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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 45: Militia
Xia Zhou could see the gates of Purgatory Palace from a distance. "Is that Purgatory Palace?" he asked.
Ji Zichen had never been there either, but she assumed it was. "Hmm? What was that sound?" Suddenly, from the dense forest on both sides, a figure wearing a Flame Mask leaped out. Xia Zhou immediately gripped his Eight Desolation Needles, but the newcomer was Lin Chuyu. Seeing Xia Zhou ready to throw his needles, Lin Chuyu quickly said, "Wait. Don't make a move; just see who I am."
Lin Chuyu removed her mask, and both Ji Zichen and Xia Zhou were taken aback with surprise and joy. They exclaimed in unison, "What are you doing here?"
Before Lin Chuyu could respond, a group from Purgatory Palace approached them. One of the subordinates coldly declared, "We've found them!"
Seven disciples from Purgatory Palace surrounded the three of them. Xia Zhou naturally didn't take these subordinates seriously and intended to strike at the seven. Just then, a horn sounded in the distance, echoing ominously.
The subordinates of Purgatory Palace felt a chill run down their spines. "Enemies are coming!"
Ji Zichen and Xia Zhou exchanged glances as seven cries of despair suddenly rang out above them.
---
At Purgatory Palace, Black Eyes, Sister Nine, and Old Eight climbed up onto the city wall. From their vantage point, they spotted a cavalry of thirty appearing about twenty paces away. Old Eight frowned as he looked at the densely packed heads of people and asked, "Who are those people?"
Black Eyes replied coldly, "Who else could they be? They're just those villagers forming a militia—nothing but a rabble."
This militia was originally made up of villagers from Tide Mountain, led by You Wu. Beside him stood his good brother Zeng Hua.
Zeng Hua glared at Purgatory Palace from afar and said with resentment, "Brother You, just seeing that Penance Tower makes my blood boil."
You Wu shared Zeng Hua's hatred. "Those people from Purgatory Palace are occupying Yangquan Cliff and shamelessly loitering around Tide Mountain. If we don't resist now, Tide Mountain will be finished."
Zeng Hua's anger turned into helplessness as he said, "If other villagers are willing to believe in us and join our cause, our numbers will surely grow strong enough to drive away the people from Purgatory Palace."
You Wu snorted coldly. "Those people are cowardly; they'd rather be enslaved by Purgatory Palace than fight back. They're even more despicable than those from Purgatory Palace."
Zeng Hua sighed and said, "Brother You, we can't say that. After all, they are people with families."
You Wu frowned and replied, "We are resisting for our families. Can this really be an excuse?"
Taking a deep breath, You Wu continued, "Not them." He raised his voice and declared, "Listen up! This time we will take down Purgatory Palace and show the other villages that Purgatory Palace is not as terrifying as it seems. It is our weakness that has allowed the people of Purgatory Palace to act so arrogantly on Tide Mountain!"
"Yes!" The militia behind him shouted with flushed faces.
---
Black Eyes stared at the resistance fighters and said, "Isn’t that person called You Wu leading them again?"
Sister Nine suggested, "Black Eyes, I think we should avoid direct confrontation with them. It would be better to talk things over; I believe we can reach some kind of peace agreement."
Black Eyes sneered, "Negotiate? Sister Nine, are you joking? Do I really need to negotiate with these people? The ones we are waiting for haven't arrived, but those who shouldn't be here have come. Old Eight, go drive these trash away. If they resist, kill them all."
Sister Nine felt pity and spoke up in defense, "Just drive them away, Old Eight. Don't kill anyone; that will only deepen the hatred."
Old Eight shared Sister Nine's view and said, "Black Eyes, stop resorting to killing so easily. For every person you kill, the villagers will hate us more. Fine, I'll take a few people and handle it."
Though the other side had thirty people, the members of Purgatory Palace would hardly regard them as a threat.
You Wu ordered, "Brothers, load the purchased talismans and demon-slaying arrows. Shoot them all into Purgatory Palace!"
"Yes!" The militia quickly nocked their arrows. You Wu raised his hand, ready to signal the attack.
Suddenly, a cry of horror erupted from behind him.
You Wu turned around to see a humanoid Leopard Spirit. The Leopard Spirit had a fierce expression with long fangs protruding from its lips. Standing upright, it swung its leopard claws and instantly ripped open the bellies of several horses.
Sitting on their horses, the Militia panicked and cried out as they fell to the ground. You Wu shouted, "It's a Monster from Purgatory Palace! Quickly, cut it down!"
The Militia simultaneously lowered their longbows, knowing that shooting at close range could injure their own. They aimed their blades at the Leopard Spirit.
Old Eight, still behind the raging beast and yet to remove his mask or reveal his true form, shouted, "Stop! Leopard, who told you to attack?"
The Leopard let out an angry roar and, just as the blade was about to strike, activated its speed to retreat towards Old Eight.
The Militia's blade swung through empty air, and just as they were about to pursue, You Wu also shouted, "Hold your fire!"
The Militia glared at Old Eight, holding their weapons defensively across their chests.
Both sides paused momentarily. Old Eight stepped forward and said, "I am Eight Mo Shih from Purgatory Palace. Listen to my advice and lay down your weapons and surrender."
Before You Wu could respond, one of the Militia angrily shouted, "Surrender? You must be dreaming! My brother died at your hands in Purgatory Palace. I swear I won't rest until your palace is destroyed!"
