Chapter 46 A unique battle
"No...no! Stop! Stop right there!"
Joyce Andre roared in shock and anger.
He anxiously swung his body, wanting to get off the horse, wanting to rush out of the damn magic circle to stop those people, but he couldn't do it... The magic trap had not expired yet, and neither he nor his horse could move a step away from where they were, and his voice could not be heard by people outside the circle.
The private soldiers armed with sharp blades maintained a loose formation that could be easily broken up by a few cavalrymen who knew how to coordinate, and passed by the magic circle.
"These things are really capable of running. They can actually run to such a deep place."
"I've had enough of this shitty place. Let's finish my work and have a couple of drinks..."
Andre's eyes turned red, and his hands and face trembled slightly due to excessive shock and anger.
Even though Andre had only accepted narrow etiquette, respect and chivalry that were only open to the "superiors" since he was old enough to understand, and had never thought of caring about those indecent inferiors in his more than a hundred years of life, at least Andre was not a person who could turn a blind eye to the "audible crying".
He had seen the civilians of the Orito district twice and even memorized the faces of several of them. It was impossible for Andre to sit back and watch these people being slaughtered at a close distance without being moved - and it was impossible for anyone with an ounce of humanity to do that.
“…Dark Mage!”
Yang Qiu, who was leisurely flipping through a book, raised his head slightly and met the knight with bloodshot eyes.
"Why are you angry at me, young man?" Yang Qiu said with a smile, "Who here dares to say that they have never done such a thing as standing idly by and watching someone suffer a tragedy?"
“Nonsense!”
"What nonsense!"
The priests, who were also shocked and angry about the changes outside the magic circle, began to curse at once.
"Okay, let me put it another way..." Yang Qiu still had no intention of standing up, and still sat steadily on the chair, "More than a hundred years ago, when I was traveling around the countries on the Navalon continent, every time I passed a town of a certain size, I would stop for a while and do a small social survey."
"Enough! Dark magician, stop them!" Andre roared.
Yang Qiu ignored the others and focused his eyes on the face of the black-robed monk opposite him: "...The capital of the Principality of Shiga is a large city with a population of nearly one million. Of course, I also conducted a survey that I was interested in there. The theme of this survey is, how many years on average does a servant die in a decent family with an annual income of more than ten thousand gold coins?"
The black-robed ascetic monk, who had been silently competing with Yang Qiu in patience, couldn't help but twitch his eyelids.
The priests were filled with shock and anger, and were so stunned that they forgot to shout and curse for a moment.
Yang Qiu still didn't care about their reactions and continued to talk to himself: "According to my research, a family with an annual income of this amount must at least have the title of Viscount, and must also own actual territory and subjects, or be a gentleman holding a high position in the official institutions of the principality."
"I tried to get in touch with the gatekeepers and purchasing servants of these respectable families and extract information from them. The result of my investigation was that...for families whose wealth came mostly from territorial taxes, manors or plantations, their servants had 'accidents' almost every year."
"For those whose wealth comes more from establishing industries, such as building schools, textile industry, oil pressing, building factories, or other handicrafts, as well as those who have official income, the frequency is lower. On average, an 'accident' occurs about once every two to three years."
"What's even more interesting is... after I classified and summarized the origins of many servants who served different families and died in similar 'accidents', I found something interesting." Yang Qiu smiled coldly, "This kind of 'accident' that frequently occurs in different wealthy families and causes healthy servants to lose their lives often does not happen to those hereditary servants who have served their masters for generations."
"Most of you should be born in respectable families. Even if you don't have a large number of servants like those wealthy families, you can still afford to support a few servants. I wonder if similar things have happened in your family, or in the homes of your relatives, friends, or neighbors?"
Yang Qiu propped his hand on the armrest, resting his chin on the back of his hand, staring at the black-robed monk with a half-smile: "Compared to the landless peasants you rarely come into contact with, the servants serving the rich should be the civilians closest to you. Don't you think it's funny that you only express your care and compassion for the lower classes at this time?"
The black-robed inspector Lowell's tightly pursed lips trembled slightly.
At this moment, outside the magic circle, behind the hills that they couldn't see, there came a shrill, terrified scream...
Although he did not show it, Lowell was indeed beginning to doubt his life, and his hands clasped in front of his abdomen trembled.
"——Enough!" Knight Andre, whose psychological defenses had already collapsed, shouted in despair, "No need to prove that you are more right, black magician! Do something!"
Yang Qiu finally remembered to take care of this poor Knight Camor. He still maintained his infuriatingly leisurely attitude and smiled at Andre: "Don't be impatient, young man. Didn't I tell you that we just need to keep quiet and watch a battle that may be very unique."
The words fell.
