THE BRAINWASHED BATTLE MACHINE 1

The sound of joy turned into the total silence only in a few seconds. The gatekeeper's report managed to silence everyone, and now their faces were cramped up.

"The people from the Shuizhen and Shuanghu District? The rebels?" Zhu Su furrowed his brows.

"Yes, Your Highness! They are led by the elite rebel forces, named Huan Shikang and Rumilie! And also by one more person, they said that he is not just anyone, he is the God who controls human life!..."

"Suo Junhuan..." Liu Ku mumbled.

Wu Qi soon stepped forward. "Your Highness! I am ready to raise an army to fight with them!"

Zhu Su nodded. "And I also order San Hu Wei to battle with them!"

Wu Qi paid respect once again. He was no longer the chief commander since the position was held by Yan San, but Wu Qi still carried out his duties with full seriousness. He gathered all troops under his command, and together with Yan San and the others, they went to the front lines, ready to fight the enemy.

***

Not a single member of Rumilie's army was still healthy. Everyone was severely ill. They were gasping for breath, sweat poured down their reddish faces continuously, their eyes widened and they were in great agony because of the pain. Logically, those who were seriously ill would not be able to even walk normally. But they could instead take up arms and go to war. Apparently, Suo Junhuan had given them a strange potion consisting of doping substances and psychotropic herbs so that they possessed abnormal energy, their body became numb, and they felt no pain. Their bodies were getting hot and thus their energy multiplied, but on the other hand, their nature and behavior also turned bizarre. Their eyes flashed wildly and fiercely, their breaths were fast like the breath of wild beasts, their hands shook violently as a result of holding back the mad desire to immediately kill their opponents without mercy.

"You're not healing or killing people anymore. You've created monsters." That was the comment Rumilie gave to Suo Junhuan. "You're more terrible than I thought."

Suo Junhuan smiled slightly.

"They will become a formidable army. They are no longer human beings, their brains have been damaged. Under normal circumstances, they are a bunch of people who can only lie weakly in bed and wait to die. But now they are given a strange injection of energy to fight, that's why their brains malfunction. They are much more powerful than ordinary troops."

"But they can be to this extent, because of the strong loyalty they hold. They are willing to fight and even to die for the sake of achieving our noble goals. Without loyalty, my potion won't work."

"You have truly inherited your grandfather's unbeatable ability to do mind control."

Suo Junhuan's smile grew wider. He liked to hear that he was the same as his grandfather, because he really idolized his grandfather. "If that is the case, it means that I have succeeded in fulfilling my grandfather's mandate. Bai Lian Jiao must succeed in destroying the Ming government that has tortured the people arbitrarily. I am really proud, if I succeed to accomplish it."

Rumilie patted Suo Junhuan on the shoulder. Far ahead of them, Huan Shikang took the lead at the forefront. He sat on a burly black horse, shouting vigorously to his soldiers. "My army! It seems that we've lost, but actually, we haven't lost. Instead, we're going to win! Look!" He brandished his sword. "Look! At the far end, there is a luxury that we will soon destroy. Kaifeng Palace is occupied by a horde of vile-hearted nobles who have the heart to oppress the commoners! They kidnap men to become slaves of forced labor and women to be ladies of pleasure, and even now, they spread the disease that makes you fall ill! Their abominations can no longer be tolerated! Now the people must move! To bring down the tyrants!"

All soldiers cheered. They beat the drums of war. One by one, the soldiers began to step forward, committing their mission as a death squad.

***

"How come the enemy army is fewer than it should be?"

With binoculars, Wu Qi kept observing Huan Shikang's army. Yan San himself, took off his binoculars and snorted. "How many enemy troops should there be, then?"

Of course, Yan San did not like Wu Qi's existence. His hatred towards Wu Qi increased more since the defeat of his army in the wilderness a while ago. He was overjoyed as he heard that Wu Qi was dragged into trial. He was sure Wu Qi would be soon executed. But inevitably, not only Wu Qi escaped the death penalty, but he was also allowed to become subdivision chief of San Hu Wei. Even His Highness would have wanted to reappoint him as chief commander if the judge didn't prevent him! His Highness is also annoying... but he will have it coming after being betrayed again by Wu Qi! Yan San growled in his mind.

Wu Qi himself knew that Yan San disliked his participation in San Hu Wei. But he tried not to be bothered with it, he chose to focus on doing his job as a soldier. "This is far less than it should be. Maybe many people have died as a result of the outbreak, but why do they still dare to fight us with just a little power?" Ignoring Yan San's obvious expression of hatred, Wu Qi asked again.

"Perhaps, they are at their wits' end, and rallying all troops they have is their last weapon?"

"It sounds impossible. I know Rumilie's nature very well. He won't do something as reckless as that. That's why..." Wu Qi frowned, suspicious. "Can it be that there's still a secret strategy he's using to trick us?..."

Snorting again, Yan San raised his binoculars. "They are starting to move forward! Hmmm... their steps are fiery and full of enthusiasm. They really want to fight against us! Come on, we can't just stand still! Attack them!"

"Wait a minute, Commander Yan! There's something wrong!..."

"And what's that something wrong?"

"I... I don't know ... it's just that, my instincts warn me that way..."

"What the heck, they're so close to us, you know! We don't have time to think about this and that, let alone heed your unreliable instincts!" Yan San thus commanded. "All troops, go! Fight and defeat the enemy!"

"Ooouugghhh!" All soldiers shouted loudly, then galloped forward. Wu Qi was powerless to hold their energetic pace. He was no longer the chief commander, on the contrary, he had to totally obey every order from the chief commander, he must not protest since they were on the battlefield and was forced to perform military discipline perfectly. Besides, Yan San was eager to prove that he was better than Wu Qi. Wu Qi said A, then he would prove that B was the best.

Finally, biting his lips anxiously, Wu Qi was forced to follow Yan San and spurred his horse towards the enemy.