"Collect protection money." Sang Bo led a large group of men to the city gate and started shouting.
"These plague gods are here again." The guard at the door shook his head helplessly as he looked at the man in front of him.
His companion, sensing the danger, had already run back to the guardhouse and appeared to be calling for help.
Sure enough, a group of guards came running towards the gate cursing and swearing a short while later. Some of them didn't have time to put on their clothes and ran out shirtless.
The two sides had been facing off at the gate for several days, and the guards assumed it was the same thing again, so they didn't take it seriously.
On the other hand, Zhu Shao became arrogant because of the arrival of a new team of professionals, and he instructed Sang Bo to cause trouble this time.
"Don't cause trouble here. Weren't you embarrassed enough last time?"
"By the way, where's your mongrel? I haven't seen it for the past few days!"
"I only care about money. If you don't give me money, even if Jesus comes, I won't let him into the city." Sangbo's face turned from red to white, and then from white to red again.
"Get your captain out here! I don't bother with lowly thugs!"
As the war of words escalated, the atmosphere became increasingly tense.
Seeing the opposing guard captain approaching, Sangbo's eyes lit up.
After spitting on the guard captain's face once again, the malicious Sangbo immediately drew his weapon and unleashed a skill.
A blinding red light flashed, and the mace struck the guard captain.
Unexpectedly, they dared to take direct action this time, and the defending side was immediately at a disadvantage.
People outside the city avoided it like the plague, and could only flee to more distant places to hide.
Seeing that things were not going well, the onlookers in the city had already scattered like birds and beasts.
Some of the people who were loyal to the city lord quietly slipped away, heading towards the city lord's mansion.
At the city gate, both sides were at a disadvantage in terms of mentality and numbers, and the defenders were directly overwhelmed by Zhu Shao's side.
The entrance instantly turned into a battlefield, with several guards being killed on the spot.
The guards fought and retreated, forced to retreat back into their rooms. During the retreat, the few guards who stayed behind were surrounded by the zombie wave.
Hearing the incessant screams outside the door, the captain of the guard felt his blood boil, his eyes wide with rage, and despite the objections of his trusted confidants, he was determined to fight to the death.
The crowd held him back tightly, and one of them said, "This matter must be reported to the city lord first."
Looking at the young guard inside the room, the captain calmed down a bit, waved him over and said, "Go back and quickly report the situation here to the city lord."
Together, they opened a secret passage in the corner of the room to let him leave. This was a secret passage known only to the guards, just in case.
"Should we open this secret passage and leave?" someone whispered.
Everyone looked at their captain without saying a word, seemingly lost in thought, waiting for his decision.
Watching the young guard leave, the captain declared loudly, "Several brothers have died outside. You may leave if you wish, but I will stand guard here to the death. I swear I will not rest until I avenge my brothers!"
The group exchanged glances, but none of them left. They simply gripped their weapons tightly and remained silent.
The captain was somewhat relieved and comforted him, saying, "The city lord will come; we must believe in him."
The door was breached by weapons, and the iron gate was eventually broken through by the outsiders. As the hole in the door grew larger and larger, the captain gritted his teeth and roared, "If you've eaten this kind of food, you've got to be prepared for this day. Everyone, follow me!"
The guard slashed at the hand that reached in, and a scream rang out from outside the door.
The door was then knocked down with great force, and the guard, unable to dodge in time, was crushed underneath it.
Then Zhu Shao's men rushed into the door, and the guards who were pressed under the door gradually lost their breath.
Enraged, the captain led the charge: "You will all die!"
The guards fought back fiercely against Zhu Shao and his gang outside the gate, but unfortunately, they were outnumbered and were gradually surrounded.
The number of people guarding the area dwindled until only the captain remained.
Until the very end, not a single person retreated, and not a single person begged for mercy!
Seeing his former brothers fall one by one in front of him, the captain gritted his teeth in anger.
Surrounded by the crowd, he fought back and slashed one person before being stabbed several more times in the back.
With his strength nearly exhausted, he calmed down as he looked at the mocking expressions on everyone's faces.
"Why aren't you fighting back? Come on, come on again! Weren't you so tough just now?"
"Big brother, is he scared to death?"
"If you kneel down and beg for mercy now, I might spare your life!" the smug dog said triumphantly, confident of victory.
Clutching his bleeding wound, the captain spat out a mouthful of blood and said calmly, "A subject of the king has nothing to fear from feudal lords!"
"Lord He, I'll take my leave now!"
After saying that, he picked up the weapon and slit his own throat.
As he lay dying, he seemed to recall his first meeting with the city lord.
That day, a group of irresistible monsters appeared in the city, and I encountered He Zhi, who was fleeing, outside the city gate.
He Zhi and his son risked their lives to save everyone before the monsters merged; they could have avoided such a risk.
The following night, the group chatted while eating together in the wild.
"Brother Ma Yi, what is your wish?" He Zhi asked him with a smile.
"I have no wishes, I just want to live. What about you?"
"I want to establish a force to shelter all people. Would you like to come with me?"
"As long as I'm alive, I'll do anything. Besides, I owe you my life."
“What are you saying? You don’t owe me anything!” He Zhi said solemnly.
"I cannot express my gratitude enough!" Ma Yi did not say these words.
"Brother Ma Yi, I'll trouble you to guard this gate." After the establishment of the World Society, He Zhi said with a smile, holding his hand.
"As long as I'm here, the door will be open!" Ma Yi assured, patting his chest.
"Look at him, he's good in every way, except he's too serious. Women won't like that," He Zhi joked to everyone.
The past is like smoke, quickly dissipating in the wind.
"I owe you a life, and now I'm returning it to you!" Ma Yi's consciousness began to blur.
Even after his health points reached zero, he remained standing.
"Tch, what's with the arrogance!" Sangbo, having failed to outwit the guard captain, kicked his corpse to the ground in a fit of rage.
"Hang their heads on the city walls, let them know who's in charge of this city!"
"Yes!" his men shouted excitedly.
When He Xi arrived, this was the scene he saw.
The entire guard post was covered in blood, and what was even more abhorrent were the things stuck in the city walls with tree stumps.
A surge of emotion welled up inside him, and he turned and left without a word.
Inside the city lord's mansion, Zhu Shao's steward kept apologizing, saying that he had made a mistake due to drunkenness and that Zhu Shao had already punished them.
"We'll pay whatever compensation is due, no questions asked!" the butler declared righteously.
The old city lord, dragging his frail body, barely managed to deal with the steward without uttering a word.
After seeing the steward off, He Zhi asked the people below, "Where's that kid He Xi?"
"The young city lord has gone out."
"Keep an eye on him, don't let him cause any further trouble."
"There's another zombie horde to watch out for on Sunday."
“This…they all disregard us, how long are we supposed to keep being so spineless?” One of his men jumped up and said, “Those who have come to this door are all his trusted confidants.”
"It's not time yet. Help me appease their families." The old city lord waved his hand wearily.
Upon seeing the city lord's statement, everyone consciously left the hall. The man was about to say a few more words when someone grabbed his sleeve and pulled him out.
Inside the hall, the old city lord was far from as calm and collected as they had imagined; the way he gripped his cup betrayed him.
No one paid attention to his feelings at this moment; internal and external troubles weighed heavily on him.
“The Chen family of Jiangnan…” he murmured to himself as he sat in his chair.
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