The God of War Who Protects the Nation: Starting with Saving a Mother and Daughter in Distress

Wang Dang's blatant threat immediately displeased everyone, and Zhang Xu's face darkened: "Are you threatening us?"

"I wouldn't dare," Wang Dang cupped his hands in greeting. "I'm merely stating the facts. My lord said that, in addition to General Shan and his sister, all the brothers who were captured last time must be returned. After all, we are all soldiers who are paid for our service; there's no need to exterminate them all."

Wang Dang was clearly certain that Zhang Xu and his group would exchange Yuwen Zhi for him, so he not only adopted a very tough attitude but also made outrageous demands.

Fortunately, Zhang Xu and his team had anticipated and made arrangements for this situation beforehand, so they did not lose their composure.

"Hahaha..." Luo Kai laughed loudly, "General Wang probably doesn't know, but when General Qin takes action, there are never any survivors! Those prisoners you mentioned were already buried alive by him at Luoma Slope!"

Wang Dang's expression changed drastically: "What did you say? Qin An dared to massacre surrendered soldiers?!"

Qin An looked at him coldly: "On the battlefield, being merciful to the enemy is being cruel to yourself. Those people are all rebels; keeping them alive is just asking for trouble. Let's kill them all."

Wang Dang stared intently at Qin An, his eyes filled with anger, yet also with helplessness.

He knew that Luo Kai and Qin An were lying.

Burying surrendered soldiers alive is a major taboo, and no matter how ruthless Qin An is, he wouldn't dare to do such a thing openly.

More importantly, there were quite a few female soldiers among the prisoners.

How could they possibly have actually killed all those female soldiers?

This is clearly blatant lying.

Even though he knew this, Wang Dang did not see any prisoners in the camp and could not refute it for a moment.

In addition, the rebels did not have much hope for this, so they did not pay too much attention to it.

However, upon hearing the government troops' excuse, Wang Dang's heart suddenly stirred.

"This is indeed an opportunity. When we get back, we should spread the word that Qin An is cruel and bloodthirsty, and that he massacred surrendered soldiers. In this way, those brothers who are still hesitating about whether to surrender will no longer have any second thoughts."

"Good! Well done, Qin An!" Wang Dang took a deep breath, suppressing his anger. "Since that's the case, let's just talk about General Shan and his sister. I need to see them first to make sure they are safe and sound."

Zhang Xu glanced at Qin An.

As Qin An's prisoner, he was naturally under his guard.

Qin An nodded, and after leaving the tent, he said to Li Jing, "Go and bring Shan Tong and Shan Bing here."

A moment later, Shan Tong and Shan Bing were brought in.

Dan Tong was pale, and the wound on his right shoulder was still bleeding, but he still held his head high and his eyes were firm.

Dan Bing's eyes were red and swollen from crying. When she saw Wang Dang, her tears flowed even more fiercely: "General Wang, please save me! Qin An, that beast... he bullied me!"

Seeing the two men's appearance, Wang Dang had a plan in mind. He said to Zhang Xu, "General Zhang, I've seen the people. Now, can we discuss the specifics of the exchange? Our side is willing to exchange Yuwen Zhi for General Shan and his sister!"

Just as Zhang Xu was about to speak, Shan Tong suddenly said, "Wait a minute."

Everyone looked at him, their faces full of confusion.

Shan Tong looked at Wang Dang and said in a deep voice, "General Wang, go back and tell our lord that I, Shan Tong, alone can exchange for Yuwen Zhi. As for my sister Shan Bing..."

He paused, his gaze falling on Qin An, his tone resolute: "She is no longer a member of the Shan family. I have already betrothed her to Qin An. From now on, her life or death is none of my concern."

"What?!" Everyone was stunned, including Qin An.

Dan Bing stared at Dan Tong in disbelief: "Brother! What did you say? How could you do this to me?!"

Dan Tong ignored her, staring intently at Qin An: "Qin An, the whole world witnessed what you did to my sister at Luoma Slope! You publicly humiliated her, ruining her reputation. Shouldn't you take responsibility?"

Qin An frowned: "General Shan, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! When have I ever humiliated your sister?"

"Still dare to deny it?" Shan Tong roared. "You laid hands on her and spoke lewdly to her in front of the enemy lines. Have you forgotten? All the brothers here saw it! The purity of a young woman has been defiled by you like this. Do you intend to deny it?"

"I thought you, Qin An, were a great hero, a man of integrity and courage. If you dare to do it but can't admit it, then hurry up and kill us siblings!"

Qin An was speechless.

He didn't expect Shan Tong to pull this stunt.

The events on the battlefield were a scheme to deliberately provoke Shan Tong.

Regardless of the circumstances, Shan Bing was indeed taken advantage of by herself.

After all, at that time, I had a firm grasp on Shan Bing's vitals at point-blank range, which was obvious to all and could not be faked.

Zhang Xu, Luo Kai, and the others also realized what was happening, and their eyes held a hint of amusement as they looked at Qin An.

They knew Qin An wasn't that kind of person, but since Shan Tong had put it this way, and it concerned the matter of exchanging Yuwen Zhi, it would be difficult for Qin An to deny it.

"Brother! I won't marry him!" Shan Bing cried out. "I'd rather die than marry that beast Qin An! He bullied me, I want to kill him!"

