novelODS Chapter 54 The Villagers Who Couldn't Escape
Chapter 54 The Villagers Who Couldn't Escape
Roger was paying close attention to his surroundings, searching for the figure of the pirate leader.
Persistence pays off, and he finally spotted a figure in the woods!
They were only a few hundred meters away!
The pack of jackals had already circled around to the side and rear of the village. If they had been a few minutes later, all the men in Duanpo Village would have been surrounded from both sides and would have died without a burial place!
"Everyone, follow me!"
Rogge turned to face the villagers, his voice resolute. After speaking, he quickly headed toward another part of the woods, with Virgil and the other man following closely behind.
Giss, carrying old Jarl on his back, quickly followed.
The other villagers, their faces still showing lingering fear, sprang into action when they saw that old Yar had already been carried away and followed.
Rogge took the lead, turned around, and rushed into the dense forest.
The dense forest was overgrown with weeds, and thorny vines tangled together in all directions.
Rogge moved with incredible speed, as if he were born to live in this forest.
He raised his hand and swung his knife, clearing away the vines that couldn't be avoided, and even warning the villagers in advance not to slip.
Along the way, Roger always managed to find the safest and fastest route, leading the villagers forward.
The initially panicked villagers gradually calmed down as they moved forward at a fast pace.
In the eyes of the villagers, Rogge seemed to know the way perfectly; he knew exactly where to go and where to take a detour, calculating every step with perfect clarity.
……
Meanwhile, in Duanpo Village.
On the ground, blood had already seeped into the cracks between the stones.
Old Kui leaned against the mottled earthen wall, his longsword, which had only recently been repaired, already had several nicks and chips.
Blood kept seeping from the wound on his arm, and pirates kept pouring in before him.
Of the original dozen or so villagers, including him, only eight remain.
"Walk!
"We can go now! Let's escape into the alley!"
Old Kui roared and ran into the alley first.
As he turned around, he saw again a militiaman beside him being struck in the face by a thrown axe, and slowly falling to the ground.
Old Kui was terrified and mustered all his strength to step into the alley.
Having finally escaped the pirates, they now have only five people left.
Relying on their familiarity with the alleys of their village, Lao Kui and the others narrowly escaped the surging pirates and ran wildly towards their retreat route.
As soon as they rushed out of the alley, they saw more than twenty well-equipped pirates charging towards them from the side of the dense forest!
The distance between the two sides was no more than fifty paces!
"Run! Run into the woods, follow the footprints!"
In the forest, the vegetation along the way had long been trampled down by hundreds of villagers, making the route very conspicuous. It was quite easy for Lao Kui and his group to keep up with Luo Ge and the others.
The five men sprinted into the dense forest, with pirates hurling throwing axes at them from behind.
The sound of something cutting through the air rang out behind him. Old Kui didn't dare to stop for a moment, his heart was in his throat!
He heard a few muffled groans from beside him, and when Old Kui turned his head to look, his eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
The four men beside him were either impaled on the spot by javelins from behind, or had their necks severed by flying axes...
In the blink of an eye, he was all alone!
Old Kui's eyes were fixed on the dense forest ahead.
He knew that as long as he rushed into the forest, he would have a chance to survive!
Without stopping for a moment, listening to the whistling sound that seemed to be haunting him, he would suddenly move left and right, and sometimes accelerate and decelerate.
Before long, Lao Kui had actually dodged more than ten flying axes.
Just as he was about to step into the dense forest, the pirate leader Stan snorted coldly and snatched the throwing axe from the hand of his subordinate.
Stan raised one arm, aimed briefly at the panicked figure in front of him, and hurled his throwing axe...
Old Kui was still congratulating himself on stepping into the bushes.
A whooshing sound came from behind him. Old Kui didn't dare to look back and ran even harder into the depths of the forest.
But suddenly,
Old Kui felt a sharp pain in his back, as if he had been hit by a boulder. The force of the impact sent him flying!
A rusty, sweet taste filled his mouth, his vision began to spin, and Old Kui finally collapsed forward onto the grass...
Stan watched his prey fall to the ground, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips.
They were still too late!
Stan never expected that the peasants in this run-down village would not even give him a chance to surround them, and would run away completely in the blink of an eye!
Stan spat on the ground, looked towards the dense forest, and ultimately did not order a pursuit. Even if they did, they might not be able to catch up.
The warriors of the Kare tribe were all clad in armor.
These armors offer strong protection, but they are also extremely physically demanding.
Trying to catch those villagers who are constantly on the move and fleeing for their lives with minimal gear is a complete waste of effort!
If his troops had mercenary cavalry fighting alongside them, they could be chased in open areas, but once they entered the forest, forget about it.
"Chief, several hundred people have fled this time... What should we do?"
