Chapter 112: Treatment, Resolution, and Handling Methods

Of course, they would not slap Jier in the face at this moment by saying he had been too heavy-handed; they had been tormented enough by these waves of bandits over the past few days.

Although these bandits were not particularly bloodthirsty and also needed the villagers to do things for them, so apart from looting some of the village's property, they had only occupied the village women for a period of time.

However, the migrants from the Empire did not place much importance on this, so although everyone was oppressed, life went on as usual.

But those strange people from a few days ago were truly abominable. One must know that an injury like being shot through the knee could not be treated or healed on its own with the village's medical conditions; one had to go to a town to have the Priests of the Church handle it.

That was a huge medical expense!

Just thinking about these circumstances, on the very day their knees were injured, two mentally fragile villagers committed suicide in their own homes.

But the villagers dared not hold any hatred toward those strange people who had harmed them, because those people were too powerful and could easily kill everyone. After all, even the group of bandits who had been occupying the village during this time were as powerless as ordinary people when facing those strange people.

"This lord, may I ask who you are? Could you please help us? We beg you."

As soon as one person spoke, the others knelt on the ground, pleading and begging Jier.

"I am not a local, but I just came from Yemei Town. Hmm, I will certainly help you, but my companions and I can at most escort you to the Town Guard at Yemei Town. As for the specific treatment and the cost of the treatment, I am afraid I cannot help you with that."

Even if Jier currently carried the title of something like 【Sun Child】, or was a somewhat famous Warrior of the Agricultural God Church, treating the broken legs of these two or three hundred villagers would drain his money bag dry.

After all, relationships are relationships, and the Divine Power consumed by the Church to treat injuries is a real, tangible cost for the Priests.

For general injuries to the knee and lower leg, it costs one Silver Coin or several Silver Coins depending on the specific situation. Fortunately, the legs were not completely rotted or severed; otherwise, treating a severe injury involving limb disability would require several Priests of the Church to gather together and hold a Healing Ritual capable of treating severe injuries.

The cost at that time would multiply by several dozen times.

"We know this, sigh, how did it come to this? First, there was one wave of bandits."

"Then, a fight broke out between the bandits, and a new wave of bandits came."

"The first wave looted our wealth, and the later wave of bandits had to loot us again."

"As a result, before life could even stabilize, a few even more ruthless strange people came!"

These women complained to one another, as if only by complaining like this could they temporarily forget their leg injuries and their heartache, and alleviate the tragic experiences of these past days.

"Perhaps it has to do with the location of your village. If it really isn't working out, you might as well move to the northern part of Sasi County to settle down. This place is remote and too close to the mountains and forests; not only is there a risk of being harassed by wild beasts and Monsters on ordinary days, but once some restless times arrive, bandits will also target it."

Jier reminded them, attempting to offer a solution.

But these women looked at each other and, with helpless, mournful faces, said: "Young lord, if it were really that easy to settle down on the plains near Yemei Town, we wouldn't have come to this place to establish a village."

At this moment, 'Shishou' walked over, holding the Luminous Longsword Jier had lent him in one hand and several human heads in the other: "Jier, just as you said, Weier and I killed all the guys in the surrounding houses who dared to resist. But what is going on here? Why are they all injured in the right knee?"

This Dwarf was somewhat puzzled and rubbed the top of his head with his blood-stained hand: "Is it some strange mountain forest Monster, or some peculiar custom of you Humans? I have heard that behind some evil and bloody customs, there are some terrifying things influencing people."

Jier exhaled, stepped forward to kick away the heads of the bandits that had frightened the women in the house, and then explained to the Dwarf: "It is not like that; it has to do with the battle over at Momona Village earlier. The Hunting God Church, they are truly ruthless and very cold-blooded."

Afterward, Jier ignored the corpses in the house, and he and 'Shishou' helped the trembling, frightened women out of the house, gathering all the villagers in the open space that every village has.

Aoni, Weier, and 'Shishou', plus Jier, the four of them spent quite a while getting all the villagers, who still did not know what was happening, out of the houses and gathered in the open space.

For lighting, Jier even took out his Blessed Short Staff and cast several small, glowing balls of Divine Power onto the ground nearby. The appearance of this thing actually made the originally terrified and uneasy villagers relax quite a bit. They whispered among themselves, guessing that Jier must be from some Church and had come to rescue them.

They guessed half right.

Jier indeed had a certain relationship with some Churches, but he was not subordinate to any of them. Jier had come to rescue them, but he would not take the entire burden of the rescue upon himself.

