Chapter 51: Purging the Sect

The icy system notification sound exploded in Jiang Xiaomu's mind.

5%! This number completely confirmed Jiang Xiaomu's guess.

"Holy shit!"

Jiang Xiaomu couldn't help cursing.

Just as feared, the traitor turned out to be Wang Ma Zi!

Jiang Sir, what's wrong?

Li Tieniu was startled by Jiang Xiaomu's action.

Jiang Xiaomu opened his eyes:

"Tieniu, immediately send someone to capture Wang Ma Zi for me!"

"Capture Wang Ma Zi? Why? What happened to him?"

Li Tieniu was completely bewildered.

"He's a traitor!"

Jiang Xiaomu's tone was icy, leaving no room for doubt.

"What?!"

Li Tieniu widened his eyes,

"Impossible! Wang Ma Zi has followed me for years, risking life and limb; how could he betray Tieniu Stronghold?"

"Facts speak louder than words!"

Jiang Xiaomu said coldly,

"If he hadn't leaked our battle plan, how could Cao Meng have prepared in advance?"

"If it weren't for him, how could we have suffered such a crushing defeat?"

Li Tieniu fell silent.

Although he didn't want to believe it, Jiang Xiaomu's words left him unable to refute.

"Tieniu, I know it's hard to accept right now, but this is no time to hesitate!"

"Whether the traitor is him, we'll know once we bring him in for questioning."

Jiang Xiaomu's tone was urgent,

"If we don't eliminate this traitor soon, Tieniu Stronghold will be doomed!"

Li Tieniu took a deep breath and finally made up his mind:

"Good! I'll go capture him right now!"

At that moment, the system notification sounded again:

【Detected intense host emotional fluctuations, triggering special mission: Eliminate the traitor!】

【Mission objective: Completely eradicate the traitor within Tieniu Stronghold and uncover the mastermind behind the scenes!】

【Mission reward: One mysterious treasure box, 200 Heavenly Fate Points!】

Killing intent flashed in Jiang Xiaomu's eyes.

Eliminate the traitor, uncover the mastermind! This is not only for the safety of Tieniu Stronghold, but also for himself!

"Jiang Sir! Something's wrong! Wang Ma Zi… Wang Ma Zi is missing!" the soldier exclaimed, face full of fear.

Jiang Xiaomu's heart sank.

Wang Ma Zi… could it be… he fled?

Jiang Xiaomu's face darkened to the point of dripping water.

That bastard, he sure runs fast! He silently cursed:

Damn it, do they really think I'm a vegetarian?

"Tieniu!"

Jiang Xiaomu shouted sternly,

"Take people to Wang Ma Zi's room, dig three feet deep if needed, and turn up whatever that dog is hiding for me!"

Although Li Tieniu still harbored doubts about Wang Ma Zi's betrayal, he dared not defy Jiang Xiaomu's order and immediately set off.

"Long Er! Go after him! Alive, I want to see the person; dead, I want to see the corpse!"

"I want to ask him myself why he betrayed Tieniu Stronghold!"

"Yes, Chief!"

Long Er accepted the command, led out the prepared swift horse, and pursued the direction Wang Ma Zi fled.

Jiang Xiaomu stood at the stronghold gate, watching Long Er's receding back, feeling anxious and restless.

Wang Ma Zi knew the terrain of Tieniu Stronghold like the back of his hand; if he escaped, the consequences would be unthinkable.

More importantly, he needed to know Cao Meng's plan!

Not long after, Li Tieniu came running back, panting, holding an envelope covered in dust and half-burned.

"Jiang Sir, this was found in Wang Ma Zi's room."

Jiang Xiaomu took the envelope.

Although half of the letter paper had been burned away, the content could still be guessed from the remaining half.

The envelope bore the words "General Cao's personal opening"; Jiang Xiaomu snorted coldly, tore open the envelope, and pulled out the letter.

The letter's content made Jiang Xiaomu's pupils contract sharply.

Cao Meng's plan was far more sinister and vicious than he had imagined!

It turned out that Cao Meng didn't just want to seize Tieniu Stronghold; his true goal was the entire Wangjiang Cheng!

Tieniu Stronghold was merely the first step of his plan.

After capturing Tieniu Stronghold, he can then use it as a springboard to gradually devour the other forces surrounding Wangjiang Cheng!

What a Cao Meng! What a Wang Ma Zi!

Jiang Xiaomu gritted his teeth and clenched the letter into a ball.

It seems I still underestimated Cao Meng's ambition and overestimated Wang Ma Zi's loyalty.

"System, let me exchange for a strong crossbow and fifty crossbow bolts!"

Jiang Xiaomu silently recited in his mind.

【Ding! Exchange successful, deducted 100 Heavenly Fate Points.】

A delicate strong crossbow and fifty sharp crossbow bolts appeared in Jiang Xiaomu's hands.

Hefting the strong crossbow, he wore a cold smile. Since Cao Meng wants to play, I'll play with him to the end!

Three days later, Long Er returned, but he only brought back Wang Ma Zi's corpse.

"Chief, I am incompetent; I failed to capture Wang Ma Zi alive and only found his corpse."

Long Er knelt on one knee, his voice filled with guilt.

According to the past rules of the Ghost-Faced Army, those who fail a mission should commit suicide to atone.

Jiang Xiaomu helped Long Er up,

"Alright, get up; you were already injured."

"It's not your fault; that bastard Wang Ma Zi is extremely cunning."

"Moreover, he's familiar with the terrain, so escaping for three days is already not bad."

"Speak, what happened?"

Long Er rose and reported the details of the incident:

"I observed Wang Ma Zi's escape traces; he headed north all the way, which is the direction of Cao's main camp."

"I had planned to intercept him midway, but didn't expect someone else to beat me to it."

"By the time I found him, only a corpse remained, his face showing no expression of fear."

"His clothing was neat and clean, his shoes had little dust, and there were no signs of a struggle around his body."

"Therefore I judge that Wang Ma Zi was intercepted by an acquaintance while fleeing on horseback."

"He was killed by an expert without any chance to defend himself, not even having time to draw his sword."

"Furthermore, I found these in Wang Ma Zi's bundle....."

Long Er took out two gold ingots and a token engraved with the character 'Cao' from his bosom,

Jiang Xiaomu weighed the gold ingots and token in his hand; the cold metallic feel intensified the chill in his heart.

Wang Ma Zi is indeed Cao Meng's lackey; this token engraved with the character 'Cao' is the best proof.

Jiang Xiaomu gave a cold snort; Cao Meng's methods are truly 'clever', using gold ingots to buy hearts and tokens to control life and death.

The traitor has been eliminated; next is the time for a direct confrontation with Cao Meng.

"Long Er, you did well."

Jiang Xiaomu patted Long Er on the shoulder,

"Go collect your reward and heal your wounds."

Long Er bowed and retreated:

"Thank you, Chief!"

After Long Er retreated, Li Tieniu stepped forward, a worried look on his face:

"Jiang Sir, Cao Meng's wolfish ambition—how should we respond?"

Jiang Xiaomu narrowed his eyes:

"Since he wants to play, we'll play with him to the end!"

"I want him to know that Tieniu Stronghold is not so easy to bite!"

"If he wants to gnaw this bone of beef, that damned fellow still lacks a good set of teeth"

He walked to the table, unfolded a map, and pointed heavily at the location of Cao's main camp on the map:

"Cao Meng's next target will inevitably be the other forces surrounding Wangjiang Cheng."

"We must get a step ahead and disrupt his deployment!"