Chapter 782.1: Blood Flowing Like A River

Raging flames climbed the wooden eaves, illuminating face after stunned, bewildered face. The rising black smoke drifted like homeless ghosts, while the crackling wails of the fire stood out sharply amid the crowd’s silence.

That was the southwestern corner of Mammoth State, a small village called Stone Village... or rather, a place that had once borne that name. Most of the people living here were free citizens of the Xilande Empire, but unlike most other places on the wasteland, being a free citizen here was hardly something to be proud of.

Since most of the fertile land along the rivers was controlled by nobles, the majority of free citizens lived in considerable poverty even if they owned land to cultivate.

If an ordinary slave had to eat red earth six times a week, a free citizen might have to eat it seven or eight times, barely clinging to a half-dead existence. Of course, that excluded those fortunate enough to survive inside settlements or along their outskirts.

Stone Village was much the same. It lay far from the Tassen River, with no smaller rivers or lakes nearby. The land was difficult to farm, and most villagers could barely scrape together enough food to survive.

People who lived like weeds had very little worth squeezing out of them, so the Xilande Empire generally couldn’t be bothered with them. Apart from collecting taxes, it usually left them to live or die as they pleased.

Of course, that generous tolerance only applied during normal times.

Walk another five or six miles south from Stone Village and one would reach the boundary marker of Horse State. The distance looked short, but it was also the tiny line on the map that sealed their fate, allowing the flames of the scorched-earth strategy to reach them.

At the entrance of Stone Village, an old man over 50 years old sat collapsed on the ground, looking up at the towering captain before him as tears and snot streamed down his face. “Sir, we’ve lived here for so many years. If you burn everything down, where are we supposed to live...?”

The captain he was addressing looked at him without expression and replied coldly, “Horse State is right next door. Tiger State is farther south. Your legs belong to you. As long as you don’t go north, you can go wherever the hell you want.”

The old man pleaded desperately, “B-but... without land, how are we supposed to live?”

“How are you supposed to live?” The captain gave a cold laugh and looked down at the old man sprawled on the ground. “Find an estate and sell yourselves to it. Problem solved... Stop fucking crying. You’re already an old bastard. It’s about time you went into the ground anyway.”

Seeing the old man staring blankly at him, the captain seemed to realize that perhaps his words had been a bit too harsh and his tone softened slightly. “All right. There are bandits around here. We’re making you leave for your own good, so don’t fucking fail to appreciate it. We gave you time to pack your things. If there’s nothing else, hurry up and get lost.”

“Bandits?! But... those moonfolk never bothered us...” Seeing the captain turn to leave, the stunned old man panicked and spoke without thinking. For a moment, he forgot the identity of the soldier standing before him. He also forgot what the Moon Clan meant to the Xilande Empire.

Sure enough, the captain stopped. Narrowing his eyes, he looked the old man up and down, and his gaze turned unfriendly. “They’ve been here?”

It wasn’t only the captain staring at the old man now. The soldiers nearby had placed their hands on their Ripper rifles.

Sensing that something was wrong, the old man became frightened and started stammering. “I...”

The captain stared at him. “Why didn’t you report it to the nearest outpost?”

“W-what outpost?” Beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on the old man’s forehead.

Before he could explain, the captain waved toward the soldiers beside him. “Take him back for questioning.”

Two soldiers strode forward and each seized one of the old man’s shoulders. Ignoring his pig-like screams, they hauled him toward a wagon as though carrying livestock. Several young men from the village wanted to step forward and stop them, but the murderous looks directed at them froze them in place. They could only watch helplessly as the village elder was taken away...

Scenes like that were not limited to Stone Village. The same thing was happening elsewhere.

In some places, it was even worse.

More than 50,000 troops of the Gray Wolf Army marched triumphantly into Mammoth State, which had been occupied by the rebels, every man from the highest commander to the lowest soldier determined to wash away their previous humiliation.

While General Alyang dispatched scouts to investigate the Resistance Army’s movements, he steadily established his battle lines and sent smaller detachments forward along the border to implement his scorched-earth strategy.

