Although Lu Chaosheng thought this way, his sense of responsibility—especially his responsibility toward this land—forced him to pull himself together.
He followed Deputy General Chen Song toward the military camp.
When they arrived at the command tent, Marquis Jingyi Pei Wugou personally rose to welcome him. Taking Lu Chaosheng by the arm, he drew him inside with a smile.
“General Lu, you’ve had a good rest these past few days, haven’t you?”
“I specifically ordered you to rest before the great battle so that you could recuperate and be in peak condition for the coming battle against Ren Tianye.”
“Now, have you rested well?”
“Are you feeling refreshed?”
Lu Chaosheng actually wanted to reply, “No,” but swallowed the words and bowed.
“Reporting to you, my lord, I’m perfectly well.”
“Good. Then take your place. I have major moves to make!”
Pei Wugou sat down in the commander's chair, his expression stern. His scale armor, inlaid with gold and jade, gleamed brightly, and his exquisitely elaborate appearance lent the grim military camp an oddly beautiful, almost romantic atmosphere.
But the words that came from Pei Wugou’s mouth were as sharp as blades and spears.
“I already know what happened at Iron Gate Pass.”
“Hmph! Iron Gate Pass is the throat and entrance of our Jiangbei fortress network. Its garrison not only failed to repay Yunjing’s favor, but instead led its forces to submit to that traitor Ren Tianye. Their crimes are truly heinous and deserving of death!”
“Once I defeat Ren Tianye, I will make those people wish they were dead and unable to die!”
After unleashing that tirade, Pei Wugou continued, “What pains me even more is that, aside from Iron Gate Pass, I have discovered that even here in Zhenjiang City, as well as at the river forts under its jurisdiction—Langyan Fort, Suojiang Dock, Hengjiang Camp, Linjiang Ferry, and the other naval strongholds—there are widespread signs of fear, cowardice, and even surrender to the enemy!”
“How many people are secretly discussing surrendering to Ren Tianye?”
“There are even madmen who want to kidnap me and deliver me to Ren Tianye as a pledge of allegiance!”
“This is truly…”
“Outrageous!”
Pei Wugou abruptly rose to his feet, his eyes sharp as knives.
“If this situation is not dealt with, then before Ren Tianye’s army even arrives, this entire Jiangbei fortress network will have been handed over to him!”
“By then, the Jiangbei fortress network will be nothing but a hollow shell, and I will become a laughingstock!”
“Therefore…”
“Today, I intend to impose order through blood and iron. Generals, are you willing to follow me and sweep away those treacherous sycophants and traitors?”
Since Pei Wugou had put it that way, how could anyone dare say no? One after another, the generals stepped forward and shouted that they would obey the marquis’s orders. Lu Chaosheng naturally knelt halfway down with the others and shouted along.
Inside, however, he was filled with unease.
Damn it, he had received a letter from General Zhang Shi, one of Ren Tianye’s subordinates, too! Was Pei Wugou going to deal with him as well?
Fortunately, Pei Wugou clearly had no idea about his situation. After walking out from behind the desk, he instead took hold of Lu Chaosheng’s arm and said, “General Lu, I am going to draw the blade. You will assist me from the side!”
Pei Wugou led the way out of the camp. Moments later, the drums began to sound.
After three volleys, the soldiers inside and outside the camp had assembled on the military drill grounds in orderly ranks. The formation stretched as far as the eye could see.
Pei Wugou put on a mask, strode forward, and climbed onto the command platform. His gaze swept across the assembled troops, and the sheer force of his presence pressed down on them so heavily that they could barely breathe.
At that moment, he raised a hand and pointed.
“I have already confirmed that all eight hundred men of the Cangbo Battalion, along with their commanding officers, have either openly or secretly intended to submit to Ren Tianye!”
“The evidence is conclusive. The proof is irrefutable!”
“Do you still intend to deny it?”
The moment his words fell, the entire field erupted in uproar.
The eight hundred men of the Cangbo Battalion fell into confusion. But in the next instant, they quickly closed ranks around their commanding officer, forming a defensive formation to protect him.
Pei Wugou let out a cold laugh.
“Judging by your posture, it seems I have not wronged you after all.”
“You truly harbored treacherous intentions!”
“With Ren Tianye’s army on the verge of arrival, you actually intend to surrender to him and ruin my plans. By law, you deserve death!”
“Today, I will make sure you understand the consequences of betraying me!”
After saying this, Pei Wugou grabbed a blade and leapt down from the command platform. The crowd hurriedly moved aside, creating a passage. He followed it straight toward the Cangbo Battalion.
Before Deputy General Chen Song, Lu Chaosheng, and the others could recover from their shock, Pei Wugou had already reached the front of the battalion.
Without another word, he raised his blade and brought it down. A head fell to the ground.
Once the blade had tasted blood, Pei Wugou became even more ruthless.
He swung the blade in wide arcs, cutting down anyone he encountered and killing whoever crossed his path. In the blink of an eye, five or six bodies lay sprawled on the ground.
The men of the Cangbo Battalion hurriedly fought back.
They were an elite assault naval unit. Every man was highly trained and carried a short ring-pommel saber and a short water-breaking spear. They also wore light hemp armor, and their combat strength was far from ordinary.
Moreover, they had already formed ranks and were prepared for battle.
They should not have been afraid.
Yet Pei Wugou, armed with nothing but a single blade, forcibly tore through their defenses. He moved through the formation like a human beast, charging back and forth as body after body fell around him, while he remained completely unharmed.
His ferocity left everyone stunned.
They had seen fierce warriors before, but someone this ferocious existed only in stories!
After Pei Wugou swiftly cut down thirty or forty men, the Cangbo Battalion’s morale collapsed. When he raised his blade again, one of the soldiers dropped to his knees with a thud.
“My lord, spare me! I was wrong! I was wrong!”
Once one man surrendered, the psychological defenses of the Cangbo Battalion—which Pei Wugou had already shattered—collapsed completely. In an instant, a great mass of soldiers fell to their knees.
Even their commanding officer was overwhelmed by Pei Wugou’s imposing presence and collapsed weakly to the ground.
Only then did Pei Wugou sheath his blade and say coldly, “Men, bind them all!”
The generals, finally recovering their senses, rushed forward and bound the soldiers of the Cangbo Battalion one by one, waiting for their punishment.
But no one expected Pei Wugou to immediately add, “Take them all out and execute them publicly!”
The moment those words were spoken, the men of the Cangbo Battalion were dumbfounded.
When they heard Pei Wugou order them bound, they had assumed he intended to show them leniency. At the very least, they thought, he would not execute them. That was why they had obediently submitted one by one.
But now…
He was going to kill them?
If they had known they were doomed to die, they would have fought to the bitter end!
One after another, they began shouting in panic.
Lu Chaosheng hurried forward and knelt before Pei Wugou.
“My lord, please calm your anger! These men’s crimes are indeed unforgivable, but for the sake of the service they once rendered to the Jiangbei fortress network, I beg you to spare their lives!”
With Lu Chaosheng taking the lead, all the unaffected generals also fell to their knees and pleaded for mercy.
“My lord, please show mercy!”
“My lord, with Ren Tianye’s army about to attack, this is no time for excessive bloodshed. Please spare their lives!”
“My lord, we beg you to show compassion!”
…
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
