Soon after, a group of people gathered in the square at the entrance of the Niangniang Temple.

In addition to the ten gray knights sent by the Great Lama Wang, and several censors who assisted in the investigation of the case, there were also many priests. There are more than a dozen Priests Ross who are going to join in the fun, but they are not the protectants who are dragging their feet, and they don't need to be specially watched - in fact, these people have a wealth of "experience", skillfully put on armor, grab weapons, and are ready to go.

In addition, Captain Lucas, who was in charge of training the recruits, was also urgently called over, and was wiping his sword next to him. When he saw Guo Kang coming over, he immediately poured bitter water, saying how difficult these recruits were, but fortunately, he used a little means to suppress them all for the time being.

Guo Kang was not surprised by this. After all, it is a talent that the family helped to find, and with Guo's prestige in the army, he must also have some ability. It's no surprise that this time we were able to settle those recruits who came from all walks of life.

A military judge sent by his father-in-law also arrived. He carried a cane, several guards and a scribe carrying a bookcase. At this point, all the people Guo Kang was waiting for had arrived.

However, Father Mikhail, who was ready to lead the way, was not here. Father Andrew, who had been with him until now, said that he would first set off to find his companions so that he could arrange a pick-up there. Guo Kang nodded, and asked everyone to pack up and prepare to go.

There aren't many people here. The leading knight captain suggested that more people should be called, or the Guo family's family members should also be called. However, Guo Kang felt that instead of waiting slowly, it was better to act quickly. Anyway, no matter how much they make up, there are not many more people, and it is impossible to form a numerical advantage. Timing and accuracy are more important than the number of people.

After convincing everyone, everyone began to make final preparations. Guo Kang also took out a few guns that he had been tinkering with and loaded them with gunpowder and projectiles.

The most excited person is Guo Ponu. This time she didn't actually have anything to do, but she didn't know what to be happy about, she was happy all the way, and kept introducing her experience to Guo Kang. He also asked him if he was accustomed to wearing armor, whether his weapons were handy, and even the tightness of the belt on his waist had to be stretched out and pulled, and asked him if he was in the way of moving, and whether the knot of his sword was strong.

Guo Kang thought that she should care about herself first, but Guo Ponu said that she was ready for a long time. Every day when she goes out, she wears the chain mail given by her mother under her robe, hangs a sword, and looks ready to fight at any time, so she doesn't have to worry about it at all.

The Gray Knights knew Guo Ponu and didn't care. The priests were a little surprised by her performance, but seeing that she was well prepared, she was probably also a veteran, so they didn't say anything.

Of course, she is alive and kicking, which does not mean that everyone has this extra energy. As is customary, in order to conserve physical strength, they board several church carriages. Guo Kang was carrying a suitcase, was dragged up by Guo Ponu, and set off with everyone.

The carriage that drove out of the Niangniang Temple was actually very conspicuous, and anyone who was interested could probably notice it. Of course, this kind of car with only the church logo painted on it is equivalent to writing all other information very clearly. The head snake who has points in his heart will not run out to stop it.

The carriage came to a stop at the other end of the city, next to a ruined neighborhood.

"We've arrived at Zhulinfang, let's get ready to get off." Someone reminded.

"There's no bamboo forest in this place." A new priest muttered.

"New urban planning is generally not good." Guo Kang explained: "Otherwise, we wouldn't have to go here. ”

Although it looks much more dilapidated than the previous city center, this is actually the "new urban area" of the capital. At the time of Guo Gai, it was still a farmland; Later, Guo reorganized the city and cleaned up a large number of neighborhoods that had been built indiscriminately in previous years. However, more people continued to pour into the city, and they soon gathered in the remaining vacant lots, and it was not long before new slums were formed.

In Guo's plan, this should be a bamboo forest, on the one hand, to beautify the environment, and on the other hand, to provide materials directly to the city for use. However, not long after this place was planned, it became a gathering place for all kinds of people. Later, the management gradually fell into disuse, and most of the bamboo forests that had been painstakingly introduced from the East were cut down and turned into materials for simple shacks.

