34: Great Intelligence

"Don't let him escape!" Wang Hu shouted!

The three abandoned the rest of the Mountain Bandits and vigorously pursued the Mountain Bandit leader.

The other Mountain Bandits, seeing their Big Boss flee, lost the will to fight. Some directly threw down their weapons and surrendered, while others scattered and ran.

Mountain Bandits, after all, are just a profession. They usually swagger around with their Brothers, then return to the Encampment to gnaw on stale buns and starve. There's no need to throw their lives away.

What's more, Mountain Bandits living such a difficult life—without ideals, without fighting spirit, and still hungry—are no match for the Yu Family Army. They are just a disorganized mob.

Surrender seemed to possess a magical quality, spreading from person to person, as the Mountain Bandit henchmen surrendered one after another.

In an instant, the fierce battle that had just been raging vanished without a trace, leaving the militiamen with puzzled expressions. A strange atmosphere enveloped the Encampment.

"No more fighting?" one militiaman asked after a long hesitation.

"No more fighting, no more fighting! Brothers, you are too fierce!" Huang Liu said with a fawning smile.

"Brother, what's your name?"

"Er... Ergou," Ergou said awkwardly.

Having been around the block, Huang Liu saw the militiaman's embarrassment. He kicked his weapon directly to Ergou's feet, then extended both hands and walked up to him.

"First time, isn't it, Brother?"

Ergou didn't speak, just nodded shyly.

"It's okay, don't be nervous. I'll teach you."

Huang Liu said softly.

"First, put away your weapon to prevent me from ambushing you."

"Next, use the rope to tie my hands to prevent me from escaping."

Huang Liu explained everything clearly to Ergou.

"Hey, someone give me a rope!" Ergou shouted to the person behind him, as if he had discovered a new continent, full of surprise.

He never expected there to be such knowledge involved; it was truly eye-opening.

"No, no, I brought one," Huang Liu said, pulling a hemp rope from his person and handing it to Ergou. Then he pointed to a nearby storeroom.

"There are plenty there, enough for all of us Brothers."

"Good, good, good." Ergou took the rope and began to tie his hands.

"No, no, Ergou Brother, this posture won't do.

Change the posture; you need to put my hands behind my back.

And your knot isn't right; you need to use a handcuff knot. That's the only way it'll be secure."

"What is a handcuff knot?" Ergou asked, his eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge.

"Come, I'll teach you." Huang Liu demonstrated to Ergou.

"So that's how it is!" Ergou suddenly understood, and immediately tied up Huang Liu. Many militiamen gathered around, observing and learning.

"It's okay, everyone's nervous the first time. You'll get used to it with more practice," Huang Liu comforted him.

"Mm, you're truly a good person," Ergou said innocently.

For a moment, the scene was somewhat heartwarming, while on the other side, it was filled with cruelty.

"Don't run!" The three pursued relentlessly.

But each time they were about to catch him, Zhang Mazi would slip away. Zhang Mazi was extremely familiar with the local terrain, and the longer it dragged on, the greater his chances of escape!

"Let's combine our strength and aim for a single, decisive blow!" Wang Hu said to the two.

"Alright!" The two nodded.

Wang Hu ran to the left, Zhang Wenfeng continued to pursue, and Hou Da threw his long spear, aiming it at Wang Mazi!

"Whoosh!"

The sound of the spear cutting through the air came, and Wang Mazi was greatly alarmed, directly rolling to the side!

The spear grazed past him, and Wang Mazi secretly thought, 'That was close!'

He was almost run through by a spear!

Before he could think further, Zhang Wenfeng arrived in front of him, directly thrusting a sword. Wang Mazi's heart trembled, and he immediately rolled backward.

The sword missed, and Zhang Wenfeng followed with another strike!

Wang Mazi used the brief interval to prop himself up with one hand, turned, and ran!

"Die!" Wang Hu swung his saber from behind, cutting down Wang Mazi, who was still turning, with a single blow!

