Atonement 03

Five consecutive days passed, and it was the city's commoners who noticed the anomaly. The usually arrogant lackeys had recently become quiet. Although they still patrolled the streets, they had lost interest in bullying the civilians. Even when they walked past, people could feel an unusually cold and gloomy aura.

"Are we still continuing? You know that if this goes on, people will go mad. What good does this do for you?" Little Hei asked in confusion.

Fang Zhiyi threw the dagger in his hand onto the table, landing it squarely on a valley on the map: "Making them go mad is exactly what I want!"

Little Hei sighed. It didn't really mind, but making so many people dream at the same time took a lot of energy.

Sure enough, that night, a sudden wail rang out in the silent camp, followed by a second, then a third. Eventually, the wails echoed everywhere, mixed with frantic laughter.

A regimental commander rushed over to find Fang Zhiyi: "Bad news, Brigade Commander!"

"What is it?" Fang Zhiyi played with his dagger, his eyes scanning the map.

"Our, our brothers have all gone mad! They've been having nightmares these past few days, and now they've lost their minds! You need to go take a look!" The commander's face was also haggard.

Fang Zhiyi curled his lips: "Assemble everyone."

This ragtag army was already sloppy when assembling, let alone now when their mental states were unstable.

Some cried, some laughed, and others yelled at the empty air with faces full of terror.

Fang Zhiyi looked at the chaos below, calmly drew his sidearm, and fired three shots into the air.

The gunshots drowned out all other noises and helped focus the men's attention a little.

"Do you want to be free of your guilt? Do you want to be rid of the nightmares?" Fang Zhiyi's voice rang clearly in everyone's ears.

Everyone stared at him intently. Over the past few days, they had tried everything, burning paper money, praying to gods, hiring Feng Shui masters, and bringing in shamans, but nothing worked. The twisted faces in their dreams drew closer and became more terrifying, the nightmares constantly assaulting their nerves.

"Believing in the deity will free you from all these sins." Fang Zhiyi suddenly opened his arms.

Everyone was bewildered. Deity? What deity?

"Brigade Commander, you..." Huang Dali could not help but speak up.

A single glance from Fang Zhiyi made him swallow his words.

"We are all sinners... We betrayed our country, betrayed the people, and our hands are stained with blood they shouldn't be... The disappointment of our families, the hatred of our neighbors, the curses of the civilians... Do you really want to live the rest of your lives like this?"

The minds of these ragtag soldiers buzzed. They looked at Fang Zhiyi as if he were their savior; at this very moment, he looked exactly like their only hope.

"Break free from the entanglement of nightmares and recognize yourselves. Do you want glory? Do you want power? Do you... want to be rid of the self that everyone despises?"

Strangely enough, after Fang Zhiyi's speech, everyone had the exact same dream. The twisted, hateful faces were gone, replaced by a massive, faceless monster. It called itself a deity and demanded their faith. Under the oppressive weight of that giant dark shadow, they saw their past, their present, and their unbearable future once again, leaving each of them in immense agony.

When an exhausted Little Hei returned to Fang Zhiyi's side, Fang Zhiyi simply patted its head: "You've worked hard."

"Not hard work, just a hard life."

The gunshots from the previous night prompted Tian Yue to send someone to investigate. Upon hearing it was an accidental discharge, the messenger did not suspect much; after all, it wouldn't be surprising for this ragtag army to do anything.

However, the messenger also delivered Tian Yue's orders.

"Fang Zhiyi, General Tian Yue orders you to immediately fulfill your promise and seek out the Han State guerrillas. After all..." the messenger's gaze held a hint of disdain, "you are taking military pay, so you can't just sit around doing nothing, right?"

"We will do it. We'll start our operation today!" Fang Zhiyi agreed exceptionally readily.

Learning that Fang Zhiyi's ragtag army had left the city, Tian Yue didn't pay it much mind. He never expected these guys to achieve any real merits anyway. Instead, with them gone, the city was much more peaceful, making it the perfect time for him to show his affinity with the people.

"Form up into two columns! Those in the back, hurry up and keep pace!" Fang Zhiyi's shouting was somewhat effective. Having experienced the same dream, most of the men inexplicably trusted him, believing he must be the messenger of that deity.

Yet, there were still some who muttered deliriously and fell behind. In the past, this wouldn't have been an issue, but following a gunshot, a man lagging far behind had his head blown off by Fang Zhiyi. The marching column fell silent. They looked at Fang Zhiyi in surprise, while even more wore numb expressions, some even showing a hint of envy.

That guy was dead, so he wouldn't have to be tortured by the nightmares anymore, right?

"I'll say it again. You are all the same as me, we are all sinners. The deity is watching us at all times. Do you still want that endless torture?"

"Keep up! Hurry!" Huang Dali scolded. He was somewhat startled by Fang Zhiyi's ruthlessness, but thinking of the deity that had appeared out of nowhere, he felt that everything was perfectly justified.

The Han State guerrillas hiding in the valley were planning their next attack.

"We have few men, so a frontal assault is out of the question. We can only use a small group to draw their fire while the rest take the opportunity to flank around this side. According to reliable intelligence, their armory should be in this area, but it's guarded by Tian Yue's direct troops."

"Whatever, whether we can beat them or not, we have to try!"

"Don't rush. The combat power of those lackeys is poor, but..."

"Bad news! The sentries report that a large group of lackeys is heading our way!"

"How did they find our stronghold? Pass the word down, prepare to relocate!"

"They're moving fast, I'm afraid we might not have enough time!"

"Then we fight!"

"Don't be reckless! Leave some men behind to hold them off, and the rest retreat immediately!"

"I'll stay!" someone volunteered, patting his chest.

Someone patted his shoulder: "You take the men and go. I'll stay."

"Stop arguing now, we're running out of time!"

Fang Zhiyi's tactical deployment was flawless. Even the usually lazy ragtag army displayed a much faster operational capacity than before. However, just as the encirclement was completed, the enemy launched a counterattack.

Hearing the gunfire, the cowardly ragtag soldiers still couldn't shake off their habit of valuing their own lives. One by one, they shrank their heads down and waited for Fang Zhiyi's orders.

"Brigade Commander! Do we open fire?" Huang Dali asked.

Fang Zhiyi shook his head: "No, just keep them surrounded like this."

"Surrounded? But..." Huang Dali was about to say that doing so would be a waste of effort, but a sudden murmur echoed in his ear.

"Who is it?" Startled, Huang Dali drew his gun.