Chapter 4: The Soul Returns

A dilapidated county, with only two or three small cats in the vast city, and everywhere in the city one can see Hu people squatting by the streets, not to mention those Hu people who take pleasure in bullying the Jin people

The people of the Jiezhu tribe appeared to be bullying a young woman on the street, who was merely focused on her cries of anguish while exchanging sorrowful glances with her husband, who lay on the ground bleeding. She was soon overpowered and brought to the ground, as one of the Jiezhu men exerted himself to force her legs apart. It is likely that he applied too much force, causing her legs to spread at a very unnatural angle, eliciting painful moans from her.

The Jin man was crawling in such a situation, having made no progress at all. A member of the Qiang tribe deliberately stepped on his palm, causing the fingers of the Jin man to twist in a strange manner, yet he continued to crawl...

How wretched must one be to reach such a state! To what extent must a person's confidence be shattered? For someone who fears not even death, to die by their own hand is not to be killed in a struggle with others!

Liu Yan has always admired his own memory. When he wants to remember someone, he usually can. For instance, he vividly recalls the Hu man who twisted the legs of a young woman, causing her to suffer and ultimately die. He led his subordinates to kill over 600 Hu people in the city, rescuing more than 300 Jin people, and specifically left behind that group of Hu people he saw on the road that day

The appearance of the young girl can only be described as very ordinary, after all, coming from a poor family and being a person from Jin, how could she maintain or adorn herself in any way that would not resemble that of a village woman

The large contingent truly is a large contingent; as they marched along, they picked up quite a number of fleeing Jin people along the way, resulting in an increase in their numbers to over 30,000 instead of a decrease, which posed significant challenges to the food supply for the group

Liu Yan is a very patient person; he has been holed up near the city with one hundred system soldiers and a few courageous Jin people for a full three days

Barbarians, it is only natural for them to compete for everything; the difference lies in whose fist is stronger. They merely see it as an opportunity to snatch food from a passerby.

Liu Yan goes from house to house, regardless of whether there are bolts on the doors, he can always easily open them. Once inside, he does nothing else but slit the throats of the sleeping Hu people.

It is a common occurrence for the people of Jin to be bullied; as long as they can preserve their lives, they will endure even the most severe bullying.

Liu Yan nodded and said formally: "From now on, do not call me 'King'. It is acceptable to address me as 'Your Majesty' or 'General' instead"

"I will not take away all the soldiers; there will be Lü Tai remaining to lead the team," Liu Yan said. Lü Tai, whom Liu Yan mentioned, is considered one of the earlier Jin people to be taken in. He said: "Lü Tai is a person of courage and responsibility; he will lead you. I will soon come to join you all."

Liu Yan stopped in his tracks and saw several Qiang people pulling a young woman. A man, who appeared to be a relative of the young woman, was desperately pleading with one of the Qiang people. It soon became clear that the young woman being pulled was the man's newlywed wife, and the Hu people had come to seize her precisely because they were aware of this.

The so-called map is not much different from the game interface; it does not directly allow one to move to the perspective of a specific individual. In fact, it resembles a kind of aerial view, but the displayed elements are rather monotonous, such as the green dots representing allies, the white dots for neutrals, and the red dots for enemies. However, the representation of the terrain is quite clear.

After leaving the city, they headed north, concealed themselves after a while, and eliminated three pursuers. They continued on for a while, took out a few more who were still following, and after taking a detour, they rejoined the main group.

The city walls fundamentally serve no defensive purpose... Although it is not comprehensive, it is estimated that there are only about one hundred capable of fighting

The spectators were initially taken aback by this scene, and then they began to scream and laugh in a strange manner. Even the beaten people from the Jizhu tribe, who were initially furious, soon broke into smiles.

Pity their misfortune, and be angry at their lack of struggle! They fear not death, yet they choose to charge headlong to their demise rather than fight against others!

During this period, Liu Yan was not bored; he could manipulate production and development in his mind, and he could also observe by following the green dots of his own side in the formation

Liu Yan felt a surge of anger within him, unable to endure any longer. He quickly stepped forward and kicked the Khotanese man who was pinning down the young woman, sending him flying. Then, he swung his fists left and right, knocking down the two Khotanese men who had approached him.

"The king does not follow the main group?" Tian Shuo said with a worried expression, "There are still over 100 miles to go. Although it is desolate and uninhabited everywhere, currently our people are hunting down the wild men outside the city. Once..."

Liu Yan generally swiftly draws a sharp blade to slash the opponent's neck, and in the next moment, extends his hand in an open palm position to cover the opponent's mouth, thereby allowing half of his palm to block the spurting fountain of blood

At that time, Liu Yan deliberately exposed the sword at his waist; if that man from Jin wanted to fight desperately, Liu Yan would easily have his sword taken away

In response to the desperate pleas of the Jin man, the Qiang people mocked and laughed heartily while simultaneously beating him with fists and kicks. They neither hurried to take the young woman away nor agreed to the Jin man's pleas, completely displaying an attitude of toying with him.

