393 Sudden appearance on the battlefield (1/2)

But what surprised Ren Xiaosu even more was that he had thought the two bandits would have tricks up their sleeves. However, they actually pointed out some of the wrong details on the map.

Drawing a map was a rather technical skill as it required surveying instruments. You could not confirm how high and wide a location was by just using your eyesight.

Although Fortress 178 had attempted to map out the mountain hideouts as detailed as possible, their work was all carried out in secret. As some areas could only be measured visually, deviations on the map were guaranteed.

The two bandits took the pencils and drew some circles on the map, with a small circle indicating that it was a heavy machine gun position. The two of them said, ”But the heavy machine gun positions often get switched around. A lot of equipment on the mountain are also covered with tarps. We don't know what's under them either, so y'all must be careful.”

”Y'all can't get to the top because the path leading up the mountain has been cut off by trees.” A bandit pointed at a route on the map and said, ”It seems that our boss was ordered to defend Mt. Dingyuan, so he shipped in a bunch of supplies in advance. He said that as long as we can defend the place for three months, everyone would be rewarded.”

Ren Xiaosu suddenly asked, ”Are there any regulars on the mountain?”

The two bandits shook their heads. ”No, but there's some very powerful folks mixed in with the bandits. They definitely weren't bandits in the valley before.”

”How many of them are there?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

”About a 100. There's more than 900 bandits in total on Mt. Dingyuan,” one of the bandits said.

Ren Xiaosu nodded and did not say anything else. An entire formation of the Zong Consortium's regular troops was among those who had intercepted his group, so he had to get to the bottom of it. If the Zong Consortium's regular troops were here on Mt. Dingyuan, he would have to be careful of them.

”Is there no other way up?” Zhang Xiaoman frowned and asked, ”Did they say why y'all had to defend Mt. Dingyuan?”

”No, how could we know something like that?” One of the bandits said, ”So can we leave now?”

Zhang Xiaoman hesitated for a moment before waving them off. ”Scram, head west and don't let me see you two again.”

”Ah, alright.” The two bandits got up and started to run, but before they even covered two steps, they turned around and asked, ”Sir, do you have any cigs?”

Zhang Xiaoman said impatiently, ”Our cigs don't contain the stuff you add into yours.”

”That's fine,” the two bandits said.

Zhang Xiaoman had Jiao Xiaochen throw two packs of cigarettes to them. ”Get lost.”

Ren Xiaosu asked, ”We're letting them go just like that?”

”Fortress 178 never breaks a promise. Don't worry, the bandits in the valley are all sensible. They won't turn around once they're told to head west,” Zhang Xiaoman said nonchalantly.

Ren Xiaosu watched as the two bandits disappeared after passing criss-crossing gullies in the west. If it were him, he would not have spared their lives.

But he could not say what Zhang Xiaoman did was wrong. Fortress 178 had its own way of survival, after all.

”The bandits on Mt. Dingyuan have already sealed off the mountain path. Strange, why did they seal off the path? What's the point of keeping guard for three months?” Zhang Xiaoman wondered.

”That'll save us a lot of trouble if we just keep guard at the foot of the mountain. They won't be heading down the mountain anyway,” Jiao Xiaochen said.

”No.” Zhang Xiaoman said, ”There must be something fishy about their decision to defend this place. War is not just about a rigid execution of orders. We'll only be successful if we can make the enemy uncomfortable. Why don't we take Mt. Dingyuan by ourselves?”

Yesterday, Battalion Commander Zhou had ordered them to only lay siege on the bandits at Mt. Dingyuan after they had taken Mt. Guan. But from the looks of it, it seemed they would still have to attack Mt. Dingyuan after all.