The group of priests who were fixed in place and unable to move were stunned to see... the noble private soldiers who had just passed by them with murderous intent two minutes ago, screaming and howling, and crawling back...
Andre: “???”
Rowell: “???”
All the priests who could only barely turn their upper bodies: "???"
Then, strange and dense "crackling" sounds and chaotic screams were heard at the same time, and a large group of armored and bladed skeletons, like a pack of hungry wolves seeing fat prey, frantically chased out from behind the hills...
“WOWAKAKAKAAAA——!”
“Jiligurulu!!”
“KualaLumpurKualaLumpur!!”
Andre: “???”
Rowell: “???”
All the priests who could only barely turn their upper bodies: "???"
"AH! YAWAKAKAKA!"
Some skeletons saw the two parties in the magic circle and pointed at them in surprise and cried out in surprise.
But even so, these skeletons did not stop their pursuit and continued to chase after the nobles' private soldiers.
Well... the priests couldn't understand, but Yang Qiu certainly could. This bunch of arrogant Fourth Calamities were pointing at his nose and shouting things like "Damn, Lao Yang is here", "Damn, this pretentious guy is reading a book on the battlefield", "Is Lao Yang meeting his old buddy", "Damn, that pretty boy NPC in black clothes is so handsome" and so on.
The black-robed ascetic could no longer remain calm and stood up with horror on his face.
A private soldier who was fleeing in a hurry fell down not far from the black-robed ascetic monk.
Several skeletons quickly rushed up and pinned the unfortunate guy down.
Lowell's eyelids twitched involuntarily.
...The imagined blood and flesh did not fly everywhere. The skeletons that pinned down this unfortunate private soldier actually... worked together very efficiently to take off the private soldier's equipment...
The half-body armor with a breastplate was taken off first, followed by the wrist guards fastened with straps, the belt with a portable dagger, and even the high-top leather boots with rubber soles... all were quickly looted by these skeletons.
Rowell: "... (° △° )"
This was not the end. The unlucky private soldier, who had all his equipment taken off and was left with only the clothes on his body, had his hands tied by these skeletons with some strange plastic tape and was dragged away...
The skeletons that have grabbed equipment and captured people become even more excited and roar meaningless sounds such as "WAKAKAAAA", spread their legs and make more intense "click, click" sounds, chasing the next target like a carnival.
“I’m rich, hahahaha!”
"Oh my god, there are horses! So many horses! Can we catch them?!"
"It's no use even if we can catch them. The identification spell shows that we undead can't ride ordinary horses!"
“Fuck!”
Players expressed regret that they could not obtain mounts through "seizure", but they did not fall behind in capturing prisoners and snatching equipment...
It didn't take too many people to follow the Crusader Cavalry into the outskirts of Tarantan to clean out a group of unarmed old, weak and sick people. Plus, time was tight and there was no time to hire regular mercenaries, so this group of private soldiers was actually security guards drawn from various plantations, led by Viscount Lynn and the mayor of Camor.
Guarding the homes of the nobles is the best fate for those brave and aggressive people who lack talent or have no chance to become professional warriors. Although the combat effectiveness of such people cannot be compared with that of regular professionals, it does not require much combat effectiveness to deal with troublemakers or beat up farmers and serfs who do not work honestly.
Even if there were conflicts among the nobles and a territorial war was about to break out, the guards who were well fed and well fed and kept fat and strong would be more useful than the civilian laborers who were hastily conscripted.
In short... these private soldiers would be nothing but cannon fodder if they were thrown into a regular battlefield. If they want to join the caravan to make a living, they can only be laborers. But in small places, they can still do some work of bullying men and women by taking advantage of their power.
If you fight one-on-one with a player who has just completed a job change, your chances of winning are not low.
However, at this time... it was the peak time for players to be online. All the players that "Corpse" brought out for their relatives and friends were online. With more than 200 armored and sharp-armed skeletons, there were still enough for three of these private soldiers to fight one...
Not to mention that these private soldiers thought from the beginning that they were only here to deal with the old, weak, and sick. They were not mentally prepared to fight against a group of skeletons that were three times their number. They didn't even have a decent formation. They formed a classic formation to get beaten, and ran into the players head-on...
All in all, they didn't lose unfairly.
Half an hour later.
The black-robed inspector Lowell walked with stiff and heavy steps back to the wooden chair that Yang Qiu had given him, and sat down slowly with a heavy face.
Two hundred priests, including the Camoral Knight Andre, were silent.
The private soldiers who were running away all over the mountains and plains were all caught by the skeletons who were running much faster than them.
All the private soldiers were stripped of all their equipment from head to toe. They were dragged back with their hands tied, looking distraught and dazed. When they were forced to squat on the ground, they didn’t react much...
