Chapter 1 阿猜度 Achai Du

"Achai Du!"

The death of his archer companion drove the barbarian berserker nearly mad. He and Achai Du were the two great warriors under the chieftain, having served him loyally for many years, their friendship akin to brotherhood.

"I... I will kill you!!!"

The barbarian berserker raised his blade and charged toward Liang Cheng, whom he had just kicked away.

Liang Cheng, with an arrow in his left arm, lay on the ground, seemingly unable to rise due to the severity of his injury.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!!"

Just then, Zheng Fan, who had been hiding in the corner, rushed out with a shout, wielding his own blade.

He had been hiding earlier, not wanting to be a burden, but if he didn't act now, Liang Cheng would be hacked to pieces by the barbarian.

Liang Cheng, still on the ground, watched Zheng Fan charging toward him while yelling, a faint smile appearing on his lips as he shook his head.

The night before their departure, the Blind Man Bei had secretly summoned them for a conversation.

The Blind Man Bei had said, "I know that deep down, you all still look down on the master. But in the end, don't forget that we were all created by the master."

If the real world was a cage, the master could be said to have been shackled within it. Now, all we need to do is provide the master with an environment where he can develop freely. As the creator who brought us into being, he will surely grow into a leader worthy of our following!

Zheng Fan was now truly giving it his all.

He knew that the barbarian berserker was powerful, even without the enhancement effect, he was no match for him. But continuing to cower in the corner, watching Liang Cheng being killed without lifting a finger, while hoping that the barbarian wouldn't notice him so he could save his own life...

That wasn't Zheng Fan's style. He was a man who had already died once. Every extra day he lived in this world was a bonus, so he didn't want to live out his days clinging to life with regrets!

Therefore, even if Zheng Fan's output relied entirely on shouting,

At least,

He charged forward,

And,

He roared loudly!

"Ugh... cough..."

The charging barbarian berserker suddenly shuddered, his body stopping abruptly.

He looked down in astonishment at his palm, which was now completely black.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of foul-smelling blood spewed from his mouth, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

He had been poisoned, and with a terrifying poison... the poison... came from the fingernails of that Yan man...

Zheng Fan had already reached the barbarian berserker, but the barbarian merely raised his head in a daze, watching Zheng Fan gradually closing the distance.

He wanted to raise his blade,

But,

"Clang!"

His blade,

Fell to the ground.

He wanted to swing his fist,

But his body began to fall backward uncontrollably.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!!"

Zheng Fan's mind was devoid of any other thought. Once he was within range, he swung the blade in his hand with all his might!

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

The first thud was the barbarian berserker collapsing to the ground, blood constantly flowing from his mouth, his life force completely extinguished by the corpse poison.

The second thud was Zheng Fan, because of the barbarian berserker's fall, his blade had missed, and under the pull of the unstoppable momentum, Zheng Fan also fell to the ground.

In the distance, Xue San, covered in excrement, still managed to cheer:

"Long live the Master!"

Zheng Fan looked in disbelief at the dead barbarian berserker lying beside him. He... he felt no regret at all for not being able to kill the man himself, only a strong sense of relief from surviving a close call.

Not being afraid of death didn't mean he didn't want to live.

Liang Cheng stood up from the ground, grasped the arrow shaft with his right hand, and with a forceful pull, yanked the arrow from his left arm. No blood flowed out, only a hole remained, surrounded by layers of black baleful aura.

Tearing off a piece of his clothing, he wrapped the wound several times to cover it, then walked over and extended his hand to Zheng Fan, who was still lying on the ground, gasping for breath.

Zheng Fan smiled sheepishly, reached out, grabbed Liang Cheng's hand, and stood up.

"Oh my heavens!"

Over there, Xue San cried out in alarm.

"Master, we've caught a big fish here!"

Zheng Fan and Liang Cheng immediately walked over and saw an old man with two arrows in his body and several large wounds lying against the ground where the two barbarians had emerged.

Although the old man's armor was already battered and dented, one could still tell that it was of great value. In a barbarian tribe, armor that was still aesthetically pleasing was an absolute luxury.

In fact, the two barbarians had probably wanted to escort this old man out of the encirclement, so they had first placed the old man here, intending to quickly deal with them.

The old man now stared angrily at Zheng Fan and his companions.

It was clear that although he was old, he would have been a formidable opponent before being injured.

"Master, wouldn't capturing this old fellow alive be a greater achievement?"

Zheng Fan bit his lip and said, "Kill him."

"Huh?" Xue San couldn't understand.

Liang Cheng, standing next to Zheng Fan, also said, "Kill him, he must have seen everything that just happened."

Although they had gained some understanding of this world, that understanding was not yet deep. Who knew if Liang Cheng's fighting style would seem out of place in this world?

"Tsk tsk tsk, that's true." Xue San agreed.

Just then, the old man, seemingly aware of his fate, suddenly glared at Liang Cheng and roared:

"Demon... demon!"

"Hehe, you guessed it."

Xue San's dagger slashed down.

…………

The Yan cavalry had already gained control of the battlefield. The large-scale slaughter had ended, and now, only a comprehensive search of the camp remained, to ensure no barbarian was missed.

A cavalry unit discovered a very strange place.

Five cavalrymen, on horseback, stood before a pile of wooden carts, each with a look of intense shock in their eyes.

On the carts, were rows of barbarian heads.

