Chapter 876: Torito Cunzi Under the Night (Part 2)

Jier chuckled, the sound of his youthful laughter slightly distorted and strange behind the deliberate obstruction of his steel face mask, yet it also added a touch of mystery to him.

At the very least, the local villagers before him were more receptive to this.

In the eyes of these local villagers who did not communicate with the outside world, or did so very rarely, the foreign Knight today was very formidable; since he was formidable, he naturally had to be different from ordinary people.

The tall, mottled full-body metal armor, which did not reveal a single bit of weak human flesh, the luxurious cloak with a black base and red trim draped behind his shoulders, and the laughter with a faint hint of sarcasm coming from beneath the cold, hard metal face mask, actually made the villagers who had ventured here feel reliable.

As for the Large Bow Hunter who had been mocked, although it was a pity for him—and he was also considered very formidable in the eyes of the villagers—compared to the foreign Knight before them, the difference in their standing was immediately clear.

Amidst the Knight's chuckle, the middle-aged archer pursed his lips but did not retort or cause any conflict. The archer clearly understood that, given the strength the other party had displayed today, he had absolutely no chance of winning if a fight broke out in the cramped room.

Not even a little bit.

To put it plainly, let alone fighting inside the house, even in an open environment outside the village, the archer did not feel he could defeat the Knight before him. The other party's battle with the Dwarf today, and the results of that battle, had been fully displayed before his eyes.

He was not a local born and raised in Torito Cunzi; he had wandered here from the outside a few years ago.

In the vast Sasi County outside Huitou Forest, he and his two brothers were small-time famous Hunters. Because they were tall and had been strong since childhood, the three brothers specifically used Large Bows as tall as a person to fight, and they had performed excellently in clearing out wild beasts and Monsters, as well as in battles where they were hired by Sasi County Knights to suppress Bandits.

If it weren't for the fact that these three brothers had been missing for several years, perhaps Sasi Baron would have specifically brought them along this time when he led troops to support the border war.

"How is it? Now that you've seen me, what do you think?" Jier asked after he finished laughing.

He stood before the staircase leading to the first floor of the house, hands on his hips, feet naturally apart, standing openly. Because he was wearing combat boots and a helmet, and because he had been growing taller these days, the top of Jier's head was almost touching the third-floor ceiling of this Farmer's house.

Of course, it was also because the height of each floor of the house was not very high.

The archer, carrying a Large Bow on his back, had sharp eyes and, in the ample light of the room, carefully scrutinized the young foreign Knight at close range.

He looked very carefully; the Knight's combat boots were covered in mud from the village roads and various scratches, but the boots were not only protected by metal on the front and sole, but the ankles, heels, and even the entire foot were protected by Metal Armor Plates and large pieces of metal material.

The Greaves on his lower legs were also protected by plates on both the front and back, with a large, solid piece of metal protecting the main defensive surface on the front, and the knees also had tight protection, making one wonder just how much the Knight valued protection in this suit of armor.

The thighs were covered and protected by arc-shaped metal plates, and here, the surface of the armor had many tiny scratches and dents. The archer understood at a glance that these were the result of being hit by arrows from bows with insufficient draw weight.

Looking at the countless hit marks covering most of the Knight's armor, it was clear that this young Knight had experienced deadly battles.

He had been subjected to covering fire from at least several squads of archers.

The more he observed closely, the more terrifying the archer felt the young Knight was.

Especially when he thought about how the other party had charged alone on horseback to this area behind Huitou Forest today, engaging in a fierce battle with dozens of Dwarves armed to the teeth, and especially the terrifying, massive attack and trembling smoke pillar in the afternoon that looked like it could overturn the entire village.

The Knight before him wasn't even injured!

At least he couldn't tell if the Knight was injured at this moment. Judging by the confident tone of the other party's voice, it was highly probable that he was not injured; not only that, but his spirit and physical strength were miraculously well-maintained.

One had to know that the Dwarves had attacked this Knight as a group, and the Dwarves were exhausted from running about, yet this Knight, not only had he fought all the way and won, but his spirit and physical strength were still maintained at a high level.

This was too terrifying; it meant that even if he only used harassment tactics to consume the Dwarves' strength and energy, the Dwarves would have little chance of winning.

