Chapter 493: Changmai Cunzi, Night Reconnaissance

That evening, Jier had the caravan slow down and prepare to stop.

Priest Bata'er was very familiar with every blade of grass and tree around Changmai Cunzi, so when they were two hills away from the village, he warned the caravan and had the warriors prepare to set up camp.

Night was about to fall, and it was impossible to let the warriors engage in battle at night against the soldiers who were highly likely to be guarding Changmai Cunzi, so they would rest tonight and launch an attack early tomorrow morning.

Because the campsite was too close to Changmai Cunzi, to avoid being discovered by the enemy due to the campfire's glow, Jier decided to find a spot nearby with its back to the village to set up camp.

"Priest, do you have any good recommendations? It needs to be a relatively wide area with cover, one that cannot be directly seen from the direction of the village," Jier asked.

Priest Bata'er nodded. Although his expression seemed calm, he was actually very excited inside. He kneaded the reins in his hands, which were soaked with sweat: "No problem, let me see... here, there, yes, there, behind that hill, there is a flat slope that happens to face away from the village."

"With the obstruction of this hill, there is no need to worry about the camp being discovered."

Jier reminded him: "But we must also be prepared for the possibility of the enemy launching a sneak attack under the cover of night. You all heard that; set up camp over there, and everyone is to be fully equipped and rested tonight, ready for battle at any time."

"Yes!" the warriors on the wagons replied in unison.

The caravan quickly passed by and deployed to unload personnel and supplies.

Taking advantage of the sunset, everyone set up the tents for the night. Because there were many scattered oval-shaped stones of various sizes on this hill, the warriors carried some over, and the campfire was soon prepared.

"Do not light the fire yet. The smoke from the campfire will extend into the sky. If anyone in the village looks north, they will be able to see the traces of this smoke. Wait until it is dark before lighting the campfire," Jier instructed.

Afterward, he and Priest Bata'er both jumped off their horses, left the horses at the edge of the camp, and the two walked toward the top of the hill.

Due to the lack of rainfall this year, the grass covering the hill was not a beautiful emerald green, but rather a withered yellow. When touched by their boots, some of the particularly parched blades of grass snapped and broke off.

"What is going on this year? The Southern Province hasn't seen a drop of rain," Jier complained.

Priest Bata'er also shook his head: "I don't know either. Last night I was discussing this with old Mr. Ruiduokasi, and we even asked the gods together, but the gods were unwilling to say much about it."

He continued: "I also flipped through the annual rainfall records for Lanse-Qingting Cunzi kept by the Old Priest. In previous years, there was plenty of rain at this time, but I don't know why not a single drop has fallen this year. It's the same for Big Tree Cunzi; not a drop of rain has fallen this year. When I was at Yemei Town, I asked the farmers outside the town, and they also said they hadn't seen any rain this year."

"What's even more terrifying is that when I was at Duoen Town, I asked the debtors working nearby, and they also said there hadn't been any rain this year; they had to go to the wells and draw water bit by bit to irrigate the fields."

Jier widened his eyes, not expecting the area without rain to be so vast. He hurriedly pressed: "What about Baishi Pass? Did it rain there?"

The priest shook his head: "I'm not sure. I didn't ask about this when I was at Baishi Pass, but when I was in Mengtuoka City, although I was feeling down at the time, I noticed that Mengtuoka City did have rainfall, and the rain was quite heavy."

Jier felt relieved: "Then it must be that parts of the Southern Province didn't have rainfall this year, while other places are normal. However, there is a large mountain range running north-to-south between Mengtuoka City and the Southern Province; perhaps that mountain range blocked the precipitation."

"Perhaps. I just have a bad premonition," Priest Bata'er said with a look of dejection.

"Due to the lack of security forces in various places, many remote villages and settlements have been voluntarily abandoned by people. Coupled with the lack of rain for so long, I fear that the grain production in the Southern Province will drop drastically this year, subsequently leading to famine. By then, only more people will die."

