The victory of a religion in another world is so easy?

As for that tax official, he can only be described in one sentence.

What was that saying again? "He has already found a way to die!"

Upon arriving in town, it became clear that due to the start of the war, the area in front of Rand's wanted poster was no longer crowded with people as it had been before.

Moreover, Rand had put on makeup and carefully disguised herself, so naturally no one could tell there was anything wrong with her.

Two men in black robes followed beside him. Serai held a small bow inside his robes, while Seras was empty-handed, ready to unleash his tentacles at any moment.

The Kingdom of Lenza's attack on the Northern Alliance came without warning, and thus, caught off guard, it swept through the enemy lines with unstoppable momentum. However, the northerners, whom Lenza called the northern barbarians, had already reacted and gradually organized a counterattack army.

In order to fight against the orcs, giants, and demons of the frigid lands, the inhabitants of the North put aside their prejudices and people of different ethnicities, races, and beliefs united to stop the attacks of those monsters from the frigid lands. This is the prototype of the Northern Union we know today.

Even today, the Northern Union still suffers attacks from monsters that emerge from the cold winds every year, so the vast majority of its military force is located in the far north.

It can be said that the Kingdom of Lenza's sneak attack was extremely shameless and precise.

Unfortunately, the size difference between the two was too great, and only Lenza in the southern kingdoms actually launched a direct military attack, failing to create the north-south confrontation that King Lenza had originally envisioned.

Now, having penetrated deep into the heart of the Northern Alliance, their advance has been halted by a small country called the Principality of Mist.

It has now become a stalemate where we are caught in a dilemma.

However, none of this is relevant to this place for the time being. A baronial estate is roughly between 3000 and 6000 acres, though some are particularly large or small. The exact size of the baronial estate where the stronghold is located is unclear, but there are not many troops stationed there now, as the vast majority have been transferred to the front lines.

The baron who's staying here now, I think his name is Bill, is probably not very good at commanding troops, so he's just staying here to live a peaceful life and maybe make some money on the side.

The tax official's residence had been scouted in advance; it was a rather impressive stone house.

According to Serth, this place used to be the residence of a bread merchant, the very bread merchant whose bread he stole. Unfortunately, after the town was captured by the Lenza army, the bread merchant disappeared and the place became the residence of a tax collector.

Tax collectors and tribunes of the people were usually held by noble sons who did not inherit noble status; these people were the original source of free citizens in the city.

It was already night, and the tax collector's house was still lit with candles. Rand and two cultists were keeping watch outside.

This tax collector lived a fairly comfortable life; he had maids to serve him, and more than one at that!

Rand was grinding his teeth outside the house; his life was so decadent, it deserved to be severely criticized!

But since there are two women, wouldn't his desire sharing be less effective? In that case, the suffering would seem to turn into that of a maid, rather than the tax collector.

Serai brandished her small bow, indicating that her skills were excellent and that it was impossible for her to accidentally injure the maid beside her.

But Rand had no intention of doing so; he was very patient.

As night deepened, the tax collector went to sleep.

“Pull him out,” Rand said to Thurs.

Seres tiptoed into the tax collector's bedroom.

Both hands transformed into sticky tentacles, wrapping around his body.

The tax official suddenly awoke, realizing he seemed to be entangled by something, and tried to shout in terror.

But to no avail.

The tentacles wrapped around his mouth and nose, leaving him only able to make low whimpering sounds from his throat.

They dragged him outside, and Rand gestured for Thurs to let go.

The tax collector, now released, gasped for breath, then looked in horror at Rand, who stood there with his hands behind his back.

"you!?"

Just as he was about to question her, Rand made his move.

He wasn't given a chance to speak at all; he was simply eager to share.

So far, he has never seen anyone who could resist this powerful control effect, and sure enough, this tax collector was no exception.

His first target was Serth, who seemed interested in his tentacles, but Serth skillfully evaded them.

And the closest thing to the tax collector was—his bull in his yard.

This also appears to be part of the taxes he collected on behalf of the baron, perhaps a gift from the baron, or something he kept for himself.

But this is not important.

The bull was still fast asleep in the barn when it suddenly felt a sharp pain. It opened its eyes in terror and saw a disheveled man in pajamas staring at it with bloodshot eyes.

Then the man tore off his clothes, threw them on the ground, and charged at the bull.

Rand did not watch what happened next, but silently led the two dumbfounded cultists away from the scene.

Cough cough, I feel a little sorry for that cow.

……

Meanwhile, the war between the villages of Takina and Karba is drawing to a close.

The enormous three-headed monster lay dead on the edge of the field, riddled with arrows and a spear piercing its chest.

Takina Village emerged victorious once again, though not to the point of mutual destruction, but still suffering heavy losses.

The bandit village chief, slightly out of breath, directed those who could still move to rescue the wounded.

When he was young, he was a notorious outlaw in the surrounding area, and it was only then that he encountered such a terrifying monster.

I never expected to be frightened again in my old age. Fortunately, the young men around me were quite brave this time and did not immediately run away in fear. With his shouts, they managed to organize an effective counterattack.

A follower of the god of war, but unfortunately this red-robed man seems to be lacking in skill; he caused a great deal of destruction but killed relatively few people.

Clear away the collapsed or burned houses to create an open space for the wounded to rest.

