Chapter 2

On the official road, there were actually bandits lying in ambush!

Amidst the deafening shouts of battle, a group of masked bandits charged forward, their blades rising and falling, swiftly cutting down three or four of Tao Shang's household soldiers to the ground.

"Protect the young master!" A loud cry erupted from the crowd, and the household soldiers finally reacted, drawing their swords to fight the bandits, forming a protective circle around Tao Shang.

"Young master..." The maid Xiaohuan, frightened to the point of losing her composure, instinctively缩进了Tao Shang's arms.

Seeing a frail woman so fearfully relying on him, Tao Shang was instantly filled with a sense of heroism, and he tightly embraced her, "Don't be afraid, I will protect you, young master."

As he spoke, Tao Shang quickly scanned the list of heroic spirits in his mind. At this moment, he had no time to hesitate; he must immediately summon a general with a martial value around 70 to help him repel these suddenly appearing bandits.

All around, under the frenzied slaughter of the bandits, his dozens of household soldiers were quickly cut down by more than half.

Moreover, Tao Shang noticed that these bandits were not ordinary bandits; they were well-trained, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner, and each had a martial value of at least 30.

He also discovered that the weapons used by these bandits were not ordinary knives and swords, but large cleavers similar to those used by butchers.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Tao Shang's mind: "Zhang Fei was a butcher by trade, and it is said that he had a personal guard of 200 men, all of whom were butchers and used cleavers as weapons. Could it be that these bandits are Zhang Fei's personal guards, trying to kill me to eliminate any threats to Liu Bei?"

Thinking of this, Tao Shang couldn't help but shudder. He hadn't expected them to act so quickly, poisoning and killing Tao Ying, and then coming to deal with him.

"I need to summon a mighty general immediately. This damn list is too long, it's making my eyes hurt." Tao Shang was truly anxious now; his household soldiers were about to be completely wiped out, and if he didn't summon a heroic spirit soon, he would be chopped into pieces.

"Beep... The host can choose the filtering mode to browse the list of heroic spirits with a martial value around 70 and a loyalty level above 0."

"Damn, there's a filtering mode? Why didn't you tell me earlier, you damn system?" Tao Shang was frustrated and cursed, "Immediately filter out all the heroic spirits with a loyalty level above 0 that I can summon."

After the system spirit beeped, a new list immediately appeared in Tao Shang's mind, with a long string of heroic spirit names and data floating before his eyes.

"Xiang Zhuang, I'll choose Xiang Zhuang. Summon him immediately." Tao Shang didn't have time to choose; he directly selected the first heroic spirit on the list.

"Beep... Please place your palm on the head of the chosen male body, and the system will load the spirit of Xiang Zhuang through your arm."

So troublesome!

Tao Shang had no choice but to roll up his sleeves and prepare to find a household soldier to serve as the body for the heroic spirit. However, when he looked up, he was stunned.

He saw that his dozens of household soldiers had already been killed, and only the maid Xiaohuan remained, trembling with fear and clinging to his side. There was no male body available for the spirit to possess.

The more than thirty masked bandits, seeing that only Tao Shang was left, did not rush to attack. Instead, they all sneered at him, their eyes filled with mockery, as if they were watching a lamb that had fallen into a wolf's den.

"Trash surnamed Tao, die in peace. My blade will be swift. Only with your death can my lord rest easy..." The bandit leader, carrying a blood-dripping cleaver, sneered and slowly approached.

Death was just a step away for Tao Shang.

"Damn, what a lousy system. Why didn't you tell me I needed a body earlier? Where am I supposed to find one now?" Tao Shang's face turned pale, his heart racing, and he complained angrily.

"Beep... Scanning within the host's range, there is a female body. The host can summon a female heroic spirit."

The cold, icy voice of the system spirit instantly rekindled hope in the despairing Tao Shang. He immediately issued a mental command: "What are you waiting for? Quickly filter out all the female heroic spirits I can summon."

"Beep... One female heroic spirit has been filtered: Hua Mulan, a general of the Western Han border, with a leadership of 60, martial value of 72, intelligence of 50, politics of 30, and initial loyalty of 20."

"Hua Mulan? How did Hua Mulan appear here? Isn't Hua Mulan a female general from the Sui and Tang dynasties? I don't read much, but don't lie to me." Tao Shang had read "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" and remembered that Hua Mulan was from that era. The system spirit had clearly stated that only spirits from before the Three Kingdoms could be summoned.

"The 'Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties' is based on folk legends. Hua Mulan actually originated from the Western Han period, where she was celebrated for taking her father's place in battle against the Xiongnu. According to..."

"Stop explaining. I don't care what era she's from, as long as she can be summoned, do it immediately."

Tao Shang was at the brink of life and death and had no time to listen to the system spirit's explanations. Without hesitation, he pulled the maid Xiaohuan in front of him and placed his palm on her head.

"Beep... The system is loading the spirit. It will be completed within ten seconds. During the loading process, the host must maintain contact with the body, or the loading will fail. Ten... nine... eight..."

Xiaohuan, who had been trembling with fear, suddenly stopped moving, not even blinking, and her breathing ceased. She stood motionless in front of Tao Shang, as if under a spell, while Tao Shang's hand remained on her head.

This was a very strange posture, and the bandit leader, seeing it, couldn't help but feel a hint of suspicion, but it did not affect his determination to kill Tao Shang.

The bandit leader's blood-dripping cleaver was already raised high, about to swing down and cut both Tao Shang and Xiaohuan in half.

The system spirit was still counting down.

Tao Shang needed only a few seconds!

"Hold it!" In a moment of desperation, Tao Shang suddenly shouted.

The bandit leader's body trembled slightly, and the cleaver, raised in the air, instinctively stopped its descent.

Looking down at Tao Shang's desperate and anxious face, the bandit leader sneered, "What, trash surnamed Tao, are you begging for mercy? It's useless. Even if you kneel and kowtow to me, I still have to take your life."

The bandit leader's eyes glinted with murderous intent, and he raised the cleaver slightly, preparing to strike again.

"I just want to tell you that if you kneel and beg for mercy now, I might consider sparing your life." Tao Shang's anxious expression vanished, and a playful smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The bandits were enraged and shouted, "Trash, you still dare to be defiant at the brink of death? I'll chop you into pieces, go to hell!"

With a roar, the bandit leader's cleaver was about to strike.

"Two... one... loading complete."

At the critical moment, the spirit successfully possessed the body. Xiaohuan, who had been expressionless, suddenly had a cold, ruthless look in her eyes. She swiftly drew the sword from Tao Shang's waist, leaped up, and with incredible speed, struck a blow before the bandit leader's cleaver could land.

A spray of blood flew up.

In the air, a severed arm holding a cleaver flew up and then fell to the ground.

The bandit leader, with a severed arm, let out a pig-like scream, clutching his bleeding wound and falling to the ground.

Amidst the shocked and stunned gazes, the maid, now dressed as a young woman, stood proudly with her sword, blocking Tao Shang, her beautiful face radiating a cold, ruthless aura.

Her sudden transformation, the overwhelming aura of death, even made Tao Shang feel a sense of suffocation.

"Who dares to harm my lord? I, Hua Mulan, will take your life!" Mobile users, please visit http://m.piaotia.net

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