The Black River is a tributary of the Jinshui River, named for its flow through the Black Castle, which runs through the entire Victor Territory. The deepest part of the Black River is only 2 meters, and the water is crystal clear, forming three lakes in the low-lying part of Victor's territory, the largest of which is Ping Lake.

Pinghu Village was built on the shore of Pinghu Lake, the village is close to the lake on one side, and the fertile flat land is on three sides, and the villagers of Pinghu Village have cultivated more than 5,000 acres of cultivated land here.

In the afternoon, more than 20 villagers in Pinghu Village, accompanied by more than a dozen militiamen, were collecting purple cane.

Jim wielded the scythe in his hand, quickly harvesting the purple cane in front of him, panting, sweat dripping down his cheeks, his arms sore and swollen, but he had no intention of resting. Jim just wanted to get it done early and get out of this hellish place early, even though it was less than 10 kilometers from Pinghu Village.

The farmers were silent, save for the rustle of scythes harvesting purple cane, and everyone was as desperate as Jim was doing his job, nervously as if he were stealing someone else's crop.

Jim: They are indeed stealing, because Victor has declared that neither freedmen nor lords are allowed to harvest the purple cane of the territory without permission, otherwise it will be regarded as theft of the lord's property. But, that's not why they're nervous.

"Hurry up! You're going to be gone!" the burly militia captain snorted, with a hint of anxiety in his wary eyes.

No one answered, but the rustling became more rapid. Jim quickened his swing of the scythe, thinking that he would be able to leave soon, and he was glad that he hadn't encountered the terrible beast today.

More than 20 days ago, more than a dozen mountain people came to Pinghu Village one after another, and they told the villagers that a terrifying and ferocious wolf had appeared in this territory. At first, the villagers didn't believe it, but the mountain people described it vividly, which made everyone start to believe it, and just ten days later, finally some villagers witnessed the fierce wolf in the mouth of the mountain people.

Over the next few days, the villagers who had gone out to work frequently saw the large, ferocious beast. Militia captain Baier organized a hunting team to try to encircle the beast, but the hunt failed, and one militia was damaged.

Things then got worse and worse, and the ferocious wolf seemed to be enraged, and it began to attack villagers who were out to work, and there were signs that it seemed to have nested near Pinghu Village.

held a crossbow and scanned the movement around him vigilantly, as the person in charge of this harvest of purple cane, he was under a lot of pressure. Since the appearance of the ferocious wolf in the surrounding area, the villagers have not dared to stay away from Pinghu Village, but fortunately, the surrounding area of Pinghu Village is cultivated land, with a wide field of vision, which is relatively safe, and the beast has never appeared on the empty cultivated land.

Kebeier had to organize the villagers to harvest the purple cane a few kilometers away, and the beast lurked in the dense purple cane forest, and it was not soft on the humans who invaded its territory, and several people were killed and injured under its sharp teeth. The villagers refused to go to the purple cane forest, but Bayer forced the villagers to harvest the purple cane by drawing lots, and those who disobeyed were driven out of Pinghu Village.

Many people can't understand why Bayer did this, but does.

Every once in a while, a few wagons took advantage of the darkness to quietly transport the purple bagasse away, leaving some supplies behind. That's how's crossbow came about. This kind of bargaining has been going on for some time, and Heyman is not sure who the other party is, but he guesses that it is the people from the eastern camp, and now they are the only ones in the entire territory who dare to ignore the authority of the lord.

"Hopefully it's okay today. ”

Heyman swapped his heavy crossbow to his left hand, his sharp crossbow pointed at the sky. To ensure safety, they moved to a purple cane forest farther away for collection.

Jim was almost at his limit, and his back was so sore that he had to stop and rest for a while. Jim wiped the sweat from his face with the sweat towel around his neck, rubbed his sweat-soaked eyes, blurred vision became clear, and then Jim saw a huge monster wolf staring at him. Jim's mind went blank as he stiffened and stared at the beast motionlessly, yet his strangeness caught the attention of his companions.

"Jim?" a villager asked Jim in a trembling voice.

The villagers' voices were not loud, but they still woke Jim, who was frightened by fear, and Jim was about to let out a scream when a gust of wind knocked him to the ground, and he fainted.

When the giant wolf jumped out of the purple cane forest, no one reacted, but it pounced straight on Heyman, who was holding a crossbow.

There was a scream in the field, not Jim, but. In the blink of an eye, he was pounced on by the giant wolf, and his neck was bitten to death, blood spurted out from under the wolf's sharp teeth, and with a tearing motion of the giant wolf, the screaming came to an abrupt end, and Heyman's head was ripped off.

The militiamen were stunned by the horrific sight, and the wolf pounced on the nearest militiaman.

