“When official channels fail to resolve an issue, it inevitably turns into private armed conflict!”
Wu Ming gazed toward the county town, a cold sneer forming at the corner of his mouth. “This time I attacked the caravan, leaving a definite impression of being young, impulsive, yet vicious and ruthless. Right now, there must be a bunch of Zhou family members shouting something like ‘this kid must not be allowed to live,’ coming to kill me to eliminate future threats!”
“The Zhou family can mobilize more people than the Wu family, has better weaponry, and even more hired experts. Upon hearing the news, they will certainly spare no effort and come out in full force… At that time…”
Wu Ming looked toward the back mountains, the continuous range like a fierce beast in the darkness, exuding indescribable danger.
“At that time, I certainly won’t return, but instead head into the mountains, deep into the mountains! To lead people in evading and fighting them!”
The mountainous terrain makes provisions, military equipment, and medicine major challenges. The Zhou family will simply assume Wu Ming has gone mad, with death imminent, and will undoubtedly pursue him relentlessly.
But Wu Ming’s intention lies precisely here.
Although in terms of resource consumption, he is certainly no match for the Zhou family, he has the cheat code of the Temple of the Lord!
With the Temple of the Lord’s exchange capability, as long as there are enough merits, it’s like having an infinite resource cheat code. In the deep mountains, this advantage will be multiplied hundreds or even thousands of times.
Of course, the consumption is also terrifying.
Although the Temple of the Lord facilitated grain exchanges, Wu Ming had calculated that trading one dan of grain there and then expending merits to transport it to the main world would be equivalent to purchasing forty or fifty dan in Great Zhou.
But in mountainous terrain, during a major battle, even if you pay a hundred dan for one dan of grain, you still can’t buy it! Not to mention the replenishment of various medicines and military equipment, making it completely worthwhile.
Of course, this method has two main drawbacks: one is the massive consumption, and the second is that only the Temple of the Lord’s apprentices can use it.
Not every reincarnator is like Wu Ming, able to treat the Temple of the Lord as home, coming and going as they please.
According to Shan Lan and Ling Guhong, after each mission, one only gets one chance for healing and exchanging, wanting to enter again? Wait for the next mission first!
Wu Ming this time was also determined, willing to spend all his merits to drag the Zhou family’s elite into the deep mountains until they ran out of supplies and ammunition, then wipe them out in one fell swoop!
The Zhou family’s power is indeed great, but they also have more than just the Wu family as enemies.
Once they suffer heavy losses, the Wu family can ally with other enemies, using diplomatic strategies to gradually weaken them.
“I really am the kind of person who holds a grudge…”
Wu Ming looked at the night sky, unable to help but laugh bitterly.
Indeed, with the Temple of the Lord’s accumulation, there are items suitable for decapitation tactics, even directly taking the head of the Zhou family’s patriarch is not impossible.
However, on one hand, the patriarch resides in the county town, surrounded by guards, making it extremely dangerous. On the other hand, the Zhou family has over a thousand clan members; even if one is killed, they can still promote a second or third patriarch!
Moreover, according to orthodox legal principles, the new patriarch must avenge the previous one, grasping the moral high ground to stabilize their position.
Rather than causing a massive scandal by doing so, it would be better to uproot the Zhou family entirely, solving the problem once and for all.
To be honest, this time it’s just a routine patrol to eliminate bandits; in terms of impact, it’s naturally much smaller than assassinating the head of a major clan.
As long as they are not of the same rank, no matter how many subordinates die, it won’t challenge the sensitive nerves of those in power.
…
“Master, the prisoners have been identified, thirty-two in total, including five or six minor leaders, and a one-eyed man claiming to be the second-in-command of the bandit stronghold, willing to surrender…”
Wu Ming came to the center of the hall, where Zhao Song brought in the prisoners, each bound with hemp ropes, their faces filled with panic.
“This gentleman, I’m willing to surrender, I’m the second-in-command here, I know where the leader buried the treasure…”
The one-eyed man saw Wu Ming, his face lighting up with joy, and shouted loudly.
“Noisy! Kill him!”
Wu Ming frowned, and beside him, Wu Tiehu immediately grinned fiercely, his long knife falling, sending a head flying, blood gushing like a spring.
This brutal scene instantly made everyone below hold their breath in fear.
“I don’t care about your treasures… nor do I care about your loyalty or not. Those who want to live now should step forward and cut off one limb of these leaders…”
Wu Ming pointed at several trembling minor leaders.
In fact, internal fighting among bandits is too common, this was nothing unusual, just a routine move.
Those unwilling to do so would naturally be killed.
After a while of curses, screams, and bloodshed, only a dozen or so remained in the hall.
“Good… I need you to do something for me. After the task is completed, this stronghold, even the wealth, can be rewarded to you…”
Wu Ming smiled.
Of course, the second-in-command and the leader couldn’t be left, otherwise these bandits would inevitably become time bombs.
But now, they could be slightly useful.
…
The next day, at dawn.
Thick fog covered the mountains and fields, accompanied by birdsong and insect chirps. Amid the cold, a caravan was struggling to move slowly.
“Come on, push a bit harder!”
The experienced cart driver urged: “We’ve already missed the Laba Festival, but we can’t be late again. The earlier we complete this task, the sooner we can go home for the New Year!”
“After passing this Spoon Mountain, it’s all flat terrain!”
