Chapter 10

Under the scorching sun, Bu Ye was tied to a tree stump, looking somewhat listless, but he calmly watched as Yang Zhaocai made his Nth accusation against him to the villagers, even defaming his former honesty as a cover for his sinister intentions, all to conceal his cruel nature...

If it weren't for the fact that his Heart Cloud had already awakened, and he had been tied up in the sun for the whole morning without a single sip of water, he would have been parched and dizzy by now. However, at this moment, if his original physical condition in this world was rated as 1, then in his normal state, just the Heart Cloud alone would boost his physical condition to 2.7, and each of the seven large stars would add another 0.2, totaling 1.4. Adding these together, his overall physical condition in his normal state was 3.4 times what it used to be. This was just an approximate number, but even if it were just three times, dealing with the current situation would be no problem. His listlessness was entirely an act, to prevent anyone from realizing that his Heart Cloud had awakened.

However, as he watched Yang Zhaocai spitting and cursing, Bu Ye realized that one of his previous thoughts was wrong: he had thought it was beneath him to argue with the old man Yang Zhaocai.

Some people, the more you ignore them, the more they think you are easy to bully, and they will step on you even more, becoming even more aggressive.

A well-known example is the Gao Qiu and Lu Qian from "Water Margin" who bullied Lin Chong. The worst of them was the oldest, Gao Qiu, which made Bu Ye feel that if a person is bad and unrepentant, the older they get, the more skilled they become at being bad. They can even delude themselves, believing they are saints while they stab innocent people in the back.

A cold smile appeared on Bu Ye's face, and he decided to deal with Yang Zhaocai before escaping, just to satisfy himself!

However, that would have to wait until night. With so many eyes watching him, he couldn't escape now, especially with Liang Xiong under the shade of a tree to the east. Liang Xiong's only task today was to watch over him. As long as he survived this last day and night, Yang Yuanda would be buried tomorrow morning, and no one would want any accidents.

Liang Xiong leaned against a tree, a long blade of grass in his mouth, looking very carefree. A shocking scar ran along the left side of his neck, about two fingers wide and seven inches long, resembling a red, fleshy worm trying to crawl into his collar.

In the entire village defense team, the most feared person was not the eleven-star Hong Zhongwei, but the eight-star Liang Xiong. Liang Xiong stayed in Dongmang Village to repay a debt, with a fiery temper and strict law enforcement. It was said that he was actually a squad leader in the Xiao Kingdom's army, but during a battle, his entire squad was defeated, and he fled. He wandered into Dongmang Mountain and almost died under the claws of a fierce beast.

Regardless, anyone who had survived alone in Dongmang Mountain for half a month had already earned the respect of people like Hong Zhongwei.

Bu Ye turned his head to the left and looked at Liang Xiong under the shade of the tree to the east. Liang Xiong was holding a knife in one hand, drawing something on the ground with the tip, and didn't notice Bu Ye observing him.

Bu Ye could see that Liang Xiong was very relaxed, which improved his mood.

So far, no one had noticed anything unusual about him.

The Heart Cloud and Blood Star were very special. After awakening, they could be in two states. One state was like Bu Ye's current state, where the Heart Cloud and Blood Star were dormant, representing his normal state. Even in this state, his physical condition was more than three times that of a normal person, a significant enhancement that was almost permanent. The second state was the activated state, where the Heart Cloud and Blood Star would light up, operating at a higher power, temporarily boosting the physical condition of the awakened person to a new level! In general, the power of the Heart Cloud and Blood Star in the activated state was twice that of the normal state!

Only in the activated state would Bu Ye show obvious signs, making it easy for others to recognize him.

Bu Ye certainly didn't want to be recognized, or the hemp rope binding him would be replaced with a finer, stronger animal tendon rope, and he would be tied up like a dumpling. Even Hong Zhongwei wouldn't be able to break free!

Finally, it was past noon. As long as he could hold on for half a day, it would be night, and he would be locked in a house alone.

That would be his best chance to escape, and his last opportunity.

Bu Ye took a deep breath and looked forward aimlessly, just in time to see the open south gate of Dongmang Village, the arrow tower to the left of the gate, and the road and trees outside the gate... As for Yang Zhaocai and the onlookers in front of him, he completely ignored them.

According to Bu Ye's memory in this world, the trees outside the village were called Fengguan Trees. The reason was that during their mature period, Fengguan Trees would bear small, dense, and faintly glowing fruits that could reflect the wind direction well at night.

However, during the day, the Fengguan Trees had no special features, not tall or particularly green, and looked somewhat wilted under the scorching sun.

Bu Ye looked at this world where he felt no sense of belonging, as if the entire world belonged to one side, and he belonged to another. They weren't necessarily enemies, but it was really hard to blend in.

As he watched, Bu Ye suddenly noticed some changes at the edge of his vision. He immediately looked in that direction and saw several small, bouncing shadows on the horizon.

Bu Ye's eyes narrowed even more, and he thought of a type of creature in this world.

Dragon Mammoths!

These were not the gentle beasts used by traders or peddlers to carry goods, but battle mounts!

Bu Ye's heart raced as he immediately realized that the appearance of galloping Dragon Mammoths on the village road at this time was not normal!

However, at this moment, he was the only one looking south, and even Liang Xiong hadn't noticed the approaching Dragon Mammoths.

Should he sound the alarm?!

