Firmament Sword

”I’m afraid none of you realize that Xu Luo’s team is full of capable people!”

Lin Chi ignored the others’ stares and said coldly, ”Xu Luo may not be much, but you have to admit, his sworn brothers are no simple characters! Young Master Wei should know this better than I do!”

Wei Ziting frowned but said nothing.

Lin Chi continued, ”Xu Luo’s sworn eldest brother, Eldest Prince Huangfu Chongzhi, may have an awkward status in the Royal Family, but he’s an exceptionally skilled elixir refiner. You should all understand what that kind of ability means out here in the wilderness.”

”It means they don’t have to fear injury. More importantly, if they find Spirit Medicine, they can refine it into Elixirs that boost their strength...” one of Wei Ziting’s confidants muttered.

”Exactly. With Huangfu Chongzhi’s skills, it wouldn’t be hard for him to help Xu Luo win over the others on the team. This means, first and foremost, their team will be very united! Young Master Wei, the strength of a united team surely surpasses that of one like ours, which is full of cliques, right?”

Lin Chi’s merciless sarcasm made Wei Ziting and his confidants look rather grim.

However, they had to admit that Lin Chi wasn’t wrong. A meeting like this very evening, for instance, was a perfect example of them naturally excluding everyone else.

Lin Chi added, ”Xu Luo’s sworn second brother, Xu Jie, is hearty and direct. His strength goes without saying, but he is also an expert blacksmith! The swords he forges are priceless in the Imperial Capital. Young Master Wei, am I wrong?”

Wei Ziting remained silent.

Li Tie sneered from the side, ”So what? It’s not like he can forge metal in the mountains, can he?”

”Stupid!” Lin Chi rebuked him without reservation. ”He can’t forge in the mountains, but can’t he promise to gift them weapons once they return?”

”And Xu Luo’s sworn fourth brother, Liu Feng, is even more incredible...”

”HAHAHAHA, if you were talking about someone else, I might believe you. But that damn fatty? That Flower Fool? What’s so incredible about him? You’re killing me!” Li Tie roared with laughter, looking at Lin Chi. ”I know you hate Xu Luo and have done your homework, but I never expected you to praise a damn fatty like that. Haha, that’s hilarious!”

”You’re not just stupid, you’re a complete idiot!” Lin Chi said, looking coldly at Li Tie. ”When it comes to tracking, Liu Feng’s skills are worth more than a hundred idiots like you combined!”

Lin Chi’s words instantly silenced the tent. Everyone seemed lost in thought. Only Li Tie’s face was flushed crimson as he glared venomously at Lin Chi, cursing inwardly. ’Are you a fucking mad dog? Why won’t you let me go? What did I ever do to you?’

Lin Chi didn’t bother to give Li Tie a second glance and continued, ”Finally, there’s Sui Yan, Xu Luo’s sworn fifth brother. He’s an expert in Mechanical Skill. That’s an ability that might not seem like much on a normal day, but in a place like this, he can easily use the natural environment to create traps that are impossible to defend against!”

At this, Wei Ziting waved his hand and let out a long breath. ”Alright, I understand what you’re saying. Their side is indeed very strong. Now, tell me your plan.”

”Young Master Wei, are you really going to listen to this madman’s suggestion to slaughter civilians?” Li Tie asked loudly, in disbelief.

”Yeah, Young Master Wei, isn’t that going a bit too far?”

”Young Master Wei, you must think thrice before acting on something like this!”

”Killing the enemy is a soldier’s duty, but slaughtering unarmed commoners... that kind of act will bring heavenly retribution!”

Wei Ziting’s group of confidants, subordinates who almost never defied him, were now all voicing their opposition.

Slaughter.

The word seemed simple enough. To many, the number of people killed was just that—a number.

For cold-blooded butchers, it wouldn’t stir the slightest ripple in their hearts.

But if someone had truly witnessed a massacre and could still say that word so easily, they were either a madman or a completely inhuman, cold-blooded creature.

Those were living, breathing people—sentient beings with their own joys and sorrows, not a swarm of ants.

Behind every person slaughtered was a complete life story.

Even the most hardened soldiers would feel their souls tremble and recoil at the thought of killing unarmed civilians.

What’s more, the one who proposed it was an outstanding student from True Martial Academy!

”Mercy has no place in warfare, Young Master Wei. If the enemy can do it, then we can give them a taste of their own medicine!”

Lin Chi’s voice was icy as he said, ”Instructor Zhou is known as the Devil Instructor, completely cold-blooded, but don’t we all respect and fear him just the same? In my eyes, the people of an enemy nation aren’t even human! If we kill them, so what!”

Wei Ziting trembled slightly. He slowly raised his head, looked at Lin Chi, and asked coldly, ”Aside from provoking the enemy nation’s insane fury and retaliation, what does a method like yours have to do with finding Cao Tianyi’s whereabouts?”

