Chapter 65: When in Doubt, Call for Backup!
Chapter 65: Chapter 65: When in Doubt, Call for Backup!
"We just pulled our men back, and more people have gone missing?"
"Commander, could it be a coincidence?" the reporting Guard Captain asked.
Tang Wen sneered, "A coincidence?"
He was angry. He didn’t much care whether the Scavengers lived or died—it wasn’t something he could manage even if he wanted to.
But their inexplicable disappearances were preventing him from hunting, curing meat, and stockpiling food. That was intolerable.
"Commanders, what’s our next move? Should we go check the scene?"
Seeing that Tang Wen was thinking, Zhou Bing signaled for the Guard Captain to be patient.
After a few minutes, Tang Wen spoke up. "This is definitely not a coincidence. The Scavenger Camp is crowded and chaotic. The enemy probably has eyes and ears in there."
"Very likely."
Tang Wen continued, "Here’s the plan. Send a few hot-tempered men to the Scavenger Camp to raise hell. Have them curse the Scavengers, accusing them of harboring a traitor. Then, publicly announce that we don’t have time to deal with it."
The Guard Captain thought he understood. "And then we’ll secretly send our own people to infiltrate the Scavengers!"
"Ahem, no need for all that trouble. Those Scavengers are the kind of people who can be bought for half a catty of Maize. We’d never be able to tell who the informant is."
After Tang Wen finished, the Guard Captain’s eyes filled with admiration. "I was being too simplistic."
"Just send men to watch the road to Black Mountain Camp."
And so, the matter was settled.
Four Hunting Teams quietly left the city. One team set up an ambush on the road to Black Mountain Camp.
The other three teams spread out, lying in wait around the Scavenger Camp, but not too close to it.
"CAW! CAW! CAW!" As the Hunting Teams left the city in their Armor, the sound startled a red-eyed crow, which took flight.
"Damn it! What bad luck. Why’d we have to run into one of these things right after leaving."
"Damned bird."
Someone in the team raised their Bow and Arrow, but the red-eyed crow swerved and dove into the forest.
"Shit! It’s pretty damn smart."
This type of crow was a low-level Mutated Beast.
Because of its unpleasant caw, black feathers, and blood-red eyes, people considered it a bad omen.
As for how exactly it was a bad omen, no one knew.
It was basically the same logic as black dog’s blood warding off evil or black cats communing with spirits.
After the Hunting Teams departed.
Tang Wen and the other Commanders didn’t slack off either.
Commander Zhang was on night duty, so Tang Wen and Zhou Bing slept in their respective quarters.
The night passed, but nothing happened.
The one-armed Commander Zhang sat stiffly in the Council Hall until dawn.
In the early morning, the Hunting Teams reported back: no anomalies. They hadn’t even encountered a single wild beast.
The three Commanders fell silent. Commander Zhang, who hadn’t slept all night, pressed his temples and said irritably, "Forget it! Just report it up the chain. Let’s get ready to screw over those damned Black Mountain Ghosts!"
Obviously, he was just venting.
Tang Wen waited for him to cool down before speaking. "This doesn’t match the Black Mountain Ghosts’ MO at all. If we go to war with Black Mountain, the people hiding in the shadows will be laughing in their sleep."
"People in the shadows?" Commander Zhang was startled. Realizing this was a real possibility, he took a deep breath and calmed down.
Zhou Bing also felt something was off. She speculated, "Could someone be watching our camp gate? As long as they see a Hunting Team go out, they don’t make a move. They only act after we pull our people back."
"It’s possible." Tang Wen stroked his chin, thinking. "Let’s send a few teams of Hunters disguised as commoners out from the Inner City gate. Have them take over surveillance and pull the current Guards back."
"Okay!"
"Good idea."
Half an hour later, four Hunting Teams took a long route, leaving the camp separately through the Inner City gate.
They loitered in the forest outside until dusk before gathering at the designated spot and moving to their respective ambush points to observe.
Meanwhile, the four Hunting Teams that had left the previous night returned through the camp gate, their faces dark as they cursed under their breath.
And that night, once again, nothing happened.
The next day, Tang Wen dispatched three Hunting Teams to carry out their normal duties: hunting, chopping wood, and helping the camp’s kitchen staff cure meat.
That night was uneventful.
Another day passed, and Tang Wen sent out three different Hunting Teams to hunt.
That evening, everything was still peaceful.
No one disappeared from the Scavenger Camp, and the various surveillance teams didn’t spot anything unusual.
「Five days later.」
Tang Wen and Zhou Bing recalled the four surveillance teams.
As a result, dozens of people vanished from the Scavenger Camp that very night.
"This is a slap in the face!" Commander Zhang roared with fury when he heard the news.
Zhou Bing’s pretty face was stern, and the faces of the Hunting Captains were extremely grim.
