Chapter 5: Executing Prisoners! Adding Points to Grow Stronger!

"Who is killing the prisoners? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

A voice rang out among the Great Qian soldiers, and soon, Captain Liu pushed his way through the crowd.

"Who is killing the prisoners?"

Captain Liu scanned the area, his gaze icy. In the next second, everyone’s eyes turned toward Li Dao.

"What is your name?" Captain Liu asked, looking at Li Dao.

Li Dao tossed the blade in his hand aside and said calmly, "9527."

9527?

Captain Liu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly looked up sharply. "You are from the Death Row Battalion?"

Upon hearing the words "Death Row Battalion," everyone present, including the Northern Barbarian soldiers, froze. Li Dao did not deny his status; such things were pointless to cover up, so he nodded in acknowledgment.

*Hiss!*

Seeing Li Dao confirm it, everyone drew a sharp breath. Most of the death row inmates they encountered on the battlefield were either sent there to die or spent their time trembling in the shadows. It was rare to see a death row inmate who could wield dual blades on the front line and survive—it was rarer than a national treasure.

Captain Liu composed himself and asked, "Why kill the prisoners?"

Li Dao replied, "My hand slipped."

Captain Liu retorted, "Your hand slipped twice?"

Li Dao explained, "The first time, my left hand slipped. The second time, it was my right hand. They are different."

Captain Liu: "???"

Northern Barbarian soldiers: "..."

*Whoosh!*

A long blade suddenly sprang up from the ground, piercing directly through the Northern Barbarian soldier who had been cursing the loudest.

An instant of silence fell over the scene once more. Captain Liu’s face flushed red with anger. "9527, what do you have to say for yourself now?"

Li Dao said, "My apologies, this time my left foot slipped."

Captain Liu laughed out of pure frustration. "And I suppose your right foot is going to slip next?"

Li Dao shrugged. "Who knows?"

The Northern Barbarian soldiers were left speechless. Not only had they been forced to surrender by a death row inmate, but they were being executed after surrendering, and now they were being threatened. There truly was no human rights to speak of.

Seeing Li Dao’s "dead pig doesn't fear boiling water" attitude, Captain Liu’s temper vanished. After all, what could you really hold against a death row inmate? Military justice? Death row inmates aren't soldiers. Execute him? He was a condemned man anyway. Furthermore, if this had been done in secret, it wouldn't have mattered, but now, how could Captain Liu possibly take action?

This night raid’s success owed a great deal to this inmate, 9527. Moreover, the more capable a death row inmate was, the more useful they were on the battlefield, which meant fewer casualties for his own men. With that in mind, he couldn't bring himself to kill him.

In the end, Captain Liu settled for a minor reprimand. Little did he know, Li Dao dared to act so recklessly precisely because he understood this logic. In Li Dao’s eyes, he was already a condemned man—what was there to fear? Could they sentence him to death twice?

"9527, because of your execution of the prisoners, you will not receive your share of the battle merits for this mission."

"Does the credit for killing the enemy still count?"

"Killing the enemy? How many did you kill?"

Li Dao said nothing. He reached into his tunic and pulled out a blood-stained cloth bag. When he opened it, it was filled with the severed left ears of Northern Barbarian soldiers. He counted them roughly and looked up. "Eighteen in total."

"If you count the three on the ground, that makes twenty-one."

Captain Liu looked at the three dead prisoners on the ground, his face darkening. "Those three don't count." If killing prisoners counted as combat kills, Li Dao wouldn't be the only one doing it.

Li Dao didn't argue. "Eighteen, then."

He already had the attribute points; he didn't care about the ears. Even so, those eighteen ears left every Great Qian soldier present in shock. The Great Qian and the Northern Barbarians had been fighting for centuries, with the casualty ratio generally holding at about one to 1.5. In other words, one Great Qian soldier's life could usually only trade for one Northern Barbarian's life. Today was a night raid, so the ratio might be skewed, but at most, it would be one to two. Yet, this 9527 had killed eighteen Northern Barbarians all by himself. That was more than most regular Great Qian soldiers killed in an entire lifetime.

Captain Liu hadn't expected him to have killed eighteen. He took a deep breath. "As punishment for killing the prisoners, your base merit for this military task is revoked. If there is a next time, your combat merit will be revoked as well."

Li Dao smiled. "Thank you, Captain."

Having experienced the benefits of attribute points, he no longer cared much for merit. As long as he grew stronger, merits would be easy to come by.

Captain Liu snorted. "I don't know why you ended up in the Death Row Battalion, but if you have talent, cherish it. Don't be arrogant, and don't get any other ideas."

"Understood." Li Dao knew what he meant. He was warning him not to think he could run away just because he had some combat prowess. In truth, Li Dao knew that if he had wanted to escape earlier, he could have. But then what? When he entered the Death Row Battalