"Take the little one and run, run..." The people fleeing from the town raced desperately through the wheat fields, leaving waves of wheat in their wake. Yet the screams behind them drew ever closer. A man in his thirties suddenly shoved a woman carrying a child away, then roared, gripped the saber at his waist, and turned to charge at the blood-red figure pursuing him.
As the man turned and lunged forward, the image of a black spider abruptly appeared on his body, marking him as a level-six warrior.
The man wore the uniform of a Great Xia public employee. Anyone familiar with Great Xia's regulations could tell at a glance that he was likely a Bowman serving under the town's Headman. Bowmen were local security forces who assisted the Headman in governing the area as needed. In Great Xia, a Bowman was not an official position and carried no rank, merely a public post classified as sixth grade outside the regular ranks. In a place like Central Province, a Headman had three to five Bowmen under him, and each Bowman commanded several assistants. Aside from the Headman, the judicial offices at every level in Great Xia, and even the local garrison, could call upon and command these local Bowmen when necessary.
This Bowman's surname was Liu. That morning, as usual, he had just finished breakfast at home and was preparing to head out to report for duty at the public hall. Before he had even stepped outside, he heard cries and screams swelling in the street. The moment he took up his saber and went out, he saw more and more naked people, their bodies covered in blood, rushing into town from one end of the street and beginning a wholesale slaughter, killing anyone they saw.
Next door to