Chapter 565: Subduing the Mao Mao, the Villagers' Discussion

The Mao Mao Warriors rushing up did not dare to harm their leader, and as soon as they got close, they were forced to retreat.

Jier swung the opposing leader around, his footsteps moving rapidly, catching up to the Mao Mao Warriors at a speed faster than their own, and used the Mao Mao leader to smash into them.

"Meow!!"

A Mao Mao Warrior shrieked and flattened itself onto the ground, narrowly dodging the leader's body, but immediately after, Jier walked up, lightly kicked the Mao Mao on the ground with his toe, knocking it unconscious, then flicked it with his foot, sending it flying toward the area near the Human Villagers.

"That's ten Warriors now!"

Jier gave a reminder; in truth, counting the Mao Mao leader already under his control in his hand, these Mao Mao Warriors no longer had any possibility of posing a threat to him.

Afterward, he set his sights on a Mao Mao Warrior and chased after it, controlling the force of his swing to smash the Mao Mao leader in his hand into the Mao Mao Warrior fleeing in front, then proceeded to knock it out and flick it away.

"Only nine left!"

Jier was grinning; he estimated that the Mao Mao leader in his hand was not in very good condition, so he stopped spinning and dropped it onto the ground.

Sure enough, although the Mao Mao leader tried hard to stand up as soon as it hit the ground, its wobbly body indicated that it was still dizzy and had no combat capability. At the same time, there was blood on the fur around its mouth, indicating that the previous impact had still caused it internal injuries.

Jier stepped forward and easily knocked it unconscious with a hand strike, then, just like the other Mao Mao Warriors, threw it to the side of the Human Villagers.

"Even the leader has been defeated by me!"

Jier stood triumphantly in place, wiggling his waist and shaking his hands, seemingly not taking the Mao Mao Warriors seriously at all, which was actually the case.

The remaining nine Mao Mao Warriors looked at each other for a few moments, and one after another chose to uphold the dignity of a Warrior; even if they were to be defeated, they would fight until the very last moment and not give up.

But Jier liked this; if the fight ended abruptly, he would instead be very unhappy.

On the open ground in the middle of the mine tunnel specifically left for them, the two sides went back and forth; from time to time, a Mao Mao Warrior would be knocked flying, and at other times, Jier would perform a backflip in place to dodge a lethal strike that was extremely difficult to evade.

Moreover, while flipping to dodge like this, he was often still able to grab a Mao Mao Warrior, catch it in his hand, knock it out, throw it away, and then continue the fight.

Soon, in no more than a dozen breaths of time, only two Mao Mao Warriors remained on the field.

The other Warriors were either grazed by Jier's fists and fell to the ground injured, or were caught and knocked unconscious by Jier and thrown somewhere nearby.

Two ordinary Mao Mao Warriors—even for average Human Villagers, no, even for average Soldiers—were actually quite difficult to deal with; they were actually quite formidable, it was just that they were facing Jier.

"Ya-ah-ah-ah-ah—"

The two Mao Mao Warriors charged together, tails attacking first again, but this time Jier did not dodge; he directly spotted the opportunity, reached out both hands, and grabbed the two Mao Mao tails attacking him.

Jier curled the corners of his mouth, gave a swing, and then pulled back, directly causing the two Mao Maos to collide with each other.

Bang! The two Mao Maos bumped into each other, faces blooming; fortunately, they had dropped the weapons in their hands before the collision, otherwise the result of the impact would not have been just a bump.

Releasing the tails, Jier immediately grabbed the tiny heads of the two Mao Maos with his large hands and lifted them up.

He said to the remaining Mao Maos: "I won! I won this battle!"

Casually putting down the Mao Mao Warriors in his hands, Jier patted his chest: "Phew, the risk in this battle was still quite high, but I still thrillingly won."

Many others were complaining in their hearts, feeling that Jier didn't look thrilling at all, yet he was still talking nonsense. But they didn't understand that if anyone else had come today, it would have been very difficult to win against the duel of the Mao Mao leader plus fifteen Mao Mao Warriors.

An average person would have been killed by the joint surprise attack of fifteen Mao Maos in the first instant, with not the slightest possibility of winning.

"Hey! According to the agreement before the battle, my victory means you need to agree to my trade plan! Any problems?"

Several Mao Mao leaders looked at each other and one after another walked up and said to Jier: "We have no, objections."

But they still greedily said: "But our, excellent warriors, injured, what to do? They, injured, cannot hunt! Need compensation, you."

Jier knew that these greedy little things would not let go of any opportunity to get metal, so he took the Steel Dagger he had used earlier out of his bosom and threw it out: "Just take this excellent Steel Dagger as compensation. I have paid the compensation, and you cannot bring this up again in the future. Now that the trade is set, please vacate these mineral-rich mine tunnels as soon as possible!"

"You can go find any unoccupied mine tunnel elsewhere below; please organize your forces as soon as possible and dispatch several hunting teams to bring back a large amount of edible prey that can be used to exchange for mineral ore."

