Chapter 680: The Darkest Moonless Night (Part 16)

Jier's side.

At this moment, he was leading over forty young men, escorting several captured bandits as they walked through the mountain forest.

The night in the mountain forest was breezy, and the terrifying roars of wild beasts could be heard from time to time. However, the young men in the group did not show much fear, because Knight Jier was currently riding his horse in the middle of the formation.

Jier's previous performance had naturally been seen by these young men of Yongqi, and they also knew just how formidable the Knight was. Therefore, the howls of beasts coming from the surroundings no longer made them feel extremely terrified.

At least, that was the case while Jier was present.

The faces of these young men were all somewhat pale; it was not that they had all caught some illness, but simply that Jier had previously made them go to the battlefield to collect spoils of war. Facing the bloody scene of so many severed limbs and corpses for the first time in their lives, basically all the young men vomited again and again.

They vomited out the food they had eaten not long before.

Many were so overwhelmed by the smell of blood that they couldn't even vomit up the stomach acid in their guts.

Jier had no choice but to arrange for these people to stay in an open space, guarding against any possible remaining bandit attacks. Although he felt there wouldn't be any.

Aside from the poor mental state of the young men, they were all now wearing the thick clothing from the bandits. They couldn't bear to throw away their original tattered Linen Cloth clothing, and now that they had changed into the bandits' smelly Beast Skin Clothing and a few pieces of damaged Leather Armor and damaged leather helmets, their protection was at least much stronger than before.

It is especially worth mentioning that among the forty people following Jier, ten young men had strapped on the bandits' Short Bows, and with two pouches of Arrow, the group now had long-range attack capabilities.

These people were all from the few Hunter families in their original village; although their numbers were small, their proportion in the group showed that young men from Hunter backgrounds were still braver than the others.

Behind the Tianxuecao that Jier was riding, three more horses followed. Jier had brought out all the horses in his possession, precisely so that after breaking into the bandits' lair, he could bring out as many valuable things as possible.

Relying solely on human backs and shoulders, they couldn't carry much.

"How much longer until we reach your lair?"

Beside the Tianxuecao that Jier was riding, several of the escorted bandits were following closely. These people were tightly bound, but it did not affect their ability to speak or walk.

At this moment, Jier was questioning a bandit who had originally belonged to Fatty's group.

This captured bandit was also in a wretched and miserable state; earlier, when Jier interrogated him, this guy had been stubborn and refused to talk, so he was subsequently "repaired" in the literal sense.

Some parts of his face were missing, and at the same time, he had some extra things on his body.

Unable to endure the inhumane torment, when Jier was about to trim some excess limbs from his hands and feet, the bandit finally opened his mouth and gave in.

There was no help for it; this bandit, who often tortured travelers defeated and robbed by the Bandit Group, understood very well that after losing a thumb on one's palm, a Human could not do any work at all.

Although it looked like the palm was still there, the ability to work was lost.

This was different from Jier moving his ears and teeth; without those things, he could still survive later, if he had a future at all. But once this Knight truly did as he said and released him after good behavior, the bandit had to weigh the gravity of loyalty versus betrayal.

That said, the bandit heard Knight Jier asking him a question and immediately replied: "Master Knight, the route is correct; it is one of the three paths connecting to our lair on the Shanglu. We just need to walk a bit further."

Jier looked at the route they were taking; this was the direction south of the Shanglu, a path gradually heading toward the towering mountains in the south.

They had just passed through a sparse Shulin and were currently walking among giant rocks two men tall, generally sticking to the first mountain range to the south and heading east.

It made sense; although the bandits claimed to be entrenched here, they did not dare to go too deep into the uninhabited mountains.

Not to mention Magic Beast, even some tricky Monster could likely slowly kill and wipe out any careless bandit group.

It was hard to say whether the bandits entrenched in areas unsuitable for Human survival were killed more by the Soldiers responsible for law and order, or by the tricky Monster in the mountains or forests.

