The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

It was already past midnight, and the escort team's camp had quieted down, with only the occasional snores and the footsteps of patrolling soldiers in the distance.

In Zhang Kai's military tent, a faint fire still flickered. Qin Xuan's superior and several cavalry leaders were watching Zhang Kai nervously, awaiting his orders.

"M-Sir, are we really going to kill those people?"

"Those are our brothers!"

The centurion hesitated before speaking. After learning of Zhang Kai's plan, he still felt a little reluctant, after all, those hundred-plus infantrymen were trained by him.

Now that even they are to be eliminated, I feel uneasy.

Hearing the centurion hesitate, Zhang Kai's face immediately darkened, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes:

"Of course, those hundred infantrymen aren't my trusted men. If I don't kill them, what if they escape and run to the nearby counties to get reinforcements?"

"We have to kill them all to buy ourselves time to escape!"

"Once you've swallowed this treasure, I'll take you to surrender to Yuan Shu in Huainan. Wouldn't that be much better than working under Tao Qian?"

Zhang Kai had already planned everything. After working under Tao Qian for so long, he hadn't gained much benefit. He knew that the generals under Yuan Shu, who held the same rank as him, had gained far more.

Having finally found such an opportunity, and most importantly, with Cao Song as such a lucrative target, it would be unreasonable not to take advantage of it.

Upon hearing Zhang Kai's words, a fleeting look of greed crossed the faces of the centurion and his confidants. Who wouldn't want to make a quick buck and climb the ranks?

"My lord, I have no objection!" the centurion said firmly, bowing with his hands clasped. He had completely lost his previous soft heart.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Kai immediately stood up, glanced around, and said in a low voice, "Alright, get ready, let's begin!"

"promise!"

The centurion and the men in the tent bowed in response and left, then went their separate ways.

The night was thick and dark, pressing down heavily on the makeshift camp, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, with murderous intent spreading rampantly in every inch of the air.

Zhang Kai and his men, like stalking wild beasts, stealthily approached Cao Song's camp under the cover of night.

Cao Song's encampment was not large, consisting only of simple tents and fences. More than a hundred infantrymen and his accompanying household servants were scattered around, vigilantly patrolling the surroundings.

However, they were unaware that death was creeping closer.

Zhang Kai stood in the shadows, his eyes cold, and he gave a low command: "Make your move!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers lying in ambush rushed towards Cao Song's camp swiftly and silently, like unsheathed blades.

"Ah~~ Ah~~!"

"Someone's attacking!"

"Quickly, defend!"

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Cao Song's infantrymen panicked and shouted in disarray, turning Cao Song's camp into chaos.

Zhang Kai's soldiers slaughtered his panicked comrades like ferocious beasts, leaving the poor infantrymen bewildered until their deaths.

Qin Xuan had already grabbed his weapon and run out of the tent when Zhang Kai launched his attack. He hid under the cover of night and secretly dealt with Zhang Kai's isolated men.

·············

"Pfft~~~!"

Qin Xuan grabbed a lone soldier and plunged his long sword into the man's chest. Blood gushed out instantly, staining the soldier's clothes red.

Qin Xuan stared coldly at the soldier, his eyes devoid of any pity. A short while later, the soldier breathed his last.

Having done all this, Qin Xuan once again disappeared into the night.

Meanwhile, after more than ten minutes of brutal slaughter, the cavalrymen had killed all of Cao Song's guards. Seeing this, Zhang Kai swaggered in with his men into Cao Song's tent.

"What...what exactly do you want to do?"

"My son is the Cao Cao of Yanzhou! You...you...don't do anything reckless!"

When Cao Song saw Zhang Kai's fierce and menacing appearance, he was immediately terrified and trembled with fear.

His legs trembled involuntarily, his face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead as he tried to intimidate the other party by mentioning the name of his son, Cao Cao.

"Old man, of course I know your son's reputation, but you're still going to die!"

