Chapter 1317: Venting hatred

The idea of pursuing the retreating army was tempting, but Yang Meng hesitated and gave it up. Shizhou Tou had too few men, and he still had to spare troops to guard the city. Besides, the arch-criminal Zhao Guangzhi was captured, and City Governor Liu was seized; this was the most glorious achievement.

The two crises Shizhou Tou had faced in the past had quietly passed.

Had a new crisis already arrived? Yang Meng looked back at the war-torn city gate and then stared back at this black-armored cavalry: "Thank you for your help, may I ask what you will do next..."

The other side had wiped out City Governor Liu and Zhao Guangzhi in one go; they must want to take Shizhou Tou for themselves, right?

Yang Meng's heart hung in the air.

Having driven away the two tigers in front, another one even more powerful had come; could they still resist? The voice from the dragon-head mask became doubly deep, as if it sounded from the depths of people's hearts: "Now, are you the one in charge of Shizhou Tou?"

"... Yes." There were still a few civil officials in the city, but when it came to food, security, fighting, etc., it was indeed he, Yang Meng, who was in charge.

"You will continue to be in charge in the future."

Not to mention Yang Meng being stunned on the spot, the garrison was silent.

Did they hear wrong? This black-armored army had killed two local tyrants, put in the effort, but didn't want to occupy Shizhou Tou?

Then why did they take action? "Liu Shuheng and Zhao Guangzhi harmed the people and violated the heavens; their crimes deserve death! I came specifically for them." In the night, the black-armored leader's voice spread far and wide.

Before everyone could react, the black-armored leader pointed at City Governor Liu and said to Yang Meng: "You handle it."

Yang Meng's thoughts were chaotic, and he tried hard to steady himself: "Yes, this will be a public execution."

He turned to instruct his men, and then cupped his hands and bowed to He Lingchuan, very respectfully: "Please."

Soon, the garrison was beating gongs everywhere in Shizhou Tou, announcing that the Zhao army had been repelled, City Governor Liu had been captured, and would soon be punished under the East City Gate.

There was an open space here with several stakes, usually used for tethering horses and carts, and occasionally for tying people up for public execution.

Now, City Governor Liu was tied here.

Hearing the great news, the citizens of Shizhou Tou, even if they were hungry, gathered under the East City Gate within a quarter of an hour.

Those who lived far away even ran over.

The black-armored army stood under the city gate, silent and motionless, like sculptures, but with a majestic presence.

These people had too much killing aura; no one dared to get close to them—

Both the soldiers and civilians of Shizhou Tou spontaneously kept their distance from them.

However, the surrounding discussions were soft and fragmented; those who came later were listening to eyewitnesses explain what had happened.

City Governor Liu and Zhao Guangzhi were both big figures who held the power of life and death for commoners. But these black-armored cavalry in front of them had easily defeated them?

Unbelievable, unbelievable!

What kind of background did such powerful black-armored cavalry have, and what did they want to do to Shizhou Tou? Was the sky above them about to change?

The citizens of Shizhou Tou, who had experienced several wars in a month, were at a loss at this moment, surprised, confused, and uneasy.

Seeing the open space at the city gate full of people, Yang Meng also jumped onto the high platform.

"Fellow villagers, for the past half month, Shizhou Tou has been trapped in war and famine. Fortunately, god-sent soldiers descended—" he pointed at He Lingchuan and the others, "—to help us drive away the Zhao army and capture Liu Shuheng! Supplies have been moved back to the city; we have food to eat!"

A cheer erupted under the city gate.

For these hungry citizens, no good words could compare to the three words "have food to eat."

He Lingchuan nodded secretly; this Garrison Commander named Yang was very down-to-earth, no wonder he could gain the support of the people and have the soldiers and civilians work together to defend the city.

"Rice and flour are already in the pot, and they will be cooked in two quarter-hours." Yang Meng knew that the citizens were already hungry to the point of sticking to their backs; if the food were distributed to everyone to go back and cook, it would be time-consuming and labor-intensive to queue, distribute, and calculate, so it was better to let everyone eat a communal meal directly.

In an emergency, one must act accordingly.

Therefore, the grain stolen by City Governor Liu was now being cooked in the large pots of City Governor Liu's military camp, and after it was cooked, it would be sent back to the city to be distributed to the commoners.

The time saved could be used to publicly deal with City Governor Liu, killing two birds with one stone.

After all, if this matter wasn't handled properly, those black-armored killing gods wouldn't leave.

The commoners had no objections, so the next part was the main event:

Yang Meng read out Liu Shuheng's crimes in public.

As the City Governor, this person usually exploited the people, fled without fighting when facing the enemy; he scraped the people's fat and cream, but trapped his subjects in the mouths of tigers and wolves; Shizhou Tou succeeded in saving itself, but he turned around and brought troops to attack.

Every time he read a crime, the commoners' gaze toward City Governor Liu became more disgusted.

Selling the old and young of the whole city directly to the cannibal king was unforgivable no matter what! Finally, Yang Meng pointed at City Governor Liu and said loudly: "The noble person has handed over the execution power of Liu Shuheng to us. Fellow villagers, how do you want to deal with this villain!"

After he finished speaking, it suddenly became quiet under the city gate, so quiet that a needle could be heard falling.

Yes, how to deal with him? Everyone stared at City Governor Liu, saying nothing.

Hatred accumulated rapidly in the silence.

Everyone realized once again that the Lord Liu who stole from them, robbed them, and put them to death was now tied to a stake, completely unable to resist.

Alone, without a single accomplice by his side.

Right now, Lord Liu was the lamb waiting to be slaughtered! These noble people in black armor captured him just to—

Let everyone vent their anger!

Receiving the sky-high hatred of the commoners, City Governor Liu trembled like a plague-stricken chicken and couldn't make a sound to beg for mercy, and his pants were wet in the blink of an eye.

A child pointed at him and shouted: "He peed, he was scared and peed!"

Another thin man picked up a stone the size of an egg from a basket and threw it fiercely at City Governor Liu.

There were more than a dozen baskets placed by the wall, filled with stones of different sizes, all combat supplies.

This stone hit very accurately, and everyone heard a *thud* sound; Liu Shuheng's forehead was broken and bleeding profusely.

With someone taking the lead, others followed suit, all picking up stones from the baskets to throw at the criminal.

For a time, stones flew everywhere in the field.

Liu Shuheng struggled desperately, but where could he hide? He did have martial arts skills, making him more resistant to being hit than ordinary people. Dozens of stones hit him, just breaking his skin and causing him to bleed; he looked miserable, but he couldn't be considered seriously injured.

"Stoning?" Dong Rui moved his shoulders amidst the clamor of the crowd, not used to wearing armor, "These commoners are really simple; I thought they would cut him into a thousand pieces."

Stoning was the most low-class; he had a hundred ways to torture people to death.

Ah, my shoulders are so sore; this set of armor must be improved!

Liu Shuheng obviously couldn't agree with his point of view; he could still endure dozens of stones, but hundreds or thousands of stones followed one after another, dense like flying locusts in the air.

He was soon hit until his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

Seeing this, the commoners of Shizhou Tou became more and more excited, more and more angry, and their courage grew. Two people rushed over holding a clay jar, first pointing at him and cursing, then raising the jar and smashing it fiercely on his forehead.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1318 =====