Chapter 674: The Darkest Moonless Night (11)

The robust Bandit Leader saw this scene, his mouth curling downward, and he spat out a word: "Trash."

He was somewhat knowledgeable and knew that Church Priests in general towns or those out on business were mostly issued a small God Statue made of various materials by the Church.

As long as the Priest held that God Statue, they could easily unleash a powerful impact that ordinary people could hardly resist, used to protect the Priest or deter those who wanted to harm the Priest.

He had thought this Priest didn't have that thing on him; he hadn't expected that Priests out on business really would carry this item. But this thing appeared not to be something a mortal could resist, yet if one thought of a way, it wasn't impossible to find a breakthrough.

As for the glowing Amber Metal Long Staff in the hands of Bata'er Jiaoshi, the middle-aged Bandit Leader was envious just looking at it and wanted to obtain it.

Because that thing looked like it could be sold for quite a lot of money at a glance.

"Brothers, the plan has changed. Do you see that Priest on horseback?"

The middle-aged Bandit Leader called his surrounding subordinates to gather, then said.

At this question, the subordinates all nodded; some young bandits didn't take it to heart, while the bandits with a bit more knowledge slightly understood their boss's idea.

"Boss, are we going to take that Priest?"

The Bandit Leader snorted a puff of air through his nose and then said: "Not bad, I've taken a fancy to the glowing long staff in that young brat's hand. Hiss—I know from experience that thing's price is no lower than this number."

As he spoke, he gestured with the little finger and ring finger of his right hand.

Two fingers, and they could be specifically singled out, so it was at least a three-digit number.

"Boss, twenty Gold Coins?"

A young man had just interjected when he was slapped on the head by a bandit beside him: "Idiot, it's two hundred Gold Coins! Would good stuff that the boss can specifically single out only be worth twenty Gold Coins? You deserve to have lived a poor, miserable life for the past ten or twenty years."

The young bandit who was hit didn't care about anything else; he and the other few young bandits in the bandit group were dumbfounded, because two hundred Gold Coins—let alone having seen it, they hadn't even dreamed of this amount of money.

After all, in their hometown, one Gold Coin could buy a piece of prime farmland; the large tracts of land that two hundred Gold Coins could buy would be impossible for even a powerful, large family of dozens of people in the village—with all men, women, old, and young pitching in—to cultivate.

Even the young bandit who had just been wounded in the chest by a crossbow bolt and retreated was now too busy to care about his dead good brother and friend; clutching the crossbow bolt that had pierced through his chest, he also stared greedily at the bright spot opposite, where Bata'er Jiaoshi was organizing the young refugees to maintain order.

People die for wealth and birds die for food; this other world didn't have this saying, but there were plenty of similar ones.

"Boss, Tata was just knocked flying and broke his four limbs; how are we going to handle this?"

A confidant of the Bandit Leader who used a Curved Saber, dragging the young bandit who had just been knocked flying and broken his limbs with one hand and pressing the hilt of the Curved Saber at his waist with the other, raised the most prominent question to the Bandit Leader.

The young bandit named Tata was dragged back, wailing incessantly; this miserable sight instantly extinguished the muddled-headed bandits who were full of thoughts of Gold Coins.

Indeed, they had no prior experience or ideas on how to defeat a Church Priest protected by magical power.

Bandits generally did not attack Church Priests who were out on business because this was asking for trouble. Not to mention the Priests' miraculous abilities, just in the stories circulating among bandits, bandit groups that attacked and killed Church Priests basically never had a good end.

This was different from attacking the caravans of large Merchant Guilds, noble carriage processions, or Knights.

In the eyes of the bandits, such stories revealed something bizarre and eerie.

In reality, we know that every Priest can pray and communicate with the God they have Faith in.

Even if some Priests have limited ability, as long as they have reached the status of a Pastor, if they die unexpectedly while out on business, the Gods are actually still keeping watch.

If the Priest had prayed and communicated with the God before being killed, then after the Priest was murdered, the God would dispatch the power at His command to completely wipe out the bandit group that killed the Priest.

If it were a sudden death and the God did not know what had happened to His subordinate, They would send someone to investigate and then deploy power.

Unlike the Noble system, the Church is one body and one branch; move one end, and you move the whole.

