Bright Sword: I don’t want to be the king!

This is a mission of life and death.

The leader of the 64th Nether Brigade, Okumura Anji, was well aware of its importance. He personally led two elite teams through the misty dark forest and headed straight for Xiaocao Village.

Things in the world are often unexpected but reasonable.

Okumura Anji's luck seemed to be blessed by a mysterious force. When they arrived at Xiaocaozhuang, it was late at night and everything was quiet.

These warriors wearing the Nether Cloak did not rest, but took action immediately and surrounded Xiaocao Village layer by layer. At this time, the villagers were still immersed in sweet dreams, unaware that a crisis was quietly approaching.

Even the guardians of Xiaocaozhuang, the Civilian Defense Company, knew nothing about this.

When the first rays of morning light illuminated the earth, Okumura Anji stood at the entrance of the village, holding an ancient command staff.

"Yoshi..."

"To describe it in human language, we can be said to have caught a turtle in a jar this time, hahahahaha..."

Okumura Anji's words were like a cold wind, causing the surrounding Netherworld generals to burst into strange laughter.

At this time, Xiaocaozhuang was in chaos.

Jiang Ming, the commander of the Xiaocaozhuang Civilian Guard Company, was restless all night and made several night patrols but found nothing unusual.

At dawn, exhausted, he finally returned to rest.

However, just as he fell asleep, a guard rushed into the courtyard and shouted loudly.

"Commander, Commander, something is wrong. The Netherworld is attacking. There are a large number of Netherworld gathered outside..."

Jiang Ming sat up suddenly, without even having time to put on his armor, and asked sternly, "Where is the Netherworld?"

The guard panted and said, "There are countless ghosts at the entrance of the village. How should we deal with them?"

When Jiang Ming heard this, his heart was shocked.

Oops, we were careless.

At this moment, another civilian guard rushed in and reported in panic: "Commander, something is wrong. A large number of ghosts have appeared in the back mountain. It seems that we have been completely surrounded."

"what?"

Upon hearing this news, Jiang Ming's heart tightened even more.

At this time, the instructor hurried over.

"Commander, something is wrong. The Netherworlders surrounded us under cover of darkness. It seems they had planned this all along. There is no hope of escaping. Quickly notify the villagers to hide in the secret passage!"

Jiang Ming gritted his teeth and gave a decisive order: "Okay, instructor, you lead the villagers into the secret passage, and I will lead the army to resist the ghosts and buy time for you. Make sure to ensure the safety of Cao Geng and Duan Peng's family. Action!"

"As ordered."

The instructor nodded in agreement, then led his men to evacuate quickly.

Soon, melodious and rapid sounds of bronze bells were heard in the village.

When the villagers heard the noise, they rushed out of their homes.

What happened? What kind of crisis is this?

The village hasn't heard such bell sounds for a long time.

Soon, a brave warrior rode over and shouted to the crowd: "Listen to me, fellow villagers, the demons from the netherworld have surrounded us under the cover of night. Everyone, enter the secret passage immediately and leave quickly..."

"The dark demons have invaded the border of the village. Everyone quickly retreat into the secret maze. Do not bring any earthly things with you. Only life is the most precious. Act quickly..."

This urgent call echoed throughout the village like an ancient horn.

"Gods above, the iron hooves of the dark demon clan are trampling again? Quick, my dear wife, hold on to our child and immediately escape into the secret maze. There is no time to lose..."

The people in the village fell into an unprecedented panic. Although the dark demons had never really left blood on this land, they still remembered the horror of that evil force.

At this moment, at Cao Geng’s residence, the mentor led a group of warriors to assemble urgently.

"Hurry up..."

"Cao Ming, take your parents, wife and children with you and hide in the depths of the maze immediately. The shadow of the dark demon clan is approaching, and time is running out..."

Cao Ming, Cao Geng's eldest brother, is a brave and fearless young warrior, only 26 years old. It is because of his protection of his parents at home that Cao Geng can fight against the dark demons without any worries.

In recent years, Cao Geng had made great military achievements and was promoted to lord. Therefore, his family received special protection.

Cao Ming also found his true love and had a son to inherit his bloodline, and his life was as sweet as honey.

However, they did not expect that the peaceful days would last less than two years before the threat of the dark demons loomed again.

Hearing the teacher's words, Cao Ming frowned: "Teacher, what about the others?"

He knew that their home, Xiaocaozhuang, had a complex terrain and was littered with huge rocks, and digging a maze would be no easy task.

Therefore, there are only a few entrances and exits to the maze in the village, and none of them lead outside the village.

