Chapter 492

Zhou family head handed it to the eldest son beside him, "... there's a wolf ahead and a tiger behind."

"What does this mean?... Who is asking such an exorbitant price?!"

... you look at the signature, the cavalry from You Prefecture.

How could Youzhou's cavalry come to Liqu? This question temporarily has no one able to answer.

The opposing side's one arrow blew off the watchtower's spire; although they still hadn't seen where the cavalry were, they had to take it seriously.

Upon climbing high to look, they saw no cavalry, but felt the refugees had gathered even more; the worried Zhou family again summoned the clan elders for an urgent discussion.

The Zhou family felt the Great King was shamelessly taking advantage of the fire to loot, while Wei Shen was still asking why they needed 500 liters of rice...

"With so many people in the Zhou family, grain might be tighter than silver; if you want more, don't cause a mess." The Great King, "old and deep-planning", said.

In this world, as long as one's mind is clear, they will value grain more.

Wei Shen pointed at the watchtower that had lost its tip, "Does the Zhou clan really have a death wish? Do they dare not comply?!"

That's true.

However the Zhou family thinks, the threat of the cavalry is as great as that of the refugees; when mentioning cavalry from You Prefecture, one cannot help but think of the famed You Prefecture black-armored cavalry—who knows if it's the Northern Border King sending people to profiteer, seeking a windfall?

The Zhou family elders still care about appearances, while the younger generation has already started cursing; the Northern Border King must be gone mad from poverty!

No matter how angry, this matter must be agreed to, after all they said that if you don't comply you'll join the refugee ranks. With that arrow blowing off the watchtower's top, breaking in is just a matter of time; by then it won't be about silver and grain anymore.

The Zhou family patriarch also thought using silver to dispel disaster was the best way; it's just this matter… he's a bit resentful, that's all.

The Great King soon saw the white cloth waved on the watchtower; he pulled up the magic scarf around his neck, covering his recently slimmed little face tightly, only his eyes showing, "Let's go make money—action!"

Ten people rode over, the Great King gestured for Wei Shen to shout, but the crackling commotion attracted no attention from them.

Wei Ke pointed at the few refugees with iron weapons, "Without a fierce show of force, that juicy meat won't be so easily given up. Those wielding knives are probably the leaders of this refugee group." Most of these refugees lack proper weapons, having spikes, wooden sticks, farm tools, etc., but upon closer look some do have knives—thin iron blades, roughly uniform in style.

The Great King narrowed his eyes, "I'll handle it."

He raised the Sun-Shooting Bow and began seriously searching for a target. Given the buff on his Sun-Shooting Bow, the Great King's pause was a bit long; his hesitation to loose an arrow prompted Wei Shen to earnestly advise: "If we stop this conflict, we can save more lives." He thought the Great King was embarrassed to shoot at refugees.

The Great King felt bitter, but said nothing.

After searching around, he finally spotted three knife-wielders standing together; these three were on the periphery watching their subordinates attack the fort, cautiously staying outside the fort's arrow range. Tsk tsk, even though they held iron weapons they didn't rush forward; the Great King without hesitation chose them.

This guy thought, there are three of them, why hasn't he hit one yet?

The Great King thought it over, aimed at the middle one; no matter which way it veered, there would be a backup.

Hearing that true horsemen had arrived, the Zhou family's eldest son personally climbed a watchtower to look, and saw a person—was it a person? —flying toward him, then with a boom the entire wall shook.

He glanced down and his legs went weak; he quickly grabbed the nearby guard and hurried down the watchtower.

His father was still there asking what he saw, why his face was so pale, "... Is it that refugees have gathered again, or are they using something to smash the wall?" The Zhou family patriarch had also just heard the huge boom, near the watchtower where the eldest son had gone up.

"... Youzhou cavalry, cavalry, they've hung people on the outer wall of the fort... Dad, that's a stone wall—how can a person smash into it?" He looked pallid at the impact spot, "They've shot the person into the wall;... two more hits and this wall will be done for!"

The faces of those present from the Zhou family went from bad to worse; outside, the Great King after shooting an arrow almost gave himself a round of applause.

The Sun-Shooting Bow drawn full, the Great King exerted more effort to intimidate the refugees than when he assaulted a city. This arrow shocked even Stone-Breaking Heaven; it successfully took an adult man, and with undiminished momentum it pinned person and arrow directly onto the outer stone wall of the fort!

The outside fierce battle scene stalled for a moment; everyone who noticed zoned out and slowed their movements, and the few refugees almost hit scrambled away on hands and knees, nearly ending up in a line!

What kind of arrow can hit a person without slowing down and still nail them to the wall?

Wei Shen hurriedly seized the moment to shout: "Stop! Everyone stop! The Zhou clan has Northern Border connections and has already summoned cavalry for rescue; we came ahead to inspect. I urge you to lay down your weapons and disperse at once—you are no match for the cavalry, retreat quickly and we'll forgive past offenses; otherwise, the one hanging above will be your warning!"

The refugees already had many casualties, some even with bloodshot eyes, unwilling to retreat so easily.

"Just ten people, and you expect us to believe anything you say? Brothers, don't believe them—this place is far from the Northern Border, where would any cavalry come from?!"

"Bluffing?"

Wei Shen: "Looks like you're not afraid of dying? Ignorant! You dare to oppose the Northern Border cavalry with empty hands? Still complaining ten is too few? Half of ten would be enough to kill you rabble! I give you a way out—if you don't cherish it, you'll find other forces aren't as easy to deal with as our Northern Border."

After his words, the six personal guards behind him drew their swords simultaneously: "Even brandishing rotten wood to cause trouble, killing you is easier than chopping vegetables. Though the world isn't great, it's not to the point of insisting on throwing away your life, right?"

Wei Ke stepped in to smooth things over: "Step back, you didn't come for nothing—let the Zhou family treat you to a bowl of porridge and this will be over. If you fight, you can't win; why throw away your lives?"

"Easy to say, we've already lost so many brothers!"

"Exactly, don't believe them! It's just bluster—what do we have to fear with so many of us?"

The Great King raised his chin, full of swagger, "Ling Yin!"

The great hero Ling leapt from his horse, lunging into the refugee crowd; the two who had just spoken up and led the opposition had their heads sliced off in an instant.

Swift and efficient, utterly unexpected. Most hadn't even reacted before Ling Yin stepped on several refugees' shoulders and returned to his horse.

Those two fell, and only then did the bystanders' faces show belated shock and fear.

How did this person manage that?!

Is that even human?!

The Great King, on horseback, played with the Sun-Shooting Bow, "How about it? You know how our Northern Border cavalry kills Xiongnu cavalry? Just like that. The Xiongnu couldn't even resist, let alone you."

"We're all our own people; why not appreciate being given a way to live?" He said the latter part even with confusion.

After Ling Yin displayed that move, nobody remained to jump out and oppose the Great King. Those two who had just had their throats cut died simply from talking too much!

The scene fell silent, then a person with a soft voice said, "Is the porridge really, truly being given?"

Wei Shen raised his hand and pointed backward, "Retreat twenty zhang; the Zhou clan will give you five hundred liters of rice, enough for everyone to eat a full meal. Any more they can't produce, and brothers who've come a long distance still need to eat!" That was plain speaking, utterly unpretentious.

The refugees looked at each other, then someone started retreating to the side, and they began to run around the Great King and his group...

The Zhou family, hearing this commotion, didn't know whether to be happy, as if they'd stirred up even greater trouble...

It's probably easy to invite the gods but hard to send them away.

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