Chapter 786: Demanding the Innocent, Bandits with No Way Back

On the gentle slope of the mountain not far from the Shanglu, there were curved fields reclaimed along the mountain slope. The mountain spring was diverted by the Villagers, winding downward along small stone water channels beside the fields, covering almost all the farmland owned by this Cunzi.

The farmland outside the Cunzi was planted full of common wheat, yet no Farmers were seen tending the fields, which was somewhat eerie; smoke curled from the Cunzi, but there was not a single person outside it.

This was the current New Clear Spring Cunzi.

On the small path made of Stone and wood outside the Cunzi, a team of Bandits was walking quickly toward the Cunzi.

Each of them held one or two weapons in their hands and wore various kinds of protective gear; some were wrapped in animal-skin clothing that would be too hot in spring, while others exposed their shoulders and arms, which were tattooed with terrifying images of Monsters.

Leading the team was a robust and tall Bandit, who held a sword in his hand and walked in front of the group without saying a word.

After walking quickly for a while longer, these people arrived before the main gate of the Cunzi. Although New Clear Spring Cunzi was only a small Cunzi located beside the mountain, it still had a Wooden Wall built of thick trees to guard against wild beasts and Monsters in the mountains.

The height of the wooden wall, several meters tall, was not very uniform, but it was not something an ordinary person could climb over empty-handed. To get over it, it was not easy without a wooden ladder.

"Hey! It's me, what are you looking at? Open the gate for me, quickly!"

The Bandit leader outside the gate was a chief, so he shouted at the ordinary Bandits on guard at the Cunzi gate without any courtesy.

However, the Bandit above poked his head out to look down, and after confirming it was a certain chief of the Bandit Group, he did not obediently come down to open the gate; instead, he pulled his head back and ran toward the inside of the Cunzi, following the sound of footsteps.

The Bandit chief raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised but not angry, and explained to his familiar Bandit companions on the left and right: "Most likely he went to call the bald guy left in charge to ask for his opinion. Let's just wait a moment."

Just as he expected, the Bandit who had been watching the gate had indeed returned to the Cunzi to call the chief left in charge.

As this guy walked toward the center of the Cunzi, he shouted to his companions resting on the roofs of the Farmer houses by the road: "A team of people has arrived outside, it's the bunch led by Bamian. Everyone pay attention, stay alert."

The remaining Bandits who had been hiding in the shade of the trees to rest heard the shout and became alert: "Why did he bring people back? It hasn't been long since they left, has it?"

Looking at the sun, it was indeed only afternoon, and the target this time had many people; no matter how smoothly the raiding Bandits' operation went, it was unlikely they could finish the looting at this time.

If the other side resisted, the Bandits and the fat sheep on the Shanglu could even stand off for two or three days.

"I don't know, I'm not close with Bamian, how could I go ask him? That would be asking for a beating. I'm going to call the bald boss and let him look at the situation."

After saying this, the Bandit guarding the gate arrived in front of a low but wide house beside the small square in the center of the Cunzi. This guy originally thought that the bald guy couldn't control the thing in his pants on a normal day, and at this time he was most likely tormenting the women they had captured; after all, no one was managing him at this time, and he was the biggest in the Cunzi, so he had the final say.

But this Bandit only peered inside from the doorway of the house and discovered that the bald guy was just sitting on a wooden chair in the room, huddled together with his own trusted subordinates, whispering about something.

"Who is it?"

Seeming to realize someone had come to the doorway, the bald guy suddenly turned his head and roared in a low voice toward the doorway.

"It's me, it's me! Bald boss, it's me, Dogfoot from the gate."

The Bandit who entered explained a sentence, and then seeing the bald guy's unpleasant expression, he immediately explained: "I'm not slacking off, it's just that outside the Cunzi gate, Bamian has suddenly returned with a dozen or so people."

Hearing this, the bald guy's expression became even stranger, and he subconsciously exchanged glances with his trusted subordinates: "Why did he come back at this time? Hey, Dogfoot, do you know?"

