"Who's killing the captives? Do you have a death wish?"
A voice rang out from the Great Qian soldiers, and soon Centurion Liu squeezed through the crowd.
"Who's killing the captives?" Centurion Liu asked coldly, sweeping his gaze around.
In the next second, everyone's eyes turned to Li Dao.
"What's your name?" Centurion Liu looked at Li Dao.
Li Dao casually tossed aside the knife in his hand and said calmly, "9527."
9527?
Centurion Liu was taken aback, then suddenly raised his head sharply, "You're from the Death Row Camp?"
Hearing the words "Death Row Camp," everyone present, including the Northern Barbarian soldiers, was stunned.
Li Dao did not deny his identity as a death row prisoner, as such things couldn't withstand investigation, so he nodded in acknowledgment.
Hiss!
Seeing Li Dao admit it, everyone took a sharp breath.
Most of the death row prisoners they had seen on the battlefield were sent to die, or they hid in deserted places trembling with fear.
But this death row prisoner, fighting on the front lines with dual blades and surviving, was something many people were seeing for the first time.
It was rarer than a national treasure.
Centurion Liu calmed himself and asked, "Why did you kill the captives?"
Li Dao: "My hand slipped."
Centurion Liu: "Your hand slipped twice?"
Li Dao: "The first time it was my left hand, the second time it was my right hand, not the same."
Centurion Liu: "???"
Northern Barbarian soldiers: "******"
With a swoosh!
A long knife suddenly sprang up from the ground, piercing through a Northern Barbarian soldier who had been cursing the loudest.
In an instant, the entire scene fell silent again.
Centurion Liu's face turned red with anger, "9527, what do you have to say for yourself this time?"
Li Dao: "Sorry, this time it was my left foot that slipped."
Centurion Liu was so angry he laughed, "So is your right foot going to slip next?"
Li Dao shrugged, "Who knows."
The Northern Barbarian soldiers were silenced, beaten into submission by a death row prisoner, surrendered only to be killed, and now they were being threatened, truly without any rights.
Seeing Li Dao's nonchalant attitude, Centurion Liu's anger instantly vanished.
After all, what could you argue with a death row prisoner?
Military punishment?
Death row prisoners weren't soldiers.
Kill him?
He was already a condemned prisoner, wasn't he?
Besides, if he had killed him secretly before, it would have been done, but now how could Centurion Liu make a move?
This night raid's success was largely due to 9527's contribution.
Moreover, the more formidable the death row prisoners, the more they could contribute on the battlefield, reducing casualties among his soldiers.
Thus, he was even more reluctant to kill him.
In the end, Centurion Liu could only handle it simply, with minor punishment.
Little did he know, Li Dao dared to kill captives recklessly because he thought the same way.
In Li Dao's view, he was already a death row prisoner, what was there to fear?
Could they sentence him to death again?
"9527, because you killed captives this time, you won't get any merit for this battle."
"What about the merit for killing enemies?"
"Killing enemies? How many did you kill?"
Li Dao didn't speak, instead, he pulled out a blood-stained cloth bag from his chest. When he opened it, it was full of Northern Barbarian soldiers' left ears.
After roughly counting, he said, "Eighteen in total."
"Counting the three on the ground, that's twenty-one."
Centurion Liu looked at the three dead captives on the ground, his face darkened, "Those three don't count."
If killing captives counted as killing enemies, then Li Dao wouldn't be the only one doing it.
Li Dao didn't argue, saying calmly, "Then it's eighteen."
Anyway, he had already gained the attributes, so the ears didn't matter.
However, even these eighteen shocked all the Great Qian soldiers present.
Great Qian and the Northern Barbarians had been fighting for over a hundred years, with victories and losses on both sides, and the casualty ratio generally remained at about one to one point something.
That is to say, the life of a Great Qian soldier could only exchange for the life of one Northern Barbarian soldier.
Today was a night raid, so this ratio might not apply, but at most, it would be one to two, where one Great Qian soldier could exchange for two Northern Barbarian soldiers.
But this 9527 had killed eighteen Northern Barbarian soldiers single-handedly.
This was more than most of the regular Great Qian soldiers could claim in their lifetimes.
Centurion Liu hadn't expected him to kill eighteen Northern Barbarian soldiers.
Looking at the ears handed over, Centurion Liu took a deep breath before speaking, "As punishment for killing captives, your basic merit for this mission is waived. If it happens again, your merit for killing enemies will also be waived."
Hearing this, Li Dao smiled, "Thank you, Centurion."
Having experienced the benefits of attribute points, he wasn't too concerned about merit anymore.
As long as he became stronger, merit would come easily.
Centurion Liu snorted coldly, "I don't know why you ended up in the Death Row Camp, but if you have the skills, cherish them, don't be too arrogant, and don't have any other thoughts."
"Understood."
Li Dao knew what Centurion Liu was implying.
He was warning him not to think of escaping just because he had some martial skills.
In fact, Li Dao knew that if he had wanted to escape before, he could have.
But then what?
When you enter the Death Row Camp, your past is erased, meaning you become a ghost in the system.
And a ghost is rejected and targeted wherever they go, and if caught by the authorities, they might even be treated as a fugitive.
Even if he escaped the Great Qian Dynasty and entered another dynasty, it would be the same.
