Chapter 1276: The Cautious Resistance

Soon after, Liang Yue caught up with Mu Yan, Drolma, and the others.

This was a snowy mountain, and in the Snowy Plateau Region nowadays, such places were everywhere.

After hiding in these vast, boundless snowy mountains, the Private Soldiers of the chieftains had no way of finding them.

Drolma, leading a group of people riding on wild wolves, was waiting here for Liang Yue's arrival.

Although their gazes held gratitude as they looked at Liang Yue, they remained extremely cautious.

After all, they had no idea who Liang Yue was.

Under these circumstances, they couldn't rule out the possibility that this was a counter-intelligence trick by the Pagyi Family, deliberately trying to lure out the location of their resistance army camp.

Seeing Liang Yue, Drolma dismounted from her wolf and walked up to her.

"Mysterious strong one, thank you for your help this time," Drolma said earnestly, her eyes fixed on Liang Yue.

Liang Yue's gaze, however, went over Drolma's shoulder. Among the resistance army, she saw seven or eight rescued women.

Liang Yue couldn't help but frown. "You only saved this many people? There were clearly over a hundred poor women imprisoned down there. What about them?"

Liang Yue's words drew a cold laugh from a resistance fighter behind Drolma.

"Your Excellency, what do you think this is? A child's game of make-believe?" he said, his gaze toward Liang Yue filled with wariness.

Even though they had been saved by Liang Yue, they didn't fully trust her.

Mu Yan remained silent to the side, seemingly no stranger to such scenes.

Drolma rebuked him sternly, "Ataqi, don't be so rude to our benefactor!"

The man named Ataqi didn't speak further, but his eyes remained vigilant as he looked at Liang Yue and Mu Yan.

Drolma explained to the two women, "Please forgive our offense, but over these past two years, the great chieftains of the West and the Monk Soldiers of Sangha Monastery have used too many tactics against us."

"Among them was sending people disguised as supporters to infiltrate our ranks and then carry out encirclement and suppression against us."

Hearing Drolma's words, Liang Yue understood why they were so wary of her.

However, she could also understand their position.

Liang Yue simply said calmly, "I understand. But I helped you only in the hope that you could save those poor women. Can you give me an explanation?"

Drolma looked at Liang Yue and explained, "Because we don't have the means to take care of so many people."

Liang Yue raised an eyebrow. "Insufficient... food?"

Drolma nodded.

"Of course. Not long after the blizzards descended on the Snowy Plateau Region, the great chieftain families of the West and Sangha Monastery unified and confiscated all supplies. The living conditions of our resistance army are probably not much better than those of the enslaved people."

She glanced back at the few rescued women.

"These women we saved are all our relatives, our sisters."

"As for the remaining hundred-plus people, if we took them all back, our material resources simply couldn't support them."

At this moment, Mu Yan, who had been silent nearby, spoke up indifferently.

"If you can't support too many people, why did you raid the camp? The number of people you rescued isn't small either!"

Liang Yue also fixed a stern gaze on Drolma.

Clearly, Drolma's explanation wasn't entirely convincing.

Drolma looked at Liang Yue with a calm expression.

"Your Excellency's strength is so formidable. I am no match for you, which is why I choose to stand here and speak with you. But regarding war, you don't seem to have much experience."

"To put it bluntly, over a hundred burdens, including pregnant women, versus over a hundred soldiers who can be trained and sent to the battlefield—which side do you think holds more value for us?"

Hearing this, Liang Yue's pupils constricted sharply.

She took a deep breath and said solemnly, "I thought you were the liberators of the Snowy Plateau Region, different from those chieftain forces."

Drolma, however, gave a faint, unconcerned smile. "We are certainly different from them! But we are also not naive enough to believe that kindness and sincerity alone can win victory."

"In order to liberate all the serfs of the Southwest Region, sacrifices are inevitable. If the day comes when it is needed, all of us here can sacrifice our lives!"

She pointed at the resistance army fighters behind her, speaking neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Liang Yue recalled the scene of Drolma fighting Chodak desperately just moments ago, and her attitude toward Drolma softened considerably for a moment.

She also understood that what Drolma said was true.

"But... what about them? They can only be sacrificed?"

The resistance fighter from earlier spoke up loudly. "Staying behind gives them a greater chance of survival than coming with us!"

"The chieftain lords are not short of food. They still need to keep these women alive for their own enjoyment!"

The logic was indeed sound, but hearing it stated so bluntly still felt very uncomfortable.

However, these resistance fighters of the Snowy Plateau Region were incredibly straightforward. Without any pretense, they directly told Liang Yue the truth.

Drolma stared at Liang Yue and Mu Yan. "You saved our lives, but we still cannot fully trust you now. Please forgive our caution. We must be responsible for the entire resistance army." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Therefore, please, both of you, return!"

"Or, if you are also people sent by the chieftain lords, you can kill us now!"

Drolma placed her right hand over her chest, her gaze burning as she looked at Liang Yue.

Mu Yan came to Liang Yue's side and said coolly, "Let's go. What you wanted to do is done. There's no need for us to have too much interaction with them."

Liang Yue sighed softly. "You're right."

She felt some regret, but did not regret her actions. Saving one person was one person saved. At least these girls had been rescued.

They knew Liang Yue and Mu Yan were their saviors. Their eyes, brimming with tears, looked at the two women with immense gratitude.

"Let's go."

Without saying anything more, Liang Yue prepared to leave with Mu Yan.

Drolma stared at the two women, a flicker of conflict in her eyes, as if struggling with something.

However, just as the two were about to leave, she suddenly called out to them.

"Wait!"

Liang Yue and Mu Yan looked at her curiously. "Is there something else?"

Drolma took a deep breath. She had thought it over carefully. People with such strength could indeed be agents of the chieftain lords.

But what if they weren't?

In that case, winning these two powerful individuals over to the side of their resistance army would undoubtedly greatly enhance their strength!

Drolma bowed deeply to Liang Yue and Mu Yan.

"From your willingness to help us, it's clear that both of you are people with a sense of justice."

"Could you leave us a way to contact you? In case there comes a day when we need help, would you come to aid us?"

Drolma looked at the two women with sincere earnestness.

Mu Yan and Liang Yue were speechless.

Although they were getting used to these people's blunt way of speaking, this particular request didn't sound very tactful.

Author's Note