199: Chapter 199 Scouts clear the way, traps all removed

After Qing Yan knocked out two of his own teeth with his Dark Dragon Roar, the laughter outside Black Wind Valley lasted for a full quarter-hour.

The rebels on the walls turned pale.

Below the walls, the million-strong Vanguard Army stood increasingly steady.

The support signs were still shaking.

The banners were still fluttering.

"Qing Yan lost his teeth!"

"Big Boss Lin Zhe is invincible!"

The shouts rose wave after wave.

Qing Yan covered his mouth, his gaze as venomous as if he wanted to eat someone, but he didn't dare roar again.

If he roared once more, it might not just be teeth that fell out.

On the high platform, Lin Zhe's expression was calm as his gaze swept over the outskirts of Black Wind Valley.

Before the true general offensive, there was one last step.

Clearing the path.

Qing Yu stepped forward quickly and whispered, "Sir, the scout teams are ready."

Lin Zhe nodded faintly: "Go."

In the next second, in front of the Vanguard Army's formation, twenty scout teams stepped out simultaneously.

Assassins, Rangers, Archers, and a small number of Shield Warriors.

All of them were veterans who had spent the last few days mapping out the area, dismantling traps, and staking out secret passages.

Ye Mao Zi was among them.

He tucked his dagger into his waist and grinned: "Brothers, the last scouting run, don't mess up."

Beside him, Shadow Step Silent patted the defense map in his hand.

"We won't."

"The surrendered rebels have marked the trap locations right on our faces."

"Where there are poisoned spikes, where there are explosives, where there are falling rocks, even how deep they're buried is written down."

Blade Back Wind looked down at the map and clicked his tongue: "Qing Yan's subordinates really sold him out completely."

Soon, the scouts lowered their bodies and moved in along the rocky slopes on the outskirts of Black Wind Valley.

The live stream camera followed them.

The world channel instantly quieted down quite a bit.

"The scouts are moving in first!"

"This is for clearing traps, right?"

"The defense map is coming in handy!"

The outskirts of Black Wind Valley looked empty.

But the map was densely marked with red crosses.

The first spot was a poisoned spike pit.

The surface was covered with black-gray sand and gravel, showing no issues at all.

Ye Mao Zi stopped three steps away and raised his hand to signal a halt.

"Stop."

The scouts behind him immediately crouched down.

A life-skill player took out a long, thin probe and poked it into the ground.

Click.

The ground sank slightly.

The next second, dozens of pitch-black poisoned spikes popped up from the bottom of the pit, their tips shimmering with green light.

"Tsk."

Ye Mao Zi sneered: "If we had charged blindly, the front row would have fallen in droves."

He pulled out a dismantling hook and flicked it a few times to cut the mechanism's ropes.

Click, click, click!

The poisoned spikes were all disabled.

[Poisoned Spike Trap cleared]

A notification popped up.

The players behind immediately flooded the screen.

"Professional!"

"If we hadn't known the location beforehand, we would have really fallen for it!"

The second spot was an explosive array.

Buried under a patch of rubble, with black dragon bone fragments pressed on top.

Shadow Step Silent lay on the ground to listen for a moment, then directly made a hand gesture.

"There are fuses below."

Two scouts circled to the side, used Cold Crystal Powder to suppress the fuses first, and then dug out the explosives bag by bag.

Exactly twelve bags, no more, no less.

Beside him, Blade Back Wind looked at the map and laughed out loud.

"The surrendered rebels said twelve bags, and it really is twelve bags."

"Qing Yan's people are much more honest than Qing Yan himself."

The dismantled explosives were collected into boxes and sent back to the rear.

The third spot was a falling rock trap.

Dozens of giant boulders hung over the cliff; as soon as the army entered the valley, a sentry would pull a rope, and the rocks would come crashing down.

But now, before the sentries could react, the scout teams had already circled behind them.

"Go."

Shua! Shua! Shua!

Three Assassins struck simultaneously.

Throat Slit.

Backstab.

Sap.

The two rebel sentries above were pinned to the ground before they could even make a sound.

The ropes were cut, and the giant rocks were secured in advance.

[Falling Rock Trap cleared]

One spot.

Two spots.

Five spots.

Ten spots.

The scout teams advanced rapidly.

The intelligence provided by the surrendered rebels earlier was ridiculously accurate.

Where the poisoned spikes were.

Where the explosives were.

How deep the hidden pits were.

Which rock the mechanism rope was connected to.

