The Hundred-Headed Snake

The sky was a dark blue-green.

The mountains and waters are beautiful in the distance.

The low city walls were originally adorned with large flags, and there were city gate towers on the north and south sides.

But at this moment, there wasn't a single soldier guarding the wall.

The city gates couldn't stop the thick smoke rising from inside the city, but it took the fleeing people some effort to reopen them.

The sounds from within the city grew closer, becoming increasingly turbulent and chaotic, reaching a point of extreme noise.

Hundreds and thousands of families surged outwards, dragging their children, carrying the elderly, or the few strong men, with their meager belongings piled on carts.

The fields outside the city are not yet ready for harvest; the lush green rice seedlings are not even knee-high.

The uneven fields and the crooked ridges became their biggest obstacles to escaping.

People kept tripping and falling, scrambling and crawling forward as they continued.

"Ha ha ha ha!!"

A burly man in black robes, holding an arrow in his hand, galloped out on horseback from inside the city, laughing wildly.

"Chase them! Keep chasing them! Kill them all! There's a reward, a reward for everyone!"

Behind him were only a few people on horseback; the rest of the hundred or so were running on foot, but they were clearly faster than those with families in tow.

A burly man with scratches still on his face spotted an old man fleeing in the crowd carrying his granddaughter, shouted, and threw the spear in his hand.

This person had probably practiced fist fighting and spear throwing for two years; his spear throws were quite accurate.

But while the spear was still in mid-air, a broken rice seedling leaf drifted by.

The spear turned to dust in an instant!

When the debris scattered among the crowd, none of them had time to react.

But the next moment, they saw even more broken leaves that they had trampled rise up.

It floated past their eyes, floated over their heads.

The countless emerald green leaves, in the oncoming strong wind, resembled a raging dragon roaring past their heads.

Those who were chasing them had their clothes torn in an instant by these tender, harmless leaves, revealing blood, and they fell to the ground screaming in agony.

The burly man, holding a feathered arrow aloft, stared in terror at the oncoming stray leaves.

The long black robe suddenly obscured his vision.

Xiao Liang stood on the horse's head, looking at the burly man.

"Archery from the army? But you haven't practiced any military martial arts, so why are you causing trouble here?"

The burly man shuddered in fear, as if grasping at a straw.

"It was the sir, the sir, who gave me this arrow."

"Allow me to lead a group of men to search for and suppress the bandits. Whatever we find will be ours."

Xiao Liang instantly understood the reason, and his figure suddenly disappeared.

The burly man with the sword then realized that, despite the questioning he had just received, the green leaves that had been fluttering in the air had not disappeared.

"Ah!!"

Dozens of leaves pierced through the burly man's body at the same time.

The generals transferred to Heze experienced changes in their statements within the military camp, but their tacit understanding with the Northern Dynasty seemed to remain unchanged.

They all understood in their hearts that the purpose this time was to burn, kill, and loot, and they didn't even need to go to the trouble of deceiving their superiors and falsely reporting their war achievements as before.

But they're not stupid either.

When they actually entered the town, they still made up an excuse, claiming that there were rioters and bandits in the area.

As a result, the local powerful clans took action on their own, and with their tacit approval, began to target the common people who had not yet been reduced to manor slaves.

Powerful servants and wicked lackeys are always the best henchmen, knowing best which local families are relatively wealthy and what kind of things they can extort from them.

Some families hope that, just like in the past, they can avoid disaster by spending money, giving away one or two of their precious pigs or sheep, or a set of warm and comfortable clothes, in order to pray for peace.

But this time it's different. Since there are rioters and bandits, we need to gather enough people to hand over to those military officers.

As a result, the farmers who were slightly more assertive, or those who had already given gifts but couldn't help but show their resentment, were all beaten until their heads bled.

The powerful families, having gained tangible benefits from their newfound extortion, were even more calculating that after this round of extortion, they could soon more easily acquire even more land.

The shrewd leader of the large clan felt as if he had been compensated, so he was less reluctant to part with the gold, silver, silk, tea, and wine he had prepared beforehand, intending to reward these soldiers handsomely and fill their pockets.

But then the soldiers' leader slowly asked a new question.

Where are the leaders of these rioters and bandits?

"Those commoners? Ragged animals, like weeds, do they even deserve to be leaders, daring to mobilize so many old men from the army to search and suppress them?"

