Many children, many blessings; a stunningly beautiful wife is given to you right from the start.

Outside Blackwind City, the night was as dark as ink.

Inside the temporary camp of Wu Zhong's army, the charcoal in the brazier burned bright red, but it could not dispel the cold, deathly silence in the air.

Hundreds of men, women, and children, captured from nearby villages and mountain strongholds, were tied together with long hemp ropes like livestock and pushed to the open space in the center of the camp.

Their faces were covered in tears and dirt, and their eyes were empty, filled only with primal fear.

"Sir! Sir, spare our lives! We're just farmers from down the mountain, we don't know anything!"

An elderly man with gray hair knelt in the mud, crying and kowtowing desperately until his forehead was bleeding.

"What's all the noise about! You old bastard, daring to shout in the camp, I'll beat you to death!"

A vicious soldier spat, strode forward, and kicked the old man hard in the chest.

"puff--"

The soldier's kick was powerful and heavy, knocking the old man to the ground. The old man coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Then came a "snap".

The sound of whips whistling through the air rang out as the soldier brandished his steel whip and lashed it hard across the old man's back.

"father!"

Seeing that the old man was being whipped to the point of near death, a young woman dressed in coarse linen clothes screamed from the crowd and struggled to rush over, desperately protecting the old man.

Her already thin clothes were torn to shreds, and her exposed arms were covered in bruises and scratches.

"Get out of here!"

The soldier cracked his leather whip, making a sharp "snap" as the tip struck the woman's back hard.

A bright red bloodstain instantly bloomed on her snow-white skin.

The woman trembled violently, but she still clung tightly to the old man, refusing to let go, tears streaming down her face.

"Please, officers! My father is old and can't take any more torture! Please, please spare him! Please..."

"Let him go?"

"Who the hell spared my dead brothers?"

The soldier grinned maliciously, grabbed the woman's hair, and lifted her up.

"This young lady is quite pretty. Before we scout ahead, let the brothers clear the way for you!"

"Wow--!"

A seven or eight-year-old boy, who was tied up next to the old man, was his grandson.

Seeing that her grandfather's life was uncertain and her mother had been so humiliated, she finally couldn't hold back anymore and burst into heart-wrenching sobs.

A stir ran through the crowd, and several hot-blooded men clenched their fists so tightly they cracked, but when they saw the gleaming steel swords at the waists of the soldiers around them, their fighting spirit dissipated helplessly.

"Fuck your mother! What kind of people are you, bullying the elderly, the weak, women, and children!"

Suddenly, a burly man in the crowd roared and broke the rope binding his wrists. He leaped out and kicked the soldier who had committed the violence hard in the lower back.

"what!"

The soldier let out a scream as he was kicked away, knocking over two of his comrades in the process.

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

The burly man was originally a bandit who robbed and plundered in his daily life, but he also believed in a code of honor among thieves and never harassed the elderly, weak, women and children.

Seeing the soldiers' utterly depraved behavior, he could no longer suppress his anger.

But just as he was about to pounce on another soldier, a cold glint flashed without warning.

"Pfft."

A long knife pierced his back, the tip protruding from his chest, carrying warm blood.

The burly man's body stiffened abruptly.

He looked down in disbelief at the knife tip in his chest, then turned his head with difficulty to see who was behind him.

Before he could even turn around, he collapsed heavily to the ground, his eyes filled with resentment.

Wu Zhong slowly pulled the steel knife out of the burly man's body, his face expressionless.

"ah--!!"

The young woman screamed, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted from fright.

"Wow--!"

The child's crying grew louder.

"Shut the fuck up, all of you!"

Wu Zhong roared angrily, his voice like thunder.

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.

Even the child's cries seemed to be choked back by an invisible hand, swallowed down his throat.

Wu Zhong shook the blood off his knife, looked around at the group of trembling "cannon fodder" in front of him, and his voice was devoid of any human emotion.

"If you want to live, then obey me."

"Otherwise, I'll make you wish you were dead!"

After these words were spoken, no one dared to utter another sound.

Wu Zhong then sheathed his sword with satisfaction and returned to his chariot.

He looked coldly at these lowly people before him, feeling no pity whatsoever, but rather a morbid sense of triumph rising within him.

With these things paving the way ahead, all that bullshit about landmines is a joke!

As long as his army can successfully reach the gates of Blackwind City.

We can surround that dilapidated city without even attacking it; just by besieging it, we can starve that little bastard named Lin Mo to death inside!

He had even begun to plan that once the city was breached, he would string together Lin Mo's women, who were said to be exceptionally beautiful, just like that.

Then, in front of Lin Mo, he made them kneel at his crotch and tasted them one by one.

After he's had his fill of fun, he'll reward his most uncouth and filthy soldiers!

He wanted Lin Mo to see and hear with his own eyes and ears how he would be driven to utter despair and lose all hope, before finally tearing him to pieces and scattering his bones to ashes!

Only in this way can he be appeased!

Hmph... Hahahaha...

Wu Zhong was immersed in the thrill of revenge, his shoulders trembling as he let out a low, strange laugh.

Suddenly, a cold hand landed on his shoulder.

Wu Zhongyi shuddered, and his laughter abruptly stopped.

Looking back, it was Elder Zhao.

The old man appeared behind him at some point, expressionless, like a ghost that had just crawled out of a grave.

"General Wu, it's getting late."

Elder Zhao's voice was calm and even.

"Aren't you going to let these 'pathfinders' get on the road yet?"

"Yes, yes! The elder is right!"

Wu Zhong snapped out of his daze, quickly turned around, and forced a respectful smile at Elder Zhao.

He cleared his throat, regained his commanding presence, and issued orders to his lieutenants.

"Men! Have these lowly commoners lead the way, ten men in a row, the main army behind..."

"Report—!!!"

Before the command was even finished, a shrill, distorted roar suddenly came from the camp gate.

A scout stumbled in, his hat gone, his armor askew, and he looked like he'd seen a ghost; his face was contorted with terror.

He knelt down with a thud, and because he had run so fast, he even slid several steps on the muddy ground before stopping in front of Wu Zhong's chariot.

"General...General! Something terrible has happened!"

Wu Zhongzheng was about to issue an order when he was interrupted, and his face immediately darkened.

He kicked the scout in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

"What the hell are you yelling about! Can't you see I'm giving orders? Is the sky falling down?"

"It's...it's the enemy!"

Ignoring the pain, the scout scrambled to his feet and pointed in the direction of Blackwind City, shouting breathlessly.

"A large enemy force! A large enemy force is attacking from the direction of Blackwind City!"