13 Smart Bird Choose The Strongest Tree Branch

As the horn sounded throughout the training camp, Batzorig and nine captains took a hundred people out of the training camp and began to search for the five men in black who had sneaked into the training camp.

Batzorig shouted, "We must capture at least one intruder. Spread out."

Each of the nine captains, with ten outstanding soldiers, rushed out of the camp.

The five soldiers stood behind Haitao, watching Khunbish, Khenbish, Timicin, and Och fight against the two men in black.

Erden murmured, "Wow, I didn't know Khunbish and Khenbish were good at fighting."

Chaghatai rubbed his back and said, "Thank God, I didn't offend them too much."

Muunokhoi, "I told you all to get along."

Od said, "Shut up."

Haitao turned to look at Chinua, and under the light of the bonfire, he saw the fearless expression on Chinua's face, as if she already knew that Khunbish and Khenbish would defeat the man in black. He quickly opened his hands as a flying arrow swept past them. Haitao's action caused the six people standing beside him and behind him to fall to the ground.

Another man in black stepped forward and kicked towards Haitao; Haitao blocked the man in black's feet, twisted his right elbow, and waved towards the man in black's head, knocking the man in black to the ground. Another man in black rushed out of the darkness and swung his sword towards Haitao's head. Haitao quickly dodged the attack of the sword, grabbed the wrist of the man in black, and pushed the man in black away from the five inexperienced soldiers still sitting on the ground.

On the bank of the river, Och was kicked so hard that he landed a few feet away from Chinua and the five. Chinua could see that the men in black who fought Timicin had the upper hand. She saw the bow descend a few steps away from her, the intruder still out cold on the ground. She quickly grabbed the bow, drew an arrow from the intruder's quiver, and released it.

The man with the knife behind him waved at Timicin's neck, and Timicin arched backward avoiding the knife and fell to the ground. He heard a brisk dive, and then the man in black fell back toward the lake. Timicin turned around and saw that Chinua's arrow was aimed at another man in black who was fighting Haitao. He quickly rushed to Och's side and help Och up.

Chinua waited for her chance to shoot, but the invaders fighting Haitao didn't give her the chance at all.

The intruder and Haitao began to scuffle on the ground, and he also noticed that the arrow is aiming at his life, so he grabbed Haitao tightly and blocked himself behind Haitao.

Chinua knew she couldn't clearly hit the intruder who was fighting Haitao, so she aimed her arrow at the intruder who were fighting Khunbish and Khenbish.

Chinua yelled, "Get out of the way."

Khunbish and Khenbish quickly backed away from the intruder, while Chinua's arrow hit the intruder's left chest, sending the intruder into the river. The intruder who was fighting Haitao on the ground broke free of Haitao and quickly jumped into the river.

Haitao walked back to his men and pulled out his belt. He began to tie down the hands of the intruder. He helped the intruder to his feet and leaned the intruder against a rock. When the dog started barking from a distance, he started waking the intruder.

Soon after the intruder woke up, Dawa came to the group. Dawa walked up to the intruder and pulled the intruder up with force.

Dawa asked angrily, "What about the rest of you?"

The intruder refused to speak, just stared coldly at Dawa.

Dawa pushed the intruder in front of ten people and said, "Take him back to the camp to find General Batzorig."

Dawa and his men brought the captured invaders back to the camp.

Timicin frowned irritably, "Our team caught the intruder, why did he take the intruder back to claim reward?"

Od grabbed onto Haitao's arm and said, "Captain, do you really want to let Captain Dawa took the credit?"

Haitao smiled and said, "Whether he brought the intruder, or I brought the intruder, there is no difference because we are on the same side."

Och said, "It's only fair."

Erden said, That's right. We caught it. We should be credited."

Haitao said, "Don't think about it, it's just a little credit, don't aim for it. If you want to aim, aim for something big, something that has an impact on ordinary people's lives. When we decided to join the military, we vowed to protect them."

Chaghatai said, "Actually, I joined the army for food and monthly income."

The people standing on the riverbank laughed at Chagatai's comments.

Haitao said, "Alright, let's head back to camp."