Having lived two lives, Tang Wen’s expression was calm.
He was even somewhat satisfied with the result that none of his Hunting Teams had suffered any casualties.
Things had reached this point.
They would definitely have to ask the Inner City for help.
And before they did, his Hunting Teams had learned just how strange and cunning the enemy was without paying any real price.
That was already a good outcome.
「That afternoon, in the General’s Mansion in the Inner City.」
Tang Wen gave a detailed account of the "Scavenger disappearances" from beginning to end.
Inside the room, the crowd of experienced Commanders looked at each other in dismay.
Clearly, they couldn’t figure out how the enemy had done it either.
A hot-tempered Commander shouted, "Let’s just go grab some of the Black Mountain Ghosts and interrogate them!"
"Yeah, whatever the situation is, beating up the Black Mountain Ghosts first can’t be wrong!"
"I think that’ll work."
"Work? What work? All of you, shut up," General Zhou said, glaring.
The Commanders immediately fell silent.
General Zhou had long established his authority; no one dared to challenge him.
After a brief pause, General Zhao spoke up to ease the tension. "It hasn’t rained in dozens of days. The Maize seedlings in the fields outside the city are about to wither and die. We don’t know how long this drought will last. It’s truly not a good time to start a war."
Tang Wen nodded to himself. ’The two Generals in charge of the camp are both reasonable men.’
But everyone understood the reasoning. The problem was that Scavengers kept disappearing, and the Hunting Battalion couldn’t get a single lead.
It wasn’t a huge incident, but it was incredibly frustrating.
Tang Wen understood this feeling best. He glanced at Zhou Bing, thinking about how he possessed a Treasure Artifact but had no opportunity to use it.
It was a constant source of frustration!
Qian Dong, Commander of the Forbidden Guard, suggested, "How about we just have the Hunting Battalion patrol every single night? Let’s see if they still dare to show up."
Scaring the enemy off wasn’t a bad idea, but it was a desperate one.
But the risk was even greater.
Once the enemy figured out the patrol’s true strength, they might send in experts to take them out directly.
At that point, Flame Camp’s losses would be even greater.
They discussed for over an hour without reaching any conclusion.
The two Generals had Tang Wen and the other two stay behind, then dismissed the meeting.
After the other Commanders left, the atmosphere in the room grew even more oppressive.
The two Generals exchanged a look. General Zhou’s expression was grave as he asked, "Do you think it’s possible... that the problem is internal?"
"Huh?"
Tang Wen, Zhou Bing, and Commander Zhang looked at each other.
Finally, Zhou Bing shook her head. "That should be impossible. The elites I brought over from the Inner City Hunting Battalion and the Martial Disciples from the Martial Arts Hall are all camp veterans. Their entire families live here. What benefit would they get from doing something that throws the camp into a panic?"
"What about the Outer City Guards newly recruited into the Hunting Battalion?" General Zhou asked.
Commander Zhang said, "I can’t speak for everyone, but the Outer City Guards have families and a stable income. They’re basically very reliable."
A Guard’s position is like a secure government job with high status. They have almost no reason to cause trouble.
The camp’s promotion system is transparent. If you want to become a Captain or a Commander, you just have to focus on your Martial Arts Training.
As long as you have the strength, it’s hard *not* to get promoted.
The trail went cold. The investigation was at a standstill.
"Xiaotang, what’s your opinion?"
Tang Wen had been thinking for a long time. When his name was called, he immediately gave a concise reply: "Let’s try deploying the Commanders."
His tone was natural, his problem-solving approach direct and straightforward.
It was like a regiment commander facing the question, "What do we do if the 50mm howitzers can’t take out the enemy?"
The natural answer would be: "Bring in bigger guns! Get the 100mm and 155mm howitzers up here for me!"
To Tang Wen, a Hunting Captain was a 50mm howitzer.
A Commander at the Third-Class Martial Master Level was a 100mm howitzer.
A Commander at the Second-Class Martial Master Level was a 155mm.
As for a First-class Martial Artist...
They were probably comparable to a 203mm giant cannon.
He explained, "Although I don’t know how the people in the shadows are doing it, the fact is that our Hunting Teams can’t even find a trace of them."
The two Generals conferred in low voices for a moment. Then, General Zhou said decisively, "Alright. In addition to you and Zhou Bing, we’ll deploy four more Commanders!"
Zhou Bing and Commander Zhang felt a burden lift from their shoulders.
’With six Commanders deployed, we should be able to drag the hidden enemy out, right?’
But Tang Wen didn’t think so. It came back to the same question: what if the enemy had a General Level expert?
"If Sister Bing and I leave at the same time, the Outer City will still need someone to hold down the fort."
As he spoke, he looked toward General Zhao.