Chapter 754: The Eyes Peering from the Darkness

At midnight, after Jier finished boasting to his friends and had just entered his new tent to rest, he wondered if he would be haunted again tonight by the vengeful spirits of the Bandits he had killed.

But not long after he lay down, while he was still brewing sleepiness, he heard hurried footsteps approaching from afar.

"Stop! This is the Knight's tent, you cannot come closer!" A warning shout blocked the person coming.

These were the Armed Civilians closest to Jier himself; as Jier's temporary inner circle, they guarded his tent every night, taking turns day and night to protect Jier's safety and his personal wealth (mainly the wagons and horses loaded with various supplies).

As a benefit of being the inner circle, these people were never assigned extra work by Jier, which gradually created a rift between them and the others in the group over these days. But they did not care; after all, everyone came from various Cunzi and were not familiar with each other, and following Knight Jier had many benefits, so a rift was a rift.

"It's me, it's me, the Squad Leader in charge of the back of the clearing! I have something to find the Knight with, don't block the way!"

Listening to the voice, the person who came in a panic at midnight was none other than the Squad Leader of the Armed Civilians whom Jier had arranged to secure the rear fence of the clearing.

But Jier had given instructions before, so these people helping Jier with night patrols did not care who the visitor was; their Long Swords were slightly drawn, and they did not give way.

However, they still said: "Wait here for a moment, we will go call the Knight. If it's not an important matter, you had better be careful!"

The person speaking exchanged glances with the Armed Civilian Squad Leader who had come to find Jier, then personally went to the entrance of Jier's tent, first calling out to Jier in a low voice: "Knight, Knight, someone is here to see you."

Jier had not been sleeping, so he naturally heard the commotion outside just now; he responded and told the guards to let the visitor in.

He himself simply threw on his newly bought cloak and lit an Oil Lamp in the tent.

The tent curtain was lifted, and a young man wearing simple Leather Clothing looted from the Bandits, with two Cleavers at his waist, walked in quickly. Seeing that Knight Jier had already risen, he stated the matter directly.

"Knight Jier, since just now, we have discovered some unusual signs at the rear fence of the clearing we are patrolling."

This Squad Leader had some cold sweat on his face, and his expression was somewhat nervous; at least Jier saw that his lips were pale from nervousness.

Jier patted his shoulder to let him relax: "Don't be nervous, tell me, what unusual signs did you discover?"

Taking a deep breath, the Squad Leader explained: "When my men were patrolling tonight, we heard the sound of people whispering in the pitch-black fields near our clearing fence!"

Jier put his hands on his hips, pondering: "It could be people from the town scouting and testing us, or it could be some organization or force curious about us. Don't be nervous; it might just be the debtors who take care of that field, unable to sleep in the middle of the night and coming out for a walk."

The Squad Leader smiled reluctantly and continued: "It's not just that. After being reminded by my subordinates, I also participated in the patrol myself, and I saw with my own eyes pairs of light spots hanging in mid-air not far outside the fence."

When he said this, he became nervous again: "It was just like a ghost! Are those dead people spying on us?"

To be honest, the ambush and battle that night were not only a bloody and chaotic night for Jier—after all, he had killed so many people with his own hands, even if those people deserved to die. The experience of that night was a terrifying memory that would be unforgettable for a lifetime for these young men under Jier, who were previously just ordinary Farmers or hunters in their villages.

Fortunately, they won in the end; the victory from the battle and the looting of the Bandits' supplies greatly relieved the pressure on many people, which was why everyone's spirits had been relatively stable these days.

But that was only a facade.

The unusual signs tonight made this young Squad Leader, who was usually loud and combative, have unsteady and panicked footsteps, and when facing Jier alone, he finally revealed the nervousness and fear he would not show to his subordinates.

Knight Jier was the only existence he could find that could bring a sense of security.

Never mind the Priest of the Agriculture God in the group; although he also believed in the Faith, that was just something he naturally absorbed from his family, as he came from a Farmer family. Ever since his whole family fled from their home Cunzi, he had long stopped caring about his former Faith.

After all, it had been a long time since he had prayed piously to the Agriculture God in the fields he worked himself, as he used to, even though he still ate the plump grain seeds bestowed by the Priest of the Agriculture God every day now.

