Chapter 3

Xiao Huan's demeanor and skills had completely changed; her aura had become ironclad and cold, and her movements were as swift as lightning. With one move, she severely injured the bandit leader with a martial prowess of forty.

This scene left the surrounding bandits dumbfounded, their hands trembling as they held their knives, staring in shock at the sword-wielding maid before them, at a loss for what to do.

"It worked, the spirit of Hua Mulan has truly been summoned..." Tao Shang, looking at the young girl standing proudly with a sword, was overjoyed.

He knew that the once meek and timid maid Xiao Huan no longer existed. Standing before him was Hua Mulan, the heroine who had taken her father's place in the army to fight the Xiongnu.

"What are you all standing there for? Kill this bitch and turn them into minced meat!" The bandit leader, lying on the ground with a severed arm, screamed in pain and anger.

Clearly, he had not read much and had no idea of Hua Mulan's prowess, thinking that the previous sword strike was just a lucky hit by the damned maid who caught him off guard.

"Kill this stinking woman."

"Revenge for the boss."

The shocked bandits finally came to their senses, their faces turning fierce once more. They roared and cursed, brandishing their large cleavers, and charged at Hua Mulan and Tao Shang.

Hua Mulan's eyes narrowed slightly, showing no fear. She gripped her long sword tightly and said without turning her head, "My lord, please stay close to me and do not leave my side."

"Don't worry, my lord isn't that stupid. I won't leave you, not even half a step." Tao Shang, without needing to be reminded, leaped up and squeezed tightly behind Hua Mulan, almost hugging her.

"Very well, then I can unleash my full power!" Hua Mulan let out a low whistle. Before her words had even finished, a flash of light from her sword pierced out, already stained with blood.

Puff!

A spurt of blood and a muffled groan. The first bandit to charge in had his chest ruthlessly pierced before he could even see how Hua Mulan had moved.

Hua Mulan's delicate hand trembled, and she swiftly pulled out her sword. Without turning her head, she listened to the wind and the sounds around her, and her sword slashed diagonally, trailing a mist of blood.

A bloody head flew into the air, and another bandit who had charged in from the side was instantly decapitated.

Hua Mulan did not pause for a moment. Her sword danced up and down, striking left and right. Each strike killed a bandit.

For a moment, blood misted the air, and cries of agony filled the scene. The bandits, like paper cutouts, fell in droves, their heads brutally severed by Hua Mulan.

"Damn, this is too powerful. With a martial prowess of seventy, she's this strong. If I could summon a monster like Xiang Yu with a martial prowess of one hundred, wouldn't he obliterate these assassins in one move?" Tao Shang, watching Hua Mulan's unstoppable killing spree, couldn't help but marvel as the summoner.

In the time it took for him to marvel, twenty bandit assassins had already been killed by Hua Mulan. The surviving assassins, along with the bandit leader lying on the ground, numbered less than eight.

"Who is this bitch? She's too damn powerful."

"It's over. We can't beat her. Run, or we'll all be killed."

The bandits were thoroughly terrified by this "female demon" and no one dared to step forward. They all turned to run.

Seeing this, Tao Shang shouted, "Dare to assassinate me? Not one of you will escape. Mulan, kill them all!"

"My lord has given the order, kill them all!" Hua Mulan shouted lightly, leaping forward to attack. Her blood-stained sword cut down the fleeing enemies.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Wherever the sword flashed, no one survived. Another round of blood-curdling screams filled the air as the surviving bandits, like fragile stalks of wheat, were swept away by Hua Mulan's sword, falling into the blood-soaked ground.

Hua Mulan gracefully sheathed her sword, and the slaughter ended.

"Mulан, well done." Tao Shang patted Hua Mulan's shoulder, nodding in satisfaction, and took back his own sword.

Looking around, more than thirty bandits had been killed, with only a few still alive, lying on the ground and moaning in pain.

"Let me see who you are, you bastard." Tao Shang used his sword to lift the bandit leader's black mask, staring intently at the panicked and angry face. He quickly recognized him.

This man was named Zhang Gui, the captain of Zhang Fei's personal guards. Tao Shang had seen Zhang Fei bring him to the state capital several times when Tao Qian was still alive.

"Even sending the captain of the personal guards, it seems you really want me dead." Tao Shang's lips curled into a cold smile, his blood-stained sword at the man's throat. "Confess and be lenient, resist and be strict. Tell me, was it Zhang Fei or Liu Bei who wanted me dead?"

