Chapter 135: Spreading the News (Happy New Year)

For Liang Jing, he had by now come to understand Commander Zhang's character and disposition to a certain extent, so he did not care much about the other man's words. He did not deny at all that his own actions over the past two days had indeed been somewhat excessive.

However, if he were expected to stop right here, or worse, to surrender without a fight as before, that was simply something he could not do. Compared to himself and his loved ones, what did anyone else matter? What did they have to do with him? Besides, even if he were to sacrifice his own life and the lives of those closest to him, would that somehow dramatically strengthen the entire human nation and its factions? Relying on people like these? Forget it. With their continued existence, there was no telling how many more people would fall victim to them in the future, resulting in losses far greater than those caused by his own hands.

Most importantly, Liang Jing was not nearly that magnanimous; in fact, he was quite selfish. Such a foolish decision and such a moronic action were things only a "saint" could pull off. Having his brothers and friends killed, throwing away his own life, and watching his women violated—he truly could not fathom who could possibly possess such vast magnanimity and be such a "saint."

Therefore, making Liang Jing halt was out of the question. He felt not a shred of guilt for killing these people, believing they all deserved to die. Even if there might have been some truly innocent private soldiers among them who wanted to take his life, and despite the fact that he had already shouted out warnings beforehand, they had still attacked him without reason. Even if they genuinely were innocent and good people, Liang Jing would not have stayed his hand.

He understood only one simple principle: those who were good to him were good people, and those who were bad to him were bad people.

Consequently, anyone who intended to do him harm and take his life would simply have to pay with their lives.

Of course, he could brush off Commander Zhang's remarks because he sensed that the man was a pure soldier, distinctly different from Political Commissar Gong. Yet, he held no warm feelings for Commander Zhang either; the man spoke too abruptly and too harshly. While he could choose to ignore it, he certainly wouldn't enjoy it, and if there ever came a point when he could no longer tolerate it, he would strike down decisively. A sharp tongue coupled with a good intention was still thoroughly grating, and running into someone petty-minded enough could easily invite disaster. It was clear that such a person would not be very well-liked.

"No! Liang Jing, you can't kill me! I can be your underling, I'll do anything, be a beast of burden..."

"I was wrong! Give me a chance to turn over a new leaf, spare my life!" One had to admit that when faced with death, very few people could march heroically to their doom, especially those "noble folks" accustomed to luxury. They would often resort to behaviors that seemed utterly bizarre compared to their usual demeanor.

Take, for instance, Boss Jiu, the leader of the Nine Heavens Alliance. At this moment, looking at Commander Zhang with a bulging, reddened neck, he suppressed his anger and turned his head away, ignoring the scene. The leaders of other factions stood off to the side, watching the spectacle as mere bystanders. Facing Liang Jing, they didn't even harbor the thought of fighting back, let alone the ability to do so. Liang Jing's fearsome reputation had over the past two days been thoroughly and deeply etched into the minds of countless people—including him!

"Liang Jing! Don't go too far! At worst, we'll fight you to the death! Even if we die, we'll tear a chunk of flesh out of you!" Just then, a tall, thin man from the Azure Mountains shouted loudly.

Liang Jing turned his head to look and saw two other men standing beside the tall, thin man. All three had taken part in the hunt to surround and capture him, and they had already realized that Liang Jing had not the slightest intention of letting them go. Cornered in a desperate situation, they had somehow banded together at the last moment to pressure Liang Jing in a bid for survival.

"Liang Jing, don't be so arrogant and tyrannical, killing whoever you please! Do you still have a shred of humanity left in you? You—"

"Good! Not bad, I admire you. At least you aren't spineless like those cowards before. I'll grant you a quick and painless death." Liang Jing cut short his rhetoric. For someone like this who was skilled in malicious slander and insidious venom, Liang Jing had no desire to give him a chance.

Hum—!

[Mental Blade Wave]!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Pale gray mental ripples instantly materialized in the brains of the three men. Following closely, with both hands moving in tandem, Liang Jing executed [Violent Throw], hurling four half-pound, ping-pong-ball-sized steel spheres directly into the heads of the four men, including the aforementioned Boss Jiu.

Without even glancing at the reactions of the crowd—thanks to the mini-map monitoring, he could track the stance and status of everyone present at any moment—Liang Jing gathered up the loot and walked away without looking back, completely ignoring Commander Zhang and his two companions who seemed to have business with him.

Swish, murmur—!

Seeing Liang Jing depart, the hall instantly regained its vitality. A chorus of chaotic murmurs erupted, lifting the oppressively heavy atmosphere. Surveying the carnage inside the hall, everyone wore deeply grim expressions as they hurriedly fled the place one after another, rushing out like refugees. The memories this room held for them were far too cruel and brutal.

"Boss Liang!" Just as he stepped out the doorway, Wu Yong came running from a corner. While calling out, he peered anxiously inside. He had been waiting outside in concealment the entire time and was still not quite clear on what had transpired within.

