Chapter 553 - 554: Entering the Village

Chapter 553: Chapter 554: Entering the Village

A few short men stepped forward. Some grabbed Ishishita’s limbs, while another covered his mouth. Caught completely off guard, Yamaguchi gave a forceful yank and pulled the bamboo skewer straight out. They were banking on a surprise attack; if the villagers found out they were here, the pirates would surely suffer heavy losses. Ishishita Saburō broke out in a cold sweat. He had clenched his fists so tightly that beads of blood seeped from his palms, and his entire body trembled.

"That’s enough. Just bear with it, and the pain will pass. These damn fishermen actually dared to set traps for us, so they can’t blame us for being ruthless this time.

"Everyone, don’t let a single one of them go later. We are taking everything. Whatever we can’t carry, we destroy."

The two dozen pirates rubbed their hands together in anticipation. "That’s right! Just like he said, don’t even spare a single thread!"

After a simple bandaging, Ishishita Saburō limped along behind them. It was impossible for him to charge at the front anymore, but he was unwilling to just give up and wait here. They had already scouted this village thoroughly; it was a cash cow. Once they pulled off this job, they might be able to head back and live comfortably for an entire year. Little did they know, this brief delay had already cost them their initial advantage.

Bai Suihe had originally wanted to add some special ingredients to the traps, but since she didn’t know which direction the enemies would sneak in from, she feared it would be a waste to lace them all. Otherwise, this Ishishita Saburō would have likely become the late Ishishita Saburō.

Thinking themselves incredibly clever, they crept into the village. They had all drawn their swords, using the blades to probe the path with every step they took, which slowed their progress even further. They didn’t mind. They had the whole night to slowly dismantle this village, which they already considered to be entirely in the bag.

As they advanced cautiously, Gu Kaiyuan had already secretly arranged his men. All the craftsmen and their families were gathered over at the shipyard. These were skilled workers they had gone to great lengths to find; not a single one could be harmed.

Bai Suihe patted her cheeks to wake herself up. It couldn’t be helped; these intruders were simply too "dedicated," insisting on launching a midnight raid and messing with her biological clock. "A dark, windy night is perfect for murder, but this time, the roles are going to be reversed."

Gu Kaiyuan looked at Bai Suihe, who was draped in small pouches, and his mouth twitched slightly. One couldn’t underestimate these little things; any single one of them was enough to make a person suffer miserably. Bai Suihe didn’t just have them hanging on her body; she had plenty more stashed in her dimensional space, ready to be used at any moment.

Even he and Lin Wei had quite a few pouches hung on themselves. Inside were life-saving medicines as well as lethal poisons. Gu Kaiyuan was actually a bit worried now—if the invaders didn’t bring enough men tonight, the poor fools would probably have to sample several varieties of poison each, and it was hard to say if any would leave with their lives.

Glancing back at the innermost room, Gu Xingyang had long been taken inside to rest by two maidservants. Outside the room, Lin Hua and Lin Wei stood guard. As for why she didn’t put the child into her dimensional space, it wasn’t that Bai Suihe hadn’t thought of it. However, the flow of time was vastly different between the two sides. Leaving such a tiny child in there alone—even if Gu Xingyang was different from other children—was something Bai Suihe simply couldn’t feel at ease doing. Having come to this place, they eventually had to face the cruelty of this world. It wasn’t just the child who needed to adapt; she herself had to integrate into it.

Once everyone was ready, they followed their original plan and quietly headed toward the village entrance.

Chui Shi felt something was off. "Isn’t this village a little too quiet? According to our scouting over the past few days, there should be Rong Dynasty nobles staying here. With the sheer number of carriages going in and out every day, how could they not have any defenses?" The unnatural atmosphere made Chui Shi hold out a hand, stopping the group from advancing any further.

Tanaka smiled lecherously. "Chui Shi, you’re entirely too cowardly. Even if there are nobles here, don’t forget what time it is.

"In the dead of night, who would still be wandering around outside?

"Even those so-called guards doze off sometimes.

"Their soldiers have all withdrawn. These people probably think we were scared off by the army. Right now is when they are most relaxed. Such a golden opportunity is simply begging to make us rich."

Yamaguchi also rubbed his palms together. "Mr. Tanaka is right. You’ve just been frightened out of your wits by those posturing soldiers. I heard the women of these wealthy households are all soft-skinned and exceptionally beautiful. Let’s enjoy a different kind of ’flavor’ this time..."

Hearing this, the men hiding in the shadows couldn’t help but tighten their grips on their bows and arrows. As for where these weapons came from? Don’t forget that this was a shipyard. Everyone here was a master craftsman. Once Gu Kaiyuan handed them a blueprint for a crossbow, manufacturing them was absolute child’s play.

Every arrowhead gleamed with an eerie blue light, which the men were careful to avoid touching. These had been specially laced with extra "ingredients" for these invaders. They just hoped these bastards’ lives would prove to be as tough as their talk.

As the group of pirates sneaked toward the village entrance, the men armed with crossbows bypassed them entirely. Relying on their familiarity with the terrain, they quickly locked onto the pirates who had been left behind to act as lookouts. Quite a few enemies had been mobilized this time. Aside from the two dozen who went inside, there were actually six more left waiting on the outskirts.

The village men did a quick headcount; their numbers were about evenly matched with the lookouts, with even a few to spare. They quickly assigned targets and crept closer. Meanwhile, two of the remaining men sneaked over to the traps, fiddled with them for a while, and finally waited for news from the others with wicked grins on their faces.

The six lookouts were completely relaxed, still laughing and joking amongst themselves. It was as if everything was under their control, and all that was left was to divide the spoils.

"I heard this one’s a fat lamb," one of them said in broken Rong Dynasty language. It was a mystery why they chose to communicate in it.

"That’s right. I was guarding by the roadside earlier and saw it with my own eyes. The carriages going in and out were hauling quite a lot of goods.

"Not just grain, but I also saw plenty of fabric inside those carriages!

"After tonight, we might just be able to take a trip back home. I wonder if my old lady has popped out another son for me?"

"Hahaha, you sure don’t have a guilty conscience saying that. You certainly haven’t held back from enjoying those women before..."

"That’s different. My woman at home is there to carry on the family line. Our clan is still counting on me to have a few more kids. When they arrive, I’ll bring them over to see the beautiful scenery of the Rong Dynasty.

"This is our promised land of wealth. I hope that in the future, my children and grandchildren can all be just like me..."

This jovial banter, as if they were discussing some grand enterprise, caused a hateful light to flash in the eyes of the men slowly closing in on them. Even if the people hurt before weren’t their own relatives, they were still citizens of the Rong Dynasty. This time, they were absolutely going to make these damn runts pay the price.

Stopping at the agreed-upon positions, everyone raised their crossbows. Though it wasn’t at the exact same moment, within less than a split second of each other, they fired in unison...