"What!"
Snap!
The teacup slipped from my hand, fell to the ground, and shattered into pieces. The once beautiful pattern disappeared, leaving only broken pieces scattered everywhere.
Magistrate Liu's expression shifted uncertainly as he asked, "Where are they?"
"At the town gate, judging by their horseback riding speed, they'll be in the town center soon."
"Immediately summon all the guards in the manor, and send a few servants to inform the neighboring large families, so that they can send some of their servants to fight against these foreign tribes."
"If they disagree and want to watch the show, then you can say that if these barbarians come at us, we will not provide protection."
Magistrate Liu had long seen through the old foxes of these families. If the stakes weren't clearly explained, they would just stand by and watch, and wouldn't allow their families' strength to be damaged in the slightest.
Nevertheless, the fate of the nearby towns had left a deep impression on Magistrate Liu, and he did not want to become a pair of skeletons, with the court and the barbarians ultimately failing to resolve the matter, and to die unjustly.
He paced back and forth in the mansion, suddenly remembering that there was an immortal living in the east. If there was an immortal, what were these barbarians? But he didn't know if the immortal would care about such trivial matters. He stroked his beard and sighed, "Madam, send my son to invite the immortal to come. I will take charge of the overall situation here."
"Yes, Father, I'll set off right away." He was Liu Xu, the son of Magistrate Liu. He had just heard the commotion in the mansion and knew that the barbarians had invaded. He was just about to come and see how things were going when he heard his father was going to ask him to invite the immortal. He also wanted to see this legendary being, so he readily agreed.
"Master, something terrible has happened! The manor is surrounded by a group of barbarian men, and we can't get out."
"What!" The father and son exclaimed at the same time, completely unprepared for the barbarians to move so quickly.
…………
Outside the county government, Wutugu led his tribal warriors to surround the county magistrate's residence and several wealthy households, sending people in to inform them that they should hand over sufficient money and grain, as well as ten beautiful women from each household.
…………
Inside the Sun residence, Sun Jun, the head of the Sun family, had just received a notification when this group of nomadic barbarians stormed into the residence, killing dozens of servants. The women inside the residence screamed in terror, but they were still picked up by this pack of hungry wolves, carried on their shoulders, lewdly groped them a few times, and taken out of the residence.
As Sun Jun watched his servants being killed one by one and his female relatives being abducted, his heart felt as if it were being torn apart. After a long while, he spoke with difficulty to the servants beside him, his voice hoarse: "You ten men, first protect the family disciples and help them escape through the back door to ensure the continuation of the family bloodline."
"Master, what about you?" a square-faced servant asked. He had been with the Sun family for ten years and had developed a deep affection for them. Moreover, Sun Jun had treated them well, and they were loyal to him.
Sun Jun smiled bitterly: "These beasts dared to enter my home, plunder my property, and rob my women. I am the head of the Sun family. Others may retreat, but I will not. The rest of you, come with me and kill all these beasts."
"Even if I die, I will die a glorious death!" Sun Jun picked up his treasured sword, which he had kept for many years, and rushed out the door.
He slashed down the head of a barbarian from the steppe who was about to violate a maid in a green dress, then pulled up the frightened maid and ordered her to escape through the back door.
Then, holding his knife, he continued forward, determined to kill all these barbarians and show them that the Shang people were not to be trifled with.
Watching his companion die, a bearded barbarian from the grasslands roared, tears streaming down his face. The man killed by Sun Jun was his brother. Overwhelmed with grief and anger, he realized that what was supposed to be a slaughter game had turned into a horde of lambs that dared to rebel.
The bearded man strode forward, brandishing his curved knife, but Sun Jun blocked it with his own knife. The blades clashed, producing a clang.
Sun Jun's hand jolted, and his arm went numb. The strength of this grassland man exceeded his expectations. But he reacted quickly, kicking the barbarian in front of him to the ground, and then chopping down hard, cutting off the bearded man's right hand.
The bearded man lost his right hand and let out a miserable howl. His scimitar fell to the ground along with his right hand. He desperately tried to cover the bleeding wound with his left hand, but to no avail.
Sun Jun showed no mercy; these bastards deserved it. With a swift stroke of his sword, he severed the head of the bearded man, which rolled to the side of his brother.
With Sun Jun leading the charge, these servants were also roused to a frenzy. They were just a mere twenty-odd foreign barbarians, yet they dared to act so presumptuously in the mansion.
Although these alien races were experienced in combat, they were no match for the overwhelming numbers and retreated after a short while.
"That's all they are, patriarch. Let's fight our way out and join the others. With more people, we'll have more strength. These barbarians won't amount to anything then." A servant, seeing the retreating grassland people, felt less afraid and said to Sun Jun, their leader.
"Fine, let's go out and meet up with the others. Then I'll hang these beasts on poles and leave them to bake in the sun for three days and three nights," Sun Jun said viciously. With that, he led a group of servants towards the magistrate's residence.
The heads of the Zhou and Wang families were both middle-aged, but still full of vigor. They could not tolerate these nomadic barbarians bullying them, so they led their servants out to fight. Although they suffered heavy losses, they terrified the barbarians.
"Useless trash! You were beaten like this by these Shang people!" Wutugu slapped the burly man who came to report, knocking him to the ground.
The two hundred cavalrymen following behind Wutugu also looked at the group with some disdain. They had tried to rob something but were driven back, which was a disgrace to the tribe.
Wutugu glared angrily at the several families that had already joined together, as well as nearly a hundred heavily armed soldiers who rushed out of the county magistrate's mansion. He frowned.
If things continue like this, and these guys retaliate, he will suffer heavy losses. Even if he manages to kill them all, most of his men will be dead. He will then have no face to face the tribe's priests and women.
Thinking of this, he raised his hand, and two hundred cavalrymen behind him took out longbows, drew their bows, and aimed at those families.
"put!"
At a command, a dense rain of arrows swept towards the group, piercing their bodies and taking away one life after another.
The clan leaders hadn't expected the barbarians to fire arrows directly, and they hurriedly began to defend themselves. However, they lacked sufficient cover, and suffered heavy losses in an instant, with corpses strewn across the ground and blood staining the streets red.
Sun Jun, Zhou Cheng, and Wang Hongze, the three heads of the family, were hit by several arrows and were taken by their men to a small alley. Although they were not fatally wounded, given their current condition, prolonged bleeding and wound infection would surely lead to their death.
"I'm not reconciled! I want to lead my family to glory, I want to live in the capital, to be high above others, and to bring honor to my ancestors." Sun Jun stretched out his hand and clenched it, as if trying to grasp something.
However, excessive bleeding caused his vision to blur and his strength to drop rapidly. His breathing also became rapid due to severe oxygen deprivation.
Looking at his old rival sitting beside him, whom he had fought for many years, Commander Sun laughed and sighed, "Old man, I never thought that after fighting for more than ten years, we would end up dying together."
"I don't want to die with you, Sun Datou." Wang Hongze pursed his lips, trying to avoid aggravating his wound.
"Wang the Gambler, Sun Datou is already so weak, why are you still making him angry?" Zhou Cheng covered his wound and said softly.
They used to be good friends, but since they each focused on the interests of their families, they never turned against each other and became enemies. Unexpectedly, they gathered together on their deathbeds.
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Chapter Thirty-Three: A Turning Point
"Do you think we can survive?" Zhou Cheng swallowed the metallic taste in his mouth, turned his head and said to his two former friends.