Chapter 676: The Darkest Moonless Night (Part 12)

"Screaming, imagination."

This scouting bandit, who was wrapped in nothing but a few strips of foot-binding cloth around his lower body, racked his brains thinking about the task that had been forced upon him—a task that was not originally his.

On the grass, two young refugees, their hands and feet bound by sturdy rope, had initially thought the beating just now was over, but facing the bandit who was mostly naked, they screamed again.

"Help! Don't come over! Don't come over!"

"Ahhh! Go mess with him, don't mess with me, I beg you!"

The scouting bandit hadn't even made a move yet, but he hadn't expected that his current appearance had already terrified the two young people on the ground.

It made sense; anyone, in such a terrified and tense night, caught by notorious bandits and seeing a naked bandit walking toward them while muttering to himself after being beaten, would let out such helpless and terrified screams.

With the corners of his mouth curled up, the scouting bandit hadn't expected that the task forced upon him would be completed so easily.

"Hehehehe." He deliberately put on a grotesque expression, letting out malicious laughter.

The two young refugees on the ground were even more afraid; they were bound, but even so, they tried to arch their bodies and move away from this place. The scouting bandit sneered on purpose; he didn't hit them directly, but used his feet to flip the two young people over, then raised his foot to step on one person's buttocks.

The young person being stepped on was so scared they peed themselves, wetting their pants.

Anticipating that something terrible was about to happen to him, he let out a series of screams even more shrill than a slaughtered pig.

Even though this bandit hadn't done anything.

At the same time, a loud whistle came from the south side of the clearing; the Tianxuecao lingering by the carriage twitched its long ears, then squeezed past the surrounding helpless young refugees and ran toward the south side of the clearing.

As for the bandits, after the two bandit confidants pushed the task onto the scouting bandit, they immediately led their men to prepare to take action once again.

The two groups had just separated when they heard the screams of the two young refugees who had been captured not far behind them.

The bandit leader's confidant who used a Curved Saber scratched his scalp, pursed his lips, and said to his companion, "Alright, it seems this guy still has some skill."

The other bandit leader's confidant who used an axe simultaneously voiced a similar question: "But how did he do it?"

After being slightly puzzled, they immediately used the shrill screams coming from the darkness behind them, grinned ferociously, rushed out of the darkness, and attacked the refugee pile illuminated by the campfire one after another.

Consistent with the Bandit Leader's orders, a bandit squad first rushed out from one end of the refugee defense line, still using the previous method, wanting to grab another one from the crowd.

But this time, because of Bataer Jiaoshi's instructions, the refugees in the front row, upon seeing the bandits rush out to attack, retreated slightly while throwing Stone.

At the same time, the clatter of horse hooves sounded, and Bataer Jiaoshi also rode his horse to hurry over here.

"Fall back!"

He roared, and the Hushin Statue of the God clutched tightly in his left hand reached out toward the attacking bandit squad.

A wave of air gradually brewed in front of the Statue of the God. It then triggered a small burst of air pressure that spread outward, blowing directly toward the three bandits.

But the bandits were not stupid; they had long been guarding against this move from the Priest. When the horse ran toward them, these three people stopped their attack on the refugees and retreated slowly with caution.

When the three saw the Priest on the horse raise his arm, they immediately disregarded everything else and rolled in three different directions to dodge.

Boom—a wave of Divine Power pushed forward, but it hit nothing; it missed.

The position where the three had been gathered was empty the next moment; the air wave only blew away a layer of soil on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust with the smell of grass and earth.

If Jier were here right now, he would definitely make a snide remark about the "smoke means no damage" law.

Sure enough, before Bataer Jiaoshi could drive the Hushin Statue of the God in his hand to launch a new wave of attacks, the three bandits scrambled and retreated in a sorry state toward the direction they had come from.

The young refugees cheered at the sight, but before Bataer Jiaoshi could be modest for a moment, screams and chaos broke out on the other side of the defense line facing the Shanglu.

The Priest turned his head on the horse and saw a scene that shamed him.

The bandits, with Crossbow bolts stuck in their Shield, were currently dragging two young refugees, shaking off the entanglement and Stone attacks of the refugee crowd while dragging the people toward the darkness across the Shanglu.

The Stone that the young refugees picked up and threw at the bandit leader's confidant, who was wearing simple Leather Armor, had no effect at all. If it were a bandit wearing only softer, thicker Leather Clothing or Beast Skin Clothing, one could say it hurt the opponent, but facing the hard and thick Leather Armor, the Stone made no damage other than making a thumping sound.

If provoking the brutal bandits counted as a battle result, it was a negative effect.

This bandit leader's confidant who used an axe was already more brutal; when he was hit by the Stone thrown by the young refugees during his retreat, it immediately stirred up his ferocity. He grabbed a Dagger used for self-defense and threw it back at the refugee who had thrown the Stone at him.

With a cry of pain, the young refugee whose neck was pierced by the Dagger fell into the crowd.

Seeing this scene, Bataer Jiaoshi immediately whipped the prairie horse between his legs and rushed over at the fastest speed, determined to save the two young people who had been captured.

