Ten miles outside of Qi City.

Due to its location near a plain with lush grassy slopes, there was a pastoral village.

The villagers herded and tended to a large number of cattle and sheep, working from sunrise to sunset.

The transition from spring to summer, with its burgeoning greenery, was supposed to be the busiest time of the year for the herders.

However, last night's disaster struck without warning, shattering the harmonious lives of the villagers in an instant.

The sudden beast rampage turned countless homes into ruins and left many families shattered and lives lost.

Outside the village, heaps of kindling were stacked under the fences, and some soldiers were pouring oil on them.

With bows in hands, over a thousand soldiers stood guard outside the village, their arrows aimed at the homes.

Should anyone emerge, they would be shot down immediately.

Inside the village, cries for help and sobbing could be heard.

Hundreds of helpless villagers huddled together, among them many elderly and children.

"Sir, I beg you, please spare us," the villagers pleaded desperately.

"You rebellious lot, under the influence of evil techniques, have colluded with Spiritual Beasts last night and caused the death of the court's General and countless soldiers. To prevent future calamities, you all must die."

Hong Fang and Xia Houhong sat on their horses, looking at the village and scolding, utterly indifferent to the villagers' pleas.

"Unexpectedly, Nie Fengxing is such a lovesick fool, to think he would throw away his life for that Ye Huang," the Fourth Prince remarked leisurely, as if the cries for help had nothing to do with him; those innocent villagers were less than ants in his eyes.

The fact that Nie Fengxing liked "men" caught the Fourth Prince by surprise.

By comparison, Nie Fengxing and he were cut from the same cloth, sharing a preference viewed unfavorably in the public eye, which elicited from the Fourth Prince a sense of sympathy borne of shared affliction.

"Had we not discovered his weakness, how could we have eliminated him so smoothly?" Hong Fang's eyes gleamed with calculation.

Nie Fengxing, relying on his position as a General of the Tiger Wolf Army, had repeatedly ignored his commands. Hong Fang had long seen him as a thorn in his side.

It so happened that he received a secret report indicating that this small village had been attacked by a Ninth-grade Peak Spiritual Beast.

After learning the news, Hong Fang concealed the truth. When relaying to the Vanguard Camp, he simply informed them that a Ninth-grade Spiritual Beast resided within the village.

The Vanguard Camp took the bait. Ye Huang headed to the village, and as expected, Nie Fengxing followed her like a shadow, both venturing there for beast hunting.

However, it turned out that not only were there Spiritual Beasts in the village, but also people who had been poisoned with a strange venom, attacking and killing on sight.

Nie Fengxing and Ye Huang indeed could not overcome the Ninth-grade Spiritual Beast and were killed in battle.

With Nie Fengxing's death, the Tiger Wolf Army was left leaderless, and the soldiers became scattered and disorganized.

For Hong Fang, this was undoubtedly a double dose of good news.

"It's just a pity that after Nie Fengxing's death, that murderous Ninth-grade Peak Spiritual Beast also disappeared, right?" A Ninth-grade Peak Spiritual Beast was nearly equivalent to a master of the Human Clan's Reincarnation Realm.

Slaying such a beast would confer military merits sufficient for enfeoffment.

"Fourth Prince need not worry, that miscreant beast will surely reappear to harm others. When it does, with you and I joining forces, we will surely be able to kill the brute, and that will indeed be a great accomplishment," thought Hong Fang, his heart swelling with anticipation at the possibility of enfeoffment.

If he could rely on this one hunt of a Ninth-grade Peak Spiritual Beast to obtain the opportunity for enfeoffment, from now on, Hong Fang would no longer need to depend on the Hong Residence's whim.

He wanted Marquis Hong and Heir Hong to know that even without the Hong Residence, Hong Fang was still the talent worthy of being appointed a king or a high official.

The aspiration he had yearned for in many years was finally within reach.

Seeing Hong Fang's greed, Xia Houhong sneered beside him.

"Old fox, how cunning you are, wishing to use my men to build your achievements. I won't fall for your tricks; I've already ordered Zhao Feng and Bi Emperor to secretly look for that Double-headed Python. Once I slay that beast, Emperor Xia is bound to hold me in high esteem. By then, perhaps the position of Crown Prince will be restored to me."

On the surface, the two were cordial, but deep down, they were each scheming for their personal advantage.

"Reporting to the Fourth Prince and the Great General, everything is prepared," a General stepped forward to report with an undertone of reluctance in his voice.

Hundreds of lives—are they just to watch them die in the fire?

"Set the fire; don't spare a single one. If anyone dares to escape, shoot them on the spot," ordered Hong Fang.

"As commanded," though with a heavy heart, the General raised his hand, and the Archers lifted their bows, the arrows blazed with intense fire.

Suddenly, several metallic dings are heard as cold gleams streak across like transient rays of light.

The arrowheads of the soldiers in the front row were cut off by the sound and fell to the ground.

"Cease fire!"

A commanding shout rang out, and in the skies, several spirit birds flew past.

As the voice echoed, several figures descended to the ground.

"Ye Lingyue. You've got some nerve, daring to obstruct this General's duty," Hong Fang fumed upon seeing that the one disrupting his orders was Ye Lingyue.

He still hadn't settled the score from the last time he fell ill for no reason, and this woman dared to cause trouble in his territory.

"Duty? So the so-called duty of the Western Expedition General is to disregard right and wrong and slaughter the innocents," Ye Lingyue retorted coldly.

"How presumptuous, a mere ignorant woman, what would you know? These villagers are all afflicted with Evil Technique. It was because of these villagers General Nie was killed. If we don't burn them, we can't guarantee the safety of other civilians and soldiers. Arrest this woman!" Hong Fang spoke with righteous indignation.

A few soldiers moved to arrest Ye Lingyue.

But before the soldiers could get close, Ye Lingyue and Aguduo swiftly struck, pinning the soldiers to the ground.

"Ye Lingyue, are you trying to start a rebellion!" shouted the Fourth Prince angrily. "What are you waiting for? Shoot these treacherous women on sight."

The Fourth Prince had long despised Ye Lingyue, and by slapping the label of rebellion on her, he wanted her to be executed on the spot.

"Rebellion? Could it be that saving hundreds of innocent civilians is considered rebellion?" Ye Lingyue calmly surveyed the surrounding soldiers. "Or is it that your parents sent you to join the army just to kill helpless women and children? Great is the Daxia Military Camp, and honor to its soldiers 'fighting for glory.'"

Ye Lingyue's words were filled with sarcasm, piercing the soldiers like countless sharp arrows, hitting their soft spot.

These soldiers had only decided to burn the villagers because of military orders.

Watching the innocent villagers cry and beg for mercy, how could their hearts bear it?

"Nonsense! Don't be swayed by this demoness's seditious words. All troops, heed my command: anyone who disobeys will face military punishment!" Seeing that Ye Lingyue had shaken the soldiers' resolve in just a few words, Hong Fang was even more furious.