The Wind Rises in 1898: Becoming a Warlord Starting in Southeast Asia

Chapter 23 Surprise Attack on the Stronghold

The next morning, before night had fallen, Chen Feng led the soldiers of the fourth and fifth squads to the hidden stream.

He carried a Springfield M1861 rifle on his back, a Spanish colonial army-issue scimitar at his waist, his trousers rolled up high, and waded through the water barefoot.

"General, I'm looking at the map. The stronghold of the Balangai tribe is just two miles ahead," Ding Junkai, the squad leader of the fourth squad, whispered a reminder.

Chen Feng looked up and saw a mountain hollow in front of him, with lush trees on both sides that looked extremely deep and eerie under the moonlight.

Fifth Squad Leader Wang Liang looked up and said, "The enemy's stronghold is just beyond the mountain pass. Should we rest for a while and let the soldiers recover their strength?"

Chen Feng turned around and saw that the soldiers looked exhausted and were breathing rapidly. He estimated that there was still half an hour before dawn and nodded, saying, "Rest for a quarter of an hour. Move quietly and don't alert the enemy."

The soldiers felt as if they had been granted a pardon and quickly found a flat rock to sit on.

Chen Feng was uneasy. He looked towards the mountain pass again and instructed, "I'll go scout ahead. You all rest and follow me immediately."

Before he finished speaking, he had already waded through the water and continued along the stream.

"General, I'll go with you," Wang Liang called out, and quickly followed.

The two walked along the stream for about five minutes when Chen Feng suddenly stopped, his gaze sharpening.

Wang Liang lowered his voice: "General, what's going on?"

"There's a hidden sentry!"

Chen Feng put his finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture.

Wang Liang held his breath and looked up, but saw no movement.

Chen Feng listened intently, and after half a minute, whispered, "Twenty meters ahead, there's one person on each side of the stream. They're breathing evenly, so they should be asleep. I'll go to the left, you go to the right. Let's finish this quickly!"

"good!"

Although Wang Liang did not see anyone, he had no doubt about Chen Feng's judgment. He tiptoed, drew his scimitar, and climbed up to the right bank.

Chen Feng was much faster. By this time, he had not only reached the shore, but also carried a curved knife and crouched down to sneak over five or six meters.

As the distance gradually shortened, the sound of breathing in his ears grew louder and louder.

Ten meters!

Five meters!

Three meters!

By the moonlight, Chen Feng approached and saw that the sentry was a boy of about seventeen or eighteen years old, fast asleep in a pile of dry hay.

There's nothing to hesitate about.

In this chaotic world, to be merciful to the enemy is tantamount to suicide.

Chen Feng leaped into the air, his curved blade flashing with a cold light, and the boy's head fell to the ground silently.

At this moment, Wang Liangcai made his way to the front of another hidden sentry post.

He was a ruthless character; once he saw the figure clearly, he immediately strode forward.

Creak.....

The dead tree snapped underfoot with a crisp sound.

The sentry, startled awake by the sound, was about to shout.

Upon seeing this, Chen Feng raised his hand and threw out his curved knife.

call out......

The blade sliced ​​through the air with a soft whistling sound, and unsurprisingly, severed the sentry's neck.

"Cluck...cluck...cluck..."

The sentry covered his neck, trying to send a warning, but he couldn't make a sound.

Wang Liang was annoyed that he had woken up the sentry, and seeing this opportunity, he immediately stepped forward to finish him off.

Chen Feng leaped across the three-meter-wide stream and whispered a reminder: "Be careful next time you eliminate hidden sentries."

"Understood!"

Wang Liang nodded vigorously and wiped the curved knife on his trouser leg.

Chen Feng then asked curiously, "You must have killed quite a few people before, right?"

"We killed quite a few." Wang Liang sheathed his scimitar and said with a smile, "Luckily, these two natives were taking a nap, otherwise we would have had to change our ambush to a full-scale attack."

Seeing that he seemed unwilling to talk about the past, Chen Feng stopped asking and pointed to the headless corpse on the ground, saying, "With the strength of the Balangai tribe, they should have arranged more sentries besides these two."

"Sentries are usually not stationed too far away; I guess it should be there." Wang Liang pointed to the hilltop ahead.

The sky was beginning to lighten, and a watchtower could be faintly seen on the hilltop 500 meters away.

As Chen Feng was pondering a solution, a burst of gunfire suddenly rang out in the distance.

