Chapter 778: Beheading on the Spot

"Beheading, abandoning the market." the Great King asked and answered himself.

"Northern border military regulations: deserting in battle results in immediate execution on the spot; defectors to another country are beheaded at the waist, and their families are sentenced to penal labor." I checked, and all the deserters come from Mo Nan Commandery. Are you trying to flee north?

Those whose escape attempts failed only begged for mercy, and the Great King only said what he wanted to say, paying no attention at all.

Today I let these roughly one hundred people go, but his still-unformed Xiongnu cavalry is also ruined.

"Most of those present today are from Mo Nan Commandery, and before entering the camp you were not free individuals, so there's even less to say. Both offenses will be punished together. Commander Chang~"

Accustomed to big scenes, Commander Chang waved his hand; he neither picked a place nor a time, and the roughly one hundred deserters were executed on the spot without delay.

No need to call a special executioner; the blades of the Mystic Armor cavalry are so fast—raise the blade, drop it, and the terrified screams vanish quickly. After a moment, the training ground returned to silence, the air filled only with the smell of blood and burning torches.

The Xiongnu camp below was unusually quiet; Hu Du clenched his fists tightly. From the front row he saw clearly that two of those lying in pools of blood on the ground were his housemates. After a long while, or perhaps in an instant, the bloody smell faded a little, and his fists slowly loosened.

He slowly exhaled, and the heart in his chest completely calmed down. He thought, let it be like this; from now on he wouldn't need to feel lost or anxious anymore.

Just like that.

From now on he is Hu Du of Mo Nan Commandery.

Anyway, he wants to survive.

A hundred corpses were just thrown down below; the Great King's expression didn't change, only occasionally glancing warily at the spirited mythic beast beside him, fearing that this man-eating creature might have some design on the bodies.

Fortunately, Lord Xiao Jin, whose palate had been spoiled by him, smelled the bloody, human-like stench; the creature even disdainfully twitched its nose, almost covering its nose with a paw. Seeing this, the Great King felt relieved—fortunately, the creature still had some taste.

"Tonight I couldn't sleep, so I went out for a stroll, and happening to be passing by I came to see everyone; walking to the gate I thought I'd also check on the camp's shortcomings. And the result? You've really given me a big surprise!"

Everyone began to lower their heads in shame, but it was useless; the Great King would not let them off.

"Only I and Wei Shen actually entered the camp tonight. Look, how many problems have been exposed! If I were the enemy, bringing a fire starter, the whole camp would have burned down by now. It's not that we deliberately made a commotion; you're still blissfully unaware and asleep!"

Tonight here, the highest-ranking official is the Changli official; he came out to accept responsibility and apologize, but the Great King ignored him.

"First, the internal and external patrol squads—not a single detachment noticed me climbing over the wall! It's practically useless!" He didn't mention at all the role Lord Xiao Jin played in this, and he seized the opportunity to criticize.

"Second, after the camp descended into chaos, your counterattack is downright laughable! If this weren't my army but the enemy's camp, I would definitely write an article 'Camp Observations' for the newspaper, letting the whole world laugh."

Changli: ……

"All the soldiers lack vigilance at night! Emergency assembly is too slow, nighttime flag signals are useless, many officers lack unified command, and the poorly performing… the whole camp might as well be mixed into a pot of porridge."

The leading officers lowered their heads even further, and even Changli straightened his expression.

"Third, the guards of the armory and tack are lax! With just two people I could easily stroll through; if you were stationed outside, this is the kind of performance that would see the armory destroyed, the army lose its combat power, and what kind of battle would you be fighting!"

Having said that, what could Changli do? He could only lead the way in kneeling to apologize. Although… he had only been here a few days. But this segment is common in the court, everyone is practiced at it. In the past, military officials never got to do this, but today he managed to get in on it.

Below, a sea of black heads knelt on the ground, and the Great King continued to huff angrily: "We're about to march south to suppress the rebellion; if you keep up this performance, then it's truly… a matter of life and death, uncertain~"

Changli: ……

The Great King began the procedure.

"Do you know the price of a set of Mystic Armor? One set could feed a family of ten for a lifetime! Do you know the price of a Black Wind Warhorse? The latest transaction price at Futu Pavilion is thirty thousand taels of silver! I've spent lavishly to equip the army, maximizing the protection of your lives, and you just loaf around in camp, eating and waiting to die, repaying me like this?!"

The Great King was furious, extremely angry, and he strode off in his angry little steps, even kicking over a flagpole as he left.

After the Great King left, Changli that night thoroughly cut down the entire camp from top to bottom, not mentioning it. As soon as the Great King stepped out the gate, he climbed onto the carriage and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha～Our performance tonight was really great, right! Cousin, you say how I could be so smart? It's practically a stroke of genius—we've dealt with the traitors and tightened everyone's belts. This trip truly wasn't in vain!" This creature had no trace of anger left.

His cousin was also promising; upon hearing this he came over, chuckling and nudging him: "Your Majesty, you're so happy—could you report the cost of my beast-feeding pill?"

As the Great King laughed loudly with hands on hips, hearing this he almost didn't react, flopped down with a thud, and fell asleep instantly.

His cousin kept pushing, trying again and again, but the creature remained completely unresponsive.

Ling Yin sat on the carriage shaft and tapped the carriage body; there was no response at all, so he lifted the curtain and poked his head out to ask: "Your Majesty, should we head straight back to the palace?"

The Great King let out a small exhale·MP4.

Wei Shen's dead fish eye·JPG.

Changli: ……