The Wind Rises in 1898: Becoming a Warlord Starting in Southeast Asia

Chapter 56 Who is the Hidden Mantis?

As soon as the gunshots rang out, a blood-red figure darted out from the rear passage; it was the soldier who had stayed behind.

He clutched his bleeding shoulder and roared, "General, something terrible has happened! A large force of troops dressed in blue uniforms is attacking, more than thirty men. Another brother who stayed behind has already been killed."

Damn it!

I've become a sitting duck!

Chen Feng cursed angrily, grabbed his pistol, and spun around, charging back.

Before I could even peek out, a barrage of gunfire erupted like popping beans, bullets striking the stone wall and sending sparks flying everywhere, the sound extremely piercing.

He raised his hand and fired a shot in a flash, then quickly shrank back to hide behind cover.

Zhang Xiuwu arrived shortly after and hurled the captured grenade deep into the tunnel.

boom!!!

A loud bang was heard, and the gunfire outside suddenly stopped, followed by a series of screams.

"Baka!"

Inside the passage, Sato Ichiro, clutching his arm grazed by a stray bullet, roared in broken Chinese, "Chinese! You're like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind! Hand over the gold and surrender immediately! Otherwise, raze this place to the ground, leave no one alive!"

That voice... it's that guy under Aoki Nobuyuki's command!

No wonder those two Japanese pirates were reluctant to leave Malolos; they had their eyes on this batch of gold all along!

Chen Feng sneered, leaned forward, and fired two more shots, accurately killing two Japanese pirates who tried to peek out. He said in a deep voice, "Want gold? Trade your lives for it!"

"There's an old Chinese saying, 'A wise man knows when to yield!' Hand over half of your gold and I'll spare your lives!" Sato Ichiro roared, his voice laced with bravado but betraying his underlying cowardice.

Fuck your mother's shit!

Chen Feng cursed inwardly, calculating the battle situation in a flash.

The Japanese definitely didn't have any grenades, otherwise they would have thrown them in already. We wouldn't have to worry about them attacking anytime soon.

If the stalemate continues, regardless of whether the Spanish colonial army or the independence army wins or loses, they will inevitably come to surround us, leaving us vulnerable from both sides and unable to escape!

The only way to break out of this predicament is to escape through the secret passage to the treasure!

After receiving no reply for a long time, Sato Ichiro, in a fit of rage, roared at his subordinates, "Go find kerosene right now and burn these Chinese to death!"

"Hahaha! I've already emptied the kerosene tank, go ahead and burn it if you dare!" Zhang Xiuwu laughed, sticking his head out. He was forced back by several stray bullets, cursing angrily, "Those bastards are pretty stubborn!"

"Let's go! Break through the treasure passage!"

Chen Feng made a decisive move, pointing his gun at the passage leading to the gold and ordering, "Zhang Xiuwu, take five men and guard this place. Hold it off with grenades and rifles! The rest of you, pack up the gold bricks and burial artifacts, and come with me!"

Military orders are absolute, and the soldiers responded resolutely, quickly binding the goldware and carrying the gold bricks with extremely swift movements.

Chen Feng had no time to deal with the trembling prisoners on the ground; he grabbed his pistol and was the first to crawl into the passage.

The smell of kerosene was still strong, mixed with gunpowder and burnt smells, making people's throats itch.

The gold bricks beneath our feet were still warm, and the fire was gradually weakening deep inside the passage, casting flickering light on the path ahead.

The passage meandered forward, widening as it went, and after about a hundred meters, a small blue stone cave of more than ten square meters suddenly appeared before us.

A human-shaped hole was blasted open in the left wall, with rubble mixed with damp soil scattered all over the ground, clearly indicating that a secret passage had just been breached by explosives.

In the center of the cave, more than twenty gold bricks were piled up in a small heap, their golden light dazzling under the kerosene lamp.

"General, the blasted soil is still warm; the enemy hasn't gone far!" Chu Xiongxing crouched down and touched the ground, his eyes filled with urgency.

"Chase!"

Before he finished speaking, Chen Feng had already slipped into the secret passage.

