bookbashuk Chapter 31 Early Stages of the Great Battle
Chapter 31 Early Stages of the Great Battle
There are three teams, totaling sixteen people including Mo Jingxian's team.
Faced with the overwhelming wind blades, the seven of them combined their strength to use "Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall".
"Boom!"
A mud wall, over twenty meters long, rose from the ground.
Immediately afterwards, a series of "plop plop" sounds rang out.
The earthwork wall lasted only two seconds before collapsing with a roar.
Dust filled the air, sweeping across the sky and instantly blocking everyone's view.
"Whoosh whoosh!"
Several dark figures burst out of the dust and smoke, rushing head-on to meet the fierce attack.
"Revive the crisis!"
All the projectiles flying from all directions were deflected, and Hyuga Ayako stopped and retreated hastily.
Mo Jingxian darted out from behind her, and the two passed each other.
Taking advantage of a gap in the enemy's attack, Mo Jingxian charged between the two puppets.
The ninjutsu was activated, and the temperature within a ten-meter radius around the body suddenly dropped.
The puppet's joints became stiff and inflexible due to the low temperature, and its owner could only watch helplessly as the strange man dismantled the treasure with his bare hands.
Before leaving, he left behind a few explosive tags, and amidst the explosions, he once again lost sight of his opponent.
For three days, the Sand Ninja attacked wave after wave, pushing the frequency of the battle to the limit.
The enemy, taking advantage of their numerical superiority, launched repeated attacks, greatly depleting the energy of the Konoha ninja.
With the overwhelming force pressing in, even Konoha, whose average quality was far superior to that of the Sand Village, lost a large portion of its territory in just three days.
In an instant, the Sand Ninja launched a relentless offensive.
"retreat!"
Nara Shikata's order meant that yet another outpost had been lost.
The three squads provided cover for each other and withdrew in an orderly manner, and the enemy did not gain any advantage.
At garrison point 17, during a short rest period, two more squads joined the team.
This is the current situation: one-on-one battles between a few individuals have disappeared, and large-scale combat has become the mainstream on the battlefield.
This is the result of the battlefield's autonomous choice as both sides have fought to this point.
"Take a break while you can!"
Nara Shikata glanced at his subordinates.
"The enemy could catch up at any moment, so those who don't want to die should not act rashly."
Even the usually gentle Jonin Shikata spoke with a chilling edge.
The intensity of the fighting is evident, and the situation is far from optimistic.
Mo Jingxian thought to herself.
Individual abilities are greatly diminished in group operations; even he could easily perish here.
Unless someone is powerful enough to change the course of a war, whoever is caught in the crossfire is almost certain to die.
The group was not in good condition, and even with the supply of ration pills, it was still not enough to meet the huge consumption.
With the help of the water element's recovery, Mo Jingxian now has less than a third of her chakra left.
Logically speaking, at this stage of the battle, they should have already returned to camp to rest.
Judging from Jonin Shikata's behavior, he showed no interest in that regard whatsoever.
This is intriguing.
Mo Jingxian rolled the idea through her mind and moved between Lingzi and Xinshu.
He whispered, "Stay close to me and don't fall behind."
Shinki wanted to say something, but was stopped by his gaze, while Ayako nodded slightly.
Nobody's a fool. With the war at this point, the first decisive battle must be just around the corner.
In a battle between tens of thousands of ninjas, survival requires not only strength but also luck.
And Mo Jingxian, wasn't that also their good fortune?
The attack came faster than expected, and in less than ten minutes, the two sides of ninjas clashed again.
The Sand Ninja launched the main attack, while the Konoha ninja fought and retreated, and one by one, vibrant lives fell on the battlefield.
The battle continued until nightfall, when the Sand Ninja finally withdrew.
Mo Jingxian leaned against the tree, too lazy to even move a finger, completely losing her temper.
After only two hours of rest, Mo Jingxian was secretly awakened by Nara Shikata.
The other person gestures – "Don't make a sound."
Next, he carefully woke up the remaining four members of the team.
Moments later, a six-person ninja squad disappeared into the dark forest.
Mo Jingxian didn't know what the captain was going to do; she just needed to obey orders.
He is not yet in a position to sit at the decision-maker's table, so it is normal that he did not receive the information in advance.
Under the cover of night, the group headed south.
As they approached the place where Mo Jingxian had been forced to jump into the river by Jialuo, the group turned east and headed towards the border of the Land of Wind.
Nara Shikata didn't give any specific instructions, and the six of them followed silently.
From midnight to dawn, before sunrise, they finally arrived at a secret outpost.
"Rest here for one day. No one is allowed to leave this cave."
As soon as the captain finished speaking, Mo Jingxian fell asleep.
No matter the mission, you need to be mentally prepared to increase your chances of survival.
He's not the captain, so the rest is none of his business.
They said they were resting, but no one dared to sleep soundly.
Especially at the height of the conflict between the two countries, and moreover, their current location is not far from the border of the Land of Wind.
It truly proves what Mo Jingxian once said—you have to sleep with one eye open.
The cave is located on a cliff in a mountain stream, and its entrance is hidden by vegetation, making it very secluded.
The cave wasn't very big, just big enough for six people to squeeze in, so... you had to hold it in.
After finally making it to evening, Captain Nara Shikata finally moved.
