Fresh Blood flowed across Qi Xiao Jiu's face.
Simultaneously, he heard a scream from Ah Huang.
Not good!
His heart sank, and when he opened his eyes again, he was so startled that his hands trembled.
He saw the lowlife rolling on the ground, with Ah Huang still biting onto his arm, but only half of the dog's body remained; the other half had fallen to the ground, and its intestines were spilled everywhere.
Qi Xiao Jiu had swung his blade with all his might; the force was sufficient and the edge was sharp, unexpectedly slicing the Master's beloved dog in two.
He was momentarily dazed and lowered his head, his Line of Sight fixed on the dead Ah Huang.
This is bad; how will I explain this to the Master when I return? The Master wouldn't make me pay with my own life, would he?
His entire head was numb.
Swish!
Just as he was distracted, the Refugee who had been standing in place, holding the spear and catching his breath, thrust his spear out again.
This thrust was faster and more ferocious than the previous ones; he didn't look like he had run out of strength at all!
Shocked that he had killed the Master's beloved dog, Qi Xiao Jiu reacted a beat too slow, his body retreating while he swung his blade upward.
However, the wounds on his back and legs from earlier occurred simultaneously, making his evasion slow and his defense sluggish!
Qi Xiao Jiu only felt a sharp pain and a chill in his throat.
The Spearhead, fashioned from a broken dagger, had already penetrated his neck!
Fresh Blood sprayed out, draining all the strength from his body.
Thump.
The Steel knife in his hand fell to the ground, and he knelt on the ground clutching his throat, his hands stained with slippery Fresh Blood that he could not stop; a gurgling sound came from his mouth, and his eyes were filled with terror and disbelief.
Opposite him, the two lowly Refugees, who were like common grass, also collapsed to the ground, gasping for air; they had truly run out of strength.
Qi Xiao Jiu's Line of Sight gradually became blurry.
Damn that Ah Huang; if it hadn't caused trouble, dealing with two Refugees alone would have been a matter of two slashes.
Damn those two lowlifes, they cheated!
His body lunged forward, his eyes wide open, and he died with unseeing eyes.
On the empty Mountaintop, only the heavy breathing of Lu Ye and Wang Hu remained; both felt as if their throats were burning like fire, their lungs felt like they were about to explode, and they had not a shred of strength left in their bodies.
It took a full quarter of an hour for the two of them to catch their breath.
Wang Hu didn't even have the strength to walk, so he crawled to Lu Ye's side.
"Eldest brother, how is your arm?"
Lu Ye was unable to lift his arm; he saw that his arm was wrapped in thick clothing, which had been bitten into fragments by the fierce dog, revealing several wooden sticks inside, marked with deep canine tooth impressions.
He pulled away the tattered clothes, and the wooden sticks fell to the ground, revealing an arm as thin as a hemp stalk, covered in large bruises, but fortunately, the skin was not broken.
He moved his arm slightly and felt a sharp pain; however, feeling the bone, it didn't seem broken, though it might be fractured. He let out a long breath and said.
"It should be nothing serious."
There wasn't even a suitable place to hide on this barren mountaintop, so the two had no choice but to Fight to the Death against the Pursuers.
Lu Ye knew the enemy had brought a Hunting dog, so he had broken the wooden sticks in advance and used the clothes they had stripped from corpses to tie the short wooden pieces onto their arms for protection.
He knew his own level; being able to drag and hold the Hunting dog to create an opportunity for Wang Hu to kill the enemy was good enough, so he had actively collided with the lunging Hunting dog.
Fortunately, this Hunting dog did not look as fierce as the wolfhounds from Lu Ye's past life, and its bite force was likely inferior; combined with the protection, his arm was saved.
As for what happened afterward, he could only do his best and pray to the heavens.
Wang Hu's previous few thrusts were truly because he had run out of strength; standing in place to rest was not a ruse to lure the enemy.
The Fierce servant had raised his blade and moved forward; Lu Ye was forced to block in front, using all his strength to throw a handful of dirt, and facing the sharp blade, he could only use the dog as a shield.
