After subduing the bandit village, Zhao Fu immediately gave away four hundred sets of silver-quality equipment, which was almost all the silver equipment he had obtained from Gu Feng.
Many of the bandits, including Liu Subai, were astonished to see Zhao Fu throw out so many silver-quality equipment at once. There wasn't even a single silver-quality piece of equipment in Willow Mountain Town, because even the upper echelons of Willow Mountain Town only had one piece of silver equipment. In the bandit village, only the leader had one piece of silver equipment, which was the large spear that the bandit leader had just held.
Who exactly is Zhao Fu?
At this moment, Zhao Fu became even more mysterious in everyone's eyes. No one could guess what his identity was, but they certainly dared not ask openly, because that would be tantamount to courting death. Their fear of Zhao Fu increased considerably.
Zhao Fu had several reasons for equipping the bandits with silver suits. Compared to Willow Mountain Town, Zhao Fu's side was outnumbered, had lower cultivation levels, and were poorly equipped, giving them no advantage whatsoever. Giving them silver equipment not only increased their combat capabilities but also boosted their confidence in battle.
However, seeing how undisciplined and lazy these bandits were, Zhao Fu decided to train them in combat skills.
Willow Mountain Town, a middle-aged man with a hooked nose frowned and asked one of his subordinates, "What's going on? Where are the Liu Family?"
The subordinate bowed respectfully and replied, "When we arrived, we only found a dozen or so mummified corpses of our soldiers. They seemed to have been attacked by some kind of demon. We didn't find any Liu Family among them!"
"Hmph! They got away," Zhang Hong said with a disgruntled snort.
The subordinate nodded and said, "They might have escaped, or they might have been attacked by monsters. We just haven't found any bodies. But sir, those old and young people can't survive in the wilderness for long. They'll either be killed by bandits or eaten by wild animals. What we should do now is figure out how to appease the people in the town."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Hong pondered for a moment and said, "I know about this. You can go now!"
Immediately, the subordinates obeyed and respectfully withdrew.
Turning our attention back to Zhao Fu, Zhao Fu began training the bandits, especially on how to coordinate in combat. After several days of intensive training, the bandits were starting to resemble soldiers.
Immediately, Zhao Fu led the four hundred mountain bandits and Liu Subai to carry out the plan.
A few hours later, Zhao Fu led a group of bandits to a hillside and looked at Willow Mountain Town in the distance. Willow Mountain Town was quite large, covering an area of more than ten miles, and had already built a city wall more than six meters high. If Zhao Fu were to lead these four hundred bandits, it would be absolutely impossible to conquer this town.
Because of Liu Subai, Zhao Fu was very familiar with the situation in Willow Mountain Town. He was lying in ambush here because he was waiting for someone.
Although most of the soldiers had already defected to Zhang Hong, a small number were unwilling and still supported the Liu Family. Zhang Hong certainly didn't treat these people well.
They are usually assigned the most tiring and thankless tasks, which is to patrol the outermost perimeter of Willow Mountain Town. This patrol covers a wide area, meaning they check the entire area within five li of Willow Mountain Town's defenses. In addition, there are many guards on the walls of Willow Mountain Town, and soldiers patrol nearby.
Willow Mountain Town was heavily fortified, with three lines of defense. The first line consisted of soldiers patrolling five miles away, the second line covered the area around Willow Mountain Town, and the third line consisted of guards on the city walls.
Perhaps some people don't trust the soldiers on the first floor, but Zhang Hong's main defense is on the second and third floors, which are almost entirely staffed with elite troops and his trusted confidants. He won't allow any accidents to happen here.
On the other side, a group of about two hundred soldiers walked towards them!
At this moment, a soldier said resentfully, "That Zhang Hong is really going too far! He assigned us here. We used to be Mayor Liu's confidants, the elite of Willow Mountain Town. I never thought we'd end up like this. All our good equipment has been taken away, and we're working ourselves to the bone every day, only to be treated badly when we get back!"
Another soldier said angrily, "Yeah! Zhang Hong doesn't treat us like soldiers from Willow Mountain Town at all. He probably wants us to die sooner rather than later so he doesn't have to lift a finger. Look at how arrogant Zhang Hong and his gang are now, it makes me furious! I suspect that Mayor Liu's death might be related to Zhang Hong."
"Alright! Let's not talk about this anymore. Zhang Hong is now the new mayor, and he even said he'd marry Miss Liu. Then Willow Mountain Town will completely belong to Zhang Hong. Let's not complain anymore. We're working so hard now because we're protecting Willow Mountain Town," a middle-aged man who seemed to be the team leader said with a sigh.
The other soldiers were also somewhat resentful, but after thinking about it, they could only sigh in the end.
"Watch out! Enemy in sight!"
Just then, the middle-aged captain suddenly shouted, startling the other soldiers.
Immediately, figures emerged from the side, surrounding the two hundred soldiers. Seeing the enemies appearing around them and the sets of equipment gleaming with a faint silver light, the middle-aged captain and the others' pupils contracted, their expressions instantly tense and grave. "They might be in danger now!"
"Who are you? Do you know we are from Willow Mountain Town?" The middle-aged captain asked solemnly, also somewhat puzzled as to how such a powerful team had suddenly appeared in Willow Mountain Town.
Uncle Sun!
Suddenly, a voice, both surprised and familiar, rang out beside Sun Xiaowei.
Sun Xiaowei, the middle-aged captain, turned around and saw that it was Liu Subai. "Miss Liu, weren't you at home? What are you doing here? And who are they?"
Sun Xiaowei said with great surprise, then looked around at the enemies and realized that Liu Subai was with them.
"Uncle Sun, it's like this. I was previously held captive by Zhang Hong, and I barely managed to escape. Also, I suspect that Zhang Hong was responsible for my father's death. Now, this gentleman is helping me reclaim Willow Mountain Town!"
Liu Subai was pleased to see an acquaintance and explained to Sun Xiaowei, then gestured to introduce Zhao Fu!
After Liu Subai said that, everyone else's attention was focused on the mysterious person wearing a black cloak.
Sun Xiaowei immediately sensed that Zhao Fu was no ordinary person and became somewhat wary. He then turned his gaze back to Liu Subai and asked, "Miss! Is what you said true?"
Liu Suyun nodded seriously, and then recounted her guesses and her experience.
Upon hearing of Liu Subai's ordeal, these soldiers loyal to the Liu Family were filled with rage. They were almost certain that Zhang Hong had killed Mayor Liu, and given how Zhang Hong was treating them, they quickly joined Zhao Fu's ranks.
P. S.: It will be available for purchase tomorrow. If all goes well, I hope everyone will support it, and I will resume regular updates.