Chapter 29

Captain of the Red Scorpion grabbed the horsewhip, gently pulled, and dragged the young officer off his horse, throwing him heavily to the ground. The young officer's several bodyguards were startled, shouting and drawing their guns, apparently ready to fire.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Gunshots rang out, each shot distinct.

Such a decisive and precise shooting could not have come from these private army soldiers, who had not even ignited a single node of the Origin Force. Before Qian Ye could act, an old soldier pulled the trigger, one shot for each, and killed all five of the audacious guards.

"Do you want to rebel?" the captain coldly scanned the private army soldiers who had gathered around.

These private army soldiers looked at each other, but their hands did not stop pushing the bullets into the chambers. Their eyes showed a readiness to act, which puzzled Qian Ye greatly.

Those who could use Origin Force and those who had not ignited any nodes were like creatures from two different worlds. This was not something that could be compensated for by numbers, just as a hundred sheep could not kill a lion. The gap between these private army soldiers and the Red Scorpion warriors was even greater than that between lambs and lions. Where did they get the courage and confidence to challenge the Red Scorpion Legion?

Could this mission actually be a trap?

Qian Ye seemed to realize something and immediately took out his Origin Force rifle from his back, began to channel Origin Force to charge it, and in a moment, a Origin Force bullet formed in the barrel. To deal with the powerful figures behind the scenes, only the Origin Force rifle could pose a threat.

The young man on the ground was almost knocked out by the fall. After a while, he managed to catch his breath and, upon lifting his head, immediately let out a shrill scream. He watched helplessly as the Red Scorpion captain lowered his gun and pulled the trigger.

In the roar of the gun, the young man's limbs were all broken, and he fainted on the spot.

At this moment, a middle-aged man ran out of the crowd, his face full of fear, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and repeatedly nodding and bowing, saying, "I am the mayor of this town and the former steward of the lord. The lord ordered me to come here to welcome all of you and to report some intelligence to you."

The captain sized him up and said, "Speak!"

The middle-aged man smiled and took out a portrait from his pocket, handed it over, and said, "This woman is the lord's fiancée. She was captured by the rebels. Please bring her back, and try not to hurt her. The lord said that after the mission, in addition to the military fees already paid, he has prepared a generous reward for you!"

The captain took the portrait and looked at it.

It was a rather clear sketch, depicting a very beautiful young girl with naturally seductive eyes, quite alluring. She looked about sixteen or seventeen years old and was wearing the clothes of a local commoner.

The captain passed the portrait to each team member to see, then put it in his pocket and said to the middle-aged man, "I understand. Do you have any last words to say?"

The middle-aged man was shocked and exclaimed, "What... what last words! Sir, are you joking?"

The captain said coldly, "I never joke! I don't know who this young man is or what conflict you have with him, but if you want to use the Red Scorpion to get rid of him, you have to pay the price! Killing you is just a warning to your master. The Red Scorpion is a sharp blade, not something he can play with! If he overplays his hand, he might cut off his own head!"

The captain then drew his pistol and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger at the middle-aged man's forehead!

A blood hole immediately appeared in the middle-aged man's forehead, and he fell down with a look of shock on his face.

Qian Ye frowned and quietly asked an old soldier beside him, "Is this right?"

The old soldier said indifferently, "No problem! We have a casualty quota for each mission!"

"Casualty quota?" Qian Ye had never heard of this term before.

"It means that during our operations, we can 'accidentally' injure some local people, specifically nobles," the old soldier explained.

Qian Ye took a deep breath, not knowing how to react.

At this moment, the local private army's arrogance was completely gone, and some even began to sneak backward. Soon, several officers who had been hidden in the crowd began to give orders to maintain the formation.

The captain sneered at them, "This mission, the Red Scorpion will handle it alone. I don't want to get shot in the back."

The officers in the crowd remained silent. At this moment, anyone who spoke up was asking for death.

The Red Scorpion team quickly disappeared into the vast mountains and forests. The traces left by the rebels were very obvious, and even a rookie like Qian Ye would not lose them. The Red Scorpion team rushed straight to the rebels' base, blocking all the rebels in the camp.

The rebels' camp was set on a mountain peak, surrounded on three sides by cliffs, with only one side accessible.

This place was very hidden, with low shrubs and chest-high wild grass covering the natural path. If not for recent activity and the lack of trace elimination, it would have been hard to find. However, the disadvantage of this terrain was that once the exit was blocked by the Red Scorpion, no one could escape.

There were about a hundred people in the camp, and they all rushed out when they heard the commotion. But when they saw the Red Scorpion warriors approaching slowly, their faces were filled with despair.

These are the rebels? Qian Ye couldn't help but wonder when he saw them.