This means that Liu Yan has a golden finger, allowing him to issue commands to NPCs far away in Changguang County through the system, which is an unparalleled means of communication in today's era

Liu Yan returned to the convoy not to engage in other matters, but to urge the convoy to accelerate. It was not out of concern for being pursued, but rather because he needed the convoy to move far away before carrying out certain necessary actions. He was determined to eliminate all the Hu people within the city; otherwise, it would not be enough to quell the anger within him. However, the prerequisite was that the convoy had to travel far enough.

Indeed, Liu Yan possesses the cheat for "Age of Empires II: The Conquerors," along with a 2D map. However, there are limitations; for instance, it is necessary to have one's own units or buildings as a medium for vision, with the vision extending to a radius of 500 meters. This is also the reason why he dared to relinquish his foundation and chose to gather the displaced people amidst the internal chaos of the Later Zhao.

Tian Shuo was clearly taken aback, and just as he was about to say something, Liu Yan had already ridden away. He watched Liu Yan's departing figure and thought to himself: "The title 'Your Excellency' is from the ancient pre-Qin era, isn't it? Who exactly is this person..."

Upon entering the city, Liu Yan revealed a sinister smile. He issued simple commands to the soldiers, primarily because the soldiers produced by the overly complex command system could not comprehend them. Based on his conjecture, it was likely that the intelligence of the system's characters would only improve as the system's "era" continued to upgrade. For instance, when he first faced NPCs from the "Dark Ages," they appeared exceedingly dull, whereas by the time of the "Feudal Era," those NPCs seemed somewhat better.

Do you know what sound it makes when a sharp blade is drawn across the neck? It is a very crisp "squeak" sound. Slitting a throat also requires a certain level of skill; it is not simply a matter of forcefully dragging the blade across. Doing so could result in severing the opponent's carotid artery, causing blood to spurt uncontrollably

The young girl is too thin, excessively thin! Her arms resemble dry twigs, and her bare upper body hardly shows any breasts, only a series of ribs. She has ceased to move, as pain contorts her face into a grimace while she maintains a position facing the blue sky. Her eyes have a hazy look as they gaze upward, and her splayed legs clearly appear to be broken, limply hanging down to the ground. Her bare belly shows no rise or fall, clearly indicating that she has been painfully killed.

Indeed, the man from Jin has risen. He glanced at the surrounding Qiang people and then looked at Liu Yan. What Liu Yan saw was a distorted face, with an endless hatred reflected in those eyes

The man from Jin, whose fingers were twisted from being stepped on, finally crawled to the side of his young wife. Even with his severe myopia, he could tell that his newlywed wife was dead

Liu Yan is observing the men of Jin. At this moment, if there were even a trace of courage, the men of Jin should be getting up and fighting desperately, shouldn't they

The wild people refer to the Jin people who do not live in the city, but what do the Jin people living in the city look like? They resemble the scene that Liu Yan witnessed, and it is even more tragic, such as being killed and cooked at any time and in any place.

The streets echoed with bursts of cheers and strange laughter, as the Hu people pointed and gestured, saying all sorts of things

The man from Jin, after watching, seemed truly determined to fight to the death, howling like a wounded beast as he sprinted forward with remarkable speed. Then, he crashed into a stone by the roadside, and the howling ceased, clearly indicating that his brain had splattered upon impact

No, the Jin people, faced with such a tragic event, are unwilling to risk their lives; they would rather die by crashing into something than engage in a desperate fight with the Hu people

This time out was indeed very useful, as it revealed almost the entire terrain of Qingzhou, and the map no longer displays the "fog of war" status

Hehehe ... ...

After three days, on the night of the fourth day, Liu Yan returned to the city with his soldiers. Because the city walls were riddled with breaches, they easily entered the city under the cover of darkness

Tian Shuo hesitated for a moment and said, "Well then..."

Those who have their throats slit by a sharp blade awaken from their slumber due to excruciating pain. When they open their eyes, they are often in a state of confusion, taking a second or two to comprehend the situation. However, by the time they realize what has happened, they already feel unable to breathe, as blood has obstructed their airways. All that remains is a visage of agony, with their eyes filled with despair, awaiting suffocation and death.

Liu Yan lifted his foot and left; if he did not leave, he would truly reveal a terrifying and hideous face

My golden finger can not only issue commands to NPCs from a great distance but also allows me to view the map in my mind

Anger and frustration filled Liu Yan's heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, and he felt as if he was about to explode

Liu Yan has already seen what he should have seen, including quite a bit about the experiences of the Jin people within the city. He is deeply afraid that he will not be able to endure it and will leave the city with his people.

Liu Yan knew that his laughter and face must be quite ferocious, but he did not care. He was focused on breaking the limbs and bones of these barbarians one by one, and finally smashing their heads with tremendous force, causing their brains to splatter everywhere

To say that this scene has occurred countless times in today's world would be met with indifference by anyone. The beaten Jin man, after enduring a flurry of punches and kicks, collapses to the ground. At this point, the Qiang people should have had their fill of mockery and should have taken the young woman away, but they did not