Moreover, the Church's power is vast and long-standing; even if local power is insufficient, they will first record the matter and will definitely take action again later to settle things from many years ago.

The current group of bandits did not understand these things very well; after all, this bandit group had not been established for many years. If it were a bandit group controlled by the Feisibilu Family, they would know the principle that one can attack and rob a Church Priest, but one must never harm their life.

Turning back to the matter, facing the question from his confidant, the middle-aged Bandit Leader stood in the crowd, meeting the gazes of his surrounding subordinates who were yearning for wealth; he rubbed his teeth, grinding them forcefully and making a clacking sound.

"Let me think, hmm, let me think."

The robust Bandit Leader crossed his arms and tapped his bearded chin with his right finger: "Hmm, I see, we must find a way to lure that Priest out from the refugees. Heh heh, I guess if we attack that Priest directly, those weak, prolific rabbits will definitely risk their lives to protect that Priest."

The leader shook his head mockingly: "That won't do; after all, those refugees are all the coins we've set our sights on. I'd feel a pang of pain if I hacked one to death—not because I care about their lives, but because I care about the money that hasn't fallen into my pocket yet!"

When he said this, the surrounding bandits all burst into laughter.

The atmosphere also instantly shifted from not knowing how to deal with the Church Priest to a contemptuous view of the refugees, and the mood became relaxed.

The corner of the Bandit Leader's mouth hooked, and he immediately had an idea.

"Heh heh, those dirt-digging refugees might be willing to die to protect the Priest, but then, does that young Priest dare to take risks for the lives of the refugees?"

The Bandit Leader waved his hand, letting his few confidants come closer, and then began to arrange the plan. Afterward, his confidants went out to lead their respective men.

The Bandit Leader took the remaining people and retreated toward the Shulin they had come from.

Of course, he didn't forget to take the two injured young bandits away.

The bandit with broken limb bones had no immediate threat to his life, but finding a Church to heal him under an assumed name would cost a lot of money. After all, bandits were not believers of any Church; if they wanted to heal their injuries, they had to spend a lot of extra money, just like merchants traveling for business.

As for the bandit who was shot in the chest and injured his lung, he could move on his own and still had some strength to fight; he looked fine, but he was actually very dangerous.

Bandits who often tortured captives had a rough idea of this; the person looked fine for now, but if the wound wasn't treated, it would endanger his life before long, so it had to be dealt with as soon as possible.

But these things had to be put aside for now; as bandits, attacking pedestrian caravans and looting money, goods, and people was their most urgent priority at this moment.

Bata'er Jiaoshi had just pacified the chaotic and crowded refugees, telling them not to squeeze together and to move toward the center of the open space as much as possible.

After all, being crowded together was of no help in resisting the bandits' attacks; on the contrary, it limited the space for the refugees in the front who dared to fight to move forward or backward.

It was more likely to lead to casualties.

Just as he finished arranging this, the bandits who had retreated earlier on the Shanglu rushed out once again.

"They still dare to come; are they not afraid of the power I just displayed?"

Muttering a sentence, Bata'er Jiaoshi gripped the Hushin Statue of the God and the horse Jiansheng with his left hand, while his right hand held the middle section of the Amber Metal Long Staff, ready to counterattack after the bandits attacked him.

He was riding a horse; if the bandits attacked him, he would activate the blessing power on the Amber Metal Long Staff.

This magical weapon was very interesting. Enemies struck and knocked by it would be slowed down by the power of ancient amber, and it also had a particularly powerful ability.

But when the Priest was prepared for 'battle', those bandits did not launch an attack on him; these bold and reckless guys actually formed groups of three, and I don't know where they took out a Mudu, all three of them squeezed behind the Mudu, crossing the Shanglu to launch attacks on the young refugees at the edges of the open space.

"Stay steady! There are more of us than them! Throw more stones to smash them!"

The Priest shouted loudly; there were only three bandits attacking on each side of the refugee defensive line, and some others were hiding in the shadows behind the bushes across the Shanglu.

When the bandits launching the attack passed by the Shanglu, they even picked up the burning firewood lying on the ground and threw it back into the pile of refugees immediately after picking it up.

