Yor nodded, understanding Niu Zida's command. After wrapping Niu Zida in the hunter's coat, she swiftly rushed out. It seemed this beautiful woman had also been unable to tolerate the bandits' atrocities… Instantly, a terrified scream erupted outside, but it lasted only a few short seconds. Following the screams, silence returned outside. In the moonlight, carried by the cold wind, Niu Zida caught a faint scent of blood… "Please… please don't kill me… spare my life…"
After a few seconds of silence, a broken plea for mercy came from outside. It seemed Yor had indeed left one person alive as he commanded. Yor then returned to the small storage room and carried Niu Zida out. At this point, concealing his identity no longer held much meaning.
The old woman on the side had long been scared stiff and sat on the ground. When Yor came out holding Niu Zida, she recognized, by the moonlight, that Yor wasn't holding a child at all, but a Goblin!
"Get up, I have a few questions for you."
The bandit, kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, heard a man's command and then stood up and looked. But what he saw was a Goblin being held in the arms of a beautiful woman, its entire body hidden in the tall, black-haired beauty's red sweater, with only its head showing.
"You're a Goblin?"
"What about it?"
"No… nothing…"
The bandit found it strange that a Goblin could control a human, but now was not the time for more questions. Seeing the strength of the alluringly figured beautiful woman, he knew he was no match. It was better to obey here and live.
"What organization are you part of? How many accomplices do you have?"
"We are just a bandit group, with about 500 people."
So many people? Niu Zida secretly thought it was bad. It seemed that not a single person could be left alive tonight. Otherwise, if he let him go back, it would be equivalent to sentencing the old woman beside him to death. These people would definitely come back to take revenge on her.
"Very good, as long as you can answer my questions, I can guarantee your safety."
Although he had a killing intent, Niu Zida still needed to keep the other party stable, as he still had many questions to ask.
"Who is the Aponia you mentioned?"
"She is a nun from a village."
"Which village? Be more specific."
"It's a village about twenty kilometers south of here. There's a church there, and only one nun named Aponia. The villagers trust her very much. Under her leadership, the villagers refused to pay protection fees to our bandit group, so we have been in a state of confrontation."
"What does that Aponia look like?"
"She has a great figure… long light yellow hair, wearing a nun's habit… very beautiful."
It seems it should be Aponia from Honkai Impact 3rd. He didn't expect to meet her here. The next target for the Servant Contract has been found. Niu Zida was secretly delighted, thinking that leaving someone alive to interrogate for information was indeed the right choice.
"You said a few people were lost today. Are these their clothes?"
"Uh… ah… yes… So it was you who did it…"
Niu Zida motioned for Yor to throw a hunter's coat in front of the bandit. The bandit picked it up, examined it carefully, and nodded. It seemed those hunters were indeed bandits. No wonder they shot arrows at him right away. Niu Zida had thought that the humans here particularly hated Goblins.
"Why did your people disguise themselves as hunters?"
"To gather intelligence on Aponia's village. They were found on the way…"
He said "found," but it was probably stolen from hunters. Niu Zida was too lazy to expose him and continued to ask:
"Where is your lair?"
"On the mountain to the north, about ten kilometers from here. Do you need me to lead the way?"
It seems this guy was quite smart, willing to betray his companions just to save his own life. However, Niu Zida had almost all the information he needed, so he shook his head:
"No need. Go bury your companions' bodies far from here. Once you're done with all that, you can leave."
Hearing Niu Zida's words, the bandit quickly kowtowed in gratitude. Under the cover of night, and under the supervision of Yor, who was holding Niu Zida, he transported all the bodies out. Fortunately, the nearby terrain was mountainous and full of ravines. They found a flat cart at the old woman's house, and then used this cart to transport the remaining four bodies to a small hill about a kilometer away, where the bandit was ordered to dig a pit.
The bandit dared not disobey. He could only use the shovel from the old woman's house to dig a large pit, a particularly deep one as Niu Zida had requested. Then he threw the bodies in. When the burial was almost complete, Niu Zida kicked Yor's thigh. Yor understood and killed the bandit from behind with a single stab, then pushed the bandit into the pit.
"If I were merciful to you, you would definitely go trouble that old woman. Mercy to you is cruelty to her."
Yor completed the follow-up work. After filling in the earth, Yor carried Niu Zida and brought the flat cart back. By this time, it was already broad daylight. When they returned, they found the old woman had already cooked corn porridge and was waiting for them.
Yor, who was tired and covered in fragrant sweat, was also hungry, so she ate without ceremony. However, the tasteless corn porridge was hardly delicious, merely enough to fill the stomach. But Niu Zida and Yor both ate it all, leaving nothing behind. Accepting the kindness given by the poor with an equal heart was, in fact, the greatest respect.
After eating, Niu Zida began to ask the old woman questions. Since his identity as a Goblin had already been exposed, there was no need to hide anything.
"Elder, do those bandits often trouble you?"
"Yes, ever since my husband and son were conscripted into the army, it started. Although this area is a border region, the climate and land are not very good, but there is a lot of wasteland. Many people who couldn't bear the heavy taxes came here to be homesteaders. Before, it was a bit hard, but we could always manage to live, until the war broke out."
"War broke out?"
"The Atair Kingdom and the neighboring Fortini Kingdom went to war over some mineral resources, I don't understand… The Fortini Kingdom is much larger than the Atair Kingdom. With the war going badly, the Atair Kingdom started conscripting people everywhere, not even sparing us border homesteaders. Many people were taken to the battlefield. My old man thought we would be safe since we didn't live in a village, but a year ago, he was also taken away and hasn't returned since."
No wonder this area was sparsely populated and the public order was poor. A war had indeed broken out. However, the more chaotic it was, the more advantageous it was for him. If humans were united, how could he, a Goblin, grow powerful? Niu Zida thought to himself.
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