"By the way, you bandits, living in the remote, uninhabited areas of the Shanglu, what do you do when you get sick?"

Jier was a bit curious; setting aside material supplies, he wondered how these people handled things when they caught a cold or had stomach pain.

The few captured bandits looked at each other and revealed bitter smiles: "Master Knight, what else can we do? We just tough out minor illnesses, at most giving the sick person more good food, while keeping them away from women to prevent them from losing their strength because of that. As for major illnesses, it just depends on whether the sick person is a trusted subordinate of the leader or if the leader likes them."

"What do you mean?"

"If the leader likes them, he takes some money and has people carry them to a nearby town to see a doctor. We usually pretend to be small merchants from out of town and keep our heads down while getting treated in the town. If the leader doesn't like the sick person, then that person just has to wait for death. At most, a close companion might make a separate trip to a village or town to get some Herb that might not even be useful, and rush back to have them take it."

"Hmm." Jier stroked his chin with his fingers: "Are there no Priest who use Divine Art to heal illnesses?"

Aside from when he first arrived in this other world, he had always relied on the Church to resolve his own illnesses and injuries; he himself felt that the medical level of this other world was very high because of the Healing Divine Art.

But his statement left the surrounding young men speechless: "Master Knight, don't even mention those damned bandits; even for us Villager and Farmer in the villages, if there is no resident church and Priest in the village, we usually have to rely on Herb to treat illnesses. Going to other villages and towns to find the Priest masters to perform Divine Art is just too expensive."

"That's right, I heard that two years ago, our Cunzi Chief broke his leg while repairing a chimney. His sons carried him to a nearby town, and just paying the Priest masters of the Church of the God of Wealth to heal the broken leg cost several Gold Coin! Tsk tsk, the Cunzi Chief was still rich; he could have just rested at home for half a year and it would have healed, but he insisted on using Divine Art to treat the leg. But it was really impressive; when they went, several people were carrying him, and he went by ox cart. When he came back, he drove the cart back himself."

As soon as Jier heard this, he knew that although various churches had tried their best to popularize their scale to the grassroots level, for Villager living in remote villages, using Healing Divine Art to treat injuries and illnesses was still something that could be called a topic of conversation.

Chatting like this, the young men in the group finally relaxed their tense spirits.

Some people's faces even regained some color; under the light of the Torch, several young men whose companions had not been killed or injured were even excitedly fiddling with the weapons and equipment distributed to them.

The weapons used by the bandits could not be called fine; most were whatever they could grab from the Caravan. But because Jier had previously routed the bandit group of the White Wall, the forty young Refugee he led were at least better equipped than the average bandit group.

"Everyone concentrate, don't let your minds wander. This is the wild, uninhabited area near the Mianmian Mountains; be careful, don't get ambushed by lurking wild beasts or Monster!"

Jier shouted to remind his subordinates not to be careless.

At this time, under the guidance of the captured bandits, they wound their way out of the giant rock area that was like a natural maze, and in front of them was a wide Valley with a relatively open view.

The bottom of the Valley was a forest along a river, but Jier did not look there; instead, he raised his head slightly and looked at the mountainside on the left side of the Valley.

There, in the pitch-black night, raging flames and columns of smoke were rising.

"Is that direction your lair?"

Jier called out to the captured bandits, pointing to the place halfway up the distant Valley where there was a fiery glow.

The bandit looked up for a long time before realizing that it was the direction of their lair: "Yes, yes it is. But what's going on? Why is it on fire? That shouldn't be! The buildings outside the Shandong are all built of stone, aren't they?"

Jier's young men could not see clearly in the night; beyond the range of the Torch light, everything was blurry to them, so they did not understand the situation in the distance that Jier and the bandit were talking about.

Smacking his lips, Jier continued to ask: "How many people did you leave in the lair when you set out to attack us this time?"

