Chapter 38: All Are Just Tools

"This idea is truly not very good!"

Listening to the people in the room discussing, and the person being discussed was him—especially the fact that the other party wanted to use the refugees to deal with him—made Shen Yu feel quite uncomfortable.

It was already difficult enough for those people to afford a meal, yet this gang of bandits wanted to exploit them; furthermore, once a civil uprising began, it would inevitably be accompanied by heavy casualties. Of course, the Zhangnan Bandits certainly did not care, but he could not just ignore it.

"Big Brother is wise, your strategy is peerless!"

"Big Brother, once you make a move, that petty County Magistrate will be captured in no time!"

Not long after the First Chief finished speaking, a chorus of flattery erupted in the room, which actually surprised Shen Yu quite a bit. These people were all individuals who licked blood from the edge of a blade and were unruly, yet they were actually willing to lower themselves to flatter him.

The prestige of this First Chief was even greater than he had imagined.

"Enough!" With a light shout, the First Chief in the room cleared his throat and continued, "The first matter has been settled, now for the second matter, though this second matter also concerns the refugees!"

"Our Fuyun Mountain, after these years of development, is already well-stocked with armor and weapons, and abundant in grain and grass. Now that floods are raging and refugees are everywhere, it is the perfect opportunity for us to expand our strength."

"This..." The few people in the room exchanged glances, and then the Second Chief asked cautiously, "Big Brother, haven't you always taught us to act with caution and not to be the first bird to stick its head out? If we expand on a large scale, it will inevitably attract unnecessary attention!"

"That is exactly why I called you all here!" Gently waving his folding fan, the First Chief swept his gaze over the eight people present with calm composure; his entire demeanor was imposing without anger, causing the chiefs in the room to involuntarily straighten their backs.

"After all these years, your wings have hardened, and you are capable of establishing your own mountain strongholds!"

"What?" The First Chief's words caused the people in the room to gasp, and they immediately became panicked and uneasy. What was the meaning of this? Was he saying they had ulterior motives?

"Big Brother, which bastard is whispering nonsense in your ear? We are loyal to you, how could we dare to establish our own strongholds!"

"That's right, Big Brother, we swear to serve you to the death, we would never dare to have the slightest disloyalty!"

Soon, the several chiefs in the room hurriedly knelt down, anxiously expressing their respective loyalty. Cold sweat streamed down their foreheads, but no one dared to wipe it away, or even move an inch, as if time had suddenly frozen.

Although they each looked fierce, when it came to being ruthless and vicious, no one could compare to this First Chief. If compared to the First Chief, they were just pure, little white rabbits.

This First Chief was not only terrifyingly strong, but he was also peerless in strategy, and on top of that, he was cold-blooded and heartless. If there was even the slightest thing wrong, their end would be very miserable.

Over these years, the other chiefs of the Zhangnan Bandits had been replaced more than once, and the vast majority of them had died at the hands of this First Chief.

"Alright, all of you get up, I believe in your loyalty!" Nodding silently, seemingly very satisfied with the scene before him, the First Chief waved his hand, signaling them to rise.

The several chiefs looked at each other before daring to stand up, though compared to when they first arrived, they were now even more cautious, fearing that any word spoken might be wrong.

"I told you before that everything must be done with caution and care, and nothing should be rushed. We must develop, but we cannot let ourselves be noticed, which is why I want you to go and establish your own strongholds to expand our strength!"

"So that's it!" Wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads, they had been terrified just now; so this was what Big Brother meant. Establishing their own strongholds was good—it would save them from facing this First Chief every day and living in constant fear.

In the future, they would be their own masters, able to do whatever they wanted, living a carefree life!

Quietly watching the changes in these people's expressions, the First Chief gave a cold smile; how could he not know what they were thinking? They were mud that couldn't be propped up on a wall, yet they still wanted to play mind games with him!

