Courtyard House: Report enemy agents at the start, and you'll take off immediately.

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This news instantly heightened the tension on the scene. After exchanging a glance with Uncle Zhang, Zhao De immediately ordered, "Assemble all those who can move immediately and prepare for battle! Under no circumstances can we allow the enemy to get even a step closer! At the same time, send someone to notify the reinforcements and request more support."

"Okay, I'll go inform everyone right away." Uncle Zhang nodded in agreement, then turned and walked towards the other villagers. Watching his departing figure, Zhao De silently prayed that everything would stabilize as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, in the most secluded corner of the village, several mysterious figures dressed in black cloaks were quietly discussing something. "It seems their defenses were indeed very tight last night," one of them said in a low voice. "However, that won't stop our next plan."

"Really? What are your specific plans?" another person asked.

The leader sneered, "Of course. Since a direct assault won't work, we'll have to find another way. Tonight, when everyone lowers their guard, that will be the perfect moment for our operation... Remember, don't alert anyone, just complete the mission."

At this time, Zhao De, who was busy with reconstruction work in the village, had no idea that a more sinister conspiracy was quietly brewing...

As night fell once more, the village was exceptionally quiet. After a whole day's work, most of the damaged walls had been repaired, and the villagers gradually drifted off to sleep. But deep in the dense forest outside the village, a group of dark figures were silently approaching the village. The leader had piercing eyes and a malicious smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps broke the silence of the night. "Brother Zhao! Uncle Zhang!" a little girl's voice rang out as she ran into the tent, calling anxiously, "I saw a lot of strange figures at the village entrance just now, and they seemed to be coming this way!"

Chapter 1318 Reinforcements Join Forces

Chapter 1318 Reinforcements Join Forces

Upon hearing this news, the two men who were studying strategies in front of the map immediately stood up, their expressions grave. "Quickly, wake everyone up and prepare for battle!" Zhao De made the decision swiftly and turned to walk towards the door.

"Wait, Brother Zhao, we need to distinguish between friend and foe before making a decision," Uncle Zhang reminded him. "The most important thing now is to understand the situation before taking any action."

The little girl nodded, turned and ran out of the tent to wake the other villagers. Zhao De and Uncle Zhang followed closely behind, arriving at the village entrance. Standing on a high ground, they could vaguely see a group of dark figures slowly approaching from the dense forest by the moonlight.

"How many of them are there?" Zhao De asked in a low voice, while cautiously observing his surroundings.

Uncle Zhang squinted and estimated, "There are at least ten of them, and they seem to be well-equipped."

"It looks like this is going to be a tough battle," Zhao De said in a deep voice. He turned to the villagers and shouted, "Everyone, get ready! Be prepared for battle at any time!"

Just then, a familiar figure approached – it was Xiao Jie, who had recovered from his injuries. Although his arm was still wrapped in bandages, his eyes were filled with determination. "I can fight too, Uncle Zhang, Brother Zhao, please let me stay on the front lines."

Uncle Zhang patted Xiao Jie on the shoulder and said softly, "You should stay here and wait. We'll go if we really need to."

Xiao Jie nodded helplessly and stepped aside, but his eyes remained fixed on the dark figure in front of him.

Zhao De signaled to several archers to prepare their bows and arrows, while ordering the others to take cover and remain silent. The entire village seemed to hold its breath, awaiting the impending confrontation.

The shadowy figures finally entered firing range. At Zhao De's command, dozens of arrows shot through the air, accurately hitting their targets. A commotion arose among the shadowy figures, but they quickly reacted and began firing arrows towards the village.

"Spread out and find cover!" Zhao De shouted, leading a group of men to retreat behind pre-set defensive fortifications.

"You guys, follow me and we'll flank the enemy!" Uncle Zhang quickly directed another group to sneak along the predetermined route, preparing to encircle them.

The battle was about to begin, with arrows raining down from both sides, creating a tense and fierce atmosphere. Just then, Xiao Jie spotted an enemy suddenly emerging from the bushes and approaching their defensive line.

"Uncle Zhang, watch out on the left!" Xiao Jie shouted a warning, and quickly picked up the spear in his hand and thrust it at the enemy.

The enemy was killed by Xiao Jie with a single blow, but he also attracted the attention of a group of enemies. "Xiao Jie, run! It's dangerous here!" Uncle Zhang shouted, quickly drawing his knife from his waist, ready to fight.

