Chapter 4: Escaping Under the Gun

  "Wait...!" Murong Wudei saw that he couldn't explain anything clearly now, and didn't know what to do for the better. He also didn't want to lose his life here like this. So, struggling in the grasp of the two burly men holding him, he said, "Even if you're going to shoot me, shouldn't you at least let me finish speaking? Otherwise, if a disaster befalls Heaven's Stronghold, don't blame me for not warning you, Great Master!"

  "Big boss, this kid is now speaking nonsense in front of you just to save his life. In my opinion, we should kill him first and then talk about it later. We've been at odds with the Nationalist government's military for a long time anyway, so killing him would be a good way to rally our brothers!" The burly man with a shaved head who had been sitting in the second chair stood up and said.

  This guy is Meng Xiangfei, the second master of Tianzhuang Village. He has thick eyebrows and big eyes, a sturdy build, and a bronze-colored face with scars that look like they were left by either robbery or rape. At his waist, he wears two mirror-like holsters, which suggests that this guy is a dual-wielding gunslinger.

  "The second master said it's not wrong, we and the security team of the Nationalist Party have never gotten along. Now they send us such an officer, still a lieutenant colonel, if we don't take him down, it would be ungrateful to heaven's blessing!" After the bald-headed strong man finished speaking, another thin little fellow walked up to Ye Shanhu and said.

  This little guy is the third son of Guo, the master of Yunyang Mountain. He has a small build and is even shorter than Ye Zhiqiu. His voice is sharp when he speaks, giving off an air of being underdeveloped. His appearance doesn't seem to match up with those fierce bandits at all, but in reality, this little guy really is a bandit. This makes Murong Wudi feel a bit puzzled - he can't figure out why Ye Zhiqiu would use someone who looks so unremarkable.

  "Wait a minute, what do you mean?" Murong Wudei didn't intend to believe what they said at all, so he was a bit anxious, but he didn't plan to explain anything. "Alright, then go ahead and kill me! Let's see if the mortar platoon under my command will turn this place into a flat land!"

  "Are you saying that you brought artillery with you?" Wild Coral was shocked when she heard this, and from Murong Wuji's bravery and calm demeanor, she had already figured out that he had nothing to do with those security guards. Now hearing him say that there were artillery waiting outside made her heart skip a beat, unsure whether or not to believe it.

  "You dare to let that brother outside come in, I can immediately prove it to you on this school field!" Murong Wudei said. He had already arranged for Hu Pai's deputy to bring the grenade launcher group to the vicinity of Tianyuan Fort before coming here. If nothing unexpected happened, they should have been in position by now. As long as he and Zhao Changyu gave a signal, the shell would surely hit this school field accurately, because looking around the entire Tianyuan Fort, the most deserted place was here, so at this time, he said this without blushing or gasping for air.

  Bandits are just bandits, how could they possibly know whether it's a grenade launcher or a mortar? As long as they hear the sound, they'll definitely assume it's a mortar first. It takes only a few shells to subdue these bandits, and this deal has been carefully planned by Murong Wudi from the very beginning. Whether he can succeed depends on his own luck.

  "Don't listen to him, he's just trying to stall for time!" Guo Erwa said to Ye Zong as soon as Mu Rong Wujie mentioned the rocket launcher. That thing had never been used when the security team was besieging them, and they had never even seen one before, but they had heard of it. Perhaps because it hadn't been used during the siege, he instinctively believed that just talking about it wouldn't make it appear, thinking that Mu Rong Wujie was just trying to deceive them.

  "I'll give you this chance, as long as you prove what you're saying, I'll allow you to speak your purpose for coming here in front of me!" Ye Zong's right hand gestured to stop Guo Erwa from continuing, then turned to Mu Rongwu. Probably because she herself also wanted to see what the legendary howitzer looked like? After all, those things she had only heard about, but never seen before.

  She agreed to let Murong Wudi show off while instructing her subordinates to go and invite Zhao Changyou in. After being brought to the main hall, Zhao Changyou saw Murong Wudi but didn't know what had happened. He couldn't understand why these bandits allowed him to enter with a gun, considering they almost clashed previously when trying to prevent them from bringing guns inside.

  Murong Wudi saw Zhao Chang looking at himself in a daze, so he gave him a signal to fire and inform the brothers outside, making the grenade launcher sound.

  Zhao suddenly had a natural intuition, immediately pulled out his pistol and fired a shot into the sky. The loud crack echoed throughout the entire valley, and it was believed that people within two to three kilometers could hear it. Less than two seconds later, two shells carrying whistling sounds landed in the middle of the school field, exploding with two deafening booms, creating two deep craters about one meter in diameter. Everyone present covered their ears, not daring to listen directly to the explosion.

  "How's that? I didn't cheat you, did I?" Murong Wudi saw that the two grenades had already been thrown out of the launcher and were quite accurate. He walked to the edge of the two pits and continued to say to Wild Chrysanthemum, "Can we talk now?"

  "Of course..." Yan Sang Coral had not yet recovered from the shock of just now, and seeing Murong Wuji say this, naturally did not dare to be slow in responding with a sentence, then politely said, "Please come in, sir!"

  Although she appeared calm on the surface, in her heart she was rejoicing that she had not killed Murong Wudi, otherwise Tianyuan Village would have really suffered a disaster.

  Murong Wudi was treated like a noble guest, along with Zhao Chang, and they were invited into the assembly hall together. It seems that Ye Shanhu had seen the previous might of his grenade, and couldn't help but have a good talk with him.

  "Officer, you're not here to lead an army to destroy my Heavenly Village, are you?" Wild Orchid asked, sitting in her tiger and leopard skin chair, still unclear about what the opponent was trying to do with such a grand setup.

  "Of course not, I came here to seek cooperation with you to fight against the devils!" Murong Wudei saw that it was time to discuss conditions and said without any reserve, "We just came down from the battlefield, our main force has already withdrawn from the battlefield, and the devils will soon arrive at Yunyang Mountain. In order to prevent the residents near Yunyang Mountain from being burned, killed and looted by the devils, I hope to unite all forces that can be united to organize an army to resist the Japanese invaders!"

  "Sounds good, but isn't it just that the government army wants to absorb our bandit troop?" Meng Xiangfei didn't hide anything, thinking what he said, anyway this matter had nothing to do with **, he didn't think it was a good thing, after all these people had no good feelings towards the Nationalist Party's army.

  "I know you all have been exploited and oppressed by the local government, and it's only under helpless circumstances that you've come to this heavenly village to become bandits. I don't have any good feelings towards you naturally, but I can responsibly tell you that we are not appointed by any department, nor do we belong to any organization. We are just a group of young people with patriotic enthusiasm who want to save our parents and countrymen from disaster and rescue this country plagued by disasters." Murong Wudi's words almost made Zhao Changyou feel unexpected. It's worth noting that the uniform Murong Wudi is wearing now is that of a junior military officer, which should make him a member of the military sequence, but his words are enough to illustrate his independence and rebelliousness, leaving Zhao Changyou confused.

  "Who are you?" Wild coral's face seemed to reveal a surprised expression, she had long been looking for someone to give her team a future, after all, being a bandit was not a career, so when she heard Murong Wudi's words, she instinctively thought of Murong Wudi as that person, and this was a bit of a sigh of relief and surprise.

  "Not that, but I can guarantee what we're doing is exactly what the Eighth Route Army wants to do! I only ask the master if he wants to join us?" Murong Wu Di discovered Ye Shan Hu's expression and said this, taking advantage of the situation.

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