In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 282 Cleanup

"In order to protect the safety of Chenjia Village's trade routes, the county magistrate and I have decided to join forces to wipe out the bandits in the nearby forests!"

Chen Dao said calmly, "I intend to entrust this matter to you!"

Training alone cannot produce elite troops. Therefore, Chen Dao plans to send the able-bodied men of the guard team to wipe out the forest bandits, so that they can see blood and gain courage.

"Send us to wipe out the forest bandits?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances. The Lin bandits were all vicious and ruthless thieves, and they couldn't help but feel terrified upon hearing that they would have to fight them.

After all, they were just ordinary farmers. Although they had been trained for some time, the training could only strengthen their bodies, not their courage, and could not turn them into warriors who dared to fight against bandits!

"What? You don't dare?"

Chen Dao looked at everyone and said.

Everyone was silent.

After a long silence, Chen Da spoke first: "What's there to be afraid of? That bandit Lin is just a human being, how much stronger can he be than us?"

Chen Da's words seemed to give everyone some courage, and they all spoke up.

"That's right! There's nothing to be afraid of those bandits; they're just like everyone else, with one head and two shoulders!"

"If Chen Cheng can kill dozens of bandits, so can we!"

"That's right!"

"..."

Although the crowd shouted loudly, they were actually quite unsure of themselves. Asking these honest, simple farmers to raise their knives against the bandits was undoubtedly a difficult task.

Chen Dao could roughly guess their thoughts and said, "If anyone is afraid, it's not too late to leave the guard team now!"

"I don't want to leave the guard team!"

Chen Zhong shouted loudly that although the training in the guard team was tough, they could eat meat three times a day, and he was unwilling to quit no matter what.

"Me too!"

Chen Jiang also said, "I'm not afraid of those forest bandits!"

"Yes! We are not afraid of the bandits, and we will not leave the guard team!"

Upon hearing that they were to leave the guard team, everyone mustered their courage and shouted out. Compared to fighting the bandits, they were more afraid of losing their jobs in the guard team!

After all... in the guard team, they not only eat and drink well, but also have the opportunity to become martial artists. Anyone with a brain wouldn't think of quitting.

"Since no one is quitting, let's get ready. We'll set off tomorrow to wipe out the bandits!"

Chen Dao turned to Chen Cheng and said, "Cheng-ge, distribute the weapons to them and teach them how to use knives!"

After saying that, Chen Dao turned and left.

Soon after, Chen Cheng distributed the weapons he had seized from Li Gang's gang of bandits to the group and began teaching them how to perform simple chopping and hacking.

…………

…………

As Chen Zhong walked through the dense forest, he looked around warily, as if thieves might jump out at any moment.

Not only Chen Cheng, but all the members of the guard team also looked tense and anxiously observed their surroundings.

After practicing their swordsmanship all afternoon yesterday, they embarked on their mission to wipe out the forest bandits today, entering the dense forest near Chenjia Village to search for their trail.

Meanwhile, in the county town, Zhang He led his team deep into the forest to wipe out the bandits near the town.

"Cheng-ge'er".

Chen Zhong couldn't help but glance at Chen Cheng, who was walking ahead, only to see that Chen Cheng's expression was calm, as if he wasn't worried about his safety at all: "Aren't you afraid?"

"What's there to be afraid of?"

Chen Cheng chuckled and said, "Those bandits are just intimidating in name only; they're not a real threat. You don't need to be so afraid!"

Chen Cheng is qualified to say such things. His martial arts realm is now at the peak of the eighth rank, not far from the seventh rank.

And these bandits hiding in the mountains...

Chen Cheng had already experienced their fighting prowess firsthand. The bandit leader was alright, at least physically strong, but those low-level thugs...

They were all emaciated and weaker than even the farmers in the village. Chen Cheng felt that he could take on 100 of them by himself, and he might not even get hurt.

"Cheng-ge'er is amazing!"

“Cheng-ge’er is definitely not afraid of the Lin bandits. You know, Cheng-ge’er once killed dozens of Lin bandits by himself.”

"Brother Cheng is an eighth-rank martial artist now, right? I wonder when I'll be able to become a martial artist like Brother Cheng."

"..."

Chen Cheng's words seemed to give everyone some confidence, reducing their tension somewhat.

"Stop!"

At that moment, Chen Da suddenly shouted, signaling everyone to stop: "There are voices ahead."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions tightened, and they quickly slowed their pace.

Chen Cheng squinted and looked ahead. His hearing was no worse than Chen Da's, and he also heard the faint sounds coming from ahead.

"call out!"

Suddenly, a sharp sound of breaking through the air was heard.

Chen Cheng reacted with lightning speed, tilting his head to the side. The next moment, an arrow grazed past his ear and embedded itself in the muddy ground covered with fallen leaves.

"Discovered!"

Chen Cheng strode forward, charging straight towards the direction from which the arrows were coming.

At the same time, a loud voice rang out.

"Enemy attack."

The bandit who shot the arrow at Chen Cheng shouted, and the village less than 500 meters away from Chen Cheng and his men immediately reacted. The men picked up their weapons and rushed towards the village entrance, while the women hid.

"Still want to run?"

Chen Cheng was incredibly fast; in just a few breaths, he caught up with the bandit who had launched the sneak attack and punched him in the head.

"boom!"

Before the bandit could even scream, his head exploded, and red and white matter flew everywhere, staining Chen Cheng's clothes a little.

Upon witnessing this scene, Chen Zhong and the others became even more tense. The visual impact of seeing a person's head explode right in front of them was unimaginable.

"kill!"

At this moment, shouts of killing came from ahead. Chen Cheng looked closely and saw a large number of bandits holding weapons, numbering about thirty or forty people!

"Brothers, follow me and kill!"

Chen Cheng shouted and charged towards the enemy first.

Chen Zhong and the others behind Chen Cheng seemed to be encouraged by him. After exchanging glances, they gripped their knives tightly and charged forward with Chen Cheng.

"Anyone who dares to attack our Black Wind Stronghold shall die!"

A man who looked like the leader of the bandits stared at Chen Cheng, who was coming towards him, with a ferocious expression, and slashed out with his sword.

Chen Cheng's expression remained unchanged as he swung his knife to meet the attack!

"clang!"

As the blades clashed, a tremendous force surged from the blades, causing the bandit leader to feel his hand go numb and nearly lose control of the blade.

"How can this person be so strong!"

The bandit leader's expression changed, and he considered retreating, but it was too late!

Chen Cheng, who had deflected the blade with a single strike, swung his sword again with lightning speed!

"Pfft!"

The blade sliced ​​across the bandit leader's neck, leaving a trail of blood that gushed out, staining the fallen leaves and moistening the soil.