Even which roads looked walkable but actually had poisoned caltrops buried beneath them were clearly marked.

The players dismantled them according to the map.

Their efficiency was terrifyingly high.

In less than an hour, the first ring of traps on the outskirts was completely cleared.

Another half hour passed, and the second ring of hidden pits and explosives was also wiped clean.

In the final half hour, the scout teams conveniently moved toward the three outer security outposts.

These three outposts were originally responsible for sending word to the main fortress.

But the morale of the rebels on the walls had long since collapsed, and the people in the outposts were even more distracted.

At the first outpost, Ye Mao Zi led his team in and finished it in thirty seconds.

At the second outpost, the Archers sniped from a distance; a sentry had just poked his head out when he was pinned to a wooden stake.

The third outpost was even more ridiculous.

Several rebels inside saw the scouts approaching and didn't even draw their blades, kneeling directly.

"Don't kill us!"

"We surrender!"

"Qing Yan told us to guard, but we don't want to die!"

Ye Mao Zi was stunned for a moment, then laughed and cursed: "Fine, tie them up and take them back. Consider yourselves sensible."

[Outer security outposts removed: 3/3]

[Current scout team casualties: 0]

The moment the announcement popped up, the world channel exploded.

"Zero casualties?!"

"In less than two hours, all traps dismantled and all outposts removed?"

"This map from the surrendered rebels is truly god-tier!"

"Qing Yan is still acting tough on the wall, but all the mechanisms outside are gone, Hahaha!"

When the scout teams returned, the players on the field erupted in a cheer.

Ye Mao Zi threw the captured outpost tokens onto the ground and cupped his fists toward the high platform.

"Big Boss Lin Zhe, the path is cleared!"

"Poisoned spikes, explosives, falling rocks, hidden pits—all cleared."

"Three outer outposts, all taken down."

"Zero casualties on our side!"

Qing Yu took the clearing record, her eyes brightening, and immediately brought it to Lin Zhe.

Lin Zhe glanced at it.

Two faint words.

"Advance."

Boom!

The million-strong army moved instantly.

Shield Warriors in front.

Dragonkin heavy infantry in the center.

Archers and Mages following.

Human Empire elites stabilized both flanks.

Those safe routes that had just been cleared now turned into broad passages.

No poisoned spikes.

No explosives.

No falling rocks.

Not even a single accident.

The army pressed forward smoothly, advancing like a black tide to the base of the stronghold's walls.

The rebels on the walls felt their scalps go numb.

"Where are the traps?"

"Why didn't a single one go off?"

"No news from the outposts either!"

"It's over, the outskirts are completely gone!"

Qing Yan stood in the center of the wall, looking at the dense sea of people below; his legs couldn't help but go weak.

He had originally hoped the outer traps would stall them.

Even if they only blew up some players and disrupted their formation, it would give the defenders a chance to catch their breath.

But now?

All gone.

The players walked directly to the base of the wall as if they were strolling through their own back garden.

The corner of Qing Yan's mouth was still hurting, and the spot where his tooth broke throbbed repeatedly.

He gripped the battlements tightly, forcing himself not to retreat.

But his voice had already changed pitch.

"Retreat!"

"Everyone, retreat to the inner city!"

"Forget the outer wall!"

"Defend the inner city to the death!"

The rebels on the wall felt like they had been granted a general amnesty and immediately retreated.

Some ran so fast they even dropped their shields.

Others pushed and shoved while descending the stairs, nearly rolling into a heap.

The main fortress's outer defensive line was abandoned by Qing Yan himself before the fighting even truly began.

The players below saw this and burst into another round of laughter.

"Hahaha! They ran before we even started the siege!"

"Qing Yan wimped out!"

"Defend the inner city to the death? Can you even hold it?"

The support signs were raised again.

"Lin Family Army will win!"

"Qing Yan must die!"

Ao Ningshuang gripped the dragon blood sword, her silver eyes coldly watching the direction of the inner city.

Qing Yu stood behind Lin Zhe and whispered, "Sir, the army has reached the base of the wall."

"All outer obstacles have been cleared."

"We can begin at any time."

Lin Zhe stood on high, his plain clothes fluttering in the wind.

His gaze fell on the dilapidated walls of the Black Wind Valley stronghold, his expression terrifyingly calm.

Below the wall, the million-strong Vanguard Army waited with bated breath.

Above, the rebels scrambled into the inner city.

The final shell of Black Wind Valley was now right before them.