In this village war between Takina and Karba, Takina won a complete victory. Except for a few elderly people who couldn't walk and some very young children who stayed behind, all the able-bodied men and women from Karba came.

The bandit village chief was very familiar with Karba Village. He carefully counted the corpses, and including those who surrendered, they were all here; none had escaped.

The war did not actually cause many casualties, but there were many wounded. However, the wounded also need to eat, and it is estimated that even after taking over the property of Karpa Village, it would still not be enough.

They still need to keep looking for their next prey.

The village chief glanced at the exhausted villagers who had just finished a major battle, and it seemed that he could only try to pick on the easy targets next.

Otherwise, few of these villagers might survive in the end, and they would also have to guard against attacks from other villages. If there are too few of them, other villages would take advantage of them, or rather, reap the benefits without lifting a finger.

Although he didn't have a map, he knew the location and population of the nearby villages very well. After careful consideration, he looked to the east.

The bandit village chief made a decision.

Chapter 18 High-level attack on low-level, attack XX

It's a pity that there are no newspapers in such rural towns, otherwise Rand could have compiled a whole gossip tabloid and published a hundred little stories about the tax collector and his big bull.

Then it was printed in large quantities.

Now, I guess only the tax collector's maid and the baron here know about his perverted story with the bull, such as his intimate contact with the bull leading to bleeding.

Serai and Seras were following behind Rand, whispering to each other.

"Will that tax collector be cured later? Isn't the divine messenger being too merciful?" Seres asked with some concern.

Serai, who clearly had better eyesight and more social experience, recalled the scene he had just witnessed and got goosebumps. He couldn't feel any mercy from the divine messenger at all: "It's probably, it's probably incurable, he might not even survive, and there's probably no hope for him in this lifetime."

Then his face hardened, and he said in a low voice, "How dare you question the will of the divine messenger? The divine messenger must have a deeper meaning in doing this!"

Sers immediately nodded in understanding and continued to follow behind Rand. He reflected on his experiences over the past few days. Although there were still many things he didn't understand, he figured it was all because the supreme wisdom of the divine messenger prevented him from fully comprehending them.

Back at the hideout, everything proceeded smoothly as usual. Strong oxen with cow heads were working hard in the fields, and kind villagers were taking care of the livestock.

Lysa stood with her arms crossed and legs crossed on the roof of the sacrificial chamber, her feet swinging back and forth, attracting a lot of attention, but unfortunately no one dared to look.

Except for Rand.

When Rand returned, he called Lysa downstairs, wanting to ask her if anything had happened during this time.

But unusually, Lysa did not respond to Rand immediately, instead turning her gaze westward.

Its golden eyes, as bright as the sun, stared for a long time before it came to its senses, landed on the ground, and said with its head down, "A group of humans with weapons are coming this way."

Rand turned to the villagers who were working and ordered, "Enemy attack! Prepare for battle!"

Then he shouted again: "Formation! Have you forgotten the formations I taught you?"

Soon, the cultists and minotaurs formed a basic formation.

The simplest square matrix.

The minotaurs were in front, carrying large wooden shields; in the middle were several cultists carrying hastily made spears; and at the back, separated by a distance, were slingers.

After forming a formation, they stood in front of the entrance to their hideout, facing the road, ready for battle.

The hideout is located in a typical mountain valley, and the only road leading to it goes uphill. If a roadblock is set up at the village entrance, any attempt to attack the hideout from below would inevitably come at a great cost.

Rand did not set up roadblocks because he believed that the Minotaur Vanguard was much more effective than ordinary roadblocks. Although there were not enough resources to equip them with armor, the riveted shields were enough to block most attacks.

Given the minotaurs' robust physique, it's hard to imagine them losing to ordinary villagers.

As the gang from the neighboring village approached, Rand frowned, realizing that things were not so simple.

Why would a regular village have standard-issue weapons? And what's with all these iron weapons?

In contrast, the weapons at the hideout were all made of wood and stone; the only iron they had was used to make farm tools.

Although the hideout was fully armed, it clearly looked like it belonged to the Stone Age.

"Why is the art style different? Did you not include me in the version upgrade?!" Rand shouted in his heart.

Fortunately, they did not underestimate their enemy, and because they had excellent eyesight and spotted the enemy in advance, their chances of winning were still quite high.

The bandit chief of Takina Village also frowned. Why would there be minotaurs in this village?

These monsters are only found in the Underdark, right? Even if some minotaurs accidentally pass through some temporary portal to the surface, there wouldn't be such an exaggerated number of them appearing at the same time, would there?

After carefully counting, there were actually eight.

But it was too late to turn back and run away now. The bandit village chief looked at the villagers who were already in a bit of a commotion. These people were brave and strong as northerners, but they were still somewhat afraid of the unknown monster.

Although their weapons were superior, a direct uphill attack would be unwise. Now, their attempts at persuasion had failed. The bandit village chief spoke up, "How about we cooperate?"

Rand stood behind the large shield and asked, "Are you planning to join us in attacking the Baron's castle? Or have you secretly stockpiled enough food for all of us besides these weapons?"

“And…” Just as the village chief was about to continue, Rand waved his hand.

The slingers in the back row immediately launched their prepared slings, which then fell like hailstones into the crowd of villagers in Takina below.