Horses galloped at full speed, and the Kente People atop them let out excited howls.
They loved plunder. Plundering everything was enough to excite them. Their instinct was to snatch what belonged to others and make it their own. Satisfying that nature, like satisfying another of humanity's instincts, brought supreme pleasure.
Whether through schemes or violence, the word "plunder" had been carved deep into their bones.
The Kexi People's guard had spotted them early and immediately sent someone back to the village to warn them. Part of the guard began setting all kinds of traps along the road, hoping to resist this band of Kente bandits.
But their resistance was simply too weak. After all, part of the guard had been forcibly assigned to the hunting party to search for the crows.
The bandits shouted wildly. They did not mind bullying the weak; on the contrary, it excited them even more. Only fierce retaliation could earn a measure of their respect, making them show some mercy while plundering you.
The Kexi People's feeble resistance now stirred the blood of plunder in their veins. If the village were breached without any resistance at all, then the tragedy from years ago, when more than half the village had been burned down, might descend once more.
The Kente People crazily pursued the guards, shooting arrows from behind as they leaped over the nearly useless traps and mockingly laughed at the Kexi People fleeing helplessly before them.
In previous years, the Kexi People had relied on traps and the guard's various counterattacks to hold back the Kente People.
Of course, back then, the Kexi People's guard was more like a group of nannies looking after spoiled brats, or servants waiting upon masters. When facing Kente attacks, they could not refrain from resisting, because that would make the Kente People's blood of plunder blaze even fiercer.
Yet they also did not dare retaliate too fiercely. If they truly inflicted considerable losses on the Kente People and enraged them, the Kente People certainly had no great belief in sustainable development. Some villages had been wiped out in retaliation simply because they had killed a few Kente People.
It was like dealing with a girlfriend: treat her well, and she had complaints; treat her badly, and her complaints grew even greater. In the end, it was because they had always occupied the position of the weak.
Because they were in the weaker position, the two sides were unequal. Thus, no matter what they did, it was wrong. Such was love, and such had been the case when the Kexi People faced the Kente People. Because they were weak, they had to consider how to resist the Kente People—not too excessively, yet not without resisting at all.
Wang Yuan watched the fleeing Kexi People guards from afar and recalled something he had once read somewhere: only the weak ever worried about the greater picture, because they could not bear the consequences of it being shattered.
The truly strong never worried about the greater picture, because they were the greater picture. The Kente People had once been the greater picture, so they did not need to care whether slaughtering the Kexi People this way was excessive, whether the Kexi People could survive after their food was stolen, or whether they could endure having their wives and daughters abused before their eyes.
"All unfavorable circumstances in this world are caused by the parties involved lacking sufficient ability," Wang Yuan said slowly.
If he had been powerful enough back then, he could have detected the flaws in the system's deception and become a protagonist in his original world. If the Kexi People had been strong enough, the Kente People would not even have passed by their village gates—just as this group of Kente People had never dared set their sights on the Interkami Kingdom.
"And now, we are stronger than these Kente People, so they are the dominated side." Wang Yuan looked at the approaching Kente bandits and gave the order.
Komoro's expression shifted. He turned to look at a group of anxious Kexi People behind him. Each held a jar in their arms, wrapped themselves tightly, and looked utterly at a loss. Komoro's childhood companion who had made a mistake was among them as well.
"The jars in your arms contain the cursed objects of the great Negary. Anyone who comes into contact with them will die in the plague. Later, throw them onto the Kente People, and you will draw most of their attention," Komoro said. "After that, your task is to capture as many uncursed Kente People as possible. They will be sacrifices for our offering to Negary. The more you capture, the greater the rewards you will receive."
"Especially you. If you cannot capture any sacrifices, then you can only become one of the sacrifices." Komoro spoke to that childhood companion. This was the last kindness he could offer. If they could not seize anyone themselves, then they could only blame themselves.
"Move out." Upon hearing Komoro's command, the group of seven or eight people clutched their jars and charged toward them.
Over there, the guards rode their horses in a frantic escape. Arrows occasionally flew past from behind. They did not dare stop. The moment they stopped, they might be cut down by the Kente bandits charging in on horseback, or killed by an arrow shot from who knew where.
Their original order had merely been to lure the enemy into this area. They had been told someone would meet them here. There were around twenty Kente bandits behind them, all mounted, equipped with long blades and bows.
"Hehehe! I'm going to shoot your asses! You're running so slowly—is that because you want to offer your asses to me?" One Kente man laughed and shouted crazily as he mercilessly loosed an arrow from his bow, striking someone in the foot.
The pain made him lose his balance and tumble from his horse. He screamed desperately for help, but none of his companions stopped to lend him a hand. Watching the Kente People draw nearer and nearer, he struggled to crawl forward.
But how could someone with an injured leg possibly escape the Kente People?
The bandits rode up before this Kexi man and temporarily halted their pursuit. This year, the Kexi People seemed to have abandoned resistance entirely. Their utterly powerless defenses made the bandits feel no urgency.
The wounded man continued crawling forward. His desire to survive was still strong, but if a desire could be fulfilled merely by being strong enough, this world would not be so sorrowful.
"Hey, little Kexi. Looks like you have no property to speak of, so I'll be merciful for once and only plunder your life," one Kente man said with delighted pleasure.
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!!" Tears and snot streamed down his face as the Kexi man crawled madly forward like a lowly worm, begging to live.
"We have no need to listen to a worm's opinion." The Kente man excitedly raised a lasso and accurately threw it around the Kexi man's neck. Then he slapped his horse's rump and galloped toward the village.
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