As the dark demons approached, people from the surrounding villages flocked in, causing the population of Xiaocao Village to surge. The existing entrances and exits of the maze were obviously not enough to accommodate all the lives.

The instructor looked serious: "Cao Ming, you don't have to worry about others now. Make sure your family is safe first. The target of the Dark Demon Clan's attack this time may be your family. The top leaders have issued an order to ensure your safety. Don't hesitate any longer, go to the maze immediately, quickly."

At this moment, bursts of string sounds and roars came from the edge of the village, and then the rain of arrows became more intense.

The sound was like the whisper of death, plunging the entire Xiaocao Village into chaos.

The villagers, carrying the old and the young, rushed to the entrance of the maze.

"yes……"

Cao Ming quickly agreed, without saying anything else, took the child from his wife, and rushed towards the nearest maze entrance with his family.

The mentor and his companions followed closely behind, clearing the way for them.

Soon, the group arrived at the nearest maze entrance.

This place is usually used as a hidden exit for excretion and is adjacent to the cesspool.

On ordinary days, this is where villagers meet their natural needs.

But when the dark clouds of the Dark Demons approached, the villagers made a brief preparation. The ordinary manure pond suddenly became the door to a safe maze.

Even though the air was filled with a pungent smell, many living creatures gathered there at this moment.

This dark passage can only allow one person to pass through at a time. Many villagers are filled with panic and want to hide inside as quickly as possible, so it seems a bit chaotic.

Fortunately, the commander appeared in time and stabilized the situation. People's emotions gradually calmed down, and they began to enter this secret passage in an orderly manner.

On the ancient and mysterious continent of Aris, the old village under the moonlight seemed particularly peaceful, but at this moment, an unknown disaster was quietly approaching. The villagers gathered nervously in front of the ancient temple in the center of the village, where a secret passage leading to the underground shelter was hidden. The elderly, children, women and children were given priority to pass through, while the young people spontaneously stayed behind to guard this last hope.

When it was Cao Ming's turn, his heart ached like a knife. Cao Ming led his parents, wife and children into the dark passage, but saw dozens of young villagers outside, who were the new force in the village.

Cao Ming clenched his fists and whispered to his wife Xiu'er, "Dear Xiu'er, this passage may not be able to accommodate everyone. I will let the villagers go first. You must protect the children and parents."

Xiu'er's eyes were filled with worry. She desperately called out, "Brother Xiaoming, you have to come with us too. Come in quickly. Please..."

However, as more villagers poured in, Xiu'er was pushed into a deep passage by the crowd.

The knight commander guarding the passage witnessed this scene and immediately shouted, "Cao Ming, what are you still hesitating about? Come in quickly..."

Cao Ming shook his head and responded firmly: "Knight Commander, let the changzhe, children and women and children go first. I am still young and strong. How can I fight for life at this time?"

The Knight Commander was speechless for a moment and could not refute. At this moment of life and death, Cao Ming's choice showed true courage and spirit of sacrifice.

At this moment, a young man suddenly rushed out from the crowd and tried to force his way into the passage. Cao Ming was quick to grab him and said sternly, "Lai San, what do you mean by this?"

This young man named Lai San was about the same age as Cao Ming. He had been lonely and helpless since childhood. He was lazy and only wanted to live a comfortable life. He was unwilling to do big things and disdained small things. He barely survived with the help of the villagers, but he was afraid of death and was unwilling to devote himself to defending his homeland.

At this moment, he ignored the safety of others and tried to escape first. How could Cao Ming just stand by and watch?

Lai San was grabbed by Cao Ming and immediately became furious: "Cao Ming, what do you mean by this? Why are you holding me back?"

Cao Ming pushed him away and asked in a deep voice: "Can't you see that there are young people around us? We should all get through this together. How can you run away alone?"

Lai San's expression became more and more ferocious: "Cao Ming, don't pretend to be noble here. I don't want to die here. Get out of my way. I want to live!"

The Knight Commander and the other villagers who were watching frowned. Even he felt that this selfish behavior was difficult to deal with. After all, they were here to protect the lives of every villager, and Lai San was also within their scope of responsibility. But which was more important, fairness or sacrifice?

Cao Ming was furious: "Lai San, are you still a man? Everyone is willing to stay, why do you want to be an exception?"

Lai San's heart was filled with resentment. He believed that Cao Ming was depriving him of his chance of survival!

"Cao Ming, stop pretending. Do you think I don't know that those demons are coming for your house? If it weren't for you, our Xiaocao Village would never have suffered this disaster? You still dare to pretend here, get out of here!"

