"Catch them! Don't let them escape! "
"Don't let them enter the mountain! These bandits are all f * cking rats! "
"Kill them all! Leave no captives! "
A fierce battle took place in the mountainous area at the border of the South Jin Kingdom. In the dusk, one could hear the whistling of arrows, the clashing of swords, and the desperate howls before death.
There were less than 500 people on both sides of the battle. However, in the south of the mainland that had been peaceful for a long time, a battle that could leave dozens of corpses was certainly considered fierce.
One side of the battle was the regular cavalry of the South Jin Kingdom. They were well-trained and had the upper hand in combat. Moreover, they outnumbered the other side, so they quickly won the battle and began to chase after the bandits.
The dozens of people who were being chased ran into the deep mountains in panic. From time to time, someone was shot in the back and fell into the bushes, howling in pain. Fortunately, it was late and the mountain path was dangerous. Finally, most of them managed to escape.
The dark night shrouded the Sunset Mountain. Occasionally, the strange cries of crows could be heard from the depths of the dense forest. This mountain was part of the vast mountains of the West-Hill Divine Kingdom, but it was deep within the territory of the South Jin Kingdom.
Beside the bonfire, there were dozens of wounded people lying down. Some were shot by arrows, while others had their arms cut off by axes. The wounded people groaned in pain from time to time.
Several men in black and gold armor sat in the warmest place closest to the bonfire. It was obvious that their status in the team was higher than the rest of the people. Their armors were decorated with dense golden patterns. It was obvious that they were extremely expensive and did not look like something a group of mountain bandits would have.
Hearing the cries of their companions and the cries of crows in the forest, their faces grew paler and paler. They could not help but look at their silent leader, as if they wanted to get some comfort from him.
The leader was a middle-aged man who also wore black armor. However, the golden patterns on his armor were even denser and faintly emitted a faint talisman aura.
The middle-aged man was called Zimo. He used to be the cavalry commander of the Judicial Department of the West-Hill Divine Palace. The men around the bonfire were like him. They used to be cavalry commanders of the Divine Hall.
When Ye Hongyu killed the former Great Divine Priest of Judgment and ascended to the Seat of Heavenly Black Jade, these powerhouses who had made great contributions to the West-Hill Divine Palace were cruelly destroyed of their cultivation and chased out of Peach Mountain.
In the past few years, the Papal Cavalrymen under their command were the most powerful armed force of the Judicial Department of the Divine Hall. At least in the battle to hunt down the remnants of the Devil's Doctrine and the heretics, the bloody storm that the Judicial Department stirred up in the world and left a gloomy impression on the world were mostly recorded by them.
In other words, the hands of these former commanders were stained with too much blood. They had no country to return to, and no one dared to take them in at the risk of angering the current Divine Priest of Judgement.
Ye Hongyu's punishment was very thorough. She stripped them of their power and cultivation. She didn't even let go of the wealth that they had plundered over the years. In the end, she only left them an old horse, a hundred taels of silver, and all their retinue. They also had this black-gold armor that once represented glory and majesty, but now it could not even bring back memories. It only brought shame and fear.
They did not dare to return to the West-Hill Divine Kingdom and had nowhere to go. Thus, they could only wander around the countries on the periphery of the West-Hill. The taels of silver were soon spent. These commanders suddenly realized that they were like those lowly ants. They had to start thinking about their next meal and where to hide.
These former commanders of the Divine Hall had their own skills to make a living. However, they were all extremely prideful people. How could they possibly ask them to do manual labor or something like that?
The most troublesome thing was that their years in the West-Hill Divine Palace had nurtured their habit of bossing people around. They were high and mighty, and treated mortals like dogs. In the past, these habits and attitudes could be called majesty. Now that they had left the West-Hill and become ordinary people, these had become obstacles in their lives.
One day, the former commanders' team had an incident with a tyrant from the Kingdom of Song. One commander could no longer suppress his anger and ordered his retinue to cut off the tyrant's head. Then, they broke into the tyrant's manor and robbed him of all the gold and silver.
They stayed in a luxurious inn in the state capital and enjoyed the wine and women brought by the gold and silver. Suddenly, these former commanders who had been in a daze for several days found a way to survive without bowing and scraping. This method was simple and direct, and they could earn money very quickly.
Although their cultivation had been destroyed and they were not even as strong as ordinary men, they were once the cavalry commanders of the West-Hill Divine Palace. They had excellent strategies and commanding skills. The retinue that followed them were also very powerful. At least, they could not be compared to the guards in the secular society. So naturally, they began to rob and rob for a living. In a very short period of time, they successively raided several large clans in the countryside.
During this process, everyone, including Zi Mo, remained silent and did not say anything. However, they knew very well that they, who had once sworn to protect light and justice, were falling into a bottomless black abyss. They still felt extremely humiliated and painful in their hearts.