He took out a map and laid it flat on the ground.
The rest of the team gathered around, and Lu Tai placed his finger on a point in the southeast of the Land of Rivers, near the Land of Wind.
"This is where we are."
He looked up and scanned the area, then pointed north, landing on the border between the two countries.
"Here, at the mouth of the Wangchuan River, there are many tributaries and a complex water system, making it very convenient to dive into the Land of Wind."
Mo Jingxian understood; it turned out to be a mission to infiltrate behind enemy lines.
No wonder the level of secrecy was so high.
Lu Tai's next words proved this point.
"According to reliable intelligence, the Sand Village organized a batch of supplies to be transported to the front line via the 'Sandstone Millet'."
The map is marked in great detail. "Shashi Su" is located more than 100 kilometers north of Wangchuan River.
That area is inland from the Land of Wind.
"Our mission—destroy this shipment. Do you have any further questions?"
"What is the enemy's troop strength? What are our chances of success with just six men?"
In the morning, Baiyun raised a key question.
Lu Jiu seemed confident and said calmly:
"The Sand Ninja's escort force won't be too large. If we take them by surprise, we have a great chance to destroy this batch of supplies."
To increase credibility, Captain Lu made further analysis.
"The Sand Village has a total of 25,000 ninjas. 12,000 were dispatched to fight us, 8,000 were stationed at the Iwagakure defense line, 3,000 remained in the Sand Village, and the rest need to be distributed along the border, so..."
"Empty inside."
Mo Jingxian added.
"Yes, it's not just a matter of troop strength. This route is a newly opened one by the Sand Ninja. Our spies haven't been exposed. With careful planning and catching them off guard, our success rate increases by another 20%."
After the conversation, everyone's confidence increased, and what Nara Shikata said was all true.
From this perspective, the chances of success are quite high.
One last question: ambush location.
Tekuno pointed to a section of canyon and said, "This place is perfect as an ambush location."
Indeed, there are two cliffs on both sides, with only one road for access.
Once the enemy's transport convoy enters, it will be like catching a turtle in a jar.
If you add an aerial attack, it seems like the enemy has no chance of turning the tide.
The others stared at the map and nodded unconsciously, completely agreeing with the location chosen by Tekuno.
"If we can think of that, why can't the enemy?"
Mo Jingxian raised an objection, then pointed to the front and back of the canyon on the map and explained:
"Apart from this canyon, the rest of the land is flat and open. If you were a Sand Ninja, what would you do?"
Yes, if I were a Sand Ninja, I would definitely conduct a thorough investigation here and make sure there are no mistakes.
There was a moment of silence among the group, but there weren't many good ambush spots elsewhere.
Lu Tai patted Mo Jingxian on the shoulder, encouraging her, "Go on."
Mo Jingxian didn't hide anything either, pointing her finger at the exit of the canyon.
"If you ask me, it's right here."
Think about it... when are people most relaxed? It's definitely after they've survived a dangerous situation.
He tapped his finger twice there, then said decisively:
"If there are no suitable ambush points, we will ambush them in areas where the enemy's thinking is blind."
"Clap clap clap!"
Nara Shikata clapped his hands lightly a few times.
"That was a brilliant speech. How come I never knew you had this talent before?"
With the matter settled, Captain Lu Tai, unusually, cracked a joke.
"Isn't that what I learned from the captain? You agree, right?"
Mo Jingxian nudged Ishikawa Shinki with her shoulder, meaning—quickly take the lead.
"Yes, I can testify that he used to be stupid."
The suppressed laughter of his teammates was even more mocking, and it swept away the pre-match tension.
With a clear objective and an agreed-upon retreat route, everyone seized the time to rest and recuperate.
As if on cue, the moonlight was obscured by dark clouds tonight.
Beside a river valley not far from the border of the Land of Wind.
Mo Jingxian and his group made their way to the riverbank and hid in clumps of grass.
"The enemy's first patrol squad is two kilometers away, and the second squad is expected to arrive here in five minutes. No other enemies have been detected yet."
With her Byakugan activated, Ayako Hyuga exposed numerous flaws in the Sand Village's defenses.
Mo Jingxian had gotten somewhat used to relying on her teammates' eye rolls; they were just too convenient to use.
"Cross the river, proceed with caution."
The six people, like ghosts, waded across the water and passed the first line of defense without making a sound.
The second line of defense now includes an additional squad of Sand Ninja, and their patrol routes have become intersecting.
However, all of this became mere pawns on the table in front of Bai Yan's eyes.
The infiltrating team appeared to be walking a tightrope, but in reality, they were completely at ease.
In less than half an hour, they had broken through the second line of defense.
After passing this point, we officially enter the territory of the Land of Wind.
The journey ahead requires even greater caution.
If they are accidentally exposed, they will face utter ruin.
Six people dived into the river, each with a hollow bamboo tube in their mouth.
Under the cover of night, they traveled upstream from the bottom of the river and finally arrived at a scree forest before dawn the next day.
Traveling during the day would be too easy to expose them, so Nara Shikata decided to lie in wait here for a day.
The stone forest is severely weathered, and most of it has collapsed.
Only a few remain standing on this land, stubbornly refusing to fall.
They are like fearless spears, thrusting towards the sky with unwavering faith.