Changning's Imperial Army Chapter 10

The reed marshland did not smell good at all; the river water was flowing slowly along the narrow water channels. If one were to walk farther down, the smell of stagnant water was even more unbearable. Nonetheless, the fishermen were already used to the bad fishy odor and hence, they did not mind it.

Children, who were baring their bottoms, flopped about in the water for quite some time before their mothers dragged them home by their ears, berating them at the top of their lungs. This however made Shen Leng envious.

He was holding a reed above his head, using it as a camouflage, while squatting within the reed marshland and trying to observe from afar. He had been fiddling with the scabbard in his hand for quite a while; his hand was very sweaty.

“Scared?” asked Shen Cha Yan in a low voice. She was squatting next to him.

The water bandits' camp was right across from the reed marshland. There were approximately a few hundred people in total, including all men, women, young and old. When Shen Leng got here, he initially thought that there were only seventy to eighty over water bandits, who had a total disregard for human lives. He did not expect the wives, kids and elders to be present as well……

Naturally, the wives, elders and children knew what the head of their family was doing for a living. However, they were already used to it, and did not think that it was a vile crime.

“I'm not scared.”

Shen Leng shook his head. “There are too many people.”

If it was a group of water bandits, Shen Leng would not hesitate. However, there were women and children. What could he do? Was he supposed to kill those men before their eyes?

“Do you think that there are different levels of wickedness?” asked Shen Cha Yan abruptly.

Shen Leng was stumped for words for a brief moment, before saying, “What do you mean?”

“Did you think that these women do not know what their husbands are doing? Did you think that these elders do not know what their sons are doing? Not only do they know, they are enjoying the tainted money their husbands and sons looted from murdering others. Do you think they are pitiful and innocent?”

Shen Leng nodded and said, “Then let me go first. You back me up.”

Shen Cha Yan grunted in approval. “Did you take everything with you?”

Shen Leng checked the items on his body. He had a standard issue knife used by the Great Ning Military Forces tied to his back, which Mr. Shen got for him. He did not know how Mr. Shen managed to get hold of such an item.

On the left side of his waist was a long whip that was coiled up. At the end of the whip was a string of copper coins with a rim that had been sharpened. On the right side of his waist, was a repeating crossbow – similarly, it was one of the standard issue weapons used by the Great Ning Military Force. These were items that were not easy to get hold of.

The boots fitted his feet perfectly; his pants were tucked into his boots. He had adjusted his clothes and ensured that his movements would not be hindered.

Most importantly, the scabbard was in his hand.

Seeing him holding on to the scabbard, Shen Cha Yan started to get furious. “Scabbard Hero, are you planning to use that thing to knock them out? We are not picking a fight – we are killing them. To think you're using a scabbard……”

Shen Leng smiled and said, “For close quarter combats, shorter weapons are more effective.”

“Then why don't you use a dagger instead?”

“Meng Chang'an took it, remember?”

“Can't you use something else to replace it!”

“No.”

After Shen Leng said that, he pulled up the black cloth around his neck. He hunched forward, akin to a cheetah who had just discovered his prey, and charged out. He moved at such a fast speed that Shen Cha Yan was slightly in awe. After that, she thought about how she was the person who nurtured and trained his explosive power, and hence, she was pleased with herself.

On the dry land deep within the reed marshland, the water bandits had already set up their camp. Even though the houses were built simply and crudely with wooden planks, the structure was decent – there were fences and a watchtower; at the area where the shallow waters were, they had even placed two rows of antlers. If the pier was severed, the ships would be unable to reach the sh.o.r.e.

Shen Leng went under water and made his way over; it was impossible for the water bandits in the watchtower and on the pier to see him.

Very soon, he had gotten close. At this moment, Shen Leng's ankle started to tense up, to the point that his body started sinking abruptly. Thereafter, he saw a pair of hands aiming for his neck.

There was actually someone under water!

