'Vrrrrrmmmmmmm!'

The cars speeded up quickly to the unfortunate village or town ahead.

Everyone looked at the cloud of smoke that seemed to be growing bigger the closer they got and couldn't help but feel a little bit anxious.

Hopefully, they weren't too late!

.

Meanwhile, in the tiny village.... several men on horseback were towering over a group of injured villagers.

The men were the ones who got injured, while the females shivered and hugged each other fearfully at the side.

The women couldn't escape even if they wanted to, because some of the riders had surrounded them with bows and arrows as well.

"Bahahahhahhhaha!

Village chief!

Do you think that surrendering yourself to us will change anything?

Tsk!

If you all want to blame anyone, then you can only blame yourselves.

If you all had provided the full amount of grain requested and coins that we requested... then we wouldn't be here, now would we." said a large chubby man, who had a black eye-patch on his right eye.

'Whip!'

'Whip!'

'Whip!'

As he spoke, his men continuously whipped the poor injured village men that were already lying on the ground pitifully.

Listening to the chubby man, the village chief was immediately filled with sorrow and hate.

His grief surged with every expelled breath, as he looked at the wailing women and the injured men all around him.

His heart felt empty, as a sense of nothingness quickly engulfed him completely.

Just how did it become like this?

Was it truly their faith to die in the hands of these evildoers?

And all of this was because they couldn't provide enough grain and coins for these villains.

Of course, these scumbags wanted to drain them dry all year round.... and for the safety of his people, he had no choice but to comply with their every demand.

His village had given almost all the food that they had to these wild bandits, but yet it wasn't enough to guarantee their lives this time around.

The bandits before him were known as the Wolfhound Bandits.

They were the big bosses within this territory, as they collected 'protection fees', grain and women from the neighbouring villages and minor towns around the place.

At the end of every season, they would collect their protection fees from the villagers unfailingly.

And if the quota hadn't been met, then they would severely punish or eradicate the villagers all together.

In a way, they did this so as to warn the other villages of the consequences of not completing their requests.

.

The village chief lifted his body face upwards and gritted his teeth in pain while looking at the towering giants before him.

"Please.... give us more time.

I promise that we will be able to give you all that you requested in 2 weeks' time."

'Pah!'

One of the towering men quickly slapped him silly, which sent him back to the ground in an instant.

"Village chief!"

Everyone else cried out in grief, as they watched their 56-year-old village chief get smacked hard in the face.

The village chief in question gripped the ground below him as hard as he could, before finally kneeling before the chubby towering man again.

"Please!... just give us more time!" He said while kowtowing to the man with all his strength.

And once again, he was harshly kicked several times in the head by the same man that had previously slapped him.

'Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!'

"You ugly good-for-nothing!!

How dare you open your filthy mouth and talk back to our leader?

Who gave you the guts to make any requests, huh?!!"

'Smack!'

'Pah!'

'Bang!'

The man continued to aggressively attack the village Chief until his entire body was covered in reddish-purple bruises.

And soon, the village chief quickly spat out a mouth full of blood.

'Splak!'

"Aigo..... go easy in the old man little 7.

We don't want to kill him yet, alright?

After all... they say that it's good to be filial to the elderly, don't they."

"Hmm... you're right elder bro.

I'll go easy on him by only boxing and punching him hard.

So worry not, I promise that I won't kick him or use my sword on him again."

"Hahahhahaha.... that's the spirit little bro!"

"Hahhhhahhahahah!"

Smack!'

'Pah!'

'Bang!'

"Hahahhahahahha"

While the bandits laughed merrily, the rest of the villages grew pale from fright instead.

Their lips quivered and their bodies shivered vigorously, as they soon realized that their legs had turned wobbly in a flash.

F***!

The entire scene was just too gruesome to watch!

The village chief tried to keep his heavy eyes open, but soon... he could feel himself slowly losing consciousness.

And as he was about to faint, he couldn't help but curse himself a little for not being strong enough.

'Dammit!

If only he had enough strength'.

.

"GrandPapa!"

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, he heard his granddaughter's voice calling him.

No!

Why would she reveal herself as his relative?

Now wouldn't they just target her even more?

At this moment, the pain in his heart was much more than that from his injuries.

She was the only family he had, as he would rather die than let her be harmed.

He tried his best to open his eyes with all his might and regain his consciousness once more.

But of course, his body was too weak to listen to him.

A stream of tears flowed down his cheeks when he thought about his sweet granddaughter.

'Ancestors... if you really exist, then please save my granddaughter!' He silently prayed, before finally fainting from his injuries.

The young girl who looked not more than 13 years old, quickly rushed out from the group of women like a slippery weasel and hastily made her way to her grandfather in a flash.

And even though these bandits could've stopped her, they allowed her to reach the village Chief's side... so that they could be certain of the relationship between the 2.

"GrandPapa... GrandPapa.... please wake up." The girl said pitifully while nestling her grandfather's bloody face on her laps.

Seeing her interaction with the village chief, the chubby leader smiled dastardly.

Of course seeing the smile on their leader's face, the bandits immediately knew what it meant.

This girl was now the property of their leader.

.

"Hahahhahaha... boys, this time... we've truly picked up a treasure.

Now kill the men, and take the village Chief and the women hostage immediately!"

"Yes, leader!" Said the bandits who also smiled cruelly at the villagers who were now wailing and begging for mercy for their loved ones.

"Please... don't kill my son!"

"Please spare my husband!"

"Please spare my family!"

The women begged with all their might before the chubby leader quickly silenced them all.

"Enough!

I hate noise more than anything else!

They will die, and that is that!

Men, finish the job now!"

"Yes, leader!" The bandits responded again while closing in on their targets.

But before they could even make a move, they heard several strange noises coming towards them at an alarming pace.

And because of the sudden commotion.... their horses all shook crazily, making the archers miss their mark.

Eh?

What the hell was going on?

'Vrrrrmmmmmm!!!!'

'Shrrriiiiieeekkkk!'

'Bam!!!'

"Freeze!

Put your hands up in the air, if you don't want to die!"

"_"