Chapter 108: Saying Goodbye to Bell, Sorrow Behind the Victory

A sizable caravan drove out one by one from the backyard gate of Caimen Inn, and the owner of Caimen Inn, holding the bill signed by Jier, saw Jier and his group off. In a moment, he could take this bill, signed and approved by Jier, to the Sasi Family to settle the expenses Jier's people had incurred at Caimen Inn over these days.

Of course, it wasn't just expenses; because the Dwarves were idle, they even helped him repair all the roof tiles, doors, and windows of the entire inn, and he therefore deducted a large sum from the bill.

He earned quite a bit from this, as Jier's team had only set up their camp in the inn's backyard and had not occupied any of the inn's rooms during these days, so the inn's own income had not been affected much.

And the Dwarves' overall repairs to the inn saved him an even larger sum of money. After all, if calculated carefully, just hiring these skilled door and window craftsmen would have cost a lot of money.

So his farewell was truly sincere.

As the caravan traveled on the roads within the town, because of its significant size, the carriages of other merchant guilds passing by had to take the initiative to yield the way for them, especially with Jier, a fully armed Knight, leading the caravan; any merchant guild had to carefully steer clear, fearing they might invite trouble.

Some Town Guards stationed on the town's stone walls and at the city gate also took the initiative to wave goodbye to Jier and the others as they left. The Warriors had fought side by side in Momona Cunzi, and they had accumulated some camaraderie from facing the enemy together.

Moreover, the Town Guards also knew exactly how much Jier and his subordinate Warriors had contributed to the counterattack and recovery of Sasi County over these days.

Every time Jier and his men recovered a village, it was the Town Guards who were responsible for escorting the returning Villagers.

"Lord Jier! Wishing you a smooth journey!"

"Lord Jier, travel slowly, please come back to Yemei Town in the future!"

Jier also waved to signal, smiling as he greeted and said goodbye to those Town Guards he had met a few times.

The caravan drove quickly along the relatively easy roads outside the town; some of the Warriors who were originally walking clung to the edges of the carriages, laughing and bragging to the others in the caravan about the series of thrilling battles they had just experienced.

Once the caravan passed the only passage over the trench and officially entered the field roads outside the town, the Warriors jumped off the carriages to accompany the slowing vehicles, walking together toward the Xīběi direction.

Not long after they had walked, a person on horseback blocked Jier's caravan while waiting on the main Shanglu of Sasi County.

Jier recognized the person blocking the carriages; it was a personal attendant of Bell, so he took the initiative to step forward and ask: "What is it? Why do you need to wait for me here specifically?"

The attendant jumped off his horse, first wiping away the sweat brought out by the morning sun, then looked up at the mounted Jier and said: "Lord Jier, my Young Master is currently resting with his men in the nearby Celebration Cunzi. Knowing you were leaving today, my Young Master invites you to let him express his personal thanks and farewell to you before you depart! Please, you must come with me."

Jier shrugged, letting the caravan continue moving along the Shanglu out of the county, while he rode his horse to follow the attendant along a small path beside the Shanglu, heading toward the nearby Celebration Cunzi.

Most of the original Villagers had already returned to Celebration Cunzi, and some Villagers outside the village had even replanted some fast-growing vegetables. Although these vegetables could not fill one's stomach, they were planted and harvested quickly, and the demand for water resources and labor was not high, so planting them to supply Yemei Town was also a continuous source of income for the village.

After all, because of the Monster infestation this year, they had missed a large amount of critical planting growth time, and the weather had been terrible; there had not been a single drop of precipitation from the beginning of spring until now, so no grain could be grown in the fields.

Unless the farmers personally fetched water every day to carefully irrigate every piece of parched field. But most villages in Sasi County did not rely on rivers, and relying solely on underground well water was clearly unrealistic.

At this time, many teams that had been suppressing the parasitic Monsters were still stationed in the open space in the middle of the village, with exquisite and simple tents pitched one after another. Jier scanned them a few times and discovered that the Armed Civilians temporarily conscripted from various villages had basically already been disbanded and sent back to their original villages.

But clearly, each village still retained a small number of idle Armed Civilians; they were mainly responsible for the patrols and security of the village walls. For example, Celebration Cunzi was like this; the village's patrols and security were maintained by the villagers themselves.

As for the people remaining in the center of the village at this time, they were basically the tents of some brave Town Guards, youths from Knight Families, and the attendants of these youths.

Bell's own brightly colored tent was in the very center of the village. It seemed that some celebratory activities had taken place here last night; many large wooden tables covered in a mess of cups and plates were still placed in the gaps and open spaces around the tents, and under some of the large tables, there were still some drunken Soldiers or attendants sleeping soundly.

