Chapter 148
Eight warhorses descended the Qika Mountainside, arriving at the foot of the mountain in the blink of an eye.

On the lead horse, a man of about thirty-five or six years old held the reins and cracked his whip. "Lou Huo!"

At his command, the seven riders behind him pulled their reins with their left hands and raised their automatic rifles toward the sky with their right.

"Da da da...!"

The deafening gunfire echoed around the foot of the mountain, persistent and clear.

Down at the foot of the mountain, the members of the Ma Gang (Dock Gang) heard such intense gunfire and thought the garrison troops had arrived. Everyone subconsciously looked towards the mountainside.

At this moment, the sky was dawning, and the sun was rising. Xu Hu, standing in the crowd, could see that the eight horsemen were all wearing military uniforms.

Next to the seven cars, Su Tianyu looked at the mountainside in astonishment and helped Bai Hongbo, who had been knocked down, to his feet.

The rest of the group, all leaning against the battered cars, gasped for breath, their hands clutching their weapons, their eyes filled with fear and dread as they looked at the Dock Gang members.

After a brief standoff, the eight horses reached the foot of the mountain, and the crowd finally saw the faces of their riders clearly.

All eight were wearing military green uniforms, holding automatic rifles in their right hands, with weapon holsters hanging on the left side of their horses, containing pistols and grenades.

The man on the lead horse, though of medium height and dark skin, had a resolute and handsome face, without any epaulettes on his shoulders. However, judging from the shoulders and armbands of the other seven, they didn't seem to be soldiers from The Dragon City, nor did they look like official troops from Xinnaluo.

The eight horses slowly advanced and came to the front of the seven cars.

"Who's Xu Hu?" the young soldier on the second horse shouted, cracking his whip.

Xu Hu frowned and looked at him without saying a word. A burly man next to him stepped forward. "What's it to you? Who are you with?"

The young man on the second horse tugged on the reins, urging his horse forward, looking down at the man as he said, "I'm not wasting words with you. The Dock Gang will make way, we're escorting these seven cars and their passengers into the city."

"Who the hell are you?" the burly Dock Gang member cursed, frowning. "You think you can just come in here?"

The soldier on the second horse pointed his gun directly at the man's face. "I'll say it again, make way."

"Make way my ass!" the burly man retorted, pointing at the soldier, unafraid of the gun. "If you want to pass, you'll have to ask the Dock Gang's hundreds of brothers if they agree!"

"Who the hell are you guys?!"

"Get lost, or we'll take you out too!"

"...!"

In the middle of the crowd, someone asked Wei Xiangzuo, "Zuo Tang (hall master), who are these guys? I've never seen them before?"

"They all look like Chinese, but I'm not sure," Wei Xiangzuo shook his head.

Xu Hu didn't know who they were and didn't want to offend anyone unnecessarily, so he stepped forward and shouted, "I'm Xu Hu of the Dock Gang, what's the meaning of this?"

"You're Xu Hu?" the man on the second horse still questioned condescendingly.

"That's right!"

"Funny, my leader also has the character 'Hu' (tiger) in his name." The soldier on the second horse looked at the man on the lead horse and said, "This is Zhao Weihu of the Xinnaluo Chǐ (foot) Army!"

Xu Hu was stunned for a moment, then immediately replied, "We have no conflicts with the Chǐ Army!"

The man called Zhao Weihu on the lead horse ignored him, turning his head to point his whip at Su Tianyu and the others. "Get in the cars, we'll escort you across the bridge."

Hearing this, Yu Mingyuan immediately waved his hand and shouted, "Get in the cars, quick!"

Su Tianyu and the others naturally didn't waste any words and obediently got into the cars.

Xu Hu had heard of the Chǐ Army, a private armed force that had been active in the Xinnaluo area in recent years, mainly composed of Chinese. It was said that the founders of this group were all former officers of the Chinese Legion in District One, but for some reason, they committed treason and fled to places like Xinnaluo, forming an armed force.