When Cao Ming heard this, his face turned pale instantly, like a leaf hit by frost. The young people around him were all filled with indignation.

"Lai San, what nonsense are you talking about? Cao Geng is a brave warrior of our Cao Village and the pride of all of us. Stop talking nonsense here."

"According to your logic, shouldn't we resist the invasion of evil spirits?"

"Indeed! If everyone is like you, Lai San, hiding in the village and being cowardly and afraid of fighting, how can the evil spirit beasts not come to invade? Without Cao Geng and our guardians, you, a coward, would have already become food for the evil spirit beasts."

The villagers' roar was deafening, like a landslide.

Lai San was speechless for a moment, and could only bite the bullet to refute: "I am telling the truth. Cao Geng provoked the evil spirit beast, and now the village is in disaster. He should bear the responsibility. I don't want to die just like that. I haven't married or had children yet! You bunch of incompetent people, do you want to cut off my family bloodline?"

Seeing that the situation was not good, the instructor stepped forward to mediate: "Lai San, please go to the shelter! Everyone, stop arguing, or it will be too late."

"No, Lai San, if you dare to enter the shelter, I will teach you a lesson today."

The young people were indignant and rushed forward to control Lai San tightly. No matter how he struggled and roared, they would not let him escape.

Although the instructor was powerless, he could only take such measures. The most important thing at the moment was to ensure that all villagers could enter the shelter.

At the border of the village.

These ordinary warriors have no chance of winning against the evil beasts.

After all, whether in terms of equipment or combat skills, the gap in strength between the two sides is too great.

As the evil beasts pressed forward step by step, the number of warriors continued to decrease.

Jiang Ming sensed the critical situation and shouted to a soldier beside him: "Monkey, you are the most alert. I now order you to break through the siege at all costs and rush to Luoyun Castle as quickly as possible to inform General Chen of the crisis here. Tell me, can you do it?"

The warrior named Monkey immediately responded loudly: "Yes, sir. I will complete the mission!"

After saying this, he ran away like an arrow, as agile as a monkey.

"Brothers, fight them back with all your might. The longer we hold out, the more security the villagers will have. Fight with all your might..."

Jiang Ming's loud voice resounded through the sky.

The soldiers opened fire at full power, vowing to fight the evil beast to the death, and actually temporarily blocked the evil beast's offensive.

However, there are only a few dozen of them left, and it is impossible for them to resist the army of evil beasts.

Just when they were about to give up, the instructor arrived in time with a group of strong young men.

The instructor announced that all villagers had safely entered the shelter. The remaining people were either unable to enter or unwilling to leave.

The battle lasted for a whole hour, and the brave warriors of the militia company, including the company commander Jiang Ming and the instructor, all died heroically.

The fighting finally subsided.

The evil beasts, with their sharp claws and fangs, walked arrogantly into Xiaocao Village and hunted poultry and wild beasts everywhere.

Surrounded by the evil beast officers, Okumura Toyoji proudly walked into Xiaocao Village with a shining command staff in hand.

Seeing the evil beasts chasing the poultry, Okumura Toyoji was immediately displeased.

If it were in the past, he would not care about the behavior of these evil beasts.

But today, his mission was extremely important. As long as he could capture Cao Geng's clansmen and bring them back, he would be making a great contribution!

The temptation is too great.

"The evil curse has been broken. What are you doing? Stop right there."

Okumura Toyoji shouted at the shadow soldiers who were chasing poultry and livestock in the village.

Upon hearing this, the shadow soldiers immediately stopped what they were doing.

Okumura Toyoji issued an order to his shadow knights: "Pass on my message, do not plunder any treasure. Our mission now is to gather the people of this village to the Phantom Square and find Cao Geng's clan. Capture them, and promotion and treasure will surely favor you."

The Dark Knights were ordered to act immediately.

The shadow warriors quickly swept through the entire village.

Even though Xiaocao Village is vast and rich in resources, the number of the shadow army is even more vast.

More than two thousand shadow warriors invaded Xiaocao Village in search, and even the tiniest life could not escape their eyes.

In just half a day, nearly a hundred villagers were driven to Huanling Square.

A lord came to Okumura Toyoji and whispered, "Captain, we have searched the village and found only these villagers."

"what?"

Okumura Toyoji stared at the hundreds of villagers in the square. Apart from the elderly, able-bodied men, women and children, there were no women.

He was furious: "Master Jingchun, can you believe that such a vast village only has a hundred people living in it?"

The lord hurriedly explained: "Captain, we have conducted a thorough investigation and only found these people. There is no trace of the others."