At the same time that Dadalia released the whirlpool demon Osel, Huai'an and Jiang Xue rushed to Qingce Village with three Qianyan Army squadrons, and were instantly shocked by the disaster scene in front of them.
The originally beautiful and neat crops were trampled into disarray, and the flames that could not be extinguished by the rain slowly burned along the buildings. The doors of the houses were open, and the footprints in front of the houses were messy. The waterwheels that irrigated the farmland seemed to have been damaged in the chaos, completely. Stop spinning.
Wolf smoke was everywhere in the mountains, and the pouring rain covered up the traces of the retreat of the villagers on the mountain road, and also diluted the horse hoof prints of the cavalry formation entering the bamboo forest path.
"The 1st and 2nd Squadron followed Jiang Xue, and the three of them spread out in groups to search for the location of the villagers and enemies."
"The others come with me to the watchtower."
Huaian frowned and said to Jiang Xue, who was still thinking.
He had served in the Qianyan Army for decades and was well aware of the distribution of outposts and watchtowers in Qingce Village.
Although he deliberately erased his military aura for the sake of his identity as the innkeeper, his experience and strength will not be easily worn away by time.
At this critical moment, he, who was born in the army, immediately arranged tasks for everyone, and then led a few Qianyan Army soldiers towards the watchtower at the highest point of Qingce Village.
Then they saw a scene they would never forget.
The watchtower under the heavy rain was completely burned into ruins by the flames. Dozens of Qianyan troops guarding Qingce Village fell on the ridge. The puddles formed by the heavy rain were stained with blood, and broken leather armor and weapons were everywhere.
In the middle of the ridge path next to the watchtower, half-kneeling was an officer of the Qianyan Army holding half a spear. The bloody spear penetrated his chest. He had obviously been dead for a long time.
However, this officer still insisted on the integrity of the Qianyan Army. Before he died, he used his broken weapon to support his body, blocking the enemy's path, and looked at the mountains in the distance with wide eyes.
That's probably the direction from which the enemy will attack.
"Isn't that Chief Economic Officer?!"
"And Ayang, Yunjiang..."
In the Qianyan Army Squadron, soldiers who knew each other recognized each other based on the only remaining characteristics of the body, and then gritted their teeth and looked for a nameplate engraved with identity information.
After confirming that nothing was missing, the squadron leader came to Huaian who looked ashen.
"The Qingcezhuang Standing Patrol Squadron has a total of eighteen people, including one officer. Except for Hua Qing and Dahuang, they are missing. All the other soldiers...were all killed in the battle."
The squadron leader reported the casualties to Huai'an in the loudest voice.
Although Hua Qing and Dahuang were not found, everyone felt that they had also died in the battle, but their bodies could not be found.
After all, with such a rare violent storm and the collapse of rocks, the possibility of being buried is not small.
All the Qianyan troops who came for support looked solemn. After the captain finished speaking, they held their spears with both hands and slammed them to the ground to pay tribute to their deceased predecessors.
"Thousands of rocks are solid, and the mountains will never move!"
Seeing the tragic death of their colleagues in the battle, the Qianyan Army members later felt all kinds of complicated feelings welling up in their hearts, but no one backed down out of fear.
After a brief silence, Huai'an began to direct the soldiers to collect the remains of the heroes that could be found at the moment.
Only then did he realize that there were only the bodies of Liyue soldiers on the entire battlefield.
After he saw the beacon fire in the corridor of Wangshu Inn, he immediately led his troops to support him. The journey only took less than half an hour, and the enemy had already ended the battle like a ghost.
Judging from the deep horse hoof prints in the shelter, this was a cavalry unit of no less than a thousand men, even equipped with powerful heavy armor.
As far as he knew, Mondstadt, the Pearl of the North, the free country closest to Qingce Village, did not have such a well-equipped cavalry unit.
Especially the captain of the cavalry from a foreign country is more like an honorary title.
