, Liu Tiezhu was also rushing over with Er Gouzi at top speed. Neither of them had expected anyone to barge in during the New Year.
Boom...
Another deafening explosion rang out. The four men in front were instantly swallowed by flames, and the flying chunks of flesh made Zhang Guoyong and the others stop in their tracks. Several bloody intestines landed right in front of them, causing them to retch violently. "If you want to get out alive, keep your damn composure!" Zhang Guoyong shouted, his face pale.
He quickly named four more men to continue scouting. But these four flatly refused to act as human shields again. Bang... Without hesitation, Zhang Guoyong shot one of them in the head. The remaining three men were enraged. One snatched Zhang Guoyong's gun, while the other two pinned him down, pressing the rifle against his head.
Zhang Guoyong roared, "What the hell are you bastards doing? Mutiny?" No sooner had he spoken than he took a punch to the face. "Fuck your mother! You think being the squad leader makes you hot shit, free to send us to our deaths?" The lead man cursed and slammed the rifle butt into Zhang Guoyong's head. The others rushed over, kicking and punching him. After a thorough beating, they tied Zhang Guoyong up and forced him to lead the way as a scout.
"Dogs biting dogs?" Er Gouzi, who had just arrived, was utterly baffled by the scene.
"Forget about dogs biting dogs—find a chance to strike," Liu Tiezhu reminded him, shifting his compound crossbow to aim at one man's thigh. He didn't rush to attack but silently calculated the distance. These men were still three meters from the next grenade trap. Once they entered the trap's range, he would immediately fire the bamboo arrow.