King of Hundred Victories Saber

Chapter 852 - 248: Lone Sword Sweeps Out the Wako, Ambition Reflected on Tartan Soil (Part 6)

Shi Xiong, smiling broadly, warmly welcomed them into the tent.

Inside the tent, Shi Feiyang and Yili sat cross-legged on the bed, on which a small, exquisite kang table was placed, laden with dishes full of color, aroma, and flavor, steaming hot with an appetizing fragrance.

Shi Feiyang lifted his eyes and waved at Xie Wen and the others, his expression indifferent, his voice steady, he remarked mockingly: "Sit down, and tell me, how did you heroes manage to lose the battle this time?"

There was a hint of scrutiny in his gaze, as if he could see through everything.

Miao Menlong, Shan Zhi, Xie Wen, and the others saw this and hurriedly knelt on one knee, their expressions sincere, repeatedly apologizing to Shi Feiyang.

There was deep regret in their words: "Grand Squad Leader, we shouldn’t have acted impulsively, blindly following Liao Pei south to Bozhou. On the way, we encountered a disaster, causing many brothers to suffer casualties, it is truly a sin deserving death."

Then, Xie Wen, looking solemn, recounted the details of the ordeal: "On our way south, we reached a strange tribe. At that time, the tribe was holding a grand sacrificial event, the scene was extremely lively. However, during the ceremony, suddenly an incident occurred, a group of followers in bizarre attire seemed possessed by evil spirits, suddenly went mad, launching a crazy attack on the tribe people. Seeing this, Elder Liao and the others immediately stood out, intervening to stop the chaos. Amidst the fierce melee, I used the ’Feixu Qingyan Technique’, my body like willow catkins, floating in mid-air, looking down. But I could see these followers behave in a bizarre manner, as if controlled by some mysterious force, their eyes hollow, devoid of reason. I was greatly shocked, hurriedly took out the smoke bombs given by Miss Bai Zhi, throwing them down to assist Liao Pei, Lie Quan, and the other brothers in breaking through. After counting, we found more than a hundred brothers unfortunately died in battle, more than a hundred brothers severely injured, and over a hundred brothers lightly injured. Complaints started to emerge in the team, claiming that when following the Grand Squad Leader on expeditions, there had never been any casualties, and victory was assured every time. But when following Elder Liao, they suffered defeat, with many brothers killed and wounded."

While speaking, Xie Wen’s eyes were full of sadness and guilt, and his voice lightly trembled.

At this moment, Liao Pei, Lie Quan, Wu Zhong, Xiao Lingling, and others filed in, upon seeing Shi Feiyang seated, they hurriedly knelt on one knee, their expressions regretful, saying in unison: "Grand Squad Leader, we blame ourselves for acting impulsively, causing severe casualties among the brothers, and stirring much discussion and dissatisfaction within the team, our sins deserve death, please punish us accordingly."

They lowered their heads, not daring to meet Shi Feiyang’s eyes.

Upon seeing this, Shi Feiyang smiled faintly, a smile like a spring breeze, gentle yet carrying subtle meaning, he said: "Rise, all of you. Over here, I have just killed the leader of the Watt Tribe, Lele Baha, subdued the Watt Tribe, assisting Lindan in annexing this tribe. Therefore, we need not rush south to Bozhou. I have emphasized many times, pacifying Bozhou will take years. Currently, the Imperial Court does not take our Heroic Sakura Association or you fine gentlemen seriously. If we rashly head to Bozhou for pacification, it’s akin to sticking a warm face to a cold butt. Moving forward, our urgent task is to develop and strengthen the Lindan Tribe. When that time comes, the Imperial Court will naturally view us differently, at least they will symbolically provide us with some money, grain, and weapons, perhaps even issue a Holy Decree praising us. With that decree, if later the Imperial Court wants to turn on us and eliminate us, we can use the decree as a point of contention to prove the Court once sought our aid in dispatching troops to assist the officers in quelling the chaos in Bozhou."