Because he knew very well that after the experience since the flight, he realized that the Agriculture God could not help poor refugees like them much in these terrible matters.

Even if those who believed in the Faith in the group said that the Agriculture God had sent Knight Jier to their side.

These things were all empty rhetoric; he only believed in the real power and strength visible to the naked eye now. Knight Jier, who could defeat nearly a hundred Bandits almost by himself, was the power and strength he believed in now.

Jier actually felt a bit daunted hearing his account, but he could not show it in front of this person. So he smiled confidently: "Don't worry, I will put on my armor and go take a look. As for you, pass on my order, tell the other squads to all get up and patrol, hold more Torches in your hands, and light up the surrounding fence."

"No matter what it is, as long as there is firelight, it won't be able to make trouble. If anyone wants to attack us, we will fight them, just like last time, and beat them down hard!"

Jier patted the other person's shoulder heavily and pointed to the two Cleavers at his waist: "And this time, everyone is different from last time. Believe in me, and believe in the weapons in each of your hands. People get cut, and they die. Monsters are the same, and undead living corpses are the same. If it really is some ghost or something, I will release Magic Fire to burn them, and I guarantee they will all be eliminated."

"Yes! Knight!"

Encouraged like this, this young Squad Leader, who was a few years older than Jier, suddenly became high-spirited. He looked even more confident than Jier, and after responding loudly, he ran out in big strides to pass Knight Jier's orders to the other Squad Leaders.

Jier watched the man's movements, gave a wry smile, and instantly disappeared from where he stood.

The next moment, he appeared in the original place, fully armed.

He wore heavy Full Metal Armor covered in fine damage, and his newly bought cloak—【Night Ambition】—was draped over the pauldrons of the Metal Armor, fastened at the front of the Neck Armor.

He already had the glowing Yueshui Skull Two-Handed Axe on his back. After reappearing, he waved a hand toward the side of the tent, and the Hunting Sword leaning against the head of his sleeping bag automatically jumped from the ground, hopped into his hand, and was then hung at his left waist.

Lifting the tent curtain, Jier's fully armed appearance actually gave the patrolling guards outside a fright; they did not expect that Knight Jier would come out like this so soon after the Armed Civilian Squad Leader had left.

Does the Knight sleep wearing armor?

How strange.

"Someone outside might be spying on us, you all stay alert and guard this place well. If a battle breaks out, have the civilians who move closer settle down around my tent."

"Yes, my lord. Should we wake everyone up?"

A tall young man asked.

Jier lowered his Steel Face Mask: "Wake them up, but only tell everyone to stay alert and prepare for a possible battle. As for what is going on and whether a battle will occur, listen to the orders I give later."

"Yes, Knight."

The guards replied.

Jier fetched his horse; the guards already had someone in charge of the horses who had installed the Muan and other items for Tianxuecao. Jier picked up the Weapon Rack, mounted it behind the Muan, then lifted the twenty or thirty-kilogram Full Metal Double-Edged Spear and nimbly vaulted onto the horse.

With a kick to the horse's belly and a pull on the Jiansheng, Tianxuecao followed Jier's intent, bypassed the campfire and the large tents, and trotted toward the rear of the clearing.

The clearing was not large, and Jier's horse was fast. It didn't take long, and before the Squad Leader in charge of the rear fence patrol had returned, Jier had already arrived.

"The Knight is here!"

There were not many people riding horses in the group, and Jier was the only one riding a tall Tianxuecao and wearing full armor, so as soon as he arrived, he was surrounded by the patrolling squad that had been pacing anxiously in place.

"Knight Jier, there were many light spots hanging in the air outside just now!"

"And whispering sounds!"

"Not just that, there were also the grunts and footsteps of Monsters! I heard them all, right there in the darkness outside the fence!"

Jier held the Long Spear in his left hand and waved his right: "Don't be nervous, listen to me. Light up the Torches, every two people hold one Torch. Then wake up the people from your squads who are resting, and have everyone prepare for a possible battle."

"Don't be nervous or anxious, I am here."

Jier shouted in a slightly louder voice; fearing to cause panic among the people in the tents behind where the ordinary civilians lived, he did not speak very loudly, just enough for the Armed Civilians patrolling by the fence to hear.

