With the Blade-Chapter 54 - 51: The Great Terror of Yesteryear

That night, in the central tent of the Qingyang tribe.

As the number of bodies being brought back increased, the Qingyang tribe, which was originally planning a rapid march towards Ji town, had no choice but to halt. Fortunately, camping on site proved effective, as the lone killer who attacked the Qingyang tribe dared not storm the military camp.

However, although the killer showed no intention of breaking in, it was clear he had no intention of leaving either.

It was only midnight, and the edge of the camp had already been attacked twelve times. Each time, the killer would ride in on horseback and kill at random, then gallop away before the army could surround him, leaving behind burning tents and scattered corpses.

The killer seemed to have no other purpose; he wasn’t targeting supplies or aiming to assassinate high-ranking officers.

He was just out to kill, as if his only reason for coming was simply to kill.

"Is he mad?"

Such behavior baffled many prairie warriors; they knew that killing too much would let evil qi invade the mind and turn them into insane people who think of nothing but slaughter. Therefore, whenever they were forced to kill, they would seek out a wizard afterward to restore peace to themselves.

After all, they weren’t those naturally gifted with great courage and strength, and who could truly ensure they’d recover from madness?

But faced with this situation, these prairie warriors had to admit that some madmen might really be formidable fighters.

"No! He is sane!"

In the central tent, the Qingyang tribe’s leader, Helai Jiaohu, struck the table with his fist.

"Those wounds aren’t something ordinary madmen could inflict! Burns, frostbite... this is beyond human capability! He’s a master who can control evil qi!" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"And this is likely someone who can wield two bloodthirsty weapons at once, a master among masters."

Another leader spoke, Bu Lu-Gun Niu, who was also one of the heads of the Qingyang tribe.

"Does anyone remember when such an expert last appeared?"

"Last time..."

The faces of the leaders in the tent didn’t look good.

Although that time was distant, they had seen records in their family archives about the end of the Southern Yu dynasty and the rise of the Southern Chen.

At that time, the Desert North Royal Court’s leaders were referred to as Shanyu, with each generation of Shanyu fighting their way out from their brothers, and thus were as aggressive as wolves. Upon seeing the southern men fight, the Shanyu known as Ghost Head seized the opportunity.

Ghost Head decisively used this fleeting chance and assembled his troops, marching south.

The war started successfully; the Yu dynasty, fighting on two fronts, was devastated. But just as Ghost Head thought he could easily crush the Southern Chen after Yu’s fall, an accident occurred.

Faced with Ghost Head’s 150,000-strong prairie army, the newly established Southern Chen sent only one man.

He was a terrifying giant, over ten feet tall, carrying thirteen weapons on his back.

The battle lasted a day and a night; it was more slaughter than combat. Of the so-called 150,000 prairie troops, only a thousand escaped, while the rest perished under the sweep of the thirteen blades.

Ghost Head himself was killed after three days and two nights of fleeing, beneath Xiangping Mountain in Youzhou, even his head made into a vessel and kept in the Southern Chen Ancestral Temple.

Later, the prairie tribes heard rumors from the southern people that the terrifying giant responsible for this was indeed the Grand Ancestor Emperor of Southern Chen.

Yet the prairie tribes didn’t believe that the ten-foot tall giant could be human; they preferred to think of him as a demon, the embodiment of the Desert North wind, sent by Heaven to punish the prairie people.

And now, legends that should only exist in stories lay before everyone.

"...No, no, it’s not right."

Helai Jiaohu was the first to shake his head.

"Everyone knows that controlling a single bloodthirsty weapon is already incredibly difficult, and controlling multiple such weapons brings disturbances from evil qi, even turning masters insane... Indeed, I admit, the Grand Ancestor Emperor of Southern Chen achieved it back then, but such a monster is rare. How often does one appear?"

"Well..."

The leaders fell into hesitation.

It was true; the terrifying size alone was a once-in-a-millennium occurrence, and mastering such skills, perhaps even rarer.

And now, how long has it been since Southern Chen’s founding? Has it even been 200 years?

"In other words..."

"It was the work of two people, or rather, surely two people."

At this moment, Helai Jiaohu felt he had uncovered the truth.

"Look at these bodies; I don’t recognize the burns, but the frostbite on them... do you want to check carefully?"

"It resembles the Desert North wind, fierce, decisive, as sharp as a blade."

A leader examined the bodies on the ground and quickly made a judgment.

"But the wound itself... it looks like it was inflicted by an axe?"

"Indeed, so count how many truly use axes?"

Helai Jiaohu narrowed his eyes.

"Prairie warriors usually favor swift horses and light swords; those who cannot afford swords use maces; nobody typically wields heavy axes. As for the southern people... they use swords or spears, and axes for them are primarily tools for chopping wood, not weapons."

Therefore, counting those who use axes as weapons, they add up to one person.

That person is He Xiqing’s younger brother, He Xixuan, who holds the family axe "Frostfall."

"He Xiqing tricked us; his brother isn’t dead at all."

Helai Jiaohu’s face darkened.

"Sure enough, this white-eyed wolf has long plotted to betray the Qingyang tribe. Not only did he deploy troops without permission and monopolize Ji town, but even preemptively faked his brother’s death, placing him in Ji prefecture... that’s right, when he conquers Ji town and releases that mad dog Liu Yanran, he would have his brother and Liu Yanran, one in the open and one in the dark, working together to destroy the Qingyang tribe!"

"This..."

The leaders were speechless for a long time.

Though initially they thought Helai Jiaohu might be overreacting, as he continued, they began to discern some logic.

Indeed, it seemed likened to what He Xiqing might do; after all, he constantly compared himself to the sky, unrestrained in his actions, and using such means against the Qingyang tribe... it indeed sounded plausible?

But such fantastical plotting, how did He Xiqing conceive it?

Could it be that He Xiqing truly possessed wisdom as broad as the sky?

"I hear the southern people have a saying, ’Internal peace must precede external disputes.’

Helai Jiaohu raised his head, looking at the leaders before him.

"Since this white-eyed wolf has long had intentions against the Qingyang tribe, then before heading south, we must first eliminate this traitor!"

"But..."

The leaders looked at each other.

The idea was good, but moving the army in its current state was a problem. Even though those hidden masters never attacked the army directly, their persistent harassment left it immobilized.

"Call the wizards over; it’s time for them to act."

Helai Jiaohu clenched his fist.

"This setup was originally meant for Southern Chen masters; now is the time to use it."