Chapter 4: The Future Bandit's Lady_1

Chapter 4

Beneath Frog Ridge, Huang Sanyuan wore a grim face, taking count of the losses and casualties.

Actually, there were not too many casualties. Aside from Lin Shaoyu being missing, everyone else was safe and sound. However, the small city lord's fiancée was captured by the bandits. Given the city lord's brutality, Huang Sanyuan was terrified to think of what might happen when they returned to Black Stone City.

"I ask you all, do you wish to live or die!" Huang Sanyuan suddenly broke the silence.

A soldier bravely spoke up, "Steward Huang, of course we wish to live…"

"Since you wish to live, tell me, how many bandits attacked us today?"

"One..." The soldier suddenly understood: "A full hundred men!"

"One hundred men!" sneered Huang Sanyuan. "Are you blind? The bandits clearly numbered over three hundred. Despite our fierce fight, leaving dozens of bandit corpses behind, we failed to protect the young lady and Young Hero Lin has gone missing."

Action overtook words as Huang Sanyuan, with a swift jerk, drew a short knife and slashed his arm. Ignoring the blood, he exclaimed, "Follow me back to the city, soldiers!"

The soldiers followed suit, inflicting wounds upon themselves, tearing their intact armors, and slashing at fleshy areas. Even if it hurt terribly, it was nothing in comparison to the brutality of the lord of Black Stone City.

As the crowd started to disperse, a solitary figure emerged from the bushes. It was Lin Shaoyu. As he gazed up at the star-studded sky, he let out a sigh.

"What good am I, Lin Shaoyu, pretending to be a valiant hero when Steward Huang had put his trust in me, only for this to result in Su family's miss being taken away." Clenching the iron spear in his hand, Lin Shaoyu vowed, "Steward Huang, rest assured. I, Lin Shaoyu, will retrieve Miss Su for you, so that I am worthy of calling myself a man!"

…...

Name: Xu Shenji (notoriously terrible advisor)

Age: 49

Skills: None

Hidden Attribute: Strategically useless and laughable advisor.

"Where a fool may stumble upon a solution occasionally, this man surpasses even the fool, remaining consistently useless. Only a kind-hearted person would shelter such a person in these troubled times."

Cheng Dalei looked at Xu Shenji, his face a picture of misery. He had thought that "ordinary" was the lowest grade of ability, yet seeing Xu Shenji, he realized that below "ordinary", there was a new low— "terrible". Especially Xu Shenji's hidden attribute…

While others can at least occasionally come up with a good plan, you fail even at that - what on earth is the point in keeping you around? For good luck?

Xu Shenji enquired, "Bandit leader, bandit leader, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, maybe my face is just too dark." Cheng Dalei massaged his face. "Let it out, what's the big news?"

"Bandit leader, I have questioned the woman. Her name is Su Ying, the fiancée of Black Stone City's young lord. The trouble we've gotten into for abducting her could be substantial. You don't seem to understand the seriousness of angering Black Stone City. The former leader of our fort died by their arrows in a battle against Black Stone City and his wounds became infected, leading to his death. This time we have provoked them again; if they send their army, we will all be dead."

Both Qin Man and Xu Ling'er joined the conversation at this point. Cheng Dalei asked, "Does anyone know about the situation in Black Stone City?"

"I do." Qin Man replied, "Black Stone City is around a hundred miles away from Frog Ridge. The City Lord's name is Han Huju. He is lustful and cruel, with five thousand elite troops guarding the city."

"Five thousand against two, do you think we stand a chance, Adviser Xu?" Xu Shenji had intentionally excluded himself and his daughter from the defenders' count.

"Then what do you suggest? We've already abducted the hostage. Or do you want to return her, apologize to them and kowtow, to see if they will forgive you?" countered Cheng Dalei.

"Well… forget I suggested anything."

Cheng Dalei no longer held any hope for this advisor. He turned to Qin Man, hoping that this robust man might possess some strategic brilliance.

"Brother Qin, what should we do in your opinion?"

