Chapter 262 The people within the royal city are no longer considered human in their eyes.

A military transport helicopter carrying 43 personnel, including Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi, took off from behind the Da Xuan Army's encampment.

This region is located in the north of the Central Plains. In the dead of winter, at midnight, the temperature drops to minus seven or eight degrees Celsius, which is colder than most other places in the Da Xuan territory at the same time.

When the helicopter reached a position a thousand meters above the capital city of the desolate kingdom, heavy snow began to fall again, and the cold wind was particularly fierce.

This improved the secrecy of the operation, but it also caused considerable trouble for everyone's landing.

The massive military transport helicopter, like a black mythical bird, hovered high in the howling wind and snow, the sound of its propellers being drowned out by the wind.

Inside the cabin, two instructors responsible for assisting everyone with the landing were observing the situation.

Based on their extensive experience and analysis of environmental data, the two found the optimal parachute location and then notified the cockpit to move the aircraft to the northwest side of the royal city.

"The wind speed will decrease in ten minutes, giving you a two- to three-minute break."

"Remember, after jumping, descend with the wind, and the best time to open your parachute is when you are 200 to 300 meters above the ground."

"At this distance, the danger increases significantly. If you are not confident, then open your parachute when you are above 500 meters. We will monitor your landing from the plane and inform you of any abnormalities through the radio headset."

"..."

The two instructors quickly gave instructions.

Everyone kept it in mind.

Ten minutes passed quickly.

The cabin door opened.

A strong, cold wind rushed in, and the temperature inside the cabin instantly dropped below zero.

Xiao Qidi was the first to disarm the safety device and jump out of the cabin, followed closely by Ning Jinli.

Next came Mu Cheng and forty Xuanjia soldiers.

One after another, they were thrown in like dumplings.

Once everyone had exited the cabin, the two instructors stared intently at the screen of the testing equipment.

On the left side of the screen are forty-three dots, and on the right side are densely packed dots displaying detailed data such as each person's location, altitude, and descent speed.

The two instructors continuously provided guidance to the group using wireless communication equipment based on the data.

Three minutes later, when the last dot of light showed that the landing had been successful, the two instructors breathed a sigh of relief.

Don't be fooled by the fact that it was only a short three minutes; the immense danger hidden within was far beyond what ordinary people could imagine. Even these two people were on high alert, their nerves taut to the extreme.

"Miss Ning, I wish you a successful operation."

After the instructor finished speaking...

The helicopter then returned to base; their mission was complete, and there was no need for them to linger at high altitude.

——

Inside the capital city of the desolate kingdom.

The snow was thick, and all the houses were closed, except for the royal palace and the various guard posts, which were brightly lit.

The people in the city were already asleep.

The vast majority of the royal guards were completely drunk, with only the various city wall guards and a small number of patrol teams still on duty.

On a street somewhere.

A patrol team of five, carrying lanterns, walked listlessly through the heavy snow and cold wind, their feet sinking into the thick snow.

"Patrol, patrol! What the hell are you patrolling for!" the captain cursed as he walked. "Those bastards are eating and drinking merrily by the fire in their tents, while we're freezing out there in the northwest wind!"

Since the captain had already cursed like that, the other four team members naturally didn't hold back either, and they greeted the guards from the bottom up in various ways.

However, despite the scolding, they dared not abandon their posts, otherwise they would be subject to military law. They could only blame their bad luck for being on patrol today and not being able to enjoy any benefits.

Just then, a figure flashed past at the corner ahead.

The captain immediately raised his hand to signal the others to be quiet, and then walked towards where the figure had appeared.

The snow left a trail of footprints, making it impossible for anyone to hide their presence.

The captain, carrying a lantern, gave chase and quickly cornered the figure in an alley.

"Sir...Sir, spare my life!" A trembling voice begged for mercy.

Surrounded by five people were a brother and sister who were commoners.

The older sister looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, and the younger brother was about ten.

The two were dressed in thin clothes, and their arms were bulging as if they were hiding something.

The captain brought the lantern closer, its dim light illuminating the girl's frightened and delicate face.

"Stealing?" the captain asked after a quick glance.

The little boy knelt on the ground, trembling and afraid to utter a sound.

The girl mustered her courage and said, "Sir...we...we are so hungry, and our parents are suffering from hunger and cold. My brother and I had no choice but to steal some food...we didn't steal any money, please spare us, sir..."

The guards were used to this kind of situation.

