Chapter 109: The Barbarians Are Here
The barbarians are here!
This news quickly spread throughout the town.
Almost at the same time that Jayce spotted the barbarians, the mayor of Grindstone Town, Ruper, also saw the charging figures in the distance after being alerted by his soldiers.
His vision went black, and he almost collapsed. Fortunately, the soldier beside him dutifully supported his back, preventing him from losing too much face in front of his subordinates.
"Why are the barbarians coming all of a sudden?"
It wasn’t yet time for this year’s tribute of Grinding Sound Fruits. Were the barbarians getting impatient?
"Hurry! Gather all our people! We must not let them charge into the fields!" the mayor shouted anxiously. "Also, send someone to bring back Captain Jeff immediately!"
Several soldiers immediately broke away and ran in different directions.
The soldier who had been holding the mayor up was still supporting him and grew impatient. "Mayor, should we activate the defensive barrier?"
"Yes! Yes!" The mayor finally remembered that the town had a last resort. "I'll go request Master Shelly's help!"
The mayor struggled to stand on his own, dragging his exhausted body to the tower’s entrance. He no longer cared about etiquette and began pounding on the door.
"Master Shelly! Master Shelly! The barbarians are attacking! The barbarians are attacking!"
Even though the town had not faced a direct attack from the barbarians in many years, the terrifying and bloody legends about them had never faded.
That was why, despite so many girls dying because of the Grinding Sound Fruits, most people still refused to leave the town.
But no matter how much the mayor pounded on the door, no one inside responded.
A wave of panic surged through him.
Had Master Shelly already started? That shouldn’t be the case. He always tortured the girls first for a while before getting to the main event. Based on the usual timeline, he should still be in the "appetizer" phase—he should be able to stop at any moment!
"Master Shelly! Master Shelly!" Mayor Rupert raised his voice, his trembling tone betraying his growing fear.
The barbarians were terrifyingly strong. Though they had initially been far away, in the short moments of the town’s confusion, they had already closed the distance to just a few kilometers.
The sharper-eyed soldiers could even see the crude weapons the barbarians wielded.
A few soldiers carried three-to-four-meter-long barricades, setting them up between the abandoned houses and the tower.
But those barricades looked laughably flimsy.
Others retrieved ranged weapons—bows and spears.
Although these weapons had always been stored in the empty houses near the fields, they had been neglected for years and were in poor condition.
Most of the time, the town didn’t face any major threats. And if they did, Master Shelly could always handle it.
But today…
The great Master Shelly had yet to show any sign of movement.
Mayor Ruper, unable to force the tower’s doors open, grew increasingly desperate.
Hidden in the shadows, Jayce’s heart skipped a beat. So the tower’s door can’t be opened from the outside?
If he and Ada rushed over but couldn’t even get inside…
Ada also realized the problem and felt a chill down his spine. But when he thought of Penny trapped inside the tower, he became even more anxious.
"The mayor can’t get the door open… Has that wizard already started doing something to Penny?" Ada grabbed Jayce’s sleeve, his mind racing with worst-case scenarios.
Jayce looked at Ada’s pale face and knew what he was thinking. He patted Ada’s shoulder. "The barbarians’ arrival might actually be our chance. If that wizard doesn’t want the barbarians to break into the town, he’ll have to come out, no matter what he’s doing."
Jayce glanced at the empty houses behind them.
"These houses are usually abandoned. Let’s hide inside for now. When that wizard comes out, we’ll use the opportunity to sneak into the tower and find Penny."
Ada glanced at the tower one more time.
The mayor had already ordered his men to ram the doors, but they still didn’t budge.
Meanwhile, the barbarians had finally reached the outskirts of the town!
Ada turned to Jayce, gripping his sleeve tightly. "Jayce, you should go back to town and hide."
If the barbarians broke through the town’s weak defenses, this place would be incredibly dangerous!
Jayce shook off Ada’s hand. "I wouldn’t trust my daughter to you alone!"
On the battlefield, the first barbarian reached the barricade.
He spotted the soldiers and licked his lips excitedly.
Another barbarian arrived and glanced at the barricade in confusion, momentarily hesitating.
Just then, one of the soldiers couldn’t hold back anymore and fired the first arrow.
The barbarian, though not very intelligent, had an animalistic battle instinct.
He dodged sideways, letting the arrow barely graze his arm, leaving only a shallow wound.
Seeing his own blood, the barbarian roared in excitement.
He raised a foot and kicked the barricade, sending it sliding backward and knocking over several soldiers.
"Mayor! The barbarians are almost here! Captain Jeff isn’t back yet! Please, you have to take command!" A soldier rushed up to the mayor, pleading.
"Command…? You really think we can hold back the barbarians with these lousy fences and weapons? Call for Master Shelly! Only his magic barrier can save us! What use are any of you?!"
The soldier was speechless, his disbelief clear. In the end, he silently backed away and returned to the chaotic battlefield.
The front line had collapsed. Just as the mayor predicted, the soldiers were falling one after another, their heads being lopped off by the barbarians.
Fear spread like wildfire—soon, they wouldn’t be able to hold the line at all.
"Father!"
A middle-aged man rode in from the town on horseback, carrying a bundle on his back.
He leapt from his horse and yanked the bundle off his back, shoving it into the mayor’s hands.
"Father, use this! Quickly!"
The mayor snapped back to his senses, his fingers grasping the long, fruit-like objects inside the bundle.
He had panicked when he lost contact with Shelly, forgetting that the town had other options.
"You’re right. The barbarians came for these. We’ll give them what they want."
His son hesitated. "But these were meant to be this summer’s tribute… If we use them now, what about later?"
The mayor clenched his teeth. "We have to deal with the crisis at hand first! Master Shelly must be at a critical moment in his advancement—we can’t disturb him! Now, go keep knocking on the door! Make sure he hears us and activates the barrier!"
His son, though uneasy, nodded.
Meanwhile, the mayor handed the bundle to his trusted guard.
"Deliver this to the barbarian with the painted face."
The guard’s eyes widened in horror. "Mayor… in front of everyone?"
Wasn’t this supposed to be a secret deal between the wizard and the barbarians?
If they handed over the Grinding Sound Fruits now, the townspeople would realize that the supply never actually decreased—it had just been given to the barbarians.
Wouldn’t the enraged villagers tear them apart?
"If you don’t want the barbarians to butcher your family, take it to them NOW!" The mayor shoved the guard forward.
But just as the guard reached the barbarians and handed over the tribute, the painted-face barbarian drew his weapon—
—and beheaded him.
A towering barbarian, carrying a frail figure draped in a black-and-red robe, stepped forward.
The frail figure took the bundle and squeezed it before turning his gaze to the mayor.
The black-and-red paint on his face was unmistakable.
"The barbarian priest…"
The mayor’s heart sank into an icy abyss.
He frantically grabbed his son. "Back to town! Shut the gates! The barbarians… they’re here to massacre us!"
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