They didn't die.
These horrible skeletons didn't kill them.
That's right... Because these private soldiers who only had a psychological advantage when dealing with unarmed civilians didn't think of resisting, they didn't suffer many injuries... All those with bruises and swollen faces were caused by their own falls.
"It's indeed quite unique." Yang Qiu smiled and nodded to Lowell who sat back down.
Black-robed ascetic monk: “…”
Yang Qiu was not finished yet, and continued to stab Rowell in the heart: "The evil undead actually rescued the unarmed old, weak and sick from the righteous noble army. I wonder what the Black Robe Supervisor thinks?"
Black-robed ascetic monk: “…”
Andrei gritted his teeth and spoke to save his leader's reputation: "We all admit... this reality is true... but this does not prove that you are always right, Black Mage. It's just... there will always be unexpected things happening in the world, that's all."
"Why bother saying something you are not sure of yourself, young man?" Yang Qiu said calmly, "Just like you accused me of being cruel to a certain knight before, and I think my behavior should prove that this is my mercy to the innocent victim. Cruelty or mercy, justice or evil, right or wrong, are actually just definitions of the same thing made by people based on their own standpoints."
"The evil undead creatures plundered the soldiers of the noble army, stole their gear, and tied them up like pigs and sheep. This behavior is evil. But if we add the premise that the undead creatures saved the weak who could only wait for their necks to be killed, this behavior seems to be just."
At this point, Yang Qiu laughed: "Evil, justice, to put it bluntly, it all depends on how people define it. Someone is always right. Saying this only proves that you haven't grown up yet, young man. I never claim to be right... I do things as long as I have a clear conscience."
Andre turned away and lowered his head.
The strong sense of shame made this "young man" who was over a hundred years old very embarrassed...
The black-robed inspector Lowell, who had been observing the black magician in silence, finally spoke: "Is this... your belief, Yang? What you pursue is a path without guilt?"
"Yes." Yang Qiu said frankly, "I experienced the taste of guilt when I was young, and I have to say that it was extremely uncomfortable. You know, Lowell, spellcasters cannot use the divinity of the gods as an anchor like you ascetics, and regard the priesthood of the righteous gods of faith as your own path and walk unswervingly. Once a spellcaster doubts his own persistence, he will be out of control soon."
"It is because I realize how dangerous guilt is that it is especially important to have a clear conscience." Yang Qiu smiled frankly, "Whether you think I am cruel to a certain knight or these evil undead who seem filthy to you, they are just means of doing things. As long as the purpose can make me feel at peace with myself, it doesn't matter whether it is cruelty or mercy, justice or evil."
"I understand." Lowell raised his hand to stop him, deeply regretting why he was curious about the powerful secret of this black magician... Even he himself was shaken by the words of this crazy black magician. This language, which was no less obscene than the ancient gods, was really not suitable for the priests to hear. "The matter of Kamoer ends here. Andre?"
"...Yes." Andre still lowered his head, unwilling to let Yang Qiu see his embarrassed expression.
The other party directly expressed an attitude of compromise. Yang Qiu certainly was not the kind of person who would argue verbally to determine the winner, so he immediately said with a smile: "It would be best if the misunderstanding could be resolved, Supervisor Lowell. If you have the chance next time, you are welcome to come to Tarantan again."
After all, they were neighbors that they would live with for a long time, so Yang Qiu certainly wouldn't make the relationship with the Holy Priest Corps too awkward...
This was the second time Yang Qiu mentioned Tarantan in a meaningful way.
Of course, Rowell understood what the black magician meant and looked at Yang Qiu deeply: "...Okay."
Although the black-robed inspector still had doubts about Yang Qiu's principle of ignoring mental pollution... but he was indeed able to forcibly create a space filled with the breath of hell without being affected himself. This was enough to prove that the Nightmare Butcher, who had been entangled with the lunatics of the Church of the Lieyang for many years and remained unscathed, possessed enough strength to make people fear him.
As for how Yang Qiu would deal with the civilians he brought to Tarantan, and the nobles' private soldiers who were taken prisoners... Lowell was too lazy to care. At most, he would return the military funds paid by Viscount Lynn.
Before leading the team away, Lowell noticed that the undead speaking an unknown language were surrounding the dejected private soldiers and shouting something loudly, and he couldn't help but take a few more glances at them out of curiosity.
"What are they doing?" A white-robed monk couldn't help but mutter in a low voice.
Yang Qiu said that he respected the ascetic monks and was not exaggerating. He politely explained to the white-robed ascetic monk: "It's nothing, it's just an auction."
White robed ascetic monk: "..."
The priests: "..."
Rowell: “…”
