Starting as a centurion, he fought his way through the chaos of the world.

Chapter 2 Drawing the Sword
"Damn, how can we tolerate this?"

"As the saying goes, killing someone is just a matter of beheading them. Since you'll get the same result whether you stick your head out or not, why hold back?"

"Clang!" Without saying a word, Lu Ming had already raised the long sword in his hand.

Having fought on the battlefield, Lu Ming himself was an advanced martial artist. He had also risked his life and walked on the edge of a knife for many years.

One will naturally have no shortage of courage.

"Whoosh!" A flash of silver light.

A deep red line appeared on Li San's neck, and beads of blood flowed out from the wound.

The stick fell to the ground, and he tried to speak, touching his neck.

But in the end, he still fell to the ground.

The blood stained the ground red, somewhat dazzling in the morning light.

"You dare to hit people from the imperial court? You've got some nerve! Bah!"

Lu Ming spat.

He raised his head, still holding the long, dripping sword.

"Oh, isn't this Manager Zhang?"

"What are you doing here? Did you all beat up Sun Tian too?"

Name: Zhang Fu

[Cultivation Level: Initial Body Tempering]

[Personal Deeds: Before the age of thirty, he was a martial arts master in Hongdu Prefecture. Because of greed, he killed a passing merchant. After the incident was exposed, he fled to Fenglei Town, where he was noticed by the young master of the Zhang family and hired as a steward and henchman.]

At the age of thirty-one, he drove six tenant farmers to their deaths.

At the age of thirty-two, he took a fancy to a woman in Fenglei Town. When she refused, he forced himself on her. To prevent her family from reporting him, he killed her entire family and then set fire to the house to destroy the evidence. This resulted in the burning of the houses of three neighboring families. Twenty-three people were left homeless and became refugees, eventually dying far from home.

At the age of forty, he drove eighteen tenant farmers to their deaths and, together with others, assassinated a court official.

[Mission: Kill Sun Tian, ​​sow discord among the officers of the Hundred Household Office towards the new Hundred Household Commander Lu Ming, and then secretly deal with him.]

[Overall brutality level: 400 points]

Killing it will grant 400 Chaos Points.

"Lord Centurion, you jest. The Zhang family has always abided by the law. How could we dare to violate the imperial code!" Zhang Fu was clearly surprised by Lu Ming's recklessness. A look of astonishment flashed in his eyes, and a smile appeared on his face. Gone was the coldness from before. Having spent years in the treacherous world, he was adept at keeping his emotions hidden.

He habitually began to wonder if Lu Ming had some kind of backing.

After all, when the other party took office, he didn't seem like a man of courage.

Although the imperial court has lost control over the local areas, its old prestige still remains. Therefore, on the surface, it is necessary to maintain a certain level of politeness towards Lu Ming, the centurion, and at the very least, not to break off relations.

Even when it comes to fighting and killing, they only dare to disguise themselves as mountain bandits and carry it out in secret.

This is why he was sent by the Zhang family to deal with Sun Tian.

The reason was that although the previous centurion was greedy, he would often help the soldiers of the centurion's office with things like a few steamed buns or a bag of coarse rice. This led to the people of the centurion's office secretly going to the prefectural city to complain after the previous centurion died.

Sun Tian is the main player.

That's why Lu Ming was sent here.

Therefore, the Zhang family plotted against Sun Tian this time, taking the opportunity to sow discord between Lu Ming, the newly appointed centurion, and his subordinates.

"Then what are you doing here?" Lu Ming grabbed a piece of Li San's clothes and wiped the blood off the knife, showing no intention of going down the steps with Zhang Fu.

The series of actions made everyone in the Hundred Households Office feel extremely relieved.

If they weren't wary of the Zhang family, they would have cheered long ago.

Zhang Meng stepped forward and untied the rope.

"Girl, hold your father tight!"

As he spoke, he picked up the hoe again.

At this moment, Lu Ming clearly became their backbone.

To say that an old man like Zhang Meng was arrogant in his youth, he was a powerful figure in Fenglei Town more than 20 years ago. The three major families had to step aside.

It was only in these years, with the court in chaos, that these people rose to prominence.

Zhang Meng and his team had been holding their breath for a long time.

On the contrary, the two young men were somewhat timid, carrying shovels and looking a little lost.

This was the first time they had ever seen such a scene.

"Sun Tian, ​​you tell me, did Zhang Fu hit you?" Lu Ming turned around and asked the trembling Sun, his voice very soft, as if he were just chatting.

Zhang Fu's face twitched.

His eyes were bloodshot.

"Big"

"Swoosh!" But the next moment, before anyone could react, Lu Ming turned around and slashed fiercely at Zhang Fu with his knife.