"The leader who is already dead left a dozen or so people at home, but it's impossible for them to have set the fire themselves, are they tired of living? If the leader weren't dead, he would definitely skin them alive upon returning and throw the skinless people into the Dead Cave to feed the Spirit."

Jier snorted: "You guys play pretty wild, don't you."

Jier then instructed the people around him: "Everyone stop where you are, extinguish the Torch!"

Once Jier gave the order, the young men stopped in a disorganized mess, then reluctantly and sluggishly placed the lighting Torch in their hands on the ground and covered them with dirt to extinguish them. They were still reluctant to use the new leather Boot on their feet to stomp out the Torch.

Facing this situation, Jier shook his head helplessly; there was no help for it, compared to the Kendall Militia who had undergone winter training and actual combat drills in suppressing bandits, these people were far too inferior.

But at least there was one good thing: these people only listened to Jier's orders at this time, so they counted as his "Soldier".

Smiling silently, Jier then took the newly acquired glowing Magic pendant from the Leather Bag on his belt, and the white cold light of the Magic illuminated the area around Jier.

Looking at the young men around him who were staring at him, Jier instructed: "Like this, the situation ahead is unclear, so we will all wait here for now. Before I return, do not light any Torch, so as not to be discovered by anyone. Just stay where you are; I will go ahead to scout, and after I deal with the enemies, I will come back to rendezvous with you."

He looked at the few captured and surrendered Bandits: "As for these few, keep a close watch on them. Stuff their mouths, don't let them speak. At the same time, tie their feet up now. Before I return, do not beat them; they are still useful. Also, do not talk to them, or untie the Rope on any one of them."

"Hmph, even if they have to shit, they will shit in their pants for me! Do you all understand?"

"Understood, Knight."

Several young men nearby responded to Jier's words; they all wore damaged leather armor and were considered the few among these young men who dared to fight with the best strength and organizational ability.

"You few, I leave the team to you. If there is an enemy, fight, but do not leave your spots. Supervise each other."

"We understand, sir."

After giving instructions, Jier rode Tianxuecao out from the crowd, following a dirt path on the ground often trodden by people, and ran toward the Shulin at the bottom of the Valley ahead.

Once Jier walked away, darkness shrouded these forty-plus people.

After a moment of silence, a leading young man spoke up: "Let's all gather together; it will be safer this way."

"Good."

"Just like that."

They made some noise, letting the surrounding long, strip-shaped team gather together to form a circle.

The few captured Bandits who were specifically named to be guarded against were in the very center; one guy sat on the ground, twisting and making muffled sounds. His mouth was stuffed, and it was unknown what this person wanted to say.

But no matter how this person twisted and mumbled, the young Refugee group surrounding the Bandits remained unmoved.

After a good while, that Bandit stopped moving, and a foul, hot stench drifted from the Bandit's crotch.

"Hmph, the Knight said, even if you shit in your pants, don't even think about moving an inch. Just stay put."

The Bandits fell silent.

Everyone just stayed quietly in the dark and silent wilderness like this, waiting for Jier to return.

Jier rode on the horse's back, pulling on the Jiansheng of Tianxuecao the whole way; it was mainly because in such a pitch-black environment, it was not easy to identify the blurry little path on the ground.

It was much better once he entered the Shulin near the river at the bottom of the Valley.

It was estimated that they treated this place as their own territory, so the Fatty Bandits had specifically cleared the path extending to their lair, mainly the part in the woods. They had specifically logged both sides and even nailed the logged wood into the soil on both sides of the road, clearly showing the path to take.

There were many nocturnal birds in the Shulin; after Jier rode in on his horse, they started chirping and squawking chaotically, flapping their wings to fly up and land again.

Jier clicked his teeth, knowing these nocturnal birds might be raised by the Bandits in the woods; they might just be one of their nighttime alert systems.

After all, looking at it now, as long as someone walked along the intentionally left path toward the Bandit lair at night, they would definitely be discovered by these birds that only moved at night.

