Chapter 11

Qin Feng took a step forward, his arm tensing slightly, but he was already being held back. Turning his head, he saw that Shu Chang, who had just finished treating the wild dog's injuries, had stood up.

"Qin Feng, you can't kill him," Shu Chang said with an unusually serious expression.

"Because he is the son of the Left Chancellor?" Qin Feng snorted. "I want to kill him not because he severely injured the wild dog, but because he cut down the flag of my Death Corps. This reason alone is enough to justify my actions, even if we argue it to the heavens."

"There are plenty of people who end up losing everything despite being in the right!" Shu Chang said coldly. "Do you really think that everyone in this world is equal before military law? If that were true, your head would have been chopped off a thousand times over. The grass on your grave would be taller than a person."

Qin Feng was taken aback and glared at Shu Chang in anger.

"Don't be uncomfortable. Why does the Left Chancellor tolerate you, no matter what you do, always dealing with it lightly and turning big issues into small ones, and small ones into nothing? It's because you are his top general, who has helped him achieve great accomplishments. Over the years, the Left Chancellor has risen from a penniless military commander to a first-class marquis, and at least half of that is due to your efforts. Of course, he turns a blind eye to your actions, as he is waiting for you to achieve even greater feats for him, to advance further and become a national duke! But I can assure you, if you kill this Yang Zhi today, the first thing he will do is cut off your head and send it to the capital. You can help the Left Chancellor advance, but Yang Zhi decides his future. Which is more important? If Qin Feng is gone, another Qin Feng can be found. In this world, are there no others who can replace you?" Shu Chang said.

Qin Feng let out a light breath. "You're right, I can't kill Yang Zhi."

"That's the right way to think!" Shu Chang breathed a sigh of relief. People called him "Shu the Madman," but that was only because of his fanatical pursuit of medical skills. Qin Feng, on the other hand, was a real madman.

"But can I beat him up?" Qin Feng asked with a smile.

"Of course, you can beat him up, just don't kill him."

"Alright, that's settled!" Qin Feng chuckled, tightened his belt, and strode forward. Watching Qin Feng's departing back, Shu Chang had a vague sense of foreboding. What exactly did this young man plan to do with the arrogant and reckless young noble? He had a bad feeling. Turning around, he saw the two guards who had come with the wild dog standing there in fear. Their company commander was currently sparring with Scissors, but it looked like a one-sided beating. They saw their commander being thrown around in all sorts of awkward positions, only to get up again and continue taunting Scissors' female relatives, followed by more clashing.

"Hey, you two, what are you still standing here for? Why don't you go and find the Left Chancellor?" Shu Chang grabbed one of them and whispered.

"Find the Left Chancellor? We dare not!" The two soldiers shook their heads vigorously.

"You don't dare?" Shu Chang glared at them and pointed to the side. "If you don't, your commander will soon be a cripple!"

"Even then, we dare not!" The two soldiers looked at each other and shook their heads again.

Shu Chang was so angry he almost choked. He glanced at the wild dog, who was still being beaten up. It seemed Scissors was getting bored and was going easy on him. The wild dog was running out of insults for Scissors' female relatives. When Shu Chang heard the name of Scissors' wife, he knew the wild dog had no intention of leaving with his dignity intact. This was Scissors' taboo, and even Qin Feng never mentioned his wife when scolding him.

Sure enough, Scissors first looked stunned, then his eyes turned red.

"Do you know that person?" Shu Chang pointed to Yang Zhi, who was still surrounded.

"Yes, he is the guard of Princess Zhao Hua and the son of the current Left Chancellor."

"What about this one?" Shu Chang pointed to Qin Feng.

"Yes, he is Commander Qin."

"Very good, you both know him. Now, Commander Qin is going to kill this Yang Zhi. Once Yang Zhi is dead, the Left Chancellor will cut off Commander Qin's head, and then your commander's head will be next. After that, it will be your turn. Do you want me to prepare some thin wooden coffins for you now?"