Whoosh—

Crossbow bolts flew from the direction of the carriages, but the Bandits, knowing someone was secretly attacking with crossbows, had already been keeping a close eye on the carriages. Now, facing the incoming bolts, a Bandit holding a Mudu blocked the path in front of the Bandit who had exposed himself while throwing firewood.

Thud!

The Mudu shuddered; the crossbow bolt pierced through this ordinary Mudu that the Bandits had seized in battle, and even wounded the arm of the Bandit holding the shield behind it.

"This piece of shit thing, can't even block a..."

The Bandit using the shield cursed, but he dared not discard this shield that had little use. After all, having a shield only meant getting wounded after being pierced, but without a shield, it was hard to say.

Minor injuries, serious injuries, or even the bad luck of being shot dead were all possibilities.

Taking advantage of the time it took to reload the crossbows, the Bandits' assault team hurriedly threw the firewood used for lighting on the Shanglu back, hitting several unlucky young people and scalding them until they wailed.

But when the three-man team on the left rushed in front of the Refugee, the three previously cautious Bandits revealed their original arrogant demeanor. The Bandit Leader's confidant, holding a Curved Saber, grinned hideously and swung the blade toward the small piece of iron in the Refugee's hand.

Dead people aren't worth money, but someone whose fingers have been chopped off, at least they wouldn't be worthless, right?

With one slash, the weapon in the hand of a young Refugee in the front row holding a Short Knife was knocked away, and then a rope loop was thrown from the three-man team by the Bandit who had previously handled the firewood.

This Bandit had great technique; just as the Short Knife in the front person's hand was knocked away, the rope loop directly snared the person's upper body. Then, with a pull, the person was dragged out, stumbling.

The Refugees were all standing close together, so once one person was grabbed out of the team, other empty-handed young people immediately moved to try and pull the person back.

But the Bandit Leader's confidant wielding the Curved Saber just grinned hideously, held his Curved Saber high, and the young people in the surrounding circle were all scared into retracting their outstretched hands.

"Save me! Save me!"

The captured Refugee was dragged to the ground by the rope; he shouted loudly in panic, his body twisting constantly, and he stretched out his legs to kick hard at the body of the strong Bandit beside him.

But the Bandit using the rope pulled and retracted the rope with an excited expression, and while retracting, he deliberately laughed strangely: "What are you yelling for! Can coins talk? Do you dare to talk?"

To the young Refugee being pulled over, he directly kicked him in the face, scolding repeatedly: "Shut up! Shut up for me!"

But the more the Bandit said this, the louder the person's shouting became.

"Save me! We're from the same Cunzi, come save me! Priest! Priest, sir! Hurry and save me!"

This was exactly what they wanted—for the person to shout. After the three of them grabbed one person, they retreated directly, dragging the young Refugee on the ground, pulling with the rope, and quickly moved toward the dark shadows on the north side of the Shanglu under the cover of the shields.

As if about to fall into the Abyss, the person's cries for help grew louder and louder.

But where was Bata'er Jiaoshi?

It turned out that at this moment, he was riding on horseback, rushing from behind the front row of the Refugee Team toward the position on the right side of the open space.

It was the same here; three Bandits, under the protection of a Mudu, rushed to the front of the Refugees' defensive line, but instead of launching an attack, they cackled and disarmed a young Refugee who dared to fight before dragging him away.

The rope snared the young man's arm, and they dragged him away toward the back.

Some Refugees grabbed the young man's feet, wanting to save him, but a Bandit Leader's confidant using an axe chopped off the hands of a young man who was trying to help.

Just like that, the young man being dragged away cried out, his feet still tightly gripped by the hands of a good friend, and in the eyes of dozens of people, he was dragged alive into the darkness on the other side of the Shanglu.

Bata'er Jiaoshi was too slow; the three-man Bandit team moved very quickly, not entangling with the front-row Refugees, grabbing people and retreating. After Xueya Site fired one arrow, he didn't even have time to aim and release the next, and the Bandits on the left and right sides had already grabbed people and retreated into the darkness.

"Damn it!" Xueya Site said, gritting his teeth.

"Oh no!" Bata'er Jiaoshi faced the panicked eyes of the Refugees one by one, feeling indescribably awkward. He didn't know how to speak to comfort the panicked people in front of him.

