As another group of bandits jumped down, before they could even regain their footing, they swarmed over, tackled the man to the ground, stuffed rags into his mouth, and tied his hands and feet with rope in one swift motion.

Meanwhile, another group of men quickly turned over and climbed up the embankment, just as Fan Jin struck the gong!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The loud noise immediately echoed throughout the entire village!

Upon hearing the gong, Shui Qing and Ling Ran quickened their pace and ran towards the village entrance.

At midnight, when people are in the deepest sleep, the sudden sound of a gong in the quiet night is like a thunderclap, breaking the peace and tranquility of the night.

The first to arrive were the village patrol team. They were terrified when they saw the bandits struggling on the ground and the strangers darting out from all directions.

Ignoring his fear, he immediately raised his knife and charged forward.

No one rushed out from the two houses at the front of the village, but men and strong women carrying broadswords, shovels, hoes, and kitchen knives kept rushing out from the houses behind.

"They're rushing towards the gate! Grab them, don't let them get past!"

"There must be other people outside! We can't let them meet up; if they open the door, we'll be in danger!"

The man in the village shouted anxiously.

The sky was dark, and I couldn't see very far.

When Zhu, the leader of the gang, saw the endless stream of villagers approaching, he sensed something was wrong and shouted, "Let's rush over and open the gate, let the brothers in!"

"Yes, boss, let's slaughter them until the blood flows like a river!"

"Haha, we're going to have a killing spree tonight, even better than when we wiped out an entire family in the city last time. Let's slaughter the whole village today!"

"Let these villagers see what we're capable of."

When Boss Zhu led dozens of his underlings to the gate and prepared to open it, they were dumbfounded.

A dozen or so men, each wielding a large knife, stared menacingly at them! Those knives were longer and thicker than theirs!

On the wall made of sacks, a dozen or so men were throwing something down. From just outside the door, one could hear screams of agony, which terrified everyone.

In front of them were more than a dozen men wielding broadswords, and behind them were a steady stream of villagers rushing forward. Zhu Laoda gritted his teeth and fiercely urged, "Brothers, charge! There are only a dozen or so of them, but we have forty or fifty of us. What are we afraid of!"

"Once we've killed them all and opened the gate, our brothers outside can come to our aid! With our combined efforts from inside and outside, we'll have houses to live in, money to spend, meat to eat, and warm beds after tonight!"

Which of these people doesn't have a few lives on their hands? They've even eaten several.

They weren't afraid of just a dozen or so men, let alone an equal number of them. These honest and simple villagers weren't as ruthless as them.

Those who are soft-hearted will only die faster!

When Hong Daniu and his group of men heard the phrase "warming the bed," their blood boiled, and they wished they could cut them all down with a single stroke!

Hong Daniu, in particular, couldn't bear to hear a single bad word about his daughters after the flood took away his two daughters. Now, the disrespectful words from the villains in front of him made his eyes turn red. At this critical moment, he followed his master's teachings, grabbed pepper spray with both hands, and rushed forward to spray pepper spray without regard for his own safety.

Suddenly, a strong, pungent, and throat-irritating smell swept over him. Zhu Laoda felt as if someone was repeatedly poking his nose with a stick, his throat was in excruciating pain, and his entire face was burning indescribably. Tears and snot streamed down his face uncontrollably.

My eyes, in particular, hurt so badly it felt like someone had gouged them out; I couldn't open them at all!