The two soldiers' faces turned pale.

"Go to the main tent and shout that Yang Zhi is about to die! At worst, you'll get a beating. If Yang Zhi really dies, you'll need those coffins." Before Shu Chang finished speaking, the two soldiers had already run out of the camp.

Yang Zhi now felt an urgent need to urinate. Surrounded by hundreds of soldiers with iron knives, he could barely see what was happening outside. He swallowed hard, realizing he was in the army, on someone else's territory. Individually, he could take out any of these soldiers with a flick of his finger, but together, they were deadly. In the capital, he had seen how a great martial artist was killed by the army.

That great martial artist was a famous figure, but when surrounded by the army, he met a tragic end. He wasn't killed by swords or spears; he was literally torn apart by the soldiers, clawed, and crushed. Even though he had killed hundreds of soldiers, in the end, when he was surrounded by waves of soldiers, he couldn't even move a finger or blink an eye.

He wanted to escape, but he didn't dare. He knew that behind these soldiers with iron knives, there were countless archers ready to shoot him down if he tried to flee.

Though his hands were still behind his back and his eyes were haughty, his trembling clothes betrayed his true fear.

The surrounding soldiers were no longer noisy, and the oppressive silence made him even more terrified. The occasional screams from the wild dog added to his anxiety. The wild dog, a respected company commander in the Western Border Army, was being brutally tortured. If he was being treated like this, what would happen to him?

Suddenly, the soldiers parted like a tide, and a person appeared before him. It was Qin Feng, the very person he had come to provoke. Seeing Qin Feng, Yang Zhi felt a sense of relief. He couldn't reason with the soldiers, but Qin Feng was different. As an officer with a future, he would follow the rules.

With this thought, he felt much more relaxed. His arrogance returned, his legs stopped trembling, and his face regained its color. "Qin Feng, are you trying to win by numbers?"

Qin Feng looked at the seemingly refined young noble and snorted. "Yang Zhi, if I were trying to win by numbers, do you think you would still be standing here talking to me?"

"So what? Are you not afraid that these soldiers will be killed in a bloodbath?"

"Soldiers are prepared to die. The soldiers of my Death Corps are always ready to die. I wonder if you are prepared to die, Yang Zhi." Qin Feng laughed, but his voice was filled with a chilling coldness and a real sense of killing intent.

Yang Zhi was taken aback. Though Qin Feng was smiling, the coldness in his voice was real.

"You injured the wild dog, and I don't blame you. He was just not skilled enough. Even with the dozens of wounds you inflicted, I have nothing to say. He couldn't beat you, so he deserved to be beaten. He disgraced the Death Corps, and once he recovers, I will punish him for tarnishing our reputation."

"Then why are these soldiers still surrounding me?" Yang Zhi sneered.

"They are not surrounding you because you injured the wild dog, but because you cut down the flag of my Death Corps. Yang Zhi, you are not a soldier, do you know what a military flag means to an army?" Qin Feng asked calmly. "I doubt you know, so let me tell you. Before I took command of the Death Corps, the worst time was when only three soldiers were left to protect the flag. The company commander and three deputy commanders all died in front of the flag. After I took command, the worst time was when seven out of ten soldiers died, but the flag never fell. Now, it has fallen, right here in our own camp."

"The military flag is the soul, the courage, and the life of a soldier!" Qin Feng extended his hand, and a monk immediately handed him his iron knife.

Yang Zhi's face turned pale again. Though he was not a soldier, he had heard of the fierce battles fought to protect the military flag. In his moment of bravado, he had forgotten about this, only thinking of humiliating the other side and slapping Qin Feng. Now, it seemed the situation was more serious than he thought.

"I..." He was about to say something to explain, but Qin Feng cut him off. "However, I will give you a chance. Defeat me, and you can walk out with honor. But if you lose..."

Yang Zhi's spirits lifted. "Are you serious?"

"Of course." Qin Feng raised his iron knife and pointed it at him.