Chapter 48 – Wrathful Retribution

Chapter 48 – Wrathful Retribution

“Old Li, you’re good at this sort of thing. Go collect information from their interrogations and see if there are any discrepancies,” Cheng Yang immediately instructed.

Li Wanshan didn’t hesitate and went to listen to each combatant’s report one by one. To prevent others from overhearing, they spoke in hushed tones.

After a while, Li Wanshan returned to Cheng Yang’s side. “Lord, the situation isn’t good,” he said gravely.

Before Cheng Yang could respond, Fang Lei anxiously asked, “What’s wrong? Did they not see my wife?”

Li Wanshan looked at Fang Lei with sympathy. “Xiao Lei, you need to prepare yourself. I can’t guarantee the accuracy of what I’ve learned, but there probably isn’t much error. After questioning, seven people insist your wife left with another group. Three women, after being threatened, revealed some information. They said your wife was indeed with them seeking refuge. However, yesterday, the leader and a few others forced your wife out of their hiding cave to lure away some demonic beasts prowling nearby. I think you can guess what happened next.”

Li Wanshan’s words struck Fang Lei like a thunderbolt, plunging him into despair. It took him a long time to regain his composure. Finally, he asked, “Captain Li, why was my wife the only one forced out? Why not the other women?”

Li Wanshan explained, “The other women had already submitted to that group. Your wife, however, was stubborn and resisted fiercely. They were initially hesitant to use force because they feared her screams might attract monsters. But yesterday, when several monsters lingered near their cave, they decided to act. They threatened your wife’s life and virtue, forcing her to leave the cave.”

Tears streamed down Fang Lei’s face as he listened. The others also had moist eyes, feeling both sympathy for Fang Lei and admiration for Ruan Meng’s courage.

No one doubted Li Wanshan’s words, as they were corroborated by multiple sources. The consistency of their accounts made them highly credible.

“Xiao Meng, why were you so foolish?” Fang Lei collapsed to the ground, wailing in grief.

It was clear that Fang Lei and his wife had been deeply in love, as her death had devastated him.

Cheng Yang approached and helped Fang Lei to his feet. “Now, go and question the others yourself. If what they say confirms this, I’ll leave them to your judgment. I’ll back you up,” he said firmly.

Fang Lei wiped his tears, his eyes now filled with determination. “Lord, I know what to do,” he said resolutely.

Fang Lei walked over to the group’s leader, whose face was filled with fear, unaware of what Fang Lei had learned.

“If you confess now, I’ll spare your life,” Fang Lei said coldly.

The man pleaded, “Boss, sir, I told the truth earlier. If others said bad things about me, it’s because they hold a grudge…”

“Silence!” Fang Lei barked, cutting him off. He drew a wooden arrow from his quiver and pressed its iron tip against the man’s throat. “I’ll say it again. Confess, and I’ll let you live.”

The cold gleam of the arrowhead sent a chill through the man. “I… you can’t do this. This is a society of laws. You can’t kill me…” he stammered.

Fang Lei sneered. “A society of laws? Do you think that still exists?” With that, he drove the arrow into the man’s thigh, eliciting a blood-curdling scream.

“Have you thought it over now?” Fang Lei demanded coldly.

Sweat dripped from the man’s forehead as fear filled his eyes. “I… I’ll talk. You really won’t kill me?”

Without another word, Fang Lei stabbed the arrow into him again. The man couldn’t endure any longer and blurted out, “Alright! Alright! It was us. We forced Ruan Meng out. She was killed by the demonic beasts.”

“You… deserve to die!” Fang Lei roared, plunging the arrow into the man’s chest.

The man stared at the arrow protruding from his chest, seemingly oblivious to the pain. He pointed at Fang Lei in horror. “You… you said… you wouldn’t kill me…”

Fang Lei yanked the arrow out, his voice filled with hatred. “I keep my word to humans. But are you even human?” With that, he turned and walked away.

As the arrow was removed, blood gushed from the man’s chest, and he finally breathed his last.

Fang Lei had killed countless monsters in recent days, but this was his first time taking a human life. Though his grief and rage had driven him to this act, it still left him unsettled. However, he suppressed his discomfort and didn’t vomit.

Fang Lei returned to Cheng Yang. “Lord, I’ve killed the leader. I leave the others to your judgment. Xiao Meng is gone. Killing more won’t bring her back.”

Cheng Yang nodded. “It’s good that you can see things clearly. We’ll take the remaining men back to Luofeng Village. When we have extra slots for job assignments, we’ll assign them to resource-gathering roles. Thirty percent of their earnings will go to you as compensation.”

“Thank you, Lord,” Fang Lei said immediately.

Cheng Yang then led the combatants away, leaving the others behind. He wasn’t concerned about them fleeing; with demonic beasts everywhere, they had nowhere to go. If they died, it would be no great loss.

Over the next three hours, the group reached four more rescue points. They were fortunate to save people from one location. While no one was found at the other three, there was no bad news either, leaving a glimmer of hope.

By 4 p.m., they decided to start heading back early due to safety concerns, as there were still many people needing rescue along the way.

As they retraced their path, they picked up more survivors. The growing numbers slowed their progress, and the frequency of monster attacks increased.

Fortunately, the larger monster groups had already been dealt with, and any stragglers were quickly dispatched by Cheng Yang and his team.

By the time they reached the southern passage of Xiangcheng City, their group had swelled to nearly three thousand people, forming a procession about twenty meters wide and seventy to eighty meters long. This included both rescued civilians and the “prisoners” under special watch.

As dusk approached, the survivors were filled with anxiety, unsure of what awaited them.

Entering the forest further slowed their pace. With only thirty combatants, they couldn’t ensure everyone’s safety. Occasional demonic beasts claimed a few lives, heightening the refugees’ fear.

Cheng Yang and his team had to both fend off attacks and calm the people’s nerves.

Cheng Yang’s decision to rescue these people wasn’t out of pure benevolence. Knowing the future, he understood the importance of population. Though Luofeng Village was currently overcrowded, as more settlements were established and levels increased, population would become a critical factor in development. In the early days of the apocalypse, there were still many refugees to save, but a month later, finding any would be far more difficult.

The five-kilometer journey from Xiangcheng City’s southern passage to Luofeng Village took over two hours. When Cheng Yang finally stepped through the village gates, he let out a long sigh of relief.

Despite losing nearly two hundred civilians to monster attacks along the way, the mission had been largely successful. The survivors didn’t blame Cheng Yang and his team for their losses, nor did they dare to.

Upon seeing Luofeng Village’s high protective walls, the refugees erupted in cheers, relieved that they no longer had to fear constant monster attacks. Whatever their future held, it couldn’t be worse than death.

After returning, Cheng Yang delegated the task of settling the refugees to Yu Kai and others. He went to the profession statues to upgrade their attributes. This time, he chose to enhance magic defense for the four main profession statues and energy amplification for the priest statue.

After completing the upgrades, the territory had 2,600 spirit energy points remaining. The energy earned during the day had barely covered the statue enhancements. Cheng Yang wondered how long it would take to accumulate the 20,000 points needed to upgrade the village to level three.

However, his concern was fleeting. Considering that other settlements were still in disarray, having already upgraded Luofeng Village to level two was a significant advantage.

PS: Brothers, my book briefly appeared on the new releases chart this morning before being unceremoniously knocked off! Can we let this stand? Show your support! I promise, if we make it to the homepage new releases chart, I’ll add an extra chapter. For every rank we climb, another chapter will be added…