Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland

"Anti-slavery" is not a generalization of them by outsiders, but what these people originally called themselves.

As can be seen from the name, the object of their resistance is directed at the foundation of the United Cities - slavery.

Such a straightforward organization name.

It seems that its founder has never thought of hiding his purpose, or even bothers to hide it.

Highlight a straightforward thinking.

Unlike the Holy Kingdom, which is an open enemy, United City conceals the existence of the anti-slavery groups as much as possible, and ordinary civilians know nothing about their organization, scale, and purpose.

Miyu's own experience is the best proof.

Therefore, she initially thought that these people were just a small group of bandits, and the threat was completely incomparable with the peasant rebellion in the northern part of the empire.

But it was only after the actual investigation that Miyu discovered it.

On the United City's most wanted list, three of the top ten people with the highest reward amounts were anti-slavery people, second only to the Holy Empire.

There may even be more, which Miu cannot verify.

In the past, United City officials never pointed out the relationship between these characters.

This makes civilians think that they are independent murderers who commit crimes separately, and it is difficult to associate them together.

In the past few years, there have been many slave manors, riots in mines, and the assassinations of many nobles... now connected, they are all likely to be related to anti-slavery people.

Their activities even further increased the division between the north and the south of the empire.

It can be said that the emergence of anti-slavery people.

This is the biggest internal crisis that United City has faced since the Scarlet Rebellion.

Even Miyu doubted it.

Anti-slavery activities were not limited to Union City.

However, all this is too far away from Meiyu.

The reason why she investigated the anti-slavery people was not because she wanted to join them, let alone fight against the United Cities together.

Such a career is too illusory to be realized.

Although United Cities has various problems.

But none of this can shake the fact that it is still the most powerful country on the continent.

Putting aside the low-class civilians and slaves who are not human at all, Union City's economy is prosperous, its industries are developed, and even its technology is constantly advancing.

The daily life of a great nobleman is extravagant, and the daily expenses are more than the year-end celebration of the Holy Lord next door. Of course, this is also related to the Auckland Holy Church's requirement of frugality and abstinence.

In terms of military armed forces, after the baptism of the "Scarlet Rebellion", everyone in the United City nobles was in danger. Not only did they greatly expand the professional samurai troops that had existed since the founding of the country, but each great noble also cultivated a group of people who were against the class. The absolutely loyal elite hooded guards protect their private residences and cannot be easily mobilized even by the emperor.

Therefore, in the 'Wrath of God' ten years ago, although Buster City was destroyed, anyone with a discerning eye knew that United City was not damaged - there were more than a dozen such city-states.

The same loss was placed on the Holy Kingdom, that is, the destruction of the hub city, and the almost complete loss of the border land, forcing them to accept the armistice of the Kingdom of Shake.

Only because the Holy Kingdom occupies the most fertile land, its citizens are extremely fanatical, and the number of people participating in the battle is large, which cannot be compared with the levies recruited by Union City, the two sides fell into a tug of war.

Of course, the other way around.

The emperor of the United City had no authority, and the city-states were divided everywhere. They were never able to concentrate their efforts to launch a war. Although this preserved the strength of the core nobles to a certain extent, it only kept them on the defensive.

Not to mention, there is still Long En in United City today.

The president's entry into the imperial cabinet symbolizes the entire merchant guild's strong support for the empire.

But under the hands of this untitled noble, the fragmented city-states have a tendency to truly 'unify'.

It can be said that even United Cities seems to be full of mistakes.

However, its national destiny is still prosperous and prosperous.

In this case, facing such an enemy.

The anti-slavery people again seemed too small.

During her long escape, Meiyu had seen members of the anti-slavery groups beheaded or sold into slavery more than once.

She has no ability to save anyone, she is just an ordinary farmer.

All Miyu can do is not betray these people who broke the shackles.

And remember them.

And what she wants now is just to survive in this troubled world.

Meiyu has already discussed this with Ned, the current leader of the smugglers.

After selling all the furs this time, you can call it a day. You no longer have to wander into the Burning Forest. The money you saved can be used to buy another piece of land somewhere else.

In fact, the swamp is pretty good.

The water and soil here are abundant, the rain and heat are at the same time, and there are fertile fields and good seeds, which are most suitable for Meiyu to perform.

She had never seen such good natural conditions in Union City, even in the ancestral private property of the nobles, and had never cultivated such good land.

Farming is still suitable for me.