"Save me! Save me!"

The refugees being dragged away kept letting out miserable screams, because although they didn't know what happened to the two guys who were dragged away before, that series of terrifying screams made everyone not want to end up the same way.

"￥%, still screaming! You dare to scream!"

But the two bandits dragging the people didn't like the captured refugees struggling and resisting, so they raised their feet and stepped down; after several consecutive kicks, the young refugee's struggle lessened due to the pain.

"Let them go!"

Bataer Jiaoshi rode his horse out of the crowd, rushing straight toward the three bandits on the Shanglu.

Because the bandits and the captured refugees were close together, Bataer Jiaoshi couldn't easily use the Divine Power air wave of the Hushin Statue of the God to strike the enemies, fearing that he would hit his own people as well.

If it were a Church Priest who often enforced the law in towns using the Hushin Statue of the God, they might be able to use this ability precisely to subdue bandits. But Bataer Jiaoshi hadn't used this thing much before, and every time he used it now, it was the maximum power of some function of the Hushin Statue of the God.

Just like before, hitting the front of a person could easily blow the enemy away, at the very least breaking the enemy's limbs; if unlucky, hitting their head against the ground or a wall could lead to death. And hitting the ground could even blow away an entire layer of soil—it was truly a master at scraping the earth.

The Priest knew he couldn't master the use of this Divine Art tool well, so his left hand only gripped the Jiansheng and the Hushin Statue of the God, while the Metal Long Staff in his right hand had been raised early on.

Facing the young Priest chasing after him, the brutal bandit who used an axe smiled triumphantly; obviously, the leader's plan to lure people out of the crowd to take them down individually had worked.

But at this moment, this bandit had a sudden whim; he wanted to prove his own martial prowess and test exactly how much this Church Priest was worth, and whether he was worth them making such a fuss to lure him out to deal with him.

After the team finished this job, they would immediately leave this Shanglu area, which was mountainous to the north and south and narrow from east to west. Arriving in the gradually chaotic Southern Province, perhaps the team's old way of doing things should be changed.

And he, too, could advance further among the several confidants of the leaders; he wouldn't dare say he could replace the leader, but becoming the deputy leader of the team was worth a shot, right?

Therefore, this bandit did not retreat north again, but stayed in place, held his axe, and shouted, "He-ha!" Then he rushed head-on toward the mounted Priest.

"This idiot!"

The Bandit Leader, lying on a slightly higher spot not far away, cursed in a low voice, rolled his eyes, and waved his hand to summon the scouting bandit who was squatting to the side: "Immediately take the captured people into the Shulin now, remember to keep your distance from that young Priest. I'm retreating too."

After giving the instructions, the Bandit Leader threw the Banlan Vertical Chop he was covering himself with onto his subordinate, then turned and jumped off the dirt slope, not even looking at the situation in front, and turned to run toward the direction of the traps in the Shulin.

And this bandit, who had taken over his Beast Skin Clothing, didn't even bother to put it on; he just hugged it and ran quickly toward the direction where the refugees were captured, to notify his companions guarding the refugees there to retreat backward according to the plan.

Bataer Jiaoshi facing the brutal bandit rushing toward him—to say he wasn't afraid would be a lie; the opponent's arrogant momentum made him lose the ability to think for a moment.

But immediately, his slight experience with the world and the support from his Faith brought him back to his senses, making him realize again what he should be doing at this moment.

On the raised right hand, at the tip of the Metal Long Staff, the large amber Gems wrapped in a metal mesh now bloomed with a halo of dim yellow light.

Facing the axe blade swinging toward his waist and abdomen, Bata'er Jiaoshi did not dodge or defend, instead swinging the long staff in his hand heavily, letting the amber Gems at the staff head strike the Bandit's body directly.

"Haha, die!"

The Bandit, grinning hideously, swung his horizontal axe straight toward the Priest's waist; he wanted to cut this Church Priest in two, because he had also taken a liking to the other's horse.

As a member about to become a commander among the Bandit ranks, how could he not have a horse to ride? Not to mention anything else, only by riding a horse could he distinguish himself from the other walking Bandits and reveal his noble status as a superior. Even their leader himself had no horse to ride.

But this fellow's fantasy lasted less than half a breath, coming to an abrupt end after the axe struck the Priest's body.

Whoosh—Clang!

After the heavy, sharp killer axe struck the Priest's waist, it was not split in two as the Bandit had expected.

Let alone being cut into upper and lower halves, he even watched with his own eyes as, after a splash of cyan light flew up, the axe did not even cut a single thread from the Priest's Robe.

It was then pushed and slid away by the cyan light.

"Uh, ah?"

Letting out a half-cry, the Bandit was immediately struck by the Priest's staff head; amidst the dim yellow halo, he raised a hand to touch his head, somewhat puzzled.

This Bandit was not injured; after all, the amber covered by the metal mesh was not a particularly hard or heavy object. As the head of a long staff, it did not rely on 'physical' strikes to deal with enemies.

