Chapter 17: In this world, human hearts are the most terrifying

Lin Ao was completely dazed; he hadn't even found an opening yet, but Shen Tianxing moved straight away— the crucial point being that Shen Tianxing's 151 men were actually fixing their gaze on him, and they dared to launch an attack from below.

"Damn it, since you dare to rebel and throw away your lives, don't blame me for being impolite, brothers— kill!"

Lin Ao issued the order; before his words even fell, a head flew out— it was Zhao Lingfei who struck, just a single blade, and that is the strength of the sixth-rank expert summoned.

"Congratulations, Host's subordinate guard Zhao Lingfei has slain the Commander of Ten Thousand, earning ten thousand Killing Points; item drop: medium-grade armor Swallow Wind Boots, silver one hundred taels."

"Since it was not the Host who personally slew, the first-kill reward cannot be obtained; please, Host, keep up the good work!"

Two notification tones let Shen Tianxing confirm two things: even if he slays someone from his own side, as long as the person is hostile to him, he can still earn Killing Point rewards.

Furthermore, if the person is not killed by his own hand, there is no way to obtain the first-kill reward.

This means that for any future beheading mission, only if he himself does the killing will it count as completing the mission; what his subordinates can gain is merely Killing Points, item drops, and silver rewards.

"Congratulations, Host's subordinate light cavalry has slain the Captain of Hundred Soldiers, earning 250 Killing Points."

"Congratulations, Host's subordinate sword-and-shield soldiers have slain the Ten-Soldier Captain, earning 50 Killing Points."

Under the offensive of the system's light cavalry and sword-and-shield soldiers' spiritual power, these several hundred Da Zhou Army troops kept retreating, suffering countless casualties; especially Zhao Lingfei, who with thunderous force frenziedly slaughtered, and within less than a quarter hour, wiped out the entire four-hundred Da Zhou Army.

"The cavalry dragged the corpses to the roadside to bury them, keep the movement quiet, and after finishing the task, catch up."

"Yes, Sir!"

All the light cavalry replied in unison, their address having been changed to 'Sir' at Shen Tianxing's request.

Shen Tianxing nodded in satisfaction, then led the remaining forty-odd sword-and-shield soldiers and Zhao Lingfei as they continued on their way back to the village!

Just after Shen Tianxing had left for an hour, Sun Tiejun, who was waiting in the An City Marshal's Manor for his subordinates to return with orders, was drinking tea when he knocked over his teacup.

The servant immediately went to clean up, while Sun Tiejun furrowed his brow and said to the Vice General at his side, Pan Dongpeng:

"Lin Ao still hasn't returned to report back— nothing will go wrong, will it? You're sure Hongyue is still in the camp and hasn't left? And Li Ming and Qin Lie are also there, right?"

"Reporting to the Marshal, you can rest assured; they're all busy handling affairs in the camp, no one will go rescue Shen Tianxing— Lin Ao perhaps got delayed by something, and I'll send someone to check."

Before Pan Dongpeng's words even fell, a city guard soldier came running in from outside, panic written all over his face.

"Report to the Marshal, grave news— we were patrolling outside the city and, at a distance of two li beyond the walls, discovered several hundred corpses that had just been buried not long ago; at their head was Lin Ao, Sir Lin."

This news struck like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, leaving Sun Tiejun scorched on the outside but tender within; even Pan Dongpeng beside him wore a face of utter disbelief, his brows knotting into lumps.

"How could this happen? Could it be that Shen Tianxing did the killing? He's only a Commander of Thousand in strength— how could he slay Lin Ao and his subordinates numbering just over a hundred? How could he possibly kill several hundred people in such a short time and even bury the bodies?"

Faced with Sun Tiejun's questioning, Pan Dongpeng was also momentarily speechless, not knowing what was going on; he had originally thought Shen Tianxing was just a tiny flea— saving Yang Hongyue had earned him a bit of merit, and crushing him would be as easy as squashing an ant.

