Chapter 172: Seizure

Watching the troops assemble and depart in an orderly fashion below the platform, the nerves Cheng Feng had kept taut finally relaxed a little. Last night, he had worked through the night to draft the speech, revising his pre-battle mobilization address over and over again.

Some things can be said, some things cannot.

Although he felt this mobilization might still lack a bit of fire, he was, after all, someone who had sat in a high position for a long time, and he still had some insight into manipulating human nature.

Silver, prospects, Training Camp opportunities, entry opportunities... as long as it was a resource Cheng Feng could provide, he gave it all away without the slightest hesitation. Now, it was just a matter of whether these disciples would pull their weight!

Cheng Feng placed particular importance on the personnel of the three halls, hoping they would stand out in this slaughter; it would be best if a few good seeds emerged.

As for those mediocre ones, if they died, they died; it was no great loss to the Hong Sect anyway.

The Hong Sect did not have a pension system for Outer Members; only those who became official members could enjoy the benefits of a death pension. The pension amount that Outer Members could receive was only about four-tenths of that of an Inner Member.

At present, the specific standards for Inner Member pensions had not yet been finalized, but those who unfortunately died in battle had to be given a certain subsidy for their families, otherwise, it would have a negative impact on the future reputation of the Hong Sect.

Even so, this was already considered a fairly decent practice compared to other gangs. Other gangs almost never provided any pensions; they lived lives of licking blood from the blade, living only for today, and simply had no spare silver to use for pensions.

Cheng Feng considered that he had already done everything he could; if the disciples under his command still could not meet his expectations, then the worst outcome would be the disappearance of the Hong Sect, and Cheng Feng would start over elsewhere.

Cheng Feng asked himself if he had always done his best for the Hong Sect; if anyone dared to slack off or play tricks under his command, then they shouldn't blame him for being ruthless!

Cheng Feng himself was the strongest martial force of the Hong Sect!

The pitch-black night seemed like a huge black curtain covering the entire city, mysterious and unpredictable. Before this night fell, Wang Hu had already reached an agreement in secret with the government patrolmen; they chose to turn a blind eye to the fighting between the Hong Sect and other gangs.

In this chaotic world of the jianghu, fighting between gangs was common, but every conflict required the government to supervise from the sidelines to maintain a delicate balance. At the same time, the government could take this opportunity to reap huge profits, which could be described as killing two birds with one stone.

At this moment, the teams walking out of the Hong Sect looked nervous and hurried. "Pick up the pace! Keep up! Our target is the Xiao Dao Gang!" the team leader shouted.

"Listen up, brothers, the Sect Master has ordered: if the ordinary commoners surrender, spare their lives, but leave the martial artists to the martial artists of the sect!" another person echoed.

Another team said: "We've long found those grandsons of the Zougun Gang an eyesore; they were still acting arrogant in front of us two days ago, we'll wipe them out tonight."

"Hehe, we're the Wolf Head Gang side! I know one of their subordinates; tonight I must beat him until he kneels and begs for mercy!" a member of another team said excitedly.

Cheng Feng and Wang Hu had simulated similar scenarios many times and had long since calculated it. After all, the Hong Sect rose on the corpses of the Sishui Gang, and the strongest of the surrounding small gangs were only at the Skin Refining Late Stage.

Cheng Feng was determined to subdue all these small gangs that the big gangs originally used for blocking and buffering, letting the Hong Sect become the gang in control of the buffer zone. This way, it wouldn't provoke those big gangs to take direct action.

Cheng Feng let the Hong Sect slow its pace as much as possible, not because he lacked the ability to swallow everything in one go. In fact, if he wanted to, relying on his own powerful strength, he could easily do it.

However, if that happened, it would become Cheng Feng working for the Hong Sect while the disciples sat back and enjoyed the fruits of his labor; this reversal of status ran counter to his original intention in founding the Hong Sect.

This battle was not just a simple contest, but an opportunity to train the team. Cheng Feng's original purpose in founding the Hong Sect was to seek wealth, but now, he needed the Hong Sect to take on more things.

With the gathering of various intelligence, everything became clear, as if observing the lines on one's palm.

Through careful planning and strategic arrangement, Cheng Feng had a precise grasp of the situation. In this process, he not only had to consider his own interests but also take into account the development and growth of the Hong Sect.

