Chapter 6735
The Cost of Confrontation
Chapter 6735 The Cost of Confrontation
Outside Guzhou City, it was a desolate place and most of the crops had withered.
Some time ago, a large number of refugees gathered outside the city, eager to get food.
But from beginning to end, they were unable to receive any relief from the government and were instead constantly expelled.
The ferocious officers and soldiers ordered the refugees to return to their hometowns immediately, otherwise they would be treated as bandits.
If they became bandits, they would most likely be shackled and sent to the mines to do hard labor.
They were beaten and abused by supervisors and faced all kinds of dangerous accidents, with a death and injury rate as high as 60%.
The 40% of prisoners who survived, even if they had the chance to be released, would end up with a body full of tuberculosis and various injuries.
Faced with the dual threats of the government and hunger, many refugees were sad and desperate, and people died silently every day.
The corpse collection team in the city would get up early every day and go out to look for the dead refugees outside the city.
The bodies were transported to a mass grave outside the city and thrown into a dug ditch, where they would soon be eaten by wild dogs.
In years of famine, when people are living in poverty, the man-eating wild dogs live a comfortable life.
Guarding the mass grave, there is never a shortage of food.
When they heard that nearby cities were distributing porridge to refugees for free, the refugees outside Guzhou City flocked there.
However, within one day, thousands of refugees outside the city disappeared without a trace, which surprised the soldiers responsible for guarding the city.
When the truth was known, the people of Guzhou City became uneasy again.
The city defender angrily rebuked the evil spirits and monsters, put on an air of righteousness, and resolutely refused to open the warehouses and release the grain as requested.
At the same time, it was claimed that these were rioters and rebels who were misleading the people and that they must not be deceived.
In the eyes of the emperor, this was a manifestation of loyalty and must be encouraged and rewarded.
The common people of Guzhou City were very angry about this matter, because that corrupt official was using the safety of the people in exchange for his own future and wealth.
If there really is an evil spirit that massacres the city, it will be the ordinary people who will suffer. The city defenders have the army and experts to protect them, and they have enough time to escape, so they can be said to have nothing to fear.
Ordinary people have little influence and cannot influence government decisions. Now they can only pray for peace in secret.
The wealthy families in the city were also extremely dissatisfied, believing that this was a malicious kidnapping by the city defenders.
They were not generous people, but exchanging a small amount of food for peace was a cost-effective deal that did not require any consideration.
The reason why he compromised so easily was that he really couldn't afford to provoke his opponent this time, so he simply chose to lose money to avoid disaster.
The city defender was a thoughtful person and knew what the wealthy and powerful families were thinking, so he sent people to lobby them one by one.
He used his background and identity to coerce and bribe the wealthy and powerful families into obeying and cooperating.
After the matter is accomplished, these wealthy families will also benefit, and the various promises make them quite tempted.
Faced with the city defenders with powerful backgrounds, the wealthy families had no choice but to surrender and cooperate with the next actions.
However, out of caution, many wealthy families still acted secretly and sent some of their relatives and family members to other cities.
It’s best if nothing goes wrong. If something does go wrong, the losses can be effectively reduced.
Masters from the Imperial City, warriors and soldiers from Guzhou City, as well as personnel sent by major families, are now patrolling and defending the city.
News from another city is now gradually coming in, enough to piece together the horrific scene at that time.
The terrifying refugee boy and all kinds of evil monsters terrified everyone who heard about them.
The residents of Guzhou City were terrified by the heavy casualties among demon hunters, the city defenders who were skinned and stuffed with straw for condoning the sale of rice and meat, and the heavy casualties among the families and servants of the wealthy and powerful families.
I’m afraid those horrible monsters will really appear in the city. What should I do then?
The city defender was full of confidence, thinking that he could take this opportunity to become famous and get a reward from the emperor.
The people below were different. They only felt uneasy and frightened, not knowing how to deal with the possible danger.
