A Chance Encounter, a Clash(?) / Real and Fake Soldiers

Just as the two were talking, a commotion broke out in front of them.

"Oh, it seems we've really run into highway robbers. Let's go see what's going on."

Having said that, Dobby stop her, Suika jumped out of the carriage and hopped a few times to the carriage in front.

Originally planning to make a big splash and show Dobby her skills, Suika fell silent when she saw the robbers blocking the road.

The "robbers" blocking the road were a dozen or so children, the tallest of whom was less than 1.5 meters tall, and the shortest of whom looked to be only about 1 meter tall.

The tools they used to block the convoy were a few tree branches, five or six meters long and as thick as an arm, and their weapons were ordinary wooden sticks and farm tools; they didn't even have a single proper weapon.

What they were wearing weren't clothes at all, but rather a patchwork of fur, leaves, and random scraps of fabric.

It looked extremely bloated and somewhat comical.

But no one in the room could laugh.

Seeing the children whose faces were blue from the cold, even the brave warriors hired by Dobby n't bring themselves to harm them, their eyes filled with pity.

Dobby ran ahead, panting, and fell silent when he saw the other children.

Suika looked at him, and he shook his head.

"We can't take these children with us... They are all from Ursus, and the Ursus authorities won't allow us to take them away."

"What should we do? Kill them or watch them starve to death?"

Suika felt very uncomfortable, as if she had strength but nowhere to use it.

"We brought quite a bit of food and clothing this time. Let's leave some for them; we can make sure these children can get through the winter if they're frugal."

Dobby made his choice after thinking for a few seconds.

Suika rubbed her temples. "What's going on here?!"

"There's no other way. After the war, the elderly and children have the hardest time surviving, especially in places like Ursus where the winters are too cold."

Dobby sighed as he instructed his men to leave some food and clothing behind.

"Is there any meat soup left from this morning? If so, could you please bring a pot up?" Suika asked Dobby, Dobby asked one of his subordinates. A moment later, a chef came over with a pot of meat soup.

Suika took the large pot and used her ability. In less than a minute, steam began to rise from the frozen iron pot.

Dobby, carrying several bowls, followed Suika to the children.

"Eat something first... then take this food back. Don't come out in the winter... you'll die."

The lead child looked at the pot of hot soup in Suika's hands, glanced at his companions who were swallowing their saliva, and suddenly knelt down.

"You are all kind uncles and sisters. On behalf of the children of Golden Fir Tree Village, I, Ularov, thank you all."

"Golden Fir Tree Village? You're from Golden Fir Tree Village? How did things turn out like this? Where's the old village chief, Troyev?"

Dobby stared wide-eyed incredulously as he asked.

Chapter 331 An Encounter, A Conflict (?)

"Waaah, Grandpa Troyev ...he..." The children burst into tears Dobby mentioned the village chief.

After a long while, I finally learned the truth from their intermittent words.

Three months ago, as the Golden Fir Tree Village was celebrating its bountiful harvest, a group of Infected stormed into the village armed with weapons.

At first, the villagers thought they had come to buy grain, but the other party had no such intention at all.

After the negotiations failed, those people not only stole all the village's stored grain, but also turned everyone into Infected.

The children here are the lucky ones who escaped from Golden Fir Tree Village. As for the others, they were all taken away by that group of Infected and their whereabouts have been unknown for a long time.

Although the first two months were difficult, they were still able to find a fair amount of food in the fall, so the children were able to barely survive. However, when winter came, food became scarce, and the children had no plan to store food. When they returned to Golden Fir Tree Village, they found it had been completely looted, leaving them with nothing. As a result, they had to survive on ice water for the past few days.

Having no other choice, they resorted to highway robbery as a last resort.

After all, if they don't get food soon, they will all die this winter.

After hearing what the children had to say, everyone fell silent.

Dobby and Suika exchanged a glance, and both guessed the identities of those who attacked Golden Fir Tree Village —members of the New Reunion Movement.

"Since they're acquaintances, we can't just leave them here so easily. How about we go check out that Golden Fir Tree Village?"

Suika looked at Dobby and suggested.

Dobby thought for a moment and then nodded.

"Golden Fir Tree Village is already on our route, so there's no need to detour."