The barbarians' hairstyles were completely different from those of the Yan people. Although the Yan people were located in the north and were called barbarians by the major Central Plains countries, that was simply regional prejudice equivalent to later generations.

But the barbarians' bizarre hairstyles and their custom of tattooing their faces and scalps and creating patterns of wounds, made their heads extremely easy to identify.

A dwarf was squatting on the cart,

A man with a bandaged left arm stood on the other side,

In the very center, stood a man covered in blood, and, in his hand, he held the head of an old man, at his feet, was a headless corpse.

The squad leader narrowed his eyes. At that moment, he had an impulse to order his men to charge!

Those barbarian heads were certainly valuable and could be counted as merit or rewards, but what he valued more was the head of the old man. He could probably guess the identity of the head's owner.

The reason the main army hadn't stopped searching was because they were looking for that old man.

The people opposite him were just civilians. What good fortune did three civilians have, to be able to obtain so many heads in this chaotic situation with the identity of cannon fodder, and to hold the greatest merit of this battle in their hands!

Xue San chewed on a blade of grass, greatly disliking the smell on his body, but what he disliked even more was the killing intent emanating from the five Yan soldiers in front of him.

That killing intent, was directed at the three of them.

He twisted his neck, his lips moving slightly, and whispered:

"Master, they're planning to double-cross us."

Competing for merit, even resorting to harming comrades in arms, was a difficult thing to eradicate in the army. Especially since Zheng Fan and his companions were dressed as nothing more than commoners in the eyes of those regular Yan soldiers.

The warhorses began to paw at the ground, the cavalrymen were already unable to restrain themselves.

It was still chaotic now, and they could still make a move. If they delayed any longer, when the search was over, there would be more eyes watching, and it would be more inconvenient to act.

The squad leader finally made up his mind and raised the saber in his hand.

"Roar!"

Just then, a low roar came from behind the five cavalrymen.

The squad leader's body immediately shuddered. This beastly roar, represented who was coming, they knew very well.

The cavalrymen immediately turned their horses around and bowed their heads in that direction, while simultaneously striking their left chest armor with their right hands.

"Another demon beast?" Xue San muttered.

Liang Cheng also silently straightened his body.

Just then, Zheng Fan saw a demon beast with horns on its head and a face that looked like a tiger slowly approaching them.

This was a very strange-looking demon beast, but strictly speaking, if you were to look for similarities, it seemed more like a *pixiu* (mythical hybrid creature) than the mount of the Pacification Envoy he had seen in Tiger Head City.

On top of the demon beast, sat a young man wearing red armor, the young man's face was very pale.

Behind the young man, an old swordsman in a purple robe followed step by step, carrying his sword.

The demon beast passed through the five cavalrymen and came directly in front of Zheng Fan. The young general in red armor sitting on it, with a meaningful smile on his face, first swept over the heads, and then swept over Zheng Fan and his companions.

When he swept over Xue San, the young general frowned slightly. The battlefield and the military camp were naturally not places for fresh fragrances, but such a strong smell standing right in front of you was still a bit unbearable.

However, a moment later, the red-armored general leaned down slightly, stared at Zheng Fan, who was standing at the front of the three, and said:

"Did you kill all of these?"

Zheng Fan nodded, meeting the other's gaze.

"How did you kill them?"

"We killed them with good luck."

The red-armored youth straightened his body, his expression difficult to fathom.

He urged the reins in his hand, and the demon beast turned its head and walked back, stopping in front of the cavalry squad leader.

"Do you know your crime?"

The red-armored general spoke calmly.

The squad leader was stunned for a moment, then immediately dismounted and knelt down,

"This humble subordinate knows his crime!"

In the army, there was no point in arguing, nor was there much emphasis on catching someone red-handed, because it was difficult to know if you were the chicken your general wanted to kill.

"It's good that you know your crime." The red-armored general nodded.

The squad leader heard this, raised his head in horror, and shouted:

"But they are just commoners, they are just bait!"

Meaning, it didn't matter if people of this level were killed!

The red-armored youth replied calmly:

"They are comrades now."

Then,

The red-armored youth said softly, "Seventh Uncle."

"Buzz!"

A red light suddenly burst from the old swordsman's body, the blade was drawn and returned.

"Thud!"

The squad leader's head rolled down.

The remaining four cavalrymen immediately dismounted together, kneeling on the ground, trembling.

The red-armored youth didn't seem to want to continue punishing these soldiers, instead, he turned to look at Zheng Fan and his companions behind him,

"After washing up, come to my military tent."

Zheng Fan was somewhat surprised. At that moment, the old swordsman carrying his sword suddenly swept his gaze over, bringing a chilling coldness.

"This humble subordinate obeys!"

Zheng Fan responded, imitating the way the squad leader who had just lost his head spoke, then cupped his fists with both hands, not intending to kneel down.

"Hehehe... a commoner, actually calling himself 'this humble subordinate'."

The red-armored youth laughed, then, as if thinking of something, he added:

"By the way, that dwarf, even if he scrubs off a layer of skin, is not allowed to enter my military tent."

After giving his orders,

The red-armored youth slowly left on his mount, the old swordsman with his sword still following him.

The crisis was over.

Zheng Fan breathed a sigh of relief.

But Xue San muttered with some dissatisfaction:

"That bitch, dares to dislike me..."