Chapter 832: Discussion and Returning to Town

Jier didn't spend much time going and coming back, but by the time he returned on horseback, the young Young Master of the Sasi Family had already retreated to the Lumber Yard with his family's Soldiers and the Priests from the town.

Seeing Jier return on horseback from outside the Lumber Yard, this Apprentice Knight from a noble family in his twenties came over in a rage, looking at Jier with dissatisfaction: "Why weren't you here? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for the workers to have no protection when you are away?"

Jier didn't care about that; he threw the still-scorching Jiao Shi Chang Zhang back to the embarrassed-looking Priest Cui Si Te: "Catch, Priest, it's burning hot!"

The Jiao Shi Chang Zhang, which was still emitting tiny specks of white light, was tossed out lightly. The Priest tracked the staff being thrown toward him and cautiously caught it in his hands all at once.

Strangely enough, the staff that had been scorching hot seemed to have no temperature in the Priest's hands. This Priest Cui Si Te didn't use the thick sleeves of his Robe or any Gloves to protect his palms; he touched it directly with his palms, as if he weren't afraid of the high temperature on the staff at all.

"Thank you, Knight Jier. You helped me retrieve the weapon I lost just now." After the staff in the Priest's hands hummed, everyone could see a streak of white Divine Power within the staff flow through his palms and into the Priest's arms, seemingly recovering the Sun God Divine Power left inside the entire staff.

After thanking Jier, Priest Cui Si Te turned to explain to the Heir of the Sasi Family: "Young Master Sasi, Knight Jier was just helping me retrieve the staff I lost in battle; he did not leave the team at will, nor did he neglect the safety of the logging team. During the time Knight Jier was away, my companions and I stood guard here for him temporarily."

Knight Sasi rolled his eyes and waved his hand, saying: "That will do for now, but in a place surrounded by Monsters, I hope everyone can be more cautious. Knight Jier, please come over; I want to discuss with you what I encountered here just now. Priests, please come over as well, let us discuss it together."

After saying this, he waved his hand, and the Soldiers following behind him dragged over the broken corpses of two parasitic Monsters. This thing was covered from head to toe in broken, protruding vine roots, looking very strange, and when combined with the original corpse of the Human who had been parasitized, it immediately gave one a feeling of disgust and discomfort upon seeing it.

The Soldiers had just fought this kind of parasitic Monster—not knowing if it was a higher-level one or just temporarily strengthened—and had been in a sorry state, so they were not polite when laying out the Monster corpses; not only were they cursing the alien Monster, but they also took the opportunity to kick it twice with their feet.

The Priests had much better self-restraint; they simply gathered in their respective church groups, whispering among their own church members about these displayed Monster corpses.

It was just that their expressions and the content of their discussions were different.

The two Priests of the God of the Dead didn't care much about these Monster corpses that had caused a bit of trouble; the two of them didn't participate in other discussions, but instead spoke to each other with worry about some unsettling matters regarding the corpses in the Monsters' hands.

Jier had sharp ears, or rather, after Knight Training and the amplification of Life Energy, Knights' ears were all very sensitive. He heard the two Priests of the God of the Dead whispering about how many dead Human corpses were in the hands of the Flesh Demon Monsters, and whether those Monsters were properly preserving the corpses that hadn't been cremated after death.

It seemed the two Priests didn't care about the parasitic Monsters themselves, but were worried that after the parasitic Monsters killed many people outside the town, those corpses gathered and hidden by the Monsters might have undergone some very bad changes.

Jier knew that it was probably like the Shikeng in the Bandit lair at Bingxun Pass; as more and more corpses gathered without being properly handled, the filthy, dark power would surely keep rising, right?

It was just unclear if the Flesh Demon parasitic Monsters themselves were afraid of these things.

The two Priests of the Sun God Church hadn't been able to defeat the parasitic Monster they were responsible for by themselves, nor had they been able to arrive at the previous Flesh Mansion in time, so the two of them felt quite awkward at this moment, feeling that the so-called whispering discussions of the Priests from other faiths were mostly secretly mocking their Sun God Church.

