Late Ming Dynasty: Summoning players from Liaodong to support the Ming Dynasty

"The general has been defeated! If you must kill, kill us instead!"

The roar exploded on the deathly silent wall, carrying a resolute determination like a moth drawn to a flame.

The few Han soldiers who had miraculously survived the maze, their armor tattered and their bodies covered in blood, formed a shaky yet incredibly solid human wall with their not-so-robust physiques, standing firmly in front of Hu Yongqiang, who was kneeling on the ground.

The young man in the lead still had a childish look on his face, and the broadsword in his hand was only half broken, but his hand holding the sword did not tremble at all.

He faced Chu Ze with his chest, and also with all the other players around him who were eyeing him menacingly and exuding a bloodthirsty aura.

The atmosphere on the wall instantly became incredibly eerie.

The players who were just about to rush in to loot the supplies stopped in their tracks. As they looked at the guards who had risked their lives to protect their master, the excitement and fervor on their faces were gradually replaced by a complex and indescribable emotion.

"Damn... these NPCs... they're something else." Shi Dali scratched his bald head, lowering his booming voice a bit.

"Loyalty is loyalty, but unfortunately, he followed the wrong master." Xiao Ran held his spear and snorted coldly, but the murderous intent in his eyes, which were always burning with fighting spirit, had also diminished.

Wang Han opened his mouth, wanting to say something like "This is part of the game's setting" to liven things up, but the words just wouldn't come out.

This scene is so real.

It was so real that he felt it wasn't a game, but a bloody history unfolding before his eyes.

Qian Lele's live stream camera faithfully recorded this scene.

In the live stream, the sea of ​​comments consisting of "General is mighty" and "So cool!" also paused briefly.

Are these soldiers idiots? Hu Yongqiang was in that state, and they're still protecting him?

Don't say that... Even though they're enemies, this loyalty is... well, I don't know what to say.

Alas, blind loyalty. In that era, perhaps that was their only belief.

Chu Ze did not move.

He simply looked calmly at the few guards who stood in front of him, at the light in their eyes that was a mixture of fear, anger, and determination.

The spear in his hand, its tip pointing diagonally at the ground, did not rise even slightly.

He could kill any soldier on the battlefield who opposed him without hesitation, and he could ruthlessly set traps to slaughter five hundred elite soldiers.

But at this moment, facing these ordinary soldiers who knew they were doomed but still chose to defend their duty with their lives, he disdained to take action.

Killing them would be pointless.

It will only dirty your own gun.

But in this eerie tranquility created by "loyalty and righteousness," Hu Yongqiang, who was being protected behind him, made a move.

He knelt on the ground, head bowed, his body trembling violently from the intense pain. No one could see his expression at that moment.

Those guards assumed that their commander was enduring immense pain and humiliation.

The young man at the head even turned halfway back, and in a voice trembling with tears yet incredibly resolute, he comforted them: "General! Hold on! We...we'd rather die than let them humiliate you again!"

However, he did not see it.

Behind him, beneath the bowed head of the general he had protected with his life, there was no gratitude for being loyally protected, nor any despair after defeat in his eyes.

Yes, but only fleetingly, a cunning malice taken to the extreme.

There was still a sliver of hope, a desperate, insane greed.

Hu Yongqiang saw the warhorses behind those guards; they were the mounts that had miraculously survived the rain of arrows when they charged into the maze.

escape!

A single thought, like a venomous snake, instantly took over his entire mind!

What loyalty? What honor and disgrace? What future of the Great Gold?

In the face of death, everything else is bullshit!

He must live!

Survive at all costs!

Just as that most loyal young bodyguard turned around and focused his attention back on Chu Ze...

Hu Yongqiang suddenly rose up!

His only intact left hand moved like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, swift as lightning, and drew the short sword from the young guard's waist!

The guard was completely unprepared and was even taken aback by his commander's actions.

He instinctively wanted to turn around.

But he only had time to turn half his face.

"puff--!"

A dull thud, like a sharp blade piercing flesh.

The cold, familiar blade pierced into his back without mercy.

The dagger pierced his heart with pinpoint accuracy.

The young guard's body stiffened abruptly.

He looked down slowly, incredulously, at the tip of the knife protruding from his chest, stained with his own blood.

Then, with the last of his strength, he turned his head with great difficulty.

He saw it.

He saw the general to whom he had sworn to serve, his face utterly distorted by pain, resentment, and madness.

I saw the general's hand gripping the hilt of his sword, still thrusting it forward with all his might.

He saw the undisguised coldness and cruelty in the general's eyes, a coldness that revealed he saw him as a stepping stone.

"Why...why...?"

Blood gushed from the young soldier's mouth. His eyes held no pain, only endless, pure bewilderment and incomprehension.

He didn't understand.

He really couldn't understand it.

Hu Yongqiang did not answer.

He simply looked at the "loyal dog" who was blocking his way with a look of disgust, then suddenly drew his short knife and kicked the man's body, which was losing its warmth, away!

"Get out of my way, all of you!"

He roared and, with all his might, scrambled out through the gap in the "human wall" formed by his personal guards!

