Wei Hai froze, gritted his teeth, and said fiercely, "Let them go, and I'll do whatever you want."
The man walked up to him, grabbed his hair, and said with a smile, "Wei Hai, you seem to have forgotten that you are already in my general's hands."
Wei Hai closed his eyes for a moment, then reopened them. "Lu Wanming, what exactly do you want before you'll let them go?"
Lu Wanming chuckled softly. "You ask this general? This general wants..."
His smile vanished instantly, his gaze turning extremely sinister. "You will all die..."
Wei Hai trembled all over and gritted his teeth, "Lu Wanming..."
"What? You're not convinced? Not resigned? But you can't do anything about it, because you're no match for me now, just like you were no match for me in the past," Lu Wanming said word by word through clenched teeth.
"Lu Wanming, let them go. I am willing to die to appease your anger."
"Your death? What does your death matter? This general doesn't care."
"As long as you let them go, I'll do anything."
"Then beg me!" Lu Wanming suddenly said.
Wei Hai was startled, and Lu Wanming sneered, "What? Can't you bring yourself to beg?"
"General, don't beg him, he's a devil..."
"That's right, General, don't beg him. At most, it's death. If it weren't for General back then, we would have died long ago. These years have been stolen from heaven, and we've had our fill."
"Exactly, General, don't beg him. What is there to fear about death?"
"Fine, you're not afraid of death? This general will see if you're truly not afraid of death. Go and chop off his head," Lu Wanming said with a cold laugh.
A soldier walked up to the villager who had spoken first, raised his saber, and struck. The head rolled onto the ground.
Everyone was shocked.
Blood splattered on the ground, a stark, vibrant red.
"Lu Wanming..." Wei Hai roared.
Lu Wanming burst into laughter. "Still not afraid of death? Let's see who else isn't afraid of death!"
"I..."
"I..."
The remaining villagers straightened their chests, as if the person just beheaded wasn't one of their own.
"Kill..." Lu Wanming's eyes turned cold, and he said indifferently.
Wei Hai shook his head. "No, no... Lu Wanming, I beg you, please don't kill them..."
He lowered his head and kowtowed to them on the ground. His forehead was stained red, and drops of blood fell to the ground, eventually forming a small stream.
"General, no need to beg him. It is my honor to die for General..."
Before he could finish speaking, his head was severed. His face retained the expression of someone speaking, unchanged.
"Ah..." Wei Hai let out a sky-piercing roar, like a lone wolf in the desert.
They were all his kin, yet he was powerless, able only to watch them go to their deaths.
One by one, heads rolled onto the ground. The last person's body trembled like a sieve, yet he still held his head high and declared loudly, "General, I'll go first."
"No..."
Lu Wanming waved his hand, and the sword descended. Suddenly, a silver light flashed, deflecting the blade. Instead of hitting the neck, it sliced off flesh and skin from the shoulder.
"Who is it?" Lu Wanming demanded coldly.
No one answered. Lu Wanming frowned, signaled with his eyes, and the soldier raised his saber to strike again. Just as before, the blade veered off course, missing the neck.
"Who is it? Stop playing games and come out, this general demands it." Lu Wanming was furious.
Being toyed with repeatedly had angered him.
"General, your subordinate discovered women and children in the mountain cave behind the village," a soldier reported to Lu Wanming.
Lu Wanming chuckled softly, his smile as wicked as it could be. "Bring them up..."
When Wei Hai saw the village elders, the weak, the sick, and the women and children appear, he felt nothing but grief and indignation.
"Wei Hai, look, are all your people here?"
"Let them go, I beg you," Wei Hai pleaded.
Lu Wanming kicked Wei Hai in the face and said coldly, "It's too late. Your pleas are too late."
"You bad person, let go of my daddy..." Wei Dong, seeing Wei Hai's face being stepped on, rushed forward, trying to push Lu Wanming away.
But how could he possibly push Lu Wanming? Instead, Lu Wanming grabbed him with one hand. "Who is Wei Hai to you?"
"Let him go, Lu Wanming, don't touch him..." Wei Hai suddenly struggled against his restraints.
Upon hearing this, a hint of coldness flashed in Lu Wanming's eyes. "If I'm not mistaken, he's the child of you and Ming Jiao, isn't he?"
Wei Hai trembled all over.
Lu Wanming sneered softly. "Just as I suspected!"
"You bad person, let me go, let my daddy go." Wei Dong struggled, using his hands and feet to break free.
Lu Wanming merely smiled, then his gaze turned sharp. "Wei Hai, what if I were to kill him?"
"Lu Wanming, if you dare to touch him, I, Wei Hai, will not let you off."
"Oh really? Let's see how you won't let me off..." Lu Wanming drew his sword and held it against Wei Dong's neck.
Wei Dong had never seen such a scene and began to cry loudly.
"Let him go, Lu Wanming, let him go..."
"Wei Hai, I want you to taste the feeling of heart-wrenching pain as well."
Lu Wanming's hand holding the sword moved closer to Wei Dong's neck, about to touch it.
Wei Hai suddenly erupted with strength, breaking free and lunging at Lu Wanming. But just as he saw the sword nearing Wei Dong's neck,
Wei Hai roared, "No..."
At that moment, a silver light, like lightning, struck Lu Wanming's sword, emitting a piercing sound.
Lu Wanming froze, feeling his hand go numb. The sword dropped from his grasp.
Wei Hai caught Wei Dong with his chin and kicked Lu Wanming in the abdomen.
"Waaah..." Wei Dong cried fiercely.
"Don't be afraid, Dad's here," Wei Hai said, hugging Wei Dong with lingering fear.
Lu Wanming stumbled back several steps and shouted angrily, "Who is it? Stop playing games with this general."
Suddenly, a cold wind blew, like a sea breeze, stinging the skin.
"It's Sister A Ning, it's A Ning's chill..." Wei Dong, held in Wei Hai's arms, suddenly exclaimed.
Wei Hai was stunned. He saw a slender figure in the distance slowly approaching.
Clad in simple coarse cloth, she nonetheless exuded an aura of majesty and nobility.
As the person drew nearer, the maiden's face was exceptionally beautiful. Her eyes were as clear as water, like the azure sky here, reaching to the horizon like the vast blue sea, distant and enduring.
Lu Wanming narrowed his eyes. Who was this maiden?
"Who are you?" Lu Wanming asked coldly.
"Who I am is not important. What is important is that you are slaughtering the innocent," the maiden said softly, word by word.
Lu Wanming frowned. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"
"General must be mistaken," the maiden replied calmly.