The four Priests of the Agricultural God Church were all full of excitement, their voices not low as they discussed with each other, and there were even smiles on their faces. They had just worked together to beat and solve a parasitic Monster; not only were there no casualties, but after the battle, their physical strength hadn't diminished, and their consumption of Divine Power was also very low, so they felt those parasitic Monsters weren't that hard to deal with after all.

The Agricultural God Church had many people; this refers not only to the four Priests present being the largest group, but also that among the church forces in Yemei Town, the Agricultural God Church had the most Priests. If all the combat-capable church personnel were gathered, perhaps they could do more in this Flesh Demon incident.

The two Priests of the God of Wealth were all smiles; not only were the two discussing something with each other, but they were also talking in a friendly manner with the elite Soldiers of the Sasi Family. These Soldiers, who had been cursing and swearing when facing the parasitic Monsters, now had smiles on their faces when facing the Priests of the God of Wealth, and their humble, flattering words never stopped, all hoping that the two gold-and-silver-clad Priests would bestow more wealth upon them.

It was yet another face.

All of this was seen and heard by both Jier and Sasi. Jier took off his Helmet at this moment, tilted his chin toward the two Priests of the Church of the God of Wealth, and signaled to the Knight Sasi opposite him.

The other party waved his hand indifferently and walked over to tell Jier about what had happened at the Lumber Yard mansion just now.

"What do you think of all this, Jier?"

The Baron Heir asked.

Jier whispered: "Just now, the two from the Sun God Church were chasing a Monster and came this way; it was I who helped them solve it."

Hearing this, the Baron Heir raised his eyebrows, his eyes glancing at the Priests of the Sun God Church with a hint of disdain. He didn't look down on the Sun God Church; after all, the Sun God was a powerful deity among Human gods, and the church's influence covered almost all areas where Humans lived, so it wasn't his place—a young man who wasn't even a Baron or a formal Knight—to look down on it.

He only looked down on the two church Priests who had followed this time.

Jier continued: "I didn't feel this guy was that powerful."

Facing these words, Bell-Sasi retorted: "The problem isn't you or me, Jier. We are both Apprentice Knights; although neither of us has been officially recognized by the Noble Council, the Monsters we feel are not hard to deal with are not things that ordinary Soldiers and Villagers can handle."

He continued: "The Monsters themselves are stronger than ordinary people; even my family's Soldiers have a hard time fighting them. One can only hope there aren't many of these powerful parasitic Monsters. You have to know." He pointed vaguely at the surroundings as he said this.

"You have to know, these Monsters are everywhere. We don't know how many of these damn Monsters there are, and we don't know if they will become even stronger. The situation is very bad, Jier. So I hope you and your people can help me, help my town."

Jier scratched his itchy scalp, which made the Baron Heir opposite him frown.

"This again. Knight Sasi, I have my mission, you know that; I said it yesterday. I've already been delayed for a long time on this journey, and I must resolve this matter as soon as possible. I know your responsibilities are heavy, but believe me, mine are not small either. And just now, didn't you and your people do a decent job? Gather more strength from your subordinates, not just your family's Soldiers, but also the town's guards or the Priests of various churches. The Merchants in town must have considerable strength; I know that every single person in the Merchant Guild Caravans that go out to trade can fight—don't underestimate them."

Jier continued waving his hands and said: "Not only that, you must also organize the wealthy citizens in the town, let them understand the danger they are facing, instead of covering everything up. Tell them what happened, then organize them; hammers, Pitchforks, iron pots, wooden mallets—these things can all take down parasitic Monsters."

"And the nearby Villagers gathered outside the town; they have more people, and their physical strength and combat ability are even stronger! Organize and train them, equip them with leaders you trust, and with the assistance of the Priests, I believe that when you order them to take back their own villages, these people will erupt with power you cannot imagine."