Secretly becoming cautious, Jier rode his horse without lingering or wandering, quickly passing through the path in the Shulin.

When encountering a Chalu, he also walked toward one side by distinguishing the direction of the Bandit lair.

Suddenly, a Throwing Spear attacked Jier; Jier, who had heard movement in the nearby Shulin a step earlier, had already moved his Shield to meet it.

Thud, clang!

The Throwing Spear struck the Shield, sparking, and then bounced off at an angle, but Jier also regretfully turned the Shield over to take a look.

On the surface of his Shield, various scratches and dents of different depths were quite conspicuous, some of which were left tonight. And the newest dent and scratch had just been left.

"A bit small, and I need to find a time to repair and re-forge it."

Complaining, Jier took the Hunting Bow from the Weapon Rack behind him, nocked an arrow, and shot it toward the place where the sound came from ahead.

Whoosh—

It did not hit the opponent; the guy who ambushed Jier was gradually retreating, but Jier let Tianxuecao slow down and stop, then continued to shoot.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

After several consecutive arrows, the person who ambushed him had to change directions left and right, not knowing that such movements were exactly what Jier wanted.

Waiting roughly for a moment, after Jier shot another arrow, he suddenly took off the glowing pendant at his waist and threw it forward.

And the direction thrown was exactly where the ambusher would move next.

The light leaped and moved in the Shulin; Jier fell into darkness, while the ambusher was hit squarely by the glowing pendant that crashed over.

A young Bandit wearing strangely shaped clothing and some tattoos randomly tattooed on his body.

His upper body was mostly bare, revealing scary and weird tattoos; a brown Poisonous Snake was circling the Bandit's neck, hissing and opening its mouth, demonstrating toward Jier's direction.

But the very next moment, the Hunting Sword was thrown over by Jier.

"Hit the enemy for me!"

Jier shouted sharply, and the spinning Hunting Sword seemed to have a soul, whistling and spinning, flying past vines and shrubs, directly cutting the Bandit who was trying to slow down and dodge into two halves, top and bottom.

Blood and body fluids splattered; after the Hunting Sword cut the enemy, it stuck into a large tree trunk and stopped, the hilt swinging back and forth, making a buzzing sound, looking just like a loyal dog excitedly wagging its tail after doing what its master asked.

And after the Bandit who attacked Jier was cut into two, his upper body was not yet dead; he lay in the grass moaning, pulling the Poisonous Snake raised on his neck, and used his last strength to throw it toward Jier's direction.

But after landing, the brown Poisonous Snake was clearly more interested in the nocturnal birds in the woods; it made a hissing sound, its body slid into the dead branches and fallen leaves, and it slipped away toward the tree trunk.

Jier naturally noticed the snake thrown by the opponent; after confirming which direction the snake crawled and slid away, Jier circled half a turn and jumped off the horse from another direction to approach the person who attacked him.

Pulling out the Hunting Sword, Jier flicked it and sheathed the sword, while his left palm pressed against the Moonlight Iron at the end of the hilt, slowly rubbing it with the Glove with steel plates.

He first retrieved the glowing pendant he had thrown earlier and re-attached it to his metal belt. Only then did he check the Bandit who attacked him.

Looking at the appearance of the opponent, Jier knew it was about the same as the first wave of Bandits who attacked the Refugees.

This was very interesting, because the Bandit lair Jier was leading people to attack at this moment was the territory of the Fatty gang.

That Bandit named Wild Snake had his subordinates here at this moment.

Clearly, they were guarding and watching the road to the Fatty's lair.

Thinking back to the situation of the Fatty's lair being on fire at this moment, it was not hard to guess what happened: "Someone got here first."

Jier muttered to himself: "But that's fine, at least with two groups of people, they will fight among themselves, and I only need to defeat the remaining group. Hehehe, haha, it even saved me a lot of trouble."

He chuckled out loud.

At the same time, Jier also had a new understanding of the greed of the Bandits.

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