"Should we chase after them and deal with them?" A subordinate next to Stan asked, his voice filled with resentment.
Stan waved his hand, his tone becoming indifferent:
"They ran away, so what!"
According to Yar's original intention, a few should have been released alive!
"Chief, but too many have run away... How are we going to explain this to Lord Yar?" The subordinate beside him was still muttering incessantly.
Stan turned around abruptly and slapped him across the face.
"I said, if they run away, they run away. What difference does it make whether there are a few or hundreds?"
Are you questioning my command?
Stan's angry shouts and questions made the pirates beside him become timid and submissive.
In his eyes, what threat could these panicked villagers pose to him in the future?
"They're just a flock of terrified sheep; how could they possibly grow into ferocious beasts?"
At this moment, the pirate in charge of the main attack came to Stan's side, bowed to Stan with a grim expression, and reported:
"Chief, we've counted them all... We've lost twenty-three tribal warriors this time!"
"What?!"
"Twenty-three people!?"
Stan's nonchalant expression vanished completely, replaced by an extremely grim look.
Stan grabbed the attacking leader in front of him.
"Say it again?"
"The leader... indeed, twenty-three people died..." The pirate warrior gritted his teeth and repeated it softly once more.
Stan slammed the leader to the ground; his face was so dark it seemed to drip water.
This village, which didn't even have a fence, caused him to lose twenty-three tribe members!
These people are not the new recruits who have just learned how to use weapons!
They were all warriors of their tribes, the source of his confidence in conquering the south and north and plundering everywhere!
Stan has rarely suffered such a great loss!
Something's not right!
Stan frowned inwardly, his doubts remaining unresolved.
For this raid, they chose a secluded spot to land and stealthily made their way through the woods, effectively sealing off any advance warning.
But this village, as if it knew they were coming in advance, actually organized a defense!
Just as Stan was secretly furious, several pirates came over, leading six trembling young men and women.
Three men and three women.
"Chief, these people were found in houses and cellars... they didn't have time to escape, right?"
The six men were terrified. The moment they were released, they collapsed to the ground, trembling like leaves, not daring to lift their heads.
Stan stared at the group, a sinister smile creeping onto his lips.
He slightly raised his chin, pointing to three young women, "These three are the reward for the three warriors who killed the most this time!"
His gaze then fell on the three young men who were trembling violently.
Stan said softly, "Can any of you tell me how you discovered our attack?"
……
Deep in the dense forest, the group arrived at a secluded and flat clearing.
Rogge stopped here.
He frequently activated his "Eye of Insight," and was extremely exhausted.
At this moment, Roger leaned against a tree trunk, watching the villagers who were gradually gathering and arriving, and he began to count the number of people.
Broken Po Village
Of the three-tiered individuals, only old Jarl remained, carried on Giss's back and fading into unconsciousness.
Of the seven militia captains of the second tier, only one remains!
Of the fifty-three militia members of the first rank, only seventeen are standing here at this moment!
Of the original 300-plus ordinary villagers, only 245 remain!
However, in just one direct confrontation with the pirates, these villagers suffered the loss of 127 people!
This time, Duanpo Village was completely and utterly devastated.
In Rogge's view, with this ratio of dead and injured, almost every family was in mourning!
Looking at old Jarl on Giss's back, Roger dared not imagine how he would face the women and children who had lost their husbands, sons, and loved ones when the old man woke up!
How can Duanpo Village withstand this catastrophic disaster?
Because of one wrong decision by old Jarre, hundreds of lives have to be paid for.
But these ordinary people are not consumables that can be wasted at will!
They are not like weeds growing in the ground, which can be cut down and grow back again next year!
It takes a full sixteen or eighteen years to raise an infant to adulthood!
A human life is never a trivial number!
"Let's rest here for a bit, everyone drink some water and catch our breath!"
Rogge gave the orders, but no one could produce a pot of water.
Giss never let go of old Jarre; he came to Rogge's side:
"Master Rogge, we're still a long way from safety. Why did we stop?"
Roger didn't explain much; he simply turned to look back at the path he had come from, a hint of barely perceptible anticipation in his eyes.
"Let's give everyone a breather. Also, let's wait and see if any of those heroes who covered the rear can catch up..."
At the same time, at the edge of the woods at the end of Duanpo Village,
Several pirates were bending down to pick up javelins and throwing axes scattered on the ground.
They stepped over the corpses of villagers killed by throwing axes and pulled out the throwing axes and javelins one by one.
These projectiles are consumables, but they can also be recycled and reused.
One of the pirates remembered that a person had fallen behind the bushes.
He walked step by step to the spot where Old Kui had fallen.
What came into view was not a fallen figure, but a large pool of bright red blood stained with grass!
The person who lay here has disappeared!