At the front of the caravan, a plump steward smiled as he looked at another man with a bronze complexion, resembling a guardian deity: “I truly must thank Master Song for your protection throughout this journey!”
“You and I are working for the same master, what’s the big deal?”
Song Jingang’s eyes were sharp like a hawk: “In Yunping County, three families and eighteen bandit strongholds, half recognize the Zhou family’s banner. The group on Spoon Mountain, led by Jietian Feng, may not dare to commit a major offense, but we should still be careful!”
Just as the caravan passed a small valley, the bushes across rustled, and a group of bandits, bearing the banner of Jietian Feng, charged down: “Charge!”
Their steps were panicked, and they were few in number, more like fleeing for their lives, causing the caravan guards to be puzzled and even amused.
“Hmm? Something’s wrong!”
Song Jingang suddenly had a realization, and immediately saw the first bandit collide with a guard, being hacked to the ground, loudly begging for mercy: “Grandfather, spare my life! Spare my life! We were all forced to do this!”
“What’s going on?”
As the guards were all confused, another group appeared: “We are from the Patrol Office, here to capture the rogue Jietian Feng gang. You all shouldn’t interfere!”
This group wore fine leather armor, held knives, and drew bows, charging down in an orderly formation, like a thousand troops and ten thousand horses.
“This is official authority! Our county’s Patrol Office actually has such talent?”
Song Jingang was stunned.
This official guise obviously had great deterrent power, several guards even sheathed their swords, while the steward sighed and stepped forward to prepare to pay a price.
“Hmm? Something’s not right, why do they look so unfamiliar? Everyone, be on guard!”
After a moment’s shock, Song Jingang was the first to react, shouting loudly.
But in an instant, the so-called patrol officers faced them with a grin, and raised their hands to shoot an arrow.
Shiu Shiu!
Arrows rained down like a storm, catching the unprepared guards off guard, they fell to the ground with arrows embedded in their bodies. In the blink of an eye, two finely crafted steel arrows with barbs shot toward Song Jingang himself from different directions.
“Ahh! They’re specifically targeting me?”
In a flash of lightning, Song Jingang dodged sideways, quickly retreating several feet, his chest caved in as if he had turned into a thin sheet of paper, narrowly avoiding the arrowheads.
Puu!
But immediately, a flower of blood bloomed from his shoulder.
“Excellent archery!” Song Jingang grunted: “Those two arrows just now were deliberately forcing me to dodge, the real killer blow must be this one, right?”
Papap!
From the dense forest, Wu Ming and Feng Han emerged one after another, applauding: “Master Song is rumored to be the reincarnation of Vajra. Such mastery of body cultivation is truly remarkable—even the refined wolf-tooth arrows fired from an iron bow could only pierce three-tenths of an inch deep… But… what about the poison?”
“Poison?”
Song Jingang looked suddenly, seeing a layer of ink-green spreading from his shoulder, yet he felt no numbness or pain, as if the area had gone completely numb, causing him to be greatly alarmed, knowing that this situation was the most dangerous: “You despicable people!”
“In the heat of battle, what’s the difference between honorable and dishonorable? Everyone, follow orders, leave no one alive!”
Wu Ming roared with laughter, his subordinate Feng Han instantly lunged out, spanning the sky, his claw wind continuously descending: “Thirteen Strikes of the Sky Hawk!”
“Ha! Diamond Body!”
Song Jingang’s blood boiled, his whole body seemingly emitting a thin golden glow, clashing with Feng Han.
Although his martial arts were slightly superior, he was already injured and poisoned, putting him at an absolute disadvantage, being pushed around helplessly.
“Ha ha… kill!”
On another front, Wu Tiehu and others formed a trio, creating a small triangular formation, tearing through the defenses like a tiger, slaughtering their way into the caravan.
His blade was sharp, relentless, and when combined with military tactics, he was invincible: “The young master has ordered, those who kill these people will receive two-tenths of the goods, take them now, what are you waiting for?”
With him leading the charge, killing two men, the following conscripts and village braves gradually let loose, their eyes red as they slaughtered recklessly.
Wu Ming, however, stood still in the center, crossbow at the ready, any who tried to flee were shot down without exception.
Peng!
In the central melee, the two combatants exchanged blows, quickly retreating to reveal Feng Han and Song Jingang, both bleeding profusely.
“By doing this, aren’t you afraid of retaliation from my Zhou family? Killing innocent civilians is tantamount to rebellion!”
Song Jingang shouted, slapping a talisman onto his wound, instantly stopping the bleeding.
“Haha… We are merely apprehending the rogue Jietian Feng, there is merit, not fault. How is it our concern if you were killed by bandits?”
Feng Han laughed, similarly applying a talisman, his spirit renewed, he charged forward again.
“This is going to be a fight to the death!”
Song Jingang’s heart sank: “And… where did that talisman come from?”
The minor talisman he used, the Xiao Hui Chun Fu, was obtained only after paying a hefty price through the Zhou family’s connections, a life-saving item.
Now seeing Feng Han use it casually, he felt even more mysterious and unfathomable.
“Retreat!”
Looking back at this moment, seeing the surrounding merchant convoy almost completely decimated, defeat like a mountain collapsing, his heart chilled, and suddenly he fled for his life.
Shiu!
An arrow, like a leech on bone, shot forth, hitting his thigh, causing blood mixed with ink-green to spurt.
“After being hit by my poisoned arrow, you still think you can run?”
A young voice came from behind Song Jingang’s ear, and then he plunged into complete darkness.
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