I've never seen such a ruthless woman as Zhao Qingyan. The bandits were crying and screaming, they were really in excruciating pain.

Some cunning bandits, seeing Zhao Qingyan's imposing manner, knew that wiping out their entire stronghold by herself wouldn't be a problem.

While others rushed forward, they ran backward, returned to their rooms, and quickly gathered any valuables before running out.

As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn.

Clearly, they made a mistake.

Since Zhao Qingyan had come, she had no intention of letting any bandits escape.

Even before entering the mountain stronghold, the three carrier eagles kept in the space had already been released.

Just as they ran out of the village, thinking they had escaped to meet a few bandits, they were attacked by a raptor that scratched their eyes. Their screams were clearly more agonizing than those of the villagers.

Fifteen minutes later, all the bandits in the village had their tendons severed and were thrown onto the open ground in the middle of the village.

With a dose of sleeping potion, Zhao Qingyan knocked out the bandits and embarked on another shopping spree.

They still took the money hidden in the cellar and secret compartments, but on the surface, they didn't touch it at all.

After collecting all the silver coins, he wrote a letter with his left hand and used his lightness skill to quickly descend the mountain.

They rode swiftly to the nearest town. The town was under curfew, and the city gates were tightly shut.

Zhao Qingyan wrapped the letter she had written, along with a piece of silver, in a tattered cloth and threw it directly at the city gate.

It hit a patrolling soldier right on the head.

"Who hit me?" the soldier said angrily.

Looking down, he found a cloth bag. Opening it, he saw a silver ingot inside. Before anyone noticed, he quickly stuffed the silver into his pocket.

Then look at what is written on the letter: "To be opened by the garrison commander personally."

While he was still pondering whether to give it to the general, his colleagues had already arrived upon hearing the commotion.

When the garrison commander Wen Yao saw what was written in the letter, his mouth stretched almost to his ears in a wide grin.

"I wonder which chivalrous person brought me this credit," Wen Yao thought to himself.

Immediately muster your troops and generals; we must march straight to Black Wind Stronghold.

Vice General Han Hu clasped his hands in greeting and said,

"General, we don't know what the messenger's intentions are. What if it's a trap?"

Wen Yao picked up Zhao Qingyan's letter and handed it to Han Hu.

"Deputy General Han, don't worry. As you can see in the letter, there are traps on the way up the mountain, so be careful."

There were more than ten bandits in Fengping Village.

With their tendons severed, over a hundred Black Wind Village bandits have lost their ability to move and are in a coma.

What does this mean? It means that the messenger has clearly wiped out the two groups of bandits and is here to give us a chance to make a name for ourselves.

To put it bluntly, they're asking us to clean up the mess.

Han Hu carefully read Zhao Qingyan's letter and could not refute Wen Yao's words. He then led his soldiers straight to Black Wind Stronghold.

Wen Yao continued to guard the city gate.

Although he was a military general, he was not without brains. Someone capable of wiping out an entire stronghold could not have done it alone.

If it were me, the first thing I would do after destroying a bandit stronghold would definitely be to loot all the valuables inside.

He knew that Han Hu had a grudge against him and had always wanted to replace him.

If they go there and collect less wealth, Han Hu will definitely take the opportunity to trip them up.

Wen Yao then handed over the task of seizing the goods to Han Hu. He personally counted all the items in the stronghold to prevent things from going missing and making it seem like he had embezzled them.

What Han Hu considered treasure was nothing to Yu Wenyao.

No one knows his background; serving as a garrison soldier here is nothing more than a way to gain prestige.

He is just waiting for the right opportunity, with his father and brothers making arrangements, so that he can continue to rise in rank.

Han Hu walked along, pondering to himself.

"It must be that scoundrel Wen Yao. He was afraid that this trip would be too dangerous, so he sent me to take the risks so he could reap the benefits."

That's how people are. Once they have a prejudice in their hearts, no matter what others do, it's wrong to them no matter which way they turn.

In short, there's never a right time.

Of course, a deputy general isn't entirely brainless; Han Hu does have some skills in troop deployment.

First, a small team was sent ahead to scout the way. They used torches for lighting and long bamboo poles to probe the area.

They did trigger a few traps and surveillance nets along the way, but also dodged some stray arrows. In short, there were no casualties.

When the soldiers entered Black Wind Stronghold, they were so frightened by the scene before them that their legs almost cramped.

Especially when they saw the head of the household embedded in the wall.

I went forward to check his breathing, but he had already stopped breathing.

But no matter how you look at the leader, something seems off.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that there were loose threads in the middle of the headband, indicating that there must have been something valuable on it before.

The soldier guessed correctly; Zhao Qingyan took the gemstone from the leader's forehead ribbon.

That was something she had her eye on at first sight; how could she miss it?

"I wonder who has this skill. Judging by the strength, this person must have the strength of a thousand catties!"

"Some people sighed."

"Reporting to Deputy General Han, there are 95 bandits in the stronghold. Their tendons have been severed and they have been drugged."

There were three bandits outside the village, all of whom had lost their lives after triggering the mechanisms and traps outside the village.

The only thing they had in common was that all three had injured eyes.

Han Hu was deeply shaken upon hearing this.

"Alright, everyone be careful. Now that these bandits can't cause any more trouble, brothers, take stock of the loot."

These words were naturally what the soldiers wanted to hear most, and they scattered to various rooms.

Zhao Qingyan didn't touch the mountain stronghold's warehouse this time, so there were quite a few good things inside.

Putting aside everything else, there were over 10,000 jin of grain alone.

A considerable amount of various fabrics, cotton, furs, gold, and silver were found.

Even Han Hu, who was known for his cold demeanor, showed a rare smile at this moment.

Those brothers who came with us today can expect to see their wallets bulge.

The rest of the food can be brought back to the barracks so that the other brothers can enjoy a few good meals together.

When Wen Yao received the statistics sheet of confiscated supplies from Black Wind Stronghold, he was greatly surprised. He never expected that he had been so petty.

"Good, good, excellent! Reward the garrison with the confiscated rice and grain for breakfast."

The soldiers, carrying their breakfast, wondered if they were dreaming.

"So early in the morning, they're serving up fine rice and meat, and such big pieces of meat! Is our general celebrating some good news?"

The soldier murmured.

The soldier who was getting food behind him kicked the guy in the butt.

"Stop spouting nonsense. Isn't it good to have something to eat?"

Our garrison wiped out Black Wind Stronghold in the middle of the night, and now they're feasting on the spoils of war.

The soldier in front suddenly realized, and the head cook in charge of distributing the food in the kitchen also smiled and said.

"What this young man says is true. He brought back quite a lot of good things this morning. Just this cured meat alone is quite a lot."

"I can easily eat ten or eight meals a day like this."