Chapter 915 914: Begging For Mercy
When evening came, everyone didn't just go to sleep as soon as it got dark. There were teachers specifically to teach them literacy, with the first thing being the universal language of the universe. This was arranged by Jiang Cheng. He still had a headache dealing with the Sek Planet people speaking their local dialect, so the universal language became their first and must-learn subject, followed by some very basic counting.
Every night there were two classes. After literacy, there were some basic skills classes, like some carpentry work and so on.
Jiang Cheng discovered a change on the faces of the Sek Planet people. They bore smiles radiating from the heart and began to have aspirations.
When the men of the warriors started to compare shooting skills, Jiang Cheng more than once saw some Sek Planet men listening attentively to the officers explaining something. These people were competing with each other. Once, a man from Sek Planet shot a creature shaped like a pig. His level of excitement almost infected everyone.
It is worth mentioning that after roasting, the first piece of meat cut from the creature, likely the best part, was held by the shooter with both hands and respectfully presented to Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng was a bit surprised at the time because recently, the people they had the most contact with were their instructors, and it was the instructors who trained them. Those gathered around the campfire were smiling as if watching them. Jiang Cheng really liked this feeling, so although he didn't usually enjoy eating large pieces of meat, he still ate a bit.
Life was filled with hope, the vegetables planted in the soil quietly sprouted after a rain, the fields were no longer a lifeless ochre, now all one could see was a refreshing green.
The population of the residential area was growing, and some long warriors with ill intentions also quietly infiltrated.
One morning, a Sek Planet person who got up early screamed, and almost everyone was startled by her cry. A bloody body lay on the ground; it was an agricultural teacher from Aix Planet. When Jiang Cheng arrived, the crowd parted to make way for him.
A murder had occurred right in front of him.
Jiang Cheng was furious. He reached out his hand to touch the deceased's hair, but the crowd didn't know he was reading the deceased's memories before death.
Jiang Cheng grew even angrier because through reading the deceased's memories, he discovered that the murderer hadn't left; he was hiding among the crowd!
While Jiang Cheng's title of "Death God" was being spoken of by every long warrior, someone dared to commit murder right under his nose, pretending nothing had happened! It truly was a blatant provocation!
Although Jiang Cheng was angry, his expression remained calm. He waved for the combat instructor to lead the Sek Planet people in conducting a search of the residential area. He needed to leave this task to them because similar incidents might happen in the future. This time he could directly identify the culprit, but next time, could he still help these Sek Planet people?
Whether it was the combat instructor from Aix Planet or the adjutant from Sek Planet, the latter felt his uselessness. His gun skills were poor, he couldn't farm, nor did he have any life skills. He wondered if he was about to be eliminated, a thought that always accompanied him. If he didn't have an ingrained fear of Jiang Cheng, he might have deserted.
The adjutant was the first to recognize the murderer and, together with the officers, caught him. Another tried to flee but was also caught by the men from Sek Planet.
The way the adjutant identified the murderer was simple: looking at the hands.
Because of frequent shooting, certain parts of their hands developed calluses or hard skin, and the hands of the two murderers were exactly like this.
From the memories Jiang Cheng read from the two captured murderers, he learned they belonged to a medium-sized force. They were stationed in a scarcely populated area not too far from the residential area. Clearly, they had observed the residential area on some occasion and decided to act against it.
They knew that the "Death God" was here, so they didn't dare to act rashly. Therefore, they started sending long warriors disguised as ordinary people to infiltrate the residential area and assassinate those they could conveniently target.
And the unfortunate agricultural teacher from Aix Planet became their first victim.
The two murderers were executed, with the execution carried out by the quasi-warriors from Sek Planet. This time, those budding long warriors hesitated not because they knew someone wanted to destroy their newly budding happy life.
As long warriors, they had the responsibility to protect their home and defend their way of life.
As for the enemies hiding not far away, this time, Jiang Cheng didn't personally go to destroy them. After discussing with the instructors from Aix Planet and, of course, the adjutant, they decided that Jiang Cheng would be responsible for reconnaissance, and then the combat instructors would command their quasi-warriors to engage in their first battle.
Jiang Cheng set out.
He had a bit of regret about the death of the agricultural teacher from Aix Planet because, for a while, he had been in the residential area. Having witnessed too much death, fighting, and corpses on Sek Planet, although Jiang Cheng was not immune to these, seeing too much negativity was still somewhat distressing.
At this moment, the residential area was full of vitality. Listening to people's laughter, seeing their radiant faces, even the Sek Planet men becoming more like warriors, or the growing taller fruits and vegetables in the soil, all gave Jiang Cheng a refreshing feeling, making him stay in the residential area for an extended time.
Therefore, he became a bit careless. The enemy had not been completely eliminated; they still lurked in the dark, ready to strike back.
How could those naturally violent long warriors tolerate seeing those who once trembled, cried, and begged for mercy under their gunpoints now living so happily?
So either out of jealousy or resentment, they began their counterattack.
All of this Jiang Cheng should have realized earlier; he should not have taken his enemies lightly.
In a dense forest not far away, Jiang Cheng found the remnants of the long warriors' hideout. These warriors were now ragged, thin, and dare not behave as before—they would either binge drink, play games, or, out of sheer boredom, torture captives or local civilians they caught.
In their current state, they looked like lost dogs. If one didn't know about their past crimes, you might feel sorry for them.
However, even in such a condition, they still sent out assassins to harass those whom they deemed only worthy of kneeling and begging for mercy under their gunpoints.
So, their appearance may seem pitiable now, but their hearts remained as fierce as ever.
The forest was filled with sturdy sticks. Jiang Cheng picked one up and stepped into the gathering place of the bandit warriors.