However, the enemy numbers increased, and Zhao De and his men gradually found themselves in a fierce battle. Just then, the sound of horses' hooves approached, and dust billowed in the distance; reinforcements had finally arrived.

Leading the charge was a knight clad in silver armor, who roared from his horse, "Everyone, counterattack with all your might!"

With the help of reinforcements, the situation immediately changed. The villagers and the newly arrived reinforcements joined forces, forcing the enemy into a series of retreats. Finally, after a fierce attack, the group of men in black were forced to retreat and disappear into the night.

Chapter 1319 Collecting Some Water Samples

Chapter 1319 Collecting Some Water Samples

After the battle, the silver-armored knight dismounted and walked up to Zhao De. "I am Li Ming, from the garrison of a nearby city. We received intelligence that there might be unidentified forces harassing this area, so we came to provide support."

Zhao De nodded slightly in gratitude, "Thank you very much for your timely assistance; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Li Ming nodded and continued, "We've received information that there's an even bigger conspiracy behind this unknown force. They seem to be brewing something in the shadows, and we must find out as soon as possible."

"So what should we do next?" Zhao De asked.

Li Ming pondered for a moment, then replied, "I will send people here to strengthen security, and we will also assist in the investigation. You also need to strengthen your defenses, just in case."

Just then, a little girl came running up again, panting. She shouted anxiously, "Brother Zhao, there's something wrong with the village well! The water has suddenly turned black and smells terrible!"

Zhao De and Uncle Zhang's expressions immediately turned grim, and Li Ming also frowned. "This is definitely not a coincidence; the enemy may have already poisoned them..."

Zhao De turned to look at Li Ming and said firmly, "No matter what happens, we cannot let the villagers suffer. We must find an antidote and also find out who is behind it."

Uncle Zhang patted Zhao De on the shoulder and said firmly, "That's right, we must get to the bottom of this."

The little girl's voice sounded particularly mournful in the night wind. She looked anxiously at Zhao De and Uncle Zhang, her eyes filled with unease. Zhao De immediately realized that this was not just a simple problem with the well; it could very well be another conspiracy by the enemy.

"Xiao Hong, don't worry, we'll handle this as soon as possible." Zhao De comforted the little girl, then turned to Li Ming, "Captain Li, what do you think the enemy might have done?"

Li Ming frowned, his eyes grave: "Judging from the current situation, they may have poisoned the well. We need to find out the specific condition of the water source as soon as possible and find a way to detoxify it."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Uncle Zhang began to act. He quickly gathered several young men from the village and instructed them, "You guys, go and inform the villagers immediately to stop drinking any well water for the time being. At the same time, send someone to check all the water sources in the village to make sure nothing is missed."

Zhao De nodded in agreement: "Yes, we also need to collect some water samples and take them back to have someone knowledgeable analyze them to find out what the toxin is."

At this moment, a young soldier among Li Ming's men volunteered, saying, "I know a little about herbal medicine. Let me go along and take a look; maybe I can be of help."

Zhao De looked at Li Ming, seeking his opinion. Li Ming nodded slightly in agreement, then said to the soldier, "You go with them, but remember, be careful and report any unusual situations immediately."

The group quickly sprang into action. Zhao De led Xiao Jie and several villagers familiar with the terrain toward the village well. Along the way, they repeatedly reminded the villagers not to drink the well water and tried their best to calm them down.

When they reached the well, they saw that the water had turned a dark brown and emitted a pungent smell. Several brave villagers were trying to pull up a bucket of the dark water with a rope to investigate.

Chapter 1320 Dragon Grass

Chapter 1320 Dragon Grass.

Zhao De stepped forward, took the rope, and personally pulled up the bucket. Then he frowned as he looked at the murky water. "What on earth is going on here..."

Xiao Jie took a closer look and frowned: "This water is completely undrinkable; we must deal with it immediately."

At this moment, the soldier who had accompanied them stepped forward, picked up the water sample, sniffed it carefully, and said, "This smells like poison extracted from some kind of plant. We need to find this plant to have any chance of making an antidote."

Uncle Zhang asked, "Do you have any clues?"

