As soon as the mutton was ready, everyone gathered immediately.
“Dig in!” Chen Tong licked his lips. Recently, the Magistrate Offices of Luliang County and Jinchuan County had joined forces to target them, making it difficult for the members of Green Dragon Stronghold to act recklessly. Otherwise, he would’ve already led his men out to plunder. Now, looking at the massive pot of mutton, even as the leader, it was hard for him to remain calm.
“Time to eat!” Wu He saw everyone devouring the food and quickly reported back to Lu Qing.
“Alright,” Lu Qing nodded. “Everyone, check your repeating crossbows carefully. Once we rush in, whether they’re dead or not, finish them off. We can’t afford any survivors.”
Lu Qing reminded everyone.
“Understood,” Tian Erwang and the others nodded seriously.
Then, Lu Qing and his team slowly approached Green Dragon Stronghold.
Soon, the large pot of mutton was completely devoured, not even a drop of soup was left. Everyone had been without meat for far too long. At this moment, that pot of mutton was a delicacy to them.
“So satisfying!” Xing Dagou grinned.
But in the next second, his expression twisted.
“What’s going on? Why are there bubbles all around me?”
“Same here!”
“Beautiful lady!”
“Oh no, I’m drowning! Help!”
One by one, they began muttering nonsense.
“I’m the Big Boss of Green Dragon Stronghold! Chen Tong, kneel before me!” Someone was already hallucinating, thinking he was the leader of the stronghold.
In an instant, chaos broke out within Green Dragon Stronghold. Soon after, everyone collapsed to the ground.
“Charge!” Lu Qing and his team rushed in. Seeing the mountain bandits on the ground, Lu Qing didn’t hesitate. He fired a bolt that pierced straight through one of their foreheads.
“What the…?” Tieniu shivered all over. He hadn’t expected they’d actually kill someone.
“They’re all mountain bandits. We must not show mercy. This is war—showing kindness to the enemy is cruelty to ourselves,” Lu Qing sternly reminded everyone.
Now was not the time for soft-heartedness. Lu Qing wasn’t a saint or a righteous man. As long as they were enemies, he didn’t care if they could fight back—kill first, no questions asked.
Villains die because they talk too much. Heroes die from foolishness—talking about not killing the unarmed usually ends in being ambushed, only surviving due to plot armor. But Lu Qing didn’t think he had any protagonist aura. This wasn’t a TV show.
“Lu Qing is right,” Wu Facai agreed and joined the fight. When dealing with enemies, one must be ruthless.
With Lu Qing and Wu Facai taking the lead, everyone else hesitated no more and began executing the bandits.
Lu Qing walked up to Chen Tong. He was still somewhat conscious. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“You?”
“Green Dragon Stronghold? What a name—it screams ‘side quest for experience grinding,'” Lu Qing stepped on Chen Tong’s chest and finished him with a bolt.
Half an hour later, Lu Qing and his group had swept through Green Dragon Stronghold. After confirming there were no remaining threats, they finally relaxed.
“Wu Hai!” Lu Qing called.
“Here!” Wu Hai responded.
“You and Tian Erwang, Tieniu—immediately contact the Magistrate Office in Luliang County. Tell them we’ve eliminated Green Dragon Stronghold and request they come for inspection.”
“Understood!” Wu Hai dared not delay and quickly headed out.
“Let’s move the bodies aside!” Lu Qing gave another order.
…
Magistrate Office, Luliang County.
“What? You’ve eliminated Green Dragon Stronghold?” The constable looked at Wu Hai and the others in shock.
“That’s right.”
“Stop joking. That place even our Luliang and Jinchuan Magistrate Offices couldn’t handle, and you’re telling me you did?”
Clearly, the constable didn’t believe them.
“It’s true! It was all Lu Qing’s plan. Following his strategy, we wiped out Green Dragon Stronghold easily. Our people are still at the site, waiting for you to come,” Tian Erwang explained seriously.
“Do you know the penalty for deceiving the Magistrate Office?”
“We’re telling the truth,” Tieniu said, speechless. Why wouldn’t they believe them?
Well, maybe it wasn’t that the constables didn’t believe them—it was just that the story was too unbelievable.
“Aren’t you from Manglong Village?” At that moment, the head constable came out and paused when he saw the three.
Not because they had any past connections, but because he remembered them from the last time they brought in Qian Mang’s corpse.
“Yes, yes! We’re from Manglong Village. Sir, we’ve wiped out Green Dragon Stronghold. Please, come quickly with your men.”
“What?” The head constable looked at Wu Hai in shock.
“Is this for real?”
“Of course it’s real. Why would we joke about something like this?” Wu Hai had no idea how else to prove it. He’d already explained several times.
“Notify everyone. We’re heading to Green Dragon Stronghold.”
“You really believe them?” a constable asked in disbelief.
“They were the ones who killed Qian Mang last time. I think it’s possible,” the head constable replied seriously.
Two hours later, Wu Hai and the others led the officers from Luliang County to Green Dragon Stronghold. As they approached, the officers wore grave expressions. But once they entered, they were dumbfounded.
They weren’t lying.
Corpses littered the ground.
“Check!” the head constable ordered an inspection of the bodies.
“It’s Chen Tong! And Xing Dagou!” someone shouted.
The head constable stepped forward and looked carefully. It really was Chen Tong, the Big Boss, and Xing Dagou, the Third Boss. He looked at Lu Qing and the others, stunned.
Just a few of them had taken down Green Dragon Stronghold. How?
“You few actually dared to attack Green Dragon Stronghold? I don’t know whether you’re extremely skilled or just utterly fearless,” the head constable said, breaking out in cold sweat.
“Just lucky,” Lu Qing smiled.
“If Qian Mang was luck, then this definitely wasn’t. My name is Cao Song, head constable of Luliang County,” he introduced himself.
To kill Qian Mang and wipe out Green Dragon Stronghold—such people had to be befriended.
“Lu Qing.”
“You’re Lu Qing?” Cao Song looked at him, surprised that someone so refined-looking was the mastermind.
“You know me, Sir?”
“I don’t, but on the way here, I heard all about you from your fellow villagers. Your name is well known,” Cao Song smiled.
On the road, he had asked Wu Hai and the others for the details. Everything had revolved around Lu Qing—from buying the sheep, collecting mushrooms, making the repeating crossbows, pretending to be robbed, to finally raiding the stronghold.
Every part of the plan was tightly woven, leaving no room for survival. The bandits were doomed from the start.
“You’re too kind. Just a few insignificant tricks,” Lu Qing said humbly.
“All bodies accounted for—fifty-three, all eliminated!”
“Good. Take all their heads back. Bury the bodies here. I’ll report your accomplishment to the magistrate,” Cao Song ordered and reassured Lu Qing and his team.
“Thank you, Sir!”