Chapter 373 - 130: Just How Many Good Mothers Do You Have!?

Chapter 373: Chapter 130: Just How Many Good Mothers Do You Have!?

The words were barely out of his mouth.

"HUMMM—!"

An invisible wave of energy emanated from the distant army, instantly blanketing the entire pass.

A mage apprentice had just tried to activate a Magic Letter, only to find it wouldn’t send.

"It’s a sealing barrier," the mage apprentice cried out, his face deathly pale. "At least a Tier Four Sealing Scroll! All our communications have been cut off!"

At his words, a dead silence fell over the ramparts.

At that moment, the vanguard of the Alliance Army had already arrived below the pass.

Blood Hand Johnny rode a magnificent black stallion at the head of the column. He looked up at Gray Claw Pass, his expression solemn and stern.

Without any unnecessary theatrics, he simply raised his right hand and swept it forward.

"Attack."

At his command, the war drums thundered.

The vanguard surged directly toward the pass.

The outcome of the battle was never in doubt.

Though the pass was treacherous and easily defended, its garrison numbered only one hundred men.

Their assailants were twenty-two hundred elites.

A single volley of arrows rained down, and several Soldiers fell upon the ramparts.

Immediately after, dozens of fierce, elite soldiers in heavy armor swarmed forward with simple ladders, beginning their assault.

Marcus swung his sword, cutting down an enemy who had scaled the wall. Before he could recover, a scimitar slashed in from the side, carving a bloody gash in his arm deep enough to expose bone.

He staggered backward, shielded by two of his personal guards.

"Commander, we can’t hold them!"

"We have to retreat! If we don’t, we’ll all die here!"

Marcus glanced left and right, then gritted his teeth. "Retreat!"

He roared, his voice hoarse, "Everyone—retreat toward Red Ridge Mountain! Into the forest! Scatter!"

As if granted a great pardon, the surviving Soldiers leaped from the ramparts and fled into the depths of the gorge without a backward glance.

Some, in their panic, plunged headlong into the dense woods on either side of the gorge, scrambling and tumbling until they vanished into the undergrowth.

Others sprinted down the gorge, disappearing around a bend in the mountain within moments.

Supported by two of his men, Marcus staggered away and vanished down a mountain path.

On the ramparts of the pass, the war banner embroidered with the insignia of the Ninth Battle Battalion was slashed down by a Blue Scarf Soldier, fluttering into the dust.

"HAHAHAHA!"

Blue Crow rode up to the base of the pass, watching the pathetic, fleeing figures, and laughed until he rocked in his saddle. "Is that it?! That’s all they’ve got?"

He turned to Johnny, his face dripping with disdain. "Brother Johnny, this is the Ninth Battle Battalion you said was ’not to be underestimated’? They’re even more fucking useless than I imagined! A hundred men, and they couldn’t even last fifteen minutes!"

Blood Hand Johnny didn’t laugh.

He just watched the direction the routed soldiers had fled into the forest, his brow slightly furrowed.

But after a moment, his expression relaxed.

’They’re just routed soldiers.’

’So what if they fled into the forest?’

’Even if someone makes it back to Lakefront Town alive, it would take them two or three days to run there from here.’

’By the time word reaches Lynch...’

’...my army will already be at his gates.’

"Never mind the routed soldiers," Blood Hand Johnny said coolly with a wave of his hand. "Leave a hundred-man company to garrison the pass. The rest of the army will cross and advance through the gorge."

"Objective: Lakefront Town, Red Ridge Mountain."

The war drums thundered once more.

Over two thousand elite Blue Scarf soldiers poured into Gray Claw Gorge, forming a vast, winding serpent.

The gorge was narrow, winding, and steep.

The army’s advance inevitably slowed.

The treacherous terrain forced the column of over two thousand men to stretch out into a long serpent. The vanguard was already nearly a mile past the pass, while the rearguard had only just entered the gorge.

Ordinarily, a Commander would need to be extremely cautious when marching through such treacherous terrain.

For example, sending Scouts ahead to check the gorge’s sides for ambushes, or moving through hazardous sections in smaller groups, maintaining a safe distance between them.

A more prudent commander might even post sentinels on the high ground to monitor any movement within the gorge.

At this moment, however, neither Blood Hand Johnny nor Blue Crow gave any thought to such "common sense."

For water is formless, and in war, there are no fixed rules!

They were employing blitzkrieg tactics. Speed was everything. The entire strategy hinged on striking the enemy while they were unprepared, arriving at their gates before they even had time to react.

Only then could they take Lakefront Town with maximum speed.

This battle was all about the information gap.

’In this situation, how could Lynch possibly have set an ambush in advance?’

If they dawdled on the road, they would lose their window of opportunity. Should Lynch have time to react and deploy his forces, they would surely suffer unnecessary casualties.

Therefore, urged on by officers at every level, the Blue Scarf Alliance Army quickened its pace, eager to pass through Gray Claw Gorge and reach the foot of the mountains as quickly as possible.

But no matter how they tried to hasten their march, the extremely difficult terrain kept their speed in check. The army could only move like a great serpent, slithering slowly down the gorge.

「As time passed.」

Before they knew it, the vanguard of the Alliance Army was nearing the middle of the gorge, while the rearguard was a mere two or three hundred meters from the entrance.

But what Blood Hand Johnny and his men didn’t know was...

「At that very moment.」

...the hundred Soldiers who had just "routed" into the forests on either side were now moving swiftly along a hidden mountain path, silently making their way back toward the pass.

And among this "routed" company, there were now two ferocious-looking Purple Zombies and dozens of Black Corpses.