The group of people had been to the edge of this swamp several times, and became familiar with the local residents and gangs. They felt that everyone got along well with each other, and it was simply a land of freedom.

——This actually surprised Miyu, Ned and others at first.

This is not the same as the rumored swamp folk customs.

Maybe everyone has misunderstood it.

The cool rain and mist pulled Meiyu out of her memories.

Dimly, she heard the sound of rain.

What followed was a stinging pain all over his body and a hissing sound.

Acid rain!

"It's raining again!" Ned, the leader of the team, shouted quickly and called on everyone to run forward. "Fortunately, we are not far from Skinning Town, otherwise our group would have been trapped here..."

The dry wind blowing from Shen won't last long, with more rain and less sunshine. There is only a short window period to cross the Burning Forest, so few people can explore it deeply and can only take shortcuts.

Although the smugglers and their group were covered with leather rain gear, they still did not dare to neglect themselves at this moment.

They were considered a poor type of smugglers. None of their teams were equipped with beasts of burden. All they relied on were a pair of fleshy legs. If the soles of their feet were corroded by the leaked acid, they would not be able to walk and they would have to stay here and wait to die.

They ran quickly.

The fallen leaves underfoot, which had been corroded until only their appearance was left, were trampled into mud in an instant.

Soon, even people whose vision was not as good as Ned's could see the shadow of the city wall emerging from the rain and fog.

Everyone's spirits were lifted.

"There's someone ahead," Ned reminded.

Sure enough, in the haze, a row of people wearing generous bamboo hats gradually approached.

"It's the skinners." Meiyu also recognized it.

They are armed with long-handled plain knives and are well-trained. They are the guards of Skinned Town and members of the Skinned Gang.

The smugglers were not nervous.

The other party is also an old acquaintance.

It is said that there is a very powerful gang in the swamp, but they don't really believe it - when these people don't hold knives, they are no different from ordinary swamp people and farmers.

Seeing the guard, Ned pulled out a snow-white beak-billed orangutan skin with fur from his backpack, held it high in his hand and shouted to indicate his identity.

"Is it Ned?" The guard obviously recognized the fur in the smoke.

"Yes, long time no see!" Ned breathed out.

However, there was no response from the other side.

The smugglers didn't know why, so they came forward to negotiate.

"Stop!" A voice suddenly shouted from the front, "You can't come over."

"Friends, we are here to trade," Ned said in surprise: "It's still raining acid, where do you want me to go?"

Hear the words.

Meiyu glanced at the bamboo hats in the fog and seemed to pause for a moment.

"Sorry……"

Then, the previous guard spoke again: "Next, you should go further away."

"The further you run, the better."

There was something like regret in his voice.

It was not an apologetic regret, but like saying goodbye to a friend.

——Or farewell forever.

Hearing the other party's tone, the smugglers all felt a chill in their hearts.

what happened?

Now the acid rain is rising. They have just arrived here through the entire Burning Forest. They are hungry and tired. Apart from Skinning Town, there is no other shelter nearby.

Is this to let them die?

Ned didn't understand why the skinning people suddenly changed their attitude unlike the previous times.

He was about to ask, when suddenly the hair on his back stood up.

A sense of crisis came over me.

But not from the front, but from behind.

"Careful!" Ned turned around and roared.

But it was too late.

In his sight, he only had time to see a line of blood shoot out, splash in the smoke, and then shattered by the acid rain.

At the end of the team, a companion’s eyes widened and his neck was twisted to one side.

The blood bursts out from above.

His eyeballs were twitching, and it was clear that he had not completely expired.

But none of the smugglers just stepped forward to rescue him.

Because right next to him, there was a ferocious red figure. A pair of fangs penetrated his companion's neck fiercely, and he was still squirming and chewing, making a 'squeaking' sound.

It stands on four legs, as tall as a human, with a head like a baby.

"Spider, spider...?" someone screamed.

However, they had never seen a spider of this size.

This is a completely ferocious beast.

Many smugglers were so frightened that they collapsed on the spot.

He didn't even realize that his hand had been pressed into the acid.

"Run!" Meiyu reacted first.

She swung the backpack behind her, picked up a few of her companions and ran away.

Ordinary people like them are out and about.

When encountering any hostile creature, including humans, the only option is to escape.

But Miyu was quickly stunned.

Not far away, dense red shadows appeared.

They were not as tall as the first one, but they were still as tall as a man's knees.

What's more important is that there are so many of them that a swarm of them is enough to tear them all into pieces.

They have been surrounded.