”It has everything to do with it!” Lin Chi shouted, pointing at the map. ”Here is the village in our Cangqiong Kingdom that was massacred. Here... is the enemy nation’s small town. And over here... is where we are now. It forms a perfect triangle. Cao Tianyi’s army must have at least a few thousand men, right? With that many people, their daily consumption must be enormous!”

”And this small town is a key location. Ten to one, their supplies are routed through it...”

”All we have to do is sneak into this town, and under the cover of night, go on a killing spree, then burn it to the ground.”

Lin Chi’s eyes gleamed with a cold, mad light as he declared, ”Then... Cao Tianyi absolutely won’t be able to sit still! He’ll definitely come out to encircle and destroy us! And since there are so few of us, all we have to do is scatter, hide well, and then secretly follow them. Won’t finding Cao Tianyi’s lair be the easiest thing in the world?”

”This plan of yours, ’beating the grass to startle the snake’... it’s not unfeasible,” Wei Ziting said slowly. ”But do you realize that once you do this, you’ll be branded a butcher for the rest of your life? You’ll never be able to shake that title! Countless people might fear you, but even more will hate you! In that case, no one in the Cangqiong Kingdom, whether in the army or at court, will ever like you!”

Lin Chi laughed. ”Young Master Wei, you’re wrong about that. Right now, the people of our Cangqiong Kingdom hate the Cao Kingdom to the bone. If we do this, even if some people are unhappy, we definitely won’t be condemned for it! Most people will applaud! When the time comes, we will have brilliantly completed the mission Instructor Zhou gave us. What reason would he have not to report our merits? As for the dead civilians... they’re not from Cangqiong. Who’s going to care?”

Then, Lin Chi added, ”Did Instructor Zhou ever say there was anything we weren’t allowed to do?”

”Well... no, he didn’t,” Wei Ziting said, pondering. ”But he didn’t tell us to go slaughter civilians, either, did he?”

”Hahaha, a single general’s success is built on ten thousand bleached bones!” Lin Chi said. ”Young Master Wei, if you’re unwilling to do it, then let me, Lin Chi, do it myself with a single sword. How about it?”

”This...” Wei Ziting frowned, considering the feasibility of the plan and how it would affect his family and his own future if he actually went through with it.

’I, Wei Ziting, have a bright future ahead of me. Joining the army is just a way to gild my resume, to enrich my experience for easier promotion later on.’

’If I really commit an act of slaughter, then even if everyone here keeps it a secret for now, it will ultimately affect me in the future!’

Wei Ziting mused, then thought, ’What good is public approval? The key is, if I do this, what will the high-ranking ministers at court think? What will His Majesty think!’

’This... is what I really need to consider!’

As Wei Ziting thought this, he raised his head, looked at Lin Chi, and said flatly, ”Lin Chi, though I don’t like you—and I still don’t—I have to admit your proposal is very tempting. However... I cannot agree to it!”

Phew!

The others in the tent finally let out a collective sigh of relief.

The pressure of such an act was too great. For a group of youths who had barely seen any bloodshed to slaughter civilians... just thinking about it was probably enough to give them nightmares.

A flash of disappointment crossed Lin Chi’s eyes, followed by a scornful smile. ”Fine, then. I, Lin Chi, will be the villain all by myself! However, Young Master Wei... I hope that when this is all over...”

Having made his decision, Wei Ziting seemed much more relaxed. He raised his head and said indifferently, ”Rest assured. While I, Wei Ziting, am no saint, I wouldn’t stoop to stealing this kind of achievement from you! Lin Chi, you never said any of this to me today. And I, Wei Ziting, have no idea where you have gone!”

Lin Chi nodded, gave a disdainful smile, and turned to leave.

Only after Lin Chi had been gone for a good while did everyone in the tent let out another collective sigh of relief.

One of Wei Ziting’s confidants whispered, ”Is that Lin Chi crazy? What set him off? To actually suggest something like that?”

Li Tie said, ”It’s probably related to Xu Luo. The Seventh Princess is in love with that waste of space, and Lin Chi has always had a high opinion of himself. This blow must have hit him hard. I guess he wants to use such extreme measures to vent his frustration and show off his own abilities.”

Wei Ziting nodded and said, ”If he succeeds, he might just... truly establish a reputation for himself in the army as a God of Slaughter. Though many would be repulsed by such a thing, there are others who would admire it!”

”Regardless, Young Master Wei, you can’t get involved in this. As for finding the enemy’s tracks, this Lin Chi... has given us a reminder.” Li Tie said with a sly chuckle, then pointed to the small town on the map.

Wei Ziting’s eyes suddenly lit up. His gaze toward Li Tie became profound as he said flatly, ”Li Tie, that’s a... rather vicious move of yours. When the time comes, Lin Chi might just try to kill you for it!”

”Hehe, would Young Master Wei just stand by and watch this humble one get bullied?” Li Tie said with a fawning smile.

Wei Ziting raised an eyebrow and snorted. ”Who would dare touch one of my men?”

Li Tie chuckled, looking extremely pleased with himself. He failed to notice the fleeting flicker of ridicule in Wei Ziting’s eyes.