The Conqueror Isn't Alone

Lu Bu hurried back to his house, took out a clean outer garment, and spread it on the

It is used as a burden on the couch.

With a glance, he took a few inconspicuous small gold ornaments from the shelf beside him, and took a change of clothes, which were stuffed bulgingly.

Sac, slipped a bag, and then swung it on the back neatly.

He was about to leave the bedroom door, when he suddenly remembered something, he couldn't help but slapped his forehead, and hurriedly stretched his waist

The Dragon Yuan Sword was untied.

In order to prevent people from seeing him at a glance, he deliberately used a pillow to cover it up.

After getting his luggage ready, Lu Bu pondered

There was still some time left, and I felt that it was not very kind to take a step first, so I decided to leave a letter for that foolish old man who knows how to seek soldiers but does not know how to seek himself.

In this letter, he

Since I couldn't figure out the reason why Dao left Chu, after a lot of hard thinking, I could only grit my sore teeth and write along the old man Fan's nonsense: "Now the overall situation is settled, and the world is safe and sound."

Steady...Bu is willing to save people from danger, to be in urgent need of others, and to avoid people's reputation, to be beautiful...Only at this time when you retire with success, can you refuse His Majesty's deep love...Brother has a great talent, but

Great Chu is waiting to be revived, Your Majesty is short of talented people to use, my brother is certainly talented, but you should show more, so that Your Majesty will know..."

After writing this, Lu Bu is after all

Unwilling to take revenge for not being able to kill Liu Mouse with his own hands, he added a sentence below: "Butong and Liu Banghuai have a mortal hatred, but it is a pity that you can't avenge it with your own hands.

I ask my elder brother to help Bu Dai, go to Bashu to defeat Liu, and behead his head to clear up this old grudge..."

In addition, Lu Bu was afraid that if he said too much, it would be easy to reveal his secrets, so he had to promptly

Received the pen.

He thought about his own study, which he only enters and exits when the servant sweeps it. Even if it is left to dry first, it should not attract too much attention.

Then will

The bamboo slips, which are full of ink marks waiting to dry, are spread out on the low table, and they are ready to be thrown away.

The servants who were busy saw General Lu coming out with arrogance, and all bowed down to salute

Let go, since no one has noticed that the Long Yuan Sword that he never leaves his body is missing from his waist.

Lu Bu did not meet the slightest obstacle, and after a while, he rode on the jade lion and walked out freely.

House.

When he stood in front of the jade lion, no one was still struggling with the point of "riding or not" for a long time.

Let's talk about riding, this pure white horse without a single hair

It's too eye-catching, but why don't you ride... Wouldn't it mean that you have worked for this Han Dibai for more than two years, but in the end you didn't get any benefits!

Thinking of this, Lu Bu suddenly angrily followed

Feeling courageous, without hesitation, he stepped on the jade lion that was already in high spirits, one person and one horse galloped out at high speed.

It's just that when he really got outside the gate of the mansion, Lu

Facing the street full of people coming and going, Bu froze on his horse, motionless, his eyes dazed.

The world is vast and the world is at peace.

But his strand of hundreds of years later

The souls of the dead... where should they go?

Unaware of the person on the back suddenly feeling melancholy, the jade lion waited patiently for a while, but still did not receive any further instructions from Lu Bu.

He couldn't help breathing heavily through his nose, stretched his neck and twisted back, blinking his black right eyeball, staring suspiciously at his wooden figure-like master.

Lu Bu still didn't respond, but Jade Lion couldn't wait.

An old horse knows the way, not to mention such a humane horse like it?

It turned its head back and looked left and right

, simply took the initiative to raise his foot, and walked towards the familiar Han Xin's mansion.

Lu Bu was still immersed in an unprecedented faint sadness, until he was led out by the jade lion who sneaked away.

After a long distance, he reined in and stopped the horse belatedly.

If you really want to walk to Brother Cheap's house, that's fine!

Although the Jade Lion who is presumptuous is stopped

, Lu Bu looked at the rush of people in front of him, and always felt a little restless.

He thought rationally that he would retire after his accomplishments and not corrupt officials, even the prime minister who came to his door

The post was also rejected, not a vegetarian meal, and he was even more sage than that sage, which is really cheaper for that idiot-after all, Confucius, an old man, still talks about "buy it, let it go

!I treated Jia Zhe like that trick, but he really has nothing to do except this jade lion and a few worthless gold ornaments!

