Free Web NovelChapter 211: Chapter 186: Rising Resistance, A Plate of Loose Sand
The shallow puddles reflected the blue sky, white clouds, and the scenery along both sides of the street. The foxtail grass on the eaves swayed gently, and several sparrows chirped as they landed by the street, pecked at some food, then flew away again.
This scene actually had a somewhat peaceful and serene quality to it.
But in the next instant, everything was shattered by a large boot stepping into the puddle.
A gang of bandits carrying bulging bundles stormed into the street. Their appearance was rather strange—various new clothes haphazardly thrown over their bodies and ill-fitting boots on their feet, clearly just recently plundered.
When they burst into the street and saw all the shops with their doors tightly shut, their eyes lit up with greed.
This was proof that no other bandits had visited this area yet.
Without needing instructions, the gang immediately began expertly prying open the door panels.
They didn’t smash the doors because most shops were empty, and even if people were inside, they wouldn’t open up for them anyway.
So prying the doors open was simpler and faster.
Soon, the bandits had broken into several shops, but after searching thoroughly, they found nothing of value.
After all, this area belonged to South City, where only poor people lived. Even the shops were mostly selling basic necessities like oil, salt, and vinegar. Besides, the shop owners had already taken all their valuables when they fled, so virtually nothing remained.
But the gang wasn’t discouraged. They continued breaking into shops one by one.
Now that North City and other wealthy areas had been claimed by the elite troops of various Village Chiefs, small-timers like them who had no backing could only scavenge around the edges.
Despite South City’s poverty, under their thorough and ruthless pillaging, they could still collect quite a good haul in a day.
For instance, now as they ransacked a shop in the middle, sudden crying and screaming came from inside. Then the bandits emerged carrying bags of various sizes.
"Please, kind sirs, I beg for your mercy. My wife and I have worked hard for most of our lives to save this small amount. Please don’t take everything away."
A middle-aged man ran out from the shop, his face covered in tears as he pleaded.
But these men were completely unmoved. They just snickered.
"Damn it, once it’s in my hands, it’s mine. You actually have the nerve to ask for it back? Am I being too nice to you?"
One of the thugs cursed viciously, then kicked the man in the abdomen.
The man screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground. Blood began flowing from his nostrils—clearly his internal organs had been injured by the kick.
"Husband!" A middle-aged woman screamed, rushing over to embrace the man, weeping inconsolably.
The bandits just laughed heartily and began discussing shamelessly.
"This woman may be a bit old, but she’s still female. Should we have some fun with her?" one of them asked with a lecherous grin.
Hearing this, the middle-aged woman trembled in fear, her crying even stopping momentarily.
Fortunately, another bandit who seemed to be a small leader said, "Don’t rush to do that. Getting the goods is the priority. As for women... in a city as big as Dinghai City, do you really think we can’t find women?"
"Brother Chen is right. Getting money quickly is the main thing!"
The bandits then continued breaking into doors. Soon they found two more shops where people hadn’t fled and completely looted them.
Amid the deafening cries, the man who had been kicked in the abdomen finally died after suffering for a while.
The woman didn’t dare cry. She could only silently weep as she dragged her husband’s body back into the house and closed the door.
Moments later, the wind blew the door open to reveal the woman swaying gently as she hung from a roof beam, having committed suicide.
The bandits didn’t care at all about this tragedy.
In their view, not killing people directly was already being merciful.
They had heard that Sixth Village Chief’s men had gone completely bloodthirsty, leaving rivers of blood wherever they went.
Soon, the street was completely plundered, and they headed to the main street, planning to loot a few more houses before dark.
Most shops on the main street had already been pillaged, with only a few spared due to various reasons.
Now these few would not escape their fate either.
Just as the bandits were prying doors and smashing windows like wolves and tigers, a figure suddenly appeared from an alley nearby. Though the person quickly retreated, a sharp-eyed bandit spotted him.
"Brother Chen, there’s someone there!"
"After him!"
Several bandits immediately gave chase and soon emerged from the alley with a young servant in tow.
A bandit promptly searched him and his eyes lit up.
"Brother Chen, look at this!"
He held up two shiny silver coins.
Seeing this precious metal, greed flashed across all the bandits’ faces.
The servant, meanwhile, turned pale with fear, his body trembling like a sieve.
"Damn it, what were you doing, you little bastard?" One bandit slapped him hard twice across the face without waiting for an answer.
Instantly, the servant’s cheeks swelled up.