The head ultimately rolled to Zhang Wenfeng's feet. Zhang Wenfeng picked up the head as if to hand it to Wang Hu. The three exchanged a smile, simultaneously letting out a sigh of relief. They had finally dealt with this major threat!

Although Zhang Mazi was an Initial-stage Martial General, it was clear from what just happened that Zhang Mazi far surpassed the three of them in both martial arts and experience!

This was their first mission, and if Zhang Mazi had escaped, it would undoubtedly disappoint their Lord.

All of this was witnessed by Lin Yue and the other two from a distance.

"Not bad. Let's go," Lin Yue signaled to the two.

Killing Zhang Mazi in the end was a decent outcome, but it also showed that the three still lacked some coordination. It wasn't until the very end that they realized the importance of cooperation.

"If he had met I, I would have split this fellow in half with an axe in one encounter!" Xing Daorong said arrogantly.

Watching their several skirmishes was truly exasperating, but their Lord wouldn't let the two of them intervene, which had been bottling up Xing Daorong for a long time.

"Alas, let's go," Lin Yue sighed, while Pan Feng stifled a laugh.

Their Lord had just praised the three as 'not bad,' and he immediately disagreed. He wondered what he was thinking.

Xing Daorong also felt a bit regretful seeing this. He turned to Pan Feng and asked, "Did I say the wrong thing again?"

Pan Feng, still stifling his laughter, ignored him.

When the group arrived at the Encampment, Wang Hu and the other two were already there, running over excitedly.

"This humble general greets our Lord!" the three said in unison.

"Mm, not bad. I saw it all."

"What are the casualties?" Lin Yue asked.

The three's faces lit up, and then Wang Hu said, "A total of 127 Mountain Bandits were killed, 662 were captured, and about a hundred or so escaped."

"Our side had 12 deaths, 23 seriously wounded, and 55 lightly wounded."

It seemed pretty good. Casualties were less than 10%, which was already considered a great victory.

Although the Mountain Bandits' combat power and morale were not great, the main purpose of this exercise was to train the troops, which had been achieved.

"Good. The injured Brothers must be treated well, and the Brothers who died in battle must all be brought back to the village for burial. In addition, give each of them five taels of silver as a settlement fee. We must not let our Brothers' hearts grow cold," Lin Yue said in a deep voice.

Five taels of silver was not much for Lin Yue. All together, it was only 60 taels, which was a drop in the ocean for him now.

But for the villagers, five taels of silver was enough for two years of expenses. A few days ago, Feng Cai said that the price of grain in Heye City was only 30 wen per shi, and one shi was about 60 catties. 5 taels of silver was enough for an adult male to live for two whole years. If it was a Woman, it would be even more!

"Long live our Lord!"

The other militiamen, hearing that the deceased Brothers would receive five taels of settlement money, immediately felt much less worried and burst into enthusiastic cheers!

【Ding! Houjia Village's Popular Support increased by 5, reaching 100】

【Because Houjia Village's Popular Support reached 100, you are rewarded with Lucky Small Treasure Chest × 1】

【Wang Hu, Hou Da loyalty + 5, Zhang Wenfeng loyalty + 10. The three's loyalty reached 100. The player is rewarded with Lucky Small Treasure Chest × 3】

Lin Yue's face lit up when he heard the game prompt. Did he now have three die-hard loyalists?

And there were three small treasure chests too. This trip wasn't in vain!

Just as Lin Yue was in high spirits, a voice, neither too loud nor too soft, but just right for a portion of people to hear, rang out.

"Lao Pan, aren't all the people in your village bachelors? Where would they have families?"

"Who is our Lord going to give this settlement fee to?" Xing Daorong asked.

Others might not know, but Lin Yue knew that the three in front of him must have heard, because their expressions were already a bit awkward.

A black line appeared on Lin Yue's forehead. This Xing Daorong was truly a big smart aleck!

"Shut up! No one will think you're mute if you don't speak!"

Pan Feng also looked embarrassed, softly scolding him and silently moving a little further away from Xing Daorong.