Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 99 Order
When the bandits attacked, the women and children, terrified, scattered and fled, and the elderly people in line were also knocked to the ground.

Chaos reigned, and the refugees were at a loss.

At this critical moment, a warhorse suddenly leaped out of the command tent.

The knight on horseback, draped in a crimson cloak, spurred his heavy boots on his horse's flanks, and the warhorse neighed as it charged straight through the crowd.

The knight's fighting spirit surged like flames, rising from his shoulder to the tip of his sword, igniting a crimson light!
"Anyone who dares to steal grain will be killed without mercy!" His voice boomed like thunder, piercing through the chaos and intimidating everyone.

Immediately following behind, two more warhorses charged out, and three Crimson Tide Knights quickly deployed to encircle them.

The two sides surrounded the bandits in a semi-circular area at the edge of the camp!
"Charge! There are only three of them!"

Someone shouted, and the hot-blooded bandits raised their knives and axes, yelling as they charged at the three riders!

Then they saw what the difference was between a knight and an ordinary person.

The leading knight raised his longsword high and with a horizontal arc slash, cut the three bandits who rushed forward in half at the waist!
Limbs, writhing in flames and fighting spirit, tumbled through the air, splattering blood onto the muddy ground, leaving a stench of blood.

"W-What's going on?!" one person exclaimed in surprise.

The second knight charged forward, his horse's forelegs raised high, and the instantaneous acceleration sent him flying three zhang (approximately 10 meters).

Then another knight swung his sword, piercing through the chests of the two men next to him, and pulled the sword out sharply, spraying blood!

He swung his longsword horizontally, sending his mangled body flying and knocking down a third person who was trying to step forward.

He then turned around and cleaved a bandit who was trying to flank him in two from the shoulder to the abdomen, leaving him with a gruesome death.

"Run! Run!!"

Finally, someone realized something was wrong; these knights were monsters to them.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Three knights galloped away, their battle auras roaring, and began their hunt.

Each strike was accompanied by a booming sound of battle aura, severing flesh and bone as cleanly as chopping wood!
Someone tried to escape by climbing over the wall, but was pinned to it with a sword.

Some people dropped their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy, but no one paid them any attention, and their spines were crushed by the horses' hooves.

In just a few minutes, more than twenty of the thirty-odd bandits fell dead.
The remaining few were deliberately left behind, tied up, and dragged into an open area outside the camp.

That evening, a simple wooden platform was erected in the camp square.

The torches burned brightly, illuminating the entire open space.

The seven bandits were bound hand and foot, kneeling on the platform, their faces ashen and trembling.

The fierce look he once had when he threatened his compatriots with a dagger has long since vanished.

The square was surrounded by people, numbering over a hundred, most of whom were civilians who had just escaped hunger and war.

Everyone's faces were etched with exhaustion, but at this moment they all straightened their backs and glared angrily at the bandits.

"Everyone is working honestly, so why are you stealing our food?"

"Good days have just begun to appear, and they want to cause chaos? They should be cut down!"

"Lord Louis certainly doesn't tolerate bad people!"

The law enforcement officer in charge of the trial read aloud: "According to the Red Tide Law, those who robbed grain, attacked camps, or intentionally injured others are guilty of unforgivable crimes and are sentenced to death!"

The audience erupted in a commotion, but not in questioning; rather, it was a sigh of relief and cheers.

Some of the seven began to cry out and beg for mercy, while others tried to explain or plead for forgiveness.

"Have mercy! I...I was just watching the fun, I didn't steal anything!"

"I have an eighty-year-old mother to care for... Please, don't kill me!"

A younger member of the gang struggled desperately, tears streaming down his face: "I...I promise I'll turn over a new leaf and start anew!"

A Crimson Tide Knight stepped forward and said expressionlessly, "Forgiving you is the Dragon Ancestor's business; my duty is to send you to see him."

He drew his sword and stepped forward: "Execute!" A flash of sword light, and the head flew off, blood splattering on the yellow earth.

The same action was repeated seven times in a row, and the entire square fell silent.

As the last head fell, someone shouted first:
"here you go!"

"Yes! They should be killed!"

"Great! I don't have to worry about people stealing my porridge anymore!"

Cheers erupted one after another, and some people even clasped their hands together and bowed their heads in respect to the crimson flag.

From that day on, no one in the camp dared to steal anything anymore.

This was Louis's previous order: if there were any troublemakers, a few should be deliberately left alive for public trial and beheading.

"The war has just ended, and rules need to be established," he said.

He wanted everyone to see with their own eyes that on his territory, robbery and murder were capital offenses.

Those refugees who obediently registered and worked diligently are now able to eat three meals a day, no longer have to endure the elements, and have clean straw mats and blankets at night.

And that alone is the life they dream of.

Under the guidance of the craftsmen sent by the Red Tide Territory, one after another, semi-subterranean dwellings rose from the ground.

Ian was among the first craftsmen to participate in the construction of the house.

Although he was tired from working every day, he felt at peace.

The foreman distributed meals on time, and in the evenings, we could listen to people playing music and singing around the campfire.

Mia gradually recovered, and the color returned to her face.

Although still thin, it can already stand steadily and even run a few steps to play in the camp.

She always liked to follow Ian around, sometimes picking up wood chips at the construction site or poking at small stones on the ground with a stick.

Her coworkers saw that she was well-behaved and sensible, so they often teased her and would occasionally give her some food.

"You're much more diligent than your father," someone said with a laugh.

Hearing the teasing, Mia blushed and ran away.

Ian grinned at the sight, but his eyes welled up with tears.

He watched his daughter's lively figure and felt a sense of relief.

A few days ago, he had to wake up every night to check her breathing, fearing that he would lose the child forever.

Now he no longer has to humble himself for a meal, nor does he have to frantically traverse mountains and valleys for a few herbs.

Although the porridge was light, it was always filling, and there were also some pickled vegetables.

Although the house was simple, it kept out the wind and rain, had charcoal fire, blankets, and people to talk to.

Holding the rough porcelain bowl in his hands, Ian watched the rising smoke and silently said in his heart, "Thank you, Lord Louis."

Not only Ian, but the people in the camp gradually regained some vitality.

Having food to eat, work to do, a place to sleep, and most importantly, a sense of security.

"As long as you follow the rules, you'll have food to eat; as long as you're willing to work, someone will protect you."

Such slogans began to circulate quietly in the camp, like a simple yet true belief.

No one thought it was fake, because it was exactly what they had seen and felt with their own eyes.

Gradually, this belief quietly took root and sprouted amidst the ruins after the war.

The crimson flag fluttered in the morning light, the sun on it growing brighter and brighter, as if it had truly dispelled the gloom over the land.

(End of this chapter)