Battle Royale of the Sinners

March 15th.

Noon.

Friday and Li Feihong went to the gathered pile of corpses that the army planned to burn and bury for her free lifespans.

"I have stopped them from burning the corpses. What are you going to do with it?" Asked Li Feihong.

After the duel with Lu Bu, Friday asked Li Feihong for a favor in exchange for her helping hands to complete Li Feihong's quest.

The request was simple. Li Feihong had to guide Friday to the site where they gathered the dead bodies.

"You should also watch and learn. In 18 or 19 years, you'll be doing the same as I'm about to do," Spoke Friday as she extended her black tentacle into one of the corpses.

The dead body disintegrated like Thanos flicking his fingers.

"This is called [Lifespans Absorption]. Once you've grown two wings, you'll be able to obtain lifespans from living beings, dead bodies, trees, or …"

Friday lectured Li Feihong since had drunk Tong's blood when he entered the clan. Thus, he was one of the demon candidate, which could be useful to her and Tong in the future.

…

2 PM.

Lu Bu regained his conscious after being KOed by Friday. Instead of getting angry, he grinned.

'A good woman!'

Gao Shun and Zhang Liao, who stood by Lu Bu's bed, noticed the smiling face. They had goosebumps, trying to predict what their boss would try to do in the future.

"He won't provoke Tong, right?" Whispered Gao Shun.

"I hope so. Or else, this can be problematic. I don't want to wage another war with Tong because our boss wants his woman."

Lu Bu's sharp ears heard the whispers of his subordinates. He was taken aback as he stared at the two.

"Who said that I want Xiao Wu!? I only respect her as a fellow warrior!"

Zhang Liao's face cramped, "Fengxian, your expression proved otherwise."

"I was being happy. What's wrong with it!?"

"You made that face when you met Lady Yan the first time."

"…"

"I have to warn you. Not as your subordinate, but a friend. Do. Not. Steal. Tong's. Woman!"

Gao Shun also stared at Lu Bu, "That's right, boss. I don't want to be Tong's enemy. His strategist and officers are scary!"

"…"

Lu Bu groaned while he placed a palm on his face, "Who the hell do you think I am? Am I that stupid?"

"Yes, you are."

As soon as Zhang Liao slipped the words, Gao Shun ran away from the infirmary.

"Wenyuan …"

"What?"

"You will spar with me with live weapons every day until you depart to Ye …"

Sweatdrops rolled down on Zhang Liao's face. It was the moment he knew, he had done goof.

…

March 16th.

Guangchuan County.

Yuan Shao and Tian Feng had finalized their plans, but they could not complete it as a report of the scout alarmed them.

Liu Yan, Yan Yan, and their army appeared in Nanpi territories. They were heading straight toward the city!

From the brief exchange of information between the scouts of both armies, Liu Yan wanted to sell his soldiers for food supplies so that they could travel across the country to Chengdu.

However, Yuan Shao did not trust Liu Yan as there might be a ploy to fool them. Nanpi was vulnerable at the moment, and Liu Yan could siege it while the Yuan Clan Army was in Guangchuan.

"We haven't even begun our plans yet, but that Liu bastard is at our border. What to do?" Yuan Shao gritted his teeth.

Tian Feng voiced his thought, "It's understandable if we put ourselves in Liu Yan's shoes. He has lost Ji City to Tong, and he failed to siege Zhongshan. Even if Zhang Tong abandons Ji, Liu Yan still can't reclaim it since Gongsun Zan is eyeing those areas for years. He has to abandon Ji City since there are too many warlords contesting for it. Then, the only option he has is to flee. I don't think he means harm."

"So, are we letting them moving to Nanpi?"

"No, we will be sending a negotiator to bargain. As a matter of fact, we will invite them here since our main supply base is in this county."

"I see. Then, who will we send?"

Tian Feng smiled and turned to Te Langpu, "Mind if I trouble you again, Sir Te?"

Te Langpu rolled his eyes in secret, yet he bowed, "May I ask if you have an estimated price in mind?"

"Estimated price?" Asked Yuan Shao.

"Yes, before I head there to bargain, I would like to ask if you have a price that you are expecting that you should get in return. For example, how many foods we can give Liu Yan for 10,000 soldiers."

Yuan Shao and Tian Feng nodded, "One hundred grown male slave is sold about one tael of gold in Nanpi. Elite soldiers should be ten times the price."

"Understood. I'll get a good price for you."

…

Te Langpu organized a group of bodyguards from the soldiers, arranging for the departure to Nanpi. As he was preparing, Wen Chou approached him.

"Sir Te Langpu, can I ask you for a favor?"

"What's wrong?"

"We were supposed to escort the prisoner Feng Ji to Nanpi, but most of our men are either busy scouting around Guangchuan or injured. Can I leave Feng Ji to you? All you have to do is sending him to Yuan House in Nanpi with our letter, then they will handle the rest."

Te Langpu widened his eyes as he thought that this Feng Ji had been sent home already.

