Chapter 919: Discussion of Merits

Pang Tai commanded a total of five teams from the Blood Guard, each led by a Xiaoqi.

Over the past six months, Linjiang County had been quite peaceful, without any major disturbances.

However, today, within just a couple of hours, he had urgently dispatched four teams to investigate strange incidents that suddenly appeared in the city.

Anyone would notice that something was off in this situation.

Pang Tai was no exception.

But due to his responsibilities, he had no other choice; if the situation got out of control, he would lose his position.

As the commander of the Blood Guard, Pang Tai could not easily leave the Wei Hall.

When he learned that three Fireburst Talismans had been triggered outside the city, the forces he could mobilize were already very limited!

In this situation, Pang Tai absolutely could not move.

If he fell for a scheme to lure him away from the Wei Hall, it would leave the defenses extremely weak, allowing the enemy to take advantage.

Then Pang Tai’s head wouldn’t be enough to pay for it!

What he could do was immediately gather forces from the county office.

At that moment, Old Qiu returned with his team.

"So it was the Yellow Lotus Cult!"

After hearing Old Qiu’s brief report, Pang Tai suddenly understood, gritting his teeth in anger. "Those damned bandits!"

"Quickly inform the county office!"

The Zongqi decisively commanded a nearby guard, "Tell them there’s a disturbance caused by the Yellow Lotus Cult and ask the county magistrate to request assistance from the stationed troops!"

The Blood Guard held a special status and was very sensitive; although they were a direct force of the Royal Family of Daliang, secretly colluding with the military was a grave taboo, punishable by the annihilation of nine clans!

Even in an emergency, the Blood Guard could seek help from the local stationed troops.

However, those troops might not necessarily support the Blood Guard.

If the county office intervened, the situation would improve significantly.

After all, the local stationed troops relied heavily on support from the local government for their daily supplies.

The guard took the order and left.

Pang Tai let out a long sigh and said to Old Qiu, "Old Qiu, you’ve worked hard. Once this matter is over, I will commend your team."

"Thank you, my lord!"

Old Qiu presented a blood-soaked bundle, saying, "In this battle, we killed a total of thirty-two enemies, including the Yellow Lotus Cult leader, Black Whirlwind Li Kui. Please take a look, my lord!"

He opened the bundle, and the severed heads inside were immediately revealed!

"Black Whirlwind Li Kui!"

Pang Tai’s eyes widened as he stared at the large head in front of him, momentarily speechless.

He certainly knew who Black Whirlwind Li Kui was, but he absolutely never expected that this notoriously fierce heretic bandit had been killed by Old Qiu and his team.

A total of thirty-two enemies had been beheaded?

Pang Tai was well aware of Old Qiu’s capabilities, which made the situation all the more astonishing.

Under normal circumstances, if Old Qiu had reported something like this to him, Pang Tai would have slapped him without hesitation.

Who does he think he’s fooling?

But now, with chaos erupting both inside and outside Linjiang County, the situation was dire. Pang Tai couldn’t believe Old Qiu would dare to fabricate military intelligence at such a critical time.

He paused for a moment before asking, “You killed them?”

“No!”

Old Qiu replied, “It was the newly promoted guard, Ling Zhiyuan, who killed them. In this battle, he beheaded a total of twenty-four enemies!”

Pang Tai fell silent once more.

His mind was in turmoil. “You mean Ling Zhiyuan?”

Pang Tai racked his brain to recall who Ling Zhiyuan was.

When Wang Chen first arrived, this Zongqi had formed two main impressions of him: one was the top recruit of the Iron Furnace Camp who had earned a silver emblem, and the other was the strikingly handsome Little White.

However, as time passed, Pang Tai, overwhelmed by his duties, had quickly forgotten about the existence of this newly promoted guard.

Now that he remembered, he felt even more incredulous.

“Yes!”

Old Qiu answered earnestly, “If it weren’t for Ling Zhiyuan, none of us would have made it back alive today!”

He had brought Li Kui’s head specifically to commend Wang Chen!

Old Qiu felt grateful to Wang Chen and wanted to establish a Good Relationship with him.

“Very well.”

Pang Tai took a deep breath and said, “I’ll make a note of it. You should go tend to your wounds now.”

After a moment’s thought, he added, “Later, draft a battle report, and I’ll take it to the higher-ups.”

“Yes!”

Old Qiu saluted again and then left the room.

He still needed to take Wang Chen and the others to inspect the heads and apply for honors and military merits.

By dusk, Linjiang County, which had been gripped by panic, finally returned to its usual calm.

The local county office and the stationed troops worked together to quell the Yellow Lotus Cultists both inside and outside the city, killing many bandits.

The Blood Guard suffered heavy losses, with six men dying in battle, including one Xiaoqi!

The number of injured was even greater.

This sudden blow plunged the Wei Hall into a crisis, with morale plummeting and their forces severely weakened.

Reluctantly, Pang Tai had to send a falcon to request reinforcements from the prefectural city.

The following evening, a contingent from the prefectural city arrived in Linjiang County and took up residence in the Blood Guard’s Wei Hall.

That night, the Wei Hall remained brightly lit.

“The top priority is to replenish the manpower at the Linjiang Wei Hall.”

In Pang Tai’s study, a stern-faced man in brocade robes spoke in a deep voice, “You’ve been short so many men in Linjiang County; why haven’t you reported it until now?”

Pang Tai forced a bitter smile.

Why hadn’t he reported it?

He had submitted multiple requests for reinforcements, but each one had gone unanswered.

In the past, he had even gone to the prefectural city in person to plead for more men, only to be dismissed.

What could he do? As a Zongqi, he had no powerful connections above him.

Pang Tai knew all too well that the root cause of the manpower shortage was that someone had set their sights on Linjiang County.

If he had a strong army and ample supplies, it wouldn’t be so easy for them to take over!

But how could he reveal such internal matters?

It wouldn’t help; instead, it would give others ammunition to use against him.

The brocade-clad man who had just arrived from the prefectural city was surnamed Xue. Like Pang Tai, he held the rank of Zongqi, but his status was far higher, and his family background was formidable.

Zongqi Xue was no fool. Seeing the look on Pang Tai’s face, he vaguely understood the situation.

He let out a hum and didn’t press the matter further. Instead, he picked up a nearby battle report, flicked it with his fingers, and remarked, “Your newly promoted guard, Ling Zhiyuan—his achievements seem a bit exaggerated, don’t they?”

Zongqi Xue thought his tone was mild, but to Pang Tai, it felt deeply dismissive.

It was as if he were completely disregarding the contributions of the Linjiang Wei Hall.

“All the heads are accounted for, including that of Black Whirlwind Li Kui and his two Large Axes.”

Pang Tai replied without hesitation, “Zongqi Xue, you are welcome to verify them. If there’s any false reporting, I, Pang, will take full responsibility!”

Wang Chen’s achievements might indeed seem extraordinary, but that was precisely why Pang Tai was determined to defend them.

After all, Wang Chen was one of his guards, and his accomplishments reflected well on Pang Tai himself!