My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

He did not draw the sword at his waist, nor did he arrange his troops according to the rules of the Tang Dynasty army. He simply gripped the cold shaft of the horse spear tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white, and let out a furious roar that was not human.

"Everyone, listen to my command! Kill them all, leave no one alive!"

Before the roar had even faded, Li Chengqian had already charged out like a raging lion.

Five hundred elite Tang soldiers drew their fine steel broadswords from behind them, gripped the long hilts tightly with both hands, and strode down the earthen slope like a black torrent of steel.

The earth trembled beneath the heavy boots, and the sharpness of the longswords, under the gloomy sky, coalesced into a suffocating forest of death.

The Japanese samurai in front of the village had never seen such a monstrous steel formation before. They grumbled and shouted incoherently as they charged at them with their broken pieces of metal.

The moment the two sides made contact was not a war at all, but a one-sided slaughter with no suspense whatsoever.

Using the momentum of their charge, the Tang Dynasty's Mo Dao soldiers suddenly exerted force from their waists and backs, and five hundred heavy Mo Daos drew a neat semicircle in mid-air, slashing into the oncoming Japanese troops with a sharp whistling sound as they tore through the air.

The blade sliced ​​through the rough bamboo armor, shattered the fragile collarbones, and effortlessly severed those short bodies in two. Scalding blood mixed with entrails sprayed instantly onto the muddy ground, and screams were completely drowned out by the dull thud of weapons piercing flesh.

Li Chengqian charged ahead, his lance like a venomous dragon emerging from the sea. The tip of the lance easily pierced the chest of a Japanese leader, the immense impact sending the corpse flying several steps backward before it crashed heavily into the wooden gate of the fortress.

He gripped the spear shaft with both hands and twisted it violently, shredding the opponent's internal organs. Then, he pulled out the spear, which was covered in bits of flesh, and swung it horizontally with a backhand. The thick shaft slammed heavily into another warrior's temple, causing his head to explode.

Qin Huaidao followed closely beside the Crown Prince, carrying two heavy sabers. He slashed left and right, and severed limbs flew everywhere where the blades passed.

He didn't need to defend himself at all. The iron swords of those Japanese samurai could only leave a shallow white mark on the fine Mingguang armor of the Tang Dynasty, without even a spark. Qin Huaidao chopped off his head with a single stroke.

The massacre spread wildly both inside and outside the fortress.

The Tang soldiers did not form a defensive formation. Overwhelmed by their absolute strength, equipment, and size, these five hundred of the Tang's most elite warriors used every move they had learned in their training on these Japanese.

With bloodshot eyes, they slashed down the enemy in front of them with a single stroke, then crushed the throat with a single stomp, and strode forward over the corpse.

The wooden gate of the fortress was pushed down by several strongmen of the Tang Dynasty. The heavy wooden planks smashed into several archers who could not dodge in time. The army poured into the fortress, and torches were thrown onto the thatched roofs, where thick smoke billowed up.

The firelight illuminated Li Chengqian's blood-covered face. He wasn't wearing a mask, and the enemy's blood dripped down his chin. He didn't even wipe it away. Instead, he kicked open a tightly closed wooden door and plunged the lance in his hand into the darkness. Only when he heard a muffled groan of someone dying inside did he pull out his weapon and walk towards the next room.

The civil servant in charge of the accompanying translator huddled at the very back, clutching a small booklet and trembling.

He had originally thought that once they arrived at their destination, the Crown Prince would first read out the Tang Dynasty's proclamation, or reprimand them and force them to surrender. However, from beginning to end, the Crown Prince didn't let him say a single word. This wasn't a war; it was clearly a plowing operation.

The massacre lasted less than half an hour.

The entire fortress was engulfed in flames, and the ground was littered with mutilated corpses. The pungent smell of blood mixed with the stench of burning flesh made one's eyes sting.

Five hundred elite Xuanjia soldiers were panting heavily, their Mo Dao swords dripping blood. Not a single one of them was injured, not even a seriously wounded Japanese prisoner was spared; they were all finished off with their throats chopped off.

A lieutenant ran quickly to Li Chengqian, stepped through the blood-soaked ground, clasped his hands in a fist and reported back, asking whether they should clear the battlefield and proceed to the next populated area.

Li Chengqian stood amidst a pile of corpses, leaning on his lance. He glanced up at the watchtower that was about to collapse from the fire, and the madness in his eyes faded slightly, replaced by an extremely cold and sinister smile.

"Withdraw from the fortress and retreat to the woods on the high slope to the west, where you will immediately take cover."

Li Chengqian flicked the blood off his spear and gave the order without hesitation.

Although the deputy general was full of doubts and did not understand why they did not press their advantage and go to the next place, the Tang army was strictly disciplined. He immediately turned around and waved the command flag. The army quickly withdrew from the camp like a tide, leaving only a silent, burning ruin.

Half an hour later.

Five hundred people lay motionless in the dense bushes on the western slope.

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Qin Huaidao squatted down next to Li Chengqian, staring at the still-burning sea of ​​fire below through the gaps in the grass, and asked in a low voice with a puzzled expression.

"Your Highness, we've wiped out all the ones in the open. What are we doing here feeding mosquitoes? We should hurry on our way, or that brat Cheng Chumo will have taken all the heads."

Li Chengqian plucked a blade of grass and put it in his mouth, his eyes fixed on a corner of the ruins of the fortress like a hungry wolf in the night.

He spat out the grass roots, gave a cold laugh, his voice low but filled with chilling killing intent.

"My sixteenth brother taught me that to deal with these treacherous and cunning beasts, you can't just look at the surface. Their specialty is hiding. Once the army leaves, the survivors will naturally crawl out."

Qin Huaidao was stunned for a moment, and was about to follow the Crown Prince's gaze downwards.

At that very moment, deep within the ruins of the fortress, a huge, thick wooden plank, half-burnt, suddenly twitched upwards very slightly.

Immediately afterwards, several fingers covered in black ash and dirt silently emerged from the gap in the wooden board that had been pried open.

Three teenagers, looking disheveled and covered in dirt, crawled out of the hidden cellar and onto the surface.

Looking at the corpses scattered all around them and the burned-out homes, their eyes showed little fear, but rather a chilling malice and cruelty.

The boy in the lead bit his lip, clenched his fist, and mumbled a vicious oath to the other two, his voice filled with resentment and desire for revenge.

The accompanying translator, who was lying behind Li Chengqian, quickly stepped forward and translated the boy's words word for word.

"Your Highness, he said they will engrave the hatred of today into their bones, and one day they will cross the sea and burn our capital to the ground."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian slowly stood up from the bushes.

He picked up the heavy lance, brushed the grass off his clothes, and led Qin Huaidao and his guards, slowly walking down the slope.

The sound of boots pounding on the scorched earth startled the three boys. They turned around abruptly and, seeing the demon return, fell to the ground in fright.

Li Chengqian walked up to them, looked at the three faces filled with fear and resentment, and a mocking smile appeared on his face.

"Sixteenth Brother was right after all; these people are venomous snakes that can never be tamed."