Chapter 52: Making a Fortune on the Battlefield (Please add to favorites and keep reading)

On the other side.

Seeing that his strike had missed and failed to kill the sharpshooter Wei Tu, the hammer-wielding giant felt the urge to retreat.

—Since Wei Tu was still alive, he had to keep at least half of his focus on guarding against the man shooting for his eyes.

With a loud roar, he casually grabbed two Xiang army soldiers and tossed them into the formation. Taking advantage of the distraction among the military officers, he lunged violently toward the southeast wall of the Liu Family Fort.

Though the giant appeared heavy and clumsy, his movements were incredibly swift, darting back and forth through the courtyard like an agile pangolin.

Finally, the giant seized his chance. With a sudden step and a flip, he leaped onto the corner of the wall, grabbing the roof tiles with his right arm, preparing to scale the wall and escape.

But at that moment—

A dozen military officers also seized the opportunity. Seeing that the giant was exhausted, they immediately hurled the Flying Tiger Claws carried at their waists.

*Swish! Swish! Swish!*

The Flying Tiger Claws tore through the air, entangling the giant's legs and arms, as well as the joints of his black armor.

Then, the dozen officers pulled in unison with all their might. The giant, along with a small section of the wall, tumbled to the ground with a heavy thud.

The Xiang army soldiers immediately reformed a shield wall, surrounding the giant and thrusting their long spears into his vital points.

In an instant, blood flowed across the ground.

The giant let out a whimper, being stabbed into a pincushion by the soldiers, dying a miserable death on the spot.

"He's finally dead." The group of officers breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the giant perish.

Although they had not yet fully breached the Liu Family Fort, they knew that this giant had likely been the most troublesome enemy within the fort.

If there were any other masters remaining, they wouldn't have just stood by and watched the giant fight alone until he was worn down to death by their troops...

"Press the advantage! We cannot leave any remnants of the Wuyun Pavilion alive..."

At this moment, a keen-eyed officer shouted, leading his squad to charge into the interior of the Liu Family Fort. He acted with the clear intention of uprooting the Wuyun Pavilion entirely.

"I'm going too."

Seeing this, the other sharp-eyed officers understood immediately: that man had run into the fort to snatch the spoils of war.

According to the unwritten rules of the military, after a victory like this, any loot taken from the Liu Family Fort that one could physically carry would be split: half went to the officer in charge, and the rest belonged to the individual.

Wei Tu was no exception. He lifted his Golden-Backed Saber and squeezed into the fray.

—Two years ago, due to the forging of armor, he had still owed Wei Fei and Wei Hong a total of eighty taels of silver.

With just the meager salary of a military officer, it would take him at least ten years of not eating or drinking to pay it back.

As for embezzling wages or bleeding the soldiers dry at the Xiang Army Bureau, he, as a "Commander," was not high-ranking enough; at most, he could collect some "hush money" each year.

Therefore, Wei Tu certainly would not let this opportunity to make a fortune slip away easily. There was no need to be pretentious here.

...

More than an hour later.

A sliver of grayish-white light appeared on the horizon.

The Xiang army soldiers had regrouped outside the Liu Family Fort.

Compared to the oppressive and solemn atmosphere of their arrival, every officer and soldier now wore a smile, each having "returned laden with spoils."

As a branch of the Wuyun Pavilion, the wealth accumulated in the Liu Family Fort was not immense, but for the Xiang Army of Qingshan County, it was a considerable sum.

"Seventy-two casualties, one hundred and thirteen Wuyun Pavilion martial instructors slain. This can be considered a great victory."

After tallying the numbers, County Constable Xu nodded inwardly.

Had it not been for the giant's overwhelming strength causing such chaos, the troops would not have suffered such heavy losses.

Then, Constable Xu turned his gaze toward Wei Tu and said, "Commander Wei, you are our Commander-in-Chief. You are responsible for rewarding merit and punishing crime. The merits and faults of the soldiers this time shall be decided by you."

There were three Commanders-in-Chief in Qingshan County. Aside from one who remained in the county seat, the other two had accompanied him to Sanyang Town.

However, compared to Wei Tu, who had achieved great merit twice, the other was mediocre. Letting Wei Tu decide the rewards and punishments would ensure the men's compliance.

As for Prefect He's suppression—

Constable Xu had already cast Prefect He to the back of his mind. More than two years had passed, and Prefect He's influence had long since faded.

Moreover, he wasn't promoting Wei Tu this time; he was merely delegating some power to him as a reward for his performance.

"I obey your command." Wei Tu was not surprised by Constable Xu's decision. He cupped his hands and accepted the order.

Constable Xu nodded and looked toward the officers and soldiers again. "Pass my command: we shall temporarily station ourselves in the Liu Family Fort and continue the hunt for the Wuyun Pavilion remnants!"

The crowd felt a slight sense of bewilderment at this, but they habitually obeyed their superior and accepted the order.

Their sudden operation had surrounded the Liu Family Fort, leaving not even a fly alive. How could there possibly be any Wuyun Pavilion remnants left in Sanyang Town? Even if there were, they would likely have fled the town during the search.

But Wei Tu, standing to the side, saw through it clearly.

After a moment of thought, Wei Tu mused to himself, *Constable Xu is likely doing this to extort the local gentry of Sanyang Town. Power is useless if it isn't used; it becomes obsolete if it sits idle...*

Though his natural talent was mediocre, his knowledge was broader than that of the local townspeople due to the information explosion of his previous life, allowing him to see through Constable Xu's intentions.

...

That evening, at the Liu Family Fort.

Wei Fei brought a pot of fine wine, a roasted chicken, and a plate of edamame to visit Wei Tu for drinks and conversation.

"I've really struck it rich this time, Second Brother. I snatched at least two hundred taels of silver," Wei Fei said, his face flushed with excitement after a few drinks.

Although he was the adopted son of the Green Tiger Gang leader in the county seat and was considered well-off, he didn't actually have much liquid silver on hand. The fifty taels he had borrowed from Wei Tu last time was only because his foster father had used his hands to lend it to Wei Tu to curry favor.

Two hundred taels was roughly the amount of liquid cash a typical wealthy household in the county seat would have, excluding immovable assets like land and houses.

"I'm not lacking either. I got eighty or ninety taels," Wei Tu replied with a smile, using his chopsticks to take a few bites of food.

Since entering the Qi-Sensing Realm, his movements were much more agile than before. Forget ordinary soldiers; even the military officers were not as sharp-eyed or quick-handed as he was. Thus, even though he had entered the fray later, he had managed to grab a significant amount of wealth.

"Besides the money..." Wei Fei pulled Wei Tu closer, pulled an old, worn book from his robe, and whispered, "I managed to pry this secret manual out of that hammer giant."

"We are sworn brothers; we shall study this manual together," Wei Fei said boisterously.

"A secret manual?" Wei Tu was stunned. He then remembered that after the giant died, while the other officers were busy looting, Wei Fei had lingered by the giant's side for a moment.

At that time, Wei Tu had also wanted to "scavenge the corpse," but because he was too close to Constable Xu and protected by the personal guards, it had been difficult to act...

By the time he found an opportunity, the giant was already unrecognizable, and his belongings had been stripped clean by the soldiers.

He hadn't expected that Wei Fei, sharing his same intention, had actually managed to strike first.