Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 712 Showing His Power
Pei Yuan struck with his hammer and stopped in his tracks.

Then he forcefully shoved the elm shield into the ground and rested it on one hand.

On the golden mace he held in his other hand, a sticky, dark red and pale substance was dripping.

Pei Yuan's expression was no longer calm and composed as before; instead, it had been replaced by an aura that seemed to want to devour everyone opposite him.

Pei Yuan stared at the Japanese delegation and shouted sharply, "Again!"

The Japanese delegation remained completely silent for a long time.

Pei Yuan used the same trick again, swaying slightly as he shouted forward in a threatening manner.

Perhaps it was because Pei Yuan's expression was somewhat ferocious this time, or perhaps it was because there were no unlucky souls blocking his way this time, but the samurai of the Japanese delegation who were facing him head-on actually began to retreat in a disorderly manner.

The last person even tripped and nearly knocked down the antler-shaped wooden fence surrounding them.

This time, however, there were no more mocking voices.

Many onlookers felt an instinctive tremor as they watched Pei Yuan's fierce and godlike appearance.

Pei Yuan thought for a moment, picked up the elm shield, took a few steps forward, and slammed it into the ground again.

With bloodshot eyes, he stared at the Japanese delegation and shouted sharply, "Again!"

Perhaps having experienced it once before, this time the samurai of the Japanese delegation did not retreat. Instead, they shook their helmets, which had various strange designs, and looked at each other in fear.

Seeing that no one from the Japanese delegation spoke up, Pei Yuan picked up the elm shield from the ground again, took a few steps forward, and slammed it into the ground.

"Come again!"

Pei Yuan pressed on relentlessly, almost pushing the pressure to its limit.

The area enclosed by the antler-wood fence wasn't very large to begin with, and Pei Yuan was now almost right up to the Japanese delegation.

The Japanese delegation began to stir.

Hosokawa Katsuyasu and Ōuchi Munekichi knew that even if they escaped this calamity today, after experiencing such humiliation, they would probably not be able to escape the fate of seppuku after returning to their country.

The two hysterically urged him to go up, wanting to wear down Pei Yuan's strength further, hoping for a lucky break.

Faced with this unshakeable demon, the other Japanese samurai were already terrified.

Pei Yuan didn't know how many layers of "poverty makes one more determined" had been stacked up by now, but he could clearly feel the bloodthirsty urge that was stirring within him.

Pei Yuan knew that if he dragged this out any longer, he would start to lose his mind, so he simply shouted, "Then come on, all of you!"

As he spoke, he forcefully swung the elm shield in his hand and smashed it forward fiercely.

The Japanese samurai were already huddled together, and before they could figure out what Pei Yuan meant, the elm shield crashed into the crowd like a meteorite.

Many people were immediately smashed, suffering broken bones and head injuries.

Hosokawa Katsuyasu and Ōuchi Muneshige couldn't care less about anything else at this moment. They glared at Pei Yuan with intense hatred and roared, "Attack! Attack!"

For them, nothing else mattered at this moment except killing Pei Yuan.

Those Japanese samurai who had narrowly escaped annihilation screamed and charged directly at Pei Yuan with their samurai swords and spears.

Unfortunately, when Pei Yuan used his elm wood shield to break up the formation of the Japanese warriors, he took advantage of their confusion to quickly close in and engage them.

He first struck a Japanese samurai in the chest with a hammer, knocking the weapon out of the hand before the samurai could react, causing him to vomit blood and die.

Then, with his left hand, he grabbed the lapel armor at the collar of the Japanese samurai's uniform and swung it in a sweeping motion.

Driven by their survival instincts, the chaotic samurai were charging towards this place with their swords and spears, only to be swept away in droves by this single sweep.

Then, like a tiger among sheep, Pei Yuan charged into the crowd and began to kill indiscriminately, hammering away at each one of them.

Pei Yuan was clad in heavy armor, and the swords and spears that were deliberately aimed at his vital points could hardly penetrate his defenses.

He swung the dead Japanese samurai in one hand, scattering the Japanese samurai who were trying to regroup, and used his golden mace to strike wildly with the other.

They also moved closer to the elm shield that had fallen onto several corpses.

Just as Pei Yuan killed seven or eight people, the inner palace eunuch who had been waiting for an opportunity could no longer hold back. He brandished his long sword and shouted as he thrust it at Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan's heavy armor could withstand some slashing blows, but it was no match for piercing wounds of sufficient force.

