<h4>Chapter 1729: Chapter 1730: Forcing Rumus to Retreat</h4>


    "What do you mean, you’re saying Rumus and his men have stopped?" Themander’s face appeared very calm as he spoke.


    Now the main force has already charged ahead, although Rumus’s position is also important, it’s rtive.


    If everything goes smoothly at the front line, they won’t be needed. But if a crisis arises at the front, Rumus and his men would be a strong backup.


    "Rumus didn’t follow the main force to charge forward, instead, he had his troops hide around the area," the person reported.


    The surroundingmandersughed upon hearing this. Originally, they considered it ridiculous for Rumus to go to the frontline, and now this incident added more to the ridicule.


    "Connect me to Rumus immediately, I want to ask him what’s going on," themander ordered.


    At this moment, someone had already begun trying to connect to Rumus by phone.


    Rumus had already led his troops to hide, and outside, the rain continued to pour heavily. This environment wasn’t much of a problem for them, as they were all professionally trained.


    "Commander, the phone’s ringing again," someone next to Rumus said.


    Rumus picked up the phone, saw it was from themander, hesitated for a moment, and then hung up directly.


    Many did not understand his actions, but for some reason, at this moment, he believed in Xiang Yu.


    "Commander, the call was hung up," said one person at themand headquarters, quite puzzled.


    "Keep calling, what’s this kid Rumus up to?" themander said, somewhat angrily.


    Rumus dared not answer a call from the headquarters, a big taboo in battle.


    "He’s definitely hiding in the back out of fear," one person mocked.


    "Exactly, this kid has always been a coward, yet insisted on fighting at the front. Now look, he’s making a fool of himself."


    "Commander, I think we should bring him back immediately, to avoid disgrace in the battlefield."


    Everyone around had something to say, but they all held the same view that Rumus’s actions were groundless.


    "Commander, I will go find him and bring him back," Keru stepped forward and volunteered.


    No one around objected. Among them, Keru had always been low-key and his military district’s strength was average, rarely drawing attention.


    Themander thought for a moment and shook his head, "Forget it, just let them stay hidden there, we’ll deal with him after the war."


    Keru was somewhat unwilling, thus he insisted, "Commander, I think it’s better to bring him back to avoid any troubleter."


    Others also nodded; they felt Rumus’s behavior was unusual and it’d be better to get him back sooner.


    Themander finally nodded, "Alright, take the guards and bring Rumus back now."


    Keru nodded and then led his men outside.


    Although Keru didn’t know why Rumus suddenly stopped, he knew there must be a reason.


    Others despised Rumus, underestimated him because they harbored prejudice, disliking how Rumus’s small military district could achieve so many military feats.


    Keru led his guards and then drove towards the frontline.


    Theirmand post was a distance away from the front line, so Keru had to drive quickly to get there.


    Meanwhile, Rumus and his men were well hidden, but the troops at the front seemed to have encountered no surprises and continued to charge forward quickly.


    The rebel forces were like receding waters, retreating rapidly.


    The saying "defeated like a mountain copsing" was perfectly illustrated at this moment.


    All the units began to behave manically, pursuing and running madly towards the front.


    Now their structure was disorganized; they couldn’t tell which troop belonged to whom, or where theirmander was.


    They only knew to chase forward, driven by the desire to capture the rebels and make great achievements.


    Rumus, sitting in the back, grew anxious and called Xiang Yu, "Are you sure your judgment isn’t wrong? The rebel forces don’t seem to be making any other moves."


    "Let’s wait and see, the opponent shouldn’t be this simple," Xiang Yu started to doubt as well.


    He began to doubt in his heart, wondering if Ryan and his men had already retreated. If they were retreating, why hadn’t they retreated earlier, and why did they inform him yesterday to participate in this war?


    As Rumus waited anxiously in hiding, Keru arrived with the guards.


    He managed to get in contact with Rumus and reached the hideout location.


    "Why didn’t you answer themander’s call?" Keru asked seriously.


    "A general in the field is not bound by themands of his ruler," Rumus replied straightforwardly.


    "Come back with me now; I’m under themander’s orders to take you back," Keru said bluntly.


    This was the critical period of the operation, and even though he didn’t understand why Rumus had hidden himself here, Keru knew there must be a reason.


    If he took Rumus away from here, it would weaken the forces, which would only benefit the rebels.


    "I am now on the frontline, in a crucial position, and can’t blindly return, or it would disrupt the overall arrangement," Rumus said seriously, frowning.


    This was something themander couldn’t possibly not know, but he was temporarily blinded by victory.


    "Are you daring to disobey orders?" Keru asked sternly.


    There was no time for anything else; he needed to get Rumus out of there immediately.


    "This isn’t about disobeying orders. I’m more aware of the situation on-site than others, being at the frontline," Rumus replied resolutely.


    "Are you suggesting you have more foresight than themander? Or are you saying themander is inferior to you?" Keru asked with a harsh tone.


    Rumus recognized Keru’s words as an attempt to put a heavy charge on him, as they say, ’give a dog a bad name and hang him.’


    "Keru, watch your words, that’s bordering on a political mistake," Rumus cautioned.


    Keru snorted coldly and then said, "You refuse to follow superiors’ orders, I suspect you’re colluding with the rebels. Come back with me now for investigation."


    Keru said and then looked at his guards around him, "Arrest him first, and we’ll interrogate further when we get back."


    The situation was critical, and Keru wasn’t sure how the rebels were arranged.


    But Rumus’s unexinable ambush here suggested that he must know something.


    Keru could only take the risk of bringing Rumus back now, especially since it was orders from themander, so even if he used force, no one would suspect him.


    Keru’s guards, hearing the order, picked up their guns and tried to surround Rumus.


    Seeing this, Rumus’s men immediately formed a defensive circle, and they already had their safeties off.


    "Anyone who dares to touch ourmander, I’ll shoot him on the spot," one officer said fiercely.


    The surrounding troops were all Rumus’s men, and Rumus had brought his elite troops, which a mere guardpany couldn’t contend with.


    "What do you want, are you rebelling?" Keru didn’t panic, instead, he widened his eyes and asked...