Chapter 25: Pacifying the Warriors, Analyzing the Opponent's Weaknesses, and Returning to Shichui Cunzi

Apart from the incident that occurred that evening, the entire temporary overnight camp was calm and peaceful.

It could not exactly be called calm and peaceful, though; in the Dwarf half of the camp, the atmosphere was very relaxed and cheerful, with most Dwarves huddled in their tents sleeping, while some who could not sleep were whispering excitedly about the matter.

They felt this was a good start; although their journey home remained filled with confusion and they could not see where the road lay, this at least showed they had the strength to protect themselves, which allowed them—having been routed by Jier alone in the battle at Babotali Valley—to slowly regain their confidence in their martial arts and combat power.

In fact, these Dwarves were very strong; forty or fifty Dwarf Warriors, each wearing Dwarf Metal Armor and skilled in martial arts, would count as a not-insignificant force anywhere. It was even possible for them to break through a human town the size of Yemei Town under the cover of night.

The atmosphere on the human side, however, was not good. Many people sat around the campfire, muttering something or viciously throwing the firewood in their hands into the fire, as if that firewood were some Dwarves.

The most distressed was actually Aoni himself; he was the Captain of the Warrior squad, and although Jier had not chosen him at first because of his great skill, but because he was familiar with the squad's personnel and was confident and talkative—a qualified candidate who could unite and manage the Warriors. As for martial arts, Weier was clearly stronger, and Sipulu, who used a Battle Knife, had higher talent; both of them were stronger than him.

But the position of Captain could not be held by whoever had the best martial arts; in Jier's view, Aoni was actually managing the whole squad quite well now. He would care about every Warrior's training, what they were good at, the state of their weapons and equipment, and so on, which made him more suitable to be a manager than the somewhat arrogant Weier or the taciturn Sipulu.

But Aoni considered himself to have personal combat power as well, yet today's crushing defeat clearly dealt him a heavy blow, even if the Dwarf called 'Shishou' had not intentionally hurt him when defeating him.

When Jier came over, what he saw was a dejected Aoni.

Beside him, Weier and Sipulu were also silent; looking at them, it seemed they were pondering how to defeat a Dwarf Warrior like 'Shishou' whose strength far exceeded their own.

"Stop thinking about it, this guy is very difficult to deal with. The guy you just saw hasn't even used his true strength yet. The other four Dwarf Warriors similar to him also haven't received the Strengthening Blessing from the Dwarf Strength God Priest; once they are strengthened, their strength will rise by another large margin—no, it will double—and coupled with the fact that they use Heavy Weapons, their destructive power is simply ridiculously strong."

Jier rubbed his chin: "They can even destroy a sturdy stone Dwarf house with a single blow."

After hearing this, the few Warriors present were stunned. They had just been pondering how to defeat a Dwarf Warrior with such a display of strength, but at this moment, Knight Jier told them that the enemy hadn't even brought out their true strength.

After a moment of silence, Aoni was still unwilling to give up. He looked at Jier: "Then, Lord Jier, how did you defeat them back then? Can you tell us?"

Jier sat beside them, threw a piece of firewood into the campfire, and picked up a metal rod to stir the fire, making it burn brighter.

"Of course I can, but I don't recommend you do as I did, because it is truly dangerous."

Jier gestured: "They have great strength. Dwarves originally have several times the strength of us Humans, and these Dwarf Warriors who are Dwarf Strength God Believers have even more strength than ordinary Dwarves due to their Faith and training. When they receive the Strengthening Blessing from a Dwarf Strength God Priest, their strength increases several times over."

Everyone felt more and more hopeless, but the smart ones had already heard some hope in Jier's words.

"However, although they have immense strength and can easily swing heavy, sturdy Double-handed Heavy Weapons, they are not without weaknesses. In fact, the weaknesses are very obvious; there are three."

Jier made a gesture, holding up three fingers.

Aoni swallowed his saliva; he was impatient to hear these three weaknesses. But at this moment, Weier spoke up: "Jier, I know their movements aren't flexible or agile enough, but I think they must have means to cover up such weaknesses in battle since they chose this fighting style, right?"

What Weier said was exactly one of their weaknesses.

Jier nodded: "Yes, don't look at how they have immense strength, can split building walls with one blow, and shatter the ground; their movements are not much faster than an average person's. Of course, they are a bit faster than an average person, but not by much. At the same time, their movements in battle have a large range; every move and style is simple and direct. If a Warrior is fast and agile, they could dodge the opponent's moves at close range and then kill or wound them."

