The Number One Traitor of Ye County, the Thousand-Man Enemy, Household Slave Chai Lie

The giant arrow slammed into the Crossbow Mechanism with the force of a thunderbolt; the arrow and the mechanism shattered upon impact, and the shrapnel pierced the nearby soldiers, killing them instantly atop the ramparts!

Zhao Cheng charged in, his Great Halberd sweeping out like a gale, scattering countless enemy soldiers from the Barbican.

Below the Barbican lay a trap: deep pits had been dug into the earth, and within them, countless bamboo spikes stood pointed toward the sky.

Zhao Cheng's Great Halberd moved like a falling galaxy, using the flesh and blood of the enemy to fill the pits; after a brief flurry of slaughter, the pits were more than half-filled.

Terror gripped everyone atop the Barbican.

They had dug these pits themselves, never imagining they would become their own burial ground!

Seeing the traps no longer posed a threat, Zhao Cheng continued to sweep the enemy soldiers from the walls, using them as projectiles to smash into the defenders gathering before the city gate; in an instant, the ranks were thrown into chaos, the ramparts were cleared, and the area behind the gate fell into total disarray.

"All dead?"

Then he would go below to kill.

Zhao Cheng leaped down, charging directly behind the city gate, and with a single swing of his halberd, he cleaved seven or eight men in two.

At this, the enemy soldiers behind the gate were struck with fear.

Just then, a burly, black-faced man who had been using his own body to brace against the battering of the gate turned around, his eyes splitting with rage.

"Damn it! Are you all useless? How did you let someone kill his way in here!?"

He was thick-voiced and broad-shouldered, a full head taller than the surrounding soldiers; he had been bracing the gate for some time, only now realizing something was amiss.

With a massive heave, he shoved the soldiers aside, snatched up a heavy spear from the ground, and charged toward Zhao Cheng.

"Let me deal with you!"

The man was as large and burly as a black bear, and as he charged, he moved like a battering ram, knocking aside even the Han Army soldiers in his path.

He was clearly a fierce warrior himself.

The surrounding soldiers, who had been on the verge of fleeing, stopped in their tracks, hope igniting in their eyes.

"Great! Commander Chai Lie is a fierce warrior brought from Xinzheng by the General; with him stepping in, he will surely hold off that fiend!"

"If it weren't for Commander Chai being tasked with guarding the gate, would this thief have been allowed to run wild?"

"Commander Chai can lift a cauldron; his strength is worth ten men, and he has killed black bears with his bare hands!"

Amidst the expectant gazes of the soldiers, Chai Lie reached Zhao Cheng, his momentum like a boulder crashing down a mountain, his heavy spear whistling through the air as he swung it down!

Yet, the youth stood firm, blocking with his Great Halberd held in one hand.

BOOM!

Chai Lie's heavy spear struck Zhao Cheng's horizontal halberd with a deafening roar.

The spear instantly bent and recoiled, the immense force causing it to vibrate violently; even Chai Lie's own arms went numb, yet the halberd remained unmoved, and the youth's arm, holding the weapon with one hand, did not tremble in the slightest.

He stood as steady as a mountain.

Feeling that rock-solid strength, Chai Lie's expression changed drastically.

Strange!

His strength had always been peerless in the army; he had charged through countless battles, and no one could stop him.

If not for his foul temper and lack of wit, he would have been a general long ago.

Yet his full-force strike had been blocked by a youth—blocked with one hand, and without the slightest effort!

Just how strong was this brat!?

While he stood in shock and doubt, Zhao Cheng moved.

Still holding the halberd with one hand, he gave a light flick.

Chai Lie immediately felt a mountain-collapsing force surge toward him; his heavy spear was instantly knocked aside, and as his guard fell open, the youth's halberd drove straight in, pressing against his throat.

He swallowed hard, a sharp pain radiating from his straining windpipe.

His arms were already aching and trembling from the clash of power.

He looked at the youth's indifferent expression in despair, feeling a wave of defeat.

Training through the coldest winters and hottest summers, honing his body for nearly thirty years, only to be easily defeated by a youth.

He found it hard to accept.

The surrounding soldiers found it even harder to accept.

"This... he's already defeated?"

"What kind of divine strength does this youth possess, that even Commander Chai is not a match for a single blow?"

"I saw him flick his wrist and knock Commander Chai's spear away; the gap in strength is so vast, no wonder he can slaughter our men like this..."

"It's over, let's surrender. If even Commander Chai is no match for him, killing us will be like slaughtering chickens."

Clang, clang.

Many soldiers dropped their weapons and knelt on the ground in surrender.

