They packed up their gear, erased and concealed the traces of their campsite, and set off once more to find a new location.
"Captain, where are we heading now?" Tang Yunshan inquired.
"Where to?"
Sheng Huai'an looked back at the soldiers behind him.
Under the care of the healing pills, the wounded were making a rapid recovery.
Wang Wu successfully broke through to the Martial Practitioner Late Stage, while Tang Yunshan and Hai Dahe also broke through to the Martial Practitioner realm.
The strength of the other soldiers had likewise increased.
Now that their strength had grown, it would simply be a waste not to go slaughtering the enemy.
"Naturally, we go to kill enemies!" Sheng Huai'an looked at the rising morning sun and said calmly.
"Where are we going to kill?" Hai Dahe asked.
"This is Xiongnu territory, and enemies are everywhere. Where do you think we're going to kill?" Sheng Huai'an laughed. Had this fellow's brain turned to mush from cultivating?
Everyone mounted their horses and rode off in a certain direction.
Two and a half hours later, at midday, a squad of Xiongnu Cavalry arrived at their former campsite.
"Commander, there are traces of people having camped here. Although they covered it up, it was very crude," a Xiongnu soldier said to the cavalry commander.
"Can you tell when they left?" the Xiongnu Cavalry commander inquired.
"Probably this morning!"
"Damn it, these Wei dogs are truly cunning, actually daring to venture deep into our grasslands." The cavalry commander was furious.
Yesterday, he had assumed these Wei dogs had plundered supplies and would find a way back to Anning Pass, so he went to intercept them—only to intercept a whole lot of nothing.
Having wasted so much time, by the time they tracked down the new traces, Sheng Huai'an and his men had already left once more.
"Give chase! We absolutely cannot let them cause trouble on our turf," the cavalry commander ordered, pressing the pursuit.
Sheng Huai'an and his group roamed the grasslands until they encountered a small Xiongnu tribe.
Looking at the dozens of tents ahead, only old folks, children, and women were herding cattle and sheep; not a single able-bodied adult male was in sight.
The adult males of this small tribe had all been drafted to the front lines.
"Captain!"
Tang Yunshan, Wang Wu, and the others looked at Sheng Huai'an, waiting for him to issue an order.
"Snort~~"
The horse beneath Sheng Huai'an neighed softly as he found himself torn.
He felt no burden whatsoever about cutting down enemy Xiongnu troops on the battlefield.
Yet against the elderly, women, and children, he found it somewhat difficult to strike.
After all, his mindset was different from that of Tang Yunshan and the others.
To Tang Yunshan and his men, they were enemies anyway, so killing them carried no mental burden.
Once those Xiongnu children grew up, they would likewise pick up steel sabers and invade the south.
And those old folk and women, by herding cattle and sheep, were likewise supporting their men fighting at the front.
Wang Wu looked at Sheng Huai'an and said, "Forget it, let's go. We'll search for other enemies."
Wang Wu knew Sheng Huai'an had been a scholar in the past; scholars valued propriety and moral education, unlike crude roughnecks like themselves. Expecting Sheng Huai'an to strike down these old folks, women, and children was indeed somewhat difficult for him.
"Let's go, find the next tribe!" Sheng Huai'an finally said.
If there had been even two or three able-bodied young men in this tribe, he would have ordered a charge.
Sheng Huai'an and his men rode away, and the people of this tribe had no idea they had just skirted the jaws of death.
Continuing onward, they encountered another Xiongnu tribe.
This tribe was not small, with over fifty able-bodied young men remaining behind to guard it and a total population of over a thousand.
Seeing that there were able-bodied men in this tribe, Sheng Huai'an didn't hesitate to give the order to charge.
"Brothers, follow me! Charge!"
"Kill!!"
Over fifty horsemen charged, slaying toward the Xiongnu tribe.
The wounded were left behind to guard the supplies and tend to the packhorses.
Seeing the cavalry suddenly charging at them, the people of the Wumu Tribe all stopped what they were doing and stared at the incoming force.
Only as the cavalry drew closer did they realize the riders' attire matched neither their own tribe nor the Xiongnu Cavalry.
"Enemy attack!!" a young man shouted.
"Whoosh!"
An arrow pierced his body, fresh blood quickly staining his clothes crimson. He stared blankly at the shaft protruding from his chest and collapsed to the ground.
"Quick! Enemy attack! Mount up and meet them!" Wumu Hun bellowed, then dashed rapidly toward his warhorse, pulled his battle saber, and charged toward Sheng Huai'an and his men.
The other able-bodied youths likewise mounted up to meet the charge.
Every Xiongnu man became a warrior upon reaching adulthood.
Sheng Huai'an did not remain idle during the charge, nocking an arrow and shooting down the enemy.
The archers in the troop did the same, drawing their bows and shooting down foes while pressing the assault.
