43: Snatch and run

Atop a treacherous peak in the Thousand Peaks Mountain Range, a middle-aged man riding a giant tiger looked out toward the direction beyond the mountains.

"Priest, a total of twenty raiding parties, two thousand men in all, have been dispatched."

A Barbarian youth knelt respectfully behind him, head pressed to the ground and body tensed, as if facing something of great terror.

"Tell Agula not to linger in battle. Just figure out the Yue people's defensive positions. Do not expose yourselves. If you ruin the High Priest's grand plans, you will all be thrown into the Pit of Vipers."

At the thought of the horror of the Pit of Vipers, the man kneeling on the ground couldn't stop himself from trembling.

"Yes, My Lord, I will go at once."

Having said that, he headed down the mountain without looking back.

Before reaching the foot of the mountain, he heard the melodious sound of a bone flute from above. It was made from the leg bone of the Priest's own brother; legend said it could communicate with the Barbarian Heavens and summon magical power.

Screech—

The cries of eagles echoed on the mountaintop. These eagles were raised on human flesh, and in recent years, they had become increasingly sinister.

Not only were they growing larger, but their eyes even glowed with a green light... Gudu led about a hundred men to raid West Mountain Village.

"Gudu, the Master has ordered us not to linger in battle. We've looted enough; shouldn't we leave?"

"What about all these goods, and those two-legged sheep that escaped?"

"Gudu, do you intend to defy the Master's orders?

Have you forgotten what our mission is?"

The Barbarian youth looked directly at Gudu.

Gudu was the only Innate-level Barbarian among them, nearly invincible in this remote place.

By now, most of the people in West Mountain Village who could run had already fled. The unlucky ones who lived near the Thousand Peaks Mountain were either hacked to death in the first wave or were now being strung together like livestock.

"We're leaving. Set fire to all the houses for me."

Gudu thought of that Master's ruthlessness.

Woo—

The dull sound of a horn echoed through the night. The Barbarians chasing Wang Weifeng had no choice but to abandon their pursuit and begin retreating upon hearing the horn.

Wang Weifeng and his men were finally able to catch their breath.

Although he was a First-rate Martial Artist, the leader of the opposing side was also first-rate, and the remaining Barbarians were not people his subordinates could match. It was difficult enough to protect themselves, let alone save others; he could only watch helplessly as the Barbarians abducted over thirty villagers.

Lu Xuan, however, stood on high ground watching it all in silence.

A commander cannot be overly compassionate; if one lacked even this bit of ruthlessness, there was no point in continuing down this path.

He intended to use this incident to completely take over the entire West Mountain Village.

Watching the Barbarians depart and the outer houses being set ablaze, Lu Xuan returned to his room expressionless... As the horizon turned white, the people who had been terrified all night finally came to their senses, their faces filled with horror.

Everyone was extremely uneasy. Lu Dafu maintained order there, with the Hunting Team working alongside the Martial Guards to assist. They began cooking porridge at the entrance before dawn.

No fewer than four thousand people had gathered here, while the rest had fled in all directions in a panic last night.

"Fellow villagers, it's time to eat. Children and women first."

Since there weren't many bowls, they had to take turns eating.

When the sky was fully bright, a scene of human tragedy emerged before everyone.

The houses the Barbarians had ransacked were all razed by fire, leaving ruins everywhere.

"My wife, what happened to you?"

"Father, Mother!"

"My husband, oh my, how am I supposed to live now?"

"Yun'er, help me, my child was taken by those Barbarians."

Cries and shouts infected every person in the village.

This attack had come too quickly; no one had time to react.

"Village Chief, the Barbarians have taken over thirty people. What do we do?"

"Exactly! Didn't some people fight off the Barbarians last night? Can't you tell them to go and take our people back? My poor son, he's only seven years old."

An old woman pulled at Lu Dafu's pant leg.

Lu Dafu looked at her coldly.

"They already helped you fend off the Barbarians last night, and you still want them to risk their lives to save people? On what grounds? If you want to save them, go find the government officials.

When the Lu family asked you to merge before, every single one of you was unwilling. Now look at you.

The world has changed. The Barbarians will come again. This time the Lu family was willing to help because only a hundred or so Barbarians came. Next time, when two or three hundred come, will the Lu family still have the energy to help you?"

"Alright, it's enough that you're alive. Report to me today how many died in your families and how many were abducted. I'll have to report it to the imperial court later!"

Lu Dafu's words were like a heavy hammer smashing into everyone's hearts.

"So my son is just... gone?"

The woman acted as if she were going mad.

"If they had acted sooner yesterday, my son wouldn't have been taken. That Lu Xuan clearly has people in his house but just wouldn't send them out. I think he's..."

Before she could finish her sentence—

Bang!

The woman was kicked flying by Lu Dafu.

"What damn bad luck to be stuck with a thing like you. It's one thing to be a gossip on normal days."

Lu Dafu looked at everyone.

"The Lu family saving you is out of kindness; not saving you is their right.

Every one of you, behave yourselves. You don't dare to fight for your lives against the Barbarians, yet you dare to put on airs with your saviors."

After this outburst, everyone began to silently lick their wounds. Most felt that Lu Dafu's words were reasonable, though what a small minority thought was known only to themselves. Lu Dafu didn't care to manage them... "Patriarch, the statistics are in. Fifty-two died last night, thirty-one were abducted, and forty-five houses were destroyed. Money and grain haven't been tallied yet, as most were lost in the fire."

"Mm. Arrange for someone to report the situation to the county. Comfort the villagers as needed, but nothing more."

After this incident, if these West Mountain Village residents still couldn't figure out the situation, it wouldn't affect him much. It's just that if something like this happened again, his choice would be to look out for himself.

Wanting protection without being willing to give anything in return—Lu Xuan was no saint of ten lifetimes.

If it weren't for the fact that the imperial laws were still in place, with Great Grandmasters and Martial Saints keeping things in check on the surface, and the existence of Cultivators, he would have unified this place by force long ago. There would be no need for such tedious schemes.

"Just make sure to properly comfort those who joined us earlier."

"Yes."

While Lu Xuan was planning his future development—

In the Commandery City.

Clatter—

A teacup shattered on the floor.

"These Barbarians... they deserve to die."

Early this morning, he had received a secret report that several counties under his jurisdiction had been attacked by Barbarians. Although the losses weren't great, it was a heavy slap to his face.

He had just sent people to negotiate, and they turned around and attacked him. It was sheer thuggery.

"My Lord, the Barbarians are uncivilized and have no bottom line. This is something I anticipated long ago; there is no need to be angry with them.

Besides, there might even be other forces involved behind this."

As for the 'other forces' the aide mentioned, Zhou Tianyi was naturally well aware of them.

"But since the Barbarians have made their move, we naturally cannot fail to respond.

And this Mountain Patrol Guard—for such a major event to happen without the slightest warning, the chief officers of the Mountain Patrol Guard in all counties will have half a year's salary docked as punishment.

Send out the word: the County Soldiers of each county are to cooperate with the Mountain Patrol Guard to sweep the Thousand Peaks Mountain Range. I want no Barbarians within a fifty-mile radius of the outer forest of the Thousand Peaks Mountain Range."

"My Lord, what about the Cultivators?"

Zhou Tianyi remained silent for a moment.

"I will speak with them personally. After all, the Cultivators in our hands are too few; we can only rely on them."