Besides, that Handi and Fan Laoer

I don't know why he was confused and had a sudden whim, and wanted to put him, a martial artist who only knew how to fight, in the terrible position of the prime minister... besides him, there are also hundreds of people in the world who have been harmed.

Surname?

He was impatient to waste his poor brain all day long, selling his life for that idiot;

New, poor people who lead them to live a good life.

It was supposed to be the best of both worlds, but Lu Bu always felt vaguely that the idiot realized that he was so ignorant.

After promoting and leaving Chu, I am afraid that not only will he not feel happy, but he will even lose his temper.

When he remembered that that bastard Xiang Bo betrayed him that day, instead of being overwhelmed by finding out the traitor, he

He was in a good mood, but on the contrary he showed a dejected look... Maybe he would feel a little bit sad when he left.

Lu Bu became more and more worried.

I don't know yet

Where to go, but the boiling water named Prime Minister is almost pouring on his head, he can't just because...that idiot won't leave!

Thinking of the cheap brother, he has no job for the time being

Lu Bu couldn't help shivering as he was still in his body, writing military books at his desk every day, and still seemed contented with himself.

Damn it!

Lu Bu thought about it, but he didn't know why.

Annoyed: I am not the blood relative of that idiot, even if that idiot is sad and angry, what does that have to do with him!

His complexion is unpredictable, and finally he freezes on perseverance

.

As for where to go...

Jing had been thinking wildly for a while, but an inspiration flashed through him, telling him to make up his mind.

——Xiapi.

Lu Buxin

She knew clearly that she had always been brooding about her death in her previous life.

Seeing that the besieged on all sides became Zhao Ge on all sides, the haze was swept away from that idiot's head, and now his spirit

Fengfa's appearance inevitably moved him.

As for what to do after going to Xiapi, he is only going to think about it, and he has no specific plan yet.

no matter what

, It's better than the goddamn busy prime minister!

Lu Bu has always been a quick-tempered person who said that the wind is the rain. With a certain idea, he turned his horse's head and drove towards the east gate without haste.

Seeing that the person who came out of the city was riding a jade lion, the most beloved general of His Majesty Lu Bu, the guards at the city gate hurriedly bowed down to salute, so how could they dare to stop him and ask questions ignorantly.

Lu Buchang

He left the city without hindrance, and was about to go to the official road while no one noticed that he was leaving, when he suddenly remembered something.

Thanks to Lao Tzu's good memory, otherwise I would almost ask that guy to pick it up for nothing.

Life of a dog!

Lu Bu narrowed his tiger eyes slightly, and quickly formed an idea in his mind.

After half a cup of tea, the camp of the Chu army stationed on the outskirts of the city suddenly ushered in a group of people who had recently persuaded them to enter with their first words.

The matter, and the famous Lu Da Sima.

The guards were staring at the tall figure on the jade lion in a daze, before Lu Bu could react lazily in the future: "

Call Nalu Matong to come out. "

He gave the order suddenly, but the guards did not dare to neglect.

After a while, Lu Matong, who was also confused, came out of the camp in a hurry.

"I've seen Sima Lu."

He hastily bowed in salute.

Lu Bu said calmly: "Get up, find a horse, and follow Ben to leave the customs."

As soon as this word comes out,

Everyone's eyes on Lu Matong changed in an instant - this fellow has no reputation, how can his life be so good?Without making a sound, he actually got Lu Da Sima's favor!

I don't know Lu

What Bu moved was not at all a desire to reuse and promote him, but on the contrary, he had a strong desire to kill him.

Lu Matong didn't know that his death was approaching, so on the spot

He stared wide-eyed, flattered and raised his head to look at Lu Da Sima who had only met once during the promotion banquet that day, when he traveled thousands of miles and broke through Chen Yu alone.

Lu Bu is impatient

Annoyed: "What are you doing in a daze?"

Being urged by this, Lu Matong didn't dare to hesitate, didn't dare to ask the reason, he just quickly searched for the horse, and hurriedly followed.

he thought it was true

There is a good opportunity to make meritorious service, and I take the initiative to come to the door, and my heart is inexplicably excited.

The two had different thoughts, one in front and one behind, and soon they were able to walk tens of miles in silence.