The Herbalist Zuojigela was extremely busy at this time. He found the small children among the villagers who were not injured, took out the various Healing Ointments and other items he carried, and had the children assist him in stabilizing the conditions of those among the villagers who were in the worst state and had the most severe, festering injuries.

Some villagers' leg injuries had not received effective hemostasis or cleaning, which led to them becoming inflamed and rotting after these few days passed; some people's wounds were even starting to stink. The lives of these villagers were basically in a state of hanging by a thread.

"Truly cold and heartless, those hunters of the Hunting God Church." Weier helped hold down an injured villager so that Zuojigela could use a small knife to cut away the rotten flesh on the injured villager's leg, then stop the bleeding and pack the wound with a potent Healing Ointment.

"Jier, the Ointment I am carrying is simply not enough; I can only temporarily treat the ten or so most severely injured. And whether their lives can be saved is also very hard to say." Zuojigela, his hands covered in blood, shook the empty jar of Healing Ointment in his hand and shouted helplessly at Jier.

"I know. You stabilize the most dangerous villagers first, and simply treat the others. The people who ultimately save them will not be us, nor should it be us. Listen to me, it is obviously impossible for the few of us to finish treating this entire village of villagers. Therefore, the key is to transport them in batches to the supply point we passed this afternoon where the Town Guard is stationed."

Once Jier said this, the others knew what to do.

But then the problem arose: so many villagers were injured and could not walk, and there were only a few of them; how could they possibly transport so many people to the supply point?

Aoni offered an idea: "I will go back and call for people. Counting those captured soldiers and our Dwarf friends, if each person takes two, and we load some people onto the horse carts, we should be able to send this village of people to the nearby supply point, right?"

Jier shook his head: "There is no need for everyone to come and help. Some of them are not seriously injured; if they temporarily find a wooden stick to support their bodies, they can also move slowly. That is, make a temporary crutch."

This place is close to the mountains and forests, so naturally, there is never a shortage of timber. In a corner inside the fence of New Clear Spring Village, there was actually quite a bit of wood piled up. And the wood used for the houses in the village was also chosen from high-quality tree species in the mountains and forests, as well as timber of suitable sizes.

Therefore, Jier gave the task of making over a hundred pairs of temporary crutches to the Dwarf 'Shishou', who had astonishing strength: "Don't exercise your Dwarf craftsman spirit and engage in any exquisite craftsmanship; just simply make some crutches for the villagers who are not seriously injured so they can walk and keep up with us."

'Shishou' took the Two-handed Axe 【Yueshui Skull】 that Jier handed him and grumbled with dissatisfaction: "I am a Miner, or perhaps a Warrior, but I am certainly not a craftsman. Jier, when dealing with us Dwarves, the first thing you must understand is what kind of work the Dwarf you are dealing with does."

Jier waved his hand: "Alright, alright, then I'll leave it to you, Miner Bi'er-Mutusite. My axe is very useful for dealing with wood; please make a sufficient number of crutches as quickly as possible. You are permitted to use all the wood you can find in the village, except for the door panels of the various houses; those have another use."

'Shishou' looked at Jier with surprise; he did not expect that after only saying his name a few times, this Human, Jier, could actually remember it.

Jier then looked at Weier: "I have a job for you. Remove nine door panels that are large enough. Drill two holes on each side at one end of the panels; whether you find a tool to drill them or use your own Long Sword to poke them, get the panels over here as quickly as possible, then drill the holes and find enough Rope."

Weier immediately understood Jier's purpose, nodded, and set off to get the job done.

As for Aoni, he was arranged by Jier to assist Zuojigela with the treatment, responsible for holding down those severely injured villagers. Because there was not enough anesthetic, our Herbalist was directly using a small knife to scrape the rotten flesh from the wounds. That scene—if the injured villagers hadn't been on the verge of death, everyone would probably have been screaming like slaughtered pigs.

"By the way, who is in charge in your village now?"

Jier asked the villagers at the scene in a loud voice.

Ever since they learned that Jier and these fierce men had come to rescue them, the villagers had relaxed, and some were even moved to tears. Hearing Jier's question at this time, they looked at each other. An elderly villager, fifty years old and hunched over, supported his body with both hands and crawled over: "This young lord, the Village Chief and several Elders who were in charge of the village originally died long ago during the interrogations of the two waves of bandits."

"Interrogations?" Jier was somewhat surprised. What news could this remote village possibly have that was worth interrogating?

"It was to torture them for the village's wealth." The man explained, and Jier finally understood what was going on.

"So, are you the one who can speak for everyone now?"