After a moment's thought, the soldier replied, "If I remember correctly, there's a plant called 'Poison Dragon Grass' in the forest east of the village. Its extract can produce a similar toxin. However, that place is quite dangerous, with frequent sightings of wild animals."

Without hesitation, Zhao De made the decision: "In that case, let's go to that forest and find this poisonous herb. Time is of the essence, we must act as soon as possible."

After saying this, Zhao De and Uncle Zhang, along with Xiao Jie and several other brave villagers, prepared to head towards the unknown forest. Just as they were about to set off, a commotion suddenly arose from the direction of the village entrance.

"Stop! What happened?" Uncle Zhang asked alertly.

A villager who rushed over breathlessly reported, "There are many horse-drawn carriages outside; it seems a large group of people are coming here."

Everyone was startled upon hearing this, and Zhao De immediately signaled for everyone to remain vigilant. "Where is Captain Li?"

"He's at the village entrance, saying he has something important to discuss," the visitor added.

Zhao De and Uncle Zhang exchanged a glance and decided to go back to the village entrance to check the situation. When they arrived, they found that a large number of people had already gathered at the village entrance, and several horse-drawn carriages were parked to the side, one of which carried an elderly man dressed in fine clothes with a serious expression.

Li Ming stood beside the carriage to greet them. When he saw Zhao De and the others arrive, he immediately went up to them and said, "Brother Zhao, Brother Zhang, this is the Prefect, who has come here specifically to inquire about the situation here."

After getting out of the car, the old man looked around and said calmly, "I heard there have been reports of harassment from unidentified forces here, so I brought some medical supplies and experts to assist in the investigation. How are you doing now?"

Zhao De quickly gave a brief account of the well poisoning, then added, "We suspect it was caused by a plant in the nearby forest, and we are preparing to go and check it out."

The prefect nodded: "Very good, it seems our arrival can help solve this problem. There are several medical experts here; we can go to the forest together to find a way to detoxify."

"Thank you very much for your help, Prefect," Zhao De said gratefully.

Just then, an expert stepped forward from the group and said confidently, "I have seen similar cases before. This venom can be neutralized with certain herbs. Once we can find those herbs, everything will become much easier."

Zhao De's eyes lit up: "Then let's not delay, let's set off now."

The group quickly prepared to set off for the legendary, perilous place. Uncle Zhang led the way, Zhao De followed closely behind, and Xiao Jie beside him remained highly vigilant.

Along the way, they encountered many hardships and dangers, narrowly escaping attacks from animals lurking in the shadows several times. Finally, after a long and winding journey, the group discovered a large quantity of plants resembling poisonous dragon grass in a clearing within a dense forest.

Chapter 1321 Operation

Chapter 1321 Operation

Zhao De quickly stepped forward, carefully parted a clump of grass, and examined the plants closely. His brow was furrowed, and his expression was serious.

“These should be the Poison Dragon Grass,” Zhao De said.

Xiao Jie squatted down, gently touched a leaf with his hand, and asked, "So what should we do now?"

One of the experts brought by the prefect stepped forward, took out a small bottle and a knife, carefully cut off some leaves, and put them into the bottle. The expert observed intently for a while, then nodded. "These herbs are indeed poisonous. We need more samples for detailed analysis."

Just then, a rustling sound caught everyone's attention. Uncle Zhang looked up alertly, his hand already gripping the long sword at his waist.

“There’s a wild animal!” he warned in a low voice.

Everyone immediately tensed up, alert to any sounds coming from their surroundings. Sure enough, a series of deep roars came from not far away. A huge black bear emerged from the depths of the forest, its eyes fixed on them fiercely.

“Everyone be careful,” Zhao De said. “This bear looks like it’s not going to be messed with.”

The bear slowly approached, letting out a threatening growl. Uncle Zhang stepped forward and shouted, "You stupid thing, get out of the way!"

The black bear was momentarily startled by Uncle Zhang's voice, but quickly resumed its attacking stance. Zhao De drew his bow from his back, pulled the string taut, and shouted, "Prepare to fire!"

Just then, a young villager shouted, "Wait! We can't hurt it, or it will attract more wild animals. Let me try!"

The young villager, Zhao De, was a brave and experienced hunter. He slowly walked forward, holding a piece of smoked meat in his hand, and whispered to the black bear, "Hey, buddy, have some of this, it tastes really good."