Lu Bu is always the same

He didn't say a word, his expression was indifferent.

Lu Matong felt excited at first, but later wanted to flatter him, but unexpectedly Lu Bu's face was cold, so he quietly retreated.

just when he didn't know what

It was time to get to the place, and when it was inevitable that he was a little anxious, Lu Bu stopped his horse suddenly, and said indifferently, "That's it."

here?

Lu Matong also reined subconsciously, feeling helpless.

Look around.

This place is located on the most remote part of the official road, with no villages or shops in front of it, and because the sky is getting dark, there are not even passers-by in twos and threes.

Why did Sima Lu bring him here?

Lu Matong swallowed quietly, for some reason, a ray of uneasiness suddenly appeared in his heart...

Lu Bu ignored him thinking

What, he directly took down the long sword at his waist, but did not draw it out of its sheath in a hurry, and asked slowly, "What do you think this is?"

Lu Matong was slightly taken aback, then fixed his eyes

, easily recognized that this was not the great king's sword Ryuyeon, he couldn't help showing hesitation, and said honestly: "Subordinate...don't know."

"It's right not to know."

Lub

There is no warmth in the eyes, but the corners of the mouth are slightly raised, pulling out a cold smile: "This is Lao Tzu's dog-butcher knife!"

——The next moment, the long sword was unsheathed.

吕

The horse boy was stunned.

It's a pity that he didn't have the chance to figure out the meaning of these words.

There was a "swish" sound of a long sword unsheathed in my ear, sharp

The sound of breaking through the air was followed by a silver light, and the terrible pain on the neck followed.

Lu Matong's head flew out suddenly, his face was frozen at the last moment of astonishment, he couldn't die

Rest in peace.

After cutting off the opponent's head neatly with a sword, Lu Bu didn't even wrinkle his brows, and didn't even look at the fallen corpse, and returned the sword to the scabbard neatly.

But it's not very proud to kill a minion who sees the wind and waves.

Ever since he found out about Lu Matong's identity that day, he never thought of letting go of that idiot who was at a loss.

The shameless hyena that bit the hardest... Even though Lu Matong was always well-behaved because of the strength of Chu State at this time, he never betrayed him.

If only

Like the cheap old brother Han Xin, at first he voted for others because of his lack of talent, and later defeated Xiang Yu head-on with his real talents and learning, and in the end he was even killed by Liu Mouse.

It's just the same misery, that's all.

However, Lu Matong clearly knew that the idiot with eyes above the top politely called him an "old friend", but in the end he made the most of the trouble, and he was still

Seriously hold the foolish head that was "gifted", and make that Liu mouse seal the marquis, and live a chic and happy life!

"I'm cleaning up the door for that idiot... Lao Lu's house.

household! "

Who let this despicable villain dare to be surnamed Lu after doing such a low-level thing?

He even lost his old face!

What he did to kill that adoptive father

, although it can't be said to be glorious... But in the end, the other party treated him with violence and insults first, and he was full of evil in the world. He eliminated harm for himself and the people, and he can be called a master.

name!

If you still have to be scruples in normal times, now that everyone else is leaving anyway, you might as well do one last good thing for that idiot.

Lu Bu snorted contemptuously.

He believed that he had eliminated the last hidden danger lurking around Hanzi, so he calmly suppressed the inexplicable and strange feeling in his heart, and continued walking towards Hangu Pass.

第 78

chapter

The news of Lu Bu abandoning his official position and leaving has not yet reached Hangu Pass.

The guards at Hangu Pass saw a jade and snow horse, and a tall and mighty horse sat on it.

Young general, even if the other party doesn't have the two well-known pheasant tail feathers on his crown, how can he not recognize him!

Although they don't understand how Lu Da Sima in Xianyang City is alone

He was about to go out of the gate, but facing such a powerful person who can even rush into the palace of the king, how dare he ask more questions.

Before people reach the threshold, they automatically realize

Let the door be wide open, and let it go.

Seeing this scene, Lu Bu, whose mood was always inexplicably depressed, couldn't help but twitched the corners of his mouth and frowned.

——Under the Han Emperor

There are simple soldiers in the net, but I don't know what to be vigilant about!

Why did the general leave the customs without a reason, without even asking a question?

