Chapter 394 “Win the Soldiers Heart, Win the World”
Helpless against that threat, the soldiers present here can only raise their weapons again to point at Ling Yue and the others. But just then, when things were at their worst, a flood of stomping footsteps could be heard from all directions. It was the two thousand remaining brothers of the Tiger Wolf Army that came to help!
Swift in their actions, these skilled and orderly trained elites of the nation were able to swiftly unarm the regular men’s here without much difficulty.
“Tiger Wolf Army! So even the bunch of you are trying to rebel? Move back this instant, otherwise I will consider it disobedience!”
Ceaselessly surprised, Hong Fang didn’t expect these highly disciplined soldiers of the Tiger Wolf Army to show up here of all places. He’s heard already, when the news of Nie Feng Hang’s death came back to Flag City, the entirety of this once elite army had crumbled. But now….
Shrinking his pupils in at the sight of the girl’s figure, Hong Fang suddenly realized something important, It’s her, it’s all because of this wench! How did this blasted girl sway so many people to her side in a single night?
“Alright, very good Lan Ling Yue, what good skills you got there. I will make you regret what you have done today. Don’t think for a second that you can stop me and His Highness with just two thousand soldiers.” Drawing their blades in unison after that remark, the hundreds or so close confidants of these two bastards were ready to go at it.
“If two thousand soldiers can’t stop you, then how about several more?” Grinning right to her bone, Ling Yue remains unfazed by the threat.
Several more? Hong Fang and Xia Hou Hong were both shocked again, Could this bitch still have more reinforcements coming?
Boom~ Boom~ Boom~
The ground begins to sway, sending the crowds of soldiers into a panic as their eyes locked onto what’s coming over. This was A’bone’s friend, the super rare creature known as the Purple Elephant.
As if losing their very souls at the sight of this monstrosity, no man, including the two bastards, would want to confront this king of the land. The only regret they had right now was their parents not giving them an extra pair of legs to run even faster.
In truth, if Hong Fang and Xia Hou Hong combined their strengths to fight this Purple Elephant, it’s very much possible to overcome it. However, that’s under the premise that there wouldn’t be any interruptions partway through. And there’s still the danger of that twin headed python lurking about. Whichever way things ended up going, it won’t come out well.
After a quick struggle inside, the two cowards finally made a compromise and retreated to the side. They may be arrogant, they may be bastards, but they are no fools. They know when they are beat right now.
“Someone come, lift the barricade around the village. And Chen Zhong, bring along a hundred of your best men and follow me inside.” Ling Yue quickly signal’s her friend A’bone to mount the elephant. Together, the pair will act as the monitoring sentry for Hong Fang and his goons while the second smaller party headed inside to save everyone.
Despite the stench of burning oil covering every corner of this small settlement, Ling Yue does eventually manage to locate the remaining survivors by following the wailing cries for help. Yet, instead of joy and happiness at their arrival, it was fear that welcomed her party.
“Lady, please let us go, we aren’t possessed by any sort of curse!” One of the elderly man cries out, afraid they are here to kill them.
“All of you need not worry, we are not here to kill any of you. We are members of the Tiger Wolf Army. Tell me, where is your village chief, I have something I like to ask of him.” Seeing the horrible state of the civilians here, Ling Yue only grew more angry and hateful about those two scums hiding back outside the village.
Fortunately the name that Nie Feng Hang spent so many years building up for him and his men paid off today. Almost immediately, a middle-aged woman stepped forward to answer their call.
“Miss, the village chief is my husband. Due to some kind of strange illness, he’s unable to meet you in person at the moment.” As she explains the difficulty of the situation, tears soon started to seep out of woman’s eyes while her son clung onto her arms for safety.
The only reason this person would dare step forward in a time like this was due to what she heard last night. They’ve called for help by sending someone to Flag City after one of the local hunters noticed the raid upon their homes, but instead of getting the much anticipated help as they hoped from the main army, none ever came. Rather it was Nie Feng Hang and the members of the Tiger Wolf Army that suddenly charged into the village out of nowhere to save their lives in the midst of night.
“Madam, I am an alchemist of the Alchemist Hall, take me to your husband the chief immediately. I will see to his illness.” After some more inquiries, Ling Yue now got the full story.
As it turns out, the villager who attacked Nie Feng Hang last night was the very same one here, the chief of this small herdsman village. Due to the excessive cost of looking for a proper healer, the remaining villagers can only lock away those who have succumbed to the strange illness and keep them isolated.
After passing through a dirt road and some already destroyed buildings, the village lady soon brought Ling Yue and her people up to a shack constructed out of yellow mud and straw.
Despite the doors and windows being sealed with planks and nails, the constant howling of an animalist roar could heard from the inside. In fact, there would also be the occasion banging of something smashing against the walls too!
“My husband is inside. He was still fine just yesterday, but when some of the villagers started to fall ill one after the other, my husband took it upon himself to help by gathering the wild herbs since he knew some medical know-how. Then before we knew it, he too fell into a frenzy and became like this…” The madam was red in the eyes as she wept for her own man’s safety.
She too was also very scared last night when the outbreak occurred. But her husband was a good man and a smart one at that. According to the information imparted to her over the years, this madam knew the first thing one should do against a plague was to isolate the sickly in order to keep the disease from spreading. That’s how the village chief and several of the sick patients came to being locked away by themselves.
“Mother, when will Father get to come out? I miss him….” The young child clinging onto his mother quietly pleads to the woman, unaware of the direness of the situation.
Towards this disheartening display, those who have been honed through the battlefield cannot help but go red in their eyes too. “Princess Yue, please think of something to save the village chief. When looking at the boy, all I can think about is my baby at home.” Cheng Zhong starts pleading to the girl despite choking on his own words.
“First we must find out the cause before we act. Jin Wu Monster, you and several of the other alchemists stand in ready while we go inside to investigate the chief’s illness.” Making a frown, Ling Yue’s only worry here was the disease being contagious. According to the wife of the village chief, the other villagers only became like this after coming into contact with the first patient. As such, the risk remains high.