nashuaworldcup Chapter 370 The Training Ground of the Moon Goddess Cult! They hollowed out a mountain!
Chapter 370 The Training Ground of the Moon Goddess Cult! They hollowed out a mountain!
Qin Mu led the three women across the valley and onto the stone path on the opposite bank.
The stone slabs have been worn smooth by time, and moss has grown in the cracks, making them damp and slippery to walk on.
The trees on both sides of the road grew denser, their branches and leaves layered upon each other, cutting the sunlight into countless tiny spots of light that scattered on the ground like broken gold.
The further you go in, the more obvious the traces of human activity become.
The tree trunks along the roadside show signs of being cut down by humans, and new buds have sprouted from the broken ends, indicating that they have been there for quite some time.
Scattered on the ground were broken pottery shards and rusty iron nails, as well as several ruins of collapsed stoves, the stones blackened by smoke.
The three women's eyes lit up.
Zhao Qingxue's fingers gently caressed the scabbard of the Frost Moon Sword, her gaze sweeping over the marks, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.
Yunluan's brows relaxed, and a glint of excitement flashed in her eyes.
Jiang Zhaoyue gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, her heart skipping a beat.
This shows they found the right place.
Yunluan squatted down, brushed aside the fallen leaves with her fingers, revealing a patch of soil that had been trampled firmly beneath.
The soil was covered with a dense array of footprints, some deep and some shallow, some from adults and some from children, as well as craters left by horses' hooves, the edges of which were already cracked.
"Your Majesty, look here."
She raised her head, her voice tinged with barely suppressed excitement.
"It's clearly the mark left by a large number of people trampling on the road, as well as the marks left by warhorses. Moreover, the end of this road leads to the Moon Goddess Cult's headquarters. I suspect this is their resource supply line."
Qin Mu smiled and nodded. "That's right, you guessed correctly."
He continued walking forward, his pace slightly faster than before.
The three women followed behind, their footsteps rustling through the dense forest, startling several sparrows hiding in the bushes, which flapped their wings and flew into the sky.
After walking for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Qin Mu suddenly stopped.
He raised his right hand, palm facing backward, signaling the three women to stop.
The three women immediately stopped, held their breath, and followed his gaze forward.
"There are scouts ahead." His voice was very soft, so soft that only the few people around him could hear it. "Looks like we've really found the right place."
Zhao Qingxue's gaze immediately swept to the large trees on both sides.
In her experience, scouts prefer to hide in high places.
The tree has a dense canopy and a wide view, offering a panoramic view of the entire area.
But her gaze swept over the tree canopies and found nothing.
The branches and leaves swayed gently in the morning breeze; there were only birds and squirrels, no human figures in sight.
Yunluan's gaze also fell on the tree.
Her eyesight was sharper than Zhao Qingxue's; she could see the insect holes in the leaves of trees a hundred paces away, but at this moment, she also found nothing.
Her brow furrowed slightly as she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
Jiang Zhaoyue stood at the very back, her gaze not on the trees, but on the ground.
She recalled that when she was in the northern border, she had read about the methods of the Northern Barbarians in military books.
The book says that the scouts of the Northern Barbarians were skilled at digging burrows, burying themselves in the ground, and covering them with turf so that they looked exactly like the ground from a distance.
Jiang Zhaoyue's heart skipped a beat.
Her gaze swept across the ground in front of her inch by inch, over the withered leaves, pebbles, grass, and mounds of earth.
Her gaze suddenly stopped.
About fifty paces ahead, there was a small patch of ground that rose slightly. The shape of the rise did not seem to be naturally formed, and the grass covering it was a slightly darker color than the surrounding grass, as if it had been re-laid.
She pursed her lips and lowered her voice, saying, "Your Majesty, is it in that place?"
Qin Mu turned his head, glanced at her, and a slow smile curved his lips.
"Yes, that's it. There should be a bunker there."
Jiang Zhaoyue was stunned for a moment.
