129: Chapter 129 Breaking Through the Mountain Stronghold

Beside him, Su Yan let out a roar, sending a bandit flying with a fierce Savage Charge.

"Dazing out on the battlefield, do you want to die?!"

Su Yan roared at Little Tiger Su.

Little Tiger Su shuddered, instantly snapping back to his senses.

Looking at the bandit lying in a pool of blood and Su Yan's bloodshot eyes, his fear was instantly replaced by a desire to survive!

"Kill!"

He let out a roar, picked up his blade, and charged forward again.

At this moment, he was no longer a farm boy, but a true warrior who had seen blood.

The entire mountain path had completely turned into a flesh and blood grinder.

The sounds of killing, screams, and the clashing of weapons were endless.

Although the recruits were inferior in individual martial arts compared to these fierce Bandits who lived on the edge of a blade year-round, they had the discipline and formations that Su Bai had strictly trained them in!

In groups of three to five, they coordinated with each other, excelling in both offense and defense.

In contrast, the Bandits of Black Tiger Cliff fought individually and were in a state of chaos, soon being beaten into a steady retreat.

Su Bai was like a tiger among a flock of sheep.

Wherever he went, no enemy could withstand a single exchange.

His blade was as fast as lightning.

With every swing of his blade, a life was inevitably taken.

He was like an invincible sharp blade, ruthlessly stabbing into the enemy's heart!

The battle lasted from dusk until late at night.

The entire Black Tiger Cliff was plunged into a sea of fire.

This was the masterpiece of Su Tao leading the Scout Battalion.

They circled to the back of the mountain and set fires at the Bandits' granaries and barracks to create chaos, greatly shaking the Bandits' morale.

Liu the Tiger stood in front of the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness, watching the mountain fortress he had managed for over a decade turn into a sea of fire.

He watched his subordinates fall one by one into pools of blood.

His heart was bleeding.

But no matter how unwilling he was, he understood one thing at this moment: the tide had turned.

Continuing to stay here now would only delay the fall of Black Tiger Cliff by a little while.

"Big Brother! Let's retreat! While there's life, there's hope!" The Second-in-Command ran to his side covered in blood, looking at Liu the Tiger in terror.

"Retreat?"

Liu the Tiger gave a miserable laugh. "Where else can we retreat to?"

He looked back at the gold, silver, and treasures he had plundered inside the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes.

"Even if I die, I'll take a few of them with me!"

He lifted the Nine-Ring Great Broadsword in his hand and, like a demon, charged toward Su Bai, who had already reached the entrance of the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness.

He shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Little brat! Give me your life!"

Su Bai looked at the frenzied Liu the Tiger, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

He raised his hand and struck with his blade.

An extremely fast flash of blade light vanished in an instant amidst the firelight.

Liu the Tiger's forward-charging body suddenly stiffened.

He lowered his head to look at the bone-deep gash on his chest, then looked up at Su Bai, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"So... such a fast blade..."

After saying these final words, his body crashed to the ground, and he was no longer breathing.

With the death of Liu the Tiger, the remaining Bandits completely lost their will to resist, throwing down their weapons one by one and kneeling in surrender.

The battle ended.

In this battle, the Local Militia Camp had twenty-seven injured and six dead.

For a unit of recruits on their first battlefield, this casualty ratio was already considered an excellent statistic.

Su Bai looked at those dead young faces.

His heart also felt a pang of pain.

War, after all, was cruel.

In the mountain fortress's dungeon, they rescued thirty-two kidnapped women and children.

These women were barely clothed, their expressions numb, and their eyes filled with despair.

Counting the spoils of war yielded even more significant results.

Besides Liu the Tiger's valuable fine iron armor and over a dozen sets of exquisite leather armor worn by the leaders, they also seized over five hundred various low-quality weapons and three large chests full of gold, silver, and treasures.

Roughly estimated, there were over two hundred taels of gold and over two thousand taels of silver.

In addition, the fortress's granary contained enough grain to feed a thousand people for a month.

They had struck it rich!

Looking at the mountain of spoils,

the eyes of all the surviving recruits shone with a wolf-like green light.

The way they looked at Su Bai became even more filled with admiration.

The General hadn't lied to them!

Following the General really meant having meat to eat and money to take!

Su Bai looked at their expressions, stood out, waved his hand, and said:

"Brothers, we are going home!"

...

Back in Yunzhou City.

Su Bai immediately fulfilled his promise.

He distributed all the weapons seized from Black Tiger Cliff to the Local Militia Camp.

Although most were of poor quality, they were much better than the farm tools they had used before.

The dozen or so sets of leather armor

were rewarded to the Squad Leaders and soldiers who had fought most bravely in this operation.

As for the seized grain, he directly waved his hand and allocated half to the Local Militia Camp's canteen, ensuring they would have meat with every meal for the next month.

Regarding the three chests of gold and silver, he personally opened them in front of everyone.

"Zhao Ding! Ma Lie!"

"Present!"

"Take thirty percent from this and distribute it according to military merits. The compensation for the brothers who died in battle will be paid at triple the rate! I, Su Bai, will cover all the medical expenses for the injured brothers!"

"Yes!"

The entire Local Militia Camp was in a complete frenzy of excitement.

After handling the affairs in the military camp, Su Bai took Liu the Tiger's head and went straight to the Prefect's residence.

Li Han looked at the head that had died with its eyes open.

And the merit ledger Su Bai handed over; his entire being was thrilled.

He had thought success was possible before Su Bai left.

But he hadn't expected it to be this successful.

"Good! Good! Good!"

He said the word 'good' three times in a row. "General Su, you truly are the lucky star of my Yunzhou City. This tumor of Black Tiger Cliff had been entrenched for many years. I didn't expect you to take it down in a single battle! On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of citizens in Yunzhou City, this official thanks the General!"

Su Bai waved his hand, his face not showing much joy.

He told Li Han exactly how the spoils were distributed without hiding anything.

This included the fact that he had taken thirty percent of the gold and silver for the soldiers.

After Li Han heard this,

instead of blaming him at all, he admired Su Bai even more.

"The General did the right thing!"

Li Han stroked his beard and praised, "A thousand soldiers are easy to find, but one general is hard to come by. A thousand pieces of gold are easy to disperse, but the morale of an army is hard to buy! The General's move may seem like spending a thousand pieces of gold, but in reality, you have gained an army's heart that ten thousand pieces of gold couldn't buy! Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"

He knew very well that Su Bai was using his own money to raise his own troops.

Although this practice was somewhat overstepping, in these chaotic times, it was the most effective way for a commander to quickly gain control of an army.

After the two exchanged a few more pleasantries,

Su Bai changed the subject, saying with a furrowed brow: "Lord Li, to be honest, although we won this bandit suppression mission, I feel that something is not quite right."

"Oh?"

Li Han's smile faded upon hearing this. "Why do you say that, General?"

"It was too smooth."

Su Bai said in a low voice, "It was so smooth it's almost absurd. Black Tiger Cliff had been entrenched for nearly ten years, and Liu the Tiger was no fool. Logically, there should have been many hidden and open sentries around the mountain fortress."