Chapter 57: The Battle of Banjiu Village (Part 2): The Incompetent Right-Flank Guards

Among these caravan guards and shop thugs, there were naturally some tough characters who had practiced martial arts since childhood, but such people were few in number, so when a scattered group of parasitic monsters charged at them, things became chaotic here.

While some thugs and guards, fearing that the number of monsters was double their own, retreated and ran, there were naturally others who stood their ground and brandished their clubs.

"Hah—hup!" A tall shop thug swung his thick, spiked club in a wide arc, directly shattering the head of a parasitic monster holding a wheat straw broom.

The monster's head exploded and scattered all over the ground, just like a melon being kicked to pieces.

"Ha, so that's all there is to it! Hey! You cowards, stop running, come and kill the enemy, they're so weak!" This man actually turned around and shouted at some acquaintances who were fleeing behind him, but those he called out to looked at him and were filled with terror.

Because right behind this man, the monster that had its head blown off and fallen to the ground had not actually died; instead, several thick vines emerged from its broken, fractured jaw and neck, reaching out like snakes from the human neck to probe the surroundings.

And the monster scrambled up from the ground, its limbs twitching, and pounced on the thug while his back was turned.

"Ah? Ah—help! Help! Woo—"

It would have been better if this man hadn't cried out; as soon as he opened his mouth wide to yell, a thick plant vine accurately reached deep into his mouth and spread straight toward his esophagus.

He panicked instantly, dropped his weapon, and urgently used both hands to pull the vine out of his mouth. To what extent did he panic? He even forgot about the defensive dagger at his waist, only caring about using his hands to stop the vine's spread, while forgetting to use the dagger to cut the vine in his mouth.

At the same time, the monster also stretched out its hands, grabbed both of the thug's wrists, pulled the human's arms apart with greater force, and drilled the several vines on its shattered neck further into the holes in this man's face.

A finger-thick vine drilled directly into one of the man's nostrils, and amidst the thug's terrified muffled groans, another vine stabbed toward one of his eyes.

Swish—

A sharp blade flashed by, instantly slicing off all three vines in front of the thug's face.

Following this, someone added a kick, sending the headless, wounded, and undead parasitic monster in front of the man flying.

It turned out to be a caravan guard nearby who couldn't bear to watch, handed the monster he was dealing with over to his companion, and freed himself to support this side.

"Stop gagging, pick up your weapon, and return your fear to these monsters!" After the caravan guard scolded him, he helped out, then stopped assisting and quickly rushed toward his companions.

The thug also endured the nausea, pulled the plant vine out of his mouth, picked up the spiked club that had fallen on the ground, and fiercely struck the monster that was about to pounce again, sending it flying.

"￥￥%! That disgusted the hell out of me! I'll make you die!" The thug grew ruthless, bringing out the same ferocity he used to bully debtors, and swung his club in wide arcs, striking the downed monster again and again. First he broke its knees, then its shoulders, and seeing that this thing could still move without a head, he didn't stop for a moment, smashing his club into the monster's torso.

His eyes were bloodshot, ignited by his own rage, and his hands kept swinging the spiked club; he didn't stop until the battle was over, beating this poor monster into a pile of bloody, mangled mess.

This thug was relieved, but the others on the right flank were not doing so well. Although there were fewer than ten monsters charging over sporadically, there were few people here to begin with, and twenty people had seen ten of their number run away at the very first encounter, so the pressure on the brave ones who remained was naturally much greater.

Especially since these people had stayed in Yemei Town the whole time and had not lived outside the town like the villagers of various villages to face these parasitic monsters directly, although they had heard various accounts of the monsters outside the town from various places.

But after all, these were just words relayed by others, many of which were exaggerated descriptions, either painting the monsters as overly powerful or dismissing them as nothing at all.

The former could naturally not be believed; after all, if the monsters were as powerful as they described, why hadn't they breached Yemei Town? As for the latter, it was to consolidate the confidence of the people in the town, so they naturally intentionally described the monsters as stupid and weak, claiming that the only reason the siege of Yemei Town hadn't been lifted was because of their sheer numbers.

Only after truly engaging in battle did these brave ones realize that the monsters were not that strong, but they were not weak either.

Their strength was much greater than that of humans, even though these guards and thugs were all burly fellows, and the monsters were merely parasitic on short, thin, and impoverished villagers; yet, in terms of pure strength, these monsters were a big step above them.

Especially when some people swung their swords against monsters holding hoes, and the two sides' weapons locked together in a test of strength, the human side was instantly suppressed.

