38: Chapter 38 An Unpleasant Guest Arrives

Inside the Dushan Stronghold, in Chief Leader Bear Overlord’s great hall, a grand banquet was underway.

Whole lambs roasted until sizzling and oozing oil, piles of beast meat like mountains, and fine wine seized from the Government Soldiers filled the hall.

The bandit leaders were flushed with drink, laughing loudly.

“Satisfying! Damn it, it's just too satisfying!”

Bear Overlord held a wine bowl larger than a human head, downed the strong liquor inside in one gulp, and then slammed the bowl heavily onto the table!

“That bunch of weak-kneed Government Soldiers, and that piece of trash ‘Mountain-Suppressing Hammer’, aren't even worth a fart in front of me!”

His Face was filled with arrogant conceit.

“The Chief Leader's Divine Might is unparalleled, invincible under heaven!”

“Congratulations, Chief Leader! After this battle, this Gui Jian Chou Mountain Range—no, the entire area within a hundred miles—will be the territory of our Dushan Stronghold!”

The underlings below raised their wine bowls one after another, loudly flattering him, their sycophancy echoing through the hall.

Bear Overlord was ecstatic, feeling like he was floating on air.

Only the strategist Liu Chengfeng, sitting in the corner with slightly furrowed brows, seemed somewhat out of place in this frenzied atmosphere.

“Strategist, why aren't you drinking?” Third-in-Command “Iron-Faced Judge” Du Wei walked over with a wine bowl, his voice cold.

Liu Chengfeng waved the white paper fan in his hand and said indifferently: “I am thinking that although the Government Soldiers were defeated, Qinghe County still remains. Zhang Dingtian has suffered such a great loss; he will certainly not let it rest. If he couldn't hire an expert this time, perhaps he will be able to hire a stronger one next time.”

“What is there to fear?!” Second-in-Command “Ghost Shadow” Nie Kong sneered, his voice as unpleasant as a night owl's. “If he comes again, we'll just kill him again! We'll kill until he doesn't dare to come!”

“Killing cannot solve the root problem.” Liu Chengfeng shook his head. “Although we have great momentum now, our Foundation is unstable. The population in the stronghold has increased sharply, and the daily consumption of grain and forage is a huge number. We must find a stable source of money and grain as soon as possible.”

Hearing the words “money and grain,” Bear Overlord, who was still reveling, paused slightly.

He turned his head and looked at Liu Chengfeng: “Strategist, do you have any good ideas?”

A smile of confidence appeared at the corner of Liu Chengfeng's mouth.

He slowly stood up, walked to the map in the center of the hall, and pointed his white paper fan at a corner of the map.

That location was exactly where the Panshi Stockade was located.

“Chief Leader, brothers, please look here.”

“I captured a few live prisoners and learned that the reason the Government Soldiers attacked us was because the County Magistrates Young Master was attacked by us! But we never did that at all!”

“So I sent people to inquire and found that a new force had suddenly appeared here, called ‘Panshi Stockade’.”

“This force is very strange. They don't rob or plunder; instead, they collect refugees everywhere and cultivate farmland, as if they want to settle down and live here.”

“Moreover, the people I sent reported that their stockade is well-organized, everyone has work to do and food to eat, and it seems there is a considerable amount of wealth hidden in the stockade.”

“Most importantly,” Liu Chengfeng emphasized, “I suspect that the one who attacked the County Magistrates Young Master was not us at all, but this Panshi Stockade!”

“They are trying to frame us!”

“What?!”

Liu Chengfeng's words were like a ladle of cold water poured into boiling oil.

The entire hall exploded instantly!

“Damn it! They’ve got some nerve! They dare to use our Dushan Stronghold as a pawn?”

“Chief Leader! Wipe them out!”

“Right! Chief Leader! Seize all their grain, money, and women!”

The bandits were filled with righteous indignation and clamored one after another.

Bear Overlord's Face also turned gloomy instantly.

What he hated most was being played for a fool!

“Strategist, is this true?” he asked in a deep voice.

“I am seventy percent sure,” Liu Chengfeng said confidently. “Besides, whether they did it or not, we need a target now to establish our authority and replenish our granary. This suddenly emerged, wealthy Panshi Stockade is undoubtedly the best choice.”

“Good!” Bear Overlord slammed the table hard, making up his mind.

“I want to see what kind of person dares to cross me!”

He looked around and his gaze fell on a burly underling with a Face full of flesh.

“Black Panther!”

“Here! Chief Leader!” The underling stood out immediately.

“You, take one hundred brothers and go to that Panshi Stockade!”

Bear Overlord's voice was filled with indisputable dominance.

“Tell their Stockade Master that I, Bear Overlord, have taken a fancy to their land! If they are sensible, they will obediently offer up all their money, grain, and women, open the stockade gates, and listen to my orders! Otherwise, tell them to wash their necks clean and wait for my big axe!”

“Yes! Chief Leader! I guarantee I will handle this beautifully!”

Black Panther grinned hideously, took the order, immediately gathered his men, and charged aggressively toward the direction of Panshi Stockade.

Three days later, Panshi Stockade.

Gao Feng was in the newly built council hall with Luo Qin, Luo Shu, and others, using a sand table to deduce various plans to deal with the invasion of Dushan Stronghold.

“According to my calculations, Dushan Stronghold is currently short of grain and forage. Within ten days at most, they will definitely take action against us.” Luo Qin pointed to the sand table and analyzed.

“We cannot fight them head-on. Bear Overlord is brave, but lacks strategy. We can use the terrain, set up defenses layer by layer, exhaust their spirit, and then find an opportunity...”

Before she could finish speaking, the door of the council hall was pushed open violently.

A soldier responsible for guarding the pass ran in, tumbling and crawling, with a look of panic on his Face.

“Report! Stockade Master! It's bad!”

“A... a large group of people has come down the mountain! They are flying... flying the banner of Dushan Stronghold! They are demanding that you go out to answer!”

They were here!

Gao Feng did not expect the other side's actions to be faster than he had anticipated!

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked towards the pass.

“Let's go, let's meet these ‘unwelcome guests’.” His voice was calm and cold.

When Gao Feng brought Old Qiu, Big Fool, and others to the wall of the pass, he saw over a hundred bandits standing densely on the mountain road.

These bandits were all wearing crooked helmets and armor, their Faces full of ferocity, forming a sharp contrast with the disciplined soldiers of Panshi Stockade.

At the head was a man riding a tall horse with a Face full of flesh; it was the Dushan Stronghold underling, Black Panther.

Seeing someone appear on the wall, he stretched his neck and shouted arrogantly:

“Listen up, people above! Which one of you is your Stockade Master? Get out here and talk!”

Gao Feng ignored his clamoring and just looked at him coldly.

Seeing no one answer, Black Panther felt he had lost Face and became even more furious.

“Damn it! Are you all deaf?!”

He pointed at Gao Feng with his horse whip and cursed: “You, are you that piece of trash Stockade Master? Looking at your pretty-boy Face, you look more like a woman!”

“I am Black Panther, under the command of ‘Mountain-Splitting Bear’, the Chief Leader of Dushan Stronghold! I am here on the orders of Master Bear to notify you!”

“Our Master Bear said he has taken a fancy to this blessed land of yours!”

“If you are sensible, obediently open the stockade gates and await Master Bear's disposal!”

“If you dare to say half a word of ‘no’, hmph, when our Master Bear's army arrives, we will definitely slaughter your Panshi Stockade until not even a dog or chicken is left!”