Hearing Jier's words, the crowd got busy. The simple Torches distributed to the squads were lit one after another, the combat squads of a few people each were woken up, and everyone put on animal skin clothing with some protective ability, picked up their respective knives, swords, axes, and Shields, and armed themselves.

"Don't gather around me, group up in fives, and spread out."

After saying this, Jier took a torch from someone's hand, swung his arm in a full circle while mounted, and threw the torch toward the dark fields outside the fence ahead.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the torch followed a low-trajectory arc and was thrown far into the distance.

As the torchlight briefly illuminated the path, Jier indeed saw something moving in the fields.

However, the thing was not tall, roughly the same height as the crops in the field. Moreover, the markings on its body blended easily with the crops, making it hard to see clearly. If not for the light reflecting off the creature's eyes, Jier would not have found them at all.

"What is that?"

Jier felt it was strange, and vaguely familiar, so he said to those around him: "Stay where you are, I'm going over to take a look."

Having said that, he inserted a new torch into the Weapon Rack behind him to provide illumination, then kicked the horse's belly hard, causing Tianxuecao to bolt forward. Upon reaching the wooden fence, the brave Tianxuecao accelerated and leaped, jumping directly over the meter-high wooden fence and landing in the fields outside the clearing.

The ground was very soft and neatly planted with crops; Jier could not worry about the horse trampling them. After landing, he drove the horse to chase after the place where he had just seen the things.

"Neigh—"

Tianxuecao seemed to have discovered something; without Jier's command, it followed the thing fleeing in the darkness ahead.

But Jier's ears had been very sharp since he began Knight Training; he not only heard the sound of hurried fleeing ahead, but also heard the sound of footsteps trampling crops all around him.

'Am I surrounded?'

Just as he thought this, a series of meows and urgent howls rang out from all around.

Jier was stunned; this sound was somewhat familiar.

Of course, this meowing was not from the cute cat in their group that helped guard the food every day to keep the Jumping Mouse, field mice, and house mice from ruining the supplies; this sound was louder and had more power.

Clearly, the creature making the sound was much larger in size than the cat Jier and the others kept.

A cat? A cat!

A flash of inspiration hit Jier, and he remembered where he had heard this sound before and what was making it.

"Long-haired Lynx Beast?"

Jier shouted loudly toward his surroundings.

At the same time, he stopped kicking the horse's belly to accelerate and pulled the Jiansheng with his right hand to make Tianxuecao slow down.

"Awoo!"

But these little guys, having been startled, approached Jier rapidly from all sides, accompanied by the sound of tails whipping through the air; yet, what flew toward him were not dangerous Daggers or blades.

Jier waved his right hand a few times, blocking the incoming objects with the back of his hand and his Forearm Armor, and discovered that these things fell apart upon hitting him. A sniff revealed they were nothing more than clods of dirt, common everywhere in the farmland.

Having been hit a few times, Jier ignored these powerless little dirt clods and instead reversed the Long Spear in his left hand, hooked a Long-haired Lynx Beast that had jumped from the ground trying to pounce on him with the end of the spear, and flung it upward.

The bewildered Long-haired Lynx Beast Warrior tumbled helplessly in the pitch-black air, finally managing to turn its body by instinct, landing on all fours to absorb the impact from the ground.

But before it could land in mid-air, it was grabbed by Jier's reaching right hand.

"Stop!!!"

Jier roared, simultaneously shaking his right hand up and down, causing the captured Long-haired Lynx Beast Warrior to let out a wail.

The other Long-haired Lynx Beasts around him, who were barely taller than the crops, stopped their 'offensive' out of fear of hurting their own, and all issued threatening low growls.

By the light of the torch behind him, Jier finally saw clearly that they were indeed Long-haired Lynx Beasts. This made him wonder: were these alien races spying around his Yingdi tonight acting on their own, or were they instigated by someone?

If it was their own behavior, why do this?

If instigated, then by whom? Was it that old Merchant Bantuolisa? Or his subordinate, the fat Steward in charge of the gambling Fighting Arena?

Or was it someone else who instigated them after hearing they had been driven away?

But while he thought all this, the one Jier held in his hand was not at all restless; seemingly annoyed at being defeated by Jier in one move, this Long-haired Lynx Beast Warrior responsible for close combat was not stopping now.