The others in the caravan who heard that Dobby was going to Golden Fir Tree Village agreed.

After all, the caravans that came here were all from the Swire Clan, and they had all been to and from Golden Fir Tree Village several times. The village's hospitality had left a deep impression on them. Now that they learned that the village had suffered a misfortune, with adults being kidnapped and children about to freeze to death in the winter snow, how many people could truly remain indifferent?

Upon hearing that the caravan was heading to Golden Fir Tree Village, the young man at the head of the group expressed his wish to travel with them.

"Of course, no matter what becomes of Golden Fir Tree Village, it will always be your home, and it is only natural that it will go with you."

Let all the children get on the carriage!

After Dobby arranged for the children to ride in empty carriages, the caravan slowly continued its journey.

"Miss Suika, it seems this trip to Lu is going to be fraught with trouble. The head of the family specifically warned me before he came that if any problems arise..."

Before Dobby speaking, Suika nodded.

"Don't worry, this matter is not only related to me, but even an ordinary person passing by would not remain indifferent after hearing about those children."

The guys from the New Reunion Movement went too far; this is something that would be unacceptable to any race on Terra at any time or anywhere.

If the Reunion Movement were clear-headed fighters striving for their own interests, then the Reunion Movement controlled by the Black Snake in the game was a fearless madman, while the New Reunion Movement is a completely irrational lunatic.

Before dark, the convoy entered the Golden Fir Tree Village and, led by the children, checked into the largest village hall.

Upon entering the village, Suika silently gazed at the houses, each one covered by the wind and snow. Though deserted, their shapes were still discernible. She couldn't help but sigh, realizing that even in its abandoned state, she could still imagine how beautiful this place had been just a few months ago.

However, under Koschei's wicked hand, the peaceful village was destroyed in an instant.

Just as the convoy was preparing to rest, Suika noticed a group of people appearing to the north of the village.

Judging from their route, it's clear that their destination is also this village.

She immediately told Dobby the news.

How many people are on the other side?

"I'm not sure, but I estimate there are about a hundred of them, and they're less than a kilometer from the village." Suika didn't have the ability to explore a wide area, but she realized that those people were a group of Little Suika she had released after landing because she was worried about them. Among them, the Little Suika flying north saw the approaching group.

Hearing what Suika said, Dobby glanced at the weather. Under these circumstances, it was definitely impossible to leave. Moreover, it was about to get dark. In the darkness of winter, even with ample preparation, if they couldn't find a sheltered place, everyone would probably be turned into ice sculptures by tomorrow. So, they had no choice but to stay here.

With so many people and wagons in the caravan, there was no way to hide them. He immediately summoned his men to discuss the situation, and the wagons were surrounded outside the village hall. Meanwhile, the caravan's guards, armed with weapons, hid behind the wagons, completely surrounding the village hall.

Less than ten minutes later, the first figure appeared on the road in the distance.

The figure was visibly startled when he saw the commotion at the village hall, and then soon more people came out from the other end of the street.

Dobby looked in the direction of the wind and snow, his expression changing several times before he ordered his men to put away their weapons.

"They're wearing Ursus uniforms; they must be Ursus soldiers..."

Dobby explained to Suika, who was standing nearby.

"It's better to be safe. After all, those guys are capable of anything. What if they're disguised as an army..." Suika glanced at the group and agreed with Dobby's opinion. However, her familiarity with the Ursus army was limited, and her knowledge was basically limited to her previous encounters with them in Ursus.

The fact that a caravan happened to arrive in this icy, snowy landscape, and that an army happened to be coming, seemed too much of a coincidence to her.

"I'll handle the negotiations. If we encounter any danger, I'll have to trouble Suika for help."

After hearing Dobby gestured to his men, and upon seeing Dobby's gesture, they picked up their weapons again.

Meanwhile, Dobby and Suika stepped out of the defensive perimeter and headed towards the approaching army.

"Who are you people, and what are you doing here!"

Upon seeing the two approach, one of the soldiers asked rather rudely.

"Greetings, gentlemen. We are merchants from Victoria, ordinary people traveling from Victoria to Donetsk to purchase goods. This is our entry pass."

Dobby held up his entry documents above his head with both hands to show he posed no threat before slowly walking up to the other person.