Why were they called the Chǐ (foot) Army?

Because the Xinnaluo area was plagued by war, and the Chǐ Army would help whoever paid them the most. The rewards were calculated based on the length of the offensive or defensive line. These guys demanded money for every *chǐ* (foot) they moved, so outsiders called them that.

Down at the foot of the mountain, Su Tianyu and the others got into the cars.

The young man on the second horse pointed his whip at Xu Hu and the others, yelling, "Get out of the way!"

"So you're the Chǐ Army, eight guys aren't enough!" Xu Hu roared, his eyes bloodshot. "Today, no one can protect these guys! Dock Gang members with balls, pick up your guns and take on these Chǐ Army bastards!"

"Don't move!"

"Take another step and I'll shoot you!"

"...!"

The Dock Gang members with guns also stepped forward, aiming their guns at Zhao Weihu and the others.

"Either you retreat, or I'll take you all out too." Xu Hu's mentality had already exploded. Now, even if it was the official army that came, he wouldn't be able to make a calm judgment in this situation.

"Take us all out? You've got a big mouth!" Zhao Weihu, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly tugged on the reins. "Giddy up!"

The warhorse moved forward, Zhao Weihu pulled out his pistol and opened fire directly on the leading Dock Gang members with guns.

"Bang, bang!"

Gunshots rang out, and two men fell to the ground, shot in the legs.

At the same time, the soldiers on the other seven horses all led their horses to shield Zhao Weihu.

"Fuck you, Chǐ Army, what's the big deal?!"

A Dock Gang leader raised his gun and roared, "Give it to them!"

"Shua!"

Just then, the young man on the second horse pulled out a signal flare from his waist and pulled the pin.

"Whoosh!!!"

A signal flare shot out instantly, exploding in the sky.

"Da da da da...!"

In an instant, the entire Qika Mountainside, spanning nearly a thousand meters horizontally, erupted in gunfire, dense and deafening.

At dawn, over a hundred military pickup trucks on the mountain ridge line simultaneously turned on their headlights, shining down the mountain.

Chǐ Army soldiers stood on both sides of the vehicles, their guns aimed down the mountain, their morale high, but with no intention of crossing the line.

Xu Hu turned his head and his scalp went numb.

"Eight guys aren't enough, how about a hundred pickup trucks?" the young man on the second horse asked Xu Hu, raising an eyebrow with his automatic rifle slung over his shoulder.

Xu Hu clenched his fists and stood motionless.

"Before I leave, no one from the Dock Gang can leave." Zhao Weihu pointed at Xu Hu with his whip and said, pulling on the reins to move forward.

Yu Mingyuan had now realized why the garrison troops hadn't shown up. If they came, the navy would also come, and if the two sides confronted each other, it would be difficult for anyone to clean up the mess if something big happened.

So the garrison didn't come, the Chǐ Army did!

What was the garrison for? They were the official armed forces of The Dragon City operating on the periphery. How could they not know about the armed forces operating in the surrounding area? How could they not have contact with them?

What did it mean to be in cahoots with bandits? What did it mean to be in the army?!

It was obvious!

Yu Mingyuan covered his head and ran to Zhao Weihu's horse, immediately looking up and shouting, "Zhao... Commander Zhao, your identity is sensitive, why not take Xu Hu with you, otherwise the naval forces will give you trouble, this...?"

"Just a henchman on the surface, he's useless." Zhao Weihu replied, leading his horse. "It's okay, just the eight of us will escort you."

As he spoke, the man on the second horse waved towards the mountain.

On the Qika Mountainside, the Chǐ Army soldiers shouted loudly, "Get out, make way!!!"

Inside the car.

Su Tianbei looked at Zhao Weihu on his warhorse and couldn't help but exclaim, "He's fucking awesome! What are *leizi* (crazies)? What are desperadoes? This is it!"

Su Tianyu didn't reply, only lowering his head to send an urgent text message.