No, it didn't stop its feet.

That wasn't right either; it used both hands and feet. With its body held by Jier, its sharp claws scratched hard at Jier's palm and arm. Its mouth full of sharp teeth wasn't idle either; with a cry, it bit fiercely toward Jier's fingers.

At the same time, a long tail whipped continuously, lashing at Jier's neck and head.

For a moment, it looked exceptionally fierce.

"Stop messing around..." Jier was quite speechless; this little thing looked fierce, but its actual damage was zero. Although its claws were scratching wildly, besides making some noise, it couldn't even leave a scratch on Jier's metal Gauntlet.

At the same time, its fierce biting also ended with a light 'click' in its mouth; the Long-haired Lynx Beast let out a wail and let go, not daring to use its teeth to bite anyone again.

Only the tail's lashing looked powerful, but Jier's shoulder had metal spikes. After the tail lashed a few more times, it scraped against the metal spikes and was injured, bleeding.

Soon, within just a few breaths, the guy glared at Jier with hatred, cursing Jier fiercely in its own language.

Jier couldn't understand much, but he didn't need to guess to know it wasn't anything nice, so he shook his arm hard up and down, making the Long-haired Lynx Beast wail; the meowing screams terrified the other Long-haired Lynx Beasts, causing them to stiffen their tails upright.

"Stop, arm! Striped Mao Mao become, Warrior, no, become toy!"

At this moment, the Long-haired Lynx Beast that Jier had chased on horseback finally stepped nimbly with its short legs, pushed aside the crops that were as tall as it was, appeared in Jier's field of vision, and spoke the sentence above.

"Huh? What?"

Because the other party sounded like Jier when he first arrived in this different world and was learning Human Common Language, Jier only understood what the other party said after they repeated it.

"Stop? Striped Mao Mao is a Warrior, not a toy? Is that what you mean?"

Although Jier asked this, he stopped the shaking early, allowing the dizzy Long-haired Lynx Beast to pat its head and feel slightly better.

"Sure. Stop, fight. I, many I, no, become, strong, Human's prey. No, prey!"

This guy, who was slightly shorter than the other Long-haired Lynx Beasts, took the initiative to move forward, wanting to get closer to Jier and his tall horse.

"Not prey? Not enemies, right? Is that what you want to say?"

"Sure, sure."

The other party nodded hurriedly, while opening its arms toward Jier, exposing its chest and abdomen: "Fight, nest, no, join, many I! Mao Mao, join, strong, Human!"

Jier was dumbfounded; as the conversation deepened, he couldn't quite understand what the other party meant.

Seeing the strong Human had no reaction or response, the Long-haired Lynx Beast was quite anxious, as were the other alien races present. But it still opened its mouth to appease the other alien races in a language he couldn't understand, and then solemnly said to Jier again: "Mao Mao, join, strong, Human! Many I, fight! Many I, fight!"

Jier racked his brains, pondering the meaning: "Mao Mao? Is that what you call yourselves?"

Seeing the tiny alien race that could only barely reach Tianxuecao's belly by stretching its arms, Jier let out a breath: "You want to join my group? Fight alongside me?"

The Long-haired Lynx Beast present nodded hurriedly; it seemed they could understand some of the Human common tongue, but as for speaking it, only this one could.

"Mao Mao, fight, strong! Human, strong, many me, fight, strong."

Jier finally understood the other party's meaning this time; they wanted to join him. So that was it, which was why they had been skulking and whispering outside the fence, scaring his men into thinking they had seen the ghosts of the dead Bandit.

After considering it briefly, especially since these Long-haired Lynx Beast came from the mountain forests and might be useful for finding and rescuing the Villager of Changmai Village later, Jier nodded, loosened his right hand, and set down this dazed alien Warrior.

"Fine, I agree to take you in."

As soon as Jier spoke his agreement, these aliens began to wave their tails behind them and cheer.

But Jier continued: "However, I must observe you for a period of time first."

Yet, it seemed that all his subsequent words were actively ignored by these furry aliens; except for the fellow he had just dropped, the other aliens all jumped for joy.

"Connect, one time, Mao Mao, get, Human, work. Woo-hoo-hoo, please reward metal!"

"Huh? What?"

Jier was bewildered; what was meant by rewarding metal?