The Strongest Dandy in the City-Chapter 500 Countless Casualties

"Abert, watch your language. What do you mean by I knew there was a problem with the mist a long time ago? I just felt something was off about this mist just now, and didn’t I warn you? You were the one who decided to go your own way, and now you want to blame me for someone’s death? Do you think you can bully Ye Chenfeng that easily? Don’t forget what our purpose here is. Do you really think I am unaware of why you placed the Soldier King Group at the very end?"

Ye Chenfeng’s lips curled into a cold smile as his dark eyes fixed unwaveringly on Abert and he continued, "It was you who begged us to join this mission. Our Soldier King Group can withdraw right now if that’s what you want, are you happy now?"

Seeing his subordinates die in the mist, rage had momentarily clouded Abert’s judgment. However, thinking it over now, he realized that Chenfeng had indeed warned him earlier. Regardless, if the Soldier King Group were to withdraw from the mission, their chances of taking down the stronghold of the Devouring Empire would diminish even further. Now that people had died, assigning blame was pointless.

Abert immediately adjusted his attitude, showing an apologetic look as he faced Ye Chenfeng, "Mr. Ye, it was my impulsiveness speaking. This incident has nothing to do with you whatsoever; I apologize to you here and now. Please, I implore your Soldier King Group not to withdraw from the mission."

"Knowing it has nothing to do with me is good enough. This time, it’s in your Country M that the stronghold of the Devouring Empire was discovered, and it was your country who took the lead. As a representative of Country M’s elite, if you can’t even maintain a shred of vigilance during a mission, the death of your six subordinates is largely your responsibility," Ye Chenfeng spoke harshly to Abert.

Hearing this made Abert’s face turn beet red, but he had no grounds to refute and could only let out a dry laugh followed by a slight sigh, as he said, "Everyone, it seems we have no choice but to bypass this mist for now. Let’s hurry on our way!"

The elite personnel from various countries were still not over the shock of the horror they had just witnessed — the sight of human flesh and bones being decayed in large swathes was something they would probably never forget in their lifetimes.

With Abert’s command, everyone understood that bypassing the mist was their only option. Since the Soldier King Group was arranged to be the last to scout, naturally, they were also at the rear of the main force.

Wu Guotian, in a rather good mood, chuckled softly, "Chenfeng, it seems you’re really planning to let the others from different countries be cannon fodder, huh? Just a few days ago, you, Wang Li, and others only made it as far as this mist. Do you think the Devouring Empire has laid any more traps ahead?"

"Old man Wu, tell me, if the stronghold of the Devouring Empire really is deep in this forest, do you think they’d have only this one line of defense? Let’s just take it slow and stay at the rear. With them scouting ahead, we’re perfectly safe," Ye Chenfeng shrugged as he spoke.

"If we really do find the stronghold of the Devouring Empire this time, are you confident you can take them on? If the Devouring Empire truly has as much high technology as you say, I fear we might not be up to the challenge," Wu Guotian expressed his concerns.

"Let’s take it one step at a time! After all, I don’t know much about the Devouring Empire either. Only by truly entering the lion’s den can we see what the lion really looks like," Ye Chenfeng was very curious about the organization known as the Devouring Empire.

While Ye Chenfeng and Wu Guotian were speaking, the main force had been on the move for about half an hour when suddenly, Ye Chenfeng had a very bad feeling. It was far too quiet around them; other than their own footsteps, there wasn’t any other sound, which was unnatural for the deep jungle.

"Old man Wu, ask your men to focus — something’s not right here," Ye Chenfeng said quietly to Wu Guotian.

Wu Guotian nodded, gave quiet instructions, and the members of the Soldier King Group instantly heightened their alertness.

"Click! Click! Click! Click..." A succession of mechanical sounds suddenly erupted around them. Dozens of fully automated fire points emerged from underground, and before everyone could react, these fire points opened fire on the main troop simultaneously.

The relentless sound of machine-gun fire, "tatatatatatata," was deafening as the rapidly fired bullets seemed like tongues of flame. These fire points were automated and unmanned. The members of the Soldier King Group were prepared thanks to Ye Chenfeng’s warning and didn’t panic facing the hail of incoming bullets.

On the other hand, elite members from other countries paused for two to three seconds in the face of these unexpected fire points, and that brief hesitation cost many their lives. freewebnoveℓ.com

With Ye Chenfeng watching over them, the Soldier King Group wasn’t in much danger. Abert, seeing the situation spiraling out of control, hastily yelled, "Everyone, don’t panic! These fire points are unmanned. We just need to destroy them."

After a moment of initial panic, the elites from other countries also steadied their minds. They were, after all, the elites of their respective nations with far superior mental strength than ordinary people. With coordinated effort, they destroyed the automated fire points one after another.

Naturally, the Soldier King Group wasn’t idle either. With Ye Chenfeng’s assistance, they destroyed more than half of the fire points. After all the fire points were taken out, many elites from other countries cursed vehemently. Unprepared at the start, many had died under the automated assault, and the main force’s numbers had decreased by almost half.

Looking at the corpses on the ground, Abert had lost all confidence in taking down the gathering site of the Devouring Empire. However, with so many lives already sacrificed, wouldn’t retreating now mean that these people had died in vain? He knew he had no choice but to press on, despite the circumstances.

Abert now deeply regretted not placing the Soldier King Group in the lead for reconnaissance initially. How could he have been so careless to overlook the possibility of the Devouring Empire setting traps in the forest?

After falling victim to the second trap laid by the Devouring Empire, night had completely fallen, making it impossible to deal with the corpses. They could only be left in the forest. Abert led the remaining troops forward, finding a comparatively safe area to set up camp and declaring that they would rest there for the night.

Having yet to locate the Devouring Empire’s stronghold, the main force had already been reduced by a small portion, casting a damper on everyone’s spirits. The atmosphere was mired in gloom.

Who could know how many more traps the Devouring Empire had laid ahead? Those scouting in front were no different from heading to their deaths. Suddenly, many nations’ people were unwilling to take on scouting duties the next day. Initially, they had been convinced by Abert that scouting the forest posed little danger and that the real threat was inside the Devouring Empire’s stronghold, which was why they had agreed to place the Soldier King Group at the very end. But now, the situation seemed the exact opposite.

An elite representative from another country whispered to Abert, "Mr. Abert, this can’t go on. How about tomorrow we let the Soldier King Group do the scouting? Not a single member from the Soldier King Group has been lost so far. Placing them last might mean all of our people will be dead by the time it’s their turn."

Abert agreed with this idea, saying, "Call over the elite representatives from the other countries. Let’s go talk to the Soldier King Group and ask them to take the lead in scouting tomorrow morning."

The elite representatives from the nations gathered in front of the Soldier King Group’s tent, where Chenfeng, Wu Guotian, and Wang Li were roasting wild game by a campfire. Abert started, "Mr. Wu, Mr. Ye, we have a matter to discuss with you. After a collective decision, we propose that your Soldier King Group takes on the scouting duties tomorrow morning."

Ye Chenfeng looked up at Abert and said, "It seems it’s not yet our turn for the Soldier King Group to scout tomorrow morning, right? The order was determined by you all in the beginning, so why the second thoughts now? If you insist on having us scout first tomorrow, then without a doubt, the Soldier King Group will withdraw from the mission. It’s up to you to decide!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)