British hegemon

Chapter 27 All Die

Two hundred and thirty paces away from the bushes, Ponytail was swinging a chipped axe at a rotten wooden stake on the ground, while a campfire had just been lit under a deep pot next to the stake.

Holding her back, she looked up at the setting sun gradually disappearing over the western hills, then glanced at the southern slope. A wave of tension washed over her, and the sweat on her forehead was a mixture of hot and cold.

The sun had already set, and dinner was about to begin. He still didn't know if Young Master Roger had gathered enough men to suppress the bandits. The more he thought about it, the more nervous he became. His right hand, holding the axe, trembled slightly involuntarily. He quickly patted it with his left hand to calm it down.

Looking back now, Roger's plan had too many flaws; any mistake in any part could have led to the failure of the entire plan.

What worried him most was whether he could gather enough manpower to suppress the bandits. After all, he knew the islanders of Arun Island well. Those brave warriors had long been conscripted by the lords to fight on the mainland. He could count on one hand how many capable and ruthless characters were left on the island.

Thinking this, I unconsciously stopped what I was doing.

"Ponytail, you bastard, you're slacking off again. There's not enough firewood for dinner, you're going to get a beating!" A ruthless bandit passing by shouted at the dazed Ponytail. This guy was the second leader's confidant, nicknamed Stinky Clam, because he always smelled like a stinky clam.

The woman with the ponytail quickly bent down to continue chopping wood, cursing the bandit in her mind several times over.

After chopping a large pile of firewood, the woman with the ponytail carried it to the deep pot and threw it down, then smiled at the old henchman who was preparing ingredients by the pot, "Hey, dinner's got a good spread."

"Yes, the second chief ordered the beef jerky and smoked fish from the ship to be brought over, and also got a lot of beer from the village. Tonight, everyone can finally have a good meal." He hadn't cooked such a sumptuous meal in a long time, but his face was full of worry.

This afternoon, news came back from the lookouts in Brodick that hundreds of islanders from Arran had gathered in Brodick, forcing the plan to storm Brodick and avenge the Great Chief to be halted.

Therefore, the two leaders decided to take advantage of the fact that all the able-bodied men on the island had gathered in town, and launch a surprise attack on Bewaiting in the south early the next morning. That manor was Baron John's direct territory, and it was very wealthy, making it worthwhile for the pirates to plunder it.

Then set fire to the outside of Milk House Manor, which can be considered revenge for the Great Chief.

That's why the second leader was so generous this time, letting the pirates eat and drink their fill.

But the old henchman's cousin and his family were in Beiwaiting, and given his lowly position among the pirates, he obviously couldn't persuade the ruthless bandits to spare those two poor relatives.

"I hope you've all gone to Brodick," the old henchman sighed softly, knowing he himself was barely surviving and had no power to care for others.

The man with the ponytail didn't hear the old henchman's lament. He suddenly clutched his stomach and whispered to the old henchman, "Oh no, I got food poisoning at noon. I need to go get some diarrhea."

With one hand covering his stomach and the other stuffed into his anus, he ran towards the bushes not far away.

After a series of groans and groans, the girl with the ponytail emerged from the bushes, swinging her right hand, and cursed at the old henchman by the iron pot, "You bastard, you piece of trash, your hands are covered in stinking shit."

The old henchman quickly raised the ladle and, with a look of disgust, sent the ponytail to the bucket beside him to scoop water and rinse it.

She swung her ponytail over, picked up a ladle with her clean left hand, scooped up water, and poured it into the small ceramic bottle about the size of a finger in her right palm.

After rinsing it clean, taking advantage of the fact that the old henchman and the people around him weren't paying attention, he opened the ceramic bottle stopper, poured a few drops of medicine into the bucket, and after thinking for a moment, poured a few more drops.

"You old man, the pot is almost boiled dry." The woman with the ponytail picked up the bucket and poured most of the water into the red-hot iron pot. With a hiss, a large cloud of white steam rose up, and the woman with the ponytail quickly took two steps back.

"Old man, where's the liquor you got from the village? I'll help you carry it in." The woman with the ponytail was about to take a bite of the liquor.

The old henchman assumed this lazy scoundrel was trying to steal drinks again and muttered under his breath, "You lazy bum, don't even think about getting your hands on some drinks."

Upon hearing this, the woman with the ponytail was startled, thinking that the old henchman had seen her poisoning the animal.

"If you dare steal any wine or water, the second leader will cut out your tongue," the old henchman added.

The woman with the ponytail relaxed, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead. She then noticed a bit of poop on her cuff and quickly pretended to tidy up the cooking utensils, wiping it clean on a plate. "Hey, I was just asking casually, I wouldn't dare steal drinks. I'll go set the table for you."

After saying that, she picked up her willow basket and turned to go into the mill.

"Stop!" the old henchman shouted, stopping the ponytail.

The girl with the ponytail was startled again.

"You lazy bum, why are you so diligent now? Tell me, are you up to something?" The old henchman waved his knife lightly.

The woman with the ponytail turned around and stared blankly at the knife in the old henchman's hand for a moment. Then she calmed down and said with a forced smile, "The henchman isn't here, so I was worried that you old man would be too busy and miss dinner. Maybe I'd get beaten up and scolded because of it."