This group of water bandits had been badly destroyed by the Jiangnan Weaving Repository's Navy forces, such that they panicked at the slightest movement. Hence, their camp was heavily-guarded. Shen Leng did not expect there to be anyone guarding under water, and was dragged down into the water at one go.

Naturally, everything happened spontaneously.

When Shen Leng saw that a pair of hands was about to strangle him, he lowered his head and charged forward through the water bandit's underarm, and appeared behind him. Thereafter, he grabbed the scabbard with both hands and held it over the bandit's neck from behind, pulling it towards him with all his might. At the same time, his bent his legs and pushed upwards, pressing his knee against that person's back.

Bubbles appeared within the water in succession. The water bandit, who happened to be a skilled swimmer, could not hold longer than twenty breaths and his entire body went soft. Shen Leng did not use his knife, as blood in the water would catch the other bandits' attention.

To Shen Leng, this was a long process, even though it had only been two minutes in total.

The water bandit's body lost its warmth; his limbs became relaxed. He was already dead.

Shen Leng felt really cold. Earlier on when he was on his way there, as well as yesterday when Mr. Shen told them to break the commandment against killing, he had been wondering about how that would feel. After he had killed his first water bandit, he realized that what he had imagined before was nothing compared to reality.

Cold. All he felt was that he was very cold, to the extent that Shen Leng started shivering uncontrollably under water.

Within the reed marshland at a distance away, Shen Cha Yan was squatting down holding up field gla.s.ses, trying to observe what was going on. Her hands were also trembling.

She could not see. If she had seen everything, her hands would be trembling even more.

After Shen Leng killed the bandit, his mind went blank for at least thirty seconds. After thirty seconds, he saw the corpse floating upwards and immediately snapped out of it and pulled the body back down. Thereafter, he used the belt on the body to tie it to a wooden pile beneath the pier, preventing it from surfacing.

Beneath the pier, Shen Leng popped his head up above the water to inhale some air. He tried to listen carefully to the footsteps and a.n.a.lyzed that there were three people pacing back and forth on the pier. He went back under water and swam for about a hundred meters before he popped his head up on one side of the camp. He had observed earlier that this was the least guarded area of the camp.

He climbed onto the sh.o.r.e from the back of the row of wooden houses. Subconsciously, Shen Leng frowned. It was a row of latrine……

He even went around them to the front to take a closer look. He realized that they did not specify male or female on the doors. Hence, he was slightly disappointed at their degree of culturedness.

He went into one of the doors first, leaned behind it and waited. He also took the opportunity to adjust his breathing, although doing that in a place proved to be challenging.

Shen Cha Yan looked through her field gla.s.ses once more and saw Shen Leng entering the row of crude-looking wooden houses. She could tell that they were latrines. She could not help but wonder: Did that fella take a p.i.s.s to pray to the G.o.ds and ghosts right before a battle?

Finally, Shen Leng heard footsteps. A muscular man, who was half a head shorter than Shen Leng, walked in. Before he had even entered, his pants were already halfway down. Shen Leng found him irksome and decided to give him a kick.

Cursing at people would not expose their shortcomings; hit people, but not their……dammit.

That kick was enough to make the man groan in pain. After Shen Leng covered his mouth, the sounds he made became a lot more m.u.f.fled. Shen Leng held him down against the ground, pushing his head down, and held the scabbard against his face, “Fess up, or else you shall experience the pain inflicted by my scabbard!”

The water bandit was in pain, but at the same time he was somewhat surprised.

“A scabbard?”

Shen Leng did not answer him. He covered his mouth and used the rough side of the scabbard, that was similar to fish scales, to cut his shoulder. Piece by piece, his skin got sc.r.a.ped off. The man was in so much pain that he started struggling immediately.

Shen Leng said in a low voice, “Tell me where your first-in-command is. If not, I will kill you.”

