Fish Bait

033 Fish Bait

In the biting wind, a group of people shivered violently. They were the same pirates whom Ming Shu and the others had driven off last time. Today, they had brought reinforcements and planned to return for revenge.

They had mainly found out that this was just a new brat who knew nothing and wanted to come here to establish a Household.

They needed to teach him a good lesson and make him behave from now on.

Their leader was a burly man with a huge nose and a wide mouth. His demon spirit perched on his shoulder.

He had never had a chance to become a leader before, but today, with the heavy snow falling, it was finally his Snow Frog's turn to take the field.

One of its abilities was to gain strength in wind and snow. What was more, this strength could even be passed on within a small area.

If this ability had not been somewhat useful to his teammates, this Han Han of a master would have been thrown off the island to feed the fish long ago. How could he have had his moment today?

What about the former captain? It had been an Ice Fire Frog, which could originally also be used in snowy weather. Unfortunately, it had been injured in the previous battle. It had nearly been abandoned as well. That was simply how the island's rules worked: anyone who could no longer fight alongside his brothers had to be discarded at once.

There was another squad behind them. Among them, the demon spirits of the two leaders were a Snow Moon Frog and a Moonlight Snow Frog. Neither was weaker than the one here.

Everyone in the squad knew that they were going to be sent out as bait.

Only the Han Han leading them was happily cheering to himself.

Ming Shu had thought they would once again sneak over by water. He had not expected them to walk directly across the snow, swaggering over in broad daylight.

It was only when the Life Book alerted him that he discovered a group of people approaching from the east. From far away, they were wrapped in white robes, making them difficult to distinguish in the snow for a while.

But Ming Shu quickly understood the crucial point. On a day of heavy snow, they were basically unlikely to encounter anyone else on the road. Another point was that over the years, they had already explored this area thoroughly. The nearby forces generally did not dare provoke them.

And if they only wanted to teach Baishi Village a lesson, there was no need to launch a sneak attack. They could simply strike openly.

The intimidation would be even more effective.

He watched a group of Han Hans in the distance—two groups, with another slightly stronger group behind them that was better concealed—struggling through the snow, one foot deep and one foot shallow.

What perseverance. If they had put this much effort into anything, what could they not have succeeded at? Why had they insisted on becoming pirates?

Ming Shu threw two stones downward in succession, signaling Old Zhao and the others about the two enemy squads.

Next, Little Zhao and the Butcher's group would wait for the signal and cut off their retreat.

It did not matter how many they killed. They would see whether they could capture some for research. After studying them, they could also see whether they could sell them for money.

Making money was the key. Dead men were worthless. We needed to capture them alive!

Could the Still Water Frog cast water-spraying spells? Ming Shu had had his eye on them for a long time. Didn't farming require irrigation? Wouldn't they have labor to handle the watering?

For this reason, he had asked Chong Li about it long ago. For low-tier demon spirits like these, the Sky-Toppling Observatory had cost-saving methods to control them.

But the core technology had always remained in the Sky-Toppling Observatory's hands, and Ming Shu was not entirely at ease. He had been researching it silently himself, continuing to develop the Life Book's functions.

As the group of Han Hans drew closer, Ming Shu continued observing. Only after confirming that there were no other pirate squads did he climb down and switch places with someone else to stand guard.

Zhao Siqi was in secluded cultivation, so he had to go ahead and keep watch himself.

He had not expected them to come knocking on the main gate so openly, as if they had come to visit as guests.

They were not orthodox cultivators. Some were northern barbarians, while others were Central Plains humans. At most, they were Martial Artists with a bit of foundation. Yet with a few tricks added, they could actually command demon spirits.

They all wore furry white hats and white clothes and robes. Each had a saber, but all of them kept the weapons hidden behind their backs without drawing them.

Relying on his Snow Frog demon spirit, that Han Han of a leader faced the wind and snow and propped up a faint protective barrier for the brothers behind him.

He had walked all the way here against the wind and snow, inwardly pleased with himself, thinking he had shown everyone a real skill and would win their recognition.

In reality, everyone else was secretly laughing at him for being a Han Han.

The fight had not even begun, yet this fool had already drained all the strength from his body. What use would he be afterward?

They had followed an unreliable leader. From here on, saving their own lives was probably what mattered. They should let him go up and test the waters first.

They all walked forward in silence, not daring to speak. The moment they opened their mouths, wind and snow would pour straight in.

That fool, however, was completely oblivious. He slapped the main gate and shouted, "People inside, open the door nicely! Your grandpa wants to go in and rest his feet!"

He hammered the gate with all his strength. The newly repaired gate of the Household compound shook as if it were about to collapse.

Suddenly, the gate opened. Ren Yuan threw a punch straight at the pirate's face, sending him staggering backward.

"Just relying on a bunch of shrimp and crab soldiers like you, you still dare to covet our Household?"

The fool jumped in fright. The hand he had been about to use to knock on the gate stopped in midair. He stared at the person before him, not knowing who he was, then was knocked back by a single punch.

Several more people charged out from inside the gate. Zhao Dun, Zhao Chuan, and the others attacked together.

Before the other pirate squad behind them could arrive, they unleashed their full strength and defeated and captured every one of them.

"Don't let a single one escape." Old Zhao also charged out, followed by several guards and farmers, all carrying weapons.

Old Zhao, a fifth-stage Martial Artist, charged over and yanked one pirate away with one hand, tossing him back inside the gate. A guard in the courtyard brought a club down, knocking him unconscious.

The other pirate behind him hurriedly tried to cast a spell, but unfortunately, he knew only a water-spraying demon technique. His demon spirit was a Water Moon Frog.

Its ability to heal itself was somewhat stronger under moonlight.

It could also remain active in water for a long time.

Unfortunately, under such icy, snowy conditions, the water-based spells and demon techniques of several of them were all unusable.

The only one who still posed a decent threat was the pirate whose demon spirit was a Poison Smoke Frog. A single mouthful of poisonous smoke was still highly dangerous.

The few people without demon spirit protection all scattered to avoid the poisonous smoke.

Fortunately, the wind and snow were still fierce at that moment, blowing sharply in one direction. It was relatively easy to evade.

Ren Yuan charged recklessly through the crowd. When he noticed the pirate accompanied by the Poison Smoke Frog, he turned and launched a fierce attack.

The others were caught off guard by the counterattack and were thrown into confusion.

Zhao Dun and Zhao Chuan led people from the left and right, capturing all the remaining pirates. These dozen or so pirates really had been bait, luring all the Household's fighting strength out of the compound.

Both sides had achieved their preliminary battle plan.

They escorted everyone into the courtyard and locked them up. Chong Li was responsible for sealing both them and their demon spirits, preventing them from escaping with the help of water sources.

Meanwhile, the people on the arrow tower shot three specially made fire-signal arrows. It was the agreed signal. The Butcher, Hunter, and the others ambushed to the north also acted according to plan.