"Stop hitting him for now. What do you do, and why were you running from us?" the leader named Chen asked.
"I... I was buying medicine, sir," the servant answered indistinctly.
"Medicine?"
"Y-yes!" The servant nodded, trembling.
"Someone at home is seriously ill, so I risked coming out to buy medicine. Please, sirs, be merciful and spare my life."
With that, the servant dropped to his knees with a thud and started kowtowing repeatedly.
The bandits exchanged glances, then the leader named Chen said, "Don’t be afraid. We won’t kill you."
"Thank you, sir! Thank you!"
"But you must take us to your home to see. If there really is a sick person, then all is well. If not... heh heh." Chen bared his teeth in a cold, sinister laugh.
Hearing this, the servant froze. His momentary joy of escaping death instantly vanished.
He knew perfectly well that he absolutely could not lead these wolf-like bandits back home. It would bring endless disaster, especially to his bedridden elder cousin... something terrible would certainly happen if these men saw her.
Thinking of this, he desperately tried to think of an excuse.
But his hesitation was immediately noticed by the bandits. The leader Chen gave a slight eye signal, and one of his men approached with a vicious grin, then started beating the servant savagely.
Most of these bandits had been outlaws before, so they were extremely brutal.
In a moment, they had beaten the servant black and blue, breaking more than one bone in his body.
Under such cruel torture, the servant finally broke down and cried, "Stop! I’ll go! I’ll take you there, isn’t that enough?"
"Heh, if you’d said that earlier, you wouldn’t have gotten beaten. What a worthless dog!" The bandit who had been hitting him spat viciously, then lifted the servant, using him as a guide as they headed toward his home.
...
Northeast corner of North City.
This once wealthy area was now in ruins.
The air reeked with the strong smell of blood. Severed limbs could be seen everywhere on the streets, and the killing continued.
"Spa—" A small maid who had been found during a search couldn’t even finish her plea for mercy after suffering inhuman violations before her throat was crushed.
Then the naked Sixth Village Chief Liu Liu began leisurely getting dressed.
This was the third woman he had killed, but it still hadn’t extinguished the evil fire in his heart.
Now he felt every pore of his body rejoicing, his blood boiling for this feast of killing.
Before joining Cyan Cloud Mountain, he had been a notorious bandit who killed without hesitation.
Because he had killed too many people, even murdering the family members of a nobleman from Capital City, he had been forced into a corner and ultimately joined Cyan Cloud Mountain, which had just been established at that time.
Unexpectedly, misfortune turned to blessing—he became the Sixth Village Chief, commanding a large group of vicious fighters, clearly becoming a force to be reckoned with.
But while on the mountain, with several Village Chiefs above him, he didn’t dare act too outrageously and could only barely suppress the bloodthirsty desires in his heart.
Until this attack on Dinghai City, with Third Village Chief’s orders, he could finally indulge without restraint.
Under his leadership, his men had transformed into beasts, slaughtering the civilians they found at will.
When he walked out of the room, he saw several of his men laughing and competing with each other.
The competition was utterly sickening.
It was killing people!
But Liu Liu was not disgusted by this at all. On the contrary, he was enjoying it and even smiled as he said:
"Good, put your backs into it! Whoever wins the competition will receive a great reward!"
Hearing this, his men perked up and immediately increased their pace.
Liu Liu watched with a smile for a while, but still not satisfied, he grabbed a rusty hay cutter and stepped forward.
"Move aside, let me try!"
Just as he was about to test whether the hay cutter could sever a neck, a commotion suddenly erupted outside.
"Enemy attack!"
With a shout, the courtyard gate was smashed open, and several men rushed in.
Seeing the hellish scene in the courtyard, even though these men were experienced and had seen many bloody sights on their way, they still felt nauseated.
Then the slightly older man who led them roared: "You beasts! The common people are innocent. Stealing their money is bad enough, why must you torture and kill them?"
Hearing this, Liu Liu put down the hay cutter and grinned at the men.
"I thought all the Martial Artists in Dinghai City were dead! Didn’t expect there’d still be some!"
Indeed, these men who had burst in were local Martial Artists from Dinghai City.
In such a large city, previously filled with martial arts schools, the number of Martial Artists was naturally not small.
Although many schools had relocated to avoid trouble, many had also stayed behind.
When Cyan Cloud Mountain’s army entered the city, intense conflicts immediately erupted.
But being outnumbered and disorganized like scattered sand, they were quickly defeated one by one.
This was why Liu Liu and his men had encountered little meaningful resistance when entering North City.