"I didn't ask, how would I dare to ask? Who doesn't know about Bamian's foul temper? That guy is the most vicious; even a dog passing through the Cunzi has to be caught by him and slapped twice. I rushed over here just to call you to go over and see whether or not to let him in. After all, the leader said to let us watch the Cunzi well."

The gate-watching Bandit nicknamed Dogfoot didn't say any more; everyone was a Bandit and they all knew that power struggles and betrayals within a Bandit Group were simply too common.

Who knew if Bamian bringing people back at this time was harboring some crooked intentions?

And the bald guy, who had crooked intentions, felt the muscles on his face twitch twice; he hummed and hawed to stall for a few sentences, told his trusted subordinates to bring their weapons, and then the group trotted toward the Cunzi gate.

The bald guy went all the way, letting the Bandits squatting on the roofs of the Farmer houses follow him, and by the time he brought people to the Cunzi gate, he had more than ten people on his side.

"Hey! Bamian! Why the %%￥ are you back at this time? Did the looting go smoothly?"

The bald guy leaned over the railing of the wooden Cunzi gate and shouted at Bamian, who was pacing back and forth anxiously outside.

"Smoothly, %%￥% smoothly! The guy who reported the Shanglu news to us deceived us; that group of Refugees was actually led by a young Knight. The brothers suffered some casualties, but it's fine, mostly just those soft-footed shrimps and little piglets who joined recently."

The bald guy's eyes rolled, wanting to laugh, but he held it back.

He then asked: "Then why did you come back? I remember the brothers all brought weapons when they set out."

Bamian below knew what the bald guy was suspecting, but he didn't care; after all, he was indeed returning in obedience to the leader's orders.

"The matter is complicated; in short, the leader told me to bring over some slaves that belong to him personally; they are useful."

"What use? The women under the leader are all quite pretty, and the few men captured are all wealthy Merchants; we haven't even gotten the ransom yet."

"Hmph." Bamian gave a cold snort: "Don't you worry about that. In any case, it's the leader's order. You give me the people, or open the gate and I'll go in and take them myself. The leader wants the people now, don't delay! If you delay any longer, those Refugees might just pass through our territory."

The bald guy was not stupid either and had no intention of opening the Cunzi gate at all; not to mention that he had other plans, even if he were loyal to the leader, he would not open the Cunzi gate before seeing the leader return.

He turned his head and said to the Bandits holding knives and swords behind him: "Like this, assume what he said is true; bring over those people captured by the leader, tie them up with Rope, and send them down."

Someone asked: "So troublesome, wouldn't it be easier to open the gate and let Bamian go take them himself?"

As soon as this person finished speaking, he was slapped on the head by the Bandit next to him: "Idiot, who knows if what Bamian said is true or false? If the gate is opened and he leads people in to kill everyone, are you going to go up and fight him, or am I?"

The bald guy laughed with a hum on the side: "That's right, before seeing the leader, it is impossible for me to open the gate. Even if the Cunzi is on fire, we cannot open the gate. Understand?"

After reprimanding his subordinates like this, the bald guy had his men go bring the people over.

Soon, in the wide house where the bald guy had been staying, seven or eight men and women wearing exquisite clothing were tied up with Rope and escorted over.

There were four women and four men among these people; the women were all relatively young, and two of them wore bright-colored cloth long skirts that only wealthy women in the city would wear. Although they had been captured by the Bandits and abused for a period of time, their spirits were still okay, just a bit depressed.

The other two women were younger and wore cheap Linen Cloth clothes from a Farmer's house in the Cunzi; although their arms and legs were a bit thick and sturdy, their faces were young and had some beauty. These two young girls were quite panicked, like little dogs caught in the rain, helpless and terrified.

These two girls were locals of New Clear Spring Cunzi; ever since the Bandits occupied the Cunzi a while ago, they felt they had entered a nightmare from which they could never wake up.

