Ye Feng subconsciously turned his head to look. Who else could it be? A young general stood outside, and nothing else seemed to matter.
The Yellow Turban leader squinted instinctively. He wanted to see clearly who it was that wouldn't let him off even now.
"Who exactly are you? Hiding makes you no hero. Why not come out and talk!"
The young general in white robes stepped forward, half-standing, and declared, "I am Ma Chao of Xiliang!"
Ma Chao, the "Golden Ma Chao of Xiliang"?
Wasn't he supposed to come next year? Why did he show up now? This didn't make sense.
"Ma Chao?" Ye Feng was utterly confused when he heard the Yellow Turban leader shout, "What nonsense is this? Daring to plot against me? Truly despicable."
Ma Chao, a top-tier warrior of the Xiliang Army, glared at the Yellow Turban leader. Ye Feng casually quipped, "What is he? Worthy of your anger?"
Ma Chao's grip on his long spear suddenly loosened. He knelt halfway and was about to speak when he heard a mocking voice, "I thought it was someone important, but it's just a coward."
"Mengqi, this matter!" Before Ye Feng could finish speaking, he saw Ma Chao cup his hands and say coldly.
"These people are just parasites wasting grain. My lord has a benevolent heart, but I cannot tolerate these grain-wasters. They will never return!" Ma Chao grinned at Ye Feng, "My lord just slew five thousand enemies. I'm itching to try my hand!"
Ye Feng recalled that in the chronicles, Ma Chao's Xiliang Army was unstoppable. Coupled with the custom of single combat among generals, he could carve out a path for himself. This Yellow Turban leader was no match for him.
It was just a few less rabble, which was a good thing. He decided to drop his plan of interrogation and turned to give instructions.
"The Great Han will need these people to farm in the future. Don't kill too many. The rest are up to you," Ye Feng whispered, then mounted his swift steed, Wuzhui, and rode away from the dense forest, his Overlord Spear in hand.
Military strategy spoke of feints and realities. Ye Feng still needed to be vigilant, or he might truly perish here.
The Yellow Turban leader heard everything clearly and was already brimming with anger. Without hesitation, he kicked aside his saber, gripped it firmly, and shouted towards Ye Feng, "My lord, rest assured, I will handle all this and make sure he submits to you."
Immediately, his long spear met the Yellow Turban leader's flattering face. The Yellow Turban leader, wielding his ghost-head saber, blocked steadily, barely dodging the blow.
"You, you fight dirty! I was careless, shameless!" The Yellow Turban leader's face turned red. Wang Yue, sitting nearby, chuckled and taunted, "It seems nobody has heard of you, the Golden Ma Chao of Xiliang. You've truly lost face."
"Distracted during a fight, you deserve to die!" Ma Chao abruptly withdrew his spear, slung it over his back, and sneered, "To die by my spear is an honor."
"Brothers, the corrupt officials want to bully me! Do you agree?" the Yellow Turban leader sneered. With a roar, a hundred Yellow Turban soldiers surged forward, charging.
Ma Chao's lips curled. Unhurriedly, he swept his long spear horizontally, clearing a path in moments. The remaining Yellow Turban soldiers were already intimidated by Ye Feng. Seeing this scene, they feared becoming the next scapegoat if they charged, and they hesitated, unwilling to advance.
"Brothers, kill him! Riches and glory await!" the Yellow Turban leader urged frantically.
But this time, everyone looked on coldly. What good were riches and glory without life?
"Swish~" A whistling sound reached Ma Chao's ears in an instant. Ma Chao turned his head, a slight graze on his skin. He casually wiped the blood from his face with his index finger, put it in his mouth, and roared, "You've come just in time! Do you dare come out and fight!"
His words fell into the silence like a stone. It was true, however, for archers were best suited for rear support.
Ye Feng, watching from afar, saw everything clearly and sneered. No matter what, he was determined to slay that man. Then he would have an army of divine archers, and life would be blissful.
"Which brother shot that arrow just now? I will reward you handsomely," the Yellow Turban leader bellowed. "It might even get you a promotion to captain!"
"I, I shot that arrow!"
"Leader, it was me."
"You're talking nonsense! Who among you has the skill? Unlike me, who could draw a bow at three years old."
The Yellow Turban army descended into chaos. Ma Chao frowned and, without a second thought, drew a long spear from behind his horse and hurled it with all his might.
The few who had responded moments before were sent flying by the powerful force. A dozen people stared in shock, and the next moment, they died on the spear.
Ma Chao glanced at Ye Feng with a touch of pride. As long as he was capable, Ye Feng wouldn't dare treat him poorly. Silence fell upon the Yellow Turban army. Ma Chao, without a word, spurred his horse forward, charging into them. The Yellow Turban leader trembled and actually fell from his horse.
"General, hurry! I'll cover your retreat!" He grabbed the Yellow Turban leader and tossed him onto his horse. The latter turned and fled, not forgetting to draw his bow and shoot. Ma Chao's face darkened.
If that man escaped, what face would he have left? He spurred his horse, "Villainous general, don't flee! Fight me for three hundred rounds!"
