16: Chapter 16 Peerless Warrior

One night during training, a bright moon hung in the sky.

While patrolling the camp, Gao Feng discovered Luo Qin standing alone on the wall of the beacon tower, facing the mountain breeze and gazing at the waning moon on the horizon, lost in thought.

Her silhouette appeared somewhat frail and lonely under the moonlight.

Gao Feng felt a stir in his heart; he walked up and stood shoulder to shoulder with her.

"Thinking of home?" Gao Feng asked softly.

Luo Qin's body trembled slightly. She turned her head to look at Gao Feng, a flash of surprise in her eyes, which immediately turned into a bitter smile.

"Home... is already gone."

For the first time, she voluntarily opened up and shared her inner thoughts with Gao Feng.

She recounted the experiences of her Family during the war, her father's dying wishes, and the hardships and despair of fleeing with her younger sisters.

This woman, who usually appeared wise, strong, and composed, finally revealed the vulnerability and exhaustion deep within her heart at this moment.

Gao Feng listened quietly without interrupting her.

He knew that all she needed was someone to confide in.

When she finished speaking, Gao Feng did not offer any hypocritical sweet talk; instead, he spoke a simple, unadorned sentence in a very serious and solemn tone.

"Rest assured, as long as I am here, the Luo Family will not perish."

"Panshi Stockade will be your home forever from now on."

This simple promise was like a warm current, instantly striking the softest part of Luo Qin's heart.

She turned her head and looked at Gao Feng's incredibly resolute profile under the moonlight, an unusual, crystalline luster welling up in her eyes.

At this moment, her feelings toward Gao Feng were no longer just awe and reliance.

Gao Feng also realized at this moment that to truly make these talented people follow him wholeheartedly, relying solely on coercion, inducement, and physical relationships was far from enough.

Emotional respect and genuine inner recognition were also needed.

Luo Qin's value was by no means as simple as being a woman who could provide Dual Cultivation; she would be the indispensable "Chief Steward" of the future Panshi Stockade.

Amid the tense atmosphere of preparations for war, an interesting little episode also occurred.

Big Fool spent all day hugging his two stone pedestals, sighing and treating them like treasures, yet complaining that they weren't sturdy enough.

Last time, he accidentally cracked the wooden handle of the stone pedestal, which distressed him greatly.

Seeing this, Gao Feng felt a stir in his heart.

He remembered the rusted, useless scrap iron weapons seized from Black Wind Stockade that were piled in the corner.

He immediately gave orders for the farmer in the stockade who used to be a blacksmith to light the furnace.

He ordered the blacksmith to throw all the seized scrap iron weapons into the furnace and smelt them again!

After three days and nights of forging, a brand new pair of immensely huge, solid, eight-sided wrought iron hammers, gleaming with a chilling light, was finally born!

Each of these hammers weighed one hundred and fifty catties, and the hammerheads were covered in ferocious ridges; just looking at them made one's scalp tingle.

When this pair of "Divine Weapons" was brought before Big Fool, he was as happy as a three-hundred-catty child.

He threw away his precious stone pedestals, grabbed the huge hammers, and danced a clumsy dance of excitement on the spot, shouting incessantly: "Big hammers! My big hammers!"

He gripped the hammer handles with both hands and swung them casually.

"Whoosh!"

The heavy hammers brought with them a terrifying sound of wind!

Caught up in the fun, he smashed them fiercely against a boulder over a person's height that was used for training nearby!

"Boom!"

A loud bang!

That incredibly hard boulder was actually smashed to pieces by a single hammer blow, rock fragments flying everywhere!

This terrifying display of power left the surrounding soldiers who were training dumbfounded, all of them gasping in shock.

The morale in the stockade soared instantly!

A peerless warrior wielding divine weapons was officially born!

After more than ten days of tense preparation for war, the thirty soldiers of Panshi Stockade had begun to take shape, each skilled in sword techniques, and a bloody Killing Intent began to emanate from them.

The defensive fortifications of the stockade walls had also been reinforced and had become even more impregnable.

Meanwhile, the tiger roars in the mountain forest became more frequent and closer, filled with a provocative tone.

Everyone knew that a great battle determining the life and death of Panshi Stockade was imminent!

Gao Feng stood on the ramparts of the beacon tower, gripping his steel saber, gazing into the deep and dangerous dense forest, his eyes devoid of any fear, only filled with burning Battle Intent!

Sitting and waiting for death was not Gao Feng's style, but he was also well aware that with their current manpower, confronting the entire tiger pack directly was tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock, courting self-destruction.

After careful consideration, he decided to turn this survival crisis into a once-in-a-lifetime training opportunity.

He wanted to turn "solving the tiger menace" into "utilizing the tiger menace"!

At the first assembly in the early morning, Gao Feng formally announced that the training of Panshi Stockade would be conducted through live combat hunting starting from today.

And their first training target would be those lone, small-scale tigers on the outskirts of the valley.

This decision made the refugees and farmers who had just picked up weapons both excited and fearful.

That same morning, Gao Feng personally led a hunting team composed of ten of the most elite soldiers and five female guard archers into the perilous mountain forest.

This was the first time since the establishment of Panshi Stockade that they had taken the initiative to bare their fangs at the masters of this mountain forest.

Their target was an adult tiger that Gao Feng had long since scouted, which was drinking water by the river.

Before the battle began, Gao Feng reiterated the tactics that had already been practiced many times.

"Luo Qin, Luo Qi, you five, establish a firing position on that rock at the high point. Listen for my command and conduct the first wave of suppression and harassment. Remember, focus your attacks on its eyes and limb joints. There is no need to pursue a kill; just distraction is enough!"

"Yes, Stockade Master!" Luo Qin replied steadily.

"Big Fool, you come with me. We will lead the frontal attack and draw its attention!"

"Okay! Smash it flat!" Big Fool waved the iron hammers in his hands and roared excitedly.

"The rest of you, split into two groups and flank from the left and right. Once it is drawn in by us, use the three-person battle formation to coordinate attacks on its flanks and hind legs! Remember, strike and retreat immediately; do not be greedy for merit!"

"Understood!" the ten soldiers replied in unison, their voices filled with irrepressible tension.

With the plan laid out, everyone quietly crept into their designated positions.

When Gao Feng and Big Fool, who was a hundred meters away, exchanged a glance and charged forward simultaneously, the battle was on the verge of breaking out!