"Giddy up!"
Tang Wen rode Wuzhui, a black lightning bolt, charging straight toward the hunting squad's base.
"Whoa!"
Just as he started, he suddenly called for a halt.
Behind the group attacking the hunting base, there were more people.
Tang Wen's heart skipped a beat: such a small base, yet so many people mobilized—the enemy must be determined to succeed!
But what's the point of attacking the hunting base?
Without knowing the strength of these people, he didn't want to rush in.
But then, something even more shocking happened.
Swish!
The hunting squad unleashed a volley of arrows.
The attackers blocked them, and after deflecting the arrows, they actually raised their weapons high above their heads.
Shouting something, they assumed a posture of surrender!
Both Tang Wen and the hunting squad were stunned.
The hunting squad, cautious and suspecting a trick, did not open the gates.
The attackers went even further, throwing down their weapons and standing at the gate, refusing to leave.
Tang Wen urged his horse forward.
On the stone wall, Captain Liu looked bewildered: "Who are you? What do you want?"
"We are defeated, your prisoners. Your Flame Camp should take us in."
Captain Liu: ???
Tang Wen, who had just arrived on horseback: I suspect you guys came here just to be prisoners!
"Clip-clop, clip-clop!"
Seeing Tang Wen approach, Captain Liu jumped down from the stone wall, both amused and exasperated, and asked, "Commander Tang Wen, what should we do? I've already called for reinforcements from the camp, but this?"
Captain Liu, having lived for two or three decades, had never encountered such a situation.
People coming to surrender themselves.
Tang Wen didn't want to get involved. He pointed into the distance: "There's another group hiding over there, probably with these prisoners. I thought they were an ambush at first, but upon closer look, they seem to be their families."
Seeing the two discussing, an old man and two middle-aged men from the "prisoners" stepped forward.
They shouted their willingness to submit, to be prisoners, and to join the Flame Camp.
Tang Wen laughed: "Tell me, which village are you from? You all look strong and healthy; surely you're not desperate?"
The three didn't argue, exchanged glances, and directly knelt on one knee, right fist pressed to their left chest.
Performing some kind of submission ritual.
The old man said, "Mutated Beasts attacked us, took over our village. The Black Mountain Battalion is slaughtering villages everywhere. They've already found our trail, and we lost over a hundred clansmen before we got here. We have nowhere else to go! We beg you to take us in, just for a bite to eat."
"Get up first! I'm not in charge; talking to me won't help."
After Tang Wen spoke, Captain Liu pulled the three to their feet.
Tang Wen asked with interest, "What kind of Mutated Beast attacked your village?"
Judging by the size of their village, it must have been a large settlement of nearly a thousand people.
They might even have had Martial Master-level experts.
What kind of Mutated Beast could force them to leave?
The old man uttered three words in despair: "Tyrant Bear."
There wasn't even a hint of hatred in his voice. Clearly, facing such a Transcendent beast, he didn't dare harbor thoughts of revenge.
Tang Wen fell silent.
He abandoned the idea of going hunting—no, of going to deliver himself as a snack.
He had witnessed the terror of the Tyrant Bear. If it hadn't been for the peak Martial Master Commander Zhao risking his life to lure it away,
the Flame Camp would have suffered heavy losses.
The old man continued, "Besides farming, our village also grew jujube trees and raised bees. Maybe the honey attracted that bear."
Captain Liu asked, "Have you tried negotiating with it? If you offer it honey, perhaps it might even protect you."
In this world, humans are not invincible, nor are they necessarily strong.
There are many examples of humans coexisting with Mutated Beasts.
The Mutated Beasts, with their formidable combat abilities, protect humans.
In return, humans labor to provide necessities like "salt and minerals" for the Mutated Beasts.
Both parties coexist.
However, such relationships are often fragile.
After all, humans are part of the diet of powerful Mutated Beasts.
In normal times, it's manageable, but when disaster strikes and the Mutated Beasts go hungry, humans can quickly turn from partners to prey.
The old man remained silent for a while before saying, "Our foxtail millet seedlings are diseased, afflicted with Black Rot. They're withering in patches. Our village already has many martial artists, and our food reserves are scarce. Honey is our main commodity for trading food..."
Captain Liu didn't know what to say and could only curse, "What a world!"
After some time.
From the direction of the camp, a large contingent of troops rumbled in, numbering in the hundreds.
Leading them was General Zhao.
Tang Wen felt relieved and signaled Captain Liu to take the three men forward to greet them.
As for himself, he naturally took a detour home.
He had no time to spare for such matters.
"Commander Tang Wen! Your mount is truly magnificent!"
"What a beautiful black horse!"
"Commander Tang Wen, is that a Mutated Beast you're riding?"
At the inner city gate, the guards greeted Tang Wen enthusiastically.
But their eyes were fixed on his mount, gleaming with admiration.
In this world, there are no sports cars, SUVs, or heavy motorcycles, but there are all kinds of Mutated Beasts.
A man's love for his mount lasts as long as his affliction with "Mengde Syndrome."
When Tang Wen was a child, frolicking in the fields, he would slap his own buttocks and shout, "Giddy up, giddy up!"
He deliberately paused to chat with the guards for a moment before riding through the streets.