The elderly villager looked left and right. Among all the surviving villagers, he was indeed the oldest, but there were also several Lieges from families with many members, so he called these people out.

These Lieges were middle-aged men in their forties, but besides their injured legs, they had also suffered some torture wounds. It was clear that the bandits had tortured and interrogated the Lieges of these Farmer families for the village's wealth.

"You are the ones who can manage things in the village now. I will tell you about the current situation, so listen clearly." Jier knew that this unexpected matter could not delay him further, so his actions were full of sharpness.

"My people and I are just passing through here; it is impossible for us to stay with you and help you forever."

They had all guessed this situation, so no one spoke; they just nodded at Jier in silence and gratitude.

"And your situation here is quite serious; you cannot delay slowly, otherwise, as time passes, everyone's injuries will only worsen. Small injuries will become large, large injuries will become severe, and it may even lead to amputation or death. Therefore, with our help, you need to move away from this remote place as quickly as possible and reach the nearest area controlled by the Yemei Town Town Guard."

They could understand these words. In fact, in the last few days, after the bleeding from the wounds had stopped, most people had become weak. Some villagers who had been injured by the bandits' beatings were even worse off, passing away in just a day or two. Everyone was so injured that they hadn't even properly handled the corpses, only able to leave them hastily in the backyard, letting the birds from the nearby mountains and forests come to peck at the bodies.

"You are in luck; the nearest supply point controlled by the Town Guard is located at Momona Village, not far from here, near the main Shanglu. Therefore, I will have my men prepare some crutches for the villagers with minor injuries to use so they can move with us. As for those who cannot walk, they will sit on door panels pulled by horses for a while, how about that?"

Several people had no objections; in reality, they left everything to Jier to arrange.

"I know those Bandits plundered wealth from you, and I need to know where it is now. Don't overthink it; I am not a Bandit, nor am I asking for a reward. You will carry this wealth taken by the Bandits on your persons in a moment, because do not think that once you reunite with the Town Guard in town, the matter will be over."

Jier shook his head regretfully: "In fact, it is quite the opposite; the truly troublesome matters have only just begun. Healing costs money. My Herbalist providing you with current treatment is considered helping you for free, but once you reach the town, wanting the Church Priest to treat such large-scale injuries for you will require a sum of money that is not small."

"Keep your money to pay for your own treatment."

The Villagers did not know what to say. Although they had been saved, the wealth accumulated through years of hard labor would not truly be preserved just because the Bandits were dead.

It might not even be enough; they would need to offer their spiritual Faith, or even the houses or land in the Cunzi to the Church, to cover the costs of treatment.

After explaining the situation, Jier let the Villagers discuss for a while, and then, under the guidance of the Villagers, he searched for the wealth stolen by the Bandits within the Cunzi.

Most of the Bandits entrenched in the Cunzi would not guard against these Villagers; when hiding the wealth they had each plundered, what they needed to guard against most were actually their fellow Bandits. Therefore, apart from the valuables on the bodies of those Bandits who carried their loot with them, the wealth hidden by other Bandits in various places within the Cunzi and in some secret spots around the Cunzi could not escape the knowledge of the Villagers.

Especially the young children in the Cunzi.

They played in the Cunzi all day long and naturally knew about some inconspicuous places that had undergone changes.

Often, by digging or reaching into these places, one could find a box of items worth some money hidden by the Bandits, mostly metal jewelry belonging to the farm women in the Cunzi—copper, silver, or small pieces of glass mirrors and the like.

Jier gathered these things, packed them up, and handed them to a few Villagers who could speak for the others, letting them act as custodians of this wealth belonging to everyone on behalf of the other Villagers.

"Watch them closely; whether most of you can receive treatment from the Church Priest depends on these things. I suggest you prioritize treatment for one or two people per household, so that every family in the Cunzi has one or two adults who can move normally, especially middle-aged people who can handle affairs and young adults who can protect your interests. Women who can care for children must also be prioritized for healing to look after these children who have no one to manage them, and to cook for the others."

Jier's arrangements were very proper, and the listening Villagers kept nodding.

And so, in the deep night, some Villagers who could not walk sat on door panels temporarily hung behind horses with Rope, while most of the Villagers who were barely holding on and leaning on crutches received a simply made crutch from Shishou—some even fitted to each person's height—and were able to move with difficulty.

However, the most troublesome thing was that all the Villagers were physically weak. During the days they were injured, they had only eaten a little food paste made by the uninjured children, and hunger limited their ability to move.

There was no help for this; Jier had no choice but to let them struggle to keep up. As long as they reached the supply point, at least there would be no shortage of food.

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