Chapter 798: The 'Iron Bucket' at the Gate and Under the Gate

After a while, Jier, having finished his meal, was swinging his sword to practice his Sword Technique, dispelling the negative mood that had accumulated throughout the day.

He was not wearing his Helmet at this moment, only his armor. Seeming to hear a disturbance at the edge of the Shulin in the distance, Jier's ears twitched, and he abruptly stopped his sword and turned his head toward the direction of the sound.

Indeed, there was a rustling sound coming from the darkness in the distance.

Jier gathered his strength and jumped onto the back of the Tianxuecao beside him, standing straight on the Muan, and cupped his hands around his ears to amplify the sound.

"Jier? What is it?"

Xueya Site, who was wiping a Crossbow nearby, also stood up and asked.

"Shh! Quiet, be quiet! There's a sound over there."

With the help of his hands to collect the sound, Jier finally heard the true source of the noise ahead.

"Keep it down, do you want to lure that damn Knight over?"

"It was just a fart, you're the one shouting your mouth off! If you lure the Knight over, we'll all die here tonight."

"Shut up, all of you! Silence—just get through this open stretch of the Shanglu, everyone hold tight to the rope, don't fall behind."

Finally, following a muffled voice, only the rustling of bushes and wild grass being trampled remained in the darkness ahead. Besides that, there were occasional clinking sounds of metal weapons colliding.

Jier was startled at first, thinking the Bandit gang was pulling a night raid, but after listening carefully to what these people said and the direction the sound was moving, he realized the Bandit gang intended to cross the open ground by the Shanglu at night, heading from the mountain forest on the right side of the Shanglu to the left side where the burning Cunzi was.

"In any case, as long as they aren't here to attack, it's fine."

Jier jumped off the horse and told Xueya Site about his discovery, but the other man waved his hand fiercely and suggested: "Your night vision is good, why not ride out and charge them?"

At this time, most people had poor night vision due to a lack of nutritional intake, and only those who ate well could barely see at night.

Of course, if the Three Moon Goddesses were favorable, on nights when moonlight bathed the earth, ordinary people could also move about in the wild.

However, it was unfortunate today; not only were there clouds in the sky, but there was only one moon, barely a crescent, and the moonlight was not enough for ordinary people to see and move in the mountains at night.

After hearing Xueya Site's suggestion, Jier considered it for a moment and gave it up: "No, what if this group uses the same tactic to lure me away again? During the day, everyone can gather to resist the Bandits, but if an attack happens at night again, it will be just like last time, with a loss of at least a hundred people."

Hearing Jier mention the previous night raid by the Bandits, Xueya Site, who knew exactly how many Refugee civilians had died, also extinguished the thought in his heart of giving the Bandits a hard time.

"Like this, although I won't leave the overnight Yingdi, I can ride around outside the Yingdi a few times to drive the Bandits away. Siter, tell Bata'er Jiaoshi to have him prepared."

"Understood."

After giving instructions to his companion, Jier mounted his horse and shouted to an Armed Civilian nearby who was helping him wipe his Helmet: "Helmet! Throw it over!"

"My lord, catch!"

The civilian used both hands to toss the steel Helmet over with force. After Jier caught it with one hand, he first put it on his head, then connected the Neck Armor to the Helmet. At the same moment, the Groom responsible for taking care of the Tianxuecao also finished fitting the bit and Jiansheng of the warhorse and handed them to Jier.

"Don't be nervous, everyone. If any enemy comes to invade, only death will greet them—"

After shouting this, Jier steered his warhorse past the tents and campfires crowded with civilians, arrived outside the Yingdi, and joined the Armed Civilians who were patrolling in shifts throughout the night, staying alert for any danger that might appear tonight.

"Boss, it's bad! That Knight rode out on his horse!"

Because the Bandits were in the lightless distance, while the Refugee camp was filled with campfires for lighting and warmth, standing inside the camp meant one could not see anything outside; ordinary people could barely see the small circle around the camp illuminated by the firelight. Yet, the Bandits in the distance could easily see every move in the bright Refugee camp.