"There doesn't seem to be any bamboo in this place." Another Father Ross commented: "No wonder I haven't heard anything about the Mikhail brothers these days. ”

They were intrigued by this exotic plant and were curious along the way. Unfortunately, if it weren't for the sparse yellow bamboo poles on the side of the road, which still proved that some bamboos were still alive and well, it is estimated that no one could find any connection between this name and this place.

Therefore, Guo Kang hesitated, but still did not answer them. After all, although this place is called "Xincheng Bamboo Forest Square", there is neither a square area plan, nor a large bamboo forest, and it does not look like a new urban area. The name is the same as that of the Holy Roman Empire, and the thin-skinned people don't know how to explain it......

Fortunately, everyone didn't pay much attention, because Father Mikhail had already greeted him.

He was followed by a tall, lanky young man, dressed in tattered sack-like clothes, and equally without shoes. Seeing the crowd coming, Father Mikhail introduced that this was his new student Alexander, and that this time he would lead the group to find someone.

Alexander greeted the crowd with a little timidity. Guo Kang reached out to shake his hand, he hurriedly wiped his clothes, lowered his head and shook his fingers.

In fact, although he was dressed in shabby clothes, his face and hands were cleanly washed, and there were no stains on his clothes, but there were some mud spots on his trouser legs. The bronze cross hanging on the chest is also polished, and it can be seen that it has been kept as tidy as possible, but when you see these "big people", you will inevitably feel inferior and frightened.

However, this mentality is not something that Guo Kang can reverse with a word, and it will be an eye-opener for him in the future. So, he just encouraged the other party and went to ask Father Mikhail.

Next to them, there was an even more conspicuous presence - a bear lying on the ground, lazily basking in the sun.

"This is also your partner?" Guo Kang asked with a smile.

"It's called Misha." Father Mikhail patted the bear on the head and said with a smile: "It is indeed a reliable companion." With it, I've never been pestered by idlers like Andre. ”

Guo Kang looked at the size of the bear and felt that it made sense.

Before, he had only seen Nikita, raised by old Ivan, and by comparison, he felt that Misha was a circle bigger than it. I just don't know if Misha also loves to speak......

After the people, and the bear, got to know each other, Alexander led them down an alley and walked in.

"We are here today at the right time." On the way, Fr. Mikhail said to Guo Kang: "Yesterday Sasha and I went to visit the believers and found that Sergei's men had gone to Vladimir's house to rob people. For Misha's sake, they are only a little more restrained, but they will definitely bring more people back today. If we were quicker, we might be able to catch it right. ”

"Robbing people?" Guo Kang didn't react at once.

"The things have been robbed a long time ago, and the people left are still valuable." Fr. Mikhail said: "If there is no one who can get the price they are happy with, they will sell the person." Vladimir's son and daughter have been snatched by them for a few days, so now it's time to keep an eye on the couple. ”

"When I was a child, my grandfather often scared me, saying that there were bandits coming up from the grassland who wanted to take us as slaves, so they were not allowed to run around." A younger priest sighed: "I didn't expect that now the bandits have run to the city......

"Where there are bandits, everyone is a parishioner." Father André also learned the yin and yang weirdness.

"He said yes?" The captain of the knights was a little upset.

"That's true." "The Church's rule is to prohibit the sale of Catholics into slavery, but in practice it is well known. When they could manage it, they would hire infidels to help them resell it; When they can't control it, they simply don't act, and even argue the other way around - they will say that because they are parishioners, they will definitely not be involved in this kind of thing, so as to forcibly excuse themselves. ”

There was a moment of silence.

Although there is no logic at all in this statement, there is no logic, but it shows that there must be logic behind it. As soon as you look at the situation here, you can guess what's going on.

The crowd marched forward in silence. Along the way, this well-armored team attracted the attention of many people, and Guo Kang simply asked people to raise flags and gather more onlookers.

Vladimir's shed was not far from here, and Alexander quickly led everyone to the place. It's just that there is also a group of people over there who are muttering and watching.

Father Mikhail walked over, and everyone seemed to recognize him and gave way. He asked a few words in the vernacular, and sighed again.

"Let's go straight to Sergey's warehouse." He shook his head and said, "The man has been kidnapped." ”

The knights looked at each other, and Captain Lucas and a few of the guards next to him sighed. The military judge remained unmoved. Guo Ponu was still following Guo Kang, shrugged when he heard the words, smiled bitterly, and patted Guo Kang again.