Just then, a thunderous boom erupted!

The city gate was suddenly rammed open, and the great army swarmed inside.

Meng Tian took the lead, charging forward while shouting, "Kill!! Support the Assault Cavalry Commandant!!"

"Cheng, where are you... urgh!?"

The Qin Army, which had been surging in and charging frantically, suddenly came to a halt.

The scene fell into a sudden silence, and Meng Tian felt a bit awkward.

Before them, the enemy troops were kneeling all over the ground, while Zhao Cheng stood in the center, holding his Great Halberd in one hand and pinning down the bear-like enemy general so firmly that the man dared not even move.

The scene was quite harmonious; Zhao Cheng dominated the entire field, having subdued everyone single-handedly, rendering any need for support completely unnecessary.

"You've arrived?"

Zhao Cheng looked toward Meng Tian. "The Barbican has been breached. Charge in; they are still fighting a bloody battle on the city walls!"

Zhao Cheng had only been fighting at the east gate; in other areas, the Qin Army was still fiercely assaulting the city, and many Han Army soldiers were still resisting to the death.

However, with their general and vice-general dead, the troops were leaderless, and their resistance grew increasingly feeble.

Upon hearing this, Meng Tian immediately led his troops into the city, coordinating from the inside with the main force attacking from the outside.

The Barbican was breached and the traps had all been filled by Zhao Cheng, so they ascended the ramparts without the slightest effort, forcing the enemy to retreat step by step.

Back at the gate, Zhao Cheng looked at Chai Lie, seemingly contemplating something, and did not rush to kill him.

"You have decent strength. Do you submit?"

Chai Lie's gaze hardened, and he gritted his teeth, snarling, "I do not!"

Zhao Cheng grew interested and retracted his Great Halberd. "If you don't submit, then come again. I will give you three chances."

"After three times, you either submit or you die."

"Make me submit? Impossible!"

Chai Lie flew into a rage, taking a stance with his legs planted like the roots of a giant tree. He kicked off the ground, twisted his waist, rotated his shoulders, and swung his heavy spear like a dragon. Even while still in the air, the sheer force of the swing caused the weapon to bend.

Zhao Cheng remained standing there, holding his Great Halberd with one hand.

Clang!

Snap!

The Great Halberd remained motionless, but the heavy spear bent to its absolute limit before suddenly snapping, the upper half flying off into the distance.

Chai Lie looked at Zhao Cheng's undamaged Great Halberd with envy, yet still insisted, "I don't submit! Your weapon is just better!"

"Stubborn." Zhao Cheng smiled, thrusting the Great Halberd into the ground until it sank three feet deep. He then beckoned to Chai Lie, "I won't use a weapon; you can go pick up another one."

"If you don't use a weapon, neither will I!" Chai Lie held his breath and charged at Zhao Cheng like a black bear, throwing a punch toward Zhao Cheng's head.

That fist was truly the size of a cooking pot.

Zhao Cheng raised his right hand and pressed down lightly!

Bang!

Chai Lie's heavy punch was like a clay ox entering the sea, held firmly in place by Zhao Cheng.

Despite facing such a full-force strike, Zhao Cheng's posture didn't even waver. Chai Lie's eyes widened, his heart filled with disbelief.

"Are you a Qi Refiner?"

Zhao Cheng raised an eyebrow, having caught the key information.

He did not answer, however, and instead pressed down on the fist. The massive Chai Lie immediately felt a surge of pain and collapsed to his knees like a falling mountain.

"Do you submit?"

"I do not."

"You have one chance left."

Zhao Cheng released his grip, and Chai Lie instantly launched a counterattack!

Bang!

Chai Lie was swatted to the ground, his face contorted in pain.

"Do you submit?"

"I do n—"

Zhao Cheng swung his Great Halberd, heading straight for Chai Lie, intending to split him in two!

Chai Lie immediately changed his tune, "Stop fighting! I submit!"

The Great Halberd stopped steadily just before Chai Lie's forehead. Chai Lie stared in horror; as death loomed, he suddenly felt that submitting to Zhao Cheng was not so difficult to accept after all.

At the very least, this man was truly far superior to him, and by following him, he might even learn the methods of Qi refining.

Zhao Cheng put away his Great Halberd and commanded, "Stand up and follow me to kill the enemy. Kill a hundred men, and you shall be my house slave; otherwise, you still die."

"How can you..."

Chai Lie had just started to protest, but upon seeing Zhao Cheng's gaze, he immediately changed his words, "...be so wise!"

"Let's go kill the enemy right now; I can't wait any longer."