He shook his head: "I have read descriptions of famine recorded in church books. When famine arises, the masses are blocked outside the towns and cities, unable to find anything to eat, and can only resort to cannibalism or break into the mountains and forests to find food. But if they enter the mountains and forests on such a large scale, it will only lure out the Magic Beasts that have existed in the mountains and forests for a long time. They will hunt and eat the humans who break into the mountains and forests along the way, and finally step into areas where humans live, causing even more deaths."

"Predator Akadadados, World-Swallowing Serpent Levi, Sky Calamity Formless One—these are all powerful Magic Beasts recorded in books that have caused great extinctions, each causing no fewer than hundreds of thousands of deaths. Compared to them, the Kangsiwei'er Swamp worms that once caused a huge stir in the Central Province of the Saint Hors Kingdom are nothing."

"What, what, what? What are these things you're talking about?" Jier was speechless; he had never heard of any of the titles of these Magic Beasts mentioned by Priest Bata'er.

The priest was also quite speechless and was just about to introduce them to Jier when the two of them reached the top of the hill.

"Those unimportant matters can wait. Shall we scout the situation of the enemy in and around Changmai Cunzi overnight?" Priest Bata'er squatted on the top of the hill, pointing toward Changmai Cunzi in the distance, where smoke was rising sporadically.

"That goes without saying!" Jier responded.

The two first looked toward Changmai Cunzi from the top of the hill and discovered that the village's original wall, along with a small portion of the village buildings, had been burned down by fire.

This discovery made Priest Bata'er quite angry: "Damn it! The buildings in the village were fine when I left. I didn't expect that in the days I was away, they would mess the village up into this state!"

But Jier felt that the fire that burned down part of the wall and the buildings inside the village was actually well done.

He pointed to the village wall and said to Priest Bata'er: "I actually think it's fine. Look. Every fifty meters on the wall of Changmai Cunzi, there was a watchtower where someone could stand guard. It only took a few people to see clearly both inside and outside most of the village."

"And the area around the village is wide open; it wouldn't be easy to climb over the wall and enter the village without making a scene. But now it's different. A fire burned down that section of the village wall. Not only is a corner of the watchtower missing, but without part of the wall, we can also enter and exit the village without going through the main gate."

But soon, Jier frowned again: "No, I can't think of it so simply."

Priest Bata'er looked at Jier, not understanding why Jier thought it was good just a moment ago, but now it wasn't?

Jier frowned and thought for a moment, saying: "The other side is not a group of bandits without culture or rules, but a regular army that has undergone military training and been able to cross the uninhabited mountains. Such an obvious defensive loophole... hmm, it might be a trap."

"A trap? Who are they defending against? Besides you and me, who else is willing to avenge the villagers of Changmai Cunzi?" Priest Bata'er didn't believe it. Changmai Cunzi is located in a remote area, and its population and economic scale are small, so there are few people and organizations willing to seek justice for the villagers after an incident.

In Priest Bata'er's view, if he hadn't received the guidance of the Agricultural God and met the warrior Jier, the tragedy at Changmai Cunzi would likely have had to wait until the war ended this year, and Baron Sasi had returned to Sasi County with his Knights and soldiers to rest, before anyone could be sent over, at the earliest next year.

Moreover, after Baron Sasi's subordinates came to handle the affairs of Changmai Cunzi, it would be hard to say whether the future Changmai Cunzi, or even the surrounding villages, could maintain their autonomy.

It is even possible that the surrounding villages, for the sake of future autonomy, would refuse to let Baron Sasi's people come to handle the affairs of Changmai Cunzi.

"This is also one of the reasons why, after the incident at Changmai Cunzi, I did not go to the Agricultural God Church in Yemei Town or the Bolisifa Jiaoqu to seek help. The great Agricultural God did not let me get help in these places either, but guided me all the way to the Mengtuoka City Jiaoqu in the Western Province to meet you."