Bata'er Jiaoshi and the axe-wielding Bandit touched and retreated; the two exchanged a round and then separated. Bata'er Jiaoshi touched his abdomen nervously, and only after finding no damage did he heave a sigh of relief, bracing himself again to charge into the darkness ahead.

And on the head of his Metal Long Staff, the dim yellow halo emitted by the amber Gems seemed to have faded and dimmed slightly after the exchange?

It had indeed dimmed a little.

Because a portion of the dim yellow halo on the amber had, at the moment of the strike just now, remained on the head of the axe-wielding Bandit.

As soon as the dim yellow halo touched the Bandit's body, it immediately spread out, gradually enveloping the Bandit's entire body from top to bottom. And as the halo diluted, it also caused the Bandit's entire body to emit light, the whole person glowing from top to bottom with a faint, diluted bright yellow radiance.

The Bandit was somewhat puzzled; he wasn't hurt, was he?

But everything that followed terrified him completely.

He inadvertently looked up at the timid Refugees on the open ground to the south, and was then terrified to discover: when had those timid and incompetent fellows become so agile and fast?

Their bodies swayed back and forth and side to side in the crowd, swaying back and forth rapidly as if dancing in a group. Even the weapons in their hands were constantly being raised and lowered, raised and lowered rapidly.

Before the Bandit could figure out what was going on, he saw the flames from some scattered firewood on the ground not far away flickering with the rise and fall of the flames, faster even than the blinking of stars in the sky.

It seemed that everything around him had gone wrong.

He was somewhat afraid, because he heard those Refugees opposite, who were originally 'harmless' to him, making strange, shrill cries, as if their throats had been kissed by a devil.

"What's going on? Woo woo woo, ah! What is going on?"

He was flustered and panicked, waving the axe in his hand wildly.

But the whooshing sounds and air currents that usually accompanied his axe swings were gone. Just as he was finding it strange, the rabbits digging in the dirt not far away were each wearing expressions that he found terrifying and strange, making shrill, biting mocking sounds and short, unintelligible words.

"What's going on? What's going on? Ah? Ah? Ah? You guys! Keep laughing, keep laughing and I'll kill you! Awoo ah!"

He shouted wildly and fearfully, not knowing that to everyone else on the battlefield at this moment, the truly strange and weird person was actually himself!

Ever since this fellow was struck by Bata'er Jiaoshi's staff, not only was his body rapidly enveloped in a bright yellow light similar to a mark, but even his movements had become sluggish.

The Refugees only saw that fellow moving slowly on the spot, his facial expressions also changing slowly, as if on purpose.

He made dull, slow mumbling sounds in his mouth, and even his wide, terrified eyes looked very ridiculous.

Everyone pointed at the man's changes; although most of the Refugees, being Farmers, had little experience, they guessed that this strange change in the man must have been caused by Bata'er Jiaoshi.

After all, this fellow only became like this after being struck by the long staff in the Priest's hand; it must have been the Priest's doing.

Everyone speculated and discussed nervously what was wrong with this person.

Some said this fellow had been beaten stupid by the Priest's stick, which was why he was so sluggish and dull now, unable to even speak clearly.

Others felt that it must be the Magic from the stories that caused this change in the fellow.

Some directly felt that this person had been frozen by the Priest, so they should go up now and finish off this hateful fellow.

After all, this person had cut off a Refugee's hands just a moment ago, and they had managed with difficulty to send the wounded to the center of the crowd, using the method the Priest taught to tie the wounded's arms tight with Rope to prevent the wounded from bleeding to death.

If it weren't for Bata'er Jiaoshi saying that if they retrieved the wounded's arms, he could reattach them, everyone would have been scared out of their wits long ago.

But at this moment, seeing the strange appearance of that brutal Bandit, everyone still dared not step outside the invisible wall to rush out of the crowd and finish off that fellow.

Even though the opponent was 'waving' the axe in his hand, he had lost all his previous terror and momentum, his movements slower than even an old man or old woman.

Everyone still dared not step forward.

Xueya Site sighed on the carriage, the Crossbow in his hand raised and then lowered; in the end, he did not attempt to shoot at the Bandit glowing all over on the other side of the Shanglu not far away.

Being somewhat knowledgeable, he had guessed what had happened to the Bandit.

That person had been slowed down by the weapon in the Priest's hand.

Looking at the situation, before the light all over his body dissipated, all the perceptions of that person were several times slower than a normal person.

He guessed that at this time, even a child could go up and kill that brutal Bandit, whom dozens of Refugees had previously been unable to defeat despite their desperate efforts, with a Dagger.

But the problem was that none of the young Refugees around the carriage dared to step out of the crowd.

The crowd gave them the Yongqi and will to stand out and resist the Bandits with their bodies, but it also firmly restricted their footsteps to the side of others.

Perhaps, Xueya Site thought, perhaps it was not just the footsteps; standing with others provided the bottom line of Yongqi and will, but it also firmly fixed the upper limit of Yongqi and will.

The timid dared to stand out and fight at this moment of crisis, but they also dragged the footsteps and bodies of the truly brave into the crowd.

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