Jier emphasized the words 'edible' with a heavy tone: "Remember, it must be something we Humans can safely eat. You can forget about the insect larvae or whatever that you find delicious. You can keep those for yourselves. Additionally, please do not have any more instances of stealing the Villagers' mineral ore; that not only damages the trust between both sides but also doesn't yield much mineral ore."

Jier looked at the four Mao Mao leaders: "I believe you will understand how to do things to obtain more mineral ore later; judge for yourselves."

After finishing, Jier signaled the crowd behind him to clear a path on one side for the Mao Maos to move out.

The Mao Mao leaders did not command the other Mao Maos at first, but instead, the four guys scrambled for the Steel Dagger Jier had thrown on the ground. In the end, the youngest and most agile Mao Mao leader grabbed the item and triumphantly ran off with it.

The other Mao Mao leaders then disappointedly began to treat their companions, persuade the other Mao Maos, and command the crowd of Mao Maos to pack up the team's luggage and supplies.

The Mao Maos' largest luggage and supplies were actually the mineral ore they had previously turned over to the Soldiers, which had been turned into various small pieces of Metal Ingot after smelting and given to them.

They dared not give them large pieces; the volume was too big and the weight was too heavy, and these Mao Maos could not transport or move them.

But after Jier examined the 'treasures' of these Mao Mao teams by the firelight, he was greatly disappointed.

Because these 'treasures' of the Mao Maos were all lumps of metal containing impurities; if one called them Metal Ingots, it wouldn't be wrong, but as to whether they could be put to use to forge qualified metal tools, Jier could only say that these Mao Maos had been cheated.

But he did not expose this matter at this time, because with the Mao Maos' greedy nature, if he were to expose this now, these Mao Maos would definitely go to settle scores with the Defeated Soldiers above, and it would very likely erupt into a serious internal conflict.

Having an internal conflict is a good thing, but it shouldn't be now; it could be ignited when Jier's Warriors attack the Jiedian, rather than exposing it now.

The former would only make the situation complicated, while the latter could make it much easier for Jier's Warriors to attack this place.

Most of the Mao Maos were dragging the 'Metal Ingots' they had obtained and transporting these Metal Lumps, which were several sizes smaller, to the unoccupied mine tunnel on the next level.

And while the Mao Maos had not yet finished leaving, Jier had already begun organizing the Villagers to mine the Mineral Ore that was spread throughout the mine tunnel.

They first discovered the Forest Deer skeletons that the Mao Maos had finished eating; the deer hides had been cut off and taken away by the Mao Maos, but the deer bones, which could not be processed and had no meat, were just left in place.

"These are good things, take them, take them! After washing them clean, use a Mining Pick to break them, put them in a pot and boil them into Bone Soup! Don't look at the bones as hard; inside, there is delicious Bone Marrow!"

After Jier finished speaking, he immediately had two people use clothes to wrap up the scattered deer bones and carry these good things away shirtless to be processed.

And subsequently, the Villagers began to spontaneously mine excitedly according to the previous instructions. Mineral ore was everywhere, and everyone started mining from the outermost perimeter first.

"No need to rush! Everyone doesn't need to all swarm up to mine. According to what I said before, everyone just needs to be responsible for the work they were assigned. If you do the things you are supposed to do well, the mining efficiency will naturally increase."

Jier kept repeating his words, as well as the duties he had assigned to each person, constantly correcting some of the Villagers' unauthorized actions and restraining their loose thoughts.

"No need to work hard all the time; if you feel tired, take a rest at the appropriate time. After all, you have already suffered too many hardships before; there is no need to be overly diligent now. Prioritizing the health of your own body is more important."

Jier's words made quite a few Villagers rather surprised; they had thought that Jier, who had such formidable combat skills, would be a very strict person, but they didn't expect him to be so casual.

He couldn't be anything but casual; after all, he had only recently obtained leadership over these Villagers and had not yet successfully established prestige in the hearts of all the Villagers. At this time, high standards and strict requirements would only offend everyone, rather than making everyone convinced.

If the Warriors under his command were all 100% loyal to him and trusted him, then he would naturally perk up and carefully restrain and manage his subordinates. But these Villagers now were not.

"Right, one part of the people go to mine, one part of the people are responsible for breaking and sorting the large pieces of mineral ore. And another part of the people are specifically responsible for transportation. Do not turn in the mineral ore yet, but transport it to where most of the people are in the middle mine tunnel, and wait for the trade with the alien Beasts."

"Just like that, everyone understands their duties, right?" Jier asked.

Everyone agreed.

"Then you all take your time; the Mineral Ore is right here anyway, and it won't run away. Everyone take it easy, work for a while and then rest, and when you're rested, continue working for a while. Rotate like this. I'm going to see if those Beast have organized a Hunting team; that is the key. If they are still dragging their feet, I will have to urge them along."

Jier said this, waved his hand at everyone, and walked away quickly.

Once Jier left, everyone began talking about this fellow Jier.

"He is truly amazing."

"Isn't that so? Those Beast were also too powerful, yet they were all defeated by Jier!"

