Chapter 4: People Are Starving, Relying on the Dead City Trench (New Book, Please Recommend Votes, Please Vote for the Monthly Ticket)

Hualala...

In the rain, only gray and white remained, and the thunder could not wake up the silent creatures.

The originally bright sunshine became extremely gloomy, shining through the gaps between the thick clouds.

However, in this desolate scene, there were skinny figures.

They looked numb and staggered like ghosts.

But they were not ghosts, they were people, civilians fleeing.

Boom! !

The thunder followed the lightning, and some people fell to the ground trembling, but never got up again.

The faces of the rest of the people were numb, and their dull eyes looked in front of them, without looking back at those people.

Because such cruel deaths happen every moment in the Rain Country.

People like them, when they die, are like water disappearing in water.

As civilians of a small country, there is only numbness in their hearts.

They don't know if there is really a way to survive ahead, but if they stop, they will definitely die. They can only stagger and crawl aimlessly towards the capital that has not been affected by the war.

Just like a wild dog covered in mud...

No, just like the straw in the field, it will fall down when the wind blows, and even if there is no wind, it will still be shaky.

However, some people are different from those walking corpses who are almost losing consciousness.

"Hey, that..."

"Yahiko! You have to use honorifics!"

"I, I know! But..."

Hearing the muttering of the two little ones behind him, Yunchuan, who was following the refugees, turned his head and looked deeply at the awkward Yahiko, and then smiled slightly: "If you don't mind, call me Yunchuan, I'm only a few years older than you."

Hearing this, Xiaonan behind him was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly waved his hand and said: "This, how can this be! You saved us..."

Not caring about Xiaonan's concern about the name, Yunchuan turned his head and looked at the desolate road ahead.

"Don't worry, we're almost there."

They didn't know how far they had walked. Although the world was still desolate, there were many traces of wheels and horses under their feet.

The horses were not eaten, which meant that there were people ahead and there was no shortage of food there.

The number of refugees has visibly increased, unlike before when there were only corpses everywhere. It is obvious that they are gathering here.

Perhaps, in their view, as long as they reach the capital, they can survive.

"Konan, Yahiko." Yunchuan asked without turning his head, "You were planning to go to the capital to exchange for some food before, right?"

"Yes, Yun, brother Yunchuan." Konan hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded.

"It's easy to know that only the capital is safe at this time, and only the daimyo can protect some people!" Yahiko yelled, and finally cursed inwardly, "Damn ninjas, if it weren't for them..."

"Yahiko! Enough!" Konan hurriedly pulled his sleeves, signaling him not to continue.

After all, in their view, the boy in front of them is also a "ninja".

"Ninjas" are cruel and ruthless beings who don't care about the lives of civilians. They are also the ones who brought the war to the Rain Country.

Yahiko has always believed this, but he was saved by the "ninjas" he hated, so his attitude towards Yunchuan is very contradictory.

Under the subtle influence of Yahiko, Xiaonan used to think so, but now she feels inexplicably...

"Brother Kumokawa seems to be different from those ninjas."

Looking at the figure walking in front of her, recalling his gentleness before, Xiaonan's pupils trembled slightly.

"...Brother Kumokawa." After a moment of silence, Xiaonan asked softly: "Do you mean that even if we get to the capital, it will be difficult for the two of us to survive?"

As soon as these words came out, Yahiko, who had been holding the ninja bag tightly and shouting that he would exchange it for bread, fruit, and a full meal when he got to the capital, suddenly choked and turned to look at Xiaonan with an unbelievable look on his face.

Xiaonan, how could you possibly have such an idea?

"I can see that you haven't been to the capital yet."

Yunchuan just chuckled and shook his head, saying, "But it's not in my character to easily deny your possibility of survival."

"Let's go and see it with our own eyes. I just happened to pass by the capital..."

After that, Yunchuan said no more, and ignored Yahiko who was about to speak but stopped. He looked at the staggering figure in front of him with a slightly curved but unsmiling look.

Compared to Yahiko who was worried about gains and losses, Xiaonan noticed the different meaning in Yunchuan's words.

"Passing by the capital..." Xiaonan lowered his head slightly and thought, "Does that mean he doesn't live in the capital?"

Although it is also a one-country-one-village system, it is different from the situation of the five major countries.

Because the country's territory is pitifully small, the ninja village of the Rain Country is not separated from the country, and the Hidden Rain Village is within the scope of the capital.

So, the capital, which gathers all the ninjas of the Hidden Rain Village, is already the safest place in the Rain Country.

With the ability that Kumokawa had shown before, he would definitely be treated well in the Hidden Rain Village, but he didn't choose to stay in the capital?

Why?

Just as Xiaonan lowered her head to think, she found that Yahiko beside her suddenly stopped.

"We are here, the capital of the Rain Country."

Hearing Kumokawa's voice, Xiaonan subconsciously raised her head.

However, the moment she cast her eyes, her face also changed to the same expression as Yahiko beside her.

As if she was frozen in place, there was only dullness between her young eyebrows.

As far as the eye could see, outside the capital, there was nothing but desolation and desolation.

The black rain curtain washed the eyes of the two people. The houses on both sides were still mostly dilapidated. It was almost dusk, but there was not even a trace of smoke from cooking. Rats, insects and ants were everywhere in the broken walls and weeds.

This scene was not what Yahiko and Konan had expected before.

Even the stench and piled up corpses here were far beyond what Yahiko and Konan had seen before.

The capital of the Rain Country was surrounded by a moat that was dozens of meters wide and bottomless. There was only one bridge leading to the city, but the city gate was also closed at this time. It was obviously a blockade and martial law was implemented. No one was allowed to enter or leave the city at will.

But more and more civilians came for a glimmer of hope, regardless of the slightly cold rain that soaked their bodies.

Countless figures slumped by the city wall, their drowsy eyelids could hardly lift up, and their confused and numb faces looked withered.

The whole body was skinny and bones, with deep eye sockets, like a living skeleton, and the arms like sticks hung at the side, trembling slightly.

Exhaling more and inhaling less, they looked like they were running out of energy and could die at any time.

But some of them were already dead, while others were still breathing.

As for those who were still alive...

Sniff! Sniff!

Konan and Yahiko sniffed subconsciously and could smell the endless fishy wind swirling in the air.

However, in addition to the rotten smell in the air, they could also smell a strange smell.

It was the smell of meat.

The smell of meat could not be covered up even by the rotten stench of corpses.

"Ugh!!"

Finally, Konan collapsed to the ground and vomited unbearably.

Yahiko's face was also extremely pale, and his body trembled as he looked at everything outside the capital.

"I don't know whether future generations will record this war, and how they will describe the harm the war has caused to civilians." Yunchuan had a hint of pity in his eyes, and the frost on his face had surpassed the cold winter. He whispered: "But, to describe it with a sentence I once read, that is..." People were starving, relying on the dead in the city trenches, and the bandits were captured for food. There were thousands of people every day, so they prepared hundreds of huge pestles, ground bones and skin into mortars, and ate them together!