Just as this thought crossed Bu Ye's mind, Liang Xiong, sitting under the tree, suddenly fell silent. With his eight-star Heart Cloud, he finally felt the ground tremble!

Liang Xiong shot up from the ground and turned to look south, immediately seeing the Dragon Mammoths that had grown much larger on the horizon!

Liang Xiong's face changed drastically, and he shouted without hesitation, "Enemy attack!!!!"

Yang Zhaocai, who was still ranting to the villagers about Bu Ye's crimes, was almost scared to sit on the ground by Liang Xiong's sudden roar.

Yang Zhaocai was completely stunned, and the villagers were also slow to react, their ears still ringing from Liang Xiong's roar. Liang Xiong's voice was so loud that it sounded like a thunderclap even without activating his Heart Cloud and Blood Star.

However, Liang Xiong didn't have time to deal with them and was already sprinting towards the south gate of the village, issuing orders: "Close the gate!!! Village defense team, assemble!!! Xia Chen, Xia Guang, to the arrow tower! Liu Xiang, sound the horn! All villagers, evacuate immediately!"

"Uuuuuu!!!"

It wasn't until the horn sounded at the village entrance that Yang Zhaocai and the others reacted, shouting and running chaotically into the village. The Dragon Mammoths were moving extremely fast, and by now, everyone could see them charging towards the village from the south and hear the low hoofbeats.

"Ah!!"

"Run!!"

"Bandits are coming!!"

"Ouch..."

The villagers were in complete chaos, some stumbling and falling to the ground. But at this moment, they didn't care about the pain and got up to continue running.

Bu Ye watched as the villagers, who had been indignant just moments ago, now ran past him in a panic, thinking that like attracts like, and those who associated with Yang Zhaocai were all of this ilk.

No one even glanced at Bu Ye, and some even bumped into him without noticing his existence.

Bu Ye stopped paying attention to them and focused on the road in the distance. Although the village gate was closed, the wooden gate was full of gaps, and he could still see the outside situation vaguely.

The Dragon Mammoths were moving extremely fast, and in just a short time, they had reached a distance of two li from the village gate. With Bu Ye's current vision, he could even see the riders on the Dragon Mammoths.

These people were not wearing standard armor, and some were even bare-chested. They were either bandits or mountain bandits!

The hoofbeats of the Dragon Mammoths grew louder, and Bu Ye's eyes narrowed even more, his heart racing. From Bu Ye's memory in this world, he knew that the bandits and mountain bandits in the Dongmang Mountain area were ruthless killers who would burn entire villages and slaughter everyone when they attacked!

These people were bloodthirsty and would not spare anyone, including him!

He had to run! If he didn't leave now, he might not have another chance!

"What's happening?!!!"

Hong Zhongwei's voice came from the village, quickly approaching the village entrance. He had been discussing matters at the village chief's house when he heard the horn and immediately ran over. He had already heard the words "bandits" and "mountain bandits" from the chaotic villagers, but he didn't quite believe it. According to his knowledge, the major bands of bandits and mountain bandits in the area had been eliminated by the Xiao Kingdom's army, and the smaller bands didn't have the strength to attack Dongmang Village.

Bu Ye had almost started struggling with the ropes, but he stopped when he heard Hong Zhongwei's voice.

"Look!" Seeing Hong Zhongwei arrive, Liang Xiong breathed a slight sigh of relief and pointed through the gaps in the gate to the people and horses to the south.

At this moment, the village defense team members from all over the village were rushing over, and the strong, able-bodied men of the village were also holding clubs and farming tools, rushing to the scene.

Hong Zhongwei, despite the chaos, remained calm and looked through the gaps in the gate. As he saw the Dragon Mammoths approaching within a li of the village gate, he finally drew a sharp breath: "Mang Mountain Bandits?!!!"

The moment the words "Mang Mountain Bandits" were spoken, there was a strange silence inside the village gate.

The Mang Mountain Bandits were a group of bandits who had been terrorizing the western foothills of Dongmang Mountain for over a decade. They numbered about fifty, but were well-equipped and moved swiftly! The Xiao Kingdom had sent troops to eliminate them three times, but they always escaped using the terrain of Dongmang Mountain. Later, the government, having spent a lot of resources, gave up the pursuit, citing their small numbers as a reason.

However, only the nearby towns and villages knew that the Mang Mountain Bandits were ruthless and never failed in their raids, posing a serious threat to the surrounding towns and counties!

But the Mang Mountain Bandits usually targeted merchant caravans, rarely attacking villages, especially a village like Dongmang Village, which had three Heart Cloud experts. Why were they daring to directly attack Dongmang Village this time?!

"Whoo-hoo-hoo..."

Amidst the hoofbeats, the Mang Mountain Bandits let out a series of whistles, sounding chaotic and wild, a wave of bloodthirsty savagery sweeping over!

The Dragon Mammoths, carrying the Mang Mountain Bandits, had already reached a distance of two hundred meters from the village gate and were still charging forward at full speed. The uneven hoofbeats and whistles made every member of the village defense team's heart race!

Except for Hong Zhongwei and Liang Xiong, all the village defense team members were experiencing this for the first time! Even those who had dealt with small bands of bandits before had never faced an attack by over fifty riders.

And throughout this entire process, no one noticed that Bu Ye was still tied up!

The lead Mang Mountain Bandit was now only one hundred and fifty meters from the village gate, and he couldn't wait any longer.

Bu Ye gritted his teeth and exerted his strength!