"Shut up!" Shan Tong shouted sternly. "You've done such a shameless thing, and you still have the nerve to shout? You've been publicly humiliated, your innocence ruined, and you've disgraced the Shan family. If you don't go with him, then die."

His words were like a sharp knife, piercing Shan Bing's heart.

Dan Bing was stunned, tears still on her face, but she could no longer cry.

Wang Dang naturally harbored resentment towards Shan Bing for causing such heavy losses to his side.

In his view, Shan Bing was a scourge, and he wished he could replace her with someone else.

Now that Shan Tong has brought it up, he's happy to go along with it.

"General Shan is right. General Qin is a young hero, and Miss Shan is as beautiful as a flower. It is indeed a wonderful story."

The government troops didn't care about Shan Bing, a female relative of a rebel.

In their eyes, Shan Bing was just a spoils of war for Qin An, and was completely insignificant.

We can't let her delay important matters.

Zhang Xu said impatiently, "Qin An, I think this matter is settled. Let's get Yuwen Zhi back first, and discuss the rest later."

Looking at Shan Tong's determined eyes and then at Shan Bing, who was crying her eyes out, Qin An cursed inwardly for his bad luck, but he knew he couldn't get away with it.

If Shan Tong makes such a definitive statement and he doesn't agree, it will only cause him more trouble.

"Alright." Finally, Qin An gritted his teeth. "I agree, but I have one condition: I must see Yuwen Zhi first and confirm that he is safe and sound before we can make the exchange."

"Sure," Wang Dang readily agreed. "Three days from now, at Luoma Slope, we'll exchange the person for the goods."

After the exchange was agreed upon, Shan Tong was taken back to his cell, while Shan Bing was taken away by Qin An.

All the way, Shan Bing kept cursing: "Qin An, you beast! My brother must have been driven to this by you! You deserve to die a horrible death! I'd rather die than marry you..."

Qin An ignored him, his face so dark it seemed to drip water.

He never imagined that he would be "forced into marriage" in this way, especially by a foolish woman he didn't have much affection for.

Back in Qin An's central command tent, Shan Bing was still crying and making a scene, smashing things around the tent like a shrew. A teacup was thrown to the ground, and shards splashed onto the edge of Qin An's boots.

Qin An finally lost his temper, rushed forward, grabbed Shan Bing's arm, and pressed her onto his lap.

A crisp "snap!" echoed inside the tent.

Dan Bing was stunned and turned to look at Qin An in disbelief.

How dare this man hit her?

Moreover, they even fought in such a place.

"You...you dare hit me?!" Shan Bing reacted, struggling to get up. "Qin An, you bastard! I'll kill you!"

"Slap! Slap! Slap!" Qin An ignored her struggles completely and his large hand landed mercilessly on her buttocks.

At first, Shan Bing was still struggling and cursing.

Gradually, her strength waned, and her curses turned into sobs.

The burning pain in her buttocks made her feel fear for the first time.

Qin An stopped what he was doing, looked at Shan Bing who was sobbing on his lap, and said coldly, "Have you cried enough?"

Dan Bing sobbed, not daring to speak.

"You big-breasted, brainless idiot!" Qin An roared. "Even at this point, don't you know how to use your brain? Do you think your brother really wants to marry you off to me? He's protecting you!"

Dan Bing suddenly raised her head: "What did you say?"

"Your brother is much smarter than you," Qin An said. "He knows you've caused a huge disaster this time, killing so many rebels. Even if Li Mi doesn't kill you when you return to Xinyang City, the families of those brothers won't let you off the hook. Staying with me, even though you'll suffer some grievances, at least you can save your life."

On the way back, however, Qin An figured out the reason for Shan Tong's unusual behavior.

He was originally too lazy to say much, but to avoid the spoiled young lady Shan Bing from pestering him, he simply explained the reasons to her.

When he spoke of Shan Tong's good intentions, he paused, his tone softening slightly.

"He said those harsh words on purpose to make you give up and make everyone think he's abandoned you, so you can be safe. If you keep making a scene, you'll be letting your brother down!"

Although the sibling relationship between Shan Tong and Shan Bing was indeed exploited beforehand, this pure kinship is still touching.

He also didn't want Shan Tong's efforts to be in vain.

Dan Bing was stunned, and tears welled up in her eyes again, this time tears of emotion.

She thought of her brother's usual love for her, and how he risked his life to save her on the battlefield. Her heart was filled with mixed emotions, a bittersweet feeling welling up inside her.

"I want to go back..." Shan Bing choked back tears, "I want to be with my brother, even if we die together..."

"Go back? What would you do back there?" Qin An scoffed. "You big-breasted, brainless idiot, would you go back and continue to hold your brother back? Put him in danger again because of you?"

Shan Bing, who was initially deeply moved, was instantly shattered by Qin An's comment that "big breasts, no brains."

The image of Qin An's actions on the battlefield involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Now, thinking back on it, she feels a sharp pain in her chest.

"You bastard! You damned pervert, I'll kill you..."

Dan Bing flew into a rage, looking ready to fight Qin An to the death.

Qin An, who had initially offered kind advice, suddenly turned cold.

He didn't tolerate it and continued to beat Shan Bing.

He thought that by going all out, he could completely subdue this stupid woman.

But as the fight went on, he realized something was wrong!