Heh, they had chosen a good spot; after eating and drinking, they just crawled under the table to sleep on the spot, which could also avoid the scorching sun during the day. But this made the local farm women who wanted to clean up last night's mess afraid to approach, fearing they would disturb the precious sleep of these Warriors who had performed meritorious deeds.

When passing by the tents belonging to the youths of the Knight Families, one could still hear bursts of snoring from inside; it seemed everyone had partied until very late last night before sleeping.

Jier dismounted and waited in front of Bell's tent, while Bell's attendant was searched by two Refining Qi Soldiers guarding the front of the tent before being allowed inside to wake Bell up.

He heard the commotion of the attendant shaking Bell awake, and the news that he had invited the person over. Bell was a bit confused at first, not knowing what the attendant was talking about, but soon realized this was a task he had assigned to his attendant during the celebration yesterday.

He simply washed his face quickly under the attendant's service, then gulped down a large cup of clear water in one breath.

"Oh, you've come, Jier. I'm really sorry to let you see me like this, hahaha, no choice, the atmosphere of the celebration last night was too good, everyone was enjoying the peaceful environment they had fought so hard to earn for a rare moment! It's a pity you and your people weren't there, otherwise, I guarantee you'd be just as disheveled as me!"

Bell walked out reeking of alcohol; he wasn't wearing Armor, just a set of luxurious, form-fitting clothes that were suspiciously stained with some vomit.

It's truly incredible; to think a Knight could get drunk on ale. Who knows how much this guy drank last night?

Could it be that what's flowing in Bell's Blood Vessel right now is just ale?

"That won't do, haha, it's precisely to avoid this kind of situation that I have to take my people and leave here this morning. If I stayed in Yemei Town, who knows how much time would be wasted just attending celebration activities."

Jier felt helpless; he had already been delayed for a long time, precisely because he feared this kind of enthusiastic retention by the locals would occur. If that happened, since one doesn't hit a smiling face, it would be hard to say how many more days he would actually be delayed.

"Hahahaha, I plan to organize a grand celebration activity in the town in a few days that will last for half a month. By then, all the Warriors who performed meritorious deeds in this battle will be commended. All the churches will bring out their religious holiday stuff to set the mood, making it lively so that all the townspeople who have been tense for so long can relax!"

When Bell said this, he looked at Jier with a regretful expression: "It will definitely be a great pity that you and your people won't be there! After all, for this counterattack plan, it would have been fine without others, but if your team had been missing, my simple plan would likely have ended in failure from the start."

Jier shook his head: "But you know the actual situation; as long as the Hunting God Church had its eyes on that Alien Evil God, even without your and my battles, the matter would have ended with the Evil God being hunted and falling. The only difference is whether the Monsters surrounding Yemei Town were wiped out by our joint efforts or dispersed on their own after some unknown time."

"Without the existence of that Evil God who was hostile to Humans behind the scenes, these parasitic Monsters are no different from ordinary Monsters in the mountains and forests. By then, you could concentrate all your Refining Qi forces together and recover the villages one by one. I guarantee that your reputation in Yemei Town and within Sasi County will definitely be several times stronger than it is now."

There was some confusion on Bell's disheveled face, as if he were imagining the possibility Jier had spoken of.

But he soon shook his head: "But that's just one possibility, isn't it? I only know that because you and your subordinates were here, my counterattack plan succeeded this time. This is the result, and I am very satisfied with such a realistic result."

He seemed to be quite open-minded: "Rather than taking greater risks to shoulder heavy responsibilities and gains alone, it is better to invite a reliable companion like you to face difficulties together and share the glory of the final victory. I have to say, the most correct thing I did was to invite you when you passed through Yemei Town last time."

He stepped forward and hugged Jier tightly. Jier looked disgusted that the vomit on the other's body would dirty his set of Metal Armor Plate, but since Bell was hugging him so tightly, he had no choice but to hug him back with force.

Clearly, with both of them hugging with such awkward force, Bell, who wasn't wearing Armor, was at a great disadvantage.

"Damn it! This expensive spider-silk real silk casual wear of mine was specially ordered in the Province Capital! Go easy, watch out for the Armor Plate on your Armor, don't snag and ruin it." Bell soon lost the battle, howling and taking the initiative to ease his strength and concede.

Jier laughed out loud and punched Bell in the chest: "Alright, is this the time to be fussing over such trifles! Looking at your expression, you still have something to say?"

