White Wave Bandits Occupy the Ancient City

Zhongqiu Ancient City.

Guo Tai sat upright in the County Government Office's magistrate's seat.

Below him, burly, robust men sat on both sides, numbering more than a dozen.

The men were all eating large chunks of meat and drinking bowl after bowl of wine, while their eyes kept staring at the group of dancers gracefully dancing in the center, their gazes revealing a ravenous, predatory light.

Some of the burly men were even itching to act, barely able to restrain themselves.

If Guo Tai had not kept the scene under control, it would have descended into chaos long ago.

Guo Tai knew the situation like the back of his hand. He picked up the summary ledger beside him and began reading. The more he read, the more satisfied he became. Stroking his coarse beard, he thought, This food, cloth, gold, and silver should be enough to supply our army for a year.

He was extremely satisfied.

"The Zhen Family is rumored to be wealthy, and it seems the rumors are true. The goods they left in Zhongqiu alone are enough to cover my army's expenses for eight months. A portion of one family's goods is actually worth as much as an entire city! No, it exceeds the treasury of an entire city!"

After pondering for a while, he ordered his men to bring Zhen Yi up.

Zhen Yi was an exceptionally handsome and refined middle-aged man.

But at this moment, covered in wounds, he was being roughly dragged into the main hall of the County Government Office by a soldier.

The dancers shrieked in fright, and the burly men beside them laughed as they dragged the women aside.

Guo Tai ignored the crying dancers and simply stared at Zhen Yi.

"Zhen Yi, have you made your decision? As long as you agree to my demands, I can release you immediately. Otherwise, we will become enemies. Perhaps one day I will attack your stronghold and wipe out your wife and children as well."

Zhen Yi was furious but dared not speak. He merely lowered his head slightly and remained silent.

"What a tough one."

Guo Tai found him troublesome, but he was even more impatient and angry.

"If I didn't think you still had some use, I would have you flayed alive right now!"

He waved his hand.

"Drag him away. Find a way to make him agree!"

"Yes, Commander!"

The soldiers dragged Zhen Yi away.

Guo Tai frowned as he contemplated the matter, when a sudden, urgent shout startled him from his thoughts.

"Report!"

Someone suddenly rushed into the main hall.

It was the Messenger.

Guo Tai's brows knitted into a deep frown, and he glared at the Messenger with swordlike eyes.

"What exactly happened?"

"Reporting to you, Commander."

The Messenger spoke with utmost respect.

"There is a man outside the city shouting insults and demanding to fight the commanders one-on-one."

"Fight us one-on-one?"

One of the burly men grinned and laughed.

"What nerve! Does he even know who we are?"

"This man knows."

The Messenger answered truthfully.

"He said we are a bunch of cowardly bears! Cowards, vermin, bandits, and despicable scum who only know how to bully civilians!"

"Hm?!"

Guo Tai's brows rose like blades.

"What else did he say?"

Old people hated others calling them old.

Disabled people were most sensitive to others calling them disabled.

Likewise, as bandits, they were most enraged when others called them vermin or cowardly thieves.

"He also said that all of you commanders are spineless women and don't dare fight him one-on-one at all!"

"Hahaha..."

Guo Tai laughed in fury and slammed his palm on the table as he rose.

"Our White Wave Army has dominated Ji Province and Bing Province, making children stop crying at the mere mention of our name. Yet some ignorant vermin dares to look down on us. What do you say we should do?"

He looked at the people below the hall.

"Of course, kill him."

A burly man slapped his chest and stood up, shouting loudly.

"Commander, why use a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken? Let me, Hu Cai, go deal with him!"

"Let me go instead."

Another reckless man stood up laughing.

"Just some petty bandit! He actually dares come here and spout such nonsense. I'll cut off his head and make it into a piss pot! I'll let the world know what happens when they offend our White Wave Army!"

"Good."

Another powerful and muscular man rose and walked into the main hall, cupping his hands toward Guo Tai in greeting.

"This man must not only be killed with great fanfare, he must also be subjected to a thousand cuts and the eighteen forms of torture before he dies. Otherwise, the world will think our White Wave Army is easy to deal with. Then anyone will dare come challenge us. That is completely intolerable!"

The burly men each had their say, directly deciding what would be done.

Guo Tai questioned the Messenger in detail.

When he learned that the challenger had truly come alone on horseback, he asked, "You didn't send men after him?"

"His horse is too fast. We couldn't catch him."

The Messenger said, "When one man went after him, he was killed. When ten went, they spread out and were killed one by one. When we pursued him in a group, he ran, and we couldn't catch him at all. Once we returned, he began shouting insults at the city gate again. This happened several times, and we suffered many casualties. With no other choice, we came to report to you, Commander."

"Damn him!"

Hu Cai opened his eyes wide and shouted angrily.

"This man has killed the fine sons of our army. How can we tolerate this? I'll go deal with him now."

Without waiting for Guo Tai to speak, he grabbed his saber and charged out.

A moment later,

they heard a sharp neigh from a horse, followed by a series of clopping hoofbeats. The sound gradually faded into the distance, clearly indicating that Hu Cai had already ridden far away.

The ones remaining included the coarse-looking Han Xian and the tall, burly Li Le.

These men were all skilled fighters in the army.

Seeing that Hu Cai had seized the initiative, they could not help but feel regretful.

"That bastard stole the credit from us. With such a good opportunity, I must be the first next time."

They clearly had great confidence in Hu Cai's martial strength.

They continued eating and drinking while enjoying the dancers' performance.

Only Guo Tai waited in silence.

After a long while,

"Report!"

A new Messenger suddenly rushed into the main hall.

Seeing the anxiety and anger on his face, Guo Tai felt a jolt in his heart and hurriedly asked, "What happened?"

"General Hu was stabbed to death by the enemy."

"What?!"

Guo Tai staggered and nearly fell.

Han Xian, Li Le, and the others also turned to look, finding it difficult to believe.

"Hu Cai was comparable to a Second-Rate Military General, with immense strength and extraordinary agility. That nameless nobody actually managed to kill him?!"

"Tell me every detail!"

Guo Tai shouted angrily.

"Yes, Commander."

The Messenger immediately said, "General Hu left through the city gate to pursue the enemy, but the enemy's horse was too fast, and he couldn't catch up for a while. General Hu seemed to curse at him several times. When the enemy did not respond, General Hu turned back. Unexpectedly, the enemy suddenly galloped over and attacked. General Hu turned to face him, but because it happened so suddenly, the enemy seized an opening and stabbed him from his horse.

"Even after falling from his horse, General Hu remained fierce. Unexpectedly, that villain stabbed him several more times. General Hu had no horse and couldn't outrun him, so he was stabbed to death on the spot, his blood draining away. We wanted to save him, but that man ran too fast, and it was difficult to catch him."

"Damn it!"

Guo Tai gnashed his teeth.

"Unless this man is thrown into an oil cauldron, my hatred will never be appeased!"

"Commander, let me go deal with him!"

Han Xian leaped to his feet, seized a spear, and left without another word.

"I'll go too."

Li Le said, "I can provide support from the side and prepare a surprise thrust, so that fellow won't get away!"