"This is impossible! How can this dog thing be so strong! Ah!!"

The caravan guard who made the sound was overpowered by a monster wielding a hardwood club, and then the monster swung the club wildly, hitting the guard who was wearing a leather helmet; the man's head was instantly dented in.

The guard's right eye burst immediately, blood poured from his mouth and nose, and his whole body twitched as he slumped to the ground.

The parasitic monster that had beaten the caravan guard to death with one blow did not stop; it randomly struck the dead human two more times, and after confirming that the person had no breath and his heart was no longer beating, it excitedly shook its head, vines emerged from its mouth and waved about, and it more wantonly chased and beat the surrounding humans with the hardwood club in its hand.

Everyone saw this scene during a lull; they were already overwhelmed by the monsters in front of them that couldn't be killed no matter how many wounds were cut or stabbed into their bodies, and now another parasitic monster had appeared, wildly swinging a club with great force, which made everyone feel anxious.

Even though the battle had started less than a minute ago, they felt it was exceptionally long.

"Retreat, retreat, retreat! Quickly retreat! Avoid this guy, and regroup in the back! %%! At least let those cowards join in, otherwise we have too few people." Someone shouted loudly.

They indeed had too few people. The left flank of the three teams and the middle team faced about the same number of monsters as they did, but because not a single person in those two fifteen-man teams had broken and fled, and they were all fighting bravely, those two sides were managing just fine against the scattered monsters, and even had time to watch the predicament here and mock them.

As for their side, although they started with twenty people—the largest group, which was why they had advanced so aggressively—half of them had fled once the monsters rushed out of the village. Ten people facing eight or nine scattered monsters all at once was still a bit of a stretch.

Especially since they had no prior experience dealing with these monsters, were mentally unprepared, and didn't know where the weaknesses of these parasitic monsters were; no one had told them.

Jier had thought these people at least knew where the monsters' weaknesses were; after all, when they first faced these parasitic monsters, they had found a way to figure out where the monsters' fatal points were.

Who could have imagined that these people were really this incompetent!

Facing the monsters, the braver guards and thugs had no choice but to fight while retreating, and regardless of whether they were familiar or strangers, they tried to pair up to tie down one parasitic monster.

Fortunately, a funny scene occurred: that parasitic monster holding a hardwood club and swinging it wildly with great force seemed to have become addicted to swinging the club because it had killed a human with that method.

It didn't care who was around, nor did it care if they were its own companions; it swung the wooden club in a wide arc at anyone it saw.

Humans would often retreat in advance when they saw this guy, but the monsters, on the other hand, had no defense against their own kind, and were hit by this reckless fellow, having their arms broken and legs shattered.

Being backstabbed by their own kind was something they really hadn't expected, so after enduring a few hits, they couldn't stand it anymore, abandoned the humans in front of them, and pounced on the parasitic monster that was causing trouble behind them.

This grotesque scene finally allowed these caravan guards and thugs to breathe a sigh of relief.

Amidst their scolding and cursing, those guys who had fled at the start of the battle finally steeled themselves to step forward and fight.

It wasn't that these cowardly guys had changed their nature, but rather that they were standing in the back and saw the entire battle situation, which was obviously leaning toward their human side.

Although the number of parasitic monsters coming over one after another was still large—more than the humans present—the warriors under Jier, who were the main force, had not lost a single person since the battle began, and were still systematically and thoroughly executing the parasitic monsters one by one.

The warriors' movements were sharp and simple, often cutting off the monsters' limbs and then delivering a heavy cleave to the monster's torso. Or they would use their shields to charge and knock over the oncoming monsters, and with the assistance of others, three-man teams would suppress the parasitic monsters that couldn't get back up.

Just like a meat grinder, they ground the monsters that delivered themselves to their door, knowing no fear, into a completely dead corpse on the ground.

Seeing the performance of Jier's warriors, these cowardly people felt that it was unlikely they would lose the battle, so their retreat at this moment would not be tolerated in the future.

Thus, they plucked up their courage and, amidst the cursing from those struggling to hold the line in front, they stepped forward one after another to "generously" help out.

"I'm coming! Watch me!" someone shouted loudly, stepping up to chop off a monster's leg with an axe.

These people had also figured it out: although the monsters wouldn't die even if they were slashed, and would only leak some fragrant juice, they were, after all, in human form, and once their legs were broken, they couldn't move at all.

Therefore, the first step in dealing with the monsters was to prioritize breaking their legs!

Never mind where the monsters' weaknesses were; once their legs were broken, they could naturally only be left to be abused and beaten by humans.