The few Warriors with some ability sitting around the campfire were all invigorated, their eyes showing hopeful gazes. However, Sipulu gnashed his teeth, feeling something was wrong. Always a man of few words, he asked at this moment: "My Lord, they have countermeasures, right?"

Jier nodded: "Yes."

The crowd's eyes immediately dimmed.

But Jier continued: "They will shatter the ground or surrounding buildings and such during the battle, using the debris brought up by their immense strength to force back or even kill approaching enemies. Once the enemy is hindered by this, they will be beaten into a pile of minced meat by their heavy blows. But then again, if your speed is fast enough, and you use your Armor and other means to temporarily block these things, break through to their close proximity, and then launch an attack during the interval of their moves, you can easily defeat them."

The crowd felt a sense of certainty, and then Aoni asked urgently about the other two methods.

Jier chuckled: "Did none of you think of their other two weaknesses? Weier."

Weier was taken aback and awkwardly gestured with his hand: "I was just pondering how to use my own fighting style to break through such an opponent. Sorry, Lord Jier, I couldn't think of it for a moment."

Jier looked at Aoni: "What about you, Aoni? You fought the most powerful one among them; what do you think their other two weaknesses are?"

Aoni looked helpless: "My Lord, if I could think of it, my face wouldn't look so bad. Sigh, I really lost all face this time. Just now I even heard those Soldier captives discussing that they would never be defeated so miserably like me. They were saying that even if they had to use their teeth to bite, they would take the opportunity to bite the opponent twice."

Bawei, who was sitting nearby sharpening his axe, chuckled: "Those surrendered guys? Ha, they're just good with their mouths; after all, anyone can brag. I reckon if they were made to fight this kind of enemy, they would kneel and surrender the first moment. Anyway, it's not the first time they've surrendered, right?"

The Warriors all smiled slightly; although they wanted to laugh, they clearly felt their face and momentum had been lost tonight, so they couldn't laugh out loud.

Jier crossed his arms and reminded them: "Although I also think those people would surrender, there is some content regarding their weaknesses in the first half of your sentence. Everyone, think carefully."

Bawei was startled and kept muttering what he had just said, but although he was lucky in battle and dared to fight, his personal combat proficiency was not high.

Sipulu and Weier spoke at the same time.

"Bite them?"

"Their body protection?"

Jier pointed at Weier: "You are closer. I'll just say it directly. You all saw them wearing sleeveless vests with Plate Armor protection today, right?"

Everyone nodded, because the weather was hot, not only did the Dwarves wear little while traveling, but they themselves only wore a single layer of clothing, and few people wore the Plate Armor Jier had distributed to the Warriors. Unless they were riding in a carriage and didn't have to walk, they could sit in the carriage and wear the armor; for example, Xueya Site was wearing a set of Heavy Armor Plate Jier had given him, sitting in the driver's seat and driving the carriage.

The Herbalist nearby was dressed more simply, not to mention his family hiding inside the carriage.

"That Plate Armor vest that only protects the torso is their main means of protection. Their heads, necks, shoulders, upper arms, forearms, palms, and even their thighs, knees, calves, and feet have no sufficient protection."

Everyone's eyes lit up.

"Although they have immense strength, their body's toughness is not much sturdier than an average person's. Their muscles are very solid when they move, but a steel Dagger can still stab into their bodies. Places not protected by muscle will still be cut by the metal edge of the Dagger and will still bleed."

Aoni heard this and slammed his fist into his palm: "I knew it! If they were that powerful, you wouldn't have been able to crush them all in just one day back then, right, My Lord?"

Jier waved his hand: "The battle back then was not easy. Because I didn't understand the Dwarves' methods, I could often only use thirty percent of my strength when fighting, with the remaining seventy percent reserved to guard against the opponent suddenly using some peculiar means. However, although there were things that surprised me, the Dwarves' will to resist was not very strong under my intentional restraint."

"Combat is one of the fastest ways for two sides to understand each other. In battle, I understood and contacted them, and they were also understanding and contacting me through my methods. Understanding my goodwill, understanding my thoughts, and at the same time, they were releasing their thoughts and will."

"That is why, not long after I arrived at Tuolituo Cunzi, I felt the sense of frustration, grievance, indignation, and loss in the Dwarves' hearts. They were a group of people forgotten by the other Dwarves who had evacuated; when the Saint Hors Kingdom was founded, the other Dwarves didn't take them with them. They even forgot about them."