"Take advantage of this refugee crisis to recruit your own men and develop slowly. It would be best if you often fought among yourselves; that way, no one will know the relationship between you, and it will also give you a reason for your expansion!"

"Perhaps those big shots in the imperial court will even try to find a way to offer you amnesty to pad their own political records! When that time comes, you can keep the benefits, and ignore the rest!"

"Haha!" After the First Chief finished speaking, the few of them all laughed along, their smiles carrying a hint of longing, as if they had already seen the exciting scene to come.

"Developing in the shadows, this First Chief is quite cunning!" Hearing the First Chief's words, Shen Yu outside the room could not help but click his tongue in wonder. No wonder the Zhangnan Bandits could develop to their current scale; this First Chief had truly mastered the essence of developing in the shadows. That saying was very true: if you just keep a low profile, you eventually win.

"Old Six!" Suddenly, the First Chief's voice turned icy, and an invisible murderous aura seemed to lower the temperature of the entire room significantly. Everyone in the room could not help but shiver.

"B-Big Brother!" Being suddenly called out by the First Chief, the Sixth Chief answered tremblingly, appearing extremely panicked, with none of the aura a chief should have.

The others looked at him with schadenfreude; the Big Brother's killing intent was so obvious, it was clear that someone was about to suffer. Being able to see others suffer was also a form of joy for them.

However, the relationship between them was also intentionally orchestrated by the First Chief; he wanted his subordinates to be harmonious on the surface but at odds in their hearts. If they were to work together in unity, would they have ideas about the First Chief's position? Then he would not be able to sleep soundly.

"Old Six, did you act without authorization some days ago, robbing the Nanyu Merchant Guild's caravan, not only killing everyone but also raping and then killing their young miss?"

"Big Brother, this, I..."

"So it is true! Hmph, you have some nerve!" The Sixth Chief's reaction was no different from a confession; the First Chief snorted coldly, stood up abruptly from his seat, and walked down step by step.

The Sixth Chief below could no longer hold on, fell to his knees with a thud, and then hurriedly shouted loudly, "Big Brother, spare me! This subordinate won't dare to do it again, Big Brother!"

"You still want a next time?" Slowly extending his hand, a terrifying power surged forth in an instant, and an invisible force lifted the Sixth Chief up. No matter how he struggled, he could not shake it in the slightest.

"Old Third, you tell him, what is the penalty for acting without my orders?"

"Death!" At this moment, the Third Chief no longer had any of the previous allure; there was only endless terror. The First Chief's current actions made them think of a terrifying possibility, and they could not help but tremble in their hearts.

If it were merely a punishment, they could still gloat, but if he were to kill in front of them, it would inevitably be a case of the rabbit mourning the death of the fox. After all, no one knew if they would be the next one.

"Old Six, you heard it too, death!" Saying this lightly, the First Chief exerted a slight force, and an invisible aura suddenly appeared. Streams of invisible and powerful energy surged out from the Sixth Chief's body, turning and flowing continuously toward the First Chief.

"Big Brother, spare me, spare..."

Soon, the Sixth Chief's body withered and shriveled at a speed visible to the naked eye, until there was not a trace of life left. The pleas for mercy also came to an abrupt end.

"So that's how it is!" This scene made Shen Yu outside the room narrow his eyes slightly. Don't look at how these chiefs of the Zhangnan Bandits treated medicine slaves as less than human, harvesting them wantonly. In the eyes of this First Chief, how were they any different from those medicine slaves? They were all just tools!

These chiefs looked infinitely glorious, but were they not also at risk of having their essence completely drained by the First Chief at any moment? The only one who truly benefited from the entire Zhangnan Bandits was the First Chief!

"You must remember, what I give you, I can also take away!" Coldly sweeping his gaze over everyone, the invisible air pressure seemed to make them unable to breathe, and the bone-chilling murderous aura made them feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.

"In the future, whoever dares to have ulterior motives, in an instant, I can make you be smashed to pieces!"