Chapter Seventy-Five: Execution x Recovery

"Kill them all."

The Han soldiers raised their blades and brought them down, severing the heads of the pleading villagers. This was the third village they had slaughtered along their path. Following the direct orders of Lu Zhi, every single villager was to be executed; not a soul was to be spared.

"Teacher, why must we execute them?" asked a man with earlobes that reached his shoulders, arms that hung past his knees, a face as fair as polished jade, and lips as red as if painted. "In the past, the Founding Emperor won the world because he knew how to accept surrenders and win over the hearts of the people. These villagers are also subjects of the Great Han; they were merely beguiled by rebels. Why must you kill them?"

"Times change, and so do circumstances," Lu Zhi replied, looking at his student. "In those days, the world was in chaos, and the people had no stable master. Thus, we encouraged defections and welcomed the wayward. But now, the realm is unified, and yet these rebels rise up. If we allow them to surrender, other commoners will see it, follow their example, and rebel as well. What then?"

"Furthermore, the slogans these rebels shout—rejecting fathers and sovereigns, bringing ruin to the nation and the people—are highly infectious. If we do not exterminate them entirely, the harm will far exceed that of the Yellow Turbans. You must remember: whoever captures rebel soldiers or those who have followed the rebels, execute them immediately without mercy. Never let them live!"

"Understood!"

The officers around him might not have understood the visceral hatred for the revolutionary ideology that burned in the heart of the ancestor of the Lu clan—destined to become one of the Five Families and Seven Lineages—but they all answered in unison, signaling their support.

"Good! Then, while the rebels have just made camp and their footing is not yet firm, the entire army shall strike! March and chastise the rebels!"

----

"It seems there was no clear victor again."

Watching the exhausted yet high-spirited soldiers of the Revolutionary Army return to camp, Charles felt a sense of calm return to him.

The morning after the Revolutionary Army established their camp, the Han forces attacked. Once again, Wang Luo left Zhou Yingxiong to guard the position while she led the rest of the army to intercept. The result remained a stalemate.

Charles did not participate in the battle. Compared to the massive debt he had to repay, the points and dropped items gained from killing a few Han soldiers were meaningless.

He inquired about the situation and discovered that the Revolutionary Army had been slightly passive, yet the number of their own casualties was lower than before, while the damage inflicted on the Han army had increased.

If this stalemate continued until the end of the scenario, the result would be determined by a score, which would favor the Yellow Turban side. Wang Luo had already wiped out so many Han troops that the Han army could not turn the tide through such minor victories.

So, what method did she intend to use to achieve victory?

After the parasite evolved into a Siphon Worm, the pain vanished, and he gradually recovered from the blow.

Siphon Worm: The evolved form of the parasite.

The evolution process requires the command of the host and the cooperation of the parasitized. Once successfully evolved, as long as the Siphon Worm exists, the parasitized target's maximum stamina is reduced by 30%, with the reduced portion transferred to the host.

The parasitized target can negotiate a specific value with the host. If the target pays this amount in universal points to the host, or settles the debt within two hours of being billed, the Siphon Worm will depart. If the host dies before the parasitized target has cleared the debt, the target must pay double the amount to the Siphon Worm before the end of the next scenario to cause it to leave. If the funds are insufficient, they will be drained to death.

Furthermore, if the debt is not paid and the host does not issue an order to collect, the worm will never leave.

Currently, Charles owed 940,000 universal points. However, he had emerged from his depression—even with such a heavy debt, and even knowing that being unable to pay the debt could lead to immediate death, there was still a chance.

At the very least, he was still alive.

If he could uncover the steps of their plan—the key to victory—then whether he told Wang Luo or negotiated with Lin Feirui, he should be able to pay off the debt.

Gedini had not come to see him for several days. He must have reached some agreement with Lin Feirui and no longer needed to go through him. Zhou Suyuan had not been by his side lately; without a doubt, she, too, was being viewed with suspicion, just like him.

Wang Luo was a suspicious person. To make someone like that trust his intelligence, he would need ironclad evidence.

Charles walked out of his tent.

----

"Don't kill me! My lord, we did not betray you!"

Several bound Han soldiers wept and pleaded for mercy on the execution platform. A soldier standing by to carry out the sentence sighed. "Don't blame me; these are the General's orders. I dare not disobey."

"We didn't defect!" one of them begged desperately. "They said if we memorized the scriptures, they would let us go. They originally planned to escape and not return to the camp, but it was I who insisted on bringing them back. If you must kill someone, kill me! Spare them!"

"Military law is heartless." The soldier raised his blade and struck.

Heads fell, and blood sprayed.

The remaining few were in various states—some still weeping, others paralyzed with shock. But one of them, as if driven mad, began to shout:

"Great wealth is not passed down, great power is not inherited! For the nation and the people, divide the land! Ten thousand of us tilling the soil, all are my brothers! United as one heart..."

He never managed to finish. The executioner, initially stunned, scrambled to raise his blade. He swung clumsily, failing to deliver a fatal blow, and as he raised his blade again, the prisoner nearly finished his final words.

"Clear out!" an officer nearby shouted in a panic to the soldiers, who wore various expressions of shock. "This man is a traitor, bought off by the rebels! That is enough for today! Disperse, all of you, disperse!"

"The Han army's state seems abnormal."

After the soldiers had dispersed, Red Lightning said to the Big Soldier and Black Fiend beside him. "Killing captured enemies, while it feels wrong, is understandable. But is it necessary to kill our own soldiers who have returned?"

"Maybe that's just how the scenario is set up," the man called Big Soldier said, scratching his head. "I've never seen anything like this."

"If we scouted the Han commander, we might find a 'Cruel by Nature' debuff," Black Fiend added.

The three of them laughed. If one were caught using a scout skill on their own commander, the consequences would be severe, so it was something no one usually did.

"At this rate, when will we ever win?" Big Soldier asked.

The ones dying were scenario natives, which had nothing to do with them, and Red Lightning had only spoken offhandedly. Their attention quickly shifted to matters of vital importance to themselves. "Will there be reinforcements? Just relying on these people, they don't seem capable of defeating this Revolutionary Army, not to mention the main force of the Yellow Turbans that will follow."

"They don't seem to have any skills," Black Fiend noted. "Although they have high health and high attack power, they seem to be using only basic attacks."

"Exactly," Red Lightning said. "The protagonists who could appear have already shown up, and even if they are early-stage and haven't grown yet... they shouldn't be this weak. Could it be because they didn't appear normally? Since they appeared as reinforcements, were they nerfed?"

"Speaking of nerfs, maybe it's to maintain balance—they assessed the enemy's strength and then nerfed them according to the corresponding values..." Big Soldier mused.