Yun Zhe was patrolling and keeping watch outside the city walls with his soldiers when they suddenly heard hurried footsteps. The soldiers immediately became alert, thinking that Kurman's soldiers were coming to launch a sneak attack. But the truth was unbelievable; the people coming were not the enemy, but soldiers who had escaped from Herak village.
Yun Zhe immediately saw through these men's true nature as deserters. However, Yun Zhe did not immediately lose his temper; these soldiers had already withdrawn from the battle before it even began. The reason they were able to return was due to the commanders' selection. They were chosen from among the soldiers with the weakest will who had voluntarily abandoned their duty to defend the city to the death.
Yun Zhe wasn't surprised by the appearance of such people. What surprised him was why they were defending Herak Village to the death. Who gave the order?
Yun Zhe called out to a young man who looked flustered. His helmet was askew, his armor was simply draped over his shoulders, and he didn't even have a weapon in his hand.
"Why not defend Herak Village to the death?" Yun Zhe asked.
"Hold on to the death? What do you mean by holding on to the death? They have ten thousand men, we can't possibly defeat them..." The young man became more confident when he saw Yun Zhe's not-so-tall figure. "I'm not a deserter, Anthony said we can choose to live."
"Anthony? Blaze's second-in-command?" Yun Zhe remembered. Anthony's words provided ample reason to fight a good battle with Kurman. He was a member of the Imperial Cavalry and one of the leaders of the many defeated soldiers Blaze had gathered during this period.
Yun Zhe thought about it and realized that hatred could indeed change a person. Faced with Coleman's betrayal, Anthony still chose the most tragic way to take revenge.
Yun Zhe was pessimistic at this moment, because a small village on the plains could not possibly withstand the attack of tens of thousands of troops. It might not even be able to cause any impact on the enemy. Yun Zhe had only arranged for the village's defense to be a mere formality, but he never expected it to turn out like this.
Yun Zhe closed his eyes, recalling the layout of the houses and the appearance of the streets in Herak Village. He naturally didn't know what Herak Village looked like in the end, but intuitively, if troops were sent to defend it, it probably wouldn't have been able to escape.
On the plains, where can one hide or escape?
Yun Zhe suddenly realized that he might have made a mistake; he could not, or at least should not, order the defense of a dead end.
Although Anthony was contemplating suicide, Yun Zhe couldn't help but feel guilty; it was his oversight.
However, Yun Zhe still had a question: Anthony had indicated that he could leave, so why did he come back here instead of escaping to hide somewhere?
Yun Zhe quickly found the answer to this question. The middle-aged man at the head of the group was dressed similarly to the young man from before, except he was carrying a long spear. He was currently shouting angrily at a soldier.
"I'm not a deserter! I just don't want to fight those pointless battles!" As he said this, the dozen or so men behind him nodded in agreement. This relieved Yun Zhe considerably, but it also increased his pressure.
Of course, not all soldiers share this awareness. The young man Yun Zhe questioned earlier simply didn't want to fight. And there were many others who shared the same thought. They probably came along because they felt safer with the others.
Yun Zhe walked over and gestured for both sides to stop arguing. "I won't treat you as deserters. You'll all go report to Morrison."
The middle-aged man looked at Yun Zhe suspiciously. By the dim firelight, he vaguely felt that Yun Zhe was not simple, but he still voiced his concerns.
"Just because you say you can't doesn't mean you can't. Who do you think you are?"
"He is Lord Yun Zhe!" A soldier standing nearby seemed to have found an opportunity to vent his anger and said viciously.
The middle-aged man's face paled instantly. He had only heard of Yun Zhe, and his rude remarks just now would obviously not have any good effect.
Yun Zhe patted the middle-aged man on the shoulder, indicating that he didn't need to be nervous. "You're right, there's no point in fighting a meaningless battle. Did the battle in the village begin when you left?"
Yun Zhe's actions surprised the middle-aged man. He shook his head and said, "We left in the early morning. Kurman's troops should arrive around noon or in the afternoon. I don't know how the battle went, but we dug a lot of traps. I'm sure those bastards will suffer."
Yun Zhe gave a bitter smile. Faced with absolute power, any combat techniques were meaningless. But it was already late at night, so he said nothing more. "You all should go and rest. Tomorrow, the real battle will begin."
The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, but quickly understood Yun Zhe's meaning. He turned around to look at the dozen or so people behind him and waved his hand, "This is Lord Yun Zhe. Didn't you all want to see him? Hurry up and come over!"
Faced with a dozen or so people suddenly surrounding him, Yun Zhe could only manage a wry smile and wave his hands repeatedly, signaling them to quickly return to the castle to rest.
At this moment, Yun Zhe also noticed out of the corner of his eye that some other people hadn't moved at all. At the same time, the middle-aged man also leaned closer to Yun Zhe and whispered, "Sir, these are the real deserters. Hmph, I checked them all on the way, they're all spineless cowards!"
Yun Zhe gave a grateful smile, indicating to the middle-aged man that he didn't need to worry about the rest. Then he gestured, and soon the patrolling soldiers surrounded the remaining people.
"You'll be patrolling with us tonight!" Yun Zhe said with a smile when he saw the young man's flustered expression.
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