Ye Feng had meticulously calculated everything. Because of Ma Chao's appearance, these people had become rebels again, and killing them would be justifiable. The rewards would surely come pouring in.
He immediately galloped towards the divine archer, his Overlord Halberd whistling through the air. Wuzhui neighed, its speed increasing with every passing moment.
"Damn it!" The divine archer crouched as low as possible. The Yellow Turban soldiers on either side thought the archer still had a way to deal with Ye Feng and Ma Chao, and they hastily followed behind. The Yellow Turban army was naturally in disarray.
Ye Feng saw the divine archer's speed increase. One person dismounted, and the archer disappeared. The next moment, another person was on the horse. This repeated two or three times before he stabilized.
"A bit interesting, but that's all!" Ye Feng sneered. It was just a trick of substitution, a game he had seen too often. They were still too inexperienced.
"Let me show you my archery!" Ye Feng drew an arrow, lit it, and shot it out without hesitation. The dense forest immediately turned into a raging inferno.
"Ah! Save me!"
"Wait, I surrender!"
The system continued to chime with rewards, but the fragments of the divine archer were slow to appear. Ye Feng began to feel anxious.
He fired three more arrows, the flames merging into a continuous sheet. Ma Chao glanced at Ye Feng and charged forward. Instantly, warhorses neighed, birds took flight, and cries of agony filled the air.
It wasn't unreasonable for Ye Feng to be ruthless. If that man wasn't eliminated, he himself might be struck by a cold arrow at any moment, delaying the unification of the Han dynasty by an unknown amount of time.
Kill to stop killing, use violence to counter violence!
Dangerous factors that could not be controlled must be eliminated. With this thought, Ye Feng drew an arrow, "Watch carefully, my king will show you my skill!"
The bowstring twanged sharply. Suddenly, dozens of Yellow Turban soldiers collapsed like puppets. The only similarity was that they had all lost an ear.
The arrow, after hitting a tree, finally stopped. Attached to it were dozens of bloody ears.
Ma Chao was instantly dumbfounded. He had just been thinking of competing, but now he was utterly convinced. Only one word came to his mind: "Impressive."
"My lord, you truly possess the might of ten thousand men!" Ma Chao said sincerely, "The world is likely in your grasp."
"Mengqi, let's make a bet. If you can capture that divine archer, I will grant you one request. You can choose any three prefectures!"
Ye Feng said with a smile. This was not an empty promise. Three prefectures were fertile lands, far superior to Liangzhou.
"My lord, is that true?" Ma Chao's eyes gleamed, and he asked eagerly.
To control the world, one needed troops and money.
In any era, having enough to eat was crucial, let alone a piece of fertile land.
"Naturally!" Ye Feng replied without hesitation. As long as Ma Chao was loyal, the rest of the Liangzhou army couldn't possibly escape.
After all, Liu Bei's ability to maneuver through the Three Kingdoms era owed much to his acceptance of Ma Chao's Liangzhou army.
"Mengqi, rest assured!" Ye Feng reached out to pat Ma Chao's back, only to find Ma Chao had already vanished.
"Alas, the youth."
Feigning weariness, Ye Feng suddenly remembered he wasn't that old himself.
Without further ado, the ear-less Yellow Turban soldiers simply lay on the ground and played dead. Only a small number were still fighting.
However, this didn't significantly affect Ye Feng. As long as Ma Chao killed the divine archer, he would receive his reward. What other problems could there be?
"Those who surrender will not be killed!" Ye Feng shouted, raising his arms. After the previous lesson, the Yellow Turban soldiers hesitated.
"What, you don't believe my king?" Ye Feng retorted. "When have I ever harmed you?"
"But just now they..." someone finally stepped forward to ask. However, Ye Feng's voice rose, and those few scrambled to their knees, kowtowing in apology.
"Listen well, if your leader hadn't attacked me, this would not have happened. Moreover, he is dead, so why do you persist?" Ye Feng said sternly. "If not for these Yellow Turban rebels, you should all be men farming and women weaving."
"My lord, if there were no other way to live, who would choose to rebel? I watched my three-year-old son starve to death in my arms," a Yellow Turban soldier wailed. Soon, everyone recalled their own sad stories and burst into tears.
Ye Feng suppressed them with his Overlord Halberd, his expression solemn. "From this day forward, any who wish to return home and farm will be given travel expenses. For those without land, you may choose a plot from my fiefdom to farm and be self-sufficient."
"In short, as long as I am here, no one will touch your land!"
"Long live King Chu!"
"Long live King Chu!"
"..."
Amidst the rising cheers, Ma Chao returned on his horse, but with a dejected expression, having achieved nothing.
"My lord, that person," Ma Chao gnashed his teeth in anger, "he actually put his clothes on ordinary people! Now I don't know where the cloth has gone!"
"It's fine!" Ye Feng raised his hand, comforting Ma Chao. "Perhaps he was fated not to die."
"But!"
Before he could finish speaking, Wang Yue slowly arrived, carrying a head. "King Chu, take a look. Is this him?"