The walls of the passage were made of dry mud, with chisel marks still visible from when it was built. Touching it revealed dust, indicating that it had been sealed off for many years and no one had set foot there.

They hadn't gone far when they heard hushed English murmurs ahead. Chen Feng immediately signaled to extinguish the kerosene lamp and, using the faint moonlight, made their way towards it.

"Damn it! How come there's another wall in the sky above this secret passage?"

"Without this wall, the gold we have would have been discovered and taken away by others long ago."

"Your wisdom, Lieutenant Colonel, is truly remarkable. You brought in a bunch of idiots who drew the enemy's attention."

"Five hundred kilograms of gold is enough for the five of us to live a life of luxury. Quickly set up explosives to collapse the passage and cover our retreat!"

It's Javier's gang!

Chen Feng heard the conversation clearly, raised his hand to signal the soldiers to take cover, gripped his pistol tightly, and slowly approached along the wall.

Thirty meters, twenty meters, ten meters...

After the right-angle turn, Javier was lighting a lighter, preparing to ignite the fuse of the explosives, while the other four men, carrying kerosene lamps, were retreating.

hiss--

The sound of the fuse burning was particularly piercing. The four quickened their pace and were about to turn the corner when a dark figure darted out like a ghost!

"Who is it?"

Before the exclamation had even faded, Chen Feng pulled the trigger.

boom!

The shot hit the man in front squarely between the eyebrows, and blood splattered onto the mud wall instantly.

Just as the remaining three were about to raise their guns, Chen Feng flicked his wrist, and a second shot followed, killing another foreign bandit on the spot.

At this moment, the fuse had burned right up to the explosives. Jewell, in a fit of extreme ruthlessness, lay down and grabbed a corpse, pressing it tightly against his body in an attempt to save his own life.

Chen Feng glanced at the fuse. Even with his skills, he dared not face the shockwave of the explosion directly. He had no choice but to give up on killing Jewell, take a step back, and hide behind the right-angle bend.

boom!!!

A deafening roar, like the sky collapsing and the earth splitting apart, shattered the stone walls of the passage, and sent mud and dust pouring down like a torrential rain.

After two piercing screams, a sudden, urgent climbing sound came from above.

That scoundrel Javier wasn't killed in the explosion!

Chen Feng suddenly rushed out and saw that a two-meter-wide gap had been blasted open at the top of the passage, and the bright moonlight poured in. Jerwell, dressed in a yellowish-brown military uniform, was frantically climbing up the earthen wall, with one hand already gripping the edge of the ground. He had even thrown down all the gold bricks in order to escape!

"Trying to escape?"

Chen Feng smiled coldly, raised his hand and pulled the trigger.

boom!

The bullet grazed Jewell's scalp, spraying a cloud of blood.

Chen Feng immediately fired a follow-up shot, the bullet accurately piercing Jewell's calf, causing blood to splatter everywhere!

The fellow roared in pain, but unleashed a desperate burst of strength. He used one hand to brace himself against the ground and flipped over, leaving only one foot dangling from the cave entrance.

"Chinese, you just wait! This grudge will be avenged!"

Before the harsh words were even finished, Jerwell had already climbed out of the cave entrance, dragging his injured leg and staggering away, leaving only his long shadow stretched out by the moonlight.

"Awaiting your return!"

Chen Feng sneered, his killing intent undiminished. He turned and gave a stern order: "Chu Xiongxing, take the third squad to guard the cave entrance and block the passage. Anyone who dares to approach will be shot dead! The rest of you, move the gold immediately and pack it up as fast as you can! I'm going to help Zhang Xiuwu retreat."

"yes!"

The crowd responded enthusiastically, and Chu Xiongxing immediately led his men out of the cave and seized a favorable position.

The other soldiers grabbed cloth bags and frantically stuffed them with gold bricks, the clanging of metal ringing out crisply and piercingly.

After turning around, Chen Feng hurried along, reloading his pistol. Along the way, he even encountered two prisoners who were trying to escape.

He naturally didn't hold back, raising his hand and firing two shots to cleanly and efficiently eliminate the man.