It wouldn't take long, three or four days, to completely annihilate everyone in Babotali Valley.

This "everyone" was not just the Dwarves.

Looking up from the thighs, the slightly glowing Long Sword at the Knight's waist made it clear that this was not a cheap weapon. The archer, who had some knowledge, knew that the power of a weapon could be simply judged by its value.

Cheap weapons were not necessarily weak, but a weapon that looked expensive was definitely powerful.

However, when his gaze swept over a gorgeous Dagger inlaid with Gems tucked at the Knight's waist, the intuition the archer had cultivated from years of fighting Monsters began to scream in alarm!

His brown hair, tied carefully with a thin cord, even seemed to be standing on end.

In his dozen or so years as a Hunter, he had once followed a certain Knight of Sasi County to drive away a strange Magic Beast that had broken out from the depths of the great mountains. Although he had only supported from afar with his Large Bow back then, he had felt this exact same sensation during a momentary, inadvertent eye contact with the Magic Beast during the battle.

That Dagger was problematic! A huge problem!

Seeing that the other party's gaze was fixed on his Heartfire Dagger and could not move away, Jier said calmly: "You have a good eye, you fellow."

The middle-aged archer shuddered, snapping out of his subconscious terror, his gaze passing over the mottled scratches on the Knight's chest armor to look at the young Knight's face, which was covered by the metal face mask.

Just by making eye contact with the Knight for a fleeting moment, he clearly felt a murderous aura that the other party had inadvertently revealed.

The middle-aged archer, who had also shot and killed Bandits and powerful Monsters, did not want to think carefully about how many people the young Knight opposite him had to kill to have such a murderous aura.

"Ahem, Sir Knight, I have confirmed it."

The middle-aged archer withdrew his gaze and said with a slight bow.

The other villagers present looked over, wondering what this most formidable Hunter in the village had confirmed after observing the foreign Knight.

"What have you confirmed?" Jier asked.

The middle-aged archer nodded and said to the people around him: "After seeing this foreign Sir Knight at close range, I am certain that this Knight will definitely be able to defeat the Dwarves in Babotali Valley."

"Really?"

"I can't believe it!"

"I've long had enough of those Dwarves! The village is saved!"

The people were familiar with, understood, and recognized the character and strength of this middle-aged archer, so after he spoke these words, everyone began to chime in. Not only that, but the atmosphere at the scene was also changing.

The previously slightly anxious atmosphere immediately changed into the joy of impending victory. Even though the Dwarves were still there, these villagers seemed to have concluded that the Dwarves would be defeated sooner or later.

Jier's lips curled up, and he clapped his hands, making a loud metallic clanging sound: "That is natural. Those Dwarves are quite formidable, but they are not my match. Especially this afternoon, after I defeated the most powerful ones among them."

Speaking of this, the villagers at the scene all showed a sense of fear; clearly, the earth-shattering battle that broke out in the center of the village in the afternoon had scared them!

This was natural; let alone the Humans in the village, in fact, the Dwarves had also been given a huge fright. Even Jier himself, who was in the battle at the time, knew that if he had been hit by 'Shishou' then, he would surely have had no chance of survival.

Uh, provided that he was actually hit.

Jier could at least hide his whole body into the lady's dream to perform a tactical dodge.

After attracting the attention of everyone present, Jier continued: "I presume that before you all came, you heard some things from the person who contacted you, that is, the owner of this house, right?"

Most people nodded; clearly, they had listened to what the middle-aged Farmer had conveyed, and only after thinking about it did they decide to come and see the foreign Knight.

"You should all understand the logic; the Dwarves ruling and managing this land is, in my view, a strange thing in itself. This is not a long-lasting thing, especially since I have arrived here; the time the Dwarves have left to rule here is not long."

An excited young villager immediately said excitedly: "Knight, just tell us what to do next! You are so formidable, everyone will listen to you!"

"Yes, we will definitely win! Defeat those dwarf guys!" someone chimed in.

"Hehe, dwarf guys... this is the first time I've said this in front of so many people, it's really great!" someone else said with a face full of excitement.

Jier nodded: "Yes, yes, yes, you can say words like this freely from now on, every day. No longer feeling it's wrong, no longer feeling afraid. Outside, people all say it like this."