"How?" Guo Kang asked back.

"To the place, if someone is entangled, don't talk nonsense, just kill the one who takes the lead." Guo Ponu commanded in a low voice in Chinese: "You have to do it yourself." ”

"Huh?" Guo Kang didn't react for a while, he didn't know what she meant, but the team had already begun to turn, and Guo Ponu also took two steps back to find Lucas to tell something, so he didn't ask in detail.

The onlookers of Vladimir's shack also followed.

They didn't take the opportunity to steal the unguarded hut - Father Andrei told everyone that it was because the contents had been robbed by Sergei's men long ago, and there was not even a single rag left.

If the rescuers invited by Father Mikhail can save Vladimir, everyone will continue to be neighbors; If they can't be saved, someone else will move in, take the place of the Vladimir family, continue to work hard, pay the Sergei gang a meager protection fee – or sell them one day, and continue the cycle of despair.

Even though most of the team members were veterans and itinerant priests who had seen the scene, they inevitably sighed with emotion, which made the atmosphere a little depressed.

Except for a thoroughfare that runs through the Fang District, there is no planned "road". All they could walk was a path squeezed out between shacks and debris because of the coming and going of people. Moreover, because there are too many people stepping on it, the pavement of the trail has become mud.

There is no reliable drainage here, so even though it is flat, you can always see putrid water everywhere. All kinds of garbage are also piled up haphazardly, making the environment even more dirty. Lucas complained that it made him feel like he was back in Cologne.

It's still winter, and there's already a stench, and I don't know what it will look like when it's hot. But the only good thing is probably that there is no feces and urine on the street here. According to Father Mikhail, this is due to the fact that the local water source and excrement are controlled by the Sergei gang.

Residents had to go to the only two water sources to fetch water and go to the toilet in a few fixed places, otherwise they would be beaten and looted by the gangs, because the Purple Horde introduced composting technology, they could use human feces, so the gangs also relied on this to make money. Therefore, the newly moved Slavs were not less beaten because of this.

A few years ago, there was new news that now that technology has advanced again, and manure and urine can still be used to make nitrate. This thing is a military item, and the profits are greater and more stable, so the gangs have intensified, sending minions everywhere to patrol, and if they find feces and urine on the ground, they will beat up the surrounding residents.

Some minions simply made things out of thin air, slandering the residents for deliberately pulling outside, blatantly not giving face to the gang brothers, in order to extort more money. Up to now, it has developed to the point where everyone has to for the big brother every day, and if they can't pull it out, they are disloyal to the gang and will be beaten up. Therefore, the people here are miserable, saying that they don't know which one lacks morality, and they don't fight well, so they have to play.

It's a pity that Guo Kang is still pushing for the nitrate, so he is not embarrassed to interrupt......

The warehouse of the Sergei gang is not far away, in a house near the side of the main road. This is one of the few serious houses in the neighborhood, and there are a few people carrying things at the door. The windows on the second floor have iron railings, so you can see people looking out from the inside. Obviously, there is more to this warehouse than just ordinary goods.

Guo Kang asked everyone to stop in the open space at the entrance of the warehouse, walked forward with Father Mikhail, and asked in a loud voice: "Where is your leader!" ”

A man who appeared to be a small leader poked his head out from behind the door, saw Father Mikhail, and immediately looked angry.

"You are an old thing, you are not reconciled, are you, who are you looking for?" He asked.

"Leave him alone, I'm the one in charge." Guo Kang said in a deep voice: "Your leader Sergei and his two subordinates are still engaged in kidnapping and illegal slave trafficking after joining the army, and we will investigate. ”

However, the small boss looks completely unconvinced.

"I don't care who you are, I think you're here to find trouble!" He quickly glanced at the team brought by Guo Kang, and then shouted to the side: "Ivan Ivanovich, call all the brothers!" I want to see how bold this old man is to oppose us! ”

A minion in the corner of the wall immediately stood up when he heard this.

"You're going to resist military law?!" The military judge immediately shouted: "Harbouring prisoners in the army, regardless of military and civilian, is guilty of the same crime; Gang resistance to military law is an aggravated crime. You'd better think about the consequences! ”

To be honest, his words were much more deterrent than Guo Kang's, and the minions hesitated for a moment, and even the one who was about to shout just now stopped one by one. When the little leader heard this, he gritted his teeth and replied, "Okay, then I'll go and invite the eldest brother." ”

With that, he turned around and was about to leave.