At this time, they didn't know what these Bandits wanted them to do, so they could only huddle tightly together while being pushed and stumbling.

The other four men were all middle-aged Merchants; although they were still wearing their original clothes, they had all been beaten, their faces were swollen, and they had lost a few teeth. One unlucky guy even had part of the scalp on his head cut off when the Bandits were interrogating him with torture.

It was unknown if it had been sent as a 'gift' to his family to urge them to raise the ransom.

These Merchants' steps were even heavier because, for them, the best result was for their families to send the ransom and for these Bandits to let them go. Any additional events beyond that were risks and destined unpleasant accidents for them.

Their steps were even more sluggish, but the Bandits bringing them over were not polite, directly pulling the Rope or kicking them hard, even slamming the blunt end of a knife handle into the Merchants' backs.

"Walk faster, all of you! Want to get beaten? Walk faster!"

Treated so harshly, they still sluggishly arrived at the Cunzi gate.

As a result, the eight men and women were driven to the Cunzi gate, and then someone held the Rope binding their arms and sent them out of the Cunzi one by one?

However, outside the Cunzi was not a free or safe place; there were still vicious-looking Bandits and a Bandit chief who looked like someone not to be trifled with.

"I am Bamian, now you all follow me, move quickly, don't dawdle! Otherwise, taste what my fist feels like! The women are the same!"

Knowing that the use for these people, regardless of gender, was not so shallow and simple, Bamian was not very polite in his speech either.

After intimidating the people who had been captured, Bamian had his subordinates escort these people away one by one, while he himself looked up one last time at the bald man on the village gate, pointing at him to indicate that he had noted the other's behavior this time.

However, the bald man on top of the gate did not care; he crossed his arms and watched Bamian and the others walk far away toward the foot of the mountain, only then turning to shout to the surrounding Bandits: "Alright, it's done, everyone go back to your original places. This sun is truly too hot, everyone find a place to rest!"

Nevertheless, he still had his trusted subordinates remain at the village gate to stand guard.

Before returning to the center of the village, he muttered a few words to the trusted subordinates left at the gate, then patted their shoulders heavily, whispering one last instruction: "Remember, take off your clothes, otherwise it would be a real shame if you died. Also, if you find an opportunity to open the gate, do it; if you can't, it doesn't matter, the neighbors next door will naturally open the gate to let their people in. If you can manage it, you will naturally earn some merit; as for how to handle the specifics, see for yourself."

Before leaving, the bald man glanced at the Bandit responsible for guarding the gate, whose name was Dog Foot, and raised his eyebrows at his trusted subordinate.

The subordinate naturally understood, replying in a low voice: "Understood, if I have to act, I will kill this guy first."

"As long as you understand, I'm leaving, handle it yourself."

After speaking, he waved his hand, and the bald man swayed as he walked away, humming a tune.

As for the Bandits responsible for staying behind in the village, they also could not bear the spring sun and scattered to find shade to rest.

Yet even while resting, they were all in high places within the village with good lines of sight, most having a set of Throwing Spears or bows and arrows at hand; however, this was not to guard against anyone outside the village, but mainly out of fear that the 'slaves' locked in the various houses of the village would cause trouble.

The Bandit Leader was currently organizing his Bandit subordinates into small squads, having them create some obstacles and trouble on the Shanglu. At the same time, a dozen or so Bandits who could shoot arrows were gathered and ambushed in a Shulin closest to the Shanglu, waiting for those Refugee Teams to approach so they could cause some trouble for them.

Although he no longer intended to take on these Refugee Teams alone, causing them trouble and exhausting their strength was still something that had to be done; since his own side had lost men, he had to regain his face.

"Remember, keep your eyes sharp. When you see that Knight riding over, hide in the Shulin in advance. If he doesn't pursue, then wait until he has gone far away before coming out to create obstacles on the Shanglu! Slow down the speed of the Refugee Team. If he dismounts to pursue, then lure him into the trap area being set up; the brothers ambushed there will give him a taste of something!"