His current cultivation level is at the mid-stage of Body Tempering, which is already a small realm higher than Zhang Fu's, and this strike was completely unexpected.

Even though Zhang Fu reacted quickly.

He instinctively raised his arm to block.

He was also slashed squarely.

"Ah!" A sharp scream rang out, and Zhang Fu's two arms fell to the ground.

"Bang!" Lu Ming kicked out.

Zhang Fu, who had lost his arm, collapsed to the ground.

He stepped forward, said nothing, and slashed Lu Ming's neck with his knife. Blood splattered, covering Lu Ming's head and face. He stood in the courtyard looking somewhat ferocious.

The remaining three servants' eyes widened in fear as they turned to flee. "Kill all three of them!"

As Lu Ming spoke, he took a step forward and blocked the courtyard gate.

The men from the centurion's office exchanged glances.

"tui"

"Brothers, the centurion was someone we all found to save Sun Tian. We can't let him bear the consequences of offending the Zhang family alone. Kill these bastards!"

Zhang Meng spat in his palm, then grabbed his hoe and charged forward.

Once someone took the lead, the others, remembering the oppression they had suffered over the years, also raised their weapons and rushed forward.

This pleased Lu Ming. It was only because these old guys were from the former Hundred Household Office, had killed people, and had been on the battlefield. If they were villagers, things probably wouldn't have gone so smoothly today.

Those two young men are still standing there, hesitating.

However, it's not that they're cowardly; after all, they've been oppressed by the three major families for years, so daring to come today is quite bold.

Ordinary servants are just physically strong, not martial artists.

So, surrounded by more than a dozen well-coordinated veterans, he died in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

"boom!"

Zhang Meng smashed a hoe hard into the back of a servant's head, and it was clear that the man was not going to make it.

The other two weren't much better off; they were covered in blood, their bodies twitching involuntarily.

After killing the person, Zhang Meng began to loot the corpse, his movements quite practiced.

In a short while, they presented Lu Ming with a small amount of silver, saying, "Sir, we are just a bunch of poor bastards, and this is all the silver we have!"

Lu Ming really wanted to take the silver and then go home to buy some rice and flour.

After all, they were about to run out of food.

But the centurion's pride still had to be maintained.

Moreover, this is the first time I've taken action since coming into this world.

Shouldn't we celebrate?

So he waved his hand and said, "Go buy some wontons, one for everyone, and buy the rest yourselves!"

He was indeed hungry.

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Meng ran out excitedly.

The others began to dispose of the bodies.

They piled it up in the corner first, and will bury it after we finish eating.

According to Lu Ming's plan, as long as he doesn't go to the Zhang family and reveal that they beat up the officials, and at the same time clamor that he killed Zhang Fu and the others, the Zhang family will be in for a loss today.

At least outwardly, we won't openly break ties and fight with him.

After all, even if Sun Tian owed money, he was still a member of the imperial court, and protecting one's own is a tradition in the army, so it's understandable no matter where you go.

On the contrary, beating soldiers is a serious crime.

Even if it's revenge, it has to wait until night, and they have to come disguised as bandits.

"Sun Tian, ​​how much money do you owe the Zhang family?"

Lu Ming found a small stool and sat down under the eaves in a very imposing manner.

"My lord, my son was ignorant and was tricked by the Zhang family into going to the gambling den. He owes more than ten taels of silver. If it weren't for you today, I'm afraid I would have died at home. I'm just a frail old man, it doesn't matter."

But this girl is sobbing.

Sun Tian vigorously rubbed the tear stains on his face with his rough hands.

I don't want anyone to see what I look like now.

But in the end, I couldn't help but cry.

Ten taels of silver was enough to ruin a poor man like him, destroying his family and causing his death.

"Where is your son?"

Lu Ming frowned.

He gently patted his knees with his palm.

A soldier from a hundred households was driven to this state by a mere ten taels of silver.

It seems that the imperial court is truly in a state of severe decline.

“He’s been locked up in the Zhang family!” Sun Tian cried even louder when she mentioned her son.

The old soldiers around him also looked sad and dejected.

"The wontons are here!"

Zhang Meng walked in carrying a food box; his thin appearance was somewhat comical.

However, ignoring the scene before him, he took out the wontons from the food box, moved a wooden stool to place next to Lu Ming, and arranged the wontons before inviting everyone to eat.

Even Sun Tian and his daughter had a bowl placed next to them.

While eating, Lu Ming opened the system shop to see what was worth redeeming.

Today's events must have offended the Zhang family.

If things go wrong, I could die in Fenglei Town.

Therefore, the system must be made good use of.

(End of this chapter)