At this moment, I can only pray that the thing I am most worried about will not happen.
But for some reason, people in the city had a feeling of uneasiness, as if a disaster was about to happen.
The most terrifying thing is that the whole city is in a state of unrest and is in an extremely abnormal state.
Fish jumped out of the water, chickens, ducks, geese and dogs barked everywhere, swarms of mosquitoes flew around, and there was a faint stench that filled the city streets, but the source of the smell could not be found.
All these strange situations made the residents in the city more and more panicked, and they all said that this was a sign that demons and evil spirits were about to come.
When the city defender heard about this, he became furious and immediately dispatched more soldiers to conduct a thorough investigation on the streets.
Anyone who makes alarmist remarks again will be immediately arrested and thrown into jail, or driven out of the city and not allowed to return.
Since the famine broke out, a large number of refugees have gathered outside the city, and murders and looting have occurred frequently.
At this time, being driven out of the city and not allowed to return is equivalent to being sentenced to death.
This scare warning made the people in the city silent and they dared not talk about the matter anymore.
Every family closed their doors and did not dare to go out easily, their hearts filled with fear and torment.
No one knows whether evil monsters will appear, and no one can let their guard down until the crisis is over.
An order from the city defender plunged the entire city into a depressing atmosphere, and it was quieter than ever before.
When night fell, the soldiers guarding the city wall suddenly smelled a strong stench.
That's the smell of a corpse.
In recent days, due to the large influx of refugees, the number of deaths has increased.
Although the corpse collection team cleans up every day, people on the city wall can still often smell the stench of corpses.
The smell tonight is even stronger, so strong that it is almost impossible to dissolve, and it keeps coming to your face.
Such a strange situation made the officers guarding the city uneasy, and they ordered to fire illuminating rockets into the distance.
The illuminating rocket is a special arrow that is shot through a crossbow. It automatically unfolds after reaching a certain height. The tail is an umbrella-like structure that can slow down the descent speed after it opens.
At the lower end is a special fuel that can burst out dazzling light and is specifically used for nighttime lighting.
This specially designed defensive weapon is designed specifically for city defense and can provide effective lighting in pitch-dark environments.
The scene outside the window was revealed by the firelight, which surprised the group of soldiers guarding the city.
In the barren wilderness outside the city, many figures were walking slowly, so many that they could not be counted.
These figures have strange postures and look extremely abnormal. If you look closely, you can see that many of them have rotten limbs, and many of them are left with only a skeleton.
The stench of decay comes from these figures. No wonder it is so strong that it cannot be dispelled and it keeps coming.
Seeing these strange figures, the soldiers guarding the city were shocked, and at this moment there was only one thought in their minds.
These are definitely not living people, but a pile of corpses, a group of dead people who have already rotted and smelled.
Some soldiers guarding the city recognized the origins of these corpses and found them to be the dead refugees.
But at this moment, the bodies of the refugees who had long since died and rotted and been thrown into mass graves were actually pouring towards Guzhou City in droves.
The various rumors spreading in the city flashed through the soldiers' minds, making them even more panicked and desperate.
"The evil is coming, the evil monster is coming!"
Accompanied by a cry of surprise, bursts of drum beats were heard from the top of the city wall, which was a signal that the enemy had been discovered.
As the drums sounded, the whole city became restless.
Those warriors and soldiers who were fully armed and on standby were filled with fear at this moment.
I had been praying before, hoping that evil spirits would not appear, but now it seems to have no effect.
In the next period of time, you will most likely face a fierce battle, and the enemy will be terrible demons and evil spirits.
No one knows whether this battle can be won, but they have no choice at this moment.
City Shoufu.
Hundreds of demon hunters dressed in various styles looked outside the city with solemn faces; they had all sensed the rising corpse aura.
The city guard of Guzhou City, a young official from a large family, hurried over after hearing the news.
He suppressed his anxiety and fear, bowed to the group of demon hunters, and asked them to kill the evil spirit.