Ouchi Sōsetsu had already seen Pei Yuan's lack of skill and the deficiency in his agility when fighting while wearing heavy armor, and was preparing to stab Pei Yuan's left rib directly with a single blow.

Pei Yuan didn't bother to retrieve the elm shield; instead, he threw the Japanese samurai he was holding at the Imperial Guard.

Ōuchi Muneshige's expression hardened, and he swiftly switched the blade of his katana to face upwards. Even as the katana sliced ​​through the falling Japanese samurai, it still pierced towards Pei Yuan like a venomous snake.

Pei Yuan slammed down on the Japanese samurai with considerable force, yet Ouchi Sōsetsu managed to withstand such force and thrust out his blade.

However, this strike ultimately missed by a little bit.

The wet golden mace didn't even give the Grand Master of the Imperial Palace a chance to attack again before smashing his head.

Then, as if his instincts had been activated, Pei Yuan threw away the Japanese corpse in his hand without hesitation, used his foot to flick the crooked elm shield, grabbed the elm shield in his hand, and smashed it in one direction.

The two Japanese samurai who were eagerly wielding their katanas in that direction suddenly separated, and Hosokawa Katsuyasu shouted as he thrust his sword at Pei Yuan.

However, the elm shield arrived first, knocking Hosokawa Katsuyasu to the ground.

Hosokawa Katsuyasu was indeed exceptionally brave; while vomiting blood, he tried to lift the elm shield and crawl out from underneath.

Pei Yuan strode over, first stepping on the elm shield, then forcefully smashing the elm shield with his golden mace.

Hammer after hammer blow.

After three blows, Hosokawa Katsuyasu, who was pinned under the elm shield, suffered internal injuries from the shock, and large amounts of blood gushed out from under the shield.

Pei Yuan stood up, casually killed another person, and continued to kill indiscriminately with the body in his hand.

The envoy, An Guiwu, and the deputy envoy, Guangyao, who had been dragged out from the corner by the soldiers of the Left Guard of the Imperial Guard, rushed towards Zhu Houzhao's location, crying and shouting, "Stop hitting him! Your Majesty, have mercy! Stop hitting him!"

The Ming court officials standing on the steps finally came to their senses. Yang Tinghe, disregarding everything else, hurriedly advised, "Your Majesty, if the killing goes too far, it is certainly not the intention of pacifying and promoting peace. You should immediately order Pei Yuan to stop!"

Zhu Houzhao seemed to wake up from a dream and hurriedly said, "Quickly, quickly, tell Pei Yuan to stop."

Zhu Houzhao looked around, momentarily at a loss as to who to ask to stop Pei Yuan.

Everyone subconsciously looked back at the scene and saw that Pei Yuan had single-handedly slaughtered most of the samurai in the entire Japanese delegation.

Everyone was horrified to see Pei Yuan carrying the corpse of a Japanese samurai in one hand and wildly swinging a golden mace in the other.

Who the hell would dare to try and persuade them?

However, Liu Pang, relying on his good relationship with Pei Yuan, stepped forward tremblingly and said, "Your subject, Liu Pang, the Director of the Bureau of Receptions, is willing to stop Pei Yuan."

Zhu Houzhao turned his gaze to Liu Pang and urged, "Go quickly!"

Liu Pang rushed down the steps and headed towards the area surrounded by the antler-shaped wooden fence.

But when they got closer, and parted the stiff guards of the Imperial Guards who were watching from the wooden fence, they looked into the arena and saw that Pei Yuan had already killed all the Japanese warriors who were standing there.

They are now hammering away, one blow at a time, at the fallen warriors who are still groaning in pain.

Liu Pang felt somewhat powerless; how could he possibly carry out this order?

Moreover, Liu Pang could clearly sense that Pei Yuan was extremely mentally unstable at this moment. He was somewhat afraid that if he rashly went over, he would be beaten up by the bloodthirsty Pei Yuan.

He hurriedly looked back at the steps of the palace, hoping to see if the emperor and his officials had any instructions.

However, Zhu Houzhao and his ministers were all focused on the scene, and no one paid any attention to him.

Pei Yuan had completely lost his mind.

He was now so engrossed in a frenzied battle that he had completely forgotten that the Japanese samurai he was fighting had already been killed.

After the Japanese samurai lying on the ground fell silent, he inexplicably raised the dead Japanese samurai in his hand, looked at him, then inexplicably glanced at the golden mace in his right hand, and then forcefully struck him on the head with the golden mace.