Facing Jier's endless stream of words, Bell-Sasi snorted coldly: "Easy to say, but which of those things doesn't require manpower to organize and manage? Which one doesn't require the support of wealth and supplies? Which one doesn't require someone with status to authorize and be ultimately responsible? Me? Or my aunt? Or my great-uncle? You've met them, you know this is impossible! Only my father has the manpower and authority to implement the things you're talking about."

He finally sighed: "I am merely the first Heir of the family."

He lowered his head and muttered: "I cannot help but consider the future..."

No one heard the muttered words clearly, and Jier didn't care what the other party was muttering. Seeing the other party retort, he didn't mind: "I am not a local, not even from the Southern Province. If I see Monsters appearing, I'll help deal with them as long as they don't block my path. One's own problems must be solved by oneself; what's the use of you just coming to find me? With your people, instead of having the time to talk, wouldn't it be better to kill more?"

"After all, the parasitic bodies of the Flesh Demons are just radishes with Human faces. If they want to move and do bad things, they must rely on the parasitized Human bodies. According to what you said, most of the local population gathered in the town in advance, which is why these parasitic Monsters, which would have been a big problem, can only wander around the periphery now instead of completely ravaging the area."

"Kill one, and there's one less. Perhaps if you keep killing them, those Monsters will take the initiative to leave here and go ravage other nearby places."

Hearing the 'method' Jier gave, Bell gave a bitter smile: "It's not that easy."

"I don't think it's that hard. Riding a warhorse, going out every day to slay a dozen or twenty—in a few dozen days, I believe your trouble will be gone." Jier proudly patted the head of the Licking Blood Grass Horse beside him, making a loud 'bang-bang' sound: "You have to know, we are Knights! Those Monsters are not as strong as us, their protection is not as good as ours, their stamina is not as good as ours, their mobility is not as good as ours—why would we need to fear them?"

Speaking of this, Jier expressed confusion: "By the way, I haven't asked yet, how did you come by carriage this time to collect wood? Where is your horse?"

Jier's question made Bell extremely embarrassed; he turned his head to the side, mumbling: "Uh, this, that, you know..."

"Know what?"

Bell gritted his teeth: "I do have my own warhorse, it's just that my father took it away—yes, he took it as a spare warhorse!"

"But I don't see that Yemei Town is out of horses, right? Isn't there a Cavalryman squad? Why not temporarily ride one of your subordinates' warhorses?"

Facing Jier's pressing questions, Bell finally mumbled a confession: "Hey, oh, actually, my Knight Training hasn't reached the stage of mounted combat training yet. Although I've ridden horses since I was a child, you know, ordinary Cavalrymen are completely different from us Knights."

Jier narrowed his eyes, not knowing how to respond after that. Speaking of Knight mounted combat training, he hadn't practiced it either; he had just imitated the two accompanying Knights in the county and explored it himself along the way.

As a result, this guy hadn't learned properly, so even though he knew how to ride, he didn't temporarily get one to ride for battle.

It was unknown what he was stubbornly insisting on.

Time passed quickly. Under the efforts of the Lumberjacks, the huge logs stacked together were chopped by axes into convenient wooden strips and log stumps. One person holding them, or two people lifting them together, they stacked the fruits of their labor into the carriages that had been waiting for a long time.

The source of the logs wasn't just one type of tree, and the volume and density of the wood from different trees varied greatly. Some were dense and heavy, while others were soft and light, so when stacking and loading them into the carriages, they needed to be loaded separately according to the volume and weight of the firewood.

Heavy wood was loaded as much as possible onto the sturdy Merchant Guild carriages; even if the firewood in these carriage boxes was just above the edge of the box, it had already reached the carriage's load limit. For the sake of the caravan's future mobility, it couldn't be loaded any further even if they wanted to.

And the soft, light wood was mostly placed in Jier's caravan; after all, the condition of the vehicles under his command wasn't very good, so loading a bit was just a gesture—the bulk of this time was still mainly the vehicles of Yemei Town.