As a result, the people sent out to pick a fight not only failed to kill the enemy, but the entire force was wiped out— and does Shen Tianxing really have such gall?

"Marshal, it's very likely not Shen Tianxing's men who did it; it's very likely the vanguard of the Dawu Army has already arrived near An City, they happened to encounter them, and so the two sides engaged in battle, ultimately suffering defeat."

The more Pan Dongpeng spoke, the more he felt his argument was sound, while Sun Tiejun's face grew darker and darker.

"Are you brainless, or do you think I am? If the Dawu Army has already approached An City, do you think they'd startle the snake by beating the grass? At such close range, killing a few hundred people first— is that meant to give us a show of force?"

"Or do you think the Dawu Army people are also brainless, killing a few hundred people and then needing to find a spot on the spot to bury them? This clearly shows that Shen Tianxing used some unknown means to kill them."

"Before, we still had to provoke him to deal with him, but now it's fine— just capture him back and punish him; if he dares to resist, kill without mercy— you personally lead the team, do you understand?"

Sun Tiejun made his decision quickly, and Pan Dongpeng could only nod repeatedly.

"Subordinate receives the order; I'll now take people to seize this Tianxing and bring him back."

"First, don't let Hongyue know; once the matter is accomplished, the Marshal will tell her."

"Yes, Marshal!"

Pan Dongpeng responded, Sun Tiejun waved his hand, and he promptly withdrew.

"Shen Tianxing, don't blame me— it's your own fault for getting too close to Hongyue and even saving her life; anyone who might possibly affect my marriage to Hongyue, no matter who, must die."

Shen Tianxing naturally doesn't know Sun Tiejun's scheming, but even if he did, he wouldn't take it to heart; if they really provoked him to the point of fury, he'd simply use a Master Experience Card once, leaving Sun Tiejun without a trace.

Yunshan Village, which was the village where Shen Tianxing previously lived— Mingyue tidied up Shen Tianxing's house until it was spotless, washed her face, wiped her body, washed and put on clean clothes, and just waited for Shen Tianxing to return.

"Open the door, little girl, I know you're home— stop hiding. Tianxing will absolutely not come back; what's the point of you guarding this place? You'd be better off marrying my son, and that would guarantee you food and clothing for the rest of your life."

Village Chief Shen Daniu led seven or eight people, incessantly knocking on Shen Tianxing's door, with a simple purpose: he wanted Mingyue to marry his foolish son.

Mingyue dared not open the door, hiding under the quilt and trembling; she never expected to have run all the way to Shen Tianxing's village, only to encounter such a thing.

"Tianxing will come back, I won't open the door for you, I won't marry anyone— if you dare to cause trouble, when Tianxing returns he won't let you off."

Mingyue gathered her courage to speak, her voice not loud, still trembling slightly— there's no way she could intimidate Shen Daniu.

"Nonsense, even if you say Tianxing won't come back— well, suppose he does return; he's just a soldier, if he doesn't die he'll still be missing an arm or leg— what could he possibly do to you? Sensible people, hurry up and open the door, or I'll kick it in."

Shen Daniu is no fool either— few soldiers make it back alive from the battlefield, and besides, Humen Pass has already been breached; someone like Shen Tianxing, mere cannon fodder, could never possibly return alive.

"Village Chief, don't go too far— Tianxing did, after all, help save us; you're now running to his house to cause trouble, and you even want your foolish son to marry his wife— if Tianxing ever comes back alive, you'll definitely get what's coming to you, so hurry up and get lost."

The speaker was Shen Erhu, who had previously knocked on the door shouting for Shen Tianxing to flee, with Shen Sangou at his side; the two of them were among the six new soldiers who had returned, and they were the only two who had come over to lend Mingyue a hand.

Seeing that only Shen Erhu and Shen Sangou had come, Shen Daniu didn't even give them a glance.

"You two brats are lucky to have made it back; if there's another conscription next time, you'll surely be taken away again, and yet you want to meddle in the Village Chief's household affairs— believe it or not, I'll have people tie you up right now and send you to An City."