Chapter 203: Chapter 182: The Battlefield Is Really No Fun

’Just what is it that feels so wrong?’

As he was thinking, Gao Neng felt Fang Tangtang squirm beneath him. Like a caterpillar, she stuck her butt in the air and slowly crawled forward.

Her squirming nearly exposed him.

"Don’t move!" Gao Neng yelped in fright, pinning Fang Tangtang down. If they were discovered, they probably wouldn’t even have a chance to run.

’Fifty Hill Giants!’

The weakest among them was at least Tier 5. If they charged, it would be worse than fifty tanks rolling over them. He and Fang Tangtang would definitely be flattened into meat patties.

"Just a little further. I want to see what they’re up to." Fang Tangtang sounded a little dissatisfied. She kept struggling, squirming forward relentlessly.

’This close-contact squirming...’

Gao Neng found it a little hard to handle for a moment.

Against his will, he was actually pushed two or three meters forward by Fang Tangtang’s squirming.

CRACK!

Just then, a faint sound came from beneath them.

A rock had been crushed.

Gao Neng’s expression changed instantly. The moment the sound rang out, fifty pairs of eyes in the distance turned to look their way.

"..."

’Crap, we’re about to be discovered!’

Gao Neng couldn’t worry about being rough anymore. He grabbed Fang Tangtang’s head and pushed it down, giving her no chance to struggle.

"Ah Lu! There’s movement over there!" one of the Hill Giants said.

"Just beasts on Two Hills Mountain. Ignore them. We’re here to propose a marriage. It’s getting late, let’s keep moving." The seven-meter-tall giant shook his head and signaled for them to press on.

"Yes!"

The fifty Hill Giants paid Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang no mind and continued forward.

However, because the Hill Giants’ path was heading straight for Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang, the distance between them was still shrinking.

One hundred meters!

Eighty meters!

Fang Tangtang lifted her head again.

This time, however, Gao Neng didn’t give her a chance to speak. He clamped his hand firmly over her mouth. No matter how much she tried to signal with her eyes—*I get it, I’ll behave*—it was useless.

Fifty meters!

Thirty meters!

Finally, the seven-meter giant at the lead began to turn, stepping onto the mountain path between Two Hills Mountain.

Gao Neng let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He wasn’t sure if what they’d said was true, but he felt that if he had turned and run just now, the chance of death would have been at least 90%.

They might ignore beasts, but they definitely wouldn’t ignore two humans.

Just like that, the fifty Hill Giants walked onto the mountain path.

They continued until they disappeared from sight.

Only then did Gao Neng release Fang Tangtang.

"Did you hear what they just said?" Fang Tangtang didn’t seem to mind Gao Neng’s rough handling. Instead, she brought up what the Hill Giants had said with a hint of excitement.

"I heard. They said they were going to propose a marriage." Gao Neng wiped the sweat from his face and lay back on the ground. ’War is so dangerous.’

’Just randomly running into a squad of fifty Hill Giants?’

’I got lucky this time...’

’What about next time?’

"You heard them mention a marriage proposal too? But the Dark Night Elf Clan’s territory is up ahead. Are you saying they’re going to the Dark Night Elf Clan to propose marriage?" Fang Tangtang continued to ask.

’That sounds like something out of a fantasy novel... and a bit off, doesn’t it?’ Gao Neng also had his doubts.

"Yeah, very off! The Dark Night Elf Clan is a vassal of the Celestial Race. They should be intermarrying with the Celestial Race, so why would they go and arrange a marriage with the Hill Giant Race?"

"So, they’re just passing through?"

"Passing through? I doubt it... How about we follow them and see?" Fang Tangtang’s face was slightly flushed, her expression eager.

"We’ll get killed. What if we run into another group just ’passing through’?"

"No way! Marriage proposals are made by one race at a time. Who’s ever heard of the Hundred Races coming to propose all at once? Have you ever seen something like that?" Fang Tangtang found that highly unlikely.

"But what if?"

"There is no ’what if’! I, Death God Fang Tangtang, have been on the battlefield. A fifty-man squad of Hill Giants is equivalent to an army of a thousand. You don’t just run into them that easily. This is just the periphery of the battlefield. That Hill Giant squad was definitely a coincidence. You have to trust my experience. Follow me, and you can’t go wrong!" Fang Tangtang patted her chest, guaranteeing it.

"I still think this is a bad idea..." Gao Neng wasn’t convinced. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

’A coincidence?’

’There’s no such thing as so many coincidences.’

’The truth is, you have to play it safe and not get cocky.’

"You don’t trust me?" Fang Tangtang pouted.

"I’d have to be crazy to trust you."

"Please, Gao Neng? This could be an opportunity. We might get some important intel. As members of the Human Alliance, we can’t just think about ourselves. We have to consider the safety of the main army. If something is really happening with the Dark Night Elf Clan, we can warn the main army behind us in advance." Fang Tangtang started to wear him down with pleading.

"..." Gao Neng hesitated.

"How about this? If we really get some intel and earn merit points, we’ll split it sixty-forty. You get sixty, I get forty. No objections now, right?" Fang Tangtang played her trump card.

"Fine. But we keep our distance and absolutely do not get close. Once we reach the first defensive line, we stop following. Also... if there’s danger, we run immediately!"