With a whoosh, the Militia charged forward on horseback, swinging his sword at Old Eight. Old Eight stepped back a few paces, calmly avoiding the strike. He intended to persuade them further, but seeing the Militia act recklessly, the Leopard seized the opportunity. As the Militia's blade missed its target, the Leopard slashed its claws across the Militia's face.
The Militia cried out in pain as he fell from his horse, clutching his severely injured face and screaming in agony. The horse was startled by the Leopard's ferocity; in its panic, it reared up and trampled down on the fallen Militia's leg. The Militia felt two intense pains coursing through him and collapsed into unconsciousness.
After a moment of shock, the frightened horse bolted away from its rider. The remaining Militia were enraged upon seeing their comrade injured and raised their blades to strike at the Leopard while shouting, "Kill that Leopard!"
Seeing the Militia charging towards the Leopard with a thunderous gallop, Old Eight did not wish to harm anyone but also did not want to witness his kind being hurt. He quickly removed his mask.
In an instant, Old Eight vanished from where he stood on the ground, revealing a large pit where he had been. As eight Militia rode within half a yard of the Leopard, it let out a fierce roar and prepared to retaliate. However, as they charged forward, all eight horses suddenly stumbled into the pit and lost their balance, causing them to collapse and throw their riders to the ground.
The approaching Militia were taken aback! How could these eight galloping horses suddenly fall down?
Zeng Hua's gaze sharpened as he looked towards the ground and saw a large pit had formed there.
Zeng Hua pointed at the hole in the ground and shouted, "Brother You! Look over there, there's a hole!"
You Wu turned to where Zeng Hua was pointing, puzzled. "What... what is going on here?"
Old Eight appeared, his form shifting into that of a rat spirit. He stood where he had vanished earlier and said, "I dug the hole. The horse may be good, but if it's on this uneven ground, what can it do? Right now, I'm hurting the horse. If you keep trying to persuade me, I won't hold back."
Black Eyes had already seen You Wu and the others retreating from atop the city wall. He shook his head and remarked, "Old Eight is too soft-hearted. He let them go this time; they'll come back again next time. Why bother?"
Sister Nine understood the capabilities of these Demon Beasts well. She frowned and thought to herself, "My guess was right; no one can stand against Purgatory Palace. That's why I've already made plans to save money and leave. Only a fool would oppose them."
Old Eight and Yu Ren returned to Purgatory Palace, where Black Eyes coldly said, "You've worked hard, Eight Mo Shih."
Old Eight smiled and replied, "Black Eyes, don't be angry. It's enough that they left at such a low cost."
Meanwhile, Ji Zichen and the others were hiding on a slightly elevated hill. They had witnessed how Old Eight had driven off the enemy. Xia Zhou looked on with both amazement and concern. "That’s a rat that can dig holes! If it starts attacking, that rat will be tough to deal with."
Ji Zichen said, "If it's tough to deal with, then let's not provoke it."
Xia Zhou replied, "Right, right! Now that Lin Chuyu is safe, I think we should leave."
Ji Zichen asked, "Leave? Where to? Have you forgotten why we came here?"
Xia Zhou retorted, "You're being foolish! Think about it—could there be any ruins here? Look at how long the people from Purgatory Palace have been living here; if there were really ruins, they would have discovered them by now."
Lin Chuyu chimed in, "Yes, Brother Ji. During my time in Purgatory Palace, I never heard them mention anything about this nor did I see anything strange."
However, Ji Zichen countered, "Don't forget about the Fire Lion; it has been here before. But these people seem unaware of its presence. This clearly indicates that the location of the ruins is very secretive."
"However, the information provided by Management is indeed that the ruins are located at Yangquan Cliff, which is occupied by Purgatory Palace. Do you expect them to let you in to search slowly?" Xia Zhou said.
At this moment, Ji Zichen firmly stated, "I believe the ruins are not at Yangquan Cliff."
Lin Chuyu asked in surprise, "How can it not be at Yangquan Cliff? Is Uncle Jinglun lying to us?"
Ji Zichen replied, "I’m not sure. Perhaps Yangquan Cliff is just a coordinate or something. Xia Zhou, you heard what Black Eyes said yesterday. He is also at Fire Cloud Residence. So, Fire Lion and we spoke, and Black Eyes must have heard it too. But why did Black Eyes still capture Lin Chuyu?"
Xia Zhou suddenly realized, "Ah, I understand now. If I were Black Eyes and had lived at Yangquan Cliff for so long, I would definitely know every detail about it. If there were really ruins there, I wouldn’t bother capturing Lin Chuyu."
Ji Zichen nodded in agreement. "Exactly. So, I think Yangquan Cliff is very likely just a coordinate."
Xia Zhou couldn't help but complain, "Management really is something else. Since they are willing to speak up, why not directly tell us where the ruins are? What kind of nonsense are they playing at?"
Ji Zichen said, "I think Management isn’t trying to be mysterious; they probably haven’t been here and only know the location in general. Anyway, the ruins are somewhere in Tide Mountain."
Xia Zhou remarked, "But Tide Mountain is vast and has no clues. Are you confident you can find it?"
Ji Zichen didn’t have much confidence either and said, "Let’s head back to the village first."
Xia Zhou responded with concern, "Back to the village? What’s the point? Those people aren’t fools; they will definitely search each village for us."
Ji Zichen sighed, "I know that, but we really don’t have any leads. Let’s return to the village and ask if there are any rumors about Tide Mountain. Even if they come to search for us, we don’t need to worry; they won’t act harshly until they find the ruins."
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