Chapter 236: Guerrilla Warfare

“The Gust squad stationed in the south has lost contact.”

“When did we find out?”

“Three hours ago. They were supposed to send someone to report their latest status, but they missed the deadline. I also sent people to investigate, and they haven’t returned either,” the half-elf officer reported. 

However, there was no worry or anger on his face, just a look of excitement and eagerness.

“No signal flares?”

“For some reason, we haven’t seen any,” the half-elf officer continued. “Maybe those fools got careless and were taken out?”

“That’s impossible.” 

The commander, also a half-elf but visibly older, dismissed the idea. 

“The problem is likely that the signal flare malfunctioned. We’ll need to note this down and give those suppliers a hard time later. See if they dare give us faulty goods again. But if something blocked our communications, could it be their main force? How could they end up in the south? Weren’t they surrounded and waiting to be caught in the net?”

The two men looked strikingly similar. In fact, anyone who saw their gray hair and pale blue eyes would immediately recognize that they were both members of the Sentalus family.

“So, what’s the plan? Should we report it?” the younger officer asked, though his expression made his thoughts clear.

“Report it? This is a huge opportunity for us,” the older officer said. “If we can capture Nina Lams, we’ll both be able to leave that godforsaken Kahango and live the good life.”

“So, what do we do next?”

“Mobilize the troops immediately!” the older officer ordered. “Those guys must still be nearby. Deploy three squads and all the war wolves, and send someone to notify the Bennett Squad and the Auden Squad, have them surround the area from their stations. We need to take them all out before word gets out.”

Both officers were confident. They had both participated in the only noteworthy battle from the recent campaign. 

The female swordswoman who ranked high on the duchy’s bounty list had certainly left a lasting impression on them, but the wolfmen? 

One squad of 120 soldiers, along with 30-something war wolves, had been enough to withstand an assault from a force of over a thousand wolfmen. 

These savages’ combat tactics were incredibly simplistic—bows and arrows, fire cocktails, and close-quarter skirmishes. The only thing that posed a real threat to their professional army was the Molotov cocktails. 

Against their heavy armor, the wolfmen’s crude hunting bows and iron swords could hardly inflict any meaningful damage.

In truth, if it weren’t for those bothersome Molotovs, the wolfmen would have been completely wiped out long ago.

But with the various units closing in, and as massacres and high-intensity skirmishes piled up, the wolfmen were running out of Molotovs. The situation was gradually tipping in their favor. 

After all, oil wasn’t a local resource, and since the wolfmen lost their villages, their supply lines had become extremely fragile. Every officer believed that ending this rebellion was only a matter of time.

In reality, under the leadership of the two Sentalus lords, defeating these wolfmen rebels was never the issue. The real challenge was preventing their leader, Nina Lams, from escaping.

It was precisely for this reason that they had deliberately left several groups of over a thousand wolfmen untouched. 

From different directions, they were gradually herding them together and forming a tight encirclement, limiting their movement. The goal was to use them as bait, forcing Nina Lams to stay trapped within their net.

For these regular troops, who had spent years fighting the ruthless insectoids, defeating these rebels wasn’t considered any major achievement. The whole mission would be deemed a failure if Nina Lams managed to escape.

On the other hand, whoever could capture her would claim the greatest credit for the entire anti-rebel operation.

“Keep an eye on the wounded and the supplies, and be careful not to let any wolfmen sneak in and sabotage things.” 

After hurriedly gathering the troops, the captain and his deputy gave orders to the two squad leaders to stay behind. They then split the forces of three squads into two groups, carefully advancing toward the post where they had lost contact with one of their squads.

Meanwhile, Wu Qingsong and his group were launching an attack on the squad led by Captain Bennett.

The battle prowess and discipline of these mastiff soldiers were far superior to the local defense troops Wu Qingsong had encountered before. Even after being ambushed at dawn and having many of their war wolves driven mad, they didn’t descend into chaos. Instead, they formed defensive units and held their ground resolutely.

But their opponents were undead creatures. Equal in number, similarly equipped, with greater strength, and no fear of death, no terror, no fatigue—some of whom they even knew personally.

Fear had already crushed a third of their morale. 

Seeing their officers collapse to the ground, flailing like shrimp in a hot pan, shattered another third.

Even after stabbing through their opponents’ throats, severing arms, and yet still facing relentless attacks, the squad finally broke down completely. They scattered in retreat, only to be hunted down and killed by the undead war wolves. 

A few were taken captive, but most fell.

“They don’t know much more than the ones we questioned earlier,” Daryl said angrily.

In front of him were three or four captured squad leaders, now bruised and battered under his interrogation.

Wu Qingsong glanced at Daryl’s violent expression, a little worried. 

Would he turn into a brute under this pressure and in such an environment?

“We need to find out exactly where your sister is as soon as possible,” Wu Qingsong said.

Reuniting with Nina would bring a huge advantage. Not only would they gain a powerful ally, but her presence would provide morale boosts and healing and protective auras, which would be a much-needed shot in the arm for the scattered Silver Moon Wolf Clan forces.

Wu Qingsong had long believed that after awakening Nina’s potential, her combat strength wouldn’t be any less than that of Marquis Osaga. If they could somehow create an opportunity for a confrontation, defeating the two Sentalus leaders might not be out of reach.

However, they severely lacked information about the current situation. 

Trying to avoid large armies and find Nina in a mountainous area covering hundreds of square kilometers, with such complex terrain, was no easy task.

“Let’s attack their main squad,” Daryl said eagerly. “Their commander will definitely have more information.”

Two hundred plus ghouls and over seventy undead war wolves against a headquarters with six to seven hundred soldiers and nearly two hundred war wolves?

“That’s not how you fight a battle,” Wu Qingsong shook his head. “First, we need to win. Only then can we save Nina and the others. If we lose, then they’ll lose their last shred of hope too.”

Daryl nodded anxiously. “So what should I do now?”

“Rest,” Wu Qingsong replied. “Once I’ve turned these bodies into undead, we’ll take opportunities to pick off their scattered squads, bit by bit. You’re our only guide. You need to stay sharp and make sound decisions.”

“But I…”

“You have to rest,” Wu Qingsong said firmly. “If you don’t want to sleep, I’ll knock you out. Your choice.”

“Fine,” Daryl sighed. “But I’ll only sleep for a short while. As soon as you’re done, we move.”