Chapter 57: Chapter 57 Green Flood Dragon Gang Attack (Request for Yue Tickets, Request for Followers!)
The Martial Plague had yet to detonate, and Wang Sheng had no idea what King Yong Nian was thinking, to be able to hold himself back under such circumstances. If the conditions were harsh, what then were the conditions needed for its detonation?
He always had the feeling something big was going to happen.
But after thinking for a while, he stopped pondering it.
Because of Xu Qu’s presence, the Martial Plague could no longer affect Qingshan Village. The only concern was whether the consequences of the detonation of the Martial Plague would impact Qingshan Village.
However, at that time, the vast majority of Martial Artists would be doomed, and probably wouldn’t spare a thought for a small village. As long as no overly powerful Martial Artists appeared, it wouldn’t be a big problem.
So, once he returned to his house, he immediately started grinding his skills.
Time quickly advanced to the next day, and the village was already preparing to leave. The risks depicted on the geomancy map were too great, and the village chief dared not cling to any hope of good fortune.
Wang Sheng didn’t pay much attention; as long as no one came to disturb him, it made no difference to him whether it was Qingshan Village or Qingshan Fort. He would just go along.
Compared to the affairs of Qingshan Fort, he was more eager to learn about the outside world.
But the news brought back by those who went out to gather intelligence recently didn’t differ much from the initial reports, except, perhaps, for some variances in the versions.
One thing that was certain was that neither Jiang He King nor King Yong Nian had shown themselves.
This was somewhat surprising to Wang Sheng. Was his guess wrong?
Jiang He King hadn’t seized the opportunity to counterattack while King Yong Nian was severely injured. If he waited until King Yong Nian recovered, he would have no chance left, since the Mechanical Giant Beast had been destroyed. What else could he use to restrain a Great Grandmaster? Surely he couldn’t produce another Mechanical Giant Beast?
All in all, the whole situation seemed quite peculiar to Wang Sheng.
“Could it be that Jiang He King also detonated the Mechanical Giant Beast in desperation, and thus he too suffered severe injuries, or maybe he’s even dead?”
Due to the strange standoff between the two, Wang Sheng felt none of his guesses were correct.
He had originally thought he might eventually receive a crucial piece of news.
But there was no new information from Jiangyuan City; however, there was something new about the Green Flood Dragon Gang.
This was news brought by Zhou Gu.
“The Green Flood Dragon Gang’s main aim in coming to the village wasn’t to plunder property, but to abduct people—young boys and girls, and women. They would take them all. If handed over voluntarily, the others could live; if resisted, it meant death without exception. According to the information I’ve gathered, several villages have already fallen victim.”
“Young boys and girls?”
Wang Sheng’s attention instantly focused on these four words.
In his memory, anything associated with these four words was never simple.
To practice martial arts? Or could it be… offerings?
Practicing martial arts would mean the practice of evil arts, which required young boys and girls. Wang Sheng wasn’t overly worried about this kind.
As long as he was strong enough, he could eliminate the menace!
The most troublesome were the offerings.
Offering young boys and girls was a bad custom in many places.
Such offerings were generally made to so-called “gods”, but in actuality, they were to some kind of monster; different places had different practices.
Around the Yellow Dragon River area, if there were such customs, it would mostly involve offerings to the supposed “River Lord” or “River God” to ensure the village was protected from floods and prayed for favorable winds and rain.
If it were in his past life, this would be superstition.
But this world was different; this world had monsters.
According to the memories in his mind, it took Great Zhou a hundred years after its establishment to slay countless such monsters and wild gods, just barely managing to eradicate such practices.
Had they now reemerged?
Wang Sheng felt that he must get to the bottom of this. If these were offerings to demons, such monsters had to be extremely terrible; otherwise, Great Zhou wouldn’t have spent a hundred years dealing with them.
A monster that humans would offer sacrifices to was not something even the Mountain Lord could compare with.
Understanding the situation was crucial for making appropriate preparations.
“Have you found out the specific purpose of their kidnapping of boys and girls?”
Zhou Gu shook his head.
“It’s unclear. The news only recently surfaced, and the officials in Lushui County simply can’t manage it. Many people from the villages in Lushui County have also started to flee for their lives.”
That the officials couldn’t manage it was also within expectations. If the Green Flood Dragon Gang dared to attack the officials directly, would they fear the villagers?
Even a place as distant from the front lines as Lushui County is still affected by the war!
Without the war, the Green Flood Dragon Gang would never have been so bold.
Village Chief Zhou Zhengwen made a decision quickly.
“Don’t go out to gather information anymore—just guard at the entrance of the village. As soon as anyone approaches, come back and notify us immediately.”
If the Green Flood Dragon Gang potentially could have come to Qingshan Village before, now it was certain they would come.
“Understood, Village Chief!”
The news of the Green Flood Dragon Gang cast a shadow over everyone’s hearts.
Even Wang Sheng felt it.
This Green Flood Dragon Gang that had suddenly emerged was not just a simple band of water bandits.
What Wang Sheng and the rest did not know was that, about twenty miles away from Qingshan Village, a group of people had set their sights on the village.
This group, of roughly twenty to thirty, were mostly mounted on horses, armed with various weapons, and all exuded an air of banditry, clearly no good sorts.
Most crucially, behind them were several wooden cages.
Inside the cages, most of the occupants were wailing children, and the rest were young women with faces marked by fear.
Leading this group was a sturdy man nearly two meters tall, with a face full of scars and a fierce look.
“Second Brother, where’s our next target?”
A man holding a map rode up and said, “Iron Boss, the next village is called Qingshan Village, but it’s somewhat far, probably over twenty miles, and the roads are rough.”
Hearing there were more than twenty miles to go, Iron Boss frowned.
After being busy for so long, he just wanted to go back to drink and feast, not travel such a distance.
“Have we met our target number?”
“Iron Boss, we’re still short of five pairs of boys and girls.”
Boys and girls weren’t easily found in number; they had visited several villages and still hadn’t met their quota.
“Short by that many… Move out, to Qingshan Village!”
Iron Boss was clear that if they didn’t gather the required number of people, he himself would be in trouble.
It was unclear how much time had passed when the group arrived just a few miles away from Qingshan Village.
“Iron Boss, should we send someone to scout? The Vice Gang Leader mentioned that some villages might harbor martial artists. We’ve already encountered martial artists before and suffered heavy losses!”
“Scout what? Those idiots encountered a martial artist—moreover, a First-Grade one. Of course, they’d be kneeling down. Do you think your boss, who is a Third-Grade Martial Artist, would be afraid of a few First-Grade Martial Artists? Charge straight in!”
“Yes, how could they compare to you, Boss? Iron Boss is invincible!” Second Brother, sensing the boss’s displeasure, promptly flattered him.
“Invincible!” The underlings on the ground also joined in the jeering.
In their eyes, it was just a small village. If anyone dared to resist, they’d be wiped out. Such a situation was nothing new to them.
The group, dragging the wooden cages, charged towards Qingshan Village. All of this was watched by Li Yongfeng, who was on sentry duty a few miles away.
He didn’t hesitate; he rushed back to the village at his fastest speed…