Chapter Thirty-two: The Legend of Humen

  In Shi Hu's tent, the thousand-man commanders of the fierce tiger team gathered together. The whole tent was filled with a depressing atmosphere. At this moment, the tent was quiet and still, each commander frowned, with a thoughtful expression.

  With a "whoosh", the tent canvas was lifted from outside, and a young boy walked in from outside the tent. The newcomer was Leng Xiao Yao.

  Shi Hu saw that Leng Xiao was coming and immediately changed his worried expression, a smile on his face as he said: "Xiao, you're here, come sit down quickly."

  "Yes, General." Although Leng Xiao Yao wasn't clear about what had happened, seeing the worried expressions of all the generals, he didn't need to think to understand that the Beastman army must have launched another new battle.

  "General, what's going on?" Cold Xueyang asked, although he already knew in his heart what had happened.

  "Take a look for yourself!" Shi Hu pointed at several small pieces of paper on his desk.

  Leng Xiao stretched out his hand to pick up the several messages sent back by the scouts in front of Shi Hu, and after reading them, Leng Xiao's furrowed brow also furrowed, and his eyes searched the map on Shi Hu's desk.

  "General, how many beastmen have come this time?" asked Leng Xiao Yao while looking at the map.

  "Twelve Ten Thousand Horses."

  "One hundred and twenty thousand?" Leng Xiao Yao heard this number, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, then his eyes continued to search the map on the table. After a moment, Leng Xiao Yao's tightly furrowed eyebrows relaxed.

  "General, it's not like there's no way."

  Shi Hu heard the words of Leng Xiao Yao, his eyes lit up, and he stared at Leng Xiao Yao with an urgent gaze. Not only Shi Hu, but also the big and small generals in the tent, all cast their eyes on Leng Xiao Yao's body. After all, Leng Xiao Yao had created a miracle before, so everyone still had high expectations for him.

  "We can do it like this......" Leng Xiao Yao expressed his thoughts one by one, and after he finished explaining his plan, he pointed to a spot with his hand and said: "If we add some large-scale traps here, I think the situation will be more advantageous for us. Unfortunately, time is running out."

  Shi Hu and the others listened to Leng Xiao Yao's arrangements, each of them shuddered all over their bodies. Oh my god, if they really followed Leng Xiao Yao's arrangements and calculations, if the beastmen really entered Tiger Mountain Valley, it would probably be a nine-to-one chance of survival! Even if they couldn't wipe out the entire beastman army, at least they would suffer heavy casualties, losing more than half their troops.

  "Ah, Xiao Yao, good kid, I just realized that you're really a human." Zheng Xiaohu spoke out the thoughts of everyone present. Thinking about it, if Xiao Yao's military talent were to fall into the hands of the Beastmen Country, combined with their strong army... there's no need to think about it, one can already imagine what changes would occur in the three major human nations.

  Shi Hu pressed his hands together, his stern gaze sweeping across the senior and junior generals in front of him. "Alright," he said seriously, "I believe you've all heard Xiao Yao's arrangements. Does anyone have any other opinions?"

  "No." The crowd responded in unison, what a joke, if such a meticulous plan still had opinions, then one's own plan might as well be smashed to death.

  Everyone immediately dispersed and got moving according to Xiao Yao's arrangement. Shi Hu made the final summary.

  "Yes, General." The crowd responded in unison and immediately made a farewell gesture, quickly leaving the tent.

  In front of the Tiger Mountain Pass, more than 50,000 elite soldiers of the Tiger Regiment are busy as hot fire at this moment. Suddenly, tens of thousands of poor civilians who retreated from the Tiger Gate also joined in. The scene of military and civilian unity in front of the Tiger Mountain Pass makes people feel a kind of nostalgia when they see it. Even those women with bound feet and no strength to tie a chicken are now burning hot water to continuously supply the soldiers and civilians working at the front line.

  Leng Xiao stood on the waist of Hu Shan Valley, looking down at the scene below where flames were rising high into the sky. He felt a slight sense of emotion in his heart, and only now did he understand why the Mò Hǔ Tuán had been able to defend the border for over a decade without ever losing a battle or failing to capture a city, even when they had come close to being overrun by the beastmen on several occasions. It seemed that the military and civilians under Yu Shi Hu were inseparable.

  "What's on your mind?" Shi Hu's voice echoed faintly, without waiting for Leng Xiao Yao to respond, Shi Hu continued: "Actually, in my Tiger Team, one-third of the soldiers are from the civilian population of Tiger Gate, including your team leader Wang Shu who is also from Tiger Gate. Especially your vanguard camp, at least more than half are people from Tiger Gate, so I agreed to let Wang Shu cut off their connections with them back then, they did what they wanted to do."

  Leng Xiao Yao finally understood why, when Wang Shu had announced the mission to the vanguard camp's many soldiers, not a single one of them had backed out. They all knew how crucial this mission was; if they failed, it would mean that the retreating army would definitely suffer severe obstruction, and among those obstructed civilians might be their own family members, relatives, or children. If they chose to flee, it would mean they could never face their fellow villagers again. Although they had fallen in battle, they believed their families would still be proud of them.

  "Really? You think we can hold on for five days?"

