Chapter Fourteen: Hurry Up and Loot the Crate

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Lu Ren and the others were all shaken to the core; they had witnessed firsthand the brutality of those natives. Eight of them had originally confronted the attackers, and now only four remained. If they continued to charge recklessly, it would be no different from marching to their deaths.

“Brother Qin, be cautious. The four of us are men accustomed to hunting; we won’t starve anytime soon,” one advised.

“This matter requires careful long-term planning.”

“Exactly, we must think it through; we can’t just fight head-on.”

Qin Lang gave Lu Ren an impatient glance. “Hunting? Without water, how long do you think we can survive here?”

“There is food to hunt here, but what about water?” Lu Ren paced anxiously before breaking into a sly smile. “Brother Qin, although those natives are numerous and tough, Jiang Li and the neutral parties should still have some supplies left, right?”

“You mean...” Qin Lang’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Those natives were many, but Jiang Li’s group was small—only five people—though still outnumbered.

Another group had disembarked earlier but had found nothing so far. If they could unite with them, taking down Jiang Li would be a piece of cake.

“That’s right! Brother Qin, we didn’t want to involve those people at first because we feared food consumption would be too great. But now, with no supplies left, joining forces with them only benefits us,” Lu Ren said smugly.

After some thought, Qin Lang sneered, “Heh, lack of food won’t make them willingly follow us.”

“I have a plan: we lure those natives into their camp. When they’re in danger, we’ll come to their rescue. That way, we avenge what happened earlier and win their hearts!”

“We’ll split into teams of two.”

...

(For ease of reading, the natives’ language is rendered into Chinese characters, though Jiang Li and the others still cannot understand.)

In a wild, desolate area, a burly man adorned with a necklace made of various animal teeth carefully scanned the surroundings, holding a spear. His skin was dark, his muscles robust and powerful. Behind him followed a dozen natives armed with wooden spears.

“Leader Wolf Fang!” a native approached in a panic.

“Did you find the enemy?” the burly man, Wolf Fang, glared fiercely.

These guys had just stolen food from their tribe and killed two of their members.

During the earlier battle, they had lost seven or eight warriors—such losses pained him deeply.

Several tribes inhabited this region. Losing so many strong men risked the tribe’s annihilation if rival tribes took advantage.

Such a grudge could not go unavenged.

“No! It’s not like that. I just received news—our tribe has been robbed!”

“What?!” Wolf Fang glared furiously at the messenger.

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“Who did it? Wild Bears or Stray Dogs?”

“How dare they raid our nest while we were out! They’re courting death!”

“Leader, it wasn’t them.”

“According to reports, it was someone named ‘Qin Lang—’” The native’s pronunciation of “Qin Lang” was stiff and unnatural due to the language barrier.

“Qin Lang?” Wolf Fang repeated the name awkwardly, then quickly gestured to the others.

“Everyone, get ready! Our nest has been raided. We won’t return until we find these people!”

As Wolf Fang spoke, his gaze suddenly locked onto the front.

“A bunch of beasts! Come catch me!” Lu Ren and another shouted loudly ahead.

“Ahhhh!” Wolf Fang roared in anger and charged forward with his spear, a dozen men following swiftly.

Moments later, Lu Ren crouched, panting, in the grass.

“Did we lose them?”

“Yes, those natives have spotted Zhao Hua’s group. It looks like a fight is about to break out.”

“Good! Let’s get moving!” Lu Ren grabbed his companion and dashed off without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Zhao Hua and the neutral party hid inside a cave, trapped and uncertain.

“What’s going on? Where did these people come from?”

“Why are there suddenly so many?”

Inside the cave, Zhao Hua and the others were terrified. They had been sound asleep and opened their eyes only to find themselves surrounded by a dozen burly men. Anyone would be alarmed in such a situation.

“Ahhhh!” Wolf Fang glared at the five figures inside the cave. So many guarded the entrance that they couldn’t charge in immediately.

But these men had dared to steal their food, which was intolerable. Furious, Wolf Fang roared again.

“Qin Lang—!”

“Come out!”

Inside the cave, hearing the shout, Zhao Hua’s group stiffened with anger.

“Damn it! They’re calling for Qin Lang.”

“Could it be that they’re in cahoots with Qin Lang and want to kill us?”

“Damn! I always suspected he wasn’t a good man, but never thought he’d turn on us.”

Zhao Hua gripped his long knife tightly. “Those savages are still calling for Qin Lang, which means he and his group haven’t arrived yet. We still have a chance.”

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“Now’s the time. Let’s run fast. If Qin Lang arrives, it’ll be the end for us.”

As he spoke, Zhao Hua kicked several stones away. Taking advantage of the natives’ distraction, he bolted out.

“We charge too!”

“No chance if we don’t run!”

“Catch them!” Wolf Fang angrily swatted a stone aside and charged forward with his spear.

Zhao Hua and the others ran headlong, with Wolf Fang and a dozen natives in close pursuit.

Seeing his quarry pulling away, Wolf Fang grew anxious.

“Qin Lang—!”

“Qin Lang!”

Unaware, the more Wolf Fang shouted, the more terrified Zhao Hua’s group became. These natives were already enough trouble; if Qin Lang and his men came, they would be doomed.

Several hundred meters away, Qin Lang, who had just reunited with Lu Ren and the others, heard the distant cries and felt a surge of joy.

“Someone’s calling for us. Looks like they’re trapped by the natives. Let’s hurry!”

As Wolf Fang called out, the chase intensified. The further Zhao Hua ran, the more Wolf Fang shouted, and the more Qin Lang pressed on without hesitation...

This formed a deadly cycle. Unconsciously, dawn began to break.

“I can’t run anymore, I really can’t,” Zhao Hua panted, looking around. Only two companions remained nearby—yesterday’s chaos had scattered the original five.

“Where are we? And what about those natives behind us? And damn Qin Lang!”

“No idea. Maybe we lost them. Let’s find a place to rest.”

Zhao Hua nodded. “Right, let’s—”

“Ugh! Damn it!”

His two companions exchanged confused looks. How did they suddenly lose the trail?

At that moment, Zhao Hua had fallen into a cave where Jiang Li, puzzled, poked him with a small branch.

“Brother, are you alive?”

After a long pause, Zhao Hua remained motionless. Jiang Li frowned and gestured to Chu Chunqiu and the others.

“Hurry up and loot around. See if there’s any gear left behind!”