Pirates

026 Pirates

Despite being mentally prepared, Ren Yuan's voice still grew tense.

"I... I can smell blood."

The two bailiffs stayed at the back, Old Zhao and Little Zhao protecting Ming Shu. They left their horses and supplies behind, took their respective weapons, and moved closer to Ren Yuan.

Ren Yuan and Chong Li had already scouted ahead along the small hill, using the trees for cover.

Turning a corner, they saw a fire.

"It's pirates."

Ahead was a small village of about ten households.

The courtyard walls they had built couldn't stop these pirates at all. The nearby traps had been roughly dealt with by them.

A dozen or so pirates were shouting, accompanied by waves of frog croaks.

They rose and fell, creating a lively scene.

Chong Li pulled Ren Yuan, turned to look at Ming Shu, and since it was his territory now, prepared to see his decision.

This was also a test for Ming Shu from the Sky-Toppling Observatory.

"Save them! Everyone be careful." Ming Shu surveyed the scene. There were only about a dozen pirates, enough to bully ordinary people, but their own group could all fight.

Ren Yuan charged out first, immediately kicking a pirate who was acting as a lookout in a tree, sending him flying.

Ming Shu and the others also charged out. Staying behind would only leave them isolated, and even the two bailiffs had no choice but to follow.

Chong Li cast a spell on the group, granting each person a fifteen-minute action speed buff.

After casting the spell, Chong Li stayed behind, walking slowly with the two bailiffs, resting and preparing for any unexpected developments.

Ming Shu told Old Zhao to help Ren Yuan, while he and Little Zhao would cooperate and focus on self-preservation.

By the time Ming Shu and Little Zhao approached the village, Ren Yuan had already charged into the pirates. Except for severely wounding one person with his first move, the pirates immediately formed defensive trios, preventing Ren Yuan from having an opportunity to kill them.

However, it did delay their killing and looting. By the time Old Zhao joined the fight, he had rescued the few surviving villagers.

As Ming Shu neared the pirates, his Fate Book finally reacted.

New notification messages appeared one after another: [Demon Beast Spirit: Still Water Frog, Ice Fire Frog, Water Moon Frog, Shadow Moon Frog, Illusion Moon Frog, Chiming Tide Frog, Moon Gazing Frog, Snow Frog, Poison Smoke Frog, Fire Moon Frog, Snow Moon Frog, Moonlight Snow Frog, Water Ghost Frog.]

Good heavens, these dozen or so pirates each had a Demon Beast Spirit on them. Although he couldn't see the actual bodies of these spirits, they were likely small and hidden somewhere on their person, or perhaps stored in some kind of storage bag.

These Demon Beast Spirits could fight independently, but judging by their names, they probably weren't very strong on their own. This left them to attach themselves to their hosts and provide some demonic skills.

Indeed, at the moment Ming Shu was looking at the guide, the [Demon Beast Spirit: Fire Moon Frog] from one of the pirates attached itself and attacked. The pirate faced Ren Yuan and suddenly unleashed a fiery attack, followed by a sword strike.

Ren Yuan, without even activating the Demonic Spirit power within him, met the flames with an iron fist. Unafraid of the fire, he shattered the sword and sent it flying.

That pirate gloriously became the second person to be severely wounded.

Relying on their numbers, they still had an advantage. They picked on the weaker ones, and two groups of six immediately launched a fierce assault on Old Zhao. Little Zhao and Ming Shu rushed over to help, with Chong Li and the two bailiffs following behind.

Their primary objective was to rescue people. Ming Shu had only mentioned saving people, and that was the goal; killing pirates was secondary.

Ming Shu didn't rush to deal with the pirates.

He didn't know if they had reinforcements nearby, and similarly, they didn't know his identity or if he had other forces behind him.

Furthermore, Ren Yuan had already heavily injured two of them, and Old Zhao's skill and combat performance were also very strong, putting immense pressure on them.

Being unafraid of the Demon Beast Spirits' abilities meant they weren't ordinary martial arts experts.

If they had official backing, they would be even more fearful.

A stalemate had temporarily formed.

Some were already thinking of retreating, while others couldn't swallow their pride, especially with two brothers severely injured.

Then, Chong Li and the two bailiffs arrived. They finally saw the uniforms on the two bailiffs.

Hesitation grew.

Previously, when they had plundered in this area, they had maintained a certain distance and a high degree of tacit understanding with the local powers.

Now that bailiffs had appeared, they didn't know if someone had deliberately betrayed them.

This made them even more eager to retreat.

The few brothers they had ambushing behind them had not given any warning. It wasn't a large force approaching from the front, but even with just the people in front of them, killing all of them would come at a great cost.

It wasn't a profitable transaction, so they wouldn't do it.

"Let's go!"

"No hesitation."

The pirates who were engaging Ren Yuan began to retreat step by step. Those who had been attacking Old Zhao, after reaching a consensus, immediately gave the signal to withdraw.

All the Demon Beast Spirits attached themselves, unleashing several different demonic arts at once.

The power wasn't great, at least not for Ren Yuan, who was tough. Even Old Zhao, whose martial arts realm was two levels higher than his, had to choose to dodge the attacks.

The pirates managed to escape smoothly.

It was too dangerous for Ren Yuan to pursue them alone.

Ming Shu and Chong Li immediately shouted for Ren Yuan to stop chasing.

The pirates were decisive, taking only the wounded and quickly disappearing into the forest in another direction according to their plan.

Ming Shu ran over to shout at Ren Yuan, thus separating himself from Old Zhao and Little Zhao.

Chong Li also had to run out behind him.

As the three of them rushed out of the village, before they even got close to the forest, three ice arrows shot towards them.

[Demon Beast Spirits: Rock Ice Turtle, Ice Turtle, Ice Fire Turtle.]

Information on three more demon beast spirits had been collected.

Ren Yuan shattered an ice arrow with an iron fist.

Chong Li spun around with a graceful dance, easily dodging an ice arrow.

Ming Shu activated [Demonic Spirit: Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King]'s skill [Pagoda Guard]! He also successfully blocked an ice arrow.

Ren Yuan cursed as he returned, shielding Ming Shu as they retreated back into the village.

Extinguishing the fire was impossible, so the few of them helped the villagers salvage useful supplies, treat wounds, and take turns resting.

By the time dawn broke, the fire had mostly died down.

Ming Shu didn't mention that he was the new master of this area. In the ten years of desolation, this region hadn't been entirely uninhabited.

Some people who couldn't survive elsewhere had secretly come to this area to reclaim the land. Self-sufficiency was a beautiful ideal, of course.

The reality, however, was natural disasters, man-made calamities, and frequent raids by pirates.

If they were lucky, they only lost property; if they were unlucky, they couldn't even save their lives.

The situation was similar not only in the Bai Family Village area but also in other inhabited places, which were frequently harassed by pirates.

Their manor lords or village chiefs would rally the people to build their own fortified settlements. Those who could return immediately were generally safe from pirate assaults.

These pirates also cherished their own lives; they simply didn't value the lives of ordinary people.

Whenever they encountered a slightly tougher opponent, they would move to another location.

Donghai Prefecture hadn't known peace for years. Their presence was felt not only in the coastal villages and towns but also deeper inland, near the county seats.

The pirates who had just shot arrows from the forest had been ambushed in advance to cover their retreat.

It was unclear if they could be considered well-trained, but at least their tactics of advancing and retreating were orderly.

For the foreseeable future, Ming Shu's main opponents would likely be these guys. The world's power struggles were too far from him; survival came first.