"Don't let him go!" Guo Ponu immediately whispered to Guo Kang: "It's your turn, quickly, kill him!" ”

Guo Kang actually didn't know what to do now, seeing that she had an idea, he subconsciously listened to her instructions, pulled out his sword, stepped on the first two parts, and chased after her.

"Huh? What are you doing? The little leader was a little frightened, and hurriedly drank it boldly.

"Do you think we have few people, and you want to call your gang's minions to besiege us!" Guo Kang actually didn't have the determination to kill, so he stopped and raised his sword to scare him.

"You took all the civilians here and pretended to be innocent? Hurry up and put the people upstairs and let us check. You are not allowed to go, and we will take you with us to your chief. ”

"What?" When the little leader heard his words, he had the courage to do it again: "Those are all people who owe us debts, why should we let them go?" ”

"Others go back and say that there is a family that God Father vouches for, and we have to ask about it." Guo Kang explained: "Did you just arrest a family of four? They don't have a debt problem. ”

"'One-eyed Dragon' Vladimir?" The little leader remembered the man: "That's the big man above who has taken a fancy to his son, and he doesn't know what to do." A few of the brothers taught him a lesson. ”

"I'll tell you, forget about the rest, you don't care about this person's business." He gradually regained his courage, and instead reprimanded Guo Kang and others.

"You poor monks," he said, pointing to Father Mikhail and the others, "you bring a few soldiers, and you think you are amazing, don't you, do you know who is asking for people this time?" I advise you to be nosy, or your broken flag will be useless. ”

Guo Kang didn't have a temper, but he was a little angry when he said it. It's just that he was careless for a while, and he didn't notice that the other party had taken advantage of the opportunity to speak, and had already stepped back a little. Before he could open his mouth to refute, the little boss jumped backwards and was out of reach of the tip of his sword.

"I thought you were some kind of character, but I didn't expect you to even know about it. Since he was coaxed to death by this old man, don't blame the brothers for being unkind. Let's go together! ”

He drew the short sword at his waist and made a throwing gesture, already turning half a circle under his feet, ready to take advantage of the opportunity to escape.

However, in such a moment, Guo Ponu had already pulled out a slender iron thorn and threw it out. As soon as the little leader raised his hand to his ear, he was stabbed in the arm, screaming in pain, and his sword fell.

Guo Kang was not ready to make a move, but when he suddenly pulled out his weapon, he was also startled, and instinctively stepped forward to cut it. Before the little leader could recover from his recovery, he slashed two swords in a row and screamed again and again.

Guo Kang was indeed the first time in this scene, and the more he screamed, the more panicked he became. Seeing him fall to the ground again, but still moving, I was worried that he was going to do some tricks that were not good for me, so I didn't think about it, and hurriedly continued.

He even forgot the moves taught by his father-in-law, and just subconsciously slashed with stabs. Fortunately, when the man made his move, Father Mikhail and others, who were afraid of accidents, had already rushed up, and when they saw that the little leader had been hacked to death, they quickly reminded him that he could stop.

The other minions tried to resist as well, only to finish faster. Guo Kang looked around and saw a priest throw out a chain hammer, and the rope turned the knife that the other party was trying to block, smashing a piece of the minion's jaw.

"Stay alive! Leave it alive! The military judge hastened to warn the overly agitated priests.

Guo Ponu also walked over and looked Guo Kang who was panting up and down.

"I told you to do it earlier, and you are still arguing with this guy." She teased and took out a piece of cloth: "Quickly wipe your face." ”

Guo Kang took it and wiped it a few times, only to find that there was still blood on his face, and he was taken aback. After feeling it carefully, I found that there was no pain, and then I reacted, it was the blood spilled by the little boss.

"Wipe your sword too!" Guo Ponu reminded again.

Guo Kang hurriedly went to wipe the sword again, and then took it back.

"Hey, I'm still afraid of coming." Guo Ponu pouted: "Okay, have you recovered?" Now it's your business. ”

After giving up the word limit, the chapters are much more comfortable......

(End of chapter)