"General, the feint attack from the front has begun!" Wang Liang shouted in a low voice.

"Proceed according to plan. Once Ding Junkai arrives with his men, we'll charge straight for the watchtower!" Chen Feng checked his ammunition one last time.

"There are even hidden sentries!" Ding Junkai, the squad leader of the fourth squad, also rushed over at this time. He immediately saw the two people on the shore and the headless corpse on the ground.

"Everyone's here, follow me and charge!" Chen Feng shouted in a low voice, and took the lead in rushing towards the watchtower.

"Follow the general!"

Wang Liang gave a low shout and followed closely behind.

"Go! Go! Go!"

Ding Junkai urged them on from behind, and when he saw that the soldiers were moving a little too slowly, he kicked them.

The locals on the watchtower, alerted by the gunfire, were peering out to observe the battle at the village entrance when they suddenly heard a noise beneath their feet.

He had barely opened his mouth to ask a question in the indigenous language when Chen Feng, with the back of a knife in his mouth, climbed up the eight-meter-high watchtower using both his hands and feet.

Upon seeing this, the natives immediately struck a gong to warn them, and at the same time drew their short bows and shot at Chen Feng.

With a "whoosh," the arrow flew past Chen Feng's ear.

"court death!"

Seeing this, Ding Junkai below was furious and raised his hand to fire a shot. Although he missed, it attracted the attention of the natives.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chen Feng leaped onto the watchtower, swung his scimitar, and directly beheaded the enemy.

"court death!"

Ding Junkai was nearly hit by an arrow from behind, so he raised his hand and fired a shot.

The sound of the gong had already alerted the village, and more than twenty locals, armed with spears and rifles, rushed toward the watchtower.

Chen Feng looked down and saw that at the village entrance, Tian Gang and Kong Yunfei were leading their troops in a fierce battle with the main force of the local people, taking advantage of the terrain. Gunshots and shouts mingled together.

This is the perfect opportunity to launch a sneak attack!

Chen Feng immediately leaped down from the watchtower, raising his arms and shouting, "Brothers, follow me! Charge straight into the enemy's lair!"

"Rush!"

"Kill all these sons of bitches of natives!"

"Avenge our fallen brothers!"

......

The shouts echoed through the valley, and the soldiers' morale soared. In an instant, they crossed the ridge and rushed to the wooden fence surrounding the village.

Bang bang bang.....

Whoosh whoosh whoosh.....

A sudden burst of gunfire and the whistling of arrows filled the air. The indigenous reinforcements, relying on the fence, returned fire. Bullets grazed scalps, and arrows whizzed as they embedded themselves in the wood.

"shot!"

At Chen Feng's command, the soldiers crouched down, raised their rifles, and aimed to fire.

The rifles on both sides were almost all Springfield M1861s, and they had to be reloaded after each shot.

Skilled soldiers can shorten this time to 30 seconds, while the natives, whose movements are less refined, will naturally need more time.

"Now!"

Taking advantage of the moment when the locals were filling the fence, Chen Feng suddenly stood up, took big strides and rushed towards the fence. With the momentum, he leaped over the fence and landed steadily inside the village.

"kill!"

Wang Liang also rushed into the mountain stronghold.

Wang Liang followed closely behind, drew his curved sword, and cleaved down a charging native.

Ding Junkai remained outside the fence, loudly directing: "Squads, take turns loading! Fourth squad fire, fifth squad loads the ammunition, don't give the natives a chance to breathe!"

As more and more locals gathered in the village, and gunfire continued to ring in his ears, Chen Feng had to both wield his knife to kill the enemy and guard against sniper shots and arrows. His movements were restricted, and his lethality was greatly reduced.

Three minutes passed, and the number of indigenous people in front of them did not decrease. Instead, more people rushed out of the thatched huts, holding spears, machetes, and even a few rifles firing sporadically in the distance.

"This piece of junk!"

Chen Feng parried a spear with a backhand motion, only to find that the blade of the scimitar in his hand was dull and worn, so he simply threw it to the ground.

A native roared and charged at him. Instead of retreating, he advanced, parrying the man's arm with his left arm, and then slammed his right fist, gathering all his strength, into the native's face.

With a crisp "crack," the indigenous man's nose collapsed, blood gushed out, and he fell straight to the ground.

Chen Feng seized the opportunity to grab the spear that had fallen from his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, pointed the spear tip straight into the village: "To catch the thief, catch the king first! Follow me and slaughter your way through the village!"