Jier let out a breath. He dared not think too deeply about Priest Bata'er's words; after all, this involved the management rights of the regional Agricultural God Church and the power struggle with the local noble rule.

For the Agricultural God Church, after the incident at Changmai Cunzi, they would not seek out local nobles to solve it and save the villagers, but rely on external forces to solve it. This external force is Jier. Don't look at how Jier is always called the Agricultural God Warrior by Priest Bata'er; in fact, Jier and the Agricultural God Church are only in a cooperative relationship, and he has not truly joined the forces of the Agricultural God Church.

And if, in the end, they had to rely on local nobles to send troops to solve the group of defeated soldiers behind the Changmai Cunzi incident, then the many villages in the south of Sasi County that were established and self-governed by the Agricultural God Church would become the fiefs of some Knights under the Sasi Family in the future.

These villages would find it difficult to remain primarily faithful to the Agricultural God Church and would inevitably be granted to Knights who would bring in other churches, sharing the scale of the villagers' faith with the Agricultural God Church.

To put it simply, not to mention the north of Sasi County, the southern region is basically a cake that the Agricultural God Church has built up through hardship. All along, they have used autonomy as a reason to refuse the actual control and management of the local Baron, only paying grain taxes once a year. Other than that, there hasn't been much intersection between the two sides. The south of Sasi County, controlled by the Agricultural God Church, does not need any help from the north, and the Baron family in the north has no leverage to control the various autonomous villages in the south.

The two sides have lived in peace like this, and neither has any reason to change the status quo here.

But if the group of defeated soldiers behind the Changmai Cunzi incident could not be solved by the Agricultural God Church, leading to the possibility that the various villages in the south of Sasi County would be defeated and broken one by one, and Priest Bata'er had not met Jier, and he had simply found some mercenaries to save the villagers of Changmai Cunzi and failed...

Then the local Agricultural God Church would have no choice but to beg the Sasi Family for help, letting the returning Baron Sasi lead troops or send troops to wipe out this group of defeated soldiers.

But in this way, the situation in the south of Sasi County, where the Agricultural God Church is the sole dominant force, would be rewritten. For the Agricultural God Church, they were originally eating the cake by themselves, but now the cake they made has to be shared with many people, and they can only get a small portion, which is somewhat counterproductive.

Priest Bata'er had some feelings about these things behind the scenes, but he had never mentioned them to Jier. Because along the way, he had already placed great trust in Jier's strength; these defeated soldiers were simply no match for the warrior Jier.

"Back to the possible trap, since you, warrior Jier, think there is one, let's be careful and sneak in from other places that look more difficult?"

Priest Bata'er suggested.

Jier nodded: "Sometimes, slow is fast, and fast is slow. Shortcuts only lead to detours, while paths that seem like detours are often the shortcuts!"

Priest Bata'er seemed to have some realization upon hearing these words.

The two tidied up and adjusted their weapons and equipment. They put the extra things back in the camp behind the hill, leaving only some lean and capable weapons and equipment, and then the two ate before setting off.

Under the leadership of Xueya Site, the warriors were ready for battle at any time in the overnight camp. They were guarding against being accidentally discovered by the enemy here, which would lead to an overnight attack.

Jier and Priest Bata'er both made some preparations. Jier took off the hard cowhide full-coverage armor he had been wearing, and only wore a simple cloth garment, at most adding a piece of close-fitting scale armor he had obtained from the thieves in Grass Rat Town.

This piece of scale armor was close-fitting and didn't make much clashing noise; it could be worn inside or outside of clothes. Moreover, the metal armor plates on the clothing not only didn't make a sound when they collided with each other, but they also didn't reflect much light, and the performance was excellent.

Although the Metal Armor Plate was somewhat thin, providing protection only against close-range slashing and stabbing from swords, it was sufficient.

Besides this, Jier did not bring the Hunting Sword, because both the sheath and the blade of the Hunting Sword glowed; while it looked imposing in normal times, it was somewhat conspicuous for stealthy Scout missions.

