Thieves in Melan Territory! Setting a Trap

"My Lady, traces of bandit activity have been discovered near Wheat Fragrance Village. According to the villagers, those bandits appear to have fled from the territory of Viscount Molan."

This sudden war report shattered the tranquility of Murong Castle.

Su Changge took the intelligence document handed over by Murong Ruyan and scanned it quickly.

The identities of the bandits were unknown!

Their numbers were unknown!

Their intentions were unknown!

Their combat strength was unknown!

Aside from knowing that these bandits had fled from the Melan Territory, every other detail remained a mystery.

However, Su Changge could understand why; the Murong Earldom currently lacked a well-organized standing guard. Those stationed in the various villages were essentially militiamen who had never received professional training or indoctrination in systematic military doctrine.

Expecting them to conduct close-range reconnaissance was indeed asking too much of them.

"Changge!"

"Hmm. There is no doubt that these bandits were deliberately driven here by Viscount Molan. Furthermore... it is possible that these bandits are actually the Viscount's own organized soldiers in disguise."

"Winter is not far off. Once the people are thrown into a panic, the Earldom will fall into great chaos."

"Changge, then what should we do?"

Murong Ruyan had never experienced such a situation before, and she was losing her composure.

Su Changge wrapped his arm around Murong Ruyan's slender waist, whispering to soothe her, "Ruyan, there is no need to be overly alarmed."

"Since Viscount Molan went to such lengths to play these underhanded tricks, it means... at the very least, he has no intention of burning bridges with the Earldom just yet."

"Since that is the case, we shall strike back and slaughter every one of the Viscount's lackeys."

"Let Viscount Molan understand, and let the surrounding Viscounts and Barons know, that even if the Murong Earldom is in a precarious position, it is not something that any stray cat or dog can bully."

"Men, pass the order: mobilize all available cavalry, bring the secret weapons I have developed, and in one hour... we march for Wheat Fragrance Village."

After Su Changge issued the command in Murong Ruyan's name, the entire castle sprang into action.

Dozens of warhorses gathered at the castle gate, and bags of freshly baked dry rations and strong spirits were strapped to the accompanying pack horses.

The knights of Murong Castle donned their full armor and buckled their swords to their waists.

The ten leading knights each carried a black box wrapped in sheepskin on their backs, containing what Su Changge called his secret weapons.

"Move out."

For this operation, in addition to Su Changge and Murong Ruyan personally taking the field, Su Changge also brought along the three remaining low-level Soul Masters under the Murong Earldom.

However, these three Soul Masters had limited aptitude and were now quite elderly; even with sufficient resources, their future achievements were destined to be limited.

A Great Soul Master was the absolute peak they could reach.

As the dozens of riders galloped away, the heavy iron gates of Murong Castle slowly closed.

At the very least, until Su Changge and Murong Ruyan returned with their troops, the iron gates of Murong Castle would not open again.

Wheat Fragrance Village was located in the eastern region of the Murong Earldom.

It was one of the few villages within the Earldom with high grain yields.

Calling it the "granary" of the Murong Earldom was no exaggeration.

This move by Viscount Molan was indeed clever.

Once the grain reserves of Wheat Fragrance Village were destroyed, the eastern region of the Earldom would fall into a famine.

With the bitter winter approaching, they would have no way to buy grain, leaving them with nothing to do but starve and struggle to survive.

"It's the Earldom's reinforcements! The knights from the castle have come to support us!"

At the entrance to Wheat Fragrance Village, the garrisoned militiamen recognized the Murong banner and immediately erupted into cheers.

In less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea, almost all the villagers of Wheat Fragrance had gathered in the square at the village entrance.

The castle's support had arrived; they had their backing, and they no longer needed to live in fear.

An old man with graying hair hobbled over. The moment he saw Murong Ruyan, he froze in place, clearly recognizing her identity.

He rubbed his eyes vigorously, repeating the action several times, before he could believe what he was seeing.

With a thud, amidst the bewildered gazes of hundreds of villagers, the old man fell to his knees and burst into tears.

"Chen Tiezhu, Village Chief of Wheat Fragrance, pays respects to My Lady."

"It is this old man's incompetence; it is this old man who has caused the Earl to lose face, forcing My Lady to lead troops here personally."

"To have let My Lady fall into danger, this old man deserves to die... I deserve to die!"