Yet the archers in the troop could not match Sheng Huai'an's archery, only occasionally managing to hit an enemy.
The charging Xiongnu also nocked arrows to counterattack, but found it equally difficult to hit Sheng Huai'an and his advancing men.
Cavalry came like shadows and went like the wind, making them the hardest foes to deal with.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
Every arrow Sheng Huai'an loosed dropped a Xiongnu.
The young men left behind to guard the Wumu Tribe had only just reached adulthood and had never seen a battlefield.
Aside from decent horsemanship, they possessed zero combat experience.
Meanwhile, Sheng Huai'an and his men were battle-hardened veterans clad in armor; even if they lacked formal cavalry tactics, they were leagues beyond these fresh-faced youths of the Wumu Tribe.
The moment the cavalry charge made contact, Sheng Huai'an cut down five or six riders.
With his formidable strength, the youths of the Wumu Tribe had no one capable of blocking him.
Wang Wu, Tang Yunshan, and Hai Dahe were also martial practitioners, and many of the platoon leaders were battle-hardened veterans. Facing a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears greenhorns was simply slaughtering newbies.
In a single round of charging, the fifty-odd youths of the Wumu Tribe were reduced to just over a dozen survivors.
Yet Sheng Huai'an and his men, clad in battle armor and seasoned by countless fields of blood, had suffered only a few minor injuries among some of the soldiers.
"Kill!"
Sheng Huai'an wheeled his horse around to continue the charge, having no intention of letting those dozen-odd Xiongnu go.
And those dozen-odd youths of the Wumu Tribe, for the sake of their tribe, refused to run.
Their loved ones were all inside the settlement; they had no choice left but to fight to the death.
The outcome held no suspense. Those dozen-odd Xiongnu youths of the Wumu Tribe were cut down by Sheng Huai'an and his men.
Having slain the Wumu youths capable of resistance, Sheng Huai'an and his men turned their horses and charged directly into the tribe.
"Ah..."
The women and children inside the Wumu Tribe fell into terrified chaos.
Some women, upon seeing their sons, older brothers, or younger brothers cut down, grabbed blades in a fury and charged at Sheng Huai'an and his men.
Other women fled with small children, while some elders hid their grandsons inside haystacks.
Wang Wu, Tang Yunshan, and the others showed no indulgence toward women charging with blades, cutting them down one by one.
Sheng Huai'an watched with cold eyes; if they sought death, he would not stop them.
To some extent, the current Sheng Huai'an was still bound by the moral values of his past life.
Otherwise, not a single soul in this tribe might have survived.
"Listen up! Anyone who dares resist again will be executed without exception," Sheng Huai'an shouted, infusing his voice with vital energy.
"Gather all of them together! Anyone who resists dies!"
Those who barely understood the Wei language and caught Sheng Huai'an's shout hesitated as they reached for weapons to fight back.
Those who didn't understand, or the women who had lost their sons, still angrily picked up weapons to resist.
The result was simply more corpses falling to the ground.
Once all those who offered resistance had perished, the survivors looked upon the corpses littering the ground and the blood staining the grasslands, trembling with fear to a man.
At the same time, Sheng Huai'an caught the glints of fury and utter hatred in the eyes of many children.
Sheng Huai'an smiled. Indeed, war knew no right or wrong—only sides.
"Round everyone up and herd them together," Sheng Huai'an ordered.
His subordinate soldiers immediately drove everyone together under guard.
Sheng Huai'an gazed at the penned-up people of the Wumu Tribe, seeing fear, resentment, and hostility in their eyes.
Especially among those half-grown children, who made no effort to conceal the angry, hateful looks they cast.
The women clutched their little ones tightly to their chests, shielding them.
"All young boys taller than a wagon wheel—kill them!!"
Those hostile, resentful gazes made Sheng Huai'an realize that a heart of naive saintliness had no place here.
Since so many had already died, let a few more perish!
"Haha, I'll do it!"
Hearing Sheng Huai'an's order, Tang Yunshan immediately stepped forward to act as executioner.
"I'll do it!"
Since he had decided to play the butcher, he might as well do the deed himself; that way, he could at least reap the slaughter value.
Tang Yunshan did not argue, dragging out a youth who looked to be around fourteen or fifteen.
"Wuliguala, wuliguala!" The youth struggled desperately.
A woman rushed forward, throwing her arms around the child.
"Wula, wula..." The woman wept and wailed loudly, but was yanked away by two soldiers.
Tang Yunshan kicked her sprawling to the ground and dragged the Wumu youth out by force.
Sheng Huai'an drew his saber, hardened his heart, and brought it down in a direct stroke to execute the Wumu youth.
After slaying the Xiongnu teenager, whose eyes still burned with hatred and fear, Sheng Huai'an frowned slightly.
No slaughter value had been generated!
Before you continue