"I can guarantee that if I had known Jier was this powerful before, I wouldn't have dared to charge at Jier with a Mining Pick back then."

"Ha, you were hurt when Jier threw you, right? I could tell, he has great skills; he just didn't really use them."

"But since he is so powerful, how was he caught and brought in?"

"Idiot, haven't you figured it out even now? Could he have been 'caught' and brought in? He was brought in voluntarily. It's obvious Jier came here to rescue everyone; I just don't know who he represents."

"I only hope he was sent by the Agricultural God Church. If it were someone sent by another faction to rescue us, I wouldn't believe in the Agricultural God anymore."

"Don't say that. If you don't believe in the Agricultural God, who else can you farmers believe in? Which deity can protect us?"

"Heh, but if Jier wasn't sent by the Agricultural God Church, doesn't that just show that the Agricultural God isn't protecting us either? Without protection, why should I continue to have Faith in Him in the future? Just for that kid Bataer to treat people's illnesses? Or to mediate disputes in the Cunzi?"

Some people even took the opportunity while transporting Mineral Ore to vividly describe Jier's performance just now to the elderly, women, and children left in the middle passage of the Mine.

"Jier is too amazing! Those Beast, with their small and fast movements, were impossible for everyone to see clearly, but throughout the entire battle, they didn't even hurt Jier once! Yet Jier injured and defeated all sixteen Beast that participated in the fight."

Someone whispered a complaint that Jier had injured the Beast, and that those Beast would surely retaliate.

But this was interrupted by the young man who had spoken earlier: "Hey! You guessed wrong. Those Beast didn't cause any trouble; they were as obedient as little dogs. When told to withdraw from the Mine, they honestly withdrew; when told to organize a Hunting team, they actually agreed to organize a Hunting team."

This person also laughed and mentioned one thing: "Those greedy little things even had the nerve to ask Jier for compensation for the injured Beast afterward."

"What did I say? What did I say?" this Villager who was somewhat afraid of the Beast immediately spoke up.

But he was interrupted again; the young man who was speaking gave a disdainful snort: "But you certainly wouldn't guess that Jier took out a Steel Dagger and just tossed it on the ground as compensation. Those Beast leaders, who looked so arrogant, actually fought each other like little dogs scrambling for a bone, competing for the small compensation Jier threw out."

He even used gestures while speaking, imitating how the Mao Mao leaders scrambled for the Steel Dagger Jier threw.

At this, the surrounding Villagers burst into laughter, while the Villager who had been afraid of the Beast quietly shrank back and stopped speaking. He only muttered to himself: "A bunch of useless Beast trash. To think I thought they were so savage and powerful; it turns out this is it? Being trained like dogs, and actually fighting over bones like dogs?"

Afterward, he began to wallow in self-pity, feeling that perhaps he had overestimated those Beast too much before.

This Villager had also personally started an uprising for a while more than half a month ago. At that time, he couldn't stand the Beast stealing from the Villagers and intended to unite the Villagers to drive the Beast out of the Mine.

But when he personally led people to try to capture one or two Beast as hostages, those few of them were defeated by two Mao Mao Warrior. Not only were they defeated, but they were chased from the upper level of the Mine all the way to the lower level, losing all face.

Afterward, he disbanded his companions who shared his idea and became afraid of the Mao Mao, who were less than one meter tall.

There were also elders among the Villagers who, after hearing the young man's description and confirming repeatedly that he wasn't bragging or exaggerating, whispered and discussed it with other elders.

"Needless to say, he must be a young Knight."

"No, not necessarily a Knight; he could also be a Warrior of the Knight Rank."

"It's just that we don't know which faction sent him to help us."

"Hmph, whether he is helping us is still hard to say. In my opinion, he might just be using our strength; after all, we have the most people here. If those Beast had the largest numbers, I reckon he would have sought them out instead."

"Don't say things without evidence. That young man, no matter what his intentions are, isn't everything he is doing now beneficial to us Villagers? Don't you all agree? Was I wrong?"

"Yes."

"That's right."

"Perhaps."

"Since he doesn't reveal his identity, it's best we don't expose his secret. He must have his own reasons for doing this; he is not a young man without ideas or wisdom. If he holds goodwill toward us, he should receive the support of us all. Because I feel this might be our last chance to survive."

"That's right. Back when we were in the Cunzi, I said we should gather all the Villagers and fight the Soldier to the death. Look at the result; how much have we suffered until now? How many people have died? How many young men were worked or starved to death? And those girls, how much bullying have they suffered from those hateful Soldier? Bari's daughter, only sixteen, just reached adulthood, and look at what those Soldier have done to her. She is covered in scars and bruises."

"Sigh, I went to see her. Poor girl, there is no Spirit in her eyes anymore. Her parents talk to her, but she doesn't respond. Perhaps her soul and mind have already gone mad."

"Sigh. It all depends on this Jier. No matter who he is or where he comes from, we must seize this opportunity. Even if half of us die, we must send those young people and children out of this Mine."

"Well said, we must seize this opportunity."

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