Then he looked left and right, but shook his head, which actually surprised everyone present.

Jier then said: "Although I am confident that I can defeat those Dwarves alone with one horse, it would obviously involve a hard battle. To be honest, today's battle was truly intense! It was dangerous and unfair, but I actually like the risks and crises in battle. As for fairness? Battle is never a fair thing; I understand this, and I hope you all understand this point as well."

The middle-aged archer curled his lips in concealment; clearly, he did not believe the young Knight from outside was telling the truth. He had clearly seen earlier in the center of the Cunzi that the Dwarves were exhausted, injured, and mentally both irritable and terrified. They were just like long-tailed rats driven into the corner of a room, about to be beaten to death.

And the young foreign Knight? Even the cloak behind him hadn't been torn in the battle. He was full of confidence mentally, and physically, he didn't look at all like he had been fighting Dwarves for an entire day.

It was simply absurd.

Then Jier continued: "Therefore, I need the people of the Cunzi, Humans! That is, your help."

Hearing that the Knight needed help, the Farmers present looked at each other, but soon, the master of this house, that middle-aged Farmer and his wife, that Farmer's wife, stood out together: "Knight, we are willing to help you! Tell us, what should we do?"

"Yes, I came over because I couldn't stand those Dwarves locking everyone up in the Valley," another person said.

"Me too, I want to walk out of the Huitou Forest and go outside to take a look, even if it's just to take one step out of here!" someone shouted aloud.

"I hope my children are not like me. I have farmed for more than ten years, and I hope my children can have a different path," another person said firmly, clenching their fists.

In the crowd, only the middle-aged archer was indifferent, his expression even slightly mocking. The outside world was nowhere near as good as these sheltered Torito Cunzi people thought. Although he was also resentful that the Dwarves forcibly restricted everyone within the Babotali Valley, he also acknowledged that the Dwarves in the Cunzi at least governed this place quite well.

No, it could no longer be called "quite well"; at least it was better than most Human Villages outside.

However, the middle-aged archer did not speak; he knew that such things could not be said at this time, and it would be miserable if he said them out loud.

Jier pressed his hands downward, which finally made the enthusiastic crowd calm down slightly to listen to him speak.

"Everyone's attitude is very good, and I have already understood it. But I must say, this is not enough."

Jier said so.

The Villagers looked at each other in confusion. Not enough? Where were they still not doing enough?

Although no one spoke, Jier seemed to see their confusion, so he continued: "What I mean by 'not enough' does not refer to everyone's attitude or participation, but, uh, it's very simple, it's just that the number of people is not enough."

"The number of people is not enough?"

"Ah?"

Everyone exclaimed, but then they looked left and right; crowded together, it didn't look like there were few people.

But the reason there seemed to be many people present was only because the middle-aged Farmer's house was not large; as long as one simply counted, it was clear that all the people present added up to only a dozen or so.

Jier didn't say much, just simply pointed at everyone present, counting one by one as he pointed.

When he finished counting the number of everyone in the room, the Villagers were all silent, an awkward silence.

A dozen or so people, the number is indeed a bit small, huh.

The young people awkwardly touched their heads and noses, wearing awkward smiles on their faces.

The middle-aged people muttered something to themselves one by one, and then one after another they made up their minds and spoke up: "I know my brother also harbors the idea of resisting the Dwarves in his heart. I should have called him over when I came, but I just wanted to come over and see the situation by myself first, hehe, see the situation."

Jier said to this person: "It doesn't matter, this is normal. On the way here, I told the people in the Cunzi that it is fine if you want to join my side, and it is also fine if you stay at home to watch the situation and stabilize."

"My father has always been resentful of those Dwarves. When he was young, he often quarreled and opposed the Dwarves, actively fighting for the rights of the Villagers, but he is old now, and his hearing is not very good, so I didn't notify him. Besides, those boys in my family didn't mess around with the young people in the Cunzi before. If there is a battle, our whole family can go!"

Jier encouraged this middle-aged Farmer: "Very good, the more people who join, the better. When you join, everyone should know that this battle is not only initiated and participated in by me, but also initiated and participated in by all of you. The more people there are, the more advantages there will be in battle. Of course, it's not just about battle; there are too many places in the action against the Dwarves that need manpower."