In the future, if there are really people who are uneasy and kind, betray Chu and leave the customs, just like this

If you relax, there is no guarantee for the safety of Xianyang City!

Lu Busi became more and more dissatisfied at this point, and couldn't help raising his head and glaring at the guards on the wall.

Although far away

Far away, that scorching gaze and stern and hostile face still made the latter tremble.

They couldn't move any faster, why did they still annoy Sima Lu?

?

They didn't understand at all, and Lu Bu didn't know where the evil fire in his belly came from, so he lowered his face and rushed out of the pass aggressively.

Although the Jade Lion can travel a thousand times a day

However, it is rare to have the opportunity to run with all four hooves and run to exhaustion.

It doesn't know the complicated situation, let alone the delicate state of mind of the person on its back, it just acts as usual

Usually go out to fight, gallop like flying, leap like a dragon, happy and free like a wild horse.

So ten days passed in a blink of an eye, and Lu Bu went west all the way, unexpectedly

Go out of Guanzhong, pass through Luoyang, cross Hanoi, pass through Waihuang, pass through Xiayi, pass through Pengcheng...and arrive at Xiapi City without hindrance.

Lu Bu, who had been absent-minded all this time, only slightly

slightly touched.

This xiapi is not the xiapi he is familiar with.

There is no such thing as Lu Fengxian, who is known as a herdsman for a while, and there is no such thing as the black-hearted Cao traitor.

One stroke of flooding disaster...

The city of Xiapi hundreds of years ago was obviously lucky, it was not affected by the previous continuous war, and it was bustling with people coming and going.

Lu Bu quietly looked at the crowded city gate, with dark light in his eyes.

He remembered how he wanted to show off his intentions to Gao Shun and Chen Gong when he took over the city in the early days.

vigorous;

He thought of the flames of war outside and the precariousness of Xiapi. He was devastated by this, but he was helpless and embarrassed;

He also remembered starvation everywhere,

The hesitant and fearful faces of the officers and men, the expressions of anxious wives and concubines...

However, looking around, it is full of strangers.

Seeing how the people live and work in peace and contentment,

Hundreds of feelings surged in his heart, and finally turned into confusion with nowhere to go.

He failed to give the people of Xiapi a stable life, but Hanzi did.

he failed

There was turmoil in the peaceful world, and the princes who could not be suppressed rose together, and the fool did it.

The only thing left is this lonely wisp of him that vaguely came from hundreds of years ago.

Can fight, don't know where to go, and where to go!

After a long time, Lu Bu gave a silent sneer, finally turned his horse's head and left calmly.

Just after these ten days

After Yi Jiye's wild gallop, Lu Bu could bear it, but the jade lion couldn't.

It was still alive and kicking a few days ago, but now it is exhausted.

Leaving Xiapi City

After that, one person and one rider didn't go far, and no matter how much Lu Bu urged, it remained motionless, and pretended to be focused on gnawing grass roots.

Lu Bu urged it

A few times, seeing that it couldn't move anymore, I changed my mind.

He didn't want to enter Xiapi City, but the nearby Huaiyin City didn't get in the way.

Wait, Huaiyin?

吕

Bu frowned.

For some reason, he always found this place so familiar.

After thinking for a moment with a blank face, Lu Bu suddenly slapped his thigh, and finally remembered!

Huaiyin City—isn't it the place where his cheap old brother suffered the humiliation of being drilled into the bottom of his crotch!

As soon as this memory surfaced, Lu Bu's eyes were a little bit confused just now.

It was swept away in an instant, and replaced by vigorous fighting spirit.

If he hadn't forgotten, Han Xin, that idiot who suffered such a great shame and great humiliation, returned to his hometown after gaining power, and did not go back to the past.

The enemy dismantled all the pieces, so that he could vent the anger he had been holding back for so many years.

Instead, he was taken advantage of by repaying grievances with virtue, and instead made that turtle grandson a high-ranking official!

He narrowed his tiger eyes slightly, contemplating for a long time.

What exactly he figured out, no one knows.

But after making up his mind, the corners of Lu Bu's mouth curved slightly, revealing a

A cruel smile full of malice.

But he said that the reason why Zhen Er was named Er was because he had an elder brother on his head.

With him running rampant in the countryside, how many villagers are afraid

What's different from his somewhat publicity style is that Zhen Dawai is honest and honest, and he is a dutiful person who supports his family by farming.

