Chapter 1142: Chapter 631: Hidden Households (Double Chapter)

"Rest for a moment. Water the horses, stay alert."

The command was concise and forceful. The Iron Scale Army knights dispersed in a well-trained manner, with some dismounting and leading their warhorses towards a nearby stream, while others automatically formed a defensive circle, hands on sword hilts or spear shafts, vigilantly watching the surroundings, especially the dark forest.

Chen Yi also dismounted, stretching his somewhat stiff muscles. He walked over to Qin Qingluo’s horse and whispered, "This forest is a bit too quiet."

Qin Qingluo didn’t look at him, her gaze still locked on the depths of the forest, only giving a faint "Hmm" in response. Apparently, she had also sensed something amiss.

Just then,

"Kill—!!"

A hoarse roar suddenly erupted from the forest! Following that, dozens of figures wielding "weapons" charged out.

They were wielding hoes, sickles, sharpened wooden sticks, and even stones.

They were in tattered clothing, sallow and emaciated, their target was the group of resting armored riders.

"Protect the Prince!" the leader of the Iron Scale Army shouted sharply, and the alert soldiers reacted instantly, raising their spears like a forest, the cold glint of drawn swords forming a unbroken line.

The bandits charged swiftly, seemingly aware of whom they were facing, yet remained undaunted. Their aim wasn’t the well-equipped armored soldiers, but rather... those soldiers and horses by the stream, scattered and vulnerable, with the intent to sow chaos, even seize the horses.

"Clang!" "Thud!"

Crude farming tools struck against the iron armor, emitting dull or screeching sounds. Occasionally, a lucky bandit managed to thrust a sharpened stick into a gap in the armor or into the soft belly of a horse, prompting a warhorse’s mournful cry and a soldier’s roar of anger. Stones clattered against helmets, resounding loudly.

The battle, or slaughter, erupted instantaneously.

The response of the Iron Scale Army soldiers was cold and efficient. Facing these barely armored, poorly armed bandits, they were like solid rock. Their spears thrust with precision, easily piercing through flimsy bodies; blades swung, sending showers of blood. Screams, roars, and the clash of weapons shattered the tranquility of the fields in an instant.

Chen Yi stood still, not even drawing his sword, merely furrowing his brow slightly as he watched the bloody and desperate scene unfold before him. He noticed that these bandits, though frenzied, moved awkwardly, without technique, resembling more a group of desperate farmers than trained bandits.

Qin Qingluo remained seated on her horse, her figure as still as if cast in iron, watching the Iron Scale Army harvest the bandits’ lives as if they were chopping vegetables, her face devoid of any expression, with only a trace of cold understanding flickering deep in her eyes.

In a brief moment, more than half of the dozens who had charged out lay fallen, the stench of blood almost suffocating. The remaining bandits, witnessing the gruesome deaths of their companions, let out terrified howls, turning to scamper back into the woods like startled birds. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"No need to pursue." Qin Qingluo’s voice wasn’t loud, yet it pierced through the battlefield with undeniable cold authority.

The Iron Scale Army, trained to follow orders, complied.

At the forest’s edge, only a dozen or so corpses lay in disarray, dying in tragic states, leaving behind a trampled, ravaged land.

The fight ended swiftly, lasting only a matter of breaths. By the stream, a few wounded warhorses neighed restlessly, as soldiers silently tended to their wounds.

Chen Yi walked to one of the corpses. It was a withered middle-aged man, clutching a broken hoe tightly, his eyes wide open.

His clothes were in tatters, but from them, one could tell it was the coarse hemp fabric commonly seen in the Southern Border.

"Hidden Households?" Chen Yi’s voice was emotionless, as if stating a fact.

Qin Qingluo’s horse trotted slowly to his side, her tall figure casting a shadow over the corpse on the ground. She looked down, her gaze sweeping over the crude weapons and tattered clothes.

"Hmm." She only responded with one word, her voice still cold.

Chen Yi straightened up, dusting off imaginary dirt from his hands, then looked at Qin Qingluo. "They knew we were soldiers, knew they couldn’t win, so why did they charge out to die?"

Qin Qingluo’s gaze shifted from the corpse to the depths of the forest where the bandits fled, as if she could penetrate the shadows to see the hidden estates and their owners behind.

"Because someone incited them," her voice was low, "someone threatened, someone tempted, someone said: being discovered as a Hidden Household means death, and stirring up the crowd, a call to arms ensures a response. That’s also why, in times of chaos, local powers can always gather troops. Rather than waiting to die, why not take a gamble, even if they can’t kill the soldiers, seizing horses could sow chaos, create a chance for escape, even trade for money or land. After a few years, they flee from the county, they become Hidden Households again."

She spoke clearly, logically, therefore somewhat coldly.

Chen Yi looked down at the man on the ground, his dead, vacant eyes staring up at the sky, filled not only with unfathomable terror but also with a... numb despair.

He closed the man’s eyes and recited:

"May the calamity be averted, the great thousand sweet dew gates, transform in the ten directions, universal salvation for all beings..."