Chapter 1095: Appalling Torture
The fugitives, who had just escaped and were about to embark on a brand-new journey, were also full of curiosity about the Great Horn Army. It claimed to be the rat people"s tool, after all.
Everyone scrambled to chat with a baby-faced warrior named Round Bone Club, hoping to get more information about the Great Horn Army from him.
Meng Chao and Ice Storm pretended to lower their heads and hurry, but they both perked up their ears and heard the conversation between the group and the two Great Horn soldiers clearly.
"Bone Club, is your Great Horn Army really as the old man said? Are there a million people?"
One of the fugitives could not wait to ask the question that everyone was most concerned about.
Actually, the fugitives did not really understand the words "a million."
They just registered the description of the Great Horn officer earlier and subconsciously felt that it meant "a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot."
"That"s a question that doesn"t make sense!"
Round Bone Club giggled. "First, it"s not "my" Great Horn Army, but "our" Great Horn Army. Our glorious and powerful army belongs to all the rat people, including everyone here now!
"Secondly, there is no "master" in the Great Horn Army. Forget the captain of a hundred-man battle team and a thousand-man battle team, even the general who can command an entire legion is not a "master." He is a warrior who, like the ordinary soldiers, fights for the Big-horned Rat G.o.d and all the rat people wholeheartedly."
"Ah..."
The rat people had never heard of such an army.
They looked at each other in confusion and excitement.
"However, there is one thing that you are right about. The Great Horn Army does have millions of soldiers. With the pa.s.sage of time, all the rat people at Orchid Lake will be awakened and saved. Our numbers will only increase until we cannot count them all!"
Seeing that everyone was confused, as though they could not understand the concept of "more than a million," Bone Club pondered for a moment and added, "I was once trained in a camp set up by the Great Horn Army in a certain valley. It is said that there are three to five thousand soldiers stationed in that camp. As far as the eye can see, the entire valley is packed with people. Even the branches of the mandrake trees are full of our soldiers!
"And there are thirty to fifty or even more of such camps in the north, south, east, and west of the entire Picturesque Orchid Lake!"
"Ah..."
The rat people sighed once more.
The detail of the trees being filled with people finally gave them a visual understanding of the Great Horn Army"s size.
Although they still did not quite understand how powerful a one-million-strong army could be, the sense of security in their hearts increased.
Only Meng Chao and Ice Storm exchanged glances and became more interested in the Great Horn Army.
The two of them observed their expressions and felt that this young soldier called Round Bone Club did not seem to be lying.
He should have really received training in a camp with three to five thousand soldiers.
Although the great horn army might not have thirty to fifty similar camps, it was still an exaggeration.
But even if there were only ten or eight camps, it was still an extremely difficult task to gather thirty to fifty thousand elite soldiers.
Any army with more than ten thousand people would not be able to completely hide its tracks.
No matter how hard the high-level orcs worked, they were not skeleton soldiers who did not need to eat, drink, and s.h.i.t.
The weapons, equipment, supplies, recruitment, encampment, and marching marks of such a huge battle group..
It was extremely difficult to hide from the eyes of those who were interested.
Meng Chao could not imagine how the rat subjects, who had nothing, could create such a huge army that could shake the rule of Turanze from the cracks of the five great clans.
Of course, if the Great Horn Army had the secret support of some ambitious people from the five great clans.
Of course.
"Bone, how did you join the Great Horn Army? Can anyone join the Great Horn Legion?"
At that moment, a few strong rat people could not help but ask the baby-faced warrior.
"As long as you have enough faith in the great horn rat G.o.d and have the courage to fight for freedom and dignity, yes, anyone can join the Great Horn Legion!"
Bone Club was resolute.
Pausing for a moment, he pointed at his own chest and said, "Take me for example. I used to live in a town on the border between the Blood Hoof Clan and the Dark Moon Clan. It was the lizard warriors of the Dark Moon Clan who ruled that d*mned town.
"You know the Dark Moon Clan. They are all ugly, dark, and damp reptiles. They are lizard people, crocodile people, snake people, and so on.
"They are bloodthirsty by nature, and their methods are brutal. They have ten times more ways to torture us rat people than the Blood Hoof Clan!
"Besides, the warriors of the Dark Moon Clan have a very evil hobby. They like to raise real snakes, insects, rats, and ants as pets. They also have all kinds of secret arts pa.s.sed down from thousands of years ago that can make the snakes, insects, rats, and ants more ferocious than wolves, tigers, and leopards. They also carry strong acids and poisons. They are definitely monsters!
"My previous master enjoyed raising lizards the most.
