Chapter 3262: The Mercy of Not Killing

Hearing that Wu Feiyan wanted to cut off Wu Shutong's left hand, Wu Tianlin merely blinked in surprise, yet he also did not speak up to plead for Wu Shutong.

He knew that, whether to keep others in awe or to make the Yingzhu feel a little more at ease, she needed someone to bear responsibility for this.

When a bad thing happens and no one steps forward to take responsibility, everyone will default to blaming Wu Feiyan, thinking her self-proclaimed clever scheme went awry, which caused the other party to bypass Nigeria and strike at Morocco instead.

Thus, cutting off Wu Shutong's left hand is tantamount to telling everyone that this matter is due to Wu Shutong's ineptitude, and that he has already been punished.

Wu Feiyan also needs this to numb herself, to tell herself that the fault lies not with her, but with Wu Shutong.

So he immediately said respectfully: "Yingzhu, rest assured, I will notify the Three Great Elders right away."

As he spoke, he recalled something and hurriedly added: "Yingzhu, this person's identity is mysterious and his strength extraordinary; sending the Yingliao's Flying Cavalry after him might not even be a match, I wonder if the Three Great Elders could go investigate? If we happen to find him, we might even be able to kill him and eliminate the threat forever!"

Wu Feiyan shook her head: "If he is in Morocco and the Three Great Elders can find him, killing him might not be difficult, but what if he is no longer in Morocco? What if the Three Great Elders cannot find him? Right now, the most important thing is that Nigeria has been exposed; if the Three Great Elders go from there to Morocco, they will likely draw enemy attention, and once the Three Great Elders are exposed, future troubles will only grow worse."

After speaking, Wu Feiyan added: "This person is full of schemes, ruthless and vicious; with his strength, even Changsheng Bo is no match, let alone Jian Gong Bo, but initially Jian Gong Bo was killed by close-defense cannon fire in Cyprus, which shows this person is strong yet not arrogant, and knows how to adapt, finding the optimal solution in any situation; if he has set an ambush in Morocco, losing some Flying Cavalry would be trivial, but if the Three Great Elders suffer losses, it would not be worth the cost."

Recalling the losses of the Four Marquises, Wu Feiyan still feels the pain to this day.

Cultivating such high-level experts is no easy task; three have died in succession and one is missing, already bringing her great psychological trauma.

In her view, sending the Three Great Elders to Morocco offers little cost-effectiveness; whether or not they find the opponent is beside the point, once the Three Great Elders are exposed, they will inevitably fall into a passive position in the future.

Moreover, if the opponent has set an ambush and the Three Great Elders are then struck by close-defense cannon, the losses would be catastrophic.

At this moment, Wu Tianlin said: "Yingzhu, the opponent likely has grasped our apprehension toward him, so he clearly knows we have an ambush in Nigeria just a few thousand li away, yet he still dares to strike at us in Morocco; the Moroccan garrison is numerous, and he cannot quickly evacuate all personnel in a short time; if the Three Great Elders rush over promptly, they might seize the opportunity and achieve victory in one battle!"

Continuing, Wu Tianlin said: "Furthermore, that fellow must have already learned of the Great Blood Exchange from the Flying Cavalry stationed in Morocco; he will surely realize that once the Great Blood Exchange is completed, his future attempts to sway the entire garrison will be nearly impossible; thus, he will not dare to strike at any of our garrisons again; if this time we let him escape easily, catching him later will be as difficult as climbing to heaven!"

Wu Feiyan fell into deep thought at once.

Those with great physical strength often lack meticulous thinking.

Wu Feiyan has traversed the world for over three hundred years; since wounding Lin Zhilu and leaving the Great Mountain Dashan, she has met no equal in this world; in strategy, she indeed lacks sharpness.

She has been struck repeatedly by Ye Chen from the shadows, already developing some stress disorder, always feeling this fellow appears and disappears mysteriously, possesses vast supernatural powers, and his killing methods are endless.

She kills like hemp, yet never thought of using close-defense cannon to kill, nor of using a helicopter's rotor to sever a person's head.

What kind of trick is this that a cultivator would think of?

Utterly lacking in martial virtue.

Yet the opponent insists on not following conventions—yesterday close-defense cannon, today helicopter, tomorrow perhaps even dragging out the Soviet Katyusha rockets of old; deep in Wu Feiyan's heart, she feels a few points of dread toward this mysterious person.

But what Wu Tianlin said is not without reason.

Although we have now lost a city first, it is also an opportunity to turn defeat into victory.

If we seize the opportunity to drag the opponent out and kill him, we can once and for all eliminate the trouble.

If we miss this opportunity, finding him again will likely be difficult.

After a moment's contemplation, she said: "Let the Three Great Elders go together; if cautious, they should encounter no danger, but their going now would be of little use; although Morocco is not large, relying solely on the three of them to scour it thoroughly is sheer fantasy; thus, let the Three Great Elders remain stationed in Nigeria, aside from Nigeria's Flying Cavalry, let Wu Shutong also dispatch all personnel of the Right Army Governor's Office Tiger-Brave Battalion to Morocco; once these people arrive in Morocco, let them overlook no clue; I want to know how the opponent came, how he left, and where he went; once we find the opponent and the Moroccan garrison personnel, immediately notify the Three Great Elders to come, and have others assist the Three Great Elders in killing all of the opponent's people, slaying as many as possible!"