  "If nothing unexpected happens, I think we can hold on for five days." Leng Xiao Yao thought for a moment before giving the answer.

  "General, what do you plan to do with these people?" asked Cold Impermanence, pointing at the densely packed poor people below, after all, once the war begins, these poor people will not be of any use and staying on the battlefield will only add unnecessary casualties.

  Shi Hu heard Leng Xiao Yao's words and a faint smile appeared on his face as he shook his head, "They, haha, Xiao Yao, perhaps you still don't believe it, but even if we went to drive them away, they wouldn't leave. They are all staying behind of their own accord."

  "But they stay here, only to add unnecessary casualties!" Leng Xiao's face showed a hint of surprise. Didn't these poor people fear death? On the battlefield, no one cares whether you're a civilian or a soldier; it's either you die or I live.

  Shi Hu shook his head and said, "Xiao Yao, you don't know that these things aren't strange to you. After all, you grew up in a wealthy family and don't understand the ways of the outside world. You see how freely these poor people live, but that's only because they have Tiger Gate as their support. If they lose that, their fate will be miserable. The young and strong will be sold into slavery, the old women will be killed, and the young children will be treated like playthings and sold off. That's why they don't want to leave. They're betting on us taking back Tiger Gate so they can start their lives again."

  Shi Hu pointed to a sturdy man below and said to Leng Xiao Yao, "Xiao Yao, do you see that man? His name is Wang Shi. Five years ago, when the beastmen launched a massive attack, our soldiers were scarce, but the young poor people of Tiger Gate took up simple weapons and rushed to the city wall to help. Wang Shi single-handedly killed 31 beastmen soldiers, and he himself suffered over ten fatal sword wounds, yet he persisted until he fell. Luckily, he was rescued and survived. Look at that old man with a broken arm, he's the village chief of Tiger Gate. He also participated in that battle, and his arm was cut off by a high-ranking beastman warrior. Yet, in that moment, he stabbed the beastman in the stomach... And then there's that one..."

  Leng Xiao was quietly listening to Shi Hu's explanation of every poor civilian in the Tiger Gate, as if in Shi Hu's mind, each of the remaining poor civilians had a legendary story on their body. Every time Leng Xiao finished listening to someone's story, his heart would be shocked once. No wonder the rumors outside the Tianlong Kingdom said that the Mò Hǔ Tuán was the most powerful military team, every time it was about to be destroyed, it could quickly form a new team. Is this the greatest effect of the military and civilians being one family?

  Shi Hu continued to explain non-stop, while Leng Xiao Yao quietly listened to his explanation. Unbeknownst to them, the remaining sunlight cast a long shadow of the two on the ground.

  "Carefree, do you know why I'm telling you all this?" Shi Hu suddenly stopped his introduction and asked a question.

  "Please, General, show me your undergarments."

  Shì Hǔ's eyes gazed at Lěng Xiāo Yáo for a long time before he slowly opened his mouth and said, "General Lěng has devoted himself to the Tian Long Kingdom all his life, never having any greedy thoughts. Among the second generation of the Lěng family, except for Lěng Xiāo who was once called a genius, the rest are all good-for-nothings."

  Shi Hu said, "Xiao Yao, my words were a bit harsh, but I didn't mean to imply you. Your father and two brothers are good for nothing except eating, drinking, and having fun. I became an orphan at 15 and was fortunate enough to receive your grandfather's recognition, which allowed me to develop my talents in the military and achieve what I have today. I've always respected your grandfather as if he were my own, so I was worried about him and the Cold family. I thought the Cold family would continue to decline, but I never expected someone as talented as you would appear. You're far superior to your eldest uncle, Cold Xiao. When we were ambushed at the vanguard camp, I was really afraid that the only hope for the Cold family would be lost in my hands. Fortunately, heaven has eyes, and you returned safely."

  "General, you're overpraising me. Xiaoyao is just a bit clever, can't bear such exaggerated praise from the general."

  "No." Shi Hu waved his hand and said, "You have the qualifications, Xiao Yao. I remember when you first arrived at the military camp, I always felt it was strange that General would send you here. Later on, I gradually understood some things. From the moment you first went onto the battlefield, you gave me a huge surprise. As time went on, I discovered that you had been hiding your true abilities all along. However, given the current situation, you indeed have to do so. I believe you've hidden many of your secrets, but I don't blame you because the weight of responsibility on your shoulders is too great."

  Leng Xiao Yao's heart was stirred upon hearing Shi Hu's words from the bottom of his heart, and just as he was about to speak up, he saw Shi Hu wave his hand to stop him. "Xiao Yao," Shi Hu said, "every person has their own secrets, and some secrets you'll take to your grave, even if it's your grandfather, you can't reveal them. When personal interests outweigh family ties, other problems will easily arise, do you understand?"

  "I understand, thank you General for your words of wisdom. I will definitely remember them in my heart." Leng Xiao Yao bowed to Shi Hu.

  Shi Hu heard what Leng Xiao Yao had said, a faint smile appeared on his face, and he stretched out his hand to pat Leng Xiao Yao's shoulder, saying: "It's getting late, let's go down!"

  "Yes, General."

  "Coffee's book has already risen to the 14th position on the new book chart, just a little bit away from the top ten. It all depends on whether everyone will add a bit more support. Coffee thanks you."