Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 917 – Mess, It’s All a Mess
Mogadishu, west city gate.
‘Ji~~~ya~~~’
The huge city gates slowly creaked upon under the gazes of numerous eyes like the opening of a new world.
The general’s family walked out of the gates. At this very moment, shouts broke out from the nearby houses like that of a battle cry.
Tens of thousands of civilians charged out from the houses. It was hard for outsiders to imagine how such small houses could fit so many people.
The young men who had charged at the front reached the city gates in the blink of an eye. These young men had a strategy, which was to use their numbers to block the gate to prevent the soldiers from closing it.
Following which, an ocean number of people passed through one by one. Looking at the camp outside of the city, the civilians of the imperial city felt really warm and homely.
It was like a flood; the moment the floodgates were opened, it could not be shut.
Looking out, people closely packed around the city gates. Not to mention blocking, they did not even have a spot to stand. They could only stand on the city wall and look at the scene in front of them with their mouths agape.
Kill them?
That was impossible. The guards came from the imperial city, so who knows, their families might be in there. If they really started killing, it might incur the wrath of everyone.
The only way would be to act like they did not see anything and report the matter to the king.
The huge crowd was like a flood rushing out of the city gates, crossing the city protection river. In front of them, there were many white tents, one next to another. One could not see the end of it.
He had predicted this would happen, so Di Qing ordered the army to form up. The army formed into an iron formation and stood in front of the camp.
The thin white mist similarly danced up and down in the wilderness. The mist condensed into dew on their ice cold helmets and their armor, forming a white layer.
The entire army was totally silent and solemn.
The soldiers all focused as they waited. Naturally, they gave out a killing aura.
The killing aura was formless, but it could cause harm.
The might of an army was invisible, but it could threaten everyone.
In the morning, there should have been bugs and birds singing. However, due to the killing aura, they were scared silent. Animals were the most sensitive and could foresee danger, and they were afraid that they would alert these Asuras.
People were the same.
The solemnness of the Xia army and the clamor of the people formed polar opposites and clashed.
The imperial city civilians who ran at the front felt suppressed by this aura and slowed down, and a chill ran down their spines. Some of the cowardly ones felt their bodies become devoid of energy, and they could not move fast even if they wanted to.
This was not an exaggeration.
A normal person who had never been to war would not be able to even speak if someone asked them to talk in front of an army. If one was able to stare at soldiers and not feel their legs go wobbly, they could be considered a courageous warrior.
The civilians were astonished, while the Great Xia Army acted.
With a ‘Shua!’ the middle suddenly spread out and formed a 20 meter passage. In front of it, a barricade acted as a pass, and soldiers formed up beside it.
At the same time, a lieutenant arrived before the civilians and said loudly, “Listen up; the Xia army has always treated the people well. We have prepared hot porridge behind. Please follow the path and orderly proceed.”
“Great!”
Hearing that there was porridge to drink, the crowd cheered out.
They were able to survive, and now they would have food; there was nothing more joyous than this.
‘Going out of the city was the best decision I made.’ The civilians thought in their hearts.
“But, “his tone changed, “In a military camp, you must follow rules and orders, accept checks, and you can only gather at a specific spot.”
“If you walk out or try to enter restricted areas, you will be punished by military law!”
The civilians looked out at the military formation in front of them; the words of the lieutenant were not a joke.
“Do not worry general, we understand.”
Under the lead of the lieutenant, the people were checked. The Black Snake Guards spies had sent out images of the Somalia King, and the checks were for this person.
At the start, the scene was really orderly.
The civilians were fearful of the might of the army and accepted the checks. They passed through the tunnel and entered the square at the back to drink a bowl of hot porridge.
The change happened at 9 AM.
Along with large amounts of civilians exiting, the news spread out through the city. There were even rumors that the people outside were treated well and even got hot porridge.
This blew the pot.
When the 700 thousand civilians of Mogadishu heard that, this huge group swarmed toward the west city gate.
It started like water droplets in the alleys to streams on the streets to a flood at the west gate.
As the number of civilians rose, the guards at the gate either gave up or were given orders to be bystanders to maintain order.
With the army’s presence, the situation did not get out of control. If not, there would have been a stampede and many would have died.
Even so, as time went on, the crowd started to grow more restless. There had been news that the king was furious and was going to forcefully clear the city gate and close it.
This time, the civilians were anxious.
The hurried group rushed up and squeezed their way forward.
Out of the city, they crazily swarmed toward the pass.
The number of people had greatly exceeded Di Qing’s expectations, making the checks really difficult. The anxious civilians that were feeling uneasy were like a huge powder keg that could blow up at any moment.
The checking speed was slower than the speed at which they came out, causing many people to gather in the area between the city and the camp.
More and more people gathered as time passed, and the number of civilians were about to exceed the number of soldiers.
Those who managed to escape tried to stop those who had not. Even if these other people came out, they would not have a place to stand.
This time, those who had not exited the city were even more anxious, and it seemed like the situation was about to get out of control.
Di Qing stood above with his brows raised.
“If this goes on, things are going to get out of hand.” Di Qing saw through the situation. Worry was growing in his heart.
This was a group of hungry and terrified people. If the situation grew out of hand, they would be willing to do anything.
“Men!”
“Present!”
Di Qing ordered, “Set up five more checkpoints and quickly disperse them to the back.”
“Yes general!”
Scattering the crowd was impossible, and the best choice now was to get them to the back to not affect the army.
Di Qing did not forget that there were still 200 thousand Somalia Alliance Army troops in the city. Long before this happened, Di Qing had ordered the army to be ready to fight.
Even Lu Bu became really solemn, and he looked at the crowd with shocked.
“Terrifying!”
Very quickly, the five checkpoints were set up.
With that, they greatly increased the checking speed. Many people were being led, and this reduced the crowd.
However, Di Qing did not know that amongst these people, there were many hidden combat occupation players.
The players took off their equipment and looked exactly like the NPCs. As time was of the essence, the Great Xia Army could not investigate anything. These players gathered together at the back. Looking at the Great Xia Army, a cold glimmer appeared in their eyes.
…
Di Qing could only disperse the crowd, but this did not solve the root of the problem.
Mogadishu had 700 thousand civilians. Along with the players, the number was even larger.
Even the porridge prepared was not enough.
Hundreds of thousands of people were eating like bugs. Everywhere they passed, nothing remained.
The grain and meat quickly disappeared. Di Qing did not care, as he knew that if he did not feed the people, the situation would be worst.
Di Qing was regretting his decision.
If he knew this would happen, he would have struck back and not let anyone out.
Di Qing could feel that in the dark, there were pairs of eyes looking at all this.
“They are up to something!”
Di Qing could not understand why the Somalia King would allow the people to go out. Without them, what would an empty city do for the Somalia royal family?
…
At 11 AM, Di Qing’s worries came true.
The Somalia King finally bared his fangs and launched his lethal attack.
The first change happened at the city gate.
On the streets, sounds of troops advancing could be heard.
They were the Imperial City Guards.
The leading general said loudly, “Listen up, I am ordered by his majesty to lock up the city gates. Please disperse; otherwise, do not blame me for punishing you.”
‘Hua~~’
The group panicked.
Their first reaction was not to disperse but to swarm toward the city gate.
With that, the situation that was on the verge of collapse totally did when the Guards came out.
This collapse was unstoppable and was like a flame, burning everything.
The people charged out not caring about anything, charging into those who were being checked.
The fear and panic spread out like a plague.
The crowd was not willing to be checked and wanted to charge toward the back.
When Di Qing saw this scene, his face turned ashen white as he muttered, “Mess, it’s a mess.”