The powerful clans that "harbored bandit leaders" also had mansions with high walls and thick tiles, as well as arrow towers, hired guards, and a large number of capable young men who could handle knives and guns.

However, the men of the tribe, all leading their servants, had just plundered too much, and the place was in complete disarray.

Their residence was breached by the armored soldiers of the army with lightning speed.

One mansion after another burned down; this was the real benefit the soldiers were after.

The wicked slaves' panic, the women's screams, and the old man who remained bewildered for a moment after his head was removed.

The town descended into complete chaos, and the escaped wicked slaves and idlers of the day began to harbor even more wicked intentions.

The villain who was casually given an arrow as proof of identity by a corporal in the army was just one of them.

When Xiao Liang stormed into the city, the people were already in a state of frenzy and had completely lost their humanity.

After throwing the child to the ground and stabbing the husband to death, he pressed down on the woman before even taking his hand off the knife handle.

Some people sat on the rooftops laughing uncontrollably, clutching knives, ready to pounce on the next person.

By the time the person lunged forward, their head and body had already separated.

Despite the massive trauma of losing his head, it took a while before blood gushed out.

A cool breeze swept through several streets in the city, spreading freely and pushing deeper into the city.

Those villains were beheaded by the cold wind, the blade piercing their foreheads and their hearts.

The newly lit flame was extinguished with a whoosh by the cool breeze.

In another direction.

Hundreds of armored soldiers were struck by a tremendous pressure descending from the sky, feeling dizzy and their movements slowed down.

Chu Tianshu's figure suddenly plummeted from the sky, landing on the ground with one foot.

BOOM!!

These soldiers, clutching bundles of all sizes, who had just been looting wantonly, were all thrown about in all directions, crashing into buildings and falling to the ground with cries of pain.

The cavalrymen also fell to the ground, unable to get up. They felt their armor deformed and tearing their flesh.

A metallic, bloody smell wafted out.

These familiar scents were now emanating from their own bodies.

The leader of this group, wearing a gleaming helmet, with a long, thin face and a mustache, sat not on a horse, but on a large chair.

He had originally gathered everyone together to say something.

But as soon as Chu Tianshu fell, he saw his men flying out like wet scarecrows.

"Run!!"

The general's eyes bulged, and he roared inwardly, which he then unconsciously uttered aloud. He turned and tried to flee.

The chair he was sitting on shattered when he turned around, and he was swept away for more than four zhang.

However, even with his lightness skill and armor, he could only leap four or five zhang before he had to stomp his feet to catch his breath.

This time, he leaped more than four zhang away, his foot dipped down but didn't touch the ground, and his whole body was lifted up.

Chu Tianshu grabbed the armor plate on his back, his five fingers digging into it, and lifted him up, giving him a flick in mid-air.

All of the man's armor had been stripped away, and his helmet had shattered into pieces, which fell to the ground with a soft clatter.

Even his five senses were shaken by the jolt, leaving him dizzy and disoriented, as if his head was being turned upside down, his face blank.

Chu Tianshu's Soul-Bewitching Method has been incorporated into his hand seals.

With this grab and shake, the bewitching power was maximized.

Where is your commander?

"N-I don't know."

"Have no idea?"

Chu Tianshu's face darkened with anger, and his voice rose, "You've come out to lead troops into battle, yet you don't even know where your commander and your own camp are?"

The general, who was lying on his back looking up, truthfully replied, "There are no camps this time."

"This time our army is dispersed, mainly composed of battalion commanders, each leading five hundred to one thousand men."

"Within three months, whatever we do, we don't need to report to the commander. We can roam freely and do whatever we want in Heze and the surrounding areas."

"However, if any battalion is among the last three to return with the most loot, the entire battalion will be severely punished."

Chu Tianshu took a deep breath, his expression slightly grim.

This tactic was clearly designed to prevent the main general's camp from being directly attacked and controlled by skilled fighters.

"What else do you know? Any suspicious information, anything you think is most valuable, tell me it all."

The general responded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, there are monks. Every time our battalion went out, there were several monks with us. Strangely, they're from the Northern Dynasty."

"Could it be that monks from the Northern Dynasty are sent to supervise our Southern Dynasty's army? But they haven't been following us the whole time. After we announced our target yesterday, the monks stopped upstream."

(End of this chapter)