Soldiers were gathering at the training ground when Haitao and his men returned to camp. Altan walked up to the ten and said, "Oh, where are you losers?" He laughed at the ten and kept his eyes on Timicin.

Timicin clenched his fist, but Haitao grabbed Timicin's fist and said, "We just came back from fishing, what's going on?"

Altan said, "Captain Dawa, capture the intruder who went to assassinate Prince Dzhambul."

Chinua suddenly said, "Is Prince Dzhambul injured?"

Altan said, "How could Prince Dzhambul be injured? He is very skilled. Do you think some intruders can scare the General of the Northern Army?" He looked at Chinua irritably. "Stupid."

Khunbish grabbed Altan by the front collar and pulled him in, "Watch your mouth, or the next thing that falls on your face is my fist." He pushed Altan towards the others who were also standing.

Captain Haitao said, "Don't be so violent, let's line up and gather."

Och walked past Chinua and said, "You should bring a spare arrow."

Chaghatai said, "If he was shot, I won't tell who release the arrow."

Captain Batzorig took center stage and said, "Tonight, Captain Dawa and his elite ten soldiers captured an intruder who attempted to assassinate General Dzhambul. From now on, everyone should be careful, if you see or hear anything, report it to your captain immediately."

Erden muttered dissatisfiedly behind Och, "The credit belongs to Captain Haitao."

After the group left the training ground, the seven recruits sat around the bonfire with dissatisfaction on their faces. The more they saw Haitao happily cooking by another campfire, the angrier they became.

Chaghatai frowned, "Others stole his credit, why is he so happy?"

Muunokhoi whispered, "I've heard rumors that he likes to be a loser. Seeing it with my own eyes I think it's not even a rumor, it's a fact."

Erden, "I don't understand either."

Timicin, "No wonder no one respects him."

Od, "If it were me, I would definitely say something."

Haitao put the pot of food on the ground, "And say what?"

Od said, "Tell the true, you caught that intruder."

Haitao laughed, "You are still angry with this?"

Timicin looked up and said, "You're not angry?"

Haitao smiled and said, "No, it's just a trivial matter, why make a big deal, it's not life and death." He looked at the young soldiers sitting in the bonfire. "Let's eat and sleep. Tomorrow we will go up the mountain again. Walking on the natural path may ease our inner anger."

Och got up frantically and walked towards his tent.

Haitao shouted, "Och, are you not eating?"

Och gave him a cold look and walked into his tent. The rest of the group also went to their tent.

Haitao chuckled and said, "If you don't eat, more food for me." He started to eat.

After returning from the bath, Chinua saw Haitao eating by the bonfire alone. She handed the dirty laundry to Khunbish. She said, "Go to sleep, don't wait for me, I'll chat with Haitao for a while."

Chinua walked over and sat across from Haitao by the campfire. Haitao handed the pot to Chinua, who also began to eat.

"There are very few people who don't fight for fame and fortune," Chinua said. She ate a bit of corn mixed with rice. "Captain Haitao, you are a very interesting person?" When he looked up at Chinua, Chinua knew she had caught Haitao's attention. "To the West, there is Prince Chimgee. To the East, there is Prince Mönkhbat. No one respects you here, why did you choose to stay?"

Haitao looked up at Chinua and said with a chuckle, "Chinua, you are also a very interesting person. With your ability, you are no ordinary new recruits. In the west, Prince Chimgee loves and treats all of his soldiers with compassion but lacking trust. In the East, Prince Mönkhbat and his soldiers were brave but lacking support." He chuckled. "That's why I chose to stay here. Smart birds should choose the strongest branch on the tree."

"Is that why you chose to stay with Prince Dzhambul?" Chinua asked, looking at Haitao. "I don't blame you. With Prince Dzhambul, who has the support of many different court officials, it's a good choice for you to stay here." She stood up. "But if too many smart birds choose the same tree branch, eventually that tree branch will break."

Haitao laughed loudly. He said, "I have not sworn my royalty yet." He stood beside Chinua. "I'm just wasting my time waiting."

Chinua asked, "What and who are you waiting for?"

Haitao smiled and looked at Chinua, "I'm waiting for the right moment, the right person. Only that person is worthy of my bending knees."