The leader of Black Head Mountain had a clear objective: to survive.
It was obviously impossible to survive on the main battlefield.
Because of this, his gaze fell elsewhere.
His figure continued to retreat.
"Hold the line, you all hold the line for me! You must hold back these Qin troops!!"
He shouted as he retreated rapidly.
The speed of his retreat was incredibly fast, yet it was difficult for people to perceive that he was retreating.
At the very least, the bandits of Black Head Mountain didn't notice their leader was retreating.
Instead, they felt that their leader was still fighting alongside them.
Because of this, their resistance was fierce, as if they were prepared to fight the Qin army to the death.
However, they didn't see that their leader had already gathered a small group of people around him.
After gathering these people around him, he spoke softly:
"The Qin army is too fierce. We definitely can't hold them off!"
"If we stay here any longer, it will be a dead end!!"
"Therefore, I plan for all of us to escape from here via the small path!!"
"The small path? We're escaping now?"
"Yes, we escape now. We can't stay here any longer. Look at those Qin troops, do you think you can hold them back??"
After hearing this, those around the leader of Black Head Mountain glanced at the Qin army advancing up the mountain.
Then, they all shook their heads.
They understood that with their strength, it was impossible to resist the Qin army.
Once the Qin army truly broke through, there would be no suspense; they would all die.
Therefore, if they could escape from here, it would definitely be a good thing for them.
However, on this mountaintop, there were still many of their brothers and friends. Now, to escape without taking them, made them feel disloyal.
Because of this, they asked their leader:
"Leader, can we take Xiao Peng? He's my good friend!!"
"Yes, leader! I want to bring Xiao Hua, we just got together yesterday!!"
"Leader, you know Er Hu, he's my very good friend, I want to bring him along, is that okay??"
They spoke one after another, wanting to take the people they wished to take.
And there were quite a few people who spoke like this.
If it were usual times, their leader would definitely have agreed to their requests without hesitation.
But now, it was different. They were now planning a stealthy escape via a small path.
During this process, although their leader needed protection, the more people there were, the greater the risk of exposure.
If the Qin soldiers discovered they were fleeing, then escape would be impossible.
Therefore, after they voiced their requests, their leader reprimanded them without hesitation:
"Silence! We are escaping now, and the fewer people, the better!!"
"If we are discovered by the Qin army because there are too many of us, none of us will be able to escape!!"
"If any of you truly want your friends to escape with you, then you can stay here and accompany your friends!!"
With these words, many fell silent.
While their friends were very important, their own lives were even more so.
Because of this, they directly abandoned their loyalty and their friends, following their leader to escape.
Seeing their behavior, their leader breathed a sigh of relief.
He was genuinely afraid of encountering stubborn individuals. If such people had appeared, they wouldn't have been able to leave.
Therefore, the fact that no one objected now was the best outcome for him.
"Since no one objects, then follow me, and let's escape now!!"
"Yes!!"
Hearing this, the bandits packed nothing. Grabbing their weapons, they prepared to flee.
At this moment, they had no time to pack anything.
Moreover, the more they carried, the heavier the burden.
Not to mention, these people were all bandits.
If they lost their belongings now, as long as they survived, they could steal them back.
By then, they would have everything they desired again.
Therefore, the most important thing for them was to survive.
Understanding this, they left without hesitation, taking the small path to escape.
The bandits of Black Head Mountain did not discover their escape.
They were still fighting desperately, and they were still retreating continuously.
However, after resisting for a long time and not hearing their leader's voice again, they couldn't help but look back.
As they looked back, they immediately felt that something was terribly wrong.
Their leader was nowhere to be seen.
Not only their leader, but a large portion of the other high-ranking members of their stronghold had also disappeared.
Upon not finding these people, the bandits of Black Head Mountain instinctively panicked.
They could almost guess what their leader and the other high-ranking members had done.
Therefore, someone among them let out a panicked cry:
"Bad news! Our leader has fled, our leader is escaping!!"
With these words, all the bandits of Black Head Mountain instinctively looked back, and indeed, they did not see their leader.
Upon this discovery, they all panicked.
"Oh no, the leader has really fled! We're finished!!"
"We can't hold on! We can't hold on at all! Without the leader, we can't possibly resist these Qin troops!!"
"Surrender, I want to surrender! I don't want to die! I don't want to die here!!"
Their will to resist was not strong to begin with. Now that their leader was gone, every single one of them thought of surrendering.
Of course, the reason they surrendered so readily was their belief that they could survive if they surrendered.
However, this idea was beautiful, but the reality was completely different.
When they surrendered, the Qin army did not immediately slaughter them.
But, it wasn't as if they were all going to be spared.
After all, many of them had committed various atrocities such as arson, murder, and robbery.
Therefore, the Qin soldiers would judge them according to the severity of their crimes.
If their crimes were minor, they might indeed have a chance to live.
But if their crimes were heinous, then there would be no chance of survival.
These people deserved only to be executed.
Yet, they harbored a glimmer of hope, believing that their evil deeds would not be discovered by the Qin soldiers.
This glimmer of hope was not just held by them, but also by their leader.
Their leader had indeed descended the mountain via the small path.
Listening to the sounds of shouting from a distance, he still felt a sense of relief.
"Hahaha! We're out! We're alive! This is too good!!"
"Yes! It's too good! We're alive! As long as we hide for a while, we can rise again and reunite Black Head Mountain!!"
"The leader's decision was indeed wise and heroic! If not for the leader's wise and heroic decision, we might have perished on Black Head Mountain!!"
At this moment, they were showering their leader with flattery.
In their eyes, they were already safe.
From now on, they only needed to hide for a while, and then they could rebuild a new Black Head Mountain.
Their leader thought the same.
Therefore, he greatly enjoyed their flattery.
At this moment, he couldn't help but say in high spirits:
"Those Qin soldiers are nothing special. As long as we are careful, they can't do anything to us. They're just a bunch of useless trash!!"
"Let's go, I'll take you to rob a household, and treat you to a good meal!!"
He waved his hand, intending to lead his men away from here.
However, just as he finished speaking, a cold voice rang out.
"Where are you going!!"
This voice made the bandits of Black Head Mountain involuntarily look towards where the sound came from.
Then, they saw Lin Tian leading hundreds of soldiers, waiting for them.
As they looked over, the soldiers immediately moved to surround them.
This formation left the leader of Black Head Mountain bewildered.
"This, how is this possible? How did you know about this small path??"
"I indeed didn't know about this small path, but the noise you made was too loud! I couldn't help but discover it!!"
Lin Tian had heard the commotion of these people descending the mountain and brought his men here.
Unexpectedly, he had run right into the leader of Black Head Mountain.
Therefore, Lin Tian didn't hesitate and immediately ordered his men to kill them, giving them no chance to resist.
And their deaths meant the complete demise of the menace that was Black Head Mountain.
...