"I’ll listen to you on everything! Look, you were so rough with me just now, but did I, Fang Tangtang, say anything? I, Fang Tangtang, am very magnanimous!" Fang Tangtang was overjoyed when Gao Neng agreed.

"We’ll stick to the mountains!"

"Okay!"

Having made their decision, the two of them crept back up the mountain.

However, neither of them knew that just after they left, another group of dark figures appeared in the distance. This group was even larger than the last, a full two hundred strong.

...

On Wild Battle Mountain.

Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang crept forward side by side.

The Hill Giant squad wasn’t moving too quickly. And because they were so massive, Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang could still see them even from a great distance.

However, after following for less than five minutes, they once again arrived in front of the same tree as before.

Beneath the large tree, two ghostly green eyes lit up again.

"It’s that wolf again. Let’s kill it!" Fang Tangtang prepared to strike.

"Wait until the Hill Giant squad gets a bit further away. Otherwise, we might attract attention." Gao Neng shook his head. Even though they were following from far away, killing a wolf would still make some noise.

"Alright, I’ll listen to you." Fang Tangtang nodded obediently.

「Two minutes later.」

The Hill Giant squad had moved so far away they were just a few black dots.

Gao Neng felt it was about time to make his move.

He reached for the hilt of his saber, preparing to sneak up on the wolf.

But just then, Gao Xiaomeng, who was hiding in his backpack, suddenly let out a soft meow. In the silent night, it carried a hint of provocation.

The wolf under the tree shot to its feet with a SWOOSH.

Then, it lunged toward Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang.

"Wow, your cat knows how to taunt?" Fang Tangtang was as surprised as if she’d discovered a new continent. But then she realized something was off. "Huh? Speaking of taunting... why didn’t she meow earlier?"

"Because she’s smarter than you!" Gao Neng retorted casually, his hand tightening on his saber’s hilt.

Ten meters away.

The wolf was fast.

But Gao Neng’s Horse-Cutting Saber was faster.

The instant his hand gripped the hilt of his Horse-Cutting Saber, his entire body became like a fully drawn bow. From his hand to his waist, down to his legs, he built up maximum momentum.

Sword Drawing Technique!

CLANG!

The blade flashed out.

A crescent of cold light glinted.

The lunging wolf was split in two, from head to tail.

Fresh blood splattered on the ground.

It gave off a coppery stench.

"Whoa, Gao Neng, that slash was so cool!" Fang Tangtang stared at the wolf, which couldn’t be any more dead, momentarily stunned.

She remembered that Gao Neng’s slashes hadn’t been this cool before.

But this time, she felt that from the moment he drew the blade to the moment he slayed the wolf, the entire motion was incredibly natural. It was flawlessly cool.

"Just a standard move, no need to be surprised." Gao Neng waved his hand dismissively. He had only just reached the introductory level of the Sword Drawing Technique. When he mastered it, that’s when it would be truly cool.

"Did Bald Shark teach you that? It’s a new combat technique, right? Is it Iaido? It looks like it... but not quite. You drew your sword too fast!"

"Are you going to keep following them or not?"

"Of course we are!"

"Then what are you..." Gao Neng was about to get up when he suddenly felt that something was wrong again. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a group of dark figures.

"Let’s hurry and—Mmph!" The instant Fang Tangtang stood up, Gao Neng clapped a hand over her mouth again and forcefully pressed her down beneath him.

This made Fang Tangtang very unhappy.

’This again?’

’If you want to take advantage of me, just say so...’

’If you say it out loud, I might even let you, you know?’

’Always using force!’

’What’s this all about?’

As unhappy as Fang Tangtang felt, her gaze still drifted unconsciously behind her. The moment she looked, her eyes went wide.

On the mountain path below.

There was now a troop of two hundred.

This troop wasn’t as massive or conspicuous as the Hill Giants, but their presence was in no way inferior. In fact, it seemed even more imposing.

As the troop drew closer.

Fang Tangtang and Gao Neng finally got a clear look at them.

The faces of the people in this troop were covered in white fish scales, and their shoulders were draped in thick white fur. They were tall and looked like polar bears.

Gao Neng had crammed some knowledge about the other races.

But due to limited time, he had only glanced over the races of the Eastern District and the adjacent South District. However, there was absolutely no description of a race like this in either district.

Therefore, he could be certain...

This troop was also from another warzone!

’Something big is happening in the Eastern District... No, something big is happening to the Dark Night Elf Clan!’ Gao Neng already sensed that something was amiss. Two different races from other warzones had arrived in the Eastern District at the same time, and both seemed to be targeting the Dark Night Elf Clan. How could there not be a problem?

Just as he was thinking...

The troop of two hundred came to a halt.

"There’s the scent of blood on the mountain. It’s fresh!" one of the otherworlders at the front said.

"On the mountain? Probably just beasts fighting again," another voice called out from the troop.

"We came from the north and aren’t familiar with the terrain. These mountains aren’t high, but it’s better to be careful. We should take a look."

"Mm. Ah Bing, take a few warriors and go up."

"Yes!" An otherworlder nodded and quickly stepped out of the formation. Immediately, five or six others followed behind him.

On the mountain.

Gao Neng was so shocked his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Wild Battle Mountain wasn’t particularly high.

But it was at least thirty meters, right?

The straight-line distance between them was at least sixty meters. From that far... they could smell blood?! And they could even tell it was fresh?

’The battlefield...’

’...is really no fun at all!’