The Japanese samurai was wearing a helmet made of cast iron. Pei Yuan's golden mace easily smashed his exposed facial features, and when it touched the edge of the iron helmet, it made a "clang".

Everyone who witnessed this scene felt a chill run down their spine.

Terror became tangible before their eyes.

When Pei Yuan displayed his might just now, Zhu Houzhao and the other civil and military officials of the Ming court all felt that our Great Ming Dynasty truly has such a fierce and powerful warrior, who is the best choice for a great general.

But at this moment, these people all had the same idea.

How can such a terrifying guy be used to lead troops?
Zhu Houzhao clearly realized the problem as well, and he quickly asked Xu Tai, who had rich combat experience, "Xu Tai, what's going on with Commander Pei?"

Xu Tai was stunned. He looked at Zhu Houzhao, opened his mouth, and then looked blank.

Zhu Houzhao quickly asked again.

Xu Tai swallowed hard and replied, "Commander Pei must be in a frenzy. He doesn't care about anything right now. I suggest that Your Majesty leave immediately and have the Imperial Guards around him keep a distance, so as not to disturb him."

Zhu Houzhao was taken aback. "What do you mean? Will Pei Yuan be alright?"

Zhang Zilin, standing to the side, said with lingering fear, "He wouldn't be unable to distinguish between friend and foe now, would he?"

Yang Yiqing had once led troops in the three border regions. He silently observed Pei Yuan's situation and said to Zhu Houzhao, "This is, after all, outside the Fengtian Palace. How can we continue to indulge him? Your Majesty possesses the majesty of Heaven. Why not issue an imperial edict to Pei Yuan, ordering him to disarm himself immediately, so as not to frighten the envoys from the four barbarian tribes?"

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Yang Yiqing, then continued to look at Pei Yuan in the arena.

Zhang Zilin, who was listening to this, was slightly taken aback. He thought to himself that Xu Tai had made it very clear that Pei Yuan was already in a killing frenzy, so he should not disturb him.

Yang Yiqing asked His Majesty to issue an imperial decree, but if Pei Yuan ignored it, wouldn't that directly frame him for disobeying the decree and put Pei Yuan in danger of dying?

Zhang Zilin also understood that things couldn't just continue like this; he had to find a way to bring things to a close.

Today's grand court ceremony should have been a joyous occasion, but unexpectedly, the beginning of the eighth year of Zhengde's reign has turned out like this.

Just when everyone was at a loss for how to end this, someone suddenly said, "Who is that?"

Then a tall, slender man, dressed in the uniform of a fifth-rank military officer with a bear emblem, was seen heading towards the encircled killing field.

Then the man parted the guards surrounding him and walked toward Pei Yuan, who was carrying a Japanese corpse in one hand and a golden mace in the other, roaring ferociously.

Zhu Houzhao's expression changed slightly, and he directly rebuked the Imperial Guards below the steps, "Why aren't you stopping him!"

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guards stationed below the steps had no choice but to steel themselves and rush hastily toward the hunting grounds.

However, to the astonishment of the crowd still watching, Pei Yuan's incredibly sharp hearing and swift reflexes seemed to have suddenly failed him. He allowed the footsteps to approach him without showing any wariness or intention to attack.

It's like a sound that was meant to be there, existing naturally.

The tall, slender military officer kicked Pei Yuan, who had been as fierce as a ghost, in the waist. Pei Yuan's muscular body trembled slightly before he turned his head away.

Those bloodshot eyes and that fierce, menacing gaze immediately met the man's.

Everyone who witnessed this scene had their hearts in their throats.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Houzhao's heart sank even further.

He was suddenly struck by a terrifying thought: what would happen to him, the Emperor of Ming, if Pei Yuan accidentally killed a Ming military officer?

Then, the tall, thin military officer, showing no fear whatsoever, pushed Pei Yuan repeatedly, shouting something.

That man must have been quite strong, but he couldn't budge Pei Yuan an inch several times in front of Pei Qianhu, who was as strong as a bear.

But that bloodthirsty monster, who had been killing anyone who stood in his way, showed no intention of making a move.

Then, to everyone's disbelief, the golden mace Pei Yuan was holding and the dead Japanese samurai fell to the ground one after the other.

Then the man stepped forward and easily threw the powerful Commander Pei to the ground with a swift side throw. He then stepped on Pei Yuan's back and forcefully pulled on his armor sash while struggling to untie the blood-soaked buckle.

Everyone was in disbelief at what they saw.

—How come there are still experts?!
(End of this chapter)