Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 313 Hunting
The attackers came wearing cloaks and masks, and they looked anything but friendly.

In return, they were met with a fierce counterattack from the town's guardians.

While a fierce battle raged outside the walls, another battlefield was also burning, one that was perhaps even more important.
"Run! The city walls have been breached, and the monsters have come in!"

“I told you it wasn’t safe here at all. The slave traders came too, and they’re going to take us away!”

"Trust the nobles? Are they trustworthy? In their eyes, we are just a bunch of rotten stones, used for building walls, and we're disgusting to look at on ordinary days."

The bribed refugees set fires and screamed everywhere, creating chaos and conveying the message that the town was no longer safe.

The newly built town couldn't be closed off; it was far too easy for them to sneak in.

Many people who were also "slaves" were tempted to betray their masters by the promise of freedom or becoming slave squad leaders.

People who have no concept of loyalty to begin with, and who only see what's in front of them, will do anything to survive.
"Boom!"

Even though we hadn't hit the inner wall yet, the inner wall exploded on its own.

Some escaped slaves, already feeling uneasy, chose to run away out of fear and lies. But the moment they left the underground area and returned to the city, the slave-catching team would turn them back into slaves.

At that time, the trade fair will resume immediately, the "black market" that was short of goods will start operating again, and the market that had begun to wither will naturally revive.

"Ahhh!"

The runaway slave who caused the disturbance suddenly collapsed, and a lurking assassin appeared on the spot.

"Stay where you are, and we, in the name of the kingdom, will ensure your safety and freedom."

He was holding aloft the Order of the White Lion, a "precious" royal secret agent.

Assassins and spies emerged from the shadows, gleefully reaping the heads of the rebels.

For them, this was a long-awaited achievement.

On the battlefield outside the walls, one by one, kingdom knights, guards, and mercenaries stepped forward.

Led by four Radiant Guardians, the long-awaited hunt began.

Or rather, suppressing a rebellion.

"No prisoners."

"Cultists should all die."

The slogans shouted by the high-ranking warriors have already said it all. This is an internal power struggle that everyone knows is happening, but in the end, it will still be labeled as a cult. They are just too useful. All sorts of conspiracies, tricks, and experiments that go wrong are blamed on various cult members.

The attacking superhumans didn't include many high-level professionals because the "price" wasn't high enough. The biggest losers in the slave market were the middle-level members, whose influence was limited. Meanwhile, the defending side had a number of high-level professionals lurking in the shadows.

"How can there be so many mages?!"

Rean's appearance may have been accidental, but the appearance of the archmages was not.

"Flame Storm".

The half-elf archmage summoned an oval-shaped firestorm, which whipped up a deadly hurricane on the battlefield.

His staying here was both accidental and inevitable. After further strengthening his cooperation with Rean, he was considering whether to build a mage tower in the town.

The arrival of him and his apprentices, and the display of high-level spellcasters' abilities on the battlefield, brought the raid to an end even faster.

There were no prisoners, no "surrenderers." Those left alive would become a shared problem for both sides.

None of the churches or organizations wanted to get involved in this conflict of interest, and neither did the royal family or Rean want to break off relations, so they decided to let the attackers simply disappear.

Among all the killers and guardians, the Black Knight's Dragon Knight is the most dazzling. He sometimes soars into the air like an exploding rocket, and sometimes swoops down like an eagle that has found its prey. Each time, his target is the most valuable superhuman.

High-level combatants are always valuable, and only a few mid-to-high-level superhumans were able to participate in this raid.

As the leaders of the attackers were killed one by one, the chaos naturally subsided.

"Hang it up."

The headless corpses of the attackers were hung on poles in the new town, serving as a powerful deterrent to make some lurking villains retract their outstretched claws.

Rean stood atop the tower, watching the flames gradually die down, feeling somewhat dazed.

His black armor was covered in blood, but not much of it was his own. Large patches of blood were gradually being absorbed, and the greedy black armor enjoyed the life force that was slowly slipping away.

"SOL!"

The youth floated in mid-air, the sun's radiance shining beneath his wings.

He floated slowly over the town like an eagle, and everyone who witnessed it felt as if they were being watched. He didn't need to say anything; his sun-like radiance and the fact that he was "still there" were enough to soothe people's hearts.

"Let's clean up the battlefield, make sure it's clean."

Hawkeye's abilities are really useful; Rean is certain there are no more forgotten blind spots. The attackers have been cleared out, but some are still trying to escape.

They were probably terrified.

"Go and handle it." Rean sighed and sent someone to stop them, but he didn't have high hopes for it himself.

If someone really wants to leave, they will still leave even if you stop them this time.

However, judging from the results of the inspection, most people are still quite stable. This timely counterattack and defense has actually reassured many people.

Everyone knows that some people won't stop here. Not only are the town's owners and protectors waiting for this day, but the slaves are also anxiously awaiting the end. Their pessimism is understandable; their lives have never been much "sweetness," and they've gotten used to their downward spiral.

Nightmares are just a part of daily life for them; they've become numb to them.

But the hanging corpses of the attackers gave them a little confidence and a sense of security. Rean sent someone to comfort them, but he didn't have high expectations. In some situations, words are meaningless; only time can earn trust.

However, things took an unexpected turn. The singing bards did bring laughter and joy, and it was only then that Rean noticed that there were actually quite a few extraordinary individuals from the bard system among the spies.

Their soothing actions were skillful; rather than "persuading them," they created laughter and farce, plunging them into a "happy illusion" that allowed them to briefly forget the painful reality.

Perhaps, for these people, this is enough. Trying to convince them that this place is safe and a good place to live is not only more difficult but also less realistic.
"They'll get used to it after a while."

The Archmage stood behind Rean, and after a certain interlude of a song of peace, the interests of the two sides were now more deeply intertwined.

Rean's scheme was actually a calculated move, which the Archmage had seen through clearly. And now that he had found Rean, he naturally had his own reasons.

"The town has suffered such great losses, aren't you going to seek compensation?"

"Large losses? Not really, they didn't even get into the core area."

Dania has even sent the Radiant Guard and royal spies; if she causes further massive losses, it would be truly outrageous.

Moreover, this time there were several additional half-elf archmages, who greatly intervened in the battlefield and ended everything much faster.

"Oh, I see. We do need to seek compensation from them for the losses."

Rean suddenly realized that the amount of loss was not really important; what mattered was whether you got your revenge after being beaten up. And if you had the ability to do so, you could naturally demand more "compensation."

"Let's go, let's go get compensation from them. If they won't give it to us, we'll smash their shop!"

(End of this chapter)