The people being taken away were hardly limited to old men suspected of having contact with the Moon Clan Resistance Army. There were also men, women, and children who had no idea what was happening, along with the livestock kept in their sheds.

The soldiers of the Xilande Empire didn’t even spare the eggs laid by the hens.

Of course, not every village meekly obeyed. Given the ecology of the Poro Province, anyone capable of resisting the nobles’ annexation of their land generally had at least some ability to defend themselves. Some outraged young men brought out pitchforks, bows, matchlocks, and even crude homemade cannons in an attempt to resist the Gray Wolf Army.

Unfortunately, their righteous anger did not frighten the imperial wolves away. Instead, it brought death upon themselves and their families.

The Gray Wolf Army might have nearly been drowned in the Everflowing River by the New Alliance outside Port Gallon, but dealing with a bunch of half-naked paupers was still effortless for them. With a single charge, the soldiers slaughtered those weeds who did not know their own place until blood flowed like a river.

Once the bayonets had tasted blood, things became difficult to contain. Especially since the Gray Wolf Army had already been corrupted beyond recognition by the Fierce Tiger Army and Black Panther Army. Their fighting spirit and discipline were both far worse than they had been six months ago... Though admittedly, they hadn’t exactly been exemplary six months ago either.

After venting their bestial desires upon the survivors, the satisfied Gray Wolves pulled up their trousers and granted their prisoners a quick death. They tossed the severed heads onto wagons and brought them back to camp as supposed rebel heads to claim credit.

Along the hundreds of kilometers of border separating Mammoth State from Horse State, burning flames stretched like a winding serpent, devouring one village after another. Their behavior was every bit as beastly as the howling wolves and ghosts of Ten Peaks Mountain, perhaps even worse!

“Those fucking animals!” At the edge of the dark forest, Akman stared at the soldiers leaving the ruins, blazing fury burning in his eyes.

When the long-haired woman had been dragged into the cattle shed, he had thought of his mother.

The soldiers beside him felt the same. Every one of them gripped their rifles so tightly that their knuckles turned white, wishing they could rush forward and tear the company apart with their bare hands.

It was especially so for the boy named Udi. If the comrades beside him had not held him back, he probably would have charged already.

“There are too many of them and there are only ten of us. We can’t beat them.” Taking a deep breath and forcing himself to calm down, Akman explained in a low voice, “Laxi told us that if we want to defeat an enemy far stronger than we are, courage alone isn’t enough. We also need to use our brains.”

A tall, freckled teenager looked at him and asked quietly, “What should we do?”

“You take Udi. And you, you...” Akman selected five of the newly recruited locals and handed them over to the veteran who had fought his way here from Tiger State. Lowering his voice, he continued, “Head north. Tell the villagers what happened here. Tell them the Xilande Empire has arrived and is killing everyone it sees. If they don’t want to die, they need to run north immediately.”

“Going there won’t help them either,” Udi interrupted quietly. “It’s all flooded up there!”

“It’s only for the time being. Flood season is already over, and winter is almost here. Once spring comes, the flooded land will be the most fertile land there is. Lord Laxi will distribute the nobles’ land to them.” Akman answered without hesitation.

The land along the Tassen River that had once belonged to the nobles had already been consolidated. Once the flood season was fully over, it could be used to resettle displaced villagers.

Those lands were far more fertile than anything they were seeing, and Laxi had promised to distribute part of them to the local people.

Mammoth State now belonged to the Resistance Army. They needed to manage the land properly.

At the mention of receiving land, the eyes of two of the young men lit up, including Udi’s. His village lay outside Mammoth City, where everything had belonged to the nobles. His parents had farmed noble estates their entire lives without ever owning a single field. Now someone was willing to divide up those noble estates and plantations and give the land to them!

For a moment, the boys were so excited they could barely stop themselves from cheering. Only the veterans from Tiger State looked at their innocent expressions and smiled.

Farming? There was no future in that.