At the moment of life and death, this militia inspired his potential and courage, he raised the spear in his hand to block the deadly wolf kiss, but could not block the huge impact, the whole person was dragged to the ground by the beast, the spear was bitten off by the giant wolf, seeing the blood basin coming onto him, the militia raised his arm to try to protect his neck, and cried for help.

"Help me, help me!"

Then, the militia only felt a lightness on his body, and the giant wolf that was pressing him suddenly jumped out again, and before he could understand, there was a sharp pain in his body, and he had been shot into a hedgehog by his companions.

"Ahh

The giant wolf never stopped at the corpse, it pounced and tore in the crowd, and the militia could not resist it, they were in a mess, shooting arrows indiscriminately, but always shooting their own companions to death. When the wolf killed the fourth militiaman, the group finally collapsed, and the people screamed in terror, dropped their weapons, and began to flee in a hurry, with the terrible roar of the wolf behind them.

In the purple cane forest, a sturdy man with a hunting bow on his back watched all this silently, with two sturdy giant dogs squatting behind him, and a large black crow resting on his shoulder.

After a while, the giant dog that had gone out to kill returned to the purple cane forest, and when it passed by the farmer who had fainted on the ground, it lowered its head and sniffed it, and then wagged its tail and ran to Jack's side.

Jack and his three mastiffs disappeared in the boundless purple cane forest, and they had been faithfully carrying out the tasks assigned to them by their masters, driving away, intimidating, and killing those who threatened their safety, which is what Victor commanded.

When Bayer arrived with a large group of people, he saw only a mess and a few miserable corpses.

"Only two of them were killed by the brute, and the others were shot to death by their own people. What a bunch of idiots!" Mark spat in exasperation.

"If you form a formation to protect yourself, that brute won't have a chance at all, and he will forget all about his usual training. Said a strong man, who was also an old man who followed Byer.

Without speaking, Bair silently walked over to's corpse and rested his head on his neck.

"Gary, are you sure it's a ferocious wolf?" asked Beyer, turning to a bearded man.

Gehry took a few steps forward, crouched down, and gestured with his hand to a large paw print, which he knew well as an experienced mountain hunter.

"Head, this is indeed the paw print of a ferocious wolf. ”

"Don't ferocious wolves eat people?"

Bair looked at the corpses, all of them were dead in place, and there was no trace of dragging.

"Wild beasts don't eat people when they're full, but they attack humans who invade their territory. Gehry smacked his lips, the only explanation he could think of.

Mark glared at Gary fiercely and said sharply, "In other words, this beast has built a nest here?

Gary's face turned ugly, and there was a fierce glint in his eyes, but he didn't dare to defend himself. In Gehry's opinion, it was Bair's attempt to hunt the beast that really angered it. Before that, the beast had only wounded but not killed.

"It's weird. Byer ignored Mark's confrontation with Gehry, who felt the attack was very strange.

"You see, the beast killed directly, causing our men to lose their commander, and then it attacked three other crossbowmen. According to survivors, it was fast, and after biting one it pounced directly on another target without pause. This is different from the habits of wild beasts, no matter what kind of beast is not dead, it will not let go of its prey. ”

"At last, it actually gnawed the crossbow that was left on the ground! could there be such a clever beast?" said Beyer, picking up a bitten and rotten crossbow and showing it to the others.

"Wolves, heads, are very intelligent beasts, they know the weakness of their prey, they know who is the greatest threat to them, and they hold grudges. Maybe it suffered on the crossbow, so it will deal with the person with the crossbow first. Gehry explained.

"It's a pity for these crossbows. ”

Mark examines the damaged crossbow and finds that it really can't be repaired. There were only ten such crossbows in the camp, and now four are damaged.

"Head, there's a living man here, it's Jim. "A militiaman found a villager who had passed out on the ground.

"Take him back, and bring back the bodies of these brothers. Byer looked gloomily at the black crows hovering in the sky, and could not let the corpses of his companions be spoiled by these scavengers.

Back in Pinghu Village, Bair walked into a wooden house with a few of his men, where the village chief Dick and several leaders were waiting for him.

"How's it going?" Dick asked hurriedly as he saw Byer walk in.

At this time, Dick was already a lot richer, even his belly was exposed, and the clothes on his body were clean and neat, and he really looked like the village chief.

"Very bad!" said Bair in a deep voice.

"That beast is nesting in the nearby purple cane forest, and it will attack anyone who comes near it. ”

"What then, Byer, you're the militia captain, and you're responsible for killing that brute!," Dick stomped his feet and screamed.

"Old fellow, are you looking for a beating!" said Mark, furious, and grabbed Dick and raised his fist to strike.

"Alright!" said Byer, grabbing Mark.

"We can't deal with that beast, its sense of smell is so sensitive and fast, we can't stop it. Bair said in frustration.

