Chapter Thirty-Two: The Village of Dusk

  Mount Luo, village of fallen clouds.

  This is a secluded mountain village located in the southwest of Luofeng Mountain, surrounded by mountains on all sides, with steep terrain and only one entrance to the village, which is over three miles long. The path is flanked by towering cliffs, allowing only two people to pass through at a time. If it weren't for Jin Xiaoliu Sally's guidance, finding this hidden village would be quite difficult.

  When Rayn and his party arrived at Luoxia Village, the villagers who came to greet them were sparse. At the front of the team was Emily, who looked like a fairy descending from heaven, followed by several elderly women in their sixties.

  "Ah?" This was the collective voice of the soldiers, all stunned. Not only were they amazed by Emily's stunning beauty, but there were also many disappointed and despairing sighs.

  "Faint, how come it's just a young woman, ah!"

  "xxx, where are the other beauties?"

  "Wow, it's so beautiful!"

  “……”

  The soldiers began to discuss and argue, the high morale they had when they came disappeared temporarily, and most of the soldiers could not muster up their fighting spirit.

  "Captain Laine, welcome to Luoxia Village. The other sisters are preparing breakfast and rooms for you, please forgive us!" Emily walked up to Captain Laine's side with a slight smile, feeling somewhat apologetic for the lack of enthusiasm in their greeting.

  "Oh, Emily, don't worry about it, protecting villagers is part of an Imperial soldier's duty." Rain replied.

  At this time, the soldiers' discussions also stopped, their expressions became excited again, and the team was neat. Each of them puffed out his chest, with a heroic spirit, and the morale was greatly boosted.

  The soldiers temporarily stationed on the outskirts of the village, and what was called a room was just over thirty simple thatched cottages, with simple fences around them.

  Here, the soldiers were warmly entertained by the villagers and also drank delicious sweet rice wine. At this time, Lain was discussing with Emily in the village council hall about how to resist the bandits' raid.

  "Village Chief Emily, for hundreds of years, your Luoxia Village has gotten along with the bandits from Luo Feng Mountain. Why did they suddenly attack your village?" Lain sat cross-legged in front of a beautifully crafted red sandalwood table, gazing at Emily who was seated on the upper seat in the hall, and asked doubtfully.

  The members present at the business talks also included Russ, Dakot and Ladds, all three of whom were staring at Emily in incomprehension.

  "Captain Laine, for decades the Kaste Empire and the Caesar Empire have been at war, with internal conflicts within the Kaste Empire also frequent. This has led to the displacement of people on the border, who flee to avoid the cruel military service system and survive by becoming bandits... The number of bandits in the area has increased year after year... Since this year, the situation on the border has become urgent... The empire's conscription system is even more severe, and the number of bandits in the Lofei Mountain area has surged from over a thousand to 70,000 or 80,000. For territory, for greater benefits, the killings between different bandit groups continue unabated... Alas, the mountain villages near Lofei Mountain have also been affected..."

  "A few days ago, our village took in dozens of young girls who had fled here to escape the destruction of their villages by bandits. To protect them and ensure the safety of our own village, we engaged in a fierce battle with those relentless bandits at the stone monument outside the village, on the right side of the mountain path where you entered, which bears the inscription 'Lingxia Village'..." Emily explained, her eyes blazing with anger.

  "These bandits are really lawless, they collect protection fees from the villagers and still rob and abduct women, burning, killing, looting, doing all sorts of evil. They're even worse than rabbits that don't eat the grass near their own nests! Radis slammed his fist on the table, clenching his fists in anger, looking like he wanted to go fight those bandits to the death."

  "Rades, what kind of rabbit is not a rabbit, it's a beast! These robbers are even worse than beasts. Emily Village Chief, rest assured, we will definitely teach these beastly robbers a lesson." Russ said with a face full of anger and indignation.

  "Dakota also echoed..."

  At this time, Russ turned his head and gazed at Dakota, the two exchanged a smile, and those unpleasant things disappeared.

  The bandits from the precipice of Luo Feng Mountain, who were defeated in Luoxia Village, vowed to massacre the village in a few days, causing the villagers to be terrified. As the temporary village chief, Emily had been worried for a long time. Coincidentally, she met the soldiers of the Kaster Empire who came to suppress the bandits. Her worries disappeared, and a smile finally appeared on her face.

  After Emily's narrative, Rain learned that Luoxia Village was one of the few villages in the entire Luo Feng Mountain that had not been looted by bandits. This was because the villagers here had practiced martial arts since childhood, made a living by hunting, and were agile in movement, climbing rocks as if they were flat land. Another point was that this village was located in a dangerous terrain, and the only path leading to the outside world had formed a situation where one man could hold off ten thousand men.

  "Village chief Emily, can you introduce the basic situation of your village?" Lain thought for a long time, raised his head, looked at Emily, and stared at her intently.

  "Captain Rynn, there are currently 1,351 villagers in Luoxia Village. In addition to the 50 refugees who have fled here, there is a total of 1,401 people. Excluding the elderly, weak, sick and disabled, there are 836 people who can participate in combat. Among them..." Emily avoided Rynn's fiery gaze, her face slightly red as she spoke.

  "Huh?" Everyone including Rain drew in a cold breath and stared at Emily in incredulity, their faces all extremely shocked.

  Lei En and others arrived at Luoxia Village, the whole village was just a few dozen courtyards scattered around, how could there be so many villagers? They were all very puzzled.

  "Come on, let's go!" Emily said with a smile, then stood up. Sally, who was still making faces at Raine and the others, quickly followed her aunt Emily out of the meeting hall, while Raine and the others exchanged glances and also followed closely behind them to outside the room.