"What 'it's bad', watch your mouth! Everyone be careful, move your feet faster. Trust me, that guy won't chase us into the forest; he was already played by us once during the day, it's unlikely he'll forget that tonight."

The burly Bandit Leader nicknamed 'Iron Bucket' was walking in the middle of the traveling Bandit group; in front were the few guys with the best night vision among their group, and behind were the few with the sharpest ears.

The people in front led the way, and those behind listened to the footsteps of the people in front, so they wouldn't fall behind while traveling.

As soon as he spoke, the surrounding Bandits breathed a sigh of relief. In the afternoon, the group led by Bamian, who had ambushed the Knight, had lost contact, so everyone had a rough judgment of the strength of the young Knight mixed in with the Refugee Team.

He was about as strong as the Knight Lord who had led troops to hunt them down in the past; none of them were people ordinary folks like them could resist.

The Bandits looked toward the direction of the Refugee camp and indeed saw a figure on horseback not charging toward them, but patrolling around the Refugee camp as a guard.

"What are you looking at? Keep moving! Move! When we get back to the village, I'm going to skin that guy Baldy!"

The Bandit Leader cursed, urging his trusted Bandits to hurry.

Soon, their group crossed the hundreds-of-meters-wide open space of the Shanglu and walked quickly from the forest on one side of the Shanglu to the forest on the other.

The Bandits were much more familiar with this forest bordering New Clear Spring Village, and many veteran Bandits who often went out to plunder had even carved many unique marks on tree trunks at shoulder height.

By following these marks, one could find the small path leading to the village, no matter where one was in the forest.

Estimating it was safe, the Bandit Leader pulled a Torch from his waist, then took out a fire starter to light it. The Torch soon burned fiercely, illuminating the figures of the dozen or so Bandits around him.

"Everyone carrying a Torch, light them up, move quickly, hurry."

'Iron Bucket' still had words left unsaid; he actually had an uneasy premonition in his heart. The fire at their lair tonight had been set too coincidentally—it caught fire as soon as it got dark. If it wasn't the slaves they had captured rebelling, then other possibilities were even worse.

And the reality was, when you don't want something, that thing often flaps its wings and pounces on your face.

After a while, the Bandits holding Torches found the small path leading to New Clear Spring Village in the forest, and they quickly walked back along the same path they had come down at noon.

When they set out, they were all high-spirited and joyful, thinking today would surely be another day of making a big profit. Yet, within the same day, there were only a dozen of them left, nervously and exhaustedly hurrying back up the mountain.

Comparing the two, some sensitive (rebellious-minded) Bandits couldn't help but look at their leader—'Iron Bucket'—a few more times.

To be honest, the Bandit Leader hadn't done a bad job, it was just that today's target was chosen wrongly, and there had been no prior reconnaissance. If he had been able to send people to climb the treetops at the edge of the forest to scout properly before leading people to plunder at noon, the loss of manpower probably wouldn't have been so great.

These restless Bandits, carrying such thoughts, arrived outside the gate of New Clear Spring Village.

And here, the group was blocked by the gate of their own lair.

Inside the village's towering wooden fence, besides the crackling of flames, there were the cries of many people, mixed with excited shouts.

The Bandit Leader frowned and shouted toward the guard post on top of the gate: "People up there! Open your eyes and see clearly who I am! Why haven't you opened the gate for me yet!"

Figures flickered above the village gate, but no one came out to answer.

'Iron Bucket's' heart sank; the bad feeling returned. Although there were no signs of fighting on the village gate, which made him feel slightly relieved, the ominous premonition still welled up in his heart.

"I'll say it again, open the gate for me! Do you not want to live anymore! Or are your ears broken?"

The Bandit Leader became angrier the more he shouted.

A trusted Bandit beside him said: "Boss, these people might be worried about being punished for making a mistake, so they aren't responding to us, nor are they opening the gate. I think they are thinking of dragging it out as long as they can, and only when they've put out the fire in the village will they have the face to open the gate!"

"Hmm, what you say makes sense. People up there, listen, I swear I won't punish you, I will only deal with that guy Baldy who was responsible for guarding the village, the others are innocent. Open the gate quickly!"