The man nodded with all his might. The moment Shen Leng released his hand, he wanted to scream again. Hence, Shen Leng covered it immediately and rubbed the scabbard against that fella's face……it sliced his face so deep to the point his bones could be seen. One could well imagine how painful that would be.

“I have already given you a chance. Make full use of it.”

Shen Leng released his hand slightly, “Where is your first-in-command?”

“In the row of houses behind, the one that is on its own belongs to him. It is not connected to the other houses, so you can tell with just one look. Brave man……please don't kill me.”

“I'm not a brave man, I'm a despicable man. Only women and despicable men are hard to deal with……bah, why am I saying this to you.”

Shen Leng realized what he said was not suited for the moment – it made him seem less intimidating. After he hesitated for a moment, he took out his soft whip and coiled it around that fella's neck before tightening it abruptly. This time, his hands were not trembling.

“If one day I become strong and powerful, I will kill all the water bandits in this world.”

Shen Leng had always wanted to say that in front of a water bandit.

“Now I have.”

After Shen Leng stangled that fella to death, he pushed it aside and casually covered it. Thereafter, he hunched over and went out of the latrine. He ran towards the houses at the back, not forgetting to wave his thumb in the direction of where Shen Cha Yan was.

Shen Cha Yan, who was observing what happened, laughed out loud. She did not notice that there were two bandits, holding a knife, behind her, drawing closer and closer to her as they tiptoed.

When Shen Leng went to the row of houses at the back, he immediately realized that he had walked into a trap……it was a training ground filled with people.

The ruthlessness and ferocity of the water bandits could clearly be seen here.

“Who's there!”

Within the group of people, who were brandishing their swords and spears, one of them saw Shen Leng and immediately yelled. There were more than ten strong and muscular water bandits present and they immediately shifted their gaze to him. Shen Leng, who was hunching down, straightened his back. His shoulders leaned against the wall, as he waved his hand.

“Hi everyone.”

“What the h.e.l.l are you trying to do!”

One of them held a knife and charged towards Shen Leng. He exuded a fierce and violent aura.

Shen Leng sighed and thought to himself: There's no way I can a.s.sa.s.sinate now. I still lack experience – how did I not suspect that the water bandit was lying to me?

“I am……Scabbard Hero,” answered Shen Leng.

Thereafter, he suddenly charged forward. As he charged forward, he stomped the ground with a strong explosive power, causing the sandy soil to bounce up into the air.

Pff! The front end of the scabbard jabbed into that man's throat. Naturally, the scabbard was not sharp, but because he had used too much strength, he managed to rupture his throat. That person groaned for a brief moment before he fell to the ground.

“Kill him!” yelled one of the people from the back. More than ten of them charged towards Shen Leng at the same time.

Shen Leng tilted his head and dodged an attack. The scabbard stabbed the water bandit's throat with such precision. It was the exact same technique he used to kill off the other bandit just a moment ago. His enemy had no way of dodging his attacks because Shen Leng was way too fast and strong.

One attack came after another. Shen Leng's legs were agile – he could dodge and attack swiftly. One by one, they collapsed to the ground.

In just a brief period of time, the four water bandits that tried to attack him were defeated. The fallen men had the same reactions – both their hands were covering their neck as blood flowed out of their mouth.

“What happened!”

A man opened the door and walked out. He was very tall, and had a scar on his face. There was a strong air of viciousness to him.

The moment Shen Leng saw him, he could recognize that he was the second-in-command of the group of bandits, who had kidnapped Mr. Shen three years ago. He had only caught a glimpse of him back then, but he had never forgotten how he looked.

“Eradicating evil from the root. Mr. Shen had taught well, but had not done enough.”

After Shen Leng muttered some words to himself, he charged forward once again.

Back then, he was like a calf that was unaware of the danger in the world when he plunged into the river to save Mr. Shen. He was trying to save a person then. Today, he was like a cheetah, who had learned how to hunt and kill. He only came here to kill.