Who would have thought that the Fierce servant and the vicious dog were so deeply attached that he stood there stunned after accidentally killing the dog with one slash.
Wang Hu, facing a good opportunity, exerted all his strength in one thrust and unexpectedly succeeded.
The two brothers looked at each other, drenched in sweat, feeling lucky to have survived and full of lingering fear.
The two helped each other up, wanting to escape, but their legs were weak and they couldn't stand up for a moment; the little bit of energy provided by half a piece of hard steamed bun had been completely exhausted in the fight just now.
And down the hillside, perhaps because of the noise made during the fight, or perhaps because the Torch carried by the Fierce servant had fallen and been extinguished, it attracted attention.
They saw more than ten Torches gathering, accompanied by the barking of Hunting dogs, as a team moved toward the Mountaintop.
Lu Ye and Wang Hu were anxious but helpless.
Clatter, clatter, clatter!
Just on this silent Mountaintop, the sound of mule and horse hoofbeats suddenly rang out.
They saw a Cavalry Team of more than ten people carrying Torches galloping from the Official Road in the distance; the riders in this Cavalry Team included both men and women, each wearing mismatched clothes, some holding blades and spears, others holding horse bows; their clothes and Weapons were not uniform.
However, they all had a fierce Aura and a cold complexion.
This team of riders galloped up to Lu Ye and Wang Hu, and seeing the corpses of the Servant and the dog on the ground, the group rode their horses around the two, kicking up a large amount of dust and smoke.
The leading rider was a black-faced man with a long beard.
Crack.
He flicked the Horse whip in his hand, causing it to snap in the air.
"Damn it, what kind of background do you two have? Did you kill this person and the dog?"
Without waiting for Lu Ye and Wang Hu to answer, he asked again.
"Tell me, how far is it from here to Dong Sai Prefecture?"
This team of riders was undisciplined, and as soon as the black-faced man finished asking, others immediately began to speak up, cursing loudly.
"The dog officials made such a big show of force for their expedition."
"It made King Chuang unable to sleep well; all the Scouts were sent out and could not return to camp."
"We waited for half a day and didn't see them, but the dog officials unexpectedly returned to the city; we have to chase after their buttocks to see what kind of tricks they are playing!"
"Once we breach the Dong Sai Prefecture, we must chop that dog official into eighteen pieces!"
Lu Ye and Wang Hu looked at each other—these people came from the opposite direction of the Prefecture City, their clothes and Weapons were messy, they had no discipline, were free and loose, and had a fierce Aura.
They even talked about the Government Soldiers going out to suppress Chuang Potian.
These people were the Bandits; Chuang Potian didn't wait for the Government Soldiers to attack him, but instead sent his Scouts over.
Lu Ye's eyes darted, and he bowed, saying—Respected Masters...
He explained the ins and outs of the matter.
From fleeing to the Prefecture City and encountering the Government authorities recruiting young and strong men as soldiers, to the next day when the Government Soldiers coerced the young and strong men out of the city to suppress bandits, and then to sunset, when the expeditionary Government Soldiers returned in formation, but the young and strong Refugees who accompanied them all had their heads hanging on spears...
And then to the Government Soldiers blocking both ends, exerting force from inside and outside the city, killing and scattering the old and weak Refugees; the Influential families in the Prefecture City also sent Servants to cooperate in slaying those who escaped the net, and so on...
"This Fierce servant and the vicious dog were killed by us brothers!" Lu Ye pointed to the Torches gradually approaching behind them, "Those lackeys are still searching the mountain and will be here soon."
The long-bearded black-faced leader was so angry after hearing this that he cursed loudly.
"These dog officials, their Methods are even more despicable than ours!"
"Brothers, leave one person to watch them; if they dare to be dishonest, just chop them! The rest of you follow me and charge down; let's chop a few Heads first to vent our anger!"
The group of riders responded with a roar.
Except for leaving one Woman to watch over Lu Ye and Wang Hu, the group whipped their horses and charged down along the Official Road.
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