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Page 202
Like five humanoid cannonballs, they crashed back into the snow at the village entrance, creating five shocking, humanoid craters in the thick snow! The snow was blasted into countless tiny fragments by the immense impact.
Lu Mingfei's figure landed lightly, landing steadily on the back of the most robust snow wolf in the center.
Not only did the snow wolf not dare to resist, but the moment Lu Mingfei landed, its huge body trembled violently like a sieve, whimpering as it lay prostrate on the ground, burying its head deep into the snow.
The other four snow wolves were terrified and followed suit, pressing their massive bodies against the snow and letting out mournful howls of submission.
The instinctive fear of the dragon's majesty, originating from the depths of their blood, completely overwhelmed the wildness of these ferocious beasts.
Lu Mingfei's gaze was like a solid icicle, shooting towards the five patrol members who had just struggled to climb out of the snow pit.
The impact of falling hundreds of meters from the sky, even with the thick snow cushioning it, still caused them excruciating pain, churning blood, and left them in a disheveled state, their eyes filled with horror and bewilderment.
"I ask, you answer." Lu Mingfei's voice rang out again, colder than the wind on the frozen ground, carrying an oppressive sense of control over everything.
The five people were completely stunned by this incomprehensible power and the shadow of death. They dared not breathe, and had even lost the courage to look up. They could only sit slumped on the edge of the snow pit, shivering.
"Who is in power in Uru City now?" Lu Mingfei asked the first question.
After a brief silence, the female patrol member, suppressing her fear, answered in a trembling, barely audible voice:
"It's...it's Lord Cohen."
Lu Mingfei nodded slightly, his gaze slowly sweeping over the five pale, terrified faces below:
“Very well, then, I intend to bring a new era to Uru City… What do you five think?”
The wind and snow seemed to freeze at that moment.
At the village entrance, only the fearful howls of the snow wolf and the heavy, suppressed breathing of the five people could be heard.
Chapter 201 A Test
Lu Mingfei's icy voice struck the hearts of the five patrol members who were slumped at the edge of the snow pit like an invisible hammer.
"To give Uru...a new world?"
The thought exploded in their minds like a thunderclap, leaving them stunned and blank.
Lord Cohen and his henchmen have been operating in Uru for decades, accumulating immense power and employing ruthless methods. Their rule is deeply entrenched, like an ancient, unmelting iceberg on frozen ground.
Resistance? That would be like an ant trying to shake a tree—a sure path to destruction!
The patrol captain, a middle-aged man with white wolf ears but a bloodless face, trembled as if he wanted to say something, but could only let out hoarse gasps.
Fear gripped his throat.
The consequences of betraying Lord Cohen are worse than death.
He had seen too many "traitors" hanged on city gates to dry in the wind, and he had also seen "cowards" torn to pieces alive in animal pen.
However, Lu Mingfei's gaze terrified them more than the torture inflicted by Lord Cohen.
That gaze was calm and undisturbed, yet it seemed to penetrate their skin and look directly into the deepest, most despicable cowardice in their souls.
The way he hovered on the back of the snow wolf, stood on the giant beast, and toyed with them thousands of meters in the air with a wave of his hand was a silent declaration in itself.
This power is beyond their comprehension, much less their ability to resist!
“M-My Lord…” Another team member, who was holding a long whip that had long since slipped from his hand and fallen into the snow, was crying and his voice was trembling. “Lord Cohen, he has the city’s defense army under his command, as well as the ‘orc legion’ that can rival the Awakened.”
His meaning was self-evident.
It was simply impossible for them to do it with their own strength.
But under Lu Mingfei's invisible pressure, the second half of his sentence was stuck in his throat, leaving only the sound of his teeth chattering.
"Pfft!"
Finally, her psychological defenses completely collapsed.
The female team member closest to Lu Mingfei could no longer withstand the double pressure. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed heavily to her knees in the cold snow, burying her forehead deep in the snow, her body trembling violently.
"My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me! I... I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse!" she cried incoherently, as if grasping at the last straw.
This cry was like the first domino to fall.
"Plop!" "Plop!" "Plop!"
The other four team members, including the captain, could no longer hold on. They abandoned all pride as members of Uru City's elite patrol team and the possibility of torture and retaliation. They knelt down in the snow, their foreheads touching the ground, their posture humble to the point of being dust.
"Sir, spare your life!"
"We are willing to follow you, sir!"
"Please, Your Excellency, have mercy!"
Cries for mercy rose and fell, filled with the sobs of survivors and deep fear.
They dared not raise their heads, much less have any thought of resistance.
The power displayed by this mysterious man was beyond their comprehension.
Resist? Even the thought is a luxury.
At this moment, survival is the only instinct.
Lu Mingfei stared expressionlessly at the five people crawling at his feet, as if they were five frightened ants.