"Stop looking. Everyone inside who was involved has been dealt with. Now only their subordinates are left!" Liang Jing's tone carried a hint of absolute ruthlessness by the end. Since the ringleaders had all been slaughtered, he might as well make a clean sweep of it; only through such thoroughness could the desired effect be achieved.

After all, if he only executed the primary culprits while letting their underlings who participated in the plot against him go free, then future lackeys plotting against him would feel no pressure whatsoever! That was not something Liang Jing wanted to see.

"Ugh—!" Wu Yong choked on Liang Jing's words. Though he had mentally prepared himself, knowing that Liang Jing was practically a butcher and a god of slaughter, he hadn't expected him to wipe out everyone involved—including Political Commissar Gong, who had already bled to death—and now still refuse to let the underlings off the hook.

"Fine. But there are still quite a few of those people, and I don't recognize all of them. Besides, with just the two of us, it's going to be a bit troublesome." Wu Yong looked somewhat depressed. Liang Jing had far too few men under his command, and this time there were only the two of them here.

Gasp—!

The crowd that had just fled the scene was blocked at the exit by Liang Jing, but none dared to voice any complaints. Upon hearing that Liang Jing intended to exterminate the underlings as well, they all drew in sharp breaths. This man was truly a god of slaughter, a rarity through the ages. Just what kind of a freakish existence could forge such a person, and with such terrifying strength?

Filled with immense terror, they silently resolved never to provoke him and to stay as far away as possible, lest he suddenly find them displeasing to the eye and casually take care of them.

...

"Um, Boss Liang, do you need... uh, is there anything you need done? I can work for you, no need for an elder like you to dirty your hands. Yes, leave these trivial matters to me. Though Old Six isn't much good for anything else, handling a few minor chores is well within my wheelhouse." Just then, a man in his twenties, about one meter seven tall, as thin as a monkey, with a fair complexion but a somewhat leering expression, walked out from the crowd. He approached with a ingratiating smile plastered across his face.

"Hmm?" Liang Jing glanced at the leering man before him. Short in stature, fair-skinned and with delicate eyebrows—not bad-looking, really—but reeking of an unshakeable air of lewdness that completely ruined his facial features. Overall, he looked rather like a pimp.

"Ah—! Boss Liang, I just meant I can help you for free, no need to trouble yourself. Old Six is practiced at handling these petty affairs, I didn't mean anything else." Feeling the weight of Liang Jing's gaze, Old Six grew somewhat uncomfortable. Good heavens, he had genuinely just wanted to suck up a bit. Hearing that the other party was planning to deal with the underlings of those factions—which might be slightly inconvenient—he hadn't thought much before stepping forward to curry favor.

"Good! You don't need to do much. Just send people into the crowd to spread a message, and there will be benefits for you when the time comes." A light flickered in Liang Jing's eyes. This man had remained largely unchanged amidst the crowd earlier, showing up as a neutral yellow dot on the mini-map, but now he was showing signs of turning green and drawing closer.

"Yes, yes! I don't know what message Boss Liang wants spread? Old Six is most adept at these trivialities, just name it." Old Six's fair and wretched face beamed with joy as he hurriedly replied.

"Just have people spread this word through the crowd: I, Liang Jing, am recruiting men. The condition is to kill a subordinate of Leopard Brother, the Nine Heavens Alliance, or... and bring back their heads to present to me. Tomorrow morning I will collect them in the square; first come, first served, and we stop once quotas are full."

"Oh, and tomorrow you bring some people to join Wu Yong in verifying the heads to make sure they match." As for recruitment benefits and the like, Liang Jing didn't mention a single word.

"Um, Boss Liang, should the recruitment requirement specify males? Otherwise..." Wu Yong chimed in from the side.

"Right, only males under forty. Otherwise, some real problems might crop up later." Aside from the large demographic of adult males, the combined total of elderly people, children, and women in the crowd was equally significant. What Liang Jing needed right now were combat-capable men; he couldn't afford any blunders, lest accepting the wrong people ruin his reputation.

By now, very few people in the crowd didn't know who Liang Jing was, and they also knew that to avenge one of his subordinates, he had brazenly stood against Young Master Tu, Political Commissar Gong, and numerous major factions—and by tomorrow, they would all know that he had completely annihilated them.

Liang Jing cared not a whit about what impact his omission of benefits might have on others.

"Yes, yes, Boss Liang, I'll go handle it right away for you." Old Six nodded eagerly, and amidst the envious, jealous, and resentful gazes of everyone else, he briskly scurried off to get the job done.

In that instant, the leaders of the other factions felt a wave of internal grief and self-reproach. Why had they reacted so slowly? This was a prime opportunity to cozy up to Liang Jing! Even if they didn't ask for any rewards, forging a friendly connection would ensure Liang Jing wouldn't deliberately make things difficult for them in the future.

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Chapter Two!

Happy New Year, wishing everyone the best. Please bestow some rewards—collections, red recommendation tickets, begging for everything...

Wishing everyone good health, auspicious luck, and well, great fortune...