No words were needed. The dozen or so archers understood at once. Several put away their great bows and drew steel sabers, vicious gleams flashing in their eyes as they moved to surround the villagers from both sides.
The oldest of these villagers was only in his forties, while the youngest were barely in their teens. Xie Kun had forced them to search the mountain because they knew the terrain.
Now that the Abyssal Alligator Dragon had been caught, keeping them alive served no purpose.
The villagers sensed the guards' ill intentions too. Shocked and terrified, they began to panic.
A dark-skinned man with thick stubble cried out in alarm, "This is bad! They mean to kill us! Run!"
At his shout, the villagers panicked all the more, yelling as they scattered and fled.
But the Xie Family guards were all elite men. Not only were they powerful and sturdy, they were ruthless, efficient, and experienced. A few saber-wielding guards swiftly closed in while another dozen archers blocked the hollow's only exit, cold smiles curling their lips.
Their gazes were cruel as they watched the villagers, like cats toying with mice, like hunters catching turtles in a jar.
"No!"
Hidden among the trees, Yang Erhu watched the scene with mingled shock and fury, unable to suppress a low cry.
Fortunately, the waterfall roared within the hollow, and the Alligator Dragon, trapped in the iron-chain net, was thrashing wildly and bellowing incessantly. No one noticed him.
Yang Erhu sprang up, about to dash out.
Yang Jinbao hurriedly caught him and whispered, "Er Gouzi, have you lost your mind? There might not be a hundred guards in there, but there are at least seventy or eighty, and none of them look easy to handle..."
Even as he spoke, a scream rang out