Chapter Twenty-Four: Command Authority

  Maya said in surprise: "Ming, how did you know?"

  Xu Ming said faintly, "The wisteria has a high water content, and its roots are in the stone wall. It can be seen that the water content in the stone wall is very high. But it hasn't rained recently, so how could there be a lot of water in the stone wall? There's only one possibility: halfway up the mountain, there's a large pool of water, and the water can seep through the cracks in the rocks. This is also why the grass and trees are dense on the middle slope, but sparse at the foot and top of the mountain."

  "Wow, Ming, you're so amazing!" Maya's face was filled with admiration.

  Xu Ming coughed lightly and said, "This doesn't count for anything, just observe carefully. Since there's a water source on the halfway up the mountain, it at least proves that there's something edible over there, and it also can't be ruled out that there are large wild beasts."

  "Let's go, we'll take a look at other places, it seems like we can't get through here."

  Xu Ming pulled Maya to wander around the nearby area again, and as he had expected, the surrounding terrain was almost the same, with nearly vertical cliffs exposed after pushing aside the shrubs. This type of cliff required at least a rope to climb up.

  After wandering around for half a day without any results, Xu Ming took Maya back to the meeting point. At this time, everyone else had also returned, but their faces didn't look too good.

  "How was it? What did everyone gain?" Xu Ming asked with a smile, but the smile seemed somewhat unnatural. Just by looking at everyone's faces, he knew there wasn't a good outcome.

  "On my side, it's absolutely impossible to pass through, it's too steep, almost vertical. The surroundings are all overgrown with vines and shrubs. I tried a few times, but it's so slippery that I couldn't even stand steadily."

  Xu Ming turned his gaze to Kap again, and Kap said: "The situation is almost the same, no wonder there are few birds and beasts in the training ground, this mountain is almost closed, and people can't get in at all."

  Several others also nodded, saying that the situation was more or less the same, only Harry seemed to have a hesitant expression. Xu Ming didn't believe that the mountain had been fully enclosed, unless it was done by large machinery on purpose, otherwise it was simply impossible.

  "Halli, did you gain anything?"

  "Mine's a bit better," said Harry hesitantly. "It's not as steep as they say, but it's still pretty difficult to get past."

  Is it difficult? Then it should be able to get through.

  Xu Ming's eyes lit up and he said to Harry: "Lead the way ahead, let's go take a look."

  Following Harry, I barely found the flavor of the mountain road. The winding and twisting roads were basically non-existent, with weeds that could reach up to my waist. The shrubbery here was also very dense, and the ground wasn't as hard as it was around us.

  Xu Ming bent down and dug a piece of soil with his dagger. There was muddy soil, indicating sufficient moisture. This should have been a gap in the past, and when the water flowed heavily on the mountain, it flowed through here, so the plants here were so lush.

  Water is the most magical power in nature, a drop of water can penetrate stone, and it's even easier to rush out a slope. Where there is flowing water, it can basically be determined that there is a road.

  Xu Ming silently remembered it in his heart, why didn't he think of it before? Maybe it will come in handy later.

  The farther they went, the denser the bushes became, and sometimes they could only crawl back and forth in the thicket. The place where Harry led everyone had many traces of being cut with a dagger or broken by hand, it seemed that if Harry hadn't walked through once, it would be difficult to walk.

  "It's here."

  After burrowing through a few more thickets, Harry stopped and pointed ahead.

  Everyone took a look and suddenly inhaled a breath of cool air, this place is indeed not very steep. The mountain road winds its way up, forming a ladder-like shape. It's just that the slope between the ladders is slightly steeper, and the entire mountain road is actually overgrown with thorns, completely covering the entire road.

  Even Xu Ming couldn't help but admire Harry's keen eyesight. If it were someone else, they would have glanced at it hastily and still not found this mountain road.

  "It's going to be tough, the key is we don't have time." Harry shrugged.

  Xu Ming narrowed his eyes and said, "We have to go up, this is probably part of the test too. Take out all your daggers, I'll lead the way with Harry at the front, Caruso, Jinpu will cover the left flank, Ma Shengda, Guren will cover the right flank, Kapu and Maya will bring up the rear. We don't need to climb to the top of the mountain, just halfway up is fine, it shouldn't take too long."

  "Does everyone understand? If you have any opinions, speak up now." Xu Ming asked.

  Several people nodded in understanding.

  Xu Ming glanced at several people, his voice suddenly turned cold and said: "You have already acknowledged my identity as the old boss. We are a special forces team, not a gang. Now I will be shameless and act as a commander once. From now on, those who disobey orders will be dealt with by military law."

  "What right do you have to order us around..." Ma Sheng muttered in a low voice, he glanced at the others, and they were all looking at him with idiotic expressions.

  "Do you have an opinion?" Xu Ming asked with narrowed eyes.

  Ma Shengda is two years older than Xu Ming, and he was already not very convinced that Xu Ming should be the commander. And now Xu Ming says he wants to use military law to deal with him? Who does he think he is? Hearing Xu Ming's question, Ma Shengda's anger flared up, and he shouted loudly: "That's right! I don't accept it! Why are you the commander? We acknowledge you as our leader just to give you face. You're very capable, better at fighting than us, so what? And now you won't even follow orders, you think too highly of yourself!"

  Xu Ming nodded and asked: "Finished?"

  Ma Sheng let out a cold snort, his chest puffed out high, and looked at Xu Ming with a scornful expression, as if the words "what can you do to me?" were written all over his face.

  "Alright, now that you've said your piece, you can leave." Xu Ming shrugged and said lightly: "Those who don't want to obey orders can leave. However, during the mission, don't appear in my line of sight, otherwise I'll treat you as an enemy."

  Ma Shengda's body trembled slightly, and he turned his head and walked away.

  "Others have opinions, now just leave." Xu Ming didn't even glance at Ma Shengda and said frankly that he didn't want to be a commander either. Being a commander meant having the responsibilities of one. But once they entered the mountainous region, they might face all sorts of dangers. If they were running around like scattered sand, they might end up fighting each other.

  In Xu Ming's view, the real threat was not the unknown danger in the mountains and forests, but the weapons in these people's hands. Only by controlling them together could they be considered to have no worries.

  Only one person left, Xu Ming originally thought that with his strong attitude, at most only one person would be left behind. Unexpectedly, only Ma Shengda was the one who left, but this is also good, he felt that he should still choose a battle companion from among these people.

  This will be their first real combat opportunity, and for some talented people, Xu Ming still wants to pull him into his own camp. In the real test a few days later, only with tacitly cooperative teammates can they have a few more chances to survive.

  Seeing that no one else made a sound, Xu Ming coldly swept his gaze over the crowd and said lightly: "Since no one else has withdrawn, it is equivalent to acknowledging my identity as commander. Now I announce the rules after entering the mountain. Those who violate them will be executed on the spot."