Chapter Fourteen: Restlessness-Infinite Hunting Grounds(Blood Spatters, Fragrance Lingers)

Looking at the soldiers in the camp eating their breakfast, their faces drawn with fatigue, Wang Luo felt a growing sense of anxiety in his heart.

Perhaps this was not the right moment to act. Perhaps it would have been wiser to proceed with caution—to forge more armor, to win over more officers, to train more soldiers. Then, when the time came, he would be more assured of success.

If he had not stepped forward last night and had allowed the Chief’s men to seize the armor, letting them clash even more with officers like Su Si and his soldiers, then, once the tension had reached a breaking point, he could have easily lured some impulsive fellow to take care of the Chief for him.

Yet, if that happened, the officers whose strength had grown might also find their ambitions stirred. Since the goal was to command the entire army, such risks were inevitable.

With these thoughts, Wang Luo shook his head vigorously, as if trying to fling away these doubts.

Rushing was not necessarily wrong. Yesterday’s Han army assault was delayed by Zhou Yingxiong’s use of certain tools. But what about after that?

There was no guarantee the Han army would not return, nor could he be sure there would be no other mishaps. If he handed the armor over to the Chief’s men, their combat strength would only grow, and if a fight broke out, the chances of defeat would increase.

Would these ordinary soldiers outside the Chief’s camp support him?

Purely from a standpoint of self-interest, they would. No matter how zealous, a soldier still hoped to have a better chance at victory in battle; he would rather don armor and take up arms than face the enemy’s blade with nothing but his own fragile flesh.

They would resent seeing their armor taken and handed to those who did not fight on the front lines, who fled at the first sign of defeat and swooped in to take advantage of victory.

But there was also the possibility that, while they might support another in standing up to the Chief, they would not be willing to take that risk themselves.

The question was: how much risk would they be willing to take?

In a way, the conflict had not yet reached a point of no return. This was little more than a typical dispute. Some subordinates did not want to hand over their armor to the Chief; their refusal to obey his favorites was not without justification.

For those long-standing subordinates, the “generals” commanding hundreds of men, this was no great issue. But for outsiders, for newcomers like himself, it was a much bigger problem.

In other words, if Guo Da was shrewd, he would win over old subordinates like Su Si and place all the blame on Wang Luo’s shoulders.

But would a clever man covet his men’s spoils? Would he make excuses to seize the soldiers’ equipment to give to his own personal guards?

No matter how one looked at it, Guo Da was a fool.

From this perspective, even acting in haste was understandable. This situation was different from the last one; that had been on American soil—if he could save them, good; if not, even if they all died, it would not matter, the mission could still be completed.

But here, this was a battlefield—a battlefield on the land of Huaxia.

To achieve his goal, he had to first seize control of this force. This was only the first step. He must stand out, must take risks, must have the courage to face what was ahead. If he could not do even this, what right did he have to aspire to leadership?

He must seize command. He must use the weapons he had forged to elevate the fighting strength of these troops, use the need for coordination as an opportunity to train the soldiers, forge a strong army, then expand its numbers, and finally reach his original goal.

“They all agreed to go,” Su Si returned. “Everyone says Chief Guo is going too far.”

But none of them intends to overthrow him, do they? They all hope someone else will take the risk, so they can reap the benefits—right? “How did he become the Chief?”

“His sister is with General Ren Gong,” Su Si replied, looking entirely honest. “When he first raised his banner, he brought his townsmen to join Chief Bai. Later, after Chief Bai was defeated, they all fled to Guangzong to rally under the Grand Teacher. When someone mentioned his sister was still with General Ren Gong, everyone pushed him to become Chief.”

So, you yourself don’t want to challenge him, but if you see someone else doing it, you’d be delighted. Very well...

“Why are we camped here?”

“Guo Da said he received orders from General Di Gong to stay here for half a month. If the Han army tries to take Guangzong directly, we can attack them from behind.”

Does he take the Han army for fools? Would they just ignore you? No... That might not be the truth at all; perhaps he received false orders, or perhaps Guo Da was simply lying.

“Did Chief Guo always forbid his men from keeping spoils in the past?”

“Impossible! When we were stationed at Guo Village, he ate and slept alongside us, like true brothers! Even after he became Chief, he wasn’t like this! Sigh!”

The corruption of power? No, something’s not right.

This Yellow Turban force has been suffering defeat after defeat, living from day to day. What standing do they have to be corrupted?

If even under such circumstances he still indulges in power... then the solution is simple: kill his personal guards, carry their heads into his camp, toss them before him, and be done with it.

A greedy, foolish man would never have the courage to face that; he would be scared out of his wits.

Is it because this is a space mission that things have gone awry? Or is there another hidden reason?

In this scenario, what truly motivates people’s actions? Has everything been predetermined by the space, or is there a real cause behind every event?

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“The traitor wants to take our armor and kill us!”

“We beg the Chief! Hand over the traitor!”

Around ten in the morning, a suspected mutiny broke out in the Yellow Turban camp.

From the five surrounding camps, more than 1,500 men, armed and in ragged formation, stood outside the Chief’s camp gate, shouting in unison.

Wang Luo, Yang Wentian, Zhou Yingxiong, Su Si, as well as the “generals” from the three other camps—Liu San, Zhang Shitou, and White Dog—all clad in the full suits of armor crafted by Wang Luo, gathered before the main camp gate.

“Chanting these slogans won’t truly enrage the Chief. If he hands over those around him now, no one will ever help him seize armor and supplies from the soldiers again.”

The slogans, chosen by Wang Luo, had the assent of the generals and the soldiers shouting them.