On the ninth day of the eighth month, the weather was so hot that it seemed like it was going to roast everything on the earth. What was even worse was that Winterfrost City had been without any food supplies for almost four days.
Lin Muyu's warhorse had also been slaughtered, and even Min Yulin's own mount had been used as food, but it was still to no avail. The remaining twenty thousand soldiers had eaten almost everything in Winterfrost City. The barks of the trees in the city had all been stripped bare, and many soldiers had dug three feet into the ground in search of earthworms, rats, and other animals. The entire city was deathly silent.
With her stomach rumbling, Lin Muyu held the hilt of the Dragonspirit Sword at her waist as she walked step by step on the city's main street. Wherever her gaze passed, she saw the imperial soldiers sitting powerlessly on the side of the road. None of them had the strength to stand up and walk, much less carry out their daily training.
"Big Brother!"
Qin Yan ran over excitedly, wiped his chapped lips, and said, "Let's go back to camp quickly. I've made some delicious food. Perhaps it can fill your stomach a little."
"Oh?"
Lin Muyu followed him back to the camp and saw that Chen Han was boiling a large pot. A faint fragrance came from the pot, and he couldn't help but ask in surprise, "What is this? Didn't we already eat everything two days ago? "
"You'll know very soon!"
After a while, Qin Yan lifted the lid of the pot and saw pieces of black stuff rolling about in the boiling water. It was precisely these things that were emitting a faint fragrance. Lin Muyu couldn't help but frown and say, "What is this?"
"Cowhide, cowhide taken out from the armor." Qin Yan said excitedly, "Although the cowhide is impervious to fire and water, it will actually loosen up like pigskin after boiling it for two hours. I believe that the taste must be pretty good. Big Brother, you sit down. I'll scoop a bowl for you in a while. You just wait to enjoy a delicious meal!"
Lin Muyu laughed wryly, "I only need a little. Give some more to the brothers. They've been hungry for many days."
"Okay, I got it."
A few minutes later, a bowl of soup was served to Lin Muyu. A palm-sized piece of cowhide was floating on top of the soup. The skin had been boiled and emitted a faint fragrance. Lin Muyu picked it up with chopsticks and took a bite, but it was tasteless as if she was biting a piece of hard paper. Lin Muyu frowned. She didn't care so much and quickly chewed. She swallowed the piece of cowhide with a "gulp". She didn't know what it tasted like at all, but at least there was something in her stomach.
At this moment, a messenger shouted from outside the camp: "Great Deacon Lin Muyu of the Temple Camp, the Marquis has summoned all the generals for a meeting!"
"Got it. I'll go right away."
"Alright."
Lin Muyu stood up and instructed Qin Yan and Chen Han to pack up the camp. She then went to the City Lord's Mansion. The generals in the City Lord's Mansion all had pale faces. Even Min Yulin's complexion was not very good. His face was frighteningly pale. Presumably, he was not like this when he was in Lanyan City.
"Generals."
Min Yulin slowly stood up with the support of an iron spear. His Marquis robe was wrinkled from sitting for too long. He looked at the crowd and said lightly: "We … are ready to go home."
A Captaincy of Muyu City was stunned. "Marquis, we are surrounded by the demons. How can we go home?"
Min Yulin smiled and said: "Five days ago, General Chai Hong, the commander of the Tomahawk Battalion, led his men to dig a tunnel under the east wall of the city. The tunnel is two miles long, completely out of the demons' encirclement. We will retreat tonight. Every battalion, summon centurions and above to retreat together."
Lin Muyu's heart sank. "What about the ordinary soldiers?"
Min Yulin shook his head. "If there are too many … the demons will definitely notice. Centurions and above are all elites of the empire. Where there is life, there is hope. When we return to Lanyan City, we can still recruit new soldiers. With some training, they will become a strong army. It won't be too late to avenge the soldiers who died in Winter Frost City."
Xu Ying nodded. "The Marquis's words are reasonable. Every battalion, do as I say!"
Lin Muyu didn't say anything more. She cupped her fists and said, "Yes!"
…
Time passed. At night, the stars dimmed. Lin Muyu led Qin Yan, Chen Han, and a few other centurions and above to the east side of the city. Along the way, they only saw silent imperial soldiers sitting on both sides of the road. Some of them had been dead for a long time and had died of starvation. As for the tens of thousands of people in Winter Frost City, they had long since died of starvation. Many of them had their last rations stolen by the imperial army, so they naturally couldn't continue living.
Qin Yan frowned and said, "The rest can only stay here and wait for death?"
Chen Han sighed and didn't speak.
Lin Muyu said lightly, "Keep our bodies that are still useful and then avenge them. I didn't think that the demons would descend from the sky before the Yihe Nation's blood debt was settled."
Qin Yan said, "Compared to the Yihe Nation, the demons are probably even more cruel. And they … they eat people …"
Lin Muyu was silent.