The remaining guards were completely petrified.

They stared blankly at their companion's corpse, its eyes wide open, slowly collapsing.

He stared blankly at his general's disheveled figure as he recklessly charged towards his warhorse.

Their beliefs, the principles they relied on for survival—the code of loyalty, obedience, and glory—were utterly shattered by Hu Yongqiang in the most cruel and bloody way.

"what……"

One of the guards let out a mournful, off-key cry, and his weapon clattered to the ground.

He knelt down, embraced the gradually cooling body of his young companion, and wailed loudly.

The others also dropped their weapons and knelt on the ground with empty eyes.

The man for whom they were loyal and willing to risk their lives killed their most loyal brother with his own hands.

All of this happened so fast!

From the moment Hu Yongqiang suddenly attacked and injured someone, to the moment he pushed aside the corpse and rushed towards the warhorse, only a few breaths had passed.

Everyone was stunned by this earth-shattering scene, leaving their minds blank!

By the time Wang Han was the first to react and yelled "Stop him!", it was already too late.

Dragging his two crippled legs, Hu Yongqiang climbed onto the horse's back with the ferocity of a wild beast, using both hands and feet.

He didn't even bother to grab the reins; he just frantically stabbed the horse's rump with the short knife in his hand!

"Giddy up! Giddy up!"

The warhorse, in pain, let out a long, mournful neigh, reared up, and then galloped away on all fours, fleeing desperately in the direction it had come from, towards that deep darkness!

Above the wall, all was deathly silent.

All that remained was the suppressed, desperate sobs of the Han Banner soldier as he held his comrade's corpse.

And then there was Hu Yongqiang's increasingly distant, frantic roar.

All the players stared in disbelief at the scene.

The expressions on their faces shifted from bewilderment to shock, and finally, to pure, physiological anger and nausea.

"brute!"

Shi Dali's large, copper-bell-shaped eyes were bloodshot, and he clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

"Is this guy even human?!"

Wang Han's face was ashen. He clenched his fists tightly, and his face, which always carried a hint of calculation, was now filled with only cold killing intent.

But on Earth.

After a deathly silence lasting ten seconds, Qian Lele's live stream room fell silent.

It completely exploded!

The comments section is no longer filled with question marks and exclamations.

Instead, it was a red ocean composed of the most primal and furious curses!

[Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! I'm throwing up! I'm fucking disgusted by this!]

[Beast! How could this game portray the evil of humanity so realistically! Hu Yongqiang is a complete beast!]

He killed his most loyal subordinate just to save his own life? Screenwriter! Come out here! I'm sending you razor blades! My eyes! My eyes have been polluted!

"Don't even mention it, brothers. I'm a grown man, and when I saw that soldier's eyes before he died, tears just streamed down my face. What kind of eyes were those...? They looked like the whole world had collapsed!"

[Report! I want to report this game! It promotes negative energy and sets a bad example for children!]

[Get lost, you upstairs! This is fucking real! War is this cruel! Human nature is this ugly! The brilliance of this game is that it dares to slap this bloody stuff in your face!]

In the live stream of 【Dragon Soars Military】, the military blogger slammed his fist on the table, his eyes bloodshot, and roared into the microphone: "See this! This is a traitor! This is a betrayer! They will do anything for their own wealth and glory, for their own survival! They will even betray their own compatriots, their own brothers, without hesitation! This is no longer tactics, no longer strategy! This is rotten to the core! This is evil to the bone!"

In the history department dormitory, Professor Wei was trembling all over. He pointed at the screen, his lips quivering, and he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

"utterly disgraceful...worse than a beast...worse than a beast indeed!"

He studied history his whole life and witnessed countless betrayals and cruelties recorded in historical books.

But nothing has ever made him feel more heartbroken and saddened than the impact of the live broadcast in front of him.

On the top of the wall, the players' anger was completely ignited.

"General! Give the order! We're going after them!" Wang Han knelt on one knee, his voice hoarse with anger, facing Chu Ze's retreating figure. "This scum cannot be allowed to leave Guangning alive!"

"Yes! Chase after him! Chop him up and feed him to the dogs!"

"We can't let him get away so easily!"

The players were excited, their eyes red, and they all volunteered to fight.

Kill that beast!

This thought became the shared and sole obsession of all players, and even all viewers on Earth!

Chu Ze slowly turned around.

He glanced at the young soldier's corpse on the ground, then at the several Han Banner soldiers who were completely disoriented and broken down.

Finally, he turned his gaze to the endless darkness where Hu Yongqiang had disappeared.

His face showed no anger, no surprise, only a deep, cold calm.

He raised his hand, stopping everyone from volunteering to fight.

"No need to chase."

Those three simple words caused everyone's anger to momentarily subside.

Why?

Everyone's face was filled with confusion.

Chu Ze didn't explain. He simply stared into the darkness and said coldly, word by word:

"A stray dog ​​who killed his own loyal servant and was severely wounded."

"Letting him return to his master like this is much more painful than killing him outright."

"and……"

Chu Ze's lips curled into an extremely cold smile.

"His value hasn't been fully utilized yet."