In the afternoon, the three leaders suddenly called away the little pirate who was assisting the old henchman in the kitchen, saying that he was going to Brodick outpost to scout out enemy positions. So only the old henchman was left by the iron pot, and the good-for-nothing ponytail who had just surrendered was assigned to help the old man with odd jobs.

"I'm not willing to help you, sir," the woman with the ponytail said, pretending to throw the willow basket down.

"Alright, you lazybones, all you want is to steal some food. I'll hide a few pieces of stewed beef in the bucket later. When you're done, take the bucket to the river to fetch water and eat it secretly."

Finally, the old henchman whispered a reminder, "Don't forget to leave me two pieces."

"no problem."

With a beaming smile, the girl with the ponytail lifted her willow basket and headed towards the mill. Under the menacing gaze of a burly man wielding a spiked club at the mill's entrance, she staggered into the mill.

Most of the first floor of the mill was filled with millstones, wooden gears, axles, and chute equipment. Four thick wooden pillars supported the entire mill. Inside the mill, there was a small hut for storing grain sacks, which was originally the chief’s private “bedroom.”

A long table was placed between the four wooden pillars. This was usually where the three leaders and five or six bandits enjoyed their meals. Ordinary pirates, such as old and young henchmen, were not qualified to sit here. They could only find a corner to sit on and eat with their broken wooden bowls.

In a corner of the mill, seven or eight pirate henchmen were polishing weapons and armor for tomorrow's "battle." On the other side, by the campfire, the two leaders and several bandits were playing a game of gambling with coins. The losers cursed and threw their silver coins to their opponents, while the others cheered loudly.

The girl with the ponytail had suffered a lot of humiliation at the hands of those ruthless bandits before, so she kept her head down very low, afraid of attracting their attention and getting beaten and scolded.

He took out wooden bowls, cups, and spoons from the wicker basket and placed them one by one on the long table.

Each time he placed a wooden cup, he would glance it over lightly, then quickly pour a small drop of liquid from the porcelain bottle in his right hand and spread it evenly.

She successfully set out seven or eight sets of tableware, and her ponytail was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

Just as the woman with the ponytail was secretly rejoicing that her poisoning plan was about to succeed, a commotion broke out in the crowd of people gambling on beans nearby. Two ruthless bandits left the crowd cursing, clearly having lost all their money.

The woman with the ponytail glanced up and saw the two lackeys who had followed the pirate leader yesterday.

The two also saw the ponytail that was setting the table at the long table. Seeing that he had tied his ponytail up again, their old and new grudges surged up once more.

The thug who had lost money rushed up and kicked her hard, knocking the ponytail and the wooden cup in her hand, which hadn't been poisoned yet, to the ground. "So that's why I kept losing money today. It turns out it's you, you bastard, showing up again."

Another thug, also having a bad run of luck, went up and kicked and punched the girl repeatedly to vent his anger, yelling, "You still dare to wear a ponytail? Don't you ever learn? I'll teach you to do it again! I'll teach you to do it again!"

While enduring the beatings from the two thugs, the woman with the ponytail covered her head and searched around for the fallen ceramic bottle. She finally found a few small shards and a small patch of ground soaked with green liquid in the corner.

The sounds of beating alerted everyone, and the old henchman who was preparing dinner outside rushed in, humbly pleading with the two ruthless bandits for leniency.

The three leaders, who had been patrolling and keeping watch outside the mill, also came in. Seeing that the two guys were beating up the ponytail again, they shouted a few curses and then left the mill.

The two ruthless bandits dared not disobey the third leader's orders, and after cursing at the girl with the ponytail for a long time, they angrily turned and left.

After the two thugs left, the old henchman dared to step forward and help up the woman with the bloodied head, who was huddled on the ground. "Hey, what did you do to provoke those two again?"

"Go outside and watch the stewing meat in the pot for me. I'll arrange the rest."

The woman with the ponytail composed herself, giving the two thugs who had slammed the door and left with a vicious glare. She then suppressed the malice in her eyes, pretending to pick up the wooden cup that had fallen to the corner of the wall, while casually scooping up the soil on the ground that was oozing green sap.

He put down the cracked wooden cup, wiped the blood from his nose, limped out of the mill, came to the iron pot, and threw the handful of dirt he was holding into the pot full of meat soup.

"You bastards, die!"

……

From the bushes on the hillside, Roger couldn't see what happened after Ponytail entered the mill, but he was certain that Ponytail had infiltrated the pirates and that the poisoning plan should be working.

The sky was a hazy gray, and one could see the stars dotting the waning moon.

The pirates who had been on lookout duty on the small hill next to the mill also returned to the mill. With their extensive knowledge, they were certain that no one would raid the camp at night, because almost no one could see anything in the dark, and if they carried torches, they would be spotted from a great distance.

Taking advantage of the last bit of light before nightfall, Roger reconfirmed the passage leading to the mill and memorized it.

"Let's go back and bring the men over."

Roger led the gray rat back to the forest line and returned to the ambush camp along the original route.

The two places were not far apart, and in less than ten minutes, they could vaguely see the bald man and the black dog guarding the entrance of the cave in the mountain hollow.

The two were extremely excited and, after approaching Roger, whispered their questions about the pirates.

Roger gestured for them to go into the cave to discuss the matter further, and the two men, brandishing their weapons, followed him inside...