"You don't have to worry about Feng Ji acting up. I'll send Gao Lan along with you. Since Liu Yan is moving toward Nanpi, our Lord wants someone to protect the city as well. He will go back with you in the same caravan together."

"That would be nice. Thank you!"

.

At noon, Gao Lan, Te Langpu, and 100 bodyguards left for Nanpi. Among the caravans, Feng Ji, who was chained, had been locked in a cell. His eyes filled with despair.

The moment he reached Nanpi, he would be treated as a slave instead of a noble. It was unacceptable for him after all the works and achievements he had piled up for years.

Feng Ji kept blaming Tian Feng and Te Langpu for this predicament. He kept cursing them, mumbling to himself.

The caravan traveled without a hitch. As long as the journey was smooth, they would reach Nanpi in three or four days.

That night, Feng Ji had a dream. It was a dream when he was in power.

In the dream, a spy gave him a report about Julu's movement. In the report, it said that there was a bounty for Te Langpu, and the issuer was the Julu Government.

Feng Ji's eyes snapped open, waking himself from the dream. He sat up and peaked through his cells. Wagons of Te Langpu and Gao Lan were in his sight.

'There is still hope!' Feng Ji thought.

.

Next morning, the caravan resumed its journey.

Feng Ji leaned on the cell and mumbled to himself, leaking information on purpose.

"What's so good about Te Langpu? He's a criminal in Julu! Even Julu Government places a bounty on his head! Dammit, I wish I captured this asshole and hand him over to the Yellow Turban. Then, I can get a thousand gold and a noble status from them!"

Bodyguards around Feng Ji's cell frowned. It was their first time hearing about Te Langpu's bounty.

Yuan Shao and other high ranking officers knew about this bounty, but they kept their mouth shut as it could disturb the order. Besides, they could make more than 1,000 gold by serving Yuan Shao.

However, to the foot soldiers who barely made one gold a year in the military, a thousand gold bounty could change their lives.

Five of ten soldiers glanced at Feng Ji, showing interest.

"Hey, can you tell me about the bounty?"

One of the soldiers whispered, which caused a chain reaction from the interested bodyguards.

"What can we get if we turn Te Langpu to Julu?"

Feng Ji smirked, "A thousand gold and Julu citizenship. What? Do you want to hand him over?"

"Please, we are not stupid! Who would have believed in the words of a slave?"

Despite the mocking words, the soldier who said it to Feng Ji revealed the greed in his eyes. It was not hard for Feng Ji to read this man's thought.

"Suit yourself! You don't believe it, but you can't force others not to believe it. HAHAHA!"

The seeds had been planted. The rest was up to the greedy soldiers.

Reluctant appeared on their face as their eyes kept glancing at Te Langpu's caravan direction.

Feng Ji decided to give them hope, "If you act alone, you will fail. How about this? Since only we knew about it, I can help all of you. Of course, I don't want to reward bounty, I want my freedom in return. You all can share the 1,000 gold when we get to Julu."

.

March 18th.

Because of the seeds that Feng Ji planted yesterday, more soldiers learned about Te Langpu's bounty.

The guards began to act weird under Gao Lan's eyes. Sometimes, they gathered in groups and whispered among themselves. There were times when two or three soldiers dragged their friends toward the sideways and gossiped something.

Gao Lan felt a bad, so he hastened the journey.

"We will forced-march today! I want to reach Nanpi before dusk! Also, I heard a lot of gossips these days. If I find anyone whispering, I'll castrate you myself! You are soldiers, not some harlots in a brothel. Behave yourselves!"

A few soldiers nodded while the majority of them pretended to bow. Gao Lan did not notice that they were leaking their killing intent from their eyes.

At Noon.

The caravan stopped for lunch and rest. Te Langpu and Gao Lan sat down on the roadside, eating their prepared rice balls and jerkies.

80 Of 100 men had been prepared. One of them snuck to Feng Ji's cell and released him. The others grabbed their weapons and charged at Gao Lan with a signal.

"KILL!"

"KILL!"

Gao Lan and Te Langpu were shocked. They drew their swords to defend themselves along with the loyal bodyguards.

"Traitors!" Bellowed Gao Lan as he killed the betraying soldiers.

As they were outnumbered, Gao Lan's guards fell one after another.

Te Langpu hid behind Gao Lan. His face was as white as a sheet.

'Shit! I shouldn't have erased all of my skills!' Te Langpu blamed his stupidity as he looked around for a chance to escape.

"Surround them and use your crossbows!"

A shout could be heard, which alarmed Gao Lan. When he looked toward the origin of the voice, he recognized the ringleader of the traitors.

"FENG JI!"

"Too bad, Lord Gao Lan. I have to protect my life. Men, turn these idiots to porcup … *BANG*."

Feng Ji felt like there was a cold piece of iron pieced through his skull before his world darkened forever.

Behind Feng Ji, a young horseman was there with a black object in his hand. The smoke came out of the small hole of the black object.

The young man gazed at the astonished crowd and tilted his head.

"Err … I'm lost. If you don't mind, can you tell me which way leads to Anping or Julu?"