Jier snorted: "You must know that although the Western Province occasionally fought with radical families in the Dwarf Kingdom, Dwarf Merchant Guilds were active in other provinces. Not to mention that the Dwarves who evacuated and left here back then forgot they still had dozens of clansmen; you must know that these Dwarves who stayed behind hadn't grown old or died yet, and those who evacuated were of course still around."

"For us Humans, nearly a hundred years is a distant time of four or five generations, but for Dwarves, it might only be the time of one generation. The young Dwarves of that time have only just become prime-aged Dwarves, and middle-aged Dwarves have only just become elderly Dwarves. So, what exactly are the thoughts of these Dwarves after waiting for such a long time..."

Speaking of this, Jier shook his head: "The topic has drifted a bit. Let's go back to the last weakness."

Everyone pricked up their ears, paying close attention to Jier's words.

"The last weakness is their lack of mobility."

Jier spread his hands: "If I take a bow and arrow and ride a horse in an open area to keep a certain distance from them, don't look at how great their strength is; it would just be a situation where I am attacking them unilaterally. Think carefully, isn't that the truth? For small-scale duels or competitions, perhaps this kind of Warrior is very difficult to deal with, but if you really meet them on the battlefield, it's not like there are no simple ways to handle them."

Hearing this, the Warriors finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although Aoni still had a dejected expression, he had at least recovered half of his usual spirit.

By noon the next day, the mixed squad of Humans and Dwarves arrived at the still-deserted Shichui Cunzi.

It could not be said that there was no life here; the villagers who had hurriedly obeyed orders to head north had left behind quite a bit of food, and the safe environment provided by the houses clearly attracted many animals and beasts from the vicinity.

Especially since Jier and his team had passed through here before and slaughtered a group of wild boars; the viscera, bones, and pigskin of those wild boars, which they feared might have parasites, were all abandoned in an Earth Pit outside the village. These fresh meat scraps clearly attracted a wave of animals that liked to eat meat or carrion in the days that followed.

Even though many days had passed, looking from afar, there were still some carrion-eating giant eagles trying to find ways to break and swallow the bones of those wild boars.

Intelligent older giant eagles will pick up stones of suitable size from the wilderness, then dive down to drop the Stone at those rotten bones. These birds of prey are natural marksmen, often accurately dropping a stone in one strike to break the rotten bones they intend to smash.

But at this time, other opportunistic scavengers see their chance and rush up, snatching the bones of suitable size after they have been broken, and quickly flee into the nearby Shichui Cunzi.

Those sturdy houses, whose doors and windows were broken open by animals, are truly too suitable for animals to sneak into and hide. Without the Villagers to drive them away or frighten them, many animals have made their new homes here.

It is unknown whether the Villagers of Shichui Cunzi will have to have a fierce fight with these animals when they return here again.

Flocks of bats have migrated from the Forest and the mountains, hanging upside down in the shadows of the attics of the Villagers' homes.

Foxes like to dig holes themselves in the farmyards, because the village is full of food and other items hidden by the Villagers in their panic before leaving; these things are easily discovered by house mice that are good at digging, which then breed in large numbers. These foxes naturally take up residence nearby, and as soon as they come out of their holes, they can easily catch various plump rodents in the corners of every farmhouse.

As for some mountain cats and mountain leopards with dangerous gazes, they prefer to lie by the windows on the second or third floors of the farmhouses; as soon as it gets dark, they roam this still-lively village, either preying on some birds or preying on animals smaller than themselves, or at the very least, those house mice as big as cats can also be used to fill their bellies.

When the caravan of Humans and Dwarfs entered the village, these animals, which had grown accustomed to running wild during this time, were startled one after another and hid in the nooks and crannies of the buildings, peering at these uninvited guests from the shadows.

"We will still spend the night in the open space within the village tonight; after all, there are water wells here that we can use."

But the words Jier had just spoken were clearly slapped back in his face soon after.

Some foolish animals threw themselves into the two water wells in the village and drowned; one could smell a stench of rot at the mouth of the entire well. One must know that this is summer, and even if the well water at the bottom is ice-cold, those animals that drowned in the well water still contaminated these wells.

"Damn it!" After an inspection, Jier still led people to discover that the water in a small private well at the former Cunzi Chief's house had not yet been contaminated.

Although it is a bit troublesome, everyone can finally draw water here to replenish the entire team's water supply.

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