Chapter 120: Kill Without Question

Da Wang held his small chest upright, "You only have half a day; adult bandits are to be killed without question; move out!"

The Owl Cavalry split into three routes to act; Da Wang and Ling Yin were the group that hid at the mountain base to scout. But how could that be? The child couldn't hold back.

The mountain is full of ruthless villains; after a month of sword practice, Da Wang couldn't bear not having personally captured a single bandit.

Once they had gone far enough, he waved his hand and prepared to lead Ling Yin and the guards in pursuit.

Ling Yin was also straightforward, directly asking Da Wang whether he wasn't at ease about Zhou Ke.

"Yes, I'll follow up to look at the first scene." After saying that, he patted the Sun-shooting Bow on his back, "We'll hide first and take a look; if the enemy's terrain advantage is too great, we can also lend a hand."

After they quietly followed up, the first pass had already erupted in battle; Zhou Ke was attacking with arrows, cries of misery all around; Da Wang found a concealed spot and crouched behind the rocks to observe the situation—after all, for Da Wang it was also his first time seeing such a thing.

This mountain stronghold was obviously prepared as well; they also had bows and arrows, and had stored rocks on the cliff top.

Whenever he saw a soldier about to be hit by a rock, Da Wang would furrow his small brow.

Ling Yin asked him, "My lord, do you think a full-force assault is inappropriate?"

"Quite appropriate. This is the Owl Cavalry's first battle, possibly the weakest opponent they'll encounter in their remaining lives. After all, these are just civilian bandits; later their opponents will be the iron cavalry of the plains and the royal city deep in the grasslands. None of that can be easily taken, let alone later." Da Wang said what he did; he truly intended to wait until his wings hardened, then whoever dared to head south he would drive back to their homeland. You Prefecture is not a place where you can just come and go, or where you can run away if you can't win. Da Wang has always been preparing for that future battle.

As his words fell, a light laugh came from beside him: "You're pretty clear about this, why still feel sorry? Soldiers who don't fight will also go to waste."

Huh? Ling Yin's voice had changed?

Da Wang turned his head, and Wei Shen was crouched downwind of them, beside Ling Yin.

"Cousin! How are you here?!"

"When that little fatty had me join the Imperial Guard Battalion's drills, I sensed a conspiracy. What do you think? Release me so I can come run the anti-bandit operation myself! This young master has already returned and settled in, waiting to see what you're up to!" Zhao Chuan, who's fought alongside his father for several years, isn't less experienced than this Second Young Master, is he?

Da Wang was so angry he grabbed the little fat bird perched on his shoulder and slapped its rear twice: "Look how clever your cousin is! If you cared even a little about me, you'd also pay attention to the battlefield instead of sleeping on my shoulder—when are you still sleeping?!"

Cousin: "Just throwing in some sarcasm~"

Zhe Tian: ……

The little fat bird, angry, fluttered its tiny wings up to a higher branch to watch the show, distancing itself from the dramatic owner. If you've got the ability, don't call me back!

In the time it took them to exchange a few words of legal wrangling, Zhou Ke had already taken the mountain pass and pursued upward; they also shut up and stopped their verbal sparring.

Da Wang drew his heavy blade, glanced at Ling Yin, and thought, "My cousin's got this~"

Ling Yin nodded, then they charged up together—there's no point coming for nothing, and for Da Wang it's also a training opportunity, right?

Don't look at his young age; he has strength, so his heavy blade flows with ease and follows a pattern. Upon reaching the bandits' stronghold, Da Wang cut down two bandits in a single glance—a mere seven‑year‑old, which the bandits found utterly unbelievable.

He didn't crush the soft persimmon, yet still lost his life.

The bandits who hacked wildly with brute force and no technique were no match for the Owl Cavalry; the Mysterious Armor, whose metallic composition was unknown, was light yet tough, and even the bandits' iron‑blade knives left not a scratch on the armor—this was a battle with no suspense.

What Da Wang said was correct—this truly was the weakest opponent the Owl Cavalry had faced.

Resisters are to be killed without question; those who surrender are not to be killed.

The bandits, aware of how much wickedness they had done, were urged by the two leaders not to surrender, knowing that surrender too was a dead end.

What Ling Yin taught the Owl Cavalry were killing techniques—no wasted motion, a hand rises and the blade falls, heads roll.

Da Wang, Wei Shen, and Ling Yin all halted their actions, standing in the corner to watch the results of one month's training and more than half a year's preparations.

More and more ragged bandits fell, and Da Wang felt uneasy—these had once been subjects of the Great Jin, members of the Bai Li family, not foreign tribes.

And the war profiteer Wei Shen watched excitedly: "I finally understand what a shock troop is—you still have to go onto the battlefield. In the Northern Great Camp, holding blunt blades and exchanging moves, you really can't tell!"

Ling Yin nodded: "At first it was a bit sluggish, but now the state is correct. No matter who these people once were, once they step onto the battlefield and fighting begins they are enemies—don't hesitate. A single thought's difference not only puts yourself in danger, but also drags your comrades down." He was also saying this for Da Wang to hear.

Da Wang understood too; he lifted his small chin and said, "I… am not the least bit soft‑hearted—they've slaughtered villages!"

Wei Shen smiled: "You just need to know that. We are here to eliminate harm for the people and uphold righteousness."

Da Wang: "Hmph!"

If the Grand Tutor or Zhao Bao were here, they'd say you're being ridiculous—he's only seven. Unfortunately, present is one who grew up in the border armies from childhood, a war profiteer, and another who is a Sword Maniac, having honed his killing techniques all his life, and even in death his soul could not perish, transforming into weapons.

The one‑sided battle soon ended; soldiers began clearing the battlefield, searching for the hidden stragglers, and Zhou Ke led people to start verifying the women and children on the mountain.

The women on the mountain, when asked, each one admitted they'd been abducted from down below—some were local girls, some were the families of passing merchants, and the most outrageous were those kidnapped from the neighboring prefecture.

Da Wang was convinced—You Prefecture was so downtrodden that bandits were raiding across prefectures.

After all these years, the oldest children on the mountain are eight or nine—older than Da Wang.

Women and children were registered individually; those with family could be sent home. Da Wang hadn't decided what to do with these children—killing them is out of the question since they're not adults, but some birth mothers were emotionally agitated, saying they wouldn't raise them, which is humiliating. Moreover, some children share a mother but have different fathers; these outlaws basically have no morality at all.

Da Wang therefore divided them: those willing to raise would stay with their mothers down the mountain; those unwilling, Da Wang planned to send to the Charitable Relief Hall.

You say you're not afraid they'll grow up and take revenge—Da Wang really isn't afraid. Anyway, You Prefecture has few people; Da Wang could never carry out a massacre of children.

When it came time to tally the assets, what turned out was really not much— not even Wei Shen believed it. Now the dead and living together total nearly a thousand on this mountain; with such meager supplies, how could these bandits even get by?

Da Wang had his own clever plan—he didn't even need to interrogate the surrendering little bandits.

After checking the direction, he said, "Ling Yin, bring the people and follow me!"

Those little bandits don't necessarily know as much as Da Wang does; he occasionally saw at night a few people slipping into several caves, all furtively.

Wei Shen died of curiosity: "You've even found out about the treasure cave?"

Da Wang raised his chin a bit more: "I just know the rough location… uh… uh!"

Da Wang tripped over the chaotic pile of rocks……

His paternal cousin behind him laughed until he snorted……