OBS Chapter 367 Something happened
Chapter 367 Something happened
"Where is it? Is it true?" Magistrate Zheng was running so fast that he almost twisted his ankle.
When they went outside, they found the same three villagers from yesterday, and they brought five more heads with them.
"What... what happened?" Magistrate Zheng stammered, pointing at the severed head, unable to speak.
"Your Excellency, it's like this!" The leading fisherman repeated the events of yesterday, "Last night the tide came in, and I was worried that the bodies were buried too shallow, so I went with them to check early this morning. Who knew that the bodies weren't exposed, but five more people had fallen."
The group looked around and said, "We brought the heads back to claim the reward, it's absolutely true." They all nodded solemnly, assuring each other that they were not lying.
Magistrate Zheng was somewhat stunned. Were these Japanese so easy to kill? Just then, Wang Erniu arrived with his men. This matter was not simple; he had wanted to go and see for himself yesterday.
"You guys pick one of you to go with them to collect the reward money, and the other two take me to see what's going on."
"Okay!" the fishermen readily agreed.
Upon arriving at the beach, Wang Erniu carefully examined the area and found some traces. It turned out that they had actually followed him here, coming to his territory to cause trouble. They had better behave themselves, or they wouldn't be so ruthless.
"Captain, smoke signals are coming from Zishan! Japanese soldiers have been spotted there!"
"Let's go!" Wang Erniu mounted his horse. Fortunately, Magistrate Lou had helped him buy some horses from caravans these past few days, and now they finally had enough horses for over fifty people, so they could run relatively fast.
They rode at full speed, and in about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Wang Erniu and his group arrived at Guangtian Village in Zishan Town.
"Dismount! Scatter into the village!" Wang Erniu coldly surveyed the surroundings of the village. Fortunately, he had been instructed to return home immediately upon encountering Japanese soldiers, lock the doors and windows, and wait for rescue. It seemed to be very effective. The village was deserted, and there wasn't even a bark from a dog.
The group scattered and sneaked into the village, searching for traces of the Japanese.
Suddenly, a frantic banging on the door came from the edge of the village, unusually clear in the quiet village. Wang Erniu rushed to the sound and saw four Japanese men frantically smashing the door with the hilts of their swords, muttering something in a foreign language.
The sounds of a woman's angry shouts and a child's cries came from inside the house, a heart-wrenching sympathy. Wang Erniu, his eyes wide with rage, roared, "You scoundrel, how dare you be so insolent!"
He charged forward with his sword drawn. The Japanese soldiers, hearing the sound, turned to look at him with fierce eyes.
The two sides immediately confronted each other, and the soldiers behind Wang Erniu quickly surrounded them.
Upon seeing this, the Japanese let out a strange cry and charged forward, brandishing their long swords.
Wang Erniu roared and charged forward. Amidst the flashing blades and clashing weapons, the battle erupted instantly. Shouts and the clang of weapons mingled together. Wang Erniu, with his immense strength and ruthless attacks, quickly felled two men. Several soldiers behind him surrounded the remaining men and slaughtered them as well!
Hearing the commotion, the woman inside knew the Japanese man was dead. She opened the door and rushed out, crying out, "Damn it! My poor son!" She stabbed the dead Japanese man with scissors and began to beat him frantically.
"Auntie, stop hitting him, he's already dead!" Two soldiers nearby helped her up and tried to persuade her.
"Sorry we're late!"
The woman burst into tears. They had been digging for clams on the beach when they happened to run into the Japanese boats coming by. The women in the village always traveled in groups, so when faced with this situation, they naturally scattered in all directions. She had taken her five-year-old daughter's hand, but in the chaos, her ten-year-old son had run away. The Japanese were fierce and menacing, and she feared her son was in grave danger.
"Don't cry, this is your child!" Not far away, Lü Xiong, carrying an unconscious child, led several people over.
The woman scrambled over, crying out, "It's him! My child! My son!" She felt around, trying to make sure he wasn't hurt.
"Don't worry, it's just a scratch. She probably hit something and passed out. Where's your husband? Why isn't he in the village? How can he protect his family if he's not here?" Lu Xiong said angrily.
Wang Erniu also noticed that this seemed to be the case in the whole village: the young men were all away from home, leaving only women to take care of the children. There weren't many such families, only about ten. Most of the households consisted of elderly people and children. Were those people worried about being conscripted into the army? That's why they ran away.
"Thank you all for saving my life. My husband is out fishing at sea and hasn't been home for a while." The woman held her unconscious child, her eyes darting around, her words hesitant and evasive.
"Sigh! Let him come back. I won't force him to serve. The area is too big. You all need to learn to protect yourselves."
Wang Erniu had someone cut off the head, leaving her a knife. "Here, take this knife. If your husband comes back, you can tell her yourself."
"Sir, there are many Japanese over there!" a soldier came to report.
"Quickly! Hide in the room, close the doors and windows, and don't come out!" Wang Erniu snatched the child from her hands with one hand, dragged her into the room, threw in a knife, and closed the door.
"Let's go!" He led the people southwest, which was the exit from the village, and they couldn't be allowed to wander around.
The woman stared blankly as they left, feeling uneasy. These soldiers seemed different from before; they genuinely treated them like human beings and were protecting them.
"Mother!" The ten-year-old child slowly woke up. She quickly went to comfort the child, thought for a moment, then picked up the knife and hid it. She dragged the table over to block the door, moved two stones to weigh down the table legs, and waited quietly.
When Wang Erniu and his group arrived at the village entrance, they saw a group of about twenty Japanese men, all dressed in short clothes and carrying long swords, smashing doors and looting from house to house. One door was accidentally broken open, and an old man was dragged out and killed on the spot. When they saw them coming, the Japanese men looked at them arrogantly and laughed at them, and even deliberately wiped the bloodstains on the dead old man's hair with their swords.
"You beast!" Lü Xiong was furious! Everyone who saw this was enraged, their eyes gleaming red, and their killing intent overflowing.
"Follow me and slaughter them all!" Wang Erniu drew his sword, pointing it to the sky, his aura unstoppable. "Kill!"
The Japanese tilted their heads and looked at them with mockery. These Song people seemed strong, but they were actually useless. They even dared to charge at them. Just wait, they would be scared out of their wits and run away in a panic.
"Yoshi!" Seeing them charging over, all the Japanese laughed and raised their swords to fight back. But their laughter soon faded as they discovered that these soldiers were exceptionally brave. Even when wounded, they did not retreat, and they helped each other in pairs, cooperating very well. In particular, the Song soldier in charge was tall and strong, and his attacks were quick, accurate, and ruthless. He took down two of them in just a few strokes.
The Japanese began to panic, screaming and scattering.
"Brothers, everyone must do everything in their power to hunt down the Japanese. We must not let a single one escape, so that they will not wreak havoc on our village." Wang Erniu led the pursuit, and soon the road was littered with the corpses of Japanese soldiers.