"Ah!? It is actually My Lady who has come in person!!!"

Hearing Chen Tiezhu's words, hundreds of villagers looked toward Murong Ruyan in unison, and then, like dumplings being dropped into a pot, they all knelt down in a wave.

Su Changge sat atop his warhorse, watching the scene before him.

Everything the eye can see is Han territory... Ahem, wrong script.

However, it certainly has that vibe.

Unfortunately, what he plots for is to become a god, to achieve eternal life!

It is to stand high above the heavens, to ascend as a god and be crowned a king.

At the same time that Murong Ruyan, Su Changge, and their party were being welcomed into the village, some twenty or thirty bandits were entrenched in a limestone cave on a hill a dozen miles away from Wheat Fragrance Village.

Not long after, these bandits received intelligence that reinforcements from the Murong Earldom had arrived at Wheat Fragrance Village.

In the core area of the cave, four figures shrouded in black robes stood together. The one with the most powerful aura among them clutched the intelligence report and let out a greedy laugh.

"Tsk, I only intended to lure out some small fry to whittle down the Murong Earldom's military strength. Who would have thought... Murong Ruyan, the first heir to the Earldom and a noble lady of high standing, would actually lead the reinforcements herself."

"Hehe! Brothers, this is a massive treasure delivered right to our doorstep."

"I hear Murong Ruyan holds the title of the greatest beauty in the Earldom. If we can capture her, even if we don't enjoy her ourselves, gifting her to Viscount Molan would earn us a mountain of gold soul coins and vast amounts of cultivation resources..."

"In that case, the four of us coming here together was the right choice."

The other three black-robed figures chimed in, echoing the same greedy laughter.

As soul masters, what they valued was not worldly power, but the cultivation resources that could make them stronger.

"However, I heard that Murong Ruyan went to the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest some time ago to hunt for a soul ring. I wonder if she succeeded? If she managed to obtain a suitable soul ring, her current strength should be at the Soul Master level."

"Among the four of us, only Brother Sun is a Soul Master. If we launch a frontal assault..."

"Brother Chu, what is there to be afraid of?"

"So what if Murong Ruyan has advanced to a Soul Master?"

"Don't forget, the powerful soul masters of the Murong Earldom have either died, left, or been poached. Now, in that entire Earldom, besides Murong Ruyan, there are only three elderly, low-level soul masters left."

"As long as Brother Sun can entangle her, once the three of us Great Soul Masters finish off those dozens of knights, do you think there's any chance for Murong Ruyan to escape?"

"I've had enough of this miserable life in this cave."

"In my opinion, we should strike while they have just arrived at Wheat Fragrance Village and haven't figured out our intelligence yet... How about a night raid tonight?"

"Brother Sun seconds this!"

"Wang seconds this!"

"Brother Chu agrees!"

Late at night.

Except for a few bonfires at the entrance of Wheat Fragrance Village, the entire village was dark, plunged into an endless gloom.

At the top of the village's tallest pavilion, Su Changge and Murong Ruyan stood side by side, coldly watching the entrance of the village.

As a transmigrator, Su Changge was practically triggered by the very idea of a night raid.

Coupled with the rumors he had allowed the villagers to leak, he was ninety percent certain that the bandits would seize the opportunity to attack at night.

This was a gamble!

If the gamble was won, it would settle the matter once and for all; at least until next spring, the nearby viscounties and baronies would remain well-behaved.

If the gamble was lost, and a combat force capable of crushing them appeared among the bandits...

Then... he would have no choice but to use the villagers of Wheat Fragrance Village as a shield and flee with Murong Ruyan.

"Changge, will those bandits really come?"

Murong Ruyan buried her head in Su Changge's chest, her expression filled with worry.

"They will come!"

"Don't worry, everything... will end tonight."

Su Changge stroked Murong Ruyan's hair, his tone firm.

Another hour passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was the second half of the night.

Just as the militiamen at the village entrance were yawning and letting their guard down, several sharp arrows tore through the air, spraying blood.

The militiamen didn't even have time to react before they were killed from a distance.

"Charge in and capture Murong Ruyan alive!!!"

Violent shouts pierced the night sky, and the entire village instantly descended into chaos.

Led by the four soul masters, the twenty or thirty bandits breached the village's outer defenses and surged into the settlement.