The fire ahead flickered, but no one spoke. Min Yulin stood at the edge of the cave in his marquis robes, watching the officers of the Tomahawk Battalion enter. There were seven to eight thousand people in the Tomahawk Battalion, so there were seventy to eighty high-ranking officers added together. After entering the cave, Old General Xu Ying raised his hand and said, "Let's wait for Commander Chai Hong to understand the situation at the cave's exit first. Protect the Marquis and retreat after it's safe."
Everyone cupped their fists and said in a low voice, "Yes!"
…
However, Chai Hong and the others did not come out after entering the cave. After nearly two hours, Min Yulin frowned and said, "What's going on? Why did it take so long? Min Zhan, go down and take a look."
"Yes, Father!"
Min Zhan pulled out his sword and jumped into the cave. But in the next moment, he flipped out with a leg covered in muddy water and said, "Father, it's bad, it's all water!"
"What?" Min Yulin turned pale with fright.
Seeing that the water at the entrance of the cave was about to be level with the ground, the people who had entered the cave must have all drowned. Xu Ying's face was full of pain as he said, "It's over … … This group of bastard demons must have found the cave, so they dug up the water of the Dao River and poured it into the cave. Commander Chai Hong … …"
Everyone was silent as the last bit of hope disappeared.
Min Yulin closed his eyes, his body trembling under the starlight. His face was full of pain as he looked up at the sky and said, "Why me, Min Yulin? Why … "
"Father …" Min Zhan looked up at Min Yulin and asked, "What should we do now …? We don't know what to do."
"Let's return to the City Lord's Mansion …" Min Yulin said, "We've run out of food. Our twenty-five thousand people can't hold on any longer. Prepare to open the city gates tomorrow and fight to the death with the demons. Perhaps Wang Xi is right. Rather than waiting for death here, it's better to die in battle. Even killing one more armor demon is a sign of loyalty to the Empire."
"Yes!"
Min Zhan, Xu Ying, and the hundreds of high-ranking generals left, leaving only Lin Muyu, Qin Yan, and the others here.
… …
"Big Brother, aren't we leaving?" Qin Yan asked in surprise.
Lin Muyu looked at the Daojiang water in the cave, her eyes very clear. She suddenly laughed bitterly and said, "Ah Yan, I've entered the homes of several fishermen before. There are many fishing nets in their homes. Take a few people to find them. Lord Chen Han, go to the Temple Camp and the Spirit Fire Department and call over those who still have some strength. Have them excavate and widen this tunnel to bring in large amounts of Daojiang water. "
Qin Yan and Chen Han's eyes lit up at the same time. Qin Yan said with a smile, "Big Brother is so smart, to actually know how to beat them at their own game!"
"It's just a stop-gap measure, go do it quickly!"
"Yes!"
Late at night, hundreds of people dug with all their might and quickly widened the tunnel into a pond with a radius of several hundred meters. The corpses of Chai Hong and the others gradually floated out and were buried on the spot under Lin Muyu's orders. Just as expected, the Daojiang water brought in many fish. Qin Yan's first net caught a fish that weighed at least three kilograms, winning the cheers of a group of soldiers.
Chen Han and the others also followed suit, using nets to catch fish. Not long after, the Temple Camp had caught at least a hundred kilograms of fish. They set up a large pot to the side, and it didn't matter even if the seasoning was used up. A pot of fragrant fish soup was quickly prepared, and everyone gathered around to share it. Actually, everyone only ate thirty percent full, but it was enough.
At midnight, they caught another hundred kilograms of fish. Under Lin Muyu's orders, Qin Yan took these fish to Min Yulin.
It was also on this night that pieces of food suddenly fell from the sky. There were wild boar legs, deer meat, and even dead wild rabbits and other prey.
The soldiers in Winter Frost City cheered.
"We can't eat this food."
Lin Muyu looked at the sky and said with certainty, "Yan, pass down the order, no one is allowed to eat the food that fell from the sky."
Qin Yan nodded, "Yes!"
Chen Han was confused, "Why, Grand Deacon …"
"Why would there be prey falling from the sky out of nowhere? It must be the winged demons … They know we are starving, so they want to poison us. Don't eat it. "
"Yes …"
However, the soldiers in the city were all starving, so they didn't care if it was poisonous or not. Many of them swallowed it even though they knew it was poisonous, and they wanted to be hungry ghosts even if they died. The result did not disappoint them, and all those who ate the food died with blood flowing out of their orifices.
… …
Early in the morning, the office of the mayor's mansion was silent.
"How many people were poisoned to death?" Min Yulin asked.
"Three thousand." Xu Ying said.
Min Yulin showed a pained expression, "The cunning demons, too cunning … Men, go and cooperate with Madam Lin Muyu to widen the water source of the Rice River. Catch as many fish as possible, don't let people starve to death again."
At this time, a Seven Seas City officer wearing the insignia of Captaincy cupped his fist and said, "Marquis, this subordinate has a solution."
"General Shi Huo, please speak."
Shi Huo's expression turned cold, "The soldiers who died not long ago, their corpses …"
"Shut up!"
Min Yulin slammed the table and stood up, angrily saying, "I, Min Yulin, would rather starve to death than eat people!"
Shi Huo was surprised and lowered his head, "Yes, Marquis is wise, just pretend this subordinate didn't say anything …"
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