This Kid is More Evil Than Lord Wu'an

"Who is this person... what is his background?"

Meng Wu's hoarse voice echoed within the command tent, carrying a bone-chilling cold.

Meng Tian, standing before him, did not answer immediately.

He merely set aside the main battle report in his hand and retrieved another bamboo slip from the scout's pack, wrapped in cowhide and sealed more tightly.

"Father, this is Shi Meng's personal detailed record of achievements. It includes... the beheading count from this battle."

Meng Tian's voice was a little dry. He untied the cowhide rope and handed the bamboo slip to Meng Wu with both hands.

Meng Wu's gaze fell upon the bamboo slip.

His hand hesitated for a moment.

As the High General of Great Qin, he had reviewed more achievement records than he could stack. Every number on them represented the demise of a life and the honor of a Qin soldier.

But today, for the first time, he felt a trace of fear towards an achievement record.

He took a deep breath and accepted it.

As the bamboo slip unfolded, a strong smell of blood mixed with ink wafted towards him.

It meticulously recorded the names of every meritorious soldier and their beheading counts in Qin seal script.

"Shi Meng, thirty-three heads."

"Sun He, nineteen heads."

"Qian Hu, twenty-one heads."

Meng Wu's eyes quickly scanned the familiar and unfamiliar names. He could tell that the soldiers of the Vanguard Camp had displayed astonishing combat power in this battle.

Finally, his gaze settled at the end of the list.

It was a name circled separately in vermilion ink.

"Tiger and Wolf Army Centurion, Wei Zhe."

Meng Wu's lips moved silently as he uttered the name.

Then, his gaze slowly shifted to the number behind the name.

In that instant, the pupils of the old general, who had spent his life on the battlefield and seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood, shrank to the size of pinpricks.

What had he seen?

"Beheaded... one hundred and ninety-six."

"Additionally, killed in battle the enemy commander, Han State High General Bao Yuan, one head."

"Boom!"

It was as if thunder had exploded in Meng Wu's mind.

One hundred and ninety-six!

Add Bao Yuan, and it was one hundred and ninety-seven!

He wasn't unfamiliar with fierce generals; in his youth, he himself possessed the might to face ten thousand men.

But in a battle of tens of thousands, to personally take nearly two hundred enemy heads in one night, including the enemy commander!

What did this mean?

It meant that in the bloody battle last night, this young man named Wei Zhe had killed someone, on average, every few dozen breaths!

He wasn't fighting a war.

He was slaughtering!

"Crazy... Shi Meng is crazy, or am I crazy?" Meng Wu's fingers turned white from the force with which he gripped the bamboo slip, which groaned under the strain.

"Father," Meng Tian said in a low voice from the side, "behind the achievement record are the joint seals of the Centurions and Military Marquises of each unit. Thousands of people witnessed it with their own eyes, there is absolutely no falsehood."

Meng Wu did not speak. He just stared intently at the number, his breathing becoming heavier and heavier.

He thought of the name that was like a god or demon in the Great Qin army.

Lord Wu'an, Bai Qi.

That god of slaughter who had buried alive four hundred thousand Zhao soldiers and struck fear into the six states, was also known for his ferocity in his youth.

But even Lord Wu'an, in all his recorded achievements, had never had such... such an uncanny personal record of slaying generals!

"This kid..." Meng Wu's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty. "He's not human, he's a monster."

This was the only explanation he could think of.

Meng Tian also wore a bitter smile on his face.

"Father, do you now understand why Shi Meng said he dared not claim the merit?"

"In the face of such achievements, his thirty-three heads are indeed... not presentable."

The command tent fell into a long, dead silence.

Only the heavy breathing of the father and son could be heard.

A long time later, Meng Wu slowly raised his head. His cloudy old eyes were bloodshot, and his gaze was incredibly complex.

"My Great Qin has twenty ranks of military merit. Since Lord Shang's reforms, it has been an ironclad law."

He seemed possessed, muttering to himself.

"For each enemy head taken, advance one rank. For each enemy general's head taken, advance three ranks."

"Bao Yuan is a High General of Han State, his rank equivalent to our Great Qin's High Minister. Slaying him should advance one by five ranks!"

"One hundred and ninety-six soldier's heads equate to one hundred and ninety-six ranks..."

His fingers began to tremble uncontrollably in the air as he calculated.

"Gongshi, Shangzao, Zan Niao, Bugeng, Daifu, Guan Daifu, Gong Daifu, Gong Cheng, Fifth Rank Official..."

With each title he uttered, his face grew paler.

By the time he reached the ninth rank, "Fifth Rank Official," he could barely speak.

Because according to the strictest military law, Wei Zhe's achievements in this battle were enough to elevate him from a commoner with no rank to directly being enfegeted as...

The ninth rank, "Fifth Rank Official"! Or even higher!

Fifth Rank Official!

What kind of concept was that?

It was a height that countless generals in the Great Qin army, despite dedicating their lives and dying on the battlefield, might never reach!

He, Meng Wu, as a High General, was currently only at the eighteenth rank, "Dashuzhang." His son, Meng Tian, who had repeatedly achieved merit, was only at the tenth rank, "Zuoshuzhang."

A new recruit who had been enlisted for less than three months was about to be on par with Meng Tian after one battle?

This was no longer a reward.

This was shaking the very foundation of the nation!

"Father," Meng Tian said, looking at his father's extremely grim expression, his voice deep, "I'm afraid this matter is no longer within our authority to decide."

"Shi Meng's battle report stated that he made a battlefield decision, promoting Wei Zhe to a substantive Thousand-Man Commander and ordering him to lead three thousand troops."

"This is already... the limit of his authority."

Meng Wu slowly closed his eyes and threw the scorching bamboo slips onto the table.

He felt that what he was holding was not a record of military merit.

It was a red-hot branding iron, one that could burn a massive hole in the entire Great Qin court.

"Reward him, or not? How to reward him?"

Meng Wu opened his eyes, his gaze filled with struggle.

"If we reward him according to military law, a mere youth will, overnight, hold a rank equivalent to a Duke. In court, those parasitic imperial relatives and nobles will be the first to object. The old generals in the army who have spent their lives earning seniority will also be dissatisfied. The hearts of the people will be in turmoil."

"If we don't reward him according to military law, we are breaking the century-old national law passed down by Lord Shang! What has allowed my Great Qin to sweep across the six states? It is this ironclad rule of 'merit will be rewarded, crime will be punished'! If we make an exception for one Wei Zhe today, we will make one for a second, a third tomorrow. Once the national law is shaken, the demise of my Great Qin will not be far off!"

Meng Wu's voice grew more agitated as he spoke, finally tinged with a hint of fear.

He realized he had fallen into a no-win situation.

No matter which choice he made, it would be wrong.

Meng Tian was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke.

"Father, perhaps, there is another option."

"Hmm?"

"This matter is no longer one of military merit and rewards, but a matter of national importance. There is only one person in the world who can decide matters of national importance."

Meng Tian's gaze turned towards the direction of Xianyang.

Meng Wu's body jolted.

He instantly understood his son's meaning.

Yes.

In this world, there was still someone who did not abide by the rules, or rather, who himself was the rule.

That was the monarch in Xianyang Palace, the one who was determined to crush the entire world beneath his feet!

Only he could make such a decision that could subvert tradition!

And only he could suppress all the repercussions that this decision would bring!

"You are right."

Meng Wu let out a long sigh of relief, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted.

"This matter must be reported to the King immediately, for the King to personally decide!"

He made up his mind instantly, without the slightest hesitation.

"Guards!"

A personal guard immediately entered the tent.

"Prepare brush and ink! I will personally write a letter!"