Bell also withdrew the feigned look of shock on his face and nodded to Jier with a solemn expression: "Jier, I know you are going to participate in this war; I have heard you say so. I mean, if, if you meet my father, Sasi Baron, in the Province Capital, please hand him this letter of mine, along with this detailed report on the recent situation in Sasi County. I mean, hand it to him personally."

Jier extended his palm: "Where are the letter and the report?"

Bell felt around on his body, only then realizing he wasn't wearing Armor as he usually did. He immediately snapped his fingers at the attendants behind him, and someone immediately returned to the tent to bring out a confidential letter tube encased in a metal barrel.

This thing had a mechanism similar to a Lock at one end, which required a secret corresponding object to be brought close to unlock the inside. And inside, there was usually a small Magic Power mechanism; if the entire letter tube were damaged or dismantled by external force, it would immediately activate a spark of Magic Power, burning the letter inside to ashes.

But this time, it wasn't that complicated. Firstly, because Jier was a party involved who had participated in the suppression of the parasitic Monsters and the Alien Evil God throughout the whole process, most of the situation inside the letter did not need to be kept secret from Jier. Secondly, this time an extra thick report on the recent situation in Sasi County was included, and once this report was packed, there was no room for the secret Magic Power mechanism.

"Rest assured, I will take the items to your father. Of course, if I miss the delivery due to an accident, I will also have someone pass it on to Sasi Baron," Jier said.

"That won't happen; you will definitely be able to see my father in the Province Capital. I hope that when he hears about the situation in the county, he won't be too angry with me."

Bell looked regretful.

Jier encouraged him: "Rest assured, you performed so brilliantly that no one can find any fault with you."

"If only it were really as you say."

Bell said dejectedly at the end.

Back on the road, Jier didn't take much time to catch up with the caravan ahead on horseback. He tossed the letter tube to Xueya Site, who was driving his carriage, and had him place the sealed letter tube inside the carriage.

"What's the situation?" Xueya Site was curious about what Jier had just gone to do.

"What, what's the situation? Oh, you're asking me what I went to Celebration Cunzi for just now? Bell and his men haven't returned to Yemei Town yet; they celebrated all night long in Celebration Cunzi last night. Just now, it was Bell's attendant who invited me to see his Young Master Bell before I left."

Jier shook his head with a smile: "It's nothing much, just some old-fashioned but necessary expressions of gratitude, a way to build rapport, and finally asking me to pass that thing I had just now to Sasi Baron."

Seeing Xueya Site curious about what was inside the metal letter tube, Jier said directly: "What else could it be? Such a big thing has happened in Sasi County, so of course, Sasi Baron, who is leading troops outside, must be notified. Hehe, don't look at how well Bell performed while leading everyone in the counterattack these past few days; in reality, he is truly afraid that because so many things have happened, his father will severely criticize him."

Seeing that Xueya Site did not understand the risks behind it, Jier explained: "Bell is afraid that his father will strip him of his inheritance rights. After all, although he counterattacked and took back Sasi County, his performance at the beginning was not very good."

Shaking his head, Jier said: "If it were me, when the Monster parasites first started making trouble, I would have definitely struck hard against the Monster parasites while their numbers were still small. Not to say I would have won, but at least I wouldn't have let the Monster parasites cut off the Shanglu of Sasi County and wreak havoc across the entire Northern Sasi County."

Speaking of this, Jier felt a lingering fear: "Siter, my good fellow, you might not have realized one thing: my Warriors and I have indeed killed many Monster parasites these past few days, but..."

Jier sighed: "But the reason those Monster parasites are called Monster parasites is precisely because they parasitize Human bodies, seizing the life and control of the body from the parasitized. In other words, the Monsters everyone killed actually represent the loss of that many people in the entire Sasi County. Behind every Monster is a Villager, a townsperson, a Miner, a lumberjack, or a Merchant Guild Shop Assistant."

Now Xueya Site understood; his whole body trembled. Just a moment ago, his ears were still full of the Warriors bragging about how heroically they had killed so many Monsters over these past few days.

And at this moment, he realized that behind every single Monster parasite that had been cut down was an innocent Sasi County citizen.

And originally, these people did not need to die, provided that at the very beginning, Bell could have chosen a different response plan instead of listening to the conservative plans of others in his family, which ultimately resulted in the disappearance and death of a large number of citizens.

It can be said that in every Cunzi throughout Northern Sasi County, in every Farmer's household, someone died in the series of incidents caused by these Monster parasites this time. Regardless of whether they died directly at the hands of the Monster parasites, or died in the conflicts that broke out between them due to limited survival resources while gathering outside Yemei Town.

"Sigh, no wonder that Young Master is worried about this, even though it looks like a major victory." Xueya Site shook his head.

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