Chapter 73: Kill Them All?

At the end of the passage, there was a dark courtyard. Inside, there were no lights; it was so black that nothing could be seen.If it were usual times, when faced with such pitch-darkness ahead, Zheng Yanfu and Zhuang Guangdao would have definitely stopped to study it, watch carefully before entering. But this time the situation was different; with “officials” behind them, the two panicked and fled recklessly, without any caution or clear observation before running.

They couldn’t care whether it was dark ahead anymore.

The two rushed desperately forward. The bandits behind them followed closely. It didn’t take long before they were about to charge into that pitch-dark courtyard.

Just then, from the courtyard came the synchronized shouts of two men: “1, 2, 3… hit it…”

“Bang!”

The sounds of two metal collisions rang out almost simultaneously. Two heavy hammers struck the mechanism of the “large cannons” at the same time, scraping out streaks of dazzling sparks.

In the instant the sparks flashed brightly, Zheng Yanfu and Zhuang Guangdao saw that in the courtyard ahead stood an enormous metal object.

But their knowledge was limited; in that fleeting moment, they couldn’t recognize what it was. They only knew it was huge, filling the entire courtyard.

The next instant…

Fire came!

The barrel of the bronze cannon spewed a long tongue of flame.

It stretched over a zhang long, charging straight into the narrow little passage.

The firelight lit up the pitch-dark passage once more. At the same moment, it engulfed Zheng Yanfu and Zhuang Guangdao, who were charging at the front.

“Ah…”

“Ah ah ah!”

The two only managed to cry out once before the flames swallowed them, instantly turning them into two flaming figures. The bandits following closely behind were caught at once too, perishing together in the sea of fire.

In the narrow passage, sudden chaos erupted. Those charging forward slammed to a stop and scrambled backward. But those behind kept pushing ahead. A few at the front hadn’t been touched by the flames but were shoved into the fire by those behind.

“Ah ah ah!”

“Retreat!”

“Retreat quickly!”

“There’s a big fire ahead!”

The bandit troops in the passage were thrown into disarray, wailing for their parents. The stench of burning flesh and cloth immediately filled the entire passage.

Luckily, the range of the “large cannons” was barely over a zhang. Only the bandits at the passage’s very front were burnt to death; those behind were unharmed. The bandits swiftly turned around, thinking to head back and attack again.

Behind them, the narrow passage entrance had long been secured by Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu. They had arrived later and led armored young villagers to guard it.

The bandits couldn’t break out at all, blocked entirely in the passage.

Just then, Li Daoxuan’s hand descended from the sky once more.

The small folk couldn’t push this bronze cannon lighter, but he could.

He stretched out a finger, pressed it against the back of the lighter, and pushed forward slowly.

The cannon’s huge wheels started rolling forward. The long barrel spewed flames, slowly advancing toward the remaining bandit troops in the passage.

The bandit troops screamed in terror: “Help!”

“Help!”

“I don’t want to be burned to death.”

“What is this strange thing?”

“It’s so big, how did it start moving?”

“Heelllllp…”

“The flames are pressing forward.”

“Retribution, this is retribution, the retribution for betraying our boss.”

“Wuwuwu… I was wrong… I won’t dare to do it again…”

“Big brother, save me!”

The bandit troops in the passage completely collapsed.

Their will to resist vanished in an instant, everyone knelt down and shouted for mercy.

Had they surrendered?

Li Daoxuan’s hand that was pushing the lighter stopped.

Here, he needed to consider for a second: should he kill them all?

One…

Forget it, one second was enough, no need for such a long three seconds.

With a “snap,” he turned off the mechanism of the lighter, and the flames disappeared.

That group of terrified bandits instantly breathed a sigh of relief, their bodies went limp, and they collapsed to the ground. The few in front who were about to be burned by the fire were so scared that they soiled themselves, and the passage was filled with a foul smell.

Bai Yuan was standing on a rooftop nearby, witnessed the giant cannon moving, and saw it withdraw the flames, and understood in an instant: “The Deity spared their lives.”

Gao Chuwu asked stupidly: “Why? Shouldn’t these bad guys all be burned to death?”

Thirty-Two climbed onto the rooftop and sighed: “Although the bandits are despicable, many in the bandit army were forced into banditry. If we, having gained the upper hand, killed them all, how would that be different from them, when they gained the upper hand, raping and killing the wealthy women and maids?”

Everyone thought to themselves: Third Lady is really a soft-hearted person.

The head of Gaojia Village peeked out from the fortress wall: “So we should release them? There are still over a hundred bandits here, if we release them all, what if they attack again in the future, what should we do?”

Everyone: “…”

The situation became awkward!

Thirty-Two raised his head and looked up at the sky with pleading eyes.

However, Li Daoxuan did not speak; he was looking at the “Rescue Index” outside the box. It was interesting that although he had spared over a hundred captives without killing them, that “Rescue Index” increased by a pitiful 5 points, becoming 330, averaging only a fraction of a point per person.

As he had expected, so-called rescue was a complex proposition.

For some people, saving their lives was sufficient; for others, they not only needed you to save their lives, but also to guide their way forward.

Some people needed salvation for their bodies; for others, it was their souls that needed saving.

If a nation sat before you for you to save, it was not just to let it survive, but to let it rejuvenate.

Damn, it was so complicated; he just wanted to raise a box of pets, but there were always troublemakers wanting to force him into struggle.

Just then, Bai Yuan suddenly spoke.

He turned his head and looked at a villager beside him, then asked: “In the fierce battle just now, you picked up a stone wanting to smash it down, but then restrained yourself and threw it in another direction. Can you tell me why?”

That villager panicked: “Ah? I… didn’t…”

Bai Yuan snapped open his fan, turning the words “gentleman” on the other side: “Your subtle movements might escape others’ eyes, but they can’t escape mine. Speak up, why did you change direction? Was it to spare someone?”

Everyone: “!”

Thirty-Two suddenly jolted awake: “Were you… from Zhengjia Village?”

The villager, recognized by Thirty-Two, became more embarrassed: “Gentle… folks… I’m sorry… I… I am indeed from Zhengjia Village. Earlier… among the people below, there was an old neighbor from Zhengjia Village… so… I didn’t smash him, I threw the stone in another direction.”

Only after this sentence came out did everyone suddenly understand.

Zhuang Guangdao and Zheng Yanfu and their group led villagers from Zhuangjia Village and Zhengjia Village, as well as desperadoes recruited from surrounding villages. As for Gaojia Village, besides the original forty-two inhabitants, there were over a hundred others coming from various surrounding villages, like Zheng Daniu who was from Zhengjia Village—he could basically name every Zheng surnamed person in the bandit army; he might even have played in the mud with Zheng Yanfu back in the day.

A man on the rooftop suddenly knelt down and said loudly: “Deity, forgive me! I… I am from Zhuangjia Village. Earlier, I also saw an acquaintance neighbor in the crowd… so… I deliberately threw a stone off target.”

“Thump!” Another strong woman knelt down: “Deity, forgive me! Little girl also… threw a stone off target on purpose…”

“Thump!”

“Thump!”

Before long, twenty to thirty people knelt down.