Their submission was expected; this loyalty, built on fear, was fragile, but for him, it was enough.
What he needed was not confidants, but pawns, levers to pry open the decaying fortress of Uru.
"Very good." Lu Mingfei's voice remained calm, but it made the five kneeling people stiffen and hold their breath.
"Tell me, how do you usually contact Uru City? When is the next time you will contact them?"
"Yes...yes!" The captain, who was in the lead, hurriedly looked up, his face covered in a mixture of snow and mud, looking utterly disheveled.
"Reporting to you, sir, we report the situation of our patrol area to the city defense headquarters every three days via the 'Wind Whisper Stone.' The next contact will be at sunset today!"
“Wind Whisper Stone…” Lu Mingfei nodded slightly.
This sounds like the name of a magical or technological communication device.
What do you usually say when you contact each other?
"It's all...it's all just platitudes. Report that the area is safe, whether there are any abnormal energy fluctuations, whether the nearby villages are behaving themselves...and...and whether the tribute has been paid on time..." The captain answered cautiously, not daring to hide anything.
"Tribute?" Lu Mingfei's eyes turned slightly cold.
"Yes. Every village has to regularly pay tribute to Uru City in the form of meat, fur, medicine, women, and..."
The captain swallowed hard and lowered his voice, "There are still able-bodied men of suitable age to be sent to the mines or gladiatorial camps."
A cold glint flashed in Lu Mingfei's eyes, and the surrounding air seemed to suddenly grow even colder.
The five people kneeling on the ground felt difficulty breathing, and their bodies trembled even more violently.
"Contact us as usual at sunset tomorrow." Lu Mingfei's voice carried an unquestionable command. "Tell your superiors that everything in Willow Village is normal, understand?"
"Understood! Understood! We understand! We will do as you say! We will not dare to make any mistakes!" The captain and the other four men were overjoyed and kowtowed repeatedly to make their promises.
"Go and clean up." Lu Mingfei stopped looking at them and turned his gaze to the old willow tree swaying in the cold wind at the entrance of the village.
"Yes! Yes!" The five men scrambled to their feet and frantically tried to drag Witt's enormous headless corpse away, their movements filled with the urgency and fear of surviving a catastrophe.
Lu Mingfei lightly leaped off the snow wolf's back and walked into Willow Village.
The snow wolves remained lying prostrate on the ground, whimpering, not daring to move.
He walked to the old village chief's house and pushed the door open.
In the dim light, there were three people inside the room...
The old village chief, Sheena, and Tiel, who was standing expressionless in the corner, all immediately looked at him.
Sheena's eyes were wide open, filled with fear and lingering dread. Clearly, she had seen the commotion at the village entrance and the brief battle through the crack in the door.
The old village chief's cloudy eyes gleamed with an extremely complex light, a mixture of shock, anticipation, and a burning desire for revenge that had been dormant for forty years.
"Resolved?" Tiel spoke first, his golden eyes fixed on Lu Mingfei, the previous confusion gone, replaced by solemnity and scrutiny.
"How do you plan to 'change the world'? With these few cowardly good-for-nothings?" Her tone was skeptical, clearly not believing that these patrolmen could accomplish anything significant.
Lu Mingfei did not answer Tier directly, but looked at the old village chief and calmly asked:
"Village chief, how much do you know about Uru City's current defense system, troop distribution, power structure, and... Cohen himself?"
Tell me everything, no matter how trivial the rumor or how distant the information.
The old village chief's face, covered in wrinkles and creases, twitched slightly.
He leaned on his cane and slowly walked to the stone table and sat down. His dim eyes were filled with the dust of time and deep-seated hatred.
“My lord…” His voice was hoarse and slow, yet it carried a power that was about to burst forth, “Although I have been hiding in this place for forty years, I was not the only one who escaped back then.”
“Some of my old friends are still struggling to survive in more remote places, and we keep in touch occasionally.”
"Regarding that city, and that usurper's lackey, I can still piece together some vague images."
Lu Mingfei sat down on another stone bench, his gaze focused.
Sheena held her breath and listened intently.
Chapter 202 The Flames of Resistance
Tier looked at Lu Mingfei:
"Since you want to know about Uru City, why don't you just ask those five people? They know much more details than the village chief's hearsay."
She paused for a moment, her tone cautious:
"Furthermore, you let them leave and allowed them to continue contacting Uru City as usual. Aren't you afraid they'll immediately report your news?"
"Once the other side knows your intentions, they will definitely launch a full-scale attack, and we will be in a very passive position."
Lu Mingfei looked up from his reverie and calmly met Tiel's questioning gaze.
"A test."
"A test?" Teal frowned, clearly puzzled.
Testing the patrol's loyalty? That's pointless; their fears have already said it all.