It's just that there have been many wars in recent years, and there is no

The land can be planted safely, so that the food, drink and flowers of the several families all fall on Zhen Er, who beats up gamblers, drunkards, and submissively, so it is not easy to be arrogant to him

Play tricks.

Now that the world is finally settled, Zhen Da can be considered to be able to pick up the business of farming, so he can't help but discipline his younger brother who has eaten his last meal and hasn't finished his meal.

However Zhen

The second is used to being arrogant and domineering, and because of his big arms and round waist and his fierce face, he can be called a universal response in Huaiyin City. Those troublesome local ruffians are all

Bow to him.

Now this big brother is cowardly and timid, but he is made to follow suit, how can he listen patiently!

So today there was another disagreement, and he was very angry.

He slammed the door and went out to the market.

Seeing Zhen Er's gloomy face, his minions didn't dare to talk nonsense, lest he would suffer disaster.

Only unlucky to be passed by him

Those restaurants: usually only need to make a small fortune to eliminate disasters, but now even the customers have been scared away by the rogue leader, and they dare not speak out.

Zhen Er Zhengxin

When he was upset, a brother suddenly came to him to talk, holding a shiny and fine gold leaf in his hand: "Second brother, look at this! There is a fat sheep looking for you to be a college student."

meaning! "

Although Zhen Er claimed to have seen many things in the world, where did he come out of Huaiyin City?Seeing such exquisite gold leaves at first glance, I immediately looked straight at it, and snatched it away.

come over.

He squinted his eyes and stared at the sunlight carefully for a long time, reluctant to bite his teeth, but just looking at this exquisite appearance, he could tell whether it was real or not.

He suppresses the greed in his heart

, urged: "Where did it come from?"

Seeing that his mood improved, all the subordinates breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly explained the reason.

It turns out that there is a perennial outside the city

The horse dealer in the village was robbed by bandits running around on the way, not only the hired laborers were killed, but all the goods were lost.

now to re-hire labor with him

After going out to sell horses, when he went to the nearby Huaiyin City to inquire, he learned the name of Zhen Er.

Zhen Er carefully held the gold leaf in his hand, and reluctantly moved it away for a long while.

Open your eyes: "This thing...how much can that person give?"

"That man looks tall and strong, and he rides a very good horse, so the reward must be quite a lot," said the man.

After thinking about it carefully for a while, he said firmly: "And when he took out this golden leaf, he accidentally exposed an inch of the scene in the bag, but it is a golden piece!"

anyway they

There are many people, but the other party is just a lonely person... Even though he has an extraordinary bearing and strives for the power of the crowd, he is not afraid of his bad faith.

If one day there is a disagreement, they will

Even if that person is killed and all the property is robbed, no one in the world will know.

Zhen Er naturally thought of this too.

He didn't hesitate any more, he dragged the man and urged: "

Hurry up and lead the way! "

When Zhen Erchu heard the words 'a man tall and a big man', he actually didn't take it seriously in his heart.

He is seven feet tall, although he can't be called extraordinarily tall

, but he was born with great strength and burly, and he is very proud of it on weekdays.

What's the use of being taller?

Thinking back then and the recently famous Han

The general with the same name, but without the slightest trace of blood, the wimpy Han Xin who can endure humiliation from the crotch, was born to be eight feet long!

There are more than a dozen gangsters in Zhen Er's party, and all of them are ordinary.

A good hand who bullies the villagers every day and is domineering, so that passers-by on the road avoid him one after another.

Seeing everyone dodging, Zhen Er and his party were even more proud, shaking their heads

He only nodded at the guards he knew, and went straight out of the city even after saying hello.

Follow the direction guided by his subordinates, and sure enough, he didn't go very far.

Seeing an extraordinary horse with a snow-white body.

Rao Zhen Er, who knows nothing about the good and bad of horses, can tell at a glance that this determination is rare in the world.

good horse!

Although there was no one on the horse, I don't know where the trader who wanted to hire them on this long trip went, but just looking at the appearance of this white horse, Zhen Er will tell him what happened just now.

That set of rhetoric is completely believed.

"All here?"

When Zhen Ershang was staring at the horse in a daze, a deep voice suddenly came from behind.

