"I am Lu Yan of the Lu Family Army from Yunze City."
"I now suspect your village of harboring remnants of the Red Eyebrow Army."
"Immediately hand over the remnants of the Red Eyebrow Army."
"Otherwise, you are committing a crime of treason and will be executed along with your entire clan."
Lu Yan rode a white horse, looking down condescendingly at the villagers of Osmanthus Village, a terrifying killing intent emanating from him.
"We are innocent, Lord Lu."
"Osmanthus Village has been loyal for generations."
"It’s impossible for us to have any ties with the Red Eyebrow Army. Please, my lord, see clearly."
The village chief of Osmanthus Village, Zhang Quan, felt a chill in his heart, realizing the other party had come with ill intentions.
Completely different from those before.
The Dragon King Gang and the Red Eyebrow Army were only after money; as long as the monthly salary was paid, there was no trouble.
But Lu Yan was not after money at all; he intended to take lives.
"Shut up, whether there’s a connection is not for you to decide."
"Start searching house to house immediately."
"If anyone dares to obstruct, kill without mercy."
Lu Yan snorted coldly.
"Yes, my lord."
A hundred cavalry advanced, each an elite.
In an instant, the villagers of Osmanthus Village had their hackles raised, trembling in fear, not daring to move.
At this moment, Jiang Fan and Su Weiwei also hid among the crowd, calmly observing the situation.
They saw soldiers searching house to house, rifling through boxes and cabinets.
Originally, the villagers thought nothing major would happen.
After all, they truly had no collusion with the Red Eyebrow Army.
But as soon as they reached one house, they immediately heard a loud shout from inside: "Indeed, remnants of the Red Eyebrow Army are hiding here, kill them immediately."
With a bang, a fierce fight sound came from inside, and then several soldiers dragged out a corpse.
It was a middle-aged man with a dozen stab wounds, bloodied, devoid of any breath.
"Heh, an important figure of the Red Eyebrow Army, Ren Hui, a Strong Sinews Realm Martial Artist, a pretty good big fish."
"Who on earth harbored Ren Hui, the chief of the Red Eyebrow Army?"
"Don’t you know he is a major criminal of the Court?"
"You actually dared to harbor a criminal, that’s a capital offense."
Lu Yan’s eyes showed a cold light, staring at everyone.
The murderous aura around him grew even more terrifying.
The villagers were all shivering, completely not expecting such a thing to happen.
Who could have imagined that remnants of the Red Eyebrow Army were truly hiding in Osmanthus Village?
With a thud, one person was so frightened he knelt on the ground, his face pale, revealed as Meng Tie.
He trembled and said, "I’m sorry, my lord, I, I was forced. This Red Eyebrow chief, Ren Hui, came to my house a few days ago, forcing me to find him a hiding place, or he would kill me and my mother. I had no choice but to agree to his demands. Please, my lord, spare us."
He had no choice, being just a regular fisherman.
Faced with the coercion of a Strong Sinews Realm Martial Artist, he had no room for resistance and could only comply.
This is the helplessness of this world.
The requests of the strong must be obeyed by the weak, or it means disaster.
"Coercion?"
"Do you know how many of my Lu Family Army he has killed?"
"He has a blood feud with my Lu Family Army."
"You dare hide him and help him escape, your crime is unforgivable."
Lu Yan sneered, signaling to one of his men.
Swoosh!
In an instant, a soldier bent his bow and released an arrow that instantly shot through.
Before Meng Tie could react, the arrow accurately pierced his heart.
Blood splattered from his body.
"You, you..."
Meng Tie clutched the arrow in his heart, feeling intense pain.
His eyes showed anger and unwillingness.
His family was just ordinary fishermen, merely trying to make ends meet, three meals a day.
First, the oppression of the Dragon King Gang, then the Red Eyebrow Army, and now the government army.
It’s endless.
Why doesn’t the world give them a way to live, what is the reason for this?!
They just want to survive, why is it so hard, why won’t they allow it!
"Tie’er."
"I will fight you beasts to the death."
Sister-in-law Meng saw this scene, her despair turning into overwhelming grief.
Her husband was beaten to death by the Dragon King Gang, losing their family’s pillar.
Now, even her son had died at the hands of the government.
She had completely lost the will to live.
Taking out a kitchen knife, she rushed towards the soldiers, intending to die with them.
Swoosh!
Unfortunately, she hadn’t taken a step before another arrow was shot, easily piercing her heart, and her body collapsed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust, eyes wide open, dead but not at peace.
Yet, there seemed to be a trace of relief in her pupils.
Perhaps she had long stopped wanting to live in this cruel world.
"You lowly things dare wave a knife at me?!"
Seeing this, Lu Yan sneered, having witnessed villagers’ reactions countless times.
Sadly, under absolute strength, everything was futile.
Before they got near, they were killed by the guards around him.
"This!"
The villagers seeing this scene were filled with grief and anger.
Even in this age, people’s feelings among villagers were indifferent.
But seeing the Meng family, whom they had known for years, annihilated and beaten to death in public,
They couldn’t suppress a surge of anger within.
This government army, bullying too much.
"Too excessive."
Jiang Fan clenched his fist, feeling as if something blocked his chest, a rising unease.
Fishermen indeed were lowly people.
But they hadn’t done anything wrong, they shouldn’t die like this.
"What? Judging by your looks, you want to avenge their mother and son?"
"Do you dare to touch me, Lu Yan?"
Lu Yan sneered, looking down at the Osmanthus Village villagers, completely scornful.
Not to mention the hundreds of elite cavalry by his side.
His Bone Forging Realm strength alone was unbeatable by these fishermen.
If he wished, he could kill these fishermen with a single breath.
"Lord Lu, I think these people aren’t villagers, they’re remnants of the Red Eyebrow Army."
"Killing all of them and bringing back the heads would be a great accomplishment."
"It might even earn the general’s praise."
At this moment, a lieutenant recalled something and spoke.
He appeared gentle, seemingly a civil official.
Yet his words were a malicious plot.
What?!
Upon hearing this, Jiang Fan’s face changed drastically, realizing these government soldiers intended to kill innocents for credit.
He had only read similar descriptions in history books of his previous life.
But experiencing it firsthand let him feel the despair of ordinary people.
Killing defenseless ordinary people, cutting off heads, exchanging for military merit.
What despicable behavior.
The anger and killing intent in his heart were utterly uncontrollable.
These people had gone too far.
Giving them no way out.