Her eyes widened slightly, her pupils reflecting the smile on Qin Mu's lips, and a burning, unprecedented feeling welled up in her heart.
She guessed right, she really guessed right.
She's not entirely useless; she can be of help.
Her eyes stung a little, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up, so much so that she couldn't suppress it.
Yunluan was taken aback for a moment, then lowered her head. "Your Majesty is indeed wise; I am ashamed."
Zhao Qingxue smiled and nodded.
"Zhaoyue is observant and meticulous."
Jiang Zhaoyue's face flushed slightly. She lowered her head, her fingers gripping the hem of her clothes until her knuckles turned white.
"No, it's nothing, it was just a coincidence."
Her voice was soft, tinged with shyness, but beneath that shyness lay an undisguised joy.
Qin Mu withdrew his gaze and looked back into the depths of the dense forest.
"They must have built a vast network of underground tunnels and bunkers in this area. The bunkers and tunnels connect the entire base, forming a complex network. At the slightest sign of trouble, the entire defense system can immediately react."
Zhao Qingxue's pupils contracted slightly.
A picture flashed through her mind.
The underground passages, as dense as a spider web, were interconnected and served as hiding places for troops, storing grain, transporting supplies, and launching attacks. When the enemy attacked from the surface, they would emerge from underground, making them impossible to defend against.
This kind of project cannot be completed in just a few years.
"This is a huge project." There was a hint of shock in her voice.
Qin Mu smiled. "Let's go, let's go and take a look at this huge project."
He strode toward the bunker.
His pace was unhurried, and his moon-white robe stood out conspicuously in the dense forest, like a moving flag.
The three women followed behind. Zhao Qingxue drew her Frost Moon Sword, and Yun Luan also drew her slender sword. Jiang Zhaoyue walked at the very back, her palms slightly bent, and true energy flowing in her palms.
The four people's footsteps grew lighter and closer.
The raised mound of earth was just ahead, the grass undulating slightly, as if it were breathing.
The bunker entrance was hidden beneath that raised mound.
A piece of turf was disguised as a cover. When it was lifted, a square hole was revealed. The edges were reinforced with thick wood, and the soil was compacted.
A narrow passageway slopes downwards, with an oil lamp embedded every few steps in the earthen walls on both sides. The flames flicker slightly in the sweltering air, casting a dim yellow light on the passageway.
The air was filled with the smell of damp earth, mixed with the acrid smell of lamp oil and the sweat of men.
At the end of the passageway was a small underground chamber, with wooden planks and stone slabs supporting the four walls and thick beams on the ceiling.
A low table was placed in the center, on which lay several well-worn decks of cards, their corners curled and covered in sweaty hands.
Several empty wine jars and a pile of peanut shells were scattered around the table.
Several bundles of spears and arrows were piled up in the corner, and a row of straw hats and raincoats hung near the door.
Four men sat around a low table; two were playing cards, and two were watching.
They were all dressed in short, gray-white clothes, with short knives at their waists and straw sandals on their feet, the soles of which were covered in dry mud.
One of them slammed his cards on the table and cursed.
"These damn days are getting more and more boring. I have to endure two more days here before I can go back to my shift. It's really unbearable."
The person opposite him picked up the cards and said while shuffling, "Just bear with it. Our Fourth Elder has been getting into trouble with the Third Elder lately. If we make a mistake and the Third Elder finds an excuse, the Fourth Elder will definitely target us."
The first man to speak put his legs up on the table, rubbed the back of his head against the back of his chair, stared at the beam above his head, and sighed.
"Sigh, we should equip these outpost bunkers with a few women, otherwise it's just too boring."
The two people playing cards nearby chuckled lewdly upon hearing this.
One of them pushed his cards aside and licked his lips.
"I don't like women. If I'm going to give them to girls, I'll give them to a few tender young men. That would be much more satisfying."
The last person—the man who hadn't spoken until now and seemed to be a minor leader—slammed his cards together and tapped the table.