Not long after the royal city was besieged by the Xuan Kingdom's army, an order came from the palace, requiring all the people of the city to provide support to the royal city's guards so that the guards could protect the last city and territory in the Great Wilderness.

Originally, the people in the royal city were relatively wealthy compared to people in other parts of the desolate kingdom.

But after doing this, they all became poor in no time.

Even wealthy merchants, ordinary officials, and some people who had previously established connections with royalty and nobility were not spared.

Almost every household was ransacked by the royal city guards under the pretext of collecting military supplies.

Furthermore, strict personal control was implemented. Not only at night, but even during the day, people were not allowed to easily go out, except when the guards distributed porridge at fixed times.

Under such strict control, there were bound to be some resistance, but in the early stages, they were met with bloody and brutal massacres and suppression by the guards, which quickly frightened hundreds of thousands of people into submission.

In addition, the guards strictly controlled the food and supplies that the people depended on for survival. Almost every person in the city was hungry and cold every day, and they had no strength to resist. So when the guards randomly grabbed a group of people and dragged them to the city wall to kill them in front of the Xuan Kingdom army, the people in the city were almost as obedient as lambs.

Of course, there are hundreds of thousands of people living in the royal city.

Despite being suppressed to such an extent by the guards, some still couldn't help but sneak out at night to steal in order to survive.

In the past, when encountering such people, the patrolling guards would usually just beat them up, confiscate their stolen goods, and that would be the end of it.

In more serious cases, such as when a thief shows signs of resistance, they would be executed on the spot or conscripted into the army to do hard labor.

"Hand over the items," a patrolling guard ordered coldly.

To save her life, the girl obediently cooperated, her trembling, cracked hands pulling out a small burlap sack containing the old, coarse grains from her bosom.

Judging from the clothes worn by the girl and the boy, their families should be considered relatively well-off in the royal city.

Although the outer garment was dirty and tattered, the fabric of the clothes underneath was quite high-quality.

However, they have now been reduced to stealing food in order to survive.

"And you too." The patrolling guard confiscated the girl's food and then looked at the boy.

The boy was terrified, but he clutched the object in his arms tightly and refused to hand it over.

With tears in her eyes, the girl pleaded, "Listen to me... leave everything to the soldier..."

The boy cried, "Sister, Mom and Dad haven't eaten for three days. If we don't take this back to them, they'll starve to death!"

The patrol captain frowned and asked, "Porridge is distributed every day. Although it can't fill everyone's stomachs, it won't starve them to death. Don't talk nonsense!"

"We're starving to death!" the boy cried out emotionally. "How can that little bit of thin porridge be enough! Besides, our parents are sick and can't go out to get porridge, and you won't even let us take it back with us..."

Snap!

Before the boy could finish speaking, he was slapped across the face by the patrol captain.

"You little brat, how dare you yell at me like that? You want to die?!"

"Please forgive us, sir!" The girl cried, tears streaming down her face. She quickly pressed her younger brother's head down and they kowtowed together, saying, "He's too young and doesn't know any better. He'll never do it again. Please, sir, forgive us!"

Then, suppressing her grief, the girl slapped the boy twice, forcibly took another small bag of grain from his arms, and held it above her head with both hands.

She had no choice but to be so humble; otherwise, not only would she not be able to bring the food back, but she and her brother might very well have died here.

The captain of the guard took the bag and asked again, "We've been searching house to house every few days and it's hard to find anything anymore. Where did you two steal it from?"

The girl bit her lip, looking slightly hesitant.

The captain of the guards squatted down, grabbed her face, and threatened, "Don't make me ask you a second time."

The girl then spoke: "I stole it... from a grain shop warehouse."

"Grain shops and warehouses?" The captain of the guards sneered. "You think you can fool me? We've emptied the granaries of ordinary people's homes, how could we possibly have missed the grain shops' warehouses!"

The girl hurriedly said, "No, no, no! We...we were just lucky. We found a...rat hole near a grain store warehouse...The two of us worked really hard, digging all night to get this grain out of it. I would never dare to lie to you, sir. If you don't believe me, I can take you to see it."

The captain of the guard tore open the tattered sack, smelled it under his nose, and then took out some grain to examine it carefully.

The grain was mixed with dirt, debris, and animal hair, and smelled moldy and foul.

It seems the girl was right.

"I doubt you'd dare lie to me," the captain of the guards said coldly. "I don't have time to go and see for myself. Get lost!"

The girl felt as if she had been granted a pardon, and she and her younger brother kowtowed to express their gratitude.