"The lizards that he could grow to a length of three to five arms. Their bodies are colorful and extremely beautiful. However, they carry lethal poison. Whether they are bitten by the sharp teeth of the lizards or scratched by the sharp claws and scales, and if they do not take the antidote in time, their bodies will fester and die of Pain!
"In order to keep the lizard cage clean and tidy all year round, my previous master ordered us, the rat people, to crawl into the cage every day and clean it in front of the colorful venomous lizard.
"Although we learned some methods to control the snakes, insects, rats, and ants, and wore cow-skin armor, head gloves, and gloves that were fully covered from head to toe, accidents still happened from time to time.
"The venom that was shot out by the lizard hit our eyes precisely and corroded our eyeb.a.l.l.s.
"The Lizard threw us to the ground and tore the cow-skin armor apart. The wounds on our bodies were so deep that bone marrow could be seen.
"They were all common occurrences.
"Every year, less than a hundred rat people get killed in the lizard cages. There are eighty of them, but the master never takes them to heart. After all, there are plenty of rat people. When the rat people in the cities run out, we will command the Lizard Army to capture them in the countryside.
"Who asked us to live at the border of the two clans? We were ownerless rat who didn"t know who should own us. If we weren"t consumed by the Dark Moon Clan in time, the Blood Hoof Clan would have benefited for nothing!" Round Bone Club casually said.
Meng Chao knew that there were blood and tears hidden behind his words.
Leaf had once told him that among the rat people, the ones with the most miserable fate were the rat people who lived at the border of two or even three clans.
Leaf"s hometown, Half Mountain Village, was located in the hinterland of the Blood Hoof Clan. It was under Black-corner City"s effective rule. Every year, a large number of top-grade golden fruits from the mandrake fruits would be harvested to serve as taxes. When the Blood Hoof warriors came to the countryside, they also needed to take on the responsibility of being a guide to help their fellow warriors find totem beasts.
It seemed that the conditions were harsh, but it also ensured that they had a certain "use" for Black-corner City. It was a "property" that belonged to the Blood Hoof Clan.
Unless the glorious era came, the entire Blood Hoof Clan would have to prepare for war and march north.
Otherwise, no matter how cruel the warrior was, in the relatively stable era of prosperity, he would not kill the goose that laid the golden eggs and easily destroy tax sources as well as a.s.sets.
However, the rat people, who lived at the border between the two clans, often had to endure exploitation and oppression from both sides because of the unclear ownership.
When a clan was out of reach, unable to maintain their dominance over the border villages for a long time and their ability to collect taxes...
It was possible for the other clan to catch all the rat people in the village in one fell swoop, so as not to benefit the other side.
To be treated as an a.s.set was indeed pathetic.
However, if it was not as an a.s.set, it would be an even more uncertain and treacherous fate.
Many rat subjects knew that.
In the hundred-man team, there were a few rat subjects who, like Round Bone Club, had come from the border of the Blood Hoof Clan and the other four major clans.
They had suffered the deepest pain.
They had also triggered the strongest spirit of resistance.
Many people clenched their fists when they heard half of the story. Creaking noises were coming from their joints and their fingers, as if they were going to crush the throat of fate.
"Sometimes, master happens to see the struggles and screams of the rat subjects in the Lizard Cage. Instead of being in a hurry to save them, he laughs and watches them with great interest. Only when the rat subjects are bitten until their skin is torn open and they are rolling on the ground in pain, does he stop whistling and order the lizard to retreat."
The round bone club continued, "At that time, even if the rat subjects are rescued and smeared with the antidote, the toxins will invade their marrow and internal organs, and their incomplete limbs will not be able to grow back. They will be completely wasted.
"We often suspect that master intentionally sent the rats to their deaths in the lizard cage just to enjoy the battle between the rats and the colorful venomous lizards. We also suspect that we are screaming in agony.
"However, no one dares to voice such suspicions, and no one dares to reject master"s order of "entering the lizard cage to clean up".
"Anyone who dares to refuse will have their hands and feet broken by master. Then, dozens of wounds will be cut on their bodies and thrown into the incubation pool that is occupied by hundreds of small lizards.
"When the small lizards smell the scent of blood, they will scramble over and tear off the flesh of those who refuse.
"Because the small lizards haven"t grown yet, their toxicity is not very strong. Their claws and teeth are very young, too. Their tearing and gnawing will often last for several days and nights.
"They may not be able to die until the person who refuses is gnawed into a skeleton.
"This is how the warrior masters of the Dark Moon Clan deal with the rat people!"
The rat people living in the Blood Hoof Clan"s territory had heard of the cruelest punishment, which was nothing more than being trampled to death by their masters.
Such a horrifying torture made their hairs stand on end at first, and then they became furious.