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a certain authority.
"Alright, those are just thoughts. Our mission at the outpost bunker is very important; how could we possibly let you have your fun? You all have to hold back for two days. Once we get back, you can have as much fun as you want."
The other three men chuckled a few times and nodded repeatedly. "Okay, okay."
The foreman picked up the cards again, casually asking as he sorted them, "Hey, out of the last batch of believers sent over, which one do you think was the most interesting?"
The man on the left's eyes lit up, and he leaned closer. "That girl with the braided pigtails, her crying voice is so shrill. If I slap her, the sound—"
"I like that fair-skinned boy," another interrupted him, rubbing his chin, his eyes gleaming with lust, "long legs, slim waist, and when he moans—"
He didn't finish his sentence.
A cold glint flashed silently past the entrance to the passageway, as fast as a gust of wind.
The three heads were severed from their necks at the same time, rolled in the air, and blood gushed out of their cavities, splattering all over the low table.
The playing cards were scattered by the blood, and peanut shells floated in the pool of blood like little red boats.
The three headless corpses remained seated, their fingers still clutching the cards, their mouths still open.
The little leader's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints.
His mouth opened as if he wanted to shout, but it felt like something was blocking his throat, and he couldn't squeeze out a single word.
His hand reached for the short knife at his waist, and just as his fingers touched the hilt, a long, strong hand covered his head.
Qin Mu stood behind him, placed his palm on the top of his head, and closed his eyes.
The leader's body convulsed violently a few times, his eyes rolled back, drool dripped from the corner of his mouth, and he slumped limply in the chair as if his soul had been taken away.
Qin Mu released his grip and casually tossed the now-idiotic underling aside.
Yunluan drew her sword and beheaded him in one stroke.
Qin Mu opened his eyes, a cold glint flashing in them.
"Just as I expected. They've hollowed out the entire valley; it's full of tunnels underneath. Their main camp is in a cave deep within the valley. Not only that, they plan to dig another tunnel directly to the Moon Goddess Cult's headquarters."
Zhao Qingxue raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
"The entire valley has been hollowed out? How many years would it have taken to dig that out?"
Yunluan sheathed her sword, looked around the simple bunker, and marveled at it.
"They really went to great lengths to prevent the Qin Dynasty from discovering their tracks. They hollowed out the entire mountain and hid it underground, so that nothing could be seen on the surface."
Zhao Qingxue nodded, her expression solemn.
"It seems the Cult of the Moon has never truly disappeared. Over the years, they've done quite a few things in secret."
Yunluan's gaze swept over the headless corpses, and a cold smile curled at the corner of her lips.
"However, judging from their conversation just now, they are not a monolithic group. The Third Elder is picking on the Fourth Elder, and there is considerable infighting among them."
Zhao Qingxue added, "And judging from their appearance, they weren't very vigilant. They were playing cards, drinking, talking about women and teenagers, and didn't even send out a lookout."
Qin Mu smiled and stood with his hands behind his back.
"The Moon Goddess Cult has been developing smoothly in the southwest for decades, without any obvious external enemies. Their lives here are so leisurely and enjoyable that they have naturally become lax."
Jiang Zhaoyue stood to the side, her face pale.
Her fingers gripped the hem of her clothes, her knuckles turning white, and her eyes were filled with barely suppressed anger.
"So, the young men and women they recruited outside were for these soldiers' consumption. Those people—those girls…"
Her voice was trembling, and she couldn't continue.
Qin Mu glanced at her, his tone calm.
"These soldiers are human too. If we don't give them benefits, why would they stay in these dark tunnels for decades? Desire is something that should be guided rather than suppressed."
Yunluan seemed to be deep in thought.
"I wonder who these elders they're talking about are. If we can widen the gaps and animosity between them, this army might collapse on its own."
Qin Mu smiled.
"You'll know once you go and see for yourself."
He stepped toward the half-closed wooden door deep inside the chamber.