The Bandit Leader shouted again.

But this time, as someone climbed up the inside of the gate, a person's figure emerged, backlit by the fire inside the village.

It was a sturdy figure wearing thick black bear Leather Clothing. After this figure arrived at the railing above the main gate, he first coughed twice, then lifted the cloth covering his face, revealing the face of a middle-aged man ravaged by the elements.

"Tie Niu, it's been a while."

The middle-aged man spoke with a smile, his voice filled with mockery as he addressed the people below.

At the same time, he waved to the people behind him, and immediately the seven or eight men who had been hiding inside the platform atop the gate walked out, each holding a Stone the size of a fist, carrying a Throwing Spear, or gripping a Hunting Bow.

There was not a single familiar face among them.

The complexion of the Bandit Leader Tie Niu changed visibly; he furrowed his brows, gritted his teeth, and while signaling the men behind him to retreat into the distance, he shouted viciously: "It's you! Damn Ken! You actually ambushed my territory! Have you forgotten what our groups discussed two months ago?"

The middle-aged man, who was once a well-known mercenary, spat toward the outside of the gate: "It's not 'Damn Ken', it's 'Ken the Cutter', get it straight."

He paused, and without letting his subordinates use their high ground to attack the retreating Tie Niu and the others, he said: "Discussed? You call that a discussion? You two families blocked this Shanglu at both ends, not giving me or my brothers a single bite of meat or a sip of soup. I didn't agree at the time, and what did you say? Let me hear it again?"

Tie Niu, who had already retreated more than thirty meters, stopped and stared fixedly at Ken, who was looking back at him, saying word by word: "Things were done poorly back then, but you know, in our line of work, as Bandits, we rely on the skills in our hands and the number of brothers we have. I had the advantage back then, so it was only right that you took a loss. In fact, the fact that the Hanging Ghost gang and I didn't wipe out your team was already giving you some face."

"Ha!" Ken the Cutter was actually amused: "Oh, so I have to thank the two of you? For letting me and my brothers eat wild vegetables and wild fruits for over two months?"

"You misunderstood; it wasn't to make you suffer, but to have you take your people and leave this area voluntarily. *Sigh*, think about it carefully, wouldn't it be better to develop elsewhere? The three of us are squeezed into this small place; honestly, don't you think it's too crowded? Let alone three families, even with just me and the Hanging Ghost gang on one Shanglu, I think two is too many."

"You should let the Hanging Ghost's people hear that; I guess they are probably thinking the same thing?"

Ken the Cutter made a witty remark, then immediately straightened his face and shouted angrily: "Now you've seen it, and you've talked to me, so you can get lost! Get far away! I also think three groups on one Shanglu is a bit crowded now. But the difference is, this time the one who should take his people and leave is you, not me!"

With Ken shouting angrily from above, Tie Niu below could only grit his teeth and start cursing loudly.

He didn't have the guts or the skill to lead the dozen or so people around him to launch an attack. If it were noon when there were the most people, he might have had the intention of having people cut trees to make wooden ladders for an assault, but at least half of his men had been killed or wounded during the process of raiding the Refugee Team today, and he lacked both manpower and morale.

"You guy, you backstabbed me and took my Cunzi; aren't you afraid I'll learn your methods and take your previous Cunzi? Ken! Answer me!"

Tie Niu questioned loudly.

Beside him, the dozen or so Bandits also shouted along, adding momentum to their leader's words. Although these guys had other plans in their hearts—after all, some had only managed to get a few slaves they could control themselves after fighting tooth and nail with Tie Niu, and there were personal belongings hidden in the Cunzi; these things were exchanged for the Bandits' lives, and it was truly impossible for them to just give them up.

Therefore, several Bandits were considering changing their allegiance; after all, they didn't really care which boss they worked for. Whoever could win, the strong one who could keep winning, was their Bandit Leader.

Of course, the timing was not right; it was not the time to defect to Ken the Cutter.

If they dared to defect to the other side now, that guy Tie Niu would go crazy.