Wu Tianlin felt Wu Feiyan's decision was still reasonable; although the Three Great Elders are very strong, they have spent many years in closed-door cultivation, know little of modern society, and do not understand how to use modern technology to screen clues; sending them to find someone, they may not truly have that ability; it would be better to let these trained Flying Cavalry, and the even stronger Tiger-Brave Battalion members, go investigate; they are not only formidable martial artists but have also undergone systematic military training, almost indistinguishable from special agents; letting them investigate is most suitable.

Although Nigeria and Morocco are over three thousand kilometers apart in a straight line, once the enemy is discovered, aircraft can reach them within a few hours; thus, we can treat the Three Great Elders as precision-strike nuclear weapons: as soon as the target is found, we can launch immediately.

Thus, without hesitation, he said: "Still, Yingzhu, your consideration is more thorough; I will now relay the order."

Wu Tianlin's order was first transmitted to the Three Great Elders.

After all, Wu Shutong must be punished first, so he demanded the Three Great Elders cut off Wu Tianlin's left hand, then remain stationed in Nigeria awaiting orders, and only after Wu Shutong's left hand is cut off, convey other commands to him.

To show consideration for Wu Shutong, Wu Tianlin specially pleaded with the Three Great Elders to seal Wu Shutong's meridians and nerves before acting, and to treat his wound afterward; although Wu Shutong's left hand cannot be saved, at least he can be spared pain.

After receiving the order, the Three Great Elders immediately ended their closed-door cultivation.

Meanwhile, Wu Shutong was anxiously awaiting Wu Tianlin's feedback, unaware of how the Yingzhu would punish him.

Deputy Commander Yuan Chengze had already been summoned to his side; upon learning of everything that happened in Morocco, Yuan Chengze was also uneasy, and together with Wu Shutong, anxiously awaited.

At this moment, someone came running to report: "Grand Governor, the Three Great Elders have emerged from seclusion and are heading this way!"

Wu Shutong did not know the Three Great Elders were coming for him, and still said to Yuan Chengze: "I suppose the Yingzhu wants to recall the Three Great Elders back."

Yuan Chengze nodded: "This time's 'waiting by the stump for a rabbit' yielded no rabbit; recalling the Three Great Elders is quite normal."

As they spoke, the Three Great Elders pushed the door open and entered.

Leading them was one of the Three Great Elders, Wu Bolin, also the strongest among all present; he entered, looked at Wu Shutong, and with a helpless expression asked: "I heard you, young man, made a mistake?"

The Three Great Elders have been in Nigeria, with Wu Shutong, this junior, attending to them before and after, and have already become familiar with his face; the Three Great Elders are rather satisfied with this capable junior, so receiving the order to cut off his left hand, they also feel some compassion.

Wu Shutong did not expect the Three Great Elders to open with asking about his mistake, so he hurriedly replied: "Reporting to Grand Elder, this time the enemy did not come to Nigeria, but turned and destroyed another of our garrisons; speaking frankly, I am also powerless in this matter……"

Wu Bolin nodded, glanced at him, then at his left hand, and said: "If I recall correctly, you should not be left-handed, right?"

Wu Shutong instinctively said: "No, what's wrong, Grand Elder?"

Wu Bolin said nothing, but directly seized Wu Shutong's left wrist, and said: "Young man, though I quite appreciate you, the Yingzhu's command must not be defied; do not blame me."

Upon finishing, he stirred his mind, and two strands of spiritual energy instantly split from within his body; one strand entered Wu Shutong's left wrist, completely wrapping the wrist, causing Wu Shutong to lose all sensation in his left hand and wrist; the other strand transformed into an invisible blade, which pierced through Wu Shutong's left wrist at extreme speed.

Wu Shutong felt no pain at all, and was puzzled, when he saw his left hand actually slip off from the wrist, leaving a smooth, flat cut at the wrist.

Due to the protection of spiritual energy, the wound did not even shed a drop of blood.

Wu Shutong's face turned deathly pale from fright, and he blurted: "I……my hand……Grand Elder……you……you……why are you doing this!?"

Wu Bolin said lightly: "The Yingzhu has commanded: as a friendly army Grand Governor who mismanaged the troops, you shall have your left hand cut off, hoping you will know shame and thereafter be brave; do not repeat the same mistake! Furthermore, I have sealed your wrist's blood vessels, nerves, and meridians with spiritual energy; you feel no pain, but your left hand cannot be reattached."

After speaking, he added: "You have saved your life; hurry and give thanks!"

At this moment, Wu Shutong felt utterly wronged in his heart!

This trap in Nigeria was entirely not my idea, nor my task; it was the Yingzhu's idea; I participated only because I chose my own territory as the trap's location.

The enemy did not fall for it; the blame should lie with the mastermind behind the scenes; what does it have to do with me? Why must I lose my left hand!?

Although my wrist feels no pain at all, my heart aches as if cut by a knife; I am a high-ranking Grand Governor, yet now I have become a disabled person missing a hand! Is this not just me taking the blame for the Yingzhu? Taking blame is taking blame, but taking blame and still having to give thanks—what kind of nonsense is this!?

Yet, though his heart harbors ten thousand grievances and hatreds, at this moment he dares not show the slightest discontent; instead, he respectfully kneels on the ground, filled with shame, and says: "This subordinate……this subordinate thanks the Yingzhu for the mercy of not killing!"