Among the hundred people, about half were elderly, women, and children. They were dressed in tattered clothes, emaciated, and most of them held primitive muskets, even iron swords. Before seeing them, Qian Ye had always thought that iron was only used for household items, and as a weapon, it should be at least an alloy of copper or better.

Qian Ye saw three warriors who had ignited Origin Force nodes, but they had only ignited one node each. There was not even a single Origin Force rifle in the entire camp.

Is this the rebel force that has been holding Lin Xitang in the western border, preventing him from making a breakthrough?

This looks more like a refugee camp.

The captain, however, seemed to have expected this. He stepped forward, took out the portrait from his pocket, and waved it, saying, "Where is this woman? It's best if she comes out on her own!"

"It's me! What do you want?" a young girl pushed her way out of the crowd, glaring at the captain.

The captain took out his notebook, looked at the mission description, and said, "Well, your father was originally the owner of the mine here, and it's said that he secretly supported a rebel group. Also, according to the local lord, you are his fiancée?"

The girl was furious and shouted, "He's lying! I have nothing to do with him. I was just seen by him by chance that day, and he forced me to be with him! I refused, so he found a way to kill my father and my real fiancé, and then said our family was a rebel! Our family has served the empire's military for generations, with each generation sacrificing themselves on the battlefield. Is this the end we get for serving our country loyally?"

The captain's face was expressionless, and he said calmly, "Maybe the truth is as you say, or maybe it isn't. But since we are here, you should know that the nature and outcome of this matter cannot be changed."

"Can a viscount really cover up the sky in the empire?" the girl cried out in sorrow and anger.

The captain remained calm, but his words were cold and ruthless, "At least in this matter, yes."

The girl's face showed despair, and she slowly calmed down, asking, "What do you want to do now, kill us all?"

The captain hesitated for the first time, his gaze sweeping over the people in the camp. These elderly, women, and children were clearly the girl's family's subjects and servants.

He thought for a moment and said, "According to the mission requirements, you should come with me, but I personally do not recommend it. Of course, if you insist and think there might be a chance for revenge in the future, you can try."

The girl, of course, understood what returning meant and said firmly, "I would rather die than let that pig touch me!"

The captain nodded and threw a small bottle the size of a finger to her, saying, "Very well, then take your own life. Drink this, and you will die painlessly."

He then pointed to the other two who had ignited Origin Force nodes and said, "You must also die. As for the others here, I will pretend I didn't see them."

A moment later, three bodies lay before Qian Ye.

"Pick them up, let's go. The mission is complete!" the captain said.

Qian Ye picked up one of the bodies and silently followed the team, retracing their steps.

This mission was completed abnormally easily, without any real battle. However, the atmosphere in the team was very heavy, and even the captain and all the old soldiers were silent.

Back in town, after handing over the three bodies to the local private army, the Red Scorpion's airship took off and returned to headquarters.

On the airship, Qian Ye looked out the window, not knowing what he was thinking. The bald captain seemed to have lost his energy, and the "Scorpion Tail" flew smoothly, as if it had been replaced by a different airship.

At this moment, the captain sitting beside him suddenly said, "Rookie, did you see? This is reality. This is all we can do. In the future, you will understand that politics is not our domain. As soldiers, we are just a blade in the empire's hand. We go where we are told to go. As for right and wrong, that is not our concern."

Qian Ye let out a long breath, but his mood remained heavy. Politics, indeed, was a realm that could not be resolved by swords and guns.

In this insignificant corner of the empire, Qian Ye had already felt the murkiness of politics. The man far in the western border, who was single-handedly suppressing the situation, must bear an even heavier burden.

Back at the Red Scorpion, Qian Ye immediately applied for a mission.

Only in the face-to-face confrontation with the dark races did Qian Ye feel that he could find his own value. Compared to politics, the battles with the dark races were more straightforward.

However, this application was put on hold for a whole week before he received a response. Qian Ye was assigned to an important mission.

This was a mission marked as level one by the Red Scorpion. A secret base of the dark races was discovered in a city in the western border of the empire.

Therefore, the Red Scorpion's personnel configuration was unusually luxurious. Colonel Wei Lishi led the team personally, with a total of thirty Red Scorpions and two hundred Black Scorpions. Qian Ye was the only rookie in the team. This arrangement was not surprising, as the top rookie, Qian Ye, had already achieved a record that could surpass many Black Scorpion veterans.

The mission site was adjacent to the two provinces guarded by Lin Xitang. Qian Ye had already heard that some rebels were secretly colluding with the dark races. Perhaps this mission could indirectly support Lin Xitang.

PS: Congratulations to the heavily armored rookie for having a noble daughter!

The complaint thread in the book review section is almost 900 posts. I will add an extra update at 12:00 PM tomorrow.

By the way, guys, the chapter review for Chapter 27 is a bit too watered down...

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