Facing Tie Niu's questioning, Ken the Cutter laughed heartily on the Cunzi gate for a while, then replied: "If you want it, go ahead; it just so happens you can swap positions with me? But I'm sorry, there's nothing left to eat around that Cunzi of mine. You know, that's not a farming Cunzi, just a logging camp for a bunch of Lumberjacks. If you like eating wood, then you can eat your fill. Haha..."

Humiliated like this, the veins on the hand Tie Niu used to grip his Great Axe popped out, and his teeth chattered loudly.

Perhaps feeling it wasn't enough of a blow, Ken the Cutter whispered an order to his subordinates and then shouted to Tie Niu: "Let me make you understand how I took this place before you die of anger. After all, the Cunzi you occupied is really not bad."

Seeming to know what would happen next, Tie Niu hesitated and looked around at his subordinates. Seeing that this group of seasoned Bandits didn't dare to meet his eyes, Tie Niu gave up and stopped trying to retreat with his men before the worst happened; instead, he looked up, stiffened his neck, and glared at the Cunzi gate not far away.

Soon, a thirty-year-old Bandit nicknamed Baldy, who was actually bald, climbed onto the Cunzi gate.

As soon as this person appeared, the subordinates beside Tie Niu exclaimed and cursed; all sorts of nasty insults like traitor, etc., were hurled at Baldy.

Tie Niu had been mentally prepared, and knowing that cursing at this moment was useless, he only thought to himself and did not speak first.

Ken the Cutter proudly patted Baldy on the shoulder and encouraged him loudly, highly praising Baldy's behavior of changing his allegiance with the wind, and publicly stated that he would let Baldy pick anything he wanted in New Clear Spring Village.

"Additionally, I also continue to welcome other friends and brothers who have the same idea to do the same. You know, I am not a stingy person, unlike some people who always keep the best of what they raid for themselves to enjoy. As for me, I will generously share with the brothers I trust, because I understand that these reliable brothers of mine are my best reward. Don't you all agree?"

The last sentence was asked by Ken the Cutter to the other Bandits on the gate, and these people shouted in unison: "That's absolutely right, Boss!"

"If I die, even as a ghost, I'll continue to be a Bandit following the Boss."

"Haha, that can be avoided, haha."

Ken the Cutter looked excited, and Baldy beside him was also very happy. On one hand, he didn't like Tie Niu, and on the other hand, he had already received the benefits after betraying his former companions—Boss Ken let him choose things in the Cunzi himself, and his position and subordinates had both been promoted.

Looking at the jubilant group on the Cunzi gate, Tie Niu spoke: "Haha, don't be happy too early. Ken, it won't be long before you end up like me, or perhaps even worse. I accept what happened today, so finally, I wish for you and the Hanging Ghost gang to go to war soon; after all, two groups eating from one Shanglu is still a bit too crowded. I believe that when you are happily playing with the Hanging Ghost and his lot, this Baldy will definitely do something that will shock you."

"Let's go, retreat."

Tie Niu retreated while facing the Cunzi direction, and only after getting far enough away from the shooting range of the enemy's archer Bandits did he turn around and take his people away.

Soon, in the direction Tie Niu left, several Torches were thrown toward the farmland outside the Cunzi, and flames quickly began to burn in the fields.

On the gate, seeing this scene, Baldy hurriedly suggested to Ken the Cutter, his new Bandit Leader: "Boss, we must quickly send people to put out the fire! It doesn't matter if one or two houses in the Cunzi burn, but the farmland outside the Cunzi must not be burned!"

But Ken the Cutter waved his hand, signaling Baldy to stay calm: "Don't worry, when I was lying in ambush in the farmland outside the Cunzi at dusk, I already checked; the ground is very damp, and the mountain breeze brought a lot of moisture-rich fog, so it won't burn. Rest assured, that's just a small trick by Tie Niu to lure us into opening the gate. No need to pay attention to him."

Sure enough, as Ken said, only a portion of the crops were lit by the Torches, and the flames that started were quickly extinguished.

And Tie Niu, who had led his men to lie in ambush in the Shulin closest to the farmland outside the Cunzi, finally left while cursing and swearing.