At the Xiao Dao Gang, Shi Xiaodao, who had an ordinary build and a ferocious scar on his face, was still drinking and carousing with his brothers.

Suddenly, a subordinate reported: "Leader, it's bad, the Hong Sect is attacking!"

Xiao Dao Gang leader Shi Xiaodao smashed his wine bowl: "Then what are we waiting for? Brothers, grab your weapons!"

The members of the Xiao Dao Gang directly picked up whatever was available around them and, in a scattered mess, charged out directly following their leader.

Looking at the sea of black heads outside, the uniform black clothing, the character 'Hong' embroidered on their chests, the uniform black cloth masks covering their mouths and noses, iron-reinforced wooden shields on their left arms, and swords in their right hands, he looked at this mob from the Xiao Dao Gang as if looking at a group of walking merits.

Shi Xiaodao did not flinch; even when facing opponents twice his number, the wine he had just finished gave him increased courage: "So what if there are more of you? I've long thought of this day since I started hanging out in the streets. Killing one is breaking even, killing two is a profit. Men of the Xiao Dao Gang, charge with me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the black-clad men opposite also charged over impatiently, and the battle broke out instantly.

Amidst the flashing swords and shadows, the shouts of the Xiao Dao Gang members and the bloodshot eyes of the black-clad men intertwined, forming a tragic scene.

Shi Xiaodao was the first to charge, wielding his Soul Chasing Blade, mixing it up with the Hong Sect disciples; every move and every stance contained the desperation of a life-and-death struggle.

Sun Gui was the commander in charge of wiping out the Xiao Dao Gang, having assigned ten Training Camp Disciples, twenty Ren Men Disciples, and hundreds of low-level Outer Members.

Watching the leader Shi Xiaodao fighting desperately there, Sun Gui nodded and said: "He has the spirit of Sacrificing Life to Forget Death. Offering Cheng, Shi Xiaodao is left to you."

Cheng Yi was the Offering following Sun Gui's team.

Just in case, Cheng Feng was using his full strength even when a lion fights a rabbit.

Every team was followed by an Offering of the Blood Refining Realm.

Cheng Feng, Eight Hundred, Cheng Yi, Xu Miao.

Even Wu Feng, whose injuries had not yet fully healed, was called out by Cheng Feng to serve as an Offering who would not take action, just in case of any unforeseen events.

Cheng Yi understood Sun Gui's meaning: if a martial artist with decent strength appeared, he was to capture them to see if they could be recruited into the Hong Sect later.

When it came to a squad of martial artists, these martial artists only sought strength and nothing else.

The Hong Sect currently had enough low-level disciples, and the upper-level Offerings like Cheng Feng and the others were there to hold the fort; the only thing lacking was martial artists in the middle, the Skin Refining Realm.

This was also the reason why Cheng Feng wanted to capture people; if it really didn't work out, they could still serve as targets for martial arts training and actual combat, and there was no loss.

Cheng Feng believed that anyone who could be a leader should have the strength and also be able to bend and stretch.

Once they entered the Hong Sect, he wasn't afraid they wouldn't put in the effort; they were his own people, and there would always be ways to deal with them.

Cheng Yi's weapon was an iron staff; it was difficult for an ordinary person to even pick it up, but when Cheng Yi picked it up, it was just right.

Cheng Yi directly used the staff to sweep away the Xiao Dao Gang members blocking the path and swept the staff toward Shi Xiaodao's legs.

Shi Xiaodao was startled just by the sound of the wind and hurriedly dodged.

Cheng Yi's staff momentum did not diminish, and he swung the staff to strike, every move heavy and powerful.

The data in his eyes flickered non-stop: lift staff, swing staff, accurate strike.

In less than ten rounds, Shi Xiaodao was struck in the wrist, and the sword in his hand fell to the ground.

Seeing that Shi Xiaodao had been disarmed, the members of the Xiao Dao Gang also lost their fire and recognized the reality.

After one battle, the Hong Sect had thirteen people injured, and the Xiao Dao Gang had twenty or so people dead.

At this time, Sun Gui also realized the benefits of the Training Camp: sweat more during training, bleed less during battle.

Having taken down the Xiao Dao Gang, Sun Gui sent people to ransack the silver and wealth inside the Xiao Dao Gang.

Only then did they leave in high spirits.