When Zhang Kai saw Cao Song still using Cao Cao's name to intimidate him even as he was about to die, he burst into laughter and immediately ordered his men to finish him off without saying another word.

"Quickly, take all of this old man's treasure away. I will definitely not treat you unfairly." After killing Cao Song, Zhang Kai immediately ordered his men to start cleaning up the camp.

"promise!"

Upon hearing this, those people were overjoyed and began moving the boxes from the tent. Why were they doing this? Wasn't it all for the sake of making money?

Before long, all the boxes in Cao Song's tent were moved out.

"My lord! My lord, something terrible has happened! Someone has gone missing, and... and..."

Just then, the centurion rushed over in a panic, shouting and yelling, his face filled with terror.

Seeing the other person's expression, Zhang Kai frowned and reprimanded him:

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a panic? What kind of behavior is this!"

After being reprimanded by Zhang Kai, the centurion immediately regained some composure, and Zhang Kai then asked him:

"Tell me, what happened that made you so flustered!"

Zhang Kai had already fallen into a huge trap of wealth, completely unaware of the hidden danger lurking in his surroundings.

"Sir, during my inspection of my soldiers, I discovered... uh...!"

Before the centurion could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a gleaming blade piercing through his chest. His eyes widened and he collapsed to the ground!

"Hiss~~~! Who's there?"

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Everyone was startled by this sudden scene. After a moment of stunned silence, they drew their swords and began to scan their surroundings, shouting loudly in an attempt to force the other party to reveal themselves.

"Pfft~~Pfft~~Pfft~!"

The cavalrymen's shouts did not draw the enemy out; instead, deadly longswords flew from the shadows, taking the lives of several cavalrymen.

"Damn it, find him now, I want him dead!"

Seeing his trusted confidants being killed one after another, Zhang Kai was furious and vowed not to give up until he found the culprit.

"You want me dead? Do you think you have the ability? What do you have to fight me with?"

A fearful yet slightly childish voice came from the silent night, and Zhang Kai and the others immediately turned their attention to the darkness in the distance.

Qin Xuan slowly walked out of the night, holding a long sword stained with blood. The blood on his body, combined with his slightly immature face, made him look terrifying, like a young god of death returning from hell.

"Who...who exactly are you?"

"Was it... that you alone killed all my men?"

Zhang Kai stared at Qin Xuan's handsome, fair face and the blood-stained longsword in his hand, his mind going blank.

They seemed not to believe that Qin Xuan could kill his men single-handedly, since the other party looked like a pretty boy and posed no threat whatsoever.

Qin Xuan did not answer the other party's question, but silently walked towards him with his long sword in hand.

Enraged that the other party ignored him, Zhang Kai ordered his men, "Go! Kill him! I'll give you a bigger share of the treasure!"

Now we have no choice but to fight. All my men must have been killed by the enemy, otherwise, with such a commotion, others would have arrived long ago.

"kill!"

Upon hearing this, the remaining dozen or so cavalrymen suppressed their fear and charged towards Qin Xuan with their long spears.

Seeing the dozen or so cavalrymen charging towards him, Qin Xuan sneered. He had already received the system's martial arts empowerment, and these guys were no match for him.

"Why bother? Only death awaits you!"

After Qin Xuan finished speaking, he brandished his long sword again.

········

After a while, there was no movement in the camp.

Under the moonlight, the blood-stained ground reflected a cold light, and the still-dry bloodstains appeared particularly glaring in the moonlight.

Qin Xuan stood before Zhang Kai's corpse, watching everything with an expressionless face.

"Ugh...ugh!"

Less than a minute later, Qin Xuan vomited. This was the first time he had ever experienced such a scene. Although he possessed powerful martial arts skills, this was his first time putting them into practice.

"Ding! Congratulations, host, on completing the beginner's test! A mysterious beginner's gift pack is now being distributed!"

Just as Qin Xuan was vomiting, the system's voice came to his mind.