Since leaving the customs, Lu

Bu then took off his general-style clothes, and changed into a riding outfit that was convenient for action. Now he was clean and neat, with only a sword on his waist. His face was indifferent, but his aura overshadowed him.

Zhen Er, who organized a group of more than a dozen people.

Zhen Er's eyes were shocked, and he didn't answer for a while.

When he looked at it for the first time, only two sentences came to his mind.

—

- This man is so tall!Such a young age!

I only blame him for passing on the word to that brother, and only Xiaoyong used the phrase 'he is tall and big'.

The person in front of me roughly scans, at least there are

Nine feet long, with slender hands and feet, and a vigorous figure. Although he is a practicing family at first glance, he is more than what can be summed up in just four words!

What shocked Zhen Er even more was that this man was dressed in

The imposing manner is terrifying, but the face is only the age of the crown.

Lv Bu didn't know that the vicious energy he condensed from licking blood with the blade of his knife and conquering the battlefield for more than [-] years was not at all.

It wasn't something he could easily restrain himself if he wanted to.

Although Zhen Er and his party don't have much experience, they have been able to run around in this countryside for many years without incident.

Harmful instinct.

As soon as their eyes fell on Lu Bu, they couldn't restrain their fear, and they had completely retreated.

but they don't know

However, Lu Bu never planned to do business with them from the beginning to the end.

What I want is to take advantage of their greed, deceive them all, and catch them all in one go.

He went to catch them one by one.

Not to mention the time-consuming and labor-intensive effort, there is no guarantee that the caught fish will be left behind.

Under everyone's terrified gaze, Lu Bu lowered his eyes,

He pulled out the long sword in a hurry, raised his eyebrows, and let out a soft "heh" on the edge of the sword.

A faint white mist appeared on the blade, slightly reflecting the eyes full of hostility.

versus

At the same time, Lu Bu raised his eyes slightly, his tiger eyes fixed on the unpredictable Zhen Er, and asked lazily, "Zhen Er...do you still remember Han Xin?"

this

As soon as the words came out, the complexions of Zhen Er and his party changed suddenly!

They couldn't figure it out, the person in front of them wasn't looking for them to discuss business at all, he was clearly here to replace the crotch man

Seeking revenge!

Even if they know rationally that they are numerous and powerful, there is no need to be afraid of this foreigner who is weak and weak.

——But when this remark suddenly came out, they subconsciously

But there is no fighting spirit in the consciousness, only the word "run" is left!

"Do you still want to run?"

Lu Bu snorted lightly, his eyes were wide open.

The long sword under his hand is as fast as lightning,

Like a swimming fish, it stabs forward in an instant!

If these gangsters were allowed to escape, he would no longer have the face of Lu Wenhou in the world!

The white mist breathed out by him completely

Before it was all gone, there was a sudden sound of a knife cutting into flesh and blood.

"beg--"

Zhen Er's scalp was numb, and the words of begging for mercy came to his lips, a heart-piercing pain

It hit from the neck!

He didn't even have time to let out a miserable howl before he was overtaken by the evil god behind him in one step, and cut off his head cleanly with a sword.

from

Zhen Er's recent gangsters were splashed all over by the warm bright red liquid, and their legs and feet suddenly became weak, and they couldn't run anymore.

Although they have no shortage of fish and meat in the village, but at most

That is, punching, kicking, deliberately humiliating, never have I seen such a terrifying battle of killing people without blinking an eye!

Lu Bu didn't care if they ran or not.

He trusts

He drew out his long sword, not in a hurry to take the lives of those who were kneeling and begging for mercy, but calmly took the longbow on his back, squinted slightly, turned sideways, the longbow was fully drawn, and

One by one, he took aim at the backs of the gangsters who dared to turn their backs on him and run away.

Then one arrow at a time, without a single miss.

People who didn't have time to run far should respond one by one.

He fell to the ground without a sound.

This tragic scene fell into the eyes of the few people whose legs were limp and unable to run, and they were so frightened that their livers were torn apart, and several of them even peed their pants in embarrassment.

In this great despair, they could only kneel and kowtow, trying their best to beg for mercy.

Lu Bu's heart was as hard as a stone, and he quickly switched back to his long sword, finishing them cleanly.

—

——Ever since he observed the people present and heard the panicked reaction after his question just now, he knew that when the cheap old man was humiliated and humiliated, this group of bastards

All present.