Pedestrians made way, their eyes filled with envy, longing, and even infatuation as they gazed at the majestic black Mutated Beast.
"Is that Commander Tang Wen?"
"He's so young."
"Yes, I heard he's a genius in Martial Arts!"
"..."
The passersby whispered praises.
Tang Wen turned his horse onto another street.
On either side of the road stood rows of red houses.
At the doorways, some scantily clad women with pale, lotus-like legs giggled as they watched Tang Wen.
Perhaps recognizing his status, none of them blocked his path.
Leaving Tang Wen with a hint of disappointment.
Not very welcoming at all.
Suddenly, a somewhat familiar face appeared by the roadside.
"Commander Tang Wen, you must be tired from hunting. Come in and rest!"
The women were all surprised.
Though they all wanted to invite Tang Wen in, they didn't dare, given his status as the commander.
"It's that flirt Liu Niang!"
"How dare she? Such audacity!"
"Hmph! She's just lusting after Commander Tang Wen."
"Big sister, aren't you?"
"Pah! I admire his talent more."
The group of women burst into laughter.
Liu Niang, after speaking, gracefully bowed, revealing a glimpse of her fair, rosy skin.
Her eyes were bold and fiery.
It seemed that if not for the people on the street.
She might have done something more.
Tang Wen averted his gaze, "Next time."
"My lord, when is next time?"
Seeing her trying to push her luck, Tang Wen quickly urged his horse forward, "You'll know when the time comes."
Liu Niang called out plaintively from behind, "Don't make me wait too long, my lord!"
Tang Wen nudged his horse, thinking it would be better to return late at night next time.
Also, he should try to avoid this road in the future.
How could women disturb his Martial Arts heart?
He must transcend as soon as possible!
He decided not to rest tonight.
He would continue to the wilderness.
Upon arriving home, Tang Wen followed his usual routine and took a bath first.
Xiao Liu, Taohua, and Cuilian, along with Xiao Taozi, took his clothes to wash.
Even though one person could have done the job, the three women insisted on doing it together.
There were seven items in total: underwear, socks, boots, outerwear, and a leather cloak.
Taohua, quick with her hands, grabbed three items and smiled happily.
Xiao Liu was sullen: "Sister Taohua, you're so sly. Last time, you washed one more item too."
Cuilian nodded in agreement: "Yes, Sister Taohua, it's our turn to wash this time."
Taohua quickly suppressed her smile, picked up the wooden basin, and walked away: "Hurry up and wash! After we're done, we can go practice Martial Arts! Becoming a Martial Practitioner is the most important thing!"
"You always have something to say."
Recently, the water from Tang Tang's medicinal baths had been shared among the three women.
Their strength had increased significantly.
Whether it was daily chores or farming in the neighboring yard, everything became easier.
They could now spare more time to study the Cultivation Methods Tang Wen had taught them.
Tang Tang also enjoyed teaching. Every day after returning from the Martial Arts school, she would give them some guidance.
Of course, this was only after selling the Meat Buns.
At night, Tang Wen headed back to the wilderness.
Days passed in this back-and-forth routine.
Tang Wen's various skills gradually improved through steady practice.
Over a month later, the weather grew warmer.
It was almost harvest time.
But the foxtail millet in the fields had turned yellow.
After the farmers harvested, threshed, and bagged the grain, they weighed it and found it was less than 30% of the previous year's yield.
The camp collected half of it.
The other half was left for the farming families.
The proportion left for them was higher than in previous years, but the actual amount of grain was halved.
The situation was dire. How much surplus grain did the families in the outer city have?
Even more critical was the question of how to plant the next season.
As Tang Wen passed through the fields, he saw the dry earth, cracked and parched.
A ladle of water poured onto the ground was instantly absorbed.
Not a single drop of rain fell from the sky.
This was going to drive people to their deaths!
Farmers, women, and children knelt by the roadside, weeping.
Tang Wen hurried past, powerless to help.
On this day, after more than a month of effort, Tang Wen finally filled the top layer of the ice cellar in his yard.
After finishing his work, he took a Meat Bun handed to him by Xiao Liu.
Suddenly, he heard someone calling outside: "Is Commander Tang Wen here? If so, please come to the General's residence for a meeting!"
After several months of leisure, Tang Wen responded.
He had anticipated this. With the severe drought, emergencies were increasing, and it was inevitable that there would be a shortage of manpower. As a mid-to-high-level combatant, he couldn't remain idle forever.
At the General's residence.
When Tang Wen entered the meeting hall.
General Zhao was issuing a series of orders: "First, inform the people in the outer city that all rents are waived starting today, so they can live in peace. Rents will be collected again only when the harvest is bountiful!"
"Second, tell them not to fetch water from the lake. If they don't want to die, they must stay away!"
"Third, the camp will soon conscript them fo
r work, and they will be provided with meals..."
At this moment, General Zhou entered from outside, patted Tang Wen on the shoulder, and without any unnecessary words, directly said, "There's trouble everywhere now. I need you to lead the merchant caravan to Wujia City."
"Me?"
"Qian Sanduo will go with you. The roads are becoming increasingly unsafe. Having an additional Martial Master provides an extra layer of security."
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