An officer stepped out of the ranks, took the document, looked at it, and after confirming it was correct, continued to ask...

"You guys are really bold. There's nobody left in this village, and you still dare to stay here."

"Reporting to the sir, our original plan for today was not to stop here, but rather because..." Dobby recounted the story of the children he had met along the way and the information he had heard from them.

Chapter 332 Real and Fake Soldiers

After listening, the officer's expression became very serious.

"We never expected something like this to happen here. We thought that Golden Fir Tree Village had chosen to evacuate after hearing about the Catastrophe."

But since there haven't been Catastrophe here, we came to check if something was wrong.

"Where are you soldiers planning to stay tonight?" Suika suddenly asked.

"There are so many rooms around, let's just get a few clean, draft-proof ones to make do for the night," the officer said dismissively, but his eyes remained fixed on Dobby.

Dobby felt a chill run down his spine after sensing his gaze.

After all, the largest and most windproof room in the entire village is the village hall.

It's just that it's now occupied by myself.

However, if so many of them want to go in, not only will our entire group have to retreat, but the windbreak we just set up with the wagons will also have to be moved to make way for the army... Hmm, they don't have any Camel Beast?

Dobby was still worried that his Camel Beast would be driven into the snow and ice to make way for the military, but he was surprised to find that the army opposite him was all on foot.

However, as a civilian, he dared not clash with the military, and could only ponder with a troubled expression how to tell his subordinates about this matter.

"Dobby, what are you thinking about? Go back and tell everyone to pack up their gear. We can't let the soldiers live in those tiny houses!"

Suika's voice came from the side, making him realize that this was not the time to think. He nodded and walked to the back under the officer's unfriendly gaze.

Just as he was about to enter the city wall with his carriage, a furious shout suddenly came from behind.

He turned his head and saw Suika grab the officer by the neck and throw him into the army behind him. The officer lay motionless on the ground, seemingly no longer breathing.

Upon seeing Suika make her move, the crossbowmen hiding behind the carriage instinctively fired several bolts towards the army, taking several people away.

Dobby seeing this, having originally intended to say that his group was about to be killed.

But after seeing the situation on the battlefield, they realized something was wrong.

"Boss, those guys' fighting style doesn't seem like an army!" Just as he was wondering, the words of the person next to him made him realize why something was definitely wrong.

These Ursus soldiers fought with absolutely no organization; they were less of an army and more of a bunch of untrained bums.

Even their patriarch's guards knew to form a battle formation to meet the enemy, but the enemy was in complete disarray.

While Dobby was still in a daze and hadn't yet realized what was happening, Suika outside had already routed those people.

Just moments Dobby was about to go inside, Suika turned her head and coldly looked at the "Ursus soldiers" approaching from a distance.

"There's something I'm curious about, sir. Could you please answer it for me?" Suika looked up at the officer and asked softly.

"Ah, what is that?" The officer instinctively tried to push Suika aside when she stopped him.

But Suika's next words sent a chill down his spine.

"When did the Ursus army start recruiting Infected, or was it an entire army of Infected?"

Upon hearing Suika's words, his pupils contracted, and he instinctively wanted to draw his weapon and slash at the woman in front of him.

Before he could even act, Suika took a step forward, grabbed his neck, and the next second he felt a sharp pain in his neck before losing consciousness.

After throwing the disguised officer into the crowd like a rag doll, knocking several people down, Suika also didn't hold back and crashed headfirst into the crowd.

Although she didn't draw her weapon, even just the power combined with the Mount Oe Tempest effect brought by her punches was something these people couldn't withstand.

As for the possibility of making a mistake when killing these people, such as if they were members of the Reunion Movement, Suika felt no pressure at all.

From the moment they met, the malice and bloodlust emanating from these people made her feel nauseous.

Members of the Reunion Movement wouldn't harbor this level of malice towards ordinary people; if she did, she wouldn't feel guilty killing her.

Since they are not from the Reunion Movement, are Infected, and possess such strong malice, it is obvious that these people are members of the New Reunion Movement.

After killing these guys, Suika felt even less guilty.

With each swing of her fist, the resulting gust of wind could send dozens of people flying through the air before they fell to the ground.