Fortunately, they now had a lot of gold and silver, so they could buy a lot of strong wine and women to numb themselves and live one day at a time. Unfortunately, this numbing accelerated the speed of their depravity. They became more and more violent during robberies. Some even started to rape and even kill.
Zi Mo clearly realized that if this continued, there would definitely be problems. He tried his best to restrain them. However, the Divine Hall commanders who had begun to fall were like tigers released from their cages. They fell from the glorious Peach Mountain to the dirty dust. This stimulated them even more, and they could not be restrained at all.
One day in midsummer, during a routine robbery at night, one of the commanders or retinue went crazy and beheaded an aristocrat who had already surrendered. The atmosphere of madness suddenly spread, and a tragic massacre took place in the manor. Accompanied by despairing cries, the aristocrat's entire family was killed.
Robberies were naturally accompanied by death, and even rape was not rare. However, to kill a South Jin aristocrat's family, especially when the manor was not far from the capital of the South Jin Kingdom, they were in big trouble.
This massacre did not alarm the powerhouses in the Sword Garret, but it was enough to alarm the imperial court of the South Jin Kingdom. During the investigation, the imperial court of the South Jin Kingdom was quite cautious when they found out that the murderers were wearing the armor of the cavalry commander of the Divine Hall. They sent letters to the West-Hill Divine Palace, confirming that these people were sinners who had been expelled from the Peach Mountain and were no longer entitled to the protection of the Divine Hall. Thus, the imperial court of the South Jin Kingdom's caution at the beginning turned into anger.
The South Jin Kingdom began to distribute arrest warrants, and offered a high reward to the informants. On these arrest warrants, these murderers were given a new name: Fallen Knights.
The South Jin Kingdom was powerful, second only to the Tang Empire. Now that they were being treated so seriously, these fallen knights, no matter how sharp their eyes were or how good their commanders were, were all useless. They suddenly fell into a miserable situation and fled in all directions miserably.
In the process of fleeing, retinue constantly died or ran away. Even these commanders were killed, and several others were seriously injured. The troop that had left the West-Hill with more than a hundred people was now left with only a few dozen. Today, they were almost completely annihilated in the encirclement outside the forest.
Beside the bonfire, painful howls echoed incessantly. Their expressions were so desperate and gloomy.
"Are we waiting for death here?"
A strong and burly retinue stood up and walked to the bonfire. Looking at his companions who were mostly injured by arrows because they did not have armor, he said loudly, "Why don't we leave?"
Retinue were equivalent to the servants of knights. They were most particular about loyalty. Once they betrayed their master, no one would take them in. However, this person said that he wanted to leave, which proved that the current situation was indeed at its most critical moment.
A cavalry commander looked at this retinue with a gloomy expression. He roared angrily, "Guo Nu, I've treated you well. If it weren't for me, how could you be in this situation today? How dare you betray me? Don't forget that your retinue is also on the arrest warrant. Where can you go? "
The retinue called Guo Nu looked at his master and sneered, "I've worked hard for you for so many years, but now I've fallen into this situation. How can you say that you've treated me well? As for the arrest warrant … except for your masters who have portraits, who would know such insignificant people like us? We've also robbed a lot of money these days. Let's go our separate ways. Who can find us if we hide? "
The commander said angrily, "Don't forget that the money is with me."
Guo Nu looked at him disdainfully and said, "I know you won't give the money to you. Knights like you won't let us off even if you die. However, don't forget that your cultivation has already been crippled by the Divine Priest of Judgment. You're now a bunch of useless people. Do you still think it's the same as before?"
He looked at the retinue sitting around the bonfire and shouted, "What are you still hesitating for? It's all because of our efforts that we've been able to rob so much money these days. These fellows have long been crippled. They can't even pick up a knife, so how can they be a match for us? "
The bonfire was not very strong, and the forest further away was dark. It was impossible to see the expressions on the faces of the retinue, but it was possible to faintly see that they had all raised their heads.
The commanders had once been high and mighty. They could bestow favors on their retinue and could also treat them like livestock. Tonight, their own retinue had actually rebelled. It was truly an unbearable humiliation. However, they had to admit that the current situation was extremely dangerous. If they handled things carelessly, they really could end up as corpses in the forest.
At this moment, Guo Nu's voice came to an abrupt halt.
An extremely thin metal wire had unknowingly appeared on his neck and then suddenly tightened!
The metal wire sank deep into his skin, and blood instantly gushed out.
Guo Nu's eyes widened in horror. His hands desperately dug at his neck, trying to dig out the metal wire. However, his actions were futile. The more he struggled, the deeper the metal wire sank. Layer by layer, it cut through his windpipe, then his esophagus, and all his blood vessels.
…
…
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