He simply took a captured Steel Sword and brought along a Soldier Bow previously seized from a Defeated Soldier; the bows used by these soldiers were somewhat stronger than the Hunting Bow he had used before, so Jier switched to using it.

As for Bata'er Jiaoshi, it was much simpler; he did not take the conspicuous and cumbersome Amber Metal Long Staff, but only carried a Wooden Agricultural God Statue with him. At the same time, the wooden Armed Priest Pauldron and Heart Protector on his body, which glowed slightly after being infused with the Agricultural God's Divine Power by Ruiduokasi, were left behind.

He simply used cloth strips to tie the sleeves of his Robe tightly, and after lifting the hem of the Robe to expose his calves for easier movement, he used cloth strips to secure the hem of the Robe as well.

Afterwards, the two slipped into the night and soon lost their tracks from the sight of the Warriors.

Jier and Bata'er Jiaoshi climbed back to the top of the hill, and then the two lay in the grass, peering toward Changmai Cunzi.

"Come, Priest. Use this! Good stuff, captured from the Defeated Soldiers responsible for scouting earlier." Jier said mysteriously, handing a Single-tube Telescope to Bata'er Jiaoshi.

After the Priest thanked him, he knew how to use this purely optical observation tool after a brief explanation from Jier.

And Jier was much simpler; he whispered a Prayer taught to him by the Great Bird Deity, and his eyesight increased several times over.

In the distant night, the faint firelights in Changmai Cunzi could be roughly seen.

"One, two, three! There are three places with firelight in the village. Priest, they are on the north side, the center, and the south side of the village respectively." Jier said softly.

Bata'er Jiaoshi fiddled with the Single-tube Telescope, and after watching for a while, he said: "I see it. The one on the north side should be the house of the largest family in the village. Because they have many family members, the house is built large and sturdy, and it has many rooms, which is very suitable for those bad guys to station in."

Jier nodded: "What about the one in the center of the village?"

"Alas, that is my Church. Although it was ransacked and damaged by those guys, if the things in the hall are moved away, it is indeed a place suitable for them to gather and do something. In addition, the place where the bell hangs at the top of the Church is a place where people can go up, and it is also a suitable place for keeping watch."

When Bata'er Jiaoshi said this, his words were full of emotion.

"What place is the location of the firelight on the south side of the village?" Jier asked.

Bata'er Jiaoshi looked at the distance carefully, judged it, and said: "It should be the public Grain Warehouse of the village. What is usually stored there is the grain tax that must be paid to Sasi Baron every year, as well as the surplus grain collected by the Church from believers, all stored there. There is quite a lot of grain there; at least the surviving Villagers, plus those hundred-odd bad seeds, cannot finish it in a short time."

Jier nodded: "So, the Grain Warehouse at the southernmost end must have people responsible for guarding it at all times. The Church in the middle may not necessarily have people in the hall, but there is a high probability that someone is there at the top responsible for monitoring the entire village. And the Farmer's house on the north side, which has many rooms and is sturdy, should have quite a few people stationed there."

Jier looked around the village: "But I don't think the other side will put all their manpower in the village. There should be some hidden sentries outside the village, or people keeping watch in the Shulin. By the way, because Tiger-headed Eagles appear here in the southern part of Sasi County, it is unlikely that anyone in the fields outside the village would not light a campfire to keep watch; that is too dangerous."

Bata'er Jiaoshi nodded: "So there is a high probability that enemies are hiding in the small Shulin that provides firewood around the village? Just like in Lanse-Qingting?"

Jier nodded: "There is a high probability of that. Hehe, since that's the case, let's take a trip to the surrounding Shulin first, and take the heads of a few enemies under the cover of night, how about it?"

Bata'er Jiaoshi looked at the Wooden Agricultural God Statue at his waist: "My equipment makes quite a bit of noise; it will have to depend on you, Warrior Jier."

Jier smiled: "Have I ever disappointed you? Let's go."

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