However.

"You bunch of %%￥! Forget about all that, who has a shield? Who has a shield? Stop that monster swinging the club! It, ￥￥! Broke my arm! That was close, my head was almost blown off, just like that unlucky guy on the ground over there. Where's a shield? Whoever has a shield, hurry up!"

A thug with a broken left arm, which was hanging strangely, shouted loudly for someone with a shield to step forward.

But among the caravan guards and shop thugs, who would bother carrying that thing?

The Caravan guards traveling outside generally do not carry shields; they mostly possess means of wounding others at medium to long range, and even more so, they have the skills to drive carts and ride horses. The hired thugs have even fewer shields; if anyone were to carry a shield while guarding a shop, wouldn't they be mocked by those in the circle?

Once they give you a derogatory nickname like "softie" or "coward," it becomes difficult to find work in the circle of hired thugs.

Therefore, facing this Monster swinging a stick around wildly, it wasn't that everyone hadn't tried to find ways to take this fellow down with ranged methods, but things that were usually effective—Iron Pellets, darts, Flying Knives, or pebbles thrown from slings, or Arrows shot from Short Bows—were not very effective.

"What do we do? It's charging over—"

Seven or eight people, at this moment, were actually being chased into a rout by such a Monster; it was truly unsightly.

Several Priests riding on horseback in the rear looked toward the middle-aged Vice Dean leading the team. The Vice Dean shook his head: "This is only the first battle; everyone save your Divine Power, it will still be needed for healing after the fight. Rest assured, look at the team of Jier the Knight, they haven't suffered any losses at all. Or rather, the Monsters at this moment haven't been able to make them feel any pressure."

Yes, despite how difficult the guards and hired thugs were fighting and the signs of a rout, in reality, the teams on the other two sides were already charging toward the edge of the Cunzi, meeting the Monsters' attack.

Weier and the other two charged the fastest; none of the few Monsters they encountered could last ten seconds in their hands, and at this moment, they had already arrived beside Jier, who was charging and killing on horseback.

But what Weier received was not Jier's praise, but rather Jier's frowning reprimand: "Weier! I let you lead the team, is this how you lead for me? Completely ignoring the companions behind you? Letting them fend for themselves?"

Weier was startled, realizing he had messed up; he had only focused on the exhilarating battle and completely forgotten the other four groups of companions behind him.

But he turned to look behind him and breathed a sigh of relief, because the other groups were doing quite well; although they were far from as powerful as the three of them, even the Tusi Brothers, who had joined the team not long ago, or the newcomers from Changmai Village, were all successfully defeating every parasitic Monster they encountered.

Seeing Weier's relieved expression, Jier shook his head helplessly. He reached out to catch the returning Hunting Sword, returned the blood-thirsty precious sword to its Sword Sheath, and then pointed with his Long Spear toward the right-wing team that was gradually being routed on the other side not far away: "Since you like to charge and kill, the three of you go over and help those weaklings. Look, not a single one of them has a shield, and facing a Monster attacking wildly, they can't even come up with a single means of response. Ha, go help them."

Weier glanced at Bawei; this fellow didn't care about it, as long as there were Monsters to kill, it was fine.

And Sipulu had already set his sights on a Monster with a blooming head standing on top of the east gate of Banjiu Village. This Monster held a Long Sword in each hand and was dressed in the capable attire of a mercenary; it seemed to be a formidable character.

His hands were itching; he really wanted to exchange blows with that fellow who looked so formidable.

But Jier saw through the thoughts of his subordinate: "Don't even think about it, it is my prey."

Sipulu curled his lip and walked silently and briskly toward the hired thugs and guards.

Seeing that their companions were already heading over, Weier and Bawei also followed quickly. Jier hadn't said anything, so they hadn't noticed, but at this moment, the two of them also saw that different blooming Monster, and in their hearts, they were also itching to exchange blows with this fellow.

"Ha, I am a Knight, so of course, a strong enemy should be dealt with by me. You lot go busy yourselves elsewhere. Tusi Brothers, force that fellow standing on high and enjoying the scenery down for me!"

Jier shouted loudly. The Tusi Brothers, who were leading the archers over, immediately put away the Soldier Bows they had borrowed temporarily, took down their usual Large Bows from their bodies, each nocked a Large Arrow as thick as a thumb and as long as a throwing spear, stood firm from over a hundred meters away, aimed slightly, and drew and released.

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

Two Large Arrows, difficult to see with the naked eye, instantly flew in two gentle parabolas, heading straight for the chest of the blooming Monster standing on top of the gate.

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