Zhao Cheng was left speechless, caught between laughter and tears. I still prefer the way you were being insubordinate earlier.

Chai Lie, however, seemed to have had some sort of switch flipped. He picked up a long spear from the ground and charged forward, hacking a Han soldier to death. Seeming to find that too dull, he stomped off, caught up to a Han Army centurion, and flipped him over with a single strike!

"Ha! These sons of bitches, I've long since found you lot an eyesore!"

"Doing nothing all day but throwing your weight around!"

The more he killed, the more spirited he became. As he charged onto the ramparts with Zhao Cheng, he relied on his familiarity with the terrain to sniff out several captains hiding among the common soldiers, cutting them down the moment he found them.

"Chai Lie! You've actually defected!"

"You bastard, a piece of trash like you is worthy of being my equal?" Chai Lie had gone berserk, searching everywhere. "Where is your general? Where is Han Jiang!?"

"I'm going to butcher him!"

Zhao Cheng was stunned. What a turncoat—the first thing he did after defecting was to go back and kill his own former boss.

While charging and reaping lives, he said to Chai Lie, "Han Jiang has already been butchered by me. Go find all the officers you know and kill them."

Chai Lie scoffed, "Hmph, I don't just kill anyone, you know. There are still some loyal and brave souls within the Han Army!"

"Oh?" Zhao Cheng swept his gaze over.

Chai Lie immediately lowered his head and eyes, looking sheepish. "What this one meant is that those loyal and brave ones have their uses. Why not let them serve you as house slaves, my lord?"

Zhao Cheng found it amusing. He finally understood how someone with Chai Lie's martial prowess had only managed to become a captain until now.

Even after being beaten into submission, this man still had no filter.

"Then go find them and bring them to me."

"Understood!"

The two moved as if they were in an empty courtyard. Chai Lie alone was a fierce warrior capable of taking on a thousand men.

Had Zhao Cheng not been here, Chai Lie could have held the city gate alone for a long time, causing the Qin Army no small amount of trouble.

Furthermore, he held significant prestige within the army; now that he had defected, the enemy troops fled at the mere sight of him.

Chai Lie killed with increasing pleasure, venting all the pent-up frustration in his heart, and gradually discovered the perks of defecting.

After a bout of slaughter, he dragged back a number of loyal and brave Han officers he had rooted out to report to Zhao Cheng.

There were seven of them in total, all looking sturdy and robust, yet they were also the very men who had been leading the stubborn resistance. If not for them, the Han Army would have completely collapsed long ago.

Once these men were dragged out by Chai Lie, the Han Army rapidly disintegrated. Before long, they began fleeing into the city or kneeling to surrender, allowing themselves to be bound.

The Qin Army proceeded to mop up the remnants and round up prisoners, swiftly occupying Ye County.

The siege had been so easy that many officers found it inconceivable.

This wasn't a hard-fought siege; it was more like a casual outing.

However, everyone understood that this wasn't because they were particularly strong.

It was because Zhao Cheng had descended like a divine weapon onto the enemy ramparts, directly beheading the enemy general, breaching the barbican, and seizing the city gate, allowing them to win so easily with minimal casualties.

The soldiers were grateful to Zhao Cheng and spontaneously spread his fame, making his exploits sound increasingly miraculous.

But when it came time to tally the military merits, Meng Wu found himself in a bind.

The others were easy enough to account for; with squad leaders, centurions, and other grassroots officers recording and verifying, the number of kills was clear.

But Zhao Cheng had been charging everywhere on the ramparts alone, moving like the wind. With a single sweep of his halberd, he would clear a whole swath, killing so many and so quickly that he eventually even charged into the barbican and behind the city gate.

The number of enemies he had killed was impossible to count; one could only estimate a rough figure.

Adding in the slaughter from the previous night within Ye County, he had killed over two thousand there alone.

In total, the estimate was already four or five thousand.

If one were to add the intelligence gained while acting as a mole, the infiltration of the ramparts to behead the general, the internal breach of the barbican, and the seizure of the city gate, the list of merits was staggering.

If written down on paper, these military merits would sound utterly preposterous.

Had Meng Wu not seen it with his own eyes, he would have found it hard to believe himself.

It was hard to imagine what kind of waves such a military report would cause if it reached Xianyang.

There was no helping it; it sounded far too much like a fabrication. If this were sent to Xianyang, it would be a miracle if the military officials and the Minister of Titles believed a word of it!

Meng Wu sat in his tent, deep in thought for a while, before picking up his brush to begin writing a letter to Ying Zheng.

"Your Majesty: Your subject Meng Wu bows his head, daring to report on the border affairs..."