In this world, having no identity was like having no ID in his past life.
If no one checked, it was fine, but if someone did, he wouldn't be able to move an inch.
So, Li Dao never considered such a thing.
He wanted to fight his way out of the Death Row Camp openly and earn a new identity.
And the main reason for doing so was that he still had family in this life.
To return, he needed a clean identity.
......
The Northern Barbarian soldiers had surrendered, and the next step was to clean up the battlefield.
Usually, after a battle, the death row prisoners would be locked up separately, as they still needed to be taken back.
Perhaps because Li Dao's performance had been too outstanding, saving many Great Qian soldiers, no one mentioned this.
Moreover, after tallying, everyone found that of the twenty death row prisoners brought along, only 9527 survived, so no one said anything.
Li Dao glanced around and walked to a campfire.
On the fire, a leg of lamb was roasting.
He didn't hesitate, picking up the leg of lamb and biting into it, eating ravenously.
Taking a bite, savoring the long-lost taste, Li Dao exhaled deeply.
While eating the leg of lamb, Li Dao silently thought, "Status Panel."
In the next second, the panel popped up in front of him.
[Owner: Li Dao]
[Physique: 3.16]
[Available Attribute Points: 1.24]
After the initial slaughter, his physique had reached more than three times that of an ordinary person.
Later, because the fighting was too intense, he hadn't had time to add attributes, accumulating many points.
As he ate the leg of lamb, he silently added all the attributes to his physique.
In an instant, a warm current surged within him.
Perhaps the body strengthening brought some pressure, as a stronger hunger emerged.
With a crunch!
Li Dao bit down, tearing off the roasted lamb meat along with the bone inside.
With a physique three times that of a normal person, his teeth were exceptionally strong, and he chewed and swallowed the bone along with the meat.
After a dozen breaths.
The warm current subsided, and Li Dao's physical strength rose to a new level.
[Owner: Li Dao]
[Physique: 4.40]
[Available Attribute Points: 0]
A physique more than four times that of an ordinary person.
Li Dao felt that even with the initial Tetanus Blade, he could now cut a person in half with one strike.
If he had this strength before, he wouldn't have been so cautious initially and could have charged into the Northern Barbarian soldiers, slaughtering them freely.
After all, a physique four times that of an ordinary person was comprehensive.
Four times the strength, four times the stamina, four times the recovery, and speed and reflexes beyond ordinary people.
(P.S.: In reality, speed and reflexes wouldn't multiply with physique but would increase gradually.)
Taking one aspect alone might not be overwhelmingly intimidating.
But when all these were combined, the effect would be terrifying.
With four times the strength, even an iron rod could become an unstoppable weapon.
With four times the stamina, he was almost a perpetual motion machine, able to swing a blade all night without tiring.
With transcendent speed, every strike was lethal, and no ordinary soldier could evade his attacks.
With transcendent reflexes, ordinary people's movements appeared in slow motion, allowing him to react quickly and counterattack in time.
Especially on an ancient cold weapon battlefield, his combat power would be infinitely magnified.
And this was just the beginning.
After all, it had only been a week since he got the system, and he had only experienced one slaughter.
As he developed further, his strength would snowball, growing larger and larger.
The battlefield was quickly cleaned up, as it was just a small Northern Barbarian squad with no significant supplies.
Meanwhile, Li Dao had eaten and drunk to his heart's content.
Although the taste wasn't as complex as the barbecues from his past life, compared to the food in the Death Row Camp, this roast meat was a delicacy.
"9527!"
Suddenly, a voice came to his ear.
Turning around, he saw Centurion Liu standing beside him, holding the reins of a chestnut horse.
"Can you ride?"
Centurion Liu patted the horse and asked.
"I can."
How could Li Dao not know how to ride?
When he inherited the Count's title, a 3rd-Class Military Merit Title, there were people specifically testing his riding and archery skills.
Even if he passed by greasing palms and pulling strings, he still knew basic riding.
Hearing this, Centurion Liu nodded, "Then ride with us back."
"One last reminder, with your skills, it's not impossible to walk out of the Death Row Camp openly, don't make the wrong decision."
"Understood."
......
Since they had walked under the cover of night on the way there, returning on horseback was much faster, and soon Li Dao followed Centurion Liu's troops back to Long Valley Town.
This was where the army was stationed at the border.
"Put these on."
As soon as Li Dao dismounted, Centurion Liu approached him, handing over a set of shackles.
Seeing this familiar equipment, Li Dao calmly took it and put it on himself.
Before, these were shackles that bound him, but now, they were merely a temporary measure, something he would discard sooner or later.
Not long after, Li Dao was back in the familiar place.
The Death Row Camp cell.
As soon as he opened the door, the prisoners inside were stunned to see Li Dao.
They hadn't expected him to return alive.
Seeing him return alone, the prisoners were even more convinced that he was not to be trifled with.
Li Dao paid no attention to their reactions, choosing a corner to sit down.
After the previous intense battle, now that the excitement had faded, he was left with only fatigue.
In a daze, he fell asleep.
This time, there was no wooden spike in his hand.
Because he had gained a power far stronger than a wooden spike.
As for whether anyone would attack him, he wasn't worried.
With a physique four times that of a normal person, he had a heightened sense of awareness, able to detect anyone approaching him.
Naturally, he had no concerns about this.