"Fortunately, it won't run to the flat ground, so let's not get close to the purple cane forest in the future, only like this first. ”

"Head, I'm afraid this won't work, the last time we rounded it up, it already held a grudge. Even if we don't go, it will come back. Gehry stepped forward and said.

"What do you say? It's all you mountain people!" said Mark, glaring, slapping the table.

Gary ignored Mark's shouting, he whispered to Baier: "Head, Pinghu Village is a village recognized by the lord of the lord, and it has also been handed over to the worship, we can ask the lord for help, as long as Lord Nelson joins forces with you, we will definitely be able to kill that beast." ”

"Why? you want to take refuge with the lord again, don't forget that you ran away from the Free Folk Residence on your own! Can you go back now?" Mark scoffed.

Baier didn't speak, he understood Gehry's thoughts, Gary just wanted Pinghu Village to surrender to the lord, so that he could join the lord's command again.

Several heads of state also did not speak, they were embarrassed. The villagers of Pinghu Village all thought that they were the lord's lords, but only a few of them knew that this was not the case. If you ask the lord for help, the lord may not blame the villagers, but he will never let them go. But now they really can't cope with this situation. It won't be long before the villagers will ask them to ask the lord for protection, and when that time comes, what to do?

Mark didn't think much of it, he thought that although Gary hated it, his idea might work, and he had heard of the prestige of the Bear of the Northland in Dodor.

"Village Chief, isn't it time for you to meet the lord?"

"I。。。。。 I'm not going!" Dick shrunk his neck, the last two times he went to the hill camp to report on the village affairs, Master Victor did not see him, and the indifferent attitude of the village chief of Merlin made Dick understand that he might be exposed.

Dick also regretted that he had been preaching the authority of the lord in the village according to the method that Victor had taught him, and most of the villagers recognized him as the village chief, which made Dick proud for a while. But one night, Byer put a sword on his neck and threatened him that if Dick did not cooperate with Byer, Byer would immediately kill him. Dick knew that Byer was playing for real, so he gave in. Fortunately, Baier retained his status as the village chief, and Dick was not dissatisfied, but he did not report the matter to Lord Victor, in his opinion, a good relationship with Dick can save his life, and the lord can fool him.

"Gehry, I won't kill you, you take your people out of Pinghu Village. ”

Baier coldly ordered to the leader of the mountain people that such a wall grass could not be left at all.

Gehry's face changed, he did not expect Bair to be so resolute, he stood up, walked out of the house without saying a word, and when he reached the door, he said, "Bair, of all the camp leaders, you are the one I am most convinced of. But the thing I regret the most is leaving the temporary residence of the lord, but unfortunately I can't go back. Now, do you regret it?"

"You don't understand anything!"

Baier didn't regret it, he thought about it carefully, when Victor recruited him, he refused, because he didn't look down on this young lord, there was no castle, no knights, no future with him, not to mention, and he had to give up his position and start from scratch. He was not reconciled, even if Nelson later spread the reputation of the Bear of the Northland to the entire territory, he did not look down on Victor, he was a vassal of the Silver Knight, not a lowly mercenary.

Now that the purple cane in the territory is beginning to show its value, Baier will not go to Victor, he knows very well what purple cane wine is. Many of the fortresses in the Dordor were built in strategic locations, and not all of them had a water source, and the coarse wine that could be stored for a long time was particularly important. Such a precious resource can only bring disaster to a small lord like Victor.

Beyer believes that defecting to Victor is a dead end. He has better options.

Bair pushed open the door of a room, and in the room a woman was drinking a man who was nibbling on a roast pork knuckle with one hand and groping in the hem of the woman's dress with the other.

Bair waved her hand, and the woman left the room in obedience.

"Hubert, there is a ferocious wolf near the camp, and I need your help. ”

"What do you want?" asked Hubert, putting down his oily pork knuckle, nonchalantly.

"I need you to send a knight to help me take out that brute. Don't deny it, the equipment you have given me is standard, and I know that you are a subordinate of Master Chebman. Byer stared at Hubert with burning eyes.

"Are you mad to send the knight deep into Victor's territory, or can you afford it?" Hubert scoffed.

"The ferocious wolf has taken over the purple cane forest, and we can't provide you with the purple cane without getting rid of it!" said Bair, word for word.

"It's your problem, you'll have to solve it yourself, our deal is to exchange purple cane for equipment, that's all! I can also tell you that we don't just have one choice, a new free private land has been built in another place. ”

"If you want to join us, then prove your ability, hundreds of people can't deal with a ferocious animal, what do you think the master will think of you?"

Byer walked out of the room, feeling his legs sink terribly, and looked around, greeted by many familiar faces.

"Do you really have to pile it up with human life?" thought to Bair.