"Zhu Tong, we are brothers! What are you doing? Fine, I get it now, you're betraying us, aren't you? You..." Li Kui was cursing when he saw Song Jiang slowly stepping out from behind a pillar.
"Brother Song Jiang! Hurry and save your Iron Ox!" Li Kui hollered.
But to his disappointment, Song Jiang, the man he wholeheartedly supported, was full of hesitation.
"My Lord, Li Kui, he..."
"The others are negotiable. You all killed either for revenge or to stand up for justice. But this black brute... the things he has done are truly unforgivable."
With that said, a few more former Liangshan chieftains were escorted in, begging for mercy the moment they entered.
God of Death and Short-legged Tiger kowtowed repeatedly toward Song Jiang, but as he listened to that official read out their crimes, Song Jiang eventually turned his face away.
Wu Song, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up, "Well said!" He turned to look at Fang Zhiyi. "I originally thought you were just like those other corrupt imperial dogs, but looking at it now, you actually know right from wrong."
Wu Song had always looked down on lecherous scoundrels like Wang Ying, but since they were all on Liangshan together, it had been hard to say anything.
Fang Zhiyi smiled faintly. "I do this for the common people of the world, not for my personal preferences... Since that is the case, I ask Song Jiang to... supervise the execution. Don't let your banner of 'Carrying out Justice on Behalf of Heaven' hang in vain; execute them right beneath it."
Song Jiang hadn't expected Fang Zhiyi to assign this task to him. His face instantly grew even uglier, but thinking of his own future, he ultimately hardened his heart.
Many people found this bone-chilling.
But it wasn't over yet. Soon after, many more people were escorted up, leaving everyone stunned. The captives ranged from lowly servants to prefects. Only at this moment did they deeply realize the terrifying power of the Imperial City Department.
Even a prefect with ties to the imperial concubines was arrested just like that?
Fang Zhiyi's motive was simple. Since they had surrendered, he naturally had to uphold justice for them, and at the same time, intimidate these bandit-like fellows.
On the contrary, Wu Song and a few others felt their blood boil with excitement. Wu Song, who was originally defiant and resentful, now looked at Fang Zhiyi with newfound respect.
"Now that Chong Shidao has gone to pacify Fang La, we still have a lot to do... Under this damn Emperor's rule, there are bandit camps everywhere. I need someone to lead an army and offer them amnesty one by one." Fang Zhiyi looked around, his gaze skipping over the eager She Kecun to land on Huyan Zhuo.
Huyan Zhuo tactfully replied, "This old man is willing to take on this task!"
"Remember, talk first. If negotiations fail, then fight. These are all future reinforcements."
"Yes!" Huyan Zhuo answered, then added, "For such an operation, we should probably request official documents from the imperial court..."
Fang Zhiyi glanced at him, reached into his own robe, and the crowd watched helplessly as he pulled out a stack of blank imperial edicts. Then he turned and rummaged through his subordinate's pockets, astonishingly pulling out the Imperial Seal as well.
"What do you need? Just say it, I'll write it right now."
"Wait, My Lord, this isn't right, is it?"
"Hey, it's just a formality. What's right or wrong? Don't you see the Emperor's signature?" Fang Zhiyi suddenly grinned. "He lost over eighty imperial edicts to me in a game of Fight the Landlord."
.........
"System! How on earth did you scout the situation? You didn't even know someone was planning a rebellion!"
"Host, please calm down. Transmigration itself carries risks. The system cannot be omniscient and omnipotent; at most, it serves an auxiliary role. Everything still depends on the Host's intelligence."
"Are you calling me a retard?"
"No, Host."
"You fucking XXXXXXXXXX"
Not far away, Lu Zhishen glanced back in this direction, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Brother, what do we do now? Our Liangshan is actually finished in a single day!" Zhang Qing said with a miserable face.
Lu Zhishen felt irritable. "How would I know? Sigh!"
Shao Jiang finally experienced human suffering. After losing the banner of Liangshan, he was practically a stray dog. If it weren't for Lu Zhishen and the others, he probably would have starved to death.
And because he was in such a situation, Shao Jiang's side as an ordinary person was finally exposed: taking more than his fair share of food and bossing people around. This made Zhang Qing and the others extremely dissatisfied with him.
Fortunately, Zhang Qing still knew a few leaders of small mountain strongholds. They had originally agreed to go and seek refuge with them, but no sooner had they arrived than the imperial extermination army showed up. Over time, Shao Jiang's group practically became a jinx.
Now the imperial court was powerful. Fang La had been beaten into steady retreat by Chong Shidao's army and was eventually captured. Even many local tyrants were beheaded by Chong Shidao, and their private armies were absorbed. Now there were arrest warrants for Shao Jiang and the others everywhere. Their days were indescribably miserable.
Shao Jiang finally realized something: the reason the imperial court in the Water Margin was incompetent and foolish was because the few at the top were corrupt and greedy for pleasure. But if the imperial court set its mind to wiping them out, it would be as easy as eating and drinking. How could a mere bandit stronghold resist the regular army sent by the court? Especially one that was fully provisioned and paid!
His opponent was the entire Great Song, not those mountain strongholds of similar size.
Seeing that there was no hope for his mission, Shao Jiang completely gave up, constantly complaining under his breath. However, the system provided him with an alternative plan.
"If the Host wishes to complete the mission and obtain the final reward... you can defect to the Jin Dynasty or the Liao Dynasty."
Shao Jiang was stunned, but thinking about it carefully, it made sense. Right now, the entire Song Dynasty was hunting them down. A few days ago, even the minor lackeys following them had fled in the night. Who knew what the future held?
He turned and immediately shared his idea with Lu Zhishen and the others.
Hearing that he wanted to defect to the Jin Dynasty, Lu Zhishen was visibly shocked. He had thought that no matter what, Shao Jiang was still his brother, so he had never abandoned him, but now...
Shao Jiang, however, looked smug, because the system had told him it could provide blueprints for manufacturing firearms. This way, as long as he went to the Jin Dynasty, he could still achieve immense wealth and status!
Looking at the uncertain expressions on the faces of the men before him, Shao Jiang patted his chest and said, "Brothers, you've suffered so much with me. Don't worry, once we go to Jin, I will make sure every one of you enjoys wealth and glory! Don't forget, I, Shao Jiang, have plenty of tricks up my sleeve!"
But that very night, when Shao Jiang woke up freezing and was about to call Zhang Qing to close the door, he turned his head only to see that Lu Zhishen and the others were already gone.
Right next to his makeshift pillow, there was shockingly a deep gash left by a blade! Someone must have wanted to chop him down with a single strike but was stopped by the others!
A wave of lingering fear washed over Shao Jiang, but then he gritted his teeth and began to curse loudly, "A bunch of ungrateful bastards! The Song Dynasty won't last much longer! Do you think you can rebel just by being bandits? Bah! Without me, you are nothing!"
Aside from a few barks from a dog, no one answered him.
Fortunately, the system thoughtfully provided him with a route, which gave Shao Jiang some confidence.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
