Chapter 435: Identical Plot

At this time, another group of deserters from the Suiren Clan was walking forward in silence. They had finally reached a brief consensus among themselves: to pass through Huaxia and head to a more distant place to establish a new tribe of their own. As for joining Huaxia, they had actually abandoned that idea.

Because, according to the current time, it should be exactly when Huaxia and the main force of the Suiren Clan are at war. Although they do not know how the battle is going, based on their experience, Huaxia should be the weaker side right now. Even if they haven't been conquered yet, they likely won't be able to hold out for long.

Now that they have so many Soldiers, if they say they want to defect to Huaxia, they will likely be killed immediately. Even if Huaxia truly believed them and let them join, they would then immediately be sent to fight against the Suiren Clan as Huaxia Soldiers; wouldn't the end result still be death?

They hadn't even considered the possibility of being blocked by Huaxia on the road. Huaxia couldn't possibly have left their Soldiers out in the wilderness instead of fighting the Suiren Clan. On the contrary, their chances of encountering the Suiren Clan were higher, but they weren't afraid, because they were dressed in Suiren Clan attire; if they really ran into them, they could tell a lie to smooth things over.

It was just that they were now physically and mentally exhausted. There weren't many large prey to hunt here in Huaxia. With so many of them, they could only fill their stomachs by catching small rabbits or squirrels every day, or by foraging for various Grass Seeds. Everyone was so hungry that their spirits were low, to the point that when they heard the sounds of a wolf pack, their reactions were somewhat sluggish.

In the end, it wasn't until the wolf pack reached them that they reacted. They picked up their Weapons and were just about to attack when they saw the humans following behind. The situation was exactly the same as when the previous batch of deserters saw Huaxia; they were all extremely astonished.

The Leader looked at the other side's attire; they were clearly not from the Suiren Clan. But at a time like this, it was impossible for Huaxia to have spared any combat power. He asked with suspicion: "Are you... from Huaxia?"

Seeing a scene identical to yesterday's, Luzhi couldn't help but want to laugh, but he still pretended not to know and tilted his head: "Right, we are from Huaxia. You are from the Suiren Clan, aren't you!"

The people opposite said words almost identical to those of the few from yesterday, even claiming that they couldn't bear to see a few Leaders kill their own clansmen, which was why they resisted and then fled, rather than saying they fled for fear of suffering an unprovoked disaster.

Luzhi stopped pretending: "Alright, I heard this yesterday. It's exactly the same. But they also said that only their group had fled. I don't care what reason you had for fleeing; since you want to join Huaxia, then throw your Weapons over. Once we return to Huaxia, the truth will naturally be known."

The person in the lead was stunned: "When did I say I wanted to join Huaxia... wait, you said you met people like us yesterday, Suiren Clan Soldiers?"

Luzhi raised an eyebrow: "What, you don't know? Before you came, didn't you think to coordinate your stories? The opening lines are exactly the same, but those people said they were the only group!"

The deserters opposite already knew what was going on. These Huaxia Soldiers had definitely encountered the very people who had killed Lanzai and the others before fleeing—the culprits who had led to their own flight. Everyone couldn't help but curse under their breath.

After the Leader finished cursing, he said quite directly: "Fine, we indeed didn't flee because we killed those few Leaders, but it's about the same. I can't be bothered to explain the details to you. Now we want to pass through your Huaxia to live in a more distant place. You had best clear the way for us so we can avoid a fight. But rest assured, we will absolutely not linger on Huaxia's territory."

Presumably, your Huaxia is currently locked in a desperate battle with the Suiren Clan, right? You don't have many Huaxia Soldiers; you had best step aside, lest you all die at our hands."

Upon hearing this, the Huaxia Soldiers burst into loud laughter in unison. Many were bent over laughing, having to lean on their companions.

The deserters were puzzled, but they could also hear the mockery in the Huaxia laughter, so they roared: "What are you laughing at? Did I say something wrong!"

He attempted to drown out the Huaxia laughter, but what responded to him was even louder laughter.

Seeing that the deserters opposite were about to lose control of their anger, Luzhi had to rub his chest, forcing himself to stop laughing, and spoke slowly: "The Suiren Clan was beaten into a panicked retreat by us several days ago. As for their army of thirty thousand, I don't know how many are left, but in any case, the river at our gate was almost blocked by corpses—pfft... Hahaha!"

The deserters turned from anger to shock: "This... this is impossible. How could you Huaxia possibly defeat the Suiren Clan? How many Soldiers does your Huaxia even have! Even if thirty thousand weren't enough, the Suiren Clan could still gather another thirty thousand! One hundred thousand!"

The Huaxia laughter became sparse and gradually began to die down, but there were always those few who just couldn't stop.

Luzhi choked a little and coughed a few times before saying: "Believe it or not, the Suiren Clan has already been beaten away. Besides, didn't you break away from the Suiren Clan? What does how they are doing have to do with you?"

The deserter Leader was silenced by the retort.

"You... you..." Unable to refute further, he had to make a threat: "No matter how they are doing, you had best clear the way. If we don't fight, it's better for you and better for us."

Luzhi planted his Knife into the ground: "And what if we don't?"

The deserter Leader gripped his Spear with both hands, assuming an attack stance: "Then you can try and see if you can beat us. We have seven hundred Soldiers here; you have so few, it's not even enough for us to kill!"

Luzhi was puzzled: "What do you mean 'so few'? We have more people than you."

He then looked back, and the Huaxia Soldiers also emerged from behind the dense thicket, standing within the deserters' field of vision.

The deserter Leader realized that they indeed did not have the advantage, but he still said stubbornly: "So what if you have more people? We are warriors of the Suiren Clan. We have killed more people than you have ever seen." He then adjusted his grip on the Spear to hide his lack of confidence.

"Oh? Warriors? Laozi specializes in beating warriors!"

Luzhi then drew his Knife from its scabbard, and the other Soldiers immediately followed suit. A flash of silver light appeared before the deserters' eyes; they instantly lost all will to fight and began to retreat, looking for escape routes.

Luzhi pointed his Knife forward: "Archers, shoot those leaders for me. Kill anyone who tries to run! Those who drop their Weapons and kneel to surrender may be spared!"

As soon as these words were spoken, those at the very front of the deserter group, regardless of whether they were leaders or not, were riddled with Arrows and fell to the ground twitching. The few who tried to run met the same fate.

Those with quick reactions had already thrown down their Weapons and were kneeling on the ground holding their heads. Seeing this, the others immediately dropped their Weapons and knelt down, holding their heads.

Luzhi sheathed his Knife: "Hey, that's more like it. If you're obedient, you don't have to die. You just had to show off—'warriors', indeed. Laozi has killed more warriors than you have ever seen!"

A Soldier nearby tactlessly said: "General, but last time in battle you were in charge of relaying orders and didn't move; where did you kill any warriors?"

Luzhi's face flushed red, and he feigned a kick: "You talk too much. Didn't you go to school? Do you know what a figure of speech is?"

The little Soldier chuckled: "You're right, I really didn't go to school. Ever since I've been in Huaxia, I've just been a Soldier; I barely know a few characters. You say this is a 'figure of speech'? I've learned it."