"No one ordered me. I just couldn't stand you, this useless piece of shit. I'll take responsibility for my actions. If you have the guts, kill me." Zhang Gui spat blood, shouting bravely, showing no fear of death.

Tao Shang was no fool. Without authorization from Liu Bei or Zhang Fei, this mere captain of the personal guards would never dare to kill him, the son of the former governor. Moreover, Tao Shang had no grudge against him, so he wouldn't have any reason to kill him.

"It's clear that Zhang Fei wants me dead. As for whether Liu Bei gave the order, it's hard to say. At the very least, Liu Bei has tacitly approved. These three brothers are determined to get rid of me. It's laughable that you don't realize your true enemy is not me, Tao Shang, but Lu Bu in Xiaopei..."

After a moment of thought, weighing the pros and cons, Tao Shang's eyes flashed with a murderous intent, and he thrust his sword into Zhang Gui's chest.

Hua Mulan's delicate eyebrows twitched, questioning, "My lord, why not keep him alive to confront Liu Bei in Xiapi?"

"Confront? That's something only children would do. Now that all the military and political power in Xuzhou is in Liu Bei's hands, strength is the only truth. If I go to confront Liu Bei now, I won't gain anything and will only make him my sworn enemy, forcing him to eliminate me at all costs."

Tao Shang calmly analyzed the situation. He was now certain that while Hua Mulan's martial prowess was not weak, her wisdom was limited.

Hua Mulan was half-convinced, her mind still not fully grasping the situation.

"Beep... The host has killed an enemy with a martial prowess of forty or higher, gaining 3 brutality points." At this moment, the system spirit's voice sounded in his mind.

Tao Shang was pleasantly surprised. He hadn't expected to gain brutality points from killing someone. Looking around at the surviving assassins, if he killed them himself, he would gain even more brutality points.

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, the system voice sounded again: "Whether it's benevolence points or brutality points, they can only be obtained from targets with a single attribute value exceeding forty. Scanning nearby surviving enemies, none have a single attribute value exceeding forty. The host will not be able to gain brutality points."

Damn, so that's how it works. In the game, a general or strategist with a single attribute over forty would be considered weak, but in the Han Dynasty, with tens of millions of people, such individuals were rare. It wasn't easy to encounter them. It seems this system has many restrictions, making it difficult to gain benevolence or brutality points.

"My lord, if we're not going to Xiapi, where should we go now?" Hua Mulan interrupted Tao Shang's thoughts.

"Kill the remaining assassins who are still breathing. Leave no survivors. We'll follow the plan and head to Haixi to take up our post." Tao Shang gestured with his hand, making a beheading motion.

Although he now had the spirit summoning system, his strength was still weak. He needed to remain hidden for now, secretly summon more spirits, and build up his strength. He had to seize the opportunity to strike a fatal blow against Liu Bei, so he couldn't reveal his true strength and let Liu Bei know that he had a powerful subordinate like Hua Mulan.

"Understood!" Hua Mulan saluted and picked up a sword to kill the remaining assassins. To be safe, she also delivered a final blow to the already dead ones to ensure no one survived.

After silencing them, Hua Mulan found the only surviving warhorse. She led the horse, sitting in front, and pulled Tao Shang, her lord, up behind her.

"Go!" Before Tao Shang could sit properly, Hua Mulan flicked the reins, and the horse galloped forward.

Tao Shang was startled and instinctively pressed his chest tightly against Hua Mulan's back, his hands reaching around her arms and firmly hugging her waist.

Through the layers of clothing, his palms immediately felt a soft, smooth, dough-like sensation, the flat and smooth abdomen of Hua Mulan.

Comfortable...

Tao Shang felt a wave of pleasure.

The same physical body, if it were Xiao Huan, he wouldn't have felt such a strong sensation. But thinking that the soul inside this body was Hua Mulan, a woman renowned in history, the sense of achievement magnified the pleasure, making it incredibly intense.

"Indeed, a woman's figure and appearance are important, but so is her aura. There's a big difference between a woman and a famous woman..."

Just as Tao Shang was feeling itchy, the system voice sounded in his mind again: "Beep... The system has detected that Hua Mulan has sensed the host's affection. The host has gained 5 benevolence points."