On May 21, the development plan officially began.
He Qishun and Ma Tianxing each led a team toward Hehe County from different directions.
Since Ma Tianxing's Trade Team were veterans at opening routes to the county seat, the suspicious captains they had observed earlier all joined the team he led this time, bringing their own people with them.
Ma Tianxing had already been briefed on the general situation and knew the suspected individuals were all in his team, but he still led them out as usual.
As they approached the area where they had previously come relatively close to the Advanced Beast General-level monster, Ma Tianxing's group finally found a small path that seemed to head in the right direction after searching for some time. It might let them skirt the monster's territory, but the path was surrounded by woods that severely restricted their view, making it difficult to see where it led.
As they carefully advanced, Ma Tianxing suggested, "If this path still leads into Ming Township, we need to prepare in advance to stop the monsters. Captain Lai, did you bring the mines I asked you to carry?"
Captain Lai, who had joined Ma Tianxing's team, patted the pack on his back. "They're all in our packs. We can take them out whenever we need to."
Ma Tianxing rubbed his chin, his eyes growing more intent. "If we come across houses up ahead, your team will stay behind to plant mines along the road and mark them. Then you'll lie in ambush on either side."
"Understood." Captain Lai immediately returned to his team and began assigning tasks.
At Ma Tianxing's signal, the other three captains gathered around him. He instructed them, "Your teams will follow me. We'll form a wedge and quickly scout the area around any houses we find, getting a general sense of how far they extend. If we confirm they aren't part of Ming Township, we can split up and search. If they are, we withdraw immediately. No hesitation."
The three captains received their orders and stayed close behind Ma Tianxing.
Under Ma Tianxing's lead, half an hour after finding the path, they finally emerged from the woods. What they saw wasn't a house, but a river more than three meters wide. It was the Ning River, one of the rivers that ran through Hehe County, and at this point it was still fairly narrow.
Hehe County had gotten its name from the meeting of two rivers: Qing Creek and Ning River. The county seat stood at their confluence, where they spanned more than eighty meters across.
The discovery delighted Ma Tianxing and the others. As long as they followed the river downstream, they were certain to reach Hehe County.
But was following the river to Hehe County really a good idea?
The trouble was, from the beginning of the disaster until now, Ma Tianxing's group hadn't been near any large rivers. Naturally, they had never encountered the many monsters lurking in them. Small streams and creeks simply couldn't hold that many monsters.
As they followed the river downstream, it grew wider and deeper, until they could no longer see the bottom.
Tian Ming was one of the best scouts in Ma Tianxing's team. Every so often, she glanced at the water.
Suddenly, her expression changed. She stared fixedly at the river's surface. A ripple had inexplicably appeared there just moments ago. It had quickly settled, but Tian Ming had still noticed it.
Tian Ming immediately stopped the entire team and shouted, "Everyone, get away from the riverbank! There's danger in the water!"
Tian Ming had always been a reliable scout, so all the members of the Trade Team quickly retreated from the riverbank. Only the members of the Exploration Teams who had temporarily joined them reacted a beat too slowly.
A long tongue suddenly shot out of the river and, before anyone could react, snatched up the team member closest to the bank and dragged him into the water, sending up a spray.
A few minutes later, the gurgling bubbles stopped. Everyone knew the team member was beyond saving.
Everyone's faces darkened, especially Ma Tianxing's and that of the captain whose team the victim had belonged to.
Still shaken, the group pressed on, this time keeping a greater distance from the riverbank and watching the water carefully.
After they had gone another hundred meters or so, the river stirred again. This time, it wasn't just a few bubbles. The surface seemed to boil as countless bubbles rose up.
Within seconds, a gigantic toad leaped out of the water, followed by a swarm of smaller frogs, each four or five times larger than the toads they had seen before.
A chorus of croaks rang out, making everyone in the team feel agitated and unsettled.
A fight was unavoidable. Ma Tianxing realized this immediately. He tightened his grip on his twin axes and took up a battle stance.
As they maneuvered against the monsters, Ma Tianxing was relieved to discover that the toad seemed to be only at the Junior Beast General level. He could handle it, while the smaller frogs were probably only Intermediate Beast Soldiers—no match for their team.
Thanks to their overwhelming advantage in strength, the monster group was wiped out in barely more than ten minutes.
After they cut open the largest toad, they recovered their teammate from inside it. By then, all that remained of him was a vaguely human shape; the strong stomach acid had eaten away his face and most of his features.
They could only dig a hole on the spot to bury him, then roughly chipped a piece of stone to set up by the grave.
Looking at the river, whose depths he couldn't see, Ma Tianxing grew worried. He didn't dismiss his concerns; instead, he chose the safest course of action: abandon the plan to follow the river, return to base, make thorough preparations, and then look for another route.
The three captains who had hoped to gather more resources this way were unhappy with his decision. They stepped forward and tried every way they could to persuade Ma Tianxing to keep going.
With no other choice, Ma Tianxing agreed, but set two conditions: his own team had to stay as far from the riverbank as possible, and they had to retreat immediately if they found they couldn't push through.
The three captains were reluctant to agree, but the team was already less united than before. If they didn't quickly acquire more resources to steady their people, their plans would soon be on the verge of collapse. So they had no choice but to accept.
The river was indeed as Ma Tianxing had expected: it never returned to calm. Every few hundred meters, they came under attack, and the attacks grew increasingly fierce.
After they had covered three kilometers, they encountered three monsters at the Junior Beast General level.
But at that point, they could also see the county seat far ahead. They were completely unwilling to give up on pressing onward. Only Ma Tianxing remained worried throughout the journey, glancing back at the road they had come from every so often.