"Thank you, sir! I will never forget your great kindness!"

Just now, the girl had inadvertently torn open her clothes while hurriedly taking out the grain bag from her bosom. As she kowtowed repeatedly, her collar also opened up quite a bit, revealing a patch of skin whiter than snow.

The guards, including the captain, exchanged glances and all revealed wicked smiles.

They also thought that while the generals and other royal guards were enjoying themselves in their tents, it was only right that they, the men on duty and patrol, suffered outside and wanted to have some fun.

The woman in front of me wasn't particularly beautiful, but she was pretty and charming, and she was still young and delicate. It would be a shame to let her go like this.

Moreover, in recent days, from some generals to ordinary guards, countless members of the royal city's garrison have taken the opportunity to molest innocent women in the city.

Many guards even boasted about these things, taking pride in whoever had abused the most women.

The general turned a blind eye to this situation. After all, the royal city guards were risking their lives to protect the king and the nobles of the Great Wilderness. To get tens of thousands of men to risk their lives, they had to give them extra benefits.

Moreover, the people in the royal city, regardless of age or gender, can no longer be considered human beings in their eyes.

The girl was completely unaware of the filthy and malicious intentions harbored by the guards. After kowtowing, she grabbed her younger brother and prepared to leave.

"Wait!" the captain of the guard suddenly shouted. "Kid, you can leave, but girl, you stay."

Upon hearing this, the siblings were stunned.

The boy said, "Sir... the food has already been given to you, we didn't keep a single bit for ourselves..."

"Just get out when I tell you to, why are you talking so much nonsense?" the captain of the guards cursed.

The other guards all had malicious smiles on their faces.

The boy didn't understand what was going on, and stubbornly said, "The soldier has already given us permission to leave, so why is my sister being kept here? If she doesn't leave, neither will I."

Two guards grew impatient and prepared to draw their swords to intimidate the guards.

The captain of the guards suddenly revealed a sinister smile, stopped his men, and said to the boy, "You're not leaving, huh? Fine, then you stay here and watch. I'm getting even more excited."

Upon hearing this, the other guards were taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.

They understood their captain's meaning, stepped forward, kicked the boy aside, and pinned the girl to the ground.

"Boss, you go first!" the men said obsequiously.

The captain of the guards laughed and said, "You guys are really damn sensible. Fine, after I'm done, you can come one by one or all at once, it's up to you!"

The guards grinned like wolves.

"Let me go! Let me go!" The girl realized what was about to happen to her and struggled while crying.

But she was delicate and frail, how could she struggle to break free?

Although the boy didn't know what the soldiers were going to do to his sister, he could tell from the situation that it was definitely not a good thing. In desperation, he got up and pounced on one of the guards, grabbing his arm and biting him hard.

The guard, despite being dressed in thick clothes, was still bitten and felt pain. He raised his hand, flung the boy away, and then kicked him repeatedly.

The boy was kicked until he coughed up blood, his thin body curled up in a ball.

"Don't hit him! Sir... please! Stop hitting him!" the girl cried and pleaded. "You... you can do whatever you want to me! But don't hurt my brother!"

The guard who had been bitten pressed his knee down on the boy's back, grabbed his hair and pulled his head up, grinning maliciously, "You little bastard, you dare to bite me? Fine, I'll show you properly."

To protect her younger brother, the girl gave up struggling and cried as she urged him not to move anymore.

The captain of the guards walked up to the girl while unbuckling his belt, and ordered with a wicked grin, "Lie down properly and spread your legs a bit wider."

The girl closed her eyes tightly, bit her lip until it bled, and turned her head away in shame and indignation. With trembling hands, she slowly adopted a posture that was impossible to look at directly.

"Sister...Sister!" the boy shouted, "What are you doing! Don't touch her!"

Snap!

The guard controlling him slapped him across the face. "Shut the hell up! You'll see what's going to happen soon enough. Kid, you're lucky to see such a sensual scene at such a young age. It's good to broaden your horizons a bit! Hahahaha!"

Just as the captain of the guard tore open the girl's dress, a savage grin on his face, about to commit his bestial act...

Swoosh—

A faint whooshing sound rang out in the cold wind.

The captain of the guards kneeling between the girl's legs suddenly trembled, the sinister smile on his face froze, and he abruptly stopped moving.

The four guards were puzzled by this.

"Boss, what's wrong?"

"You've already taken your pants off, why did you stop? Aren't you cold?"

"Hey boss, is your thing frozen? How about... we go first?"