The Bandit Leader stood straight, stepping on a protruding root of a large tree as he issued his orders.

But at this moment, the vast majority of those acting on his orders were the seasoned Bandits who had been with him for some time; the young Bandits who had joined the gang recently, however, were gathered in twos and threes, neither working nor expressing any opinions.

Quite passive.

But if anyone looked down on them for this and went up to argue or pick a fight, those young Bandits would directly raise their weapons, looking very much like they would start a fight at the slightest disagreement.

The Bandit Leader did not rashly provoke these people when the timing was inappropriate. If he did not take action, these young Bandits would still gather here based on the inertia of these past days' actions, neither running away nor doing much else.

He was waiting, waiting for the 'props' he needed to arrive.

With the 'help' of those 'props', these young men would never again have the thought of not being Bandits.

With a gloomy and cruel gaze scanning left and right, the Bandit Leader asked for a piece of roasted meat jerky from his lackey to simply fill his stomach and maintain his physical strength.

At this time, Bamian, who had been back in the village for a while, returned with his men.

Bamian strode to the Bandit Leader and handed over the rope holding eight men and women: "Boss, the people are brought back, eight people, four men and four women. Are these the people you wanted? I didn't go into the village; that bald guy didn't let me in, he was the one who found these people."

The Bandit Leader glanced at the eight men and women with their arms bound, not caring whether these people were captured by his own men for his disposal, as long as they were innocent people unrelated to the Bandits.

"Alright, you did well. The brothers ahead have already taken action, you take your men up to watch too. Create obstacles on the Shanglu, shoot arrows in the Shulin, or ambush in the trap area; choose one yourself."

Bamian was a fierce guy who loved to fight, so he naturally chose to ambush in the trap area, as this would give him the chance to kill that Knight with his own hands. Of course, he let his own subordinates and familiar Bandits go to the other two locations.

He knew in his heart what was dangerous and what was safer.

After Bamian and the others had walked away, the Bandit Leader called his lackey over, whispered a few instructions, and then pointed to a place in a nearby Shulin with many bushes, where, due to the cover of the bushes, one could not see what was happening inside without getting close.

Then the Bandit Leader picked up his weapon, personally dragged the innocent men and women with their arms bound, and led his men over.

As for the Bandit Leader's lackey, he frowned as he watched the Leader's actions, his face full of reluctance to participate in such a disastrous evil deed.

"What should I do?"

He muttered, but the matter had to be done; otherwise, he was not much of a fighter, and if he wanted to maintain his status in the gang, he had to be the Bandit Leader's lackey.

"I hope the Goddess can forgive me, forgive everything I have done today. For the next year, no, two years, half of the wealth I obtain will be donated to you and your church. Please, you must forgive me."

The lackey found a place with few people and knelt to pray. The surrounding Bandits did not find it strange when they saw this; Bandits came from all walks of life, their Faiths were all different, and many even had no Faith at all. Moreover, because they had done many evil deeds, it was normal for many to have all sorts of strange behaviors.

After finishing his self-comforting prayer for forgiveness from the deity, the lackey took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, his eyes already carried a smile, and his Zanglian, stained with grease, also wore a smile, as if he had some good news to share with others.

This deliberately made-up smile soon fixed itself on his face, and the lackey touched it with his hand, feeling satisfied.

He then deliberately hunched his back to make himself look even more wretched, and his hands loosened the belt at his waist a bit, letting his tightly-bound tight pants drop down, as if he had done something after taking off his pants earlier.

After fiddling with these things, the lackey took out the Bandit Leader's food he carried in his bag, picked out a piece of cured and roasted beef jerky, and used his hands to break the whole piece of jerky apart.

Then, holding the small pieces of jerky in his hand, he walked toward the surrounding young Bandits with a feigned, dissolute gait.

It looked as if he were introducing a wonderful good thing to these simple and foolish young men, but was the truth of the matter really like that?