"Huai'an, soldiers reported that all the ships transporting daily supplies at Zhulin Pier have been driven away."
Jiang Xue tightened the canes of the coir raincoat and pressed the bamboo hat down to prevent it from being overturned by the strong wind.
The mysterious guy who originally only knew how to fish rarely became serious and gave a coherent analysis.
"The Qianyan Army searched all the houses but could not find the missing villagers. I am afraid they have been taken away as prisoners by the enemy..."
"impossible!"
Huai'an shook his head resolutely and retorted, carefully recalling the data he saw in Phil Godette's account book.
"There are eleven cargo ships parked in Qingce Village for a long time. They can't hold more than a thousand people, not to mention hundreds of useless old and young people."
He led Jiang Xue to the nearest house, pointing to the open drawers and cabinets in the house as he spoke.
"You see, although these houses are in chaos, it doesn't look like they were robbed. Rather, it looks like the owners are packing their belongings in a hurry and trying to escape."
Looking in the direction of Huai'an's finger, Jiang Xue discovered that the door locks of the house were indeed not damaged by brute force, but were instead opened with keys.
"The old people and children in the village must still be hiding somewhere, maybe it's the emergency shelter in Qingce Village."
Huai'an looked at the suspension bridge under the terraced fields in the distance, folding his arms and thinking.
More importantly, report the information here to Lord Ningguang as quickly as possible.
"Don't miss any trace. We must dig deep to find the villagers."
Huai'an just stood in the heavy rain, looking up at the sky, and moved the fingers on his elbows.
Among the busy Qianyan Army, a soldier who was paying close attention to Huai'an's movements rolled his eyes, found the opportunity to sneak into a corner where no one was paying attention, and quietly called the bird specially conveyed information.
In the hidden cave under Qingcezhuang Waterfall, dozens of people who had fled were hiding here.
At this moment, Hua Qing was secretly detecting the enemy at the entrance of the cave, and led Ah Zhi back to the cave quietly.
There were several torches burning on the ground. The extremely weak light of the fire was swaying and seemed to be extinguished soon. Around the fire sat the elderly and children with their backs to the rock statue.
Theoretically, these rock statues can be activated by the power of rock elements, but there is no one among them who holds the Eye of God.
Seeing Hua Qing return safely, the wrinkled faces of the old people relaxed a little.
The enemies they encountered in the village before were unimaginable to ordinary people like them. Even these old people who had lived for most of their lives and had seen the world had to worry.
"There's not much movement outside. I guess the cavalry didn't notice this place."
Hua Qing carefully helped Ah Zhi grind the medicinal materials, and then told everyone about the situation outside.
"Okay, okay, as long as I don't chase you..."
Grandma Ruoxin nodded with lingering fear.
Hearing Hua Qing's words, the old people breathed a sigh of relief, and even the children regained some vitality and began to play in the cave.
The elders in the clan were just about to tell the children to keep their voices down when several calls suddenly came from outside the cave.
"Chief Ruoxin!"
Jiang Xue's voice.
"Uncle Kai, Xiaoliu, where are you?"
These were the voices of the remaining Qianyan Army.
The old people who heard the shouts were ready to respond, but it was unknown which child triggered what mechanism, and a strange sound of mechanical creations rotating came from deep in the cave.
"boom!"
A collapse sound louder than the sound of mechanical operation reached everyone's ears, followed by the sound of a giant falling to the ground.
The deep cave shook a few times, and gravel and dust fell one after another.
"Get out quickly!"
Ruoxin hurriedly called for everyone to leave the cave, but several ruin hunters had already appeared in front of the villagers waving rusty blades.
"Chief Ruoxin..."
Hearing the noise, Jiang Xue broke into the cave carrying a bamboo hat and happened to meet the villagers.
"no need to worry."
"Close your eyes and stand back."
Jiang Xue stared at the relic hunters who were ready to go and waved her hands indifferently.
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