Because at this very moment, from the darkness on the other side of the Shanglu, came the wailing of the Refugees who had just been captured.

Those Bandits showed absolutely no mercy to the young, fighting-capable Refugees they had captured.

They kicked hard with their legs and struck with their hands.

Moreover, in order to make the beaten Refugees scream more joyfully and loudly, these guys deliberately didn't hit the torso or head, only fiercely beating and torturing the limbs.

Every painful scream was like a whip lashing at the mind of Bata'er Jiaoshi.

He wished he couldn't hear any sound at this moment, so he could pretend that the painful wailing in the darkness opposite didn't exist.

He wished he couldn't see anything at this moment, so he could pretend that the eyes looking at him silently in front of him didn't exist.

"Steady, steady, everyone. Everyone stay steady! Okay? If they come over again, we'll step back a bit, don't get caught. I'll defeat them! Yes, I'll defeat them!"

Bata'er Jiaoshi raised the Amber Metal Long Staff in his right hand, and under the dim amber light, the terrified young Refugees finally steadied themselves.

"Hmph, that's exactly what I wanted him to say. Tell the front, wait a while and go grab someone from the right side where he isn't. Once that young idiot rushes over, retreat as quickly as possible, don't take losses. And at the same time, go up on the left again, and make sure to grab another person back for me."

The Bandit Leader, having finished arranging the traps in the Shulin, came to the wasteland on the north side of the Shanglu and climbed onto a Stone. He had specifically put on a piece of Banlan Vertical Chop clothing previously worn by his subordinates, and was directing from a place neither too far nor too near.

Beside him was a scout Bandit who only had a piece of cloth draped over his crotch; this poor guy's clothing had been used to conceal the Bandit Leader's figure, so he had to go half-naked, and he was no longer responsible for fighting, but specifically for running back and forth to deliver the leader's orders.

Without the Banlan Vertical Chop clothing to conceal his approach, he only had the help of running fast.

The naked scout Bandit was about to go deliver the order, but was called back by the leader: "Right, by the way, tell the front, didn't they eat? Why can't I hear the wailing of the captured Refugees from here? Tell them to use their imagination and create some screaming. Provoke that idiot on horseback on the other side."

"Yes, boss. Anything else?"

"No, go, my orders must be conveyed clearly."

"Yes, boss."

The scout Bandit, wearing only a dirty rag around his crotch, lowered his body and ran forward quickly.

Arriving at the place where the captured Refugees were being tortured, he first conveyed the leader's latter request to the two confidants of the leader.

"The leader said he can't hear the wailing of these two guys from that distance! He wants you to use your imagination and make these two guys scream to provoke the Priest on the other side."

He said this, of course, avoiding the two young Refugees who were wailing in a low voice on the ground, speaking to the two confidants of the leader.

These two tall confidants of the leader, wearing simple Leather Armor, looked at each other, not quite understanding what it meant to use their imagination. Just kidding, this group of rude Bandits who couldn't read a few big characters, where would they have any imagination?

If they were asked to imagine wealth, slaughter, or women, they could barely manage to have some imagination, but making people scream...

What should they do?

Especially since these people, after being beaten, still had to be kept to trade for money. One Silver Coin per person, that's not a small amount of money.

The two of them looked at the naked scout Bandit again: "What else did the boss say?"

Subsequently, the scout Bandit told them the next step the Bandit Leader had instructed, and the two nodded, understanding what to do next.

In the continuous actions, pulling and manipulating the opponent, making the other side lose the ability to judge in one thing after another. Plus the constant wailing here, provoking and luring the other side to rush out of the protection of the Refugee crowd to save people alone.

"So, where are your clothes? Also, the matter of using your imagination to make the two of them scream is left to you. We have to prepare for the next action."

"Huh?"

The Bandit scout was dumbfounded; how did this become his job?

But facing two of the most formidable individuals in the team, who were tall, strong, and fully equipped with weapons and gear, the Bandit scout—who had no skills other than hiding for reconnaissance and running fast—dared not say no to these two.

He could not afford to offend the leader, and he could not afford to offend these two either.

"I, I'll try. Screaming, right? Screaming, screaming."

This fellow went to the side, looked at the two young Refugees who had been beaten up on the ground by the faint light, and began to worry.

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