At that moment, a cold snort came from afar: "Hmph, such arrogance! I thought it was the Commandant himself!"
A group of soldiers escorted a thin, dark-skinned man in leather armor as they approached. Each of them carried a gleaming broadsword, which was clearly sharper than the longswords used by the Wuhuan cavalry.
The dark-skinned, thin man glanced at Lü Tu sideways: "You're the Lü Tu who killed three Wuhuan cavalrymen?"
Lu Tu said loudly, "It's me. Who are you?"
"My name is Li Da, and I am also a squad leader under the Wuchuan Protectorate, in charge of Songshan and Nangang villages."
Lu Tu immediately understood what was going on. Yesterday, Zhou Taishan had sent him to manage Songshan Village, but today Li Da arrived here before him. It seemed that this was Zhou Taishan's doing.
"What a coincidence! Lieutenant Zhou instructed me yesterday to take over the management of Kuishan and Songshan villages. You can go back to where you came from!"
Li Da was taken aback, not expecting this kid to be even more arrogant than him! He had received orders from Zhou Taishan to take over Songshan Village before Lü Tu, so with a powerful backer, he naturally wasn't afraid of Lü Tu.
"Who do you think you are? Look at this!" Li Da took out a piece of black and yellow paper with a few words scribbled on it.
Lu Tu was also puzzled: "What is this?"
Li Da smiled confidently: "You can't even read, this is my transfer order!"
Lu Tu was so angry he laughed. Was this some kind of sloppy fool? Did he really think he was illiterate?
However, he was too lazy to argue. It was obvious that Zhou Taishan was behind this, whether it was to punish him or to give him a warning. Lü Tuyi could just stand by and do his best. In Wuchuan, strength was the only thing that mattered!
Lu Tu dismounted and came to Li Da, laughing, "Take it out again so I can see it."
Li Da snorted and slapped the transfer order out. Lü Tu grabbed the order and tore it to shreds on the spot: "You illiterate idiot, you were fooled without even realizing it! You actually dared to use a child's scribbles as a transfer order! Do you know that this is punishable by military law!"
Li Da was about to explode in anger when, unexpectedly, Lü Tu put a big accusation on him.
After his commotion, villagers from Songshan Village gradually came over to watch the excitement.
Moreover, Lu Tu was right; Li Da was indeed illiterate. This was just a method he had his men come up with last night when he received Zhou Yabing's orders. They assumed that Lu Tu, being a hunter by birth, would also be illiterate, but they didn't expect Lu Tu to see through it at a glance.
But he knew he absolutely could not admit to forging the transfer order at this moment, so he stubbornly insisted, "Lu Tu, how dare you tear up the transfer order personally written by the Captain! Guards, seize him and take him to Wuchuan Prefecture for punishment!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Da drew his broadsword from his waist, ready to slash at Lü Tu. Although he knew that three Wuhuan soldiers had died in Kuishan Village yesterday, he did not know that all three of them were killed by Lü Tu alone.
The moment his broadsword was drawn, his raised hand froze in mid-air.
At this moment, a menacing dagger suddenly appeared on Li Da's neck. Lü Tu asked with a forced smile, "You're ready to kill me at the drop of a hat, but why didn't you send reinforcements when the Wuhuan soldiers came yesterday and the smoke signals were lit?"
"I...I was in Nangang at the time and couldn't be in two places at once."
Lu Tu's dagger pierced the skin on his neck: "Nangang Village is only a dozen miles away from my Kuishan Village. Even if you had to run, you would have come all this way. I think you were scared out of your wits as soon as you heard that the Wuhuan people were coming!"
"You're talking nonsense! I've served in the army for four years and have never been defeated by the Wuhuan people!"
Before Lu Tu could speak, a sneer came from among the Songshan villagers: "Of course you've never been defeated. You've always run away before you can even catch a whiff of smoke at the mere mention of the Wuhuan people coming."
"Who? Who is slandering this sergeant?"
A thin young man suddenly stepped out from the crowd. He was dressed in rags, but his eyes were unusually firm: "I, Nie Yun, never lie!"
"My father served under you a year ago. You were so afraid of the Wuhuan that you left him to fight them alone. My father risked his life to kill a Wuhuan, but you claimed the credit for yourself. Otherwise, how could a piece of trash like you have become a squad leader?!"
A flicker of panic crossed Li Da's eyes, but his tone was sharp yet weak as he said, "You're talking nonsense! Your father, Nie Feng, is the coward who deserted in the face of battle!"
At this moment, Nie Yun stepped forward from the crowd, clasped his hands, and knelt on one knee in front of Lü Tu: "Since Li Da became the squad leader, he has been oppressing our villages. He usually indulges Xu Fei and his lackeys in committing crimes and finds new lovers for him. He sleeps with whoever's wife he fancys. When the Wuhuan came, he even sent people to guard the village entrance to prevent us from escaping! But he himself always escapes on horseback first. Please, Squad Leader Lü, do justice for us!"
The other villagers of Songshan Village also knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Please, Chief, make the judgment. Everything Nie Yun said is true!"
Li Da roared in fury, "You've rebelled! You lowly peasants, are you planning a rebellion? I'll report this and have you all killed!"
Lu Tu's icy voice immediately shut him up: "So, they really didn't wrong you."
Li Da looked at Lü Tu in terror: "Don't do anything reckless! I am a squad leader personally appointed by the Captain! If you kill me, you will also be subject to military law!"
Upon seeing this, the villagers of Songshan kowtowed one after another, pleading, "Please, Section Chief, do us justice!"
Lu Tu said, enunciating each word clearly, "The country sent you to be a soldier to protect the country, not to bully and oppress the people. Today, I will act on behalf of Heaven and kill you, you beast!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a cold light flashed before everyone's eyes, and a thin line of blood spurted from Li Da's neck. He clutched his neck and retreated in terror into the crowd of Songshan people.
I don't know who shouted first, "You killed my wife! I'm going to kill you, you bastard!"
A figure pounced on Li Da, ignoring the leather armor protecting him, and bit down hard on Li Da's flesh.
Seeing this, the other villagers were not about to let go of such a good opportunity for reward, and they all rushed over and began to tear and bite wildly.
Li Da, who had committed evil deeds all his life, was now submerged among a group of people he usually looked down upon. He was in excruciating pain all over his body, but he couldn't even make a sound. He just endured the pain until his flesh and blood were torn off.
Despite his bloodshot eyes and the constant flow of tears, young Nie Yun remained kneeling on one knee.
Lu Tu stepped forward and patted his head: "Go on, go vent your frustrations."
Nie Yun stubbornly turned his head away from Li Da and respectfully kowtowed three times to Lü Tu: "Although my father died indirectly because of Li Da, my true father-killer is the Wuhuan people! Nie Yun begs the squad leader to allow me to join the army and follow you to avenge my father's death!"
Seeing his clear eyes and firm will, Lü Tu was moved by his emotions and laughed loudly, "Good! You are loyal and filial, a true man! From now on, you will follow me and kill the Wuhuan people together!"
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