"Although my family members were stopped by my father from participating, I am very familiar with that Herbalist. Although he usually looks like he is very close to the Dwarves, I know that guy wants to leave the Babotali Valley every single moment," a middle-aged Farmer said.

Jier was a bit surprised; there was still a Herbalist in the Cunzi?

He didn't expect that in this remote little Cunzi, there would actually be a Herbalist, whom he hadn't seen many of along the way. A Herbalist who could identify Herbs and make various Potions, Ointments, and medicines to treat injuries and illnesses was naturally very important, especially if the other party had a grudge against the Dwarves, it would be even better if they could join his side.

Not only that, Jier thought further: if this Herbalist could join his team and become his subordinate, that would be even better.

Although Jier's team already had a Bata'er Jiaoshi responsible for treatment, it was clear that having only one person responsible for the combat treatment and daily recovery from injuries and illnesses for a team of hundreds of people was simply impossible to manage.

This could be seen from the fact that Bata'er Jiaoshi was busy every day these past few days.

If a Herbalist could join the team, then half of the treatment work could be shared with the other party; daily injuries and illnesses could be handed over to this Herbalist, while combat treatment could be left to the Priest of the God of Agriculture.

This was very important for the morale and combat effectiveness of the entire team, and Jier understood this point.

Therefore, he said: "Who is this Herbalist? Why does he want to leave here? Hmm, is he not a local?"

The middle-aged archer nodded and suddenly interjected: "Lord Knight, I know."

"Oh, then please introduce him."

The middle-aged archer immediately said: "The Herbalist is called Suoye-Zuojigela. Like me and my brother, he is a person from the outside. I heard he accidentally wandered in many years ago."

The middle-aged man who spoke before added: "He accidentally wandered into the Huitou Forest while picking Herbs to help a wealthy merchant who had some strange illness."

"Oh, is that so? Anyway, he wandered in, and after he got in, he couldn't get out, so that guy just honestly farmed with the Villagers. I heard he is also very good at farming; those plants are all well-tended, and he can use simple Herbs to treat the sick Villagers. Two years ago, that guy taught the Dwarves how to make Healing Ointment. Thanks to him, some of the injuries my brother and I sustained during battles were also cured by his Ointment. That stuff is quite useful," the middle-aged archer continued.

"I heard that guy has been in Torito Cunzi for, uh, let me think, about ten years. As for why he wants to leave, I don't know; I haven't seen that he has such an idea. As for the reason, you should let this person help answer," the middle-aged archer said.

This middle-aged Farmer who was familiar with the Herbalist revealed the reason that others did not know: "If I say it, surely no one will believe it. Although Suoye has lived in the Cunzi for a long time and has married a wife and started a family, he once had another wife."

Jier said "oh" and understood: "He was already married before he was trapped here, right? That's nothing, isn't it? But he got married again here; what exactly is he thinking?"

This middle-aged Farmer explained: "Suoye's home is in a place called Yemei Town. He had just gotten married before he wandered in here, and his wife was pregnant! What could he do after he went missing? Although people in the Cunzi couldn't tell, and he rarely revealed it, he was actually troubled by this matter every day. He said that every time he thought of his wife and his child, whose situation he didn't know now, he was in great pain, and taking the Potion he made himself couldn't alleviate this pain. And because of this, he deeply resented his own stupidity and recklessness at the time."

Jier narrowed his eyes and added a sentence: "I suppose he begged the local Dwarves, right?"

The middle-aged Farmer nodded: "He begged. At first, he went to beg every day. Later, he gave the method of making Healing Ointment to the Dwarves; he actually wanted to exchange it for a chance to leave, but the Dwarves didn't agree."

The people around mocked: "So that's how it is, but it's impossible for the Dwarves to let anyone leave; they have been like this for a long time. No matter how much he gives, it cannot change this point. After all, this concerns the lives of the Dwarves, doesn't it?"

Jier asked: "Did he beg those Dwarves again later?"

The middle-aged Farmer's wife shook her head: "He rarely went to find those Dwarves later; he only saw the Dwarves when they asked him to make medicine. Usually, he just farmed with everyone else."

Nodding, Jier understood; this Herbalist's heart must be full of resentment.