"Alright, retreat immediately once loaded!" the Baron Heir ordered loudly.

He had taken people out to fight twice before, but those parasitic Monsters had become much more cunning. Perhaps they saw that the newcomers were not to be trifled with, or perhaps broad daylight was not conducive to the combat of Monsters that could see at night, so even though quite a few parasitic Monsters had gathered around the periphery of the Lumber Yard, they didn't have a proper fight with these people from Yemei Town.

Every time Bell and his group moved out, the parasitic monsters they headed toward would turn and flee; often, apart from a few foolish monsters who relied on their own strength and came forward to meet their deaths, the vast majority of the monsters turned and fled into the distance.

Fortunately, however, the parasitic monsters on the periphery were not as powerful as the monsters inside the Flesh Mansion at the Lumber Yard; they were about the same strength as those the group had encountered on the way there. Once the soldiers were slightly bolstered by the Priests of the church, they could rush up and defeat the small number of parasitic monsters in a few quick strokes.

Therefore, when the convoy finished logging and retreated, those Refining Qi soldiers of the Baron Heir were all in high spirits, chins held high, and after climbing onto the wagons with the Lumberjacks, the boasting from their mouths never ceased.

However, Jier's Lumberjacks were not very afraid of the parasitic monsters either; after all, the Armed Squad in their group had already defeated several batches of enemies over the past two days. In their view, the strength of the enemies was nothing special. If swords could cut these monsters down, surely their lumberjack axes could defeat them even better, right?

On the return journey, the speed of the convoy was not as fast as it had been on the way there.

The drivers of the wagons brandished their whips one after another, not actually striking the draft animals, but cracking them to urge on the horses and donkeys pulling the wagons with all their might.

Even so, the speed of the entire convoy remained very slow, almost the same as the walking speed of a normal person. This made the Baron Heir, who was standing on a wagon, look back and forth, quite uneasy.

When Jier rode past him, he spoke up: "Are those guys following us? Jier, you're on horseback and have a higher vantage point, did you see anything?"

Shaking his head, Jier said: "Only a few quick ones are tracking us from afar; most of the others didn't follow. At least I didn't see any nearby."

"Be careful, I feel that if I were them, I definitely wouldn't let a slow-moving convoy go." The Baron Heir looked certain, his hand never leaving the end of the heavy axe he was leaning on in the wagon.

"I will be careful. Don't be so nervous; if they come, then we fight."

Jier patted his chest in promise.

But in the end, their convoy returned to Yemei Town at noon, safe and sound.

The path they took back was still through the Yingdi of Jier's group on the south side of the town; after all, the outer perimeter of the town was blocked by trenches dug by the Villagers, and at this moment, this was the only temporary road available.

As everyone in the convoy breathed a sigh of relief, crossed the trench, and entered Jier's Yingdi, Jier joked to Bell while pointing at the trench blocking the way: "Perfect, in the future, Yemei Town won't even need to spend extra manpower to dig a moat! You already have one! The things those monsters brought aren't all bad, right?"

Seeing that he had returned to his territory, the Baron Heir also breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression did not relax: "Our Sasi Family will have a city, and our own moat, but honestly, not right now."

He added: "The family has long had plans for the development of the plains beneath our feet, as well as plans for the development of the territory."

He reached out and gestured over the trench that surrounded the entire town behind him: "In the future, Yemei Town will inevitably become Yemei City. The area inside the walls now can be used as the inner city later, and outside, we can build a larger outer city. These current trenches are too close to the town; no matter what, they will have to be filled in afterward."

"Besides, these nearby lands outside the town belong either to my family or to the various churches. Sigh, if it weren't for the incident and the bad situation, how could it have ended up like this now."

As he spoke, the entire convoy passed through Jier's Yingdi and arrived at the Suishi road beneath the town walls.

About to enter the town.