49: Chapter 49 All Out

"Brothers! Why did we head south? Isn't it just to eat the best food, drink the finest liquor, and play with the most beautiful women?!"

"Now, the opportunity is right before our eyes! That Panshi Stockade is overflowing with riches! The grain inside is piled high like mountains! The women inside are all vivacious!"

"As long as we breach it! All of this will be ours!"

"When that time comes, we will eat meat by the mouthful, drink wine by the bowl, and have women to sleep with every day! Tell me, does that sound good?!"

"Good!!!"

Stimulated by the most primitive desires, the bandits' low morale was ignited once again.

Their eyes shone, and they let out beast-like howls.

Bear Overlord nodded in satisfaction.

This was the effect he wanted.

He turned his head and looked at the Second-in-Command Nie Kong and Third-in-Command Du Wei standing to the side.

"You two," he ordered in an unquestionable tone, "today, you will both follow behind the main army. If anyone dares to play any tricks, don't blame me for chopping off your heads to offer as a sacrifice to the flag first!"

He no longer trusted anyone.

He wanted to keep all high-end combat power firmly under his control by his side.

Nie Kong and Du Wei exchanged a glance, both seeing a trace of helplessness and humiliation in the other's eyes.

But they could only bow and accept the order.

"Move out!"

With Bear Overlord's command.

Dushan Stronghold swarmed out in full force!

An army of nearly eight hundred people, like a black torrent, surged mightily towards the direction of Panshi Stockade!

...

The news was relayed to Panshi Stockade immediately.

"They're coming! Stockade Master! Dushan Stronghold has mobilized in full force! The one leading them is Bear Overlord himself! Their numbers are at least eight hundred!"

The scout, covered in exhaustion and dust, rushed into the meeting hall.

This news caused the expressions of all the core members present to change.

Eight hundred people!

And led in person by a Tier 4 powerhouse!

This force was enough to easily trample any county town with insufficient defenses!

Everyone's gaze subconsciously focused on Gao Feng. They wanted to see what decision their Stockade Master would make in the face of this unprecedented pressure.

Would he hold the pass and fight to the death? Or... avoid the brunt of the attack?

However, Gao Feng's reaction once again exceeded everyone's expectations.

On his face, there was not a hint of tension or fear; instead, he revealed a smile... of relief.

"Good, they've come at a good time."

He slowly stood up, walked to the sand table, and looked at the black flags representing the enemy troops, his eyes flashing with excitement.

"I have waited so long for this exact moment when he would swarm out in full force!"

He turned around, scanned the crowd, and spoke in a resounding voice.

"Pass on my order!"

"Abandon the pass!"

Everyone was stunned by his order.

"Wh...what? Stockade Master? Abandon the pass?" Old Qiu asked, stammering, "Th...then where do we defend?"

The pass was their greatest reliance. If they abandoned the pass, wouldn't that mean exposing the entire stockade to the enemy's blade?

"Who said we were going to defend?"

Gao Feng's lips curled into an arc full of confidence and dominance.

He had never been someone who liked to be on the receiving end of an attack. Defense would never bring final victory.

Only offense! Use the most ferocious offense to thoroughly crush, cripple, and terrify the enemy!

"This time," he said, enunciating every word, "we will not defend."

"We will take the initiative to attack!"

"I want to finish this in one battle in this valley of Ghost Sees Sorrow!"

"I want to let that Bear Overlord know who the real hunter is in this game!"

He waved his hand abruptly, pointing to a location on the sand table, an extremely perilous gorge located behind Panshi Stockade that led deep into the mountains, which he had named "A Thread of Sky".

"The whole army, move out! Set an ambush here!"

"I want to swallow Dushan Stronghold's eight hundred elites, along with their bandit leader Bear Overlord, in one gulp!"

"I want to carve out a bright future for our Panshi Stockade!"

Gao Feng's decision was insane.

Abandoning their greatest geographical advantage and choosing to fight a decisive battle in the wild against a powerful enemy led by a Tier 4 powerhouse that outnumbered them several times over.

In anyone's eyes, this was no different from throwing an egg against a rock, seeking their own destruction.

However, in Panshi Stockade, Gao Feng's prestige was already akin to a god's.

No one would question any of his decisions.

They only knew that by following the Stockade Master, they would definitely win the battle!

"All troops, listen to the order! Target: A Thread of Sky! Move out!"

Following Luo Qin's clear command, Panshi Stockade, this quiet valley, instantly turned into a huge war camp.

Three hundred of the most elite soldiers assembled quickly.

Everyone was clad in leather armor, wielding sharp blades, with an aura of grim determination on their faces.

In their eyes, there was not a shred of fear towards the powerful enemy, only a longing for victory and a fanatical trust in their own Stockade Master.

An hour later.

Panshi Stockade swarmed out in full force.

They did not choose to encounter Dushan Stronghold's army head-on, but under Gao Feng's leadership, they took a shortcut and arrived in advance at the "A Thread of Sky" gorge, which he had chosen as the site for the final battle.

A Thread of Sky was the only path to leave Panshi Stockade and head deeper into the Gui Jian Chou Mountain Range.

Here, two mountains stood facing each other, with only a narrow passage in between; at its narrowest point, it could only accommodate three to five people walking side by side.

The perilousness of the terrain was even greater than that of the pass.

Gao Feng divided his three hundred elites into three parts.

One part, led by Luo Qin, was ambushed on the hillside on the left side of the gorge.

Another part, led by Old Qiu with Big Fool, was ambushed on the hillside on the right side of the gorge.

And he himself, leading fifty of the most core, best-equipped heavy-armored spearmen, stood guard at the exit of the gorge like a nail.

His task was to block Dushan Stronghold's path and trap them firmly in this dead end!

In addition, he had prepared a large amount of oil-soaked firewood and boulders, piled up on both sides of the gorge's entrance.

A carefully woven net of death had been quietly spread, waiting only for that giant bear to walk right into the trap.

...

Half an hour later.

Dushan Stronghold's army finally arrived, in full force, before the pass of Panshi Stockade.

However, the scene before them left everyone stunned.

The scene they had imagined, with strict defenses and battle-readiness, did not appear.

The gate of the pass was wide open.

There was no one on the stockade wall, not even a single flag.

The entire Panshi Stockade seemed to have turned into an empty city.

"Wh...what is going on?"

Bear Overlord looked at this eerie scene, his brows furrowing tightly.