On the other side, Ned had already taken one step ahead and arrived in front of Meiyu.

"Ned..." Meiyu was about to ask.

Ned pointed in the direction of Skinning Town.

Meiyu looked around and saw that in the direction of the original guards, there were many swords and halberds, showing a cold light. They had obviously set up a formation, and at their feet, various wooden horses and horses were placed, wrapped with iron wires.

They were prepared.

It turned out that these guards were not here to greet him.

But to deal with these monsters.

Screams and fighting sounds continued from behind, and Ned quickly said: "Run over there!"

The guards of Skinned Town formed a defensive line that would not allow anyone to climb over.

But no matter what, there is still a defensive force there.

The chances of survival are much higher.

Meiyu also understood this and quickly led the remaining smugglers to run towards the Skinning Town before the red monsters completely surrounded them.

"Blood spider..." Seeing this, the skinned man guard sighed.

These outside smugglers don't know how powerful the blood spider is.

Especially at the junction of swamps, burning forests, and southern wetlands, insect tides are more likely to overflow.

Otherwise, why would the dignified Skinner, one of the five major factions in the swamp, be dragged into such a border town and make a living by reselling some fur supplies?

At this point, they will not go out of their way to drive each other away.

But they, who have been guarding against the insect swarm, know it all too well.

It's too late now.

Sure enough, just as the woman was running towards this side, right in front of her, a red tail rope burst out from the ground like a spring, stirring up dead leaves everywhere.

The tail cord hit the woman's calf.

It was a small blood spider hiding on the surface. Even the Skinner couldn't guarantee that he could identify it, so he could only try not to stray too far from Skinner Town.

Miyu fell to the ground.

The companions around her tried to pull her up, but more small blood spiders appeared.

They can't kill with one hit, but they can still drag people until their 'brothers and sisters' arrive.

at this time.

The guard suddenly heard a sigh in his ears, hoarse and old.

He was stunned for a moment, then realized and quickly stopped him: "Don't..."

But before he finished speaking, a gray figure crossed the fence and broke through the air.

Almost in an instant, the figure crossed the distance between the skinned man and the smuggler.

Immediately afterwards, there was a sharp sword light.

Blood suddenly appears.

Before Meiyu and others could react, the small blood spiders on them exploded at the same moment.

The sticky body fluids swayed in the air, forming a beautiful arc.

Standing next to the smuggler was a thin old man wearing a bamboo hat and holding a broken long knife in his hand.

Acid rain washed on the knife, and green smoke came out.

"Don't... Big Gray..." The guard swallowed back his next words.

The leader of their skinners.

Big Gray.

"Are you okay, kid?" The old man looked at Meiyu beside him.

"Old man..."

Meiyu recognized the man. He was an old man who often fished in Peiping Town but was in the air force.

Why she knew was that when she came to town before, she was eager to try the fish in the swamp, but the fisherman could only smile to himself awkwardly and mention the empty basket.

But he actually has such strength?

There was no time to be surprised. She quickly looked behind her and shouted, "Ned!"

At the moment she fell, Meiyu saw that her companion Ned had been knocked down by another larger blood spider. The blood-red fangs and claws were about to disembowel Ned and drag out his intestines.

If she witnessed this scene, it would probably become an unforgettable nightmare for Miu.

But at this distance, no matter how fast the old man was, he still wouldn't be able to save Ned in time.

"Don't be afraid." Big Gray held his sword in front of them.

With his sight, he could just see it.

Just when the blood spider was about to stab, a powerful crossbow arrow penetrated from its back mouth and directly penetrated its skull.

The bug's body lay on top of Ned.

The face of the smuggler leader still had an expression of fear between life and death. He was gasping for air and was in shock. He didn't recover for a long time.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"Long time no see," the old man's eyes narrowed, but he laughed, "Green!"

"Long time no see, old man." The crossbow-wielding worker bee in the distance replied in a distant voice.

What followed was the constant sound of crossbow arrows piercing the air.

Most blood spiders are small and fast, making them extremely difficult to shoot, so skinners would rather take risks and fight them in principle.

But listening to the sound of the carapace shattering, the worker bees were hit one after another.

Big Gray didn't have time to pay attention to his old friend.

"Young man, be careful!" he shouted.

I saw two figures standing not far behind Cang Cui, one big and one small, with each other's horns.

They were wearing full rain gear, hiding their appearance, and were already surrounded by all kinds of blood spiders.

The remaining smugglers who had no time to retreat gathered together.