Chapter 11

After a night of slaughter, with blood on his hands, Jiang Chen stood atop a hill outside Nanyang City, bathed in the morning sunlight. He recalled the madness of the previous night, feeling a sense of shock.

Although he had experienced a life-and-death struggle and had resorted to killing to gain power, he never imagined that he would become so terrifying.

Burning down the granaries was one thing, but slaughtering half a camp of Yuan-Mongol soldiers, numbering at least two to three thousand, left him feeling afraid of himself. Or rather, he was afraid of becoming uncontrollable, like he had been the previous night.

It was a strange and terrifying feeling, as if he were possessed by a demon!

The frenzied killing, the bloodlust, and the madness all brought a sense of pleasure!

Was he, at his core, a passionate and impulsive young man? Or was he inherently a killer, otherwise, how could he derive pleasure from killing?

At that moment, a distant flute melody drifted from the mountains, faint and intermittent, like the sound of waves in the sea. It calmed Jiang Chen's heart, and he took a deep breath. He wanted to find the source of the melody, but when he looked around, the mountains and fields were vast and empty, with no sign of anyone. He had no choice but to descend the mountain in frustration. He intended to leave Nanyang, but when he reached another village that had been destroyed by the Yuan-Mongols, he saw ruins and corpses everywhere. Instantly, his heart was filled with rage, and a surge of killing intent erupted from within him.

It turned out that he wasn't the one who had gone mad or been possessed by a demon; it was the world and the era that had gone mad first!

"Good! Good! Good!" Jiang Chen laughed out loud three times. "So, I haven't gone mad. Now I understand; at this moment, I am the one who is normal!"

With his killing intent surging, Jiang Chen returned to Nanyang City. By nightfall, after midnight, and into the early hours of the morning, he repeated his tactics, infiltrating Nanyang City and unleashing another wave of slaughter. Although the Yuan-Mongols had strengthened their defenses, they were of little use against a martial arts master of his caliber.

Martial arts masters were not to be feared; what was truly terrifying was a martial arts master with no principles. In this era, there were many martial arts masters, but they all held themselves to a certain standard. Unless absolutely necessary, they would never attack ordinary people. This was due to their upbringing and education.

Like Yang Guo and the Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi, they might kill Yuan-Mongol officials or even the emperor, but they would never target common soldiers. Similarly, the Yuan-Mongols, such as the Golden Wheel Dharma King, would only target the leaders of the Southern Song.

"Shoot the horse first, then the rider; capture the king first, then the bandits."

This might be a clever strategy, but it was not a thorough solution. In Jiang Chen's view, as long as the foundation remained strong, losing a king or a general would not affect the overall situation. However, if the foundation was destroyed, even the most powerful leader would be left with nothing but a few followers, unable to conquer the world.

Thus, unlike the martial arts masters of this era, Jiang Chen did not limit his attacks to leaders; he started with the lowest-ranking soldiers!

Jiang Chen, now possessed by madness, had no regard for principles. To him, principles were long forgotten. Striving for power was understandable, but since the Yuan-Mongols had dared to massacre entire cities and villages, they should be prepared for retaliation.

Isn't killing just a matter of who does it?

Madness and pleasure, Jiang Chen gradually merged his killing intent, transforming from an ordinary person who had stumbled upon a great opportunity into a demon who derived pleasure from killing.

Although this new self frightened the original Jiang Chen, when he accepted and integrated this new self, he was surprised to discover that this might be his true self.

Unshackled from his mental constraints and embracing the deepest part of his hidden self, his martial arts skills began to break through their previous limitations.

When the Yuan-Mongols tried to send messengers out of the city, he intercepted and killed them. When they tried to set up ambushes, he turned the tables and broke through their traps. Over the next few days, he killed most of the Yuan-Mongol soldiers in Nanyang City and burned down several granaries. His killing intent reached an unimaginable level, and the more he killed, the more he felt a sense of satisfaction!

His martial arts, lightness skills, and hidden weapons, all derived from Iron Palm Qiu Qianren, were not only fully mastered but also refined to a higher level through his frenzied killing, surpassing even his original teacher.

After another night of slaughter, the Yuan-Mongol soldiers in Nanyang City finally broke, and small groups began to flee north.

Once someone started fleeing, others followed. No matter how fierce the Yuan-Mongol soldiers were, they could not think of any other way to deal with such a terrifying killer.

Within a few days, most of the remaining Yuan-Mongol soldiers in Nanyang City had fled. Their temporary leader, after weeping bitterly, led the remaining soldiers to evacuate Nanyang City.

However, Jiang Chen, now a demon, would not let them go easily.

He first killed all their horses, forcing them to flee on foot. Then, he followed them, attacking their camps every night. With his advanced martial arts and lightness skills, he would charge into the camps, kill dozens of soldiers, and quickly retreat.

The Yuan-Mongol soldiers, though fierce, were only ordinary people. No matter how they defended themselves, they could not stop Jiang Chen. After a few days, they became numb, their eyes vacant, as if they had lost their minds. Jiang Chen drove them in a daze towards the nearby city of Wan.

Along the way, many people witnessed this terrifying slaughter, including Han martial arts masters who took the opportunity to kill some of the fleeing Yuan-Mongol soldiers.

Upon reaching Wan, Jiang Chen repeated his tactics, attacking every night. Although the Yuan-Mongol garrison in Wan was not as strong as in Nanyang, it still numbered in the thousands, which delighted him. He killed with abandon:

Killing during the day, killing at night, using knives, swords, and even ancient techniques. In short, he used every method he could think of.

However, the Yuan-Mongols soon learned of the events in Nanyang and the ongoing slaughter in Wan. They were shocked and quickly sent several batches of reinforcements to help.

Jiang Chen naturally encountered these reinforcements, but he welcomed them. Killing demoralized soldiers was not as satisfying as killing elite troops with high morale.

He was not afraid of close combat, but the Yuan-Mongol soldiers were skilled in archery. Fortunately, his hidden weapon skills had improved, and with his deep internal energy, the grass, trees, and rocks on the ground became his weapons. He killed all three batches of reinforcements, totaling over ten thousand soldiers, in less than ten days.

The Yuan-Mongols were even more enraged. Emperor Mengge, after sending several experts to deal with Jiang Chen without success, finally decided to send his top expert!

That night, Jiang Chen infiltrated Wan again. However, before he could kill a hundred people, he encountered someone. To be precise, a monk, a tall and thin Tibetan monk dressed in a red robe, with a sunken forehead that resembled a plate.

"Damn, I should have known. After killing so many soldiers, it's time for the big boss to show up. But you didn't have to send the ultimate boss right away!"

Although he had never encountered this person before, Jiang Chen instinctively knew who he was: the top expert of the Yuan-Mongols, the Golden Wheel Dharma King.

"Amitabha," the Golden Wheel Dharma King intoned. "You have a great thirst for blood. Relying on your martial arts to slaughter these ordinary soldiers is indeed too cruel and ruthless."

"Ha!" Jiang Chen laughed lightly. "What about these soldiers who use their weapons to slaughter defenseless old people, women, and children? Are they not cruel and ruthless?"

The Golden Wheel Dharma King replied, "This is a matter of war between two countries, and cannot be compared."

"Killing is killing, why can't it be compared?" Jiang Chen gathered his energy and said resolutely, "Since you're here, this fight is inevitable. Let's get to it without further ado!"