"I believe that instead of passively waiting for their attack, it's better to take initiative. We should charge into Black Stone City, kill Han Huju, and turn the tables on them. With surprise on our side, we have at least a seventy percent chance of success."

Both Cheng Dalei and Xu Shenji stared at Qin Man, dumbfounded. Four of them were to launch an attack on five thousand? And they had a seventy percent chance of success?

Turns out another brainless brute had made his debut on the stage. It seemed like he had no choice but to shoulder the responsibility of planning and strategizing himself.

"In my opinion, we should pack up and run as fast as we can, and it might already be too late," Xu Shenji intervened.

Both Xu Ling'er and Qin Man nodded in agreement, "Seems like that's the only option we have…"

"Run, absolutely not," Cheng Dalei said, resolute.

"Why?" Xu Shenji didn't understand why Cheng Dalei would suddenly be so firm.

Cheng Dalei initially planned to flee as well, but he was terrified by Xu Shenji's hidden attribute. This guy's hidden attribute was to have no plan. Meaning, any idea he came up with was the wrong one. If he listened to his suggestion to run away, they were bound to run into trouble.

"There are three reasons. First, the person we kidnapped is the young city lord's fiancée. This person could be very important but could also be unimportant. Is the young city lord of Black Stone City short of wives? Hence, it's impossible for them to attack with five thousand. At most, they would send one to two hundred men. Second, we are over a hundred miles away from Black Stone City. Round trip would consume a lot of their time. This time is our opportunity. By exploiting the terrain, we could ambush them and it's not impossible to hold the fort."

Beep, task received: "First Defense of the Mountain Fortress". This task has a high difficulty level, beyond the current strength of the fortress.

Even the system had issued a prompt, indicating the urgency of the situation.

Well, since the task was accepted, one had to stake his life for one last battle.

"What's the third reason?" Xu Shenji asked blankly, surprised by the reasoning Cheng Dalei had presented.

"The third…" Cheng Dalei looked around. "My father, the previous leader of Frog Fort, was injured by an arrow during the siege of Black Stone City, and later died from an infection. Moreover, Brother Qin has a deep-seated feud with Han Huju. If we don't avenge this hatred, how can we show our faces as men? So this time, regardless of whether we can hold it or not, we must defend."

"Bang!" Qin Man pounded the table. "Bandit leader, from henceforth, my life is yours!"

Xu Shenji wasn't as impulsive as Qin Man. He didn't understand what Cheng Dalei meant by "even if we can't hold it, we have to hold it". After a thought, Xu Shenji asked, "There are two routes from Black Stone City to here. One is the official road that can accommodate two horse carriages side by side. The other is a narrow, winding path, and there is a narrow valley in the middle. If we are to ambush, how do we know which route they will take?"

"That's where you come in, isn't it, Adviser Xu?" Cheng Dalei said with a meaningful smile. "Think carefully, Adviser, which route will they take?"

Xu Shenji furrowed his eyebrows, calling upon his little-used, perhaps never-used brain cells, and finally declared with conviction, "They must be coming from the official road!"

Cheng Dalei laughed heartily, "Now, I know which route they will take."

Xu Shenji was even more confused. Considering he himself was unsure, he was puzzled why Cheng Dalei expressed so much faith in his judgment.

"What do you think, Adviser Xu? Can we get through this crisis?"

Xu Shenji sighed deeply, "To be honest, bandit leader, I have no hope whatsoever."

"I didn't have any confidence initially either," slapped Cheng Dalei on Xu Shenji's shoulder, "But now, I've regained a bit of hope."

Even a sheet of toilet paper or an underwear had its purpose. Cheng Dalei understood this wisdom all too well. Who said Xu Shenji had no use? He was indeed a weapon for ruling out incorrect choices. From now on, s long as anyone bore a grudge against him, he would send Xu Shenji to them. With Xu Shenji scheming for them, in no time they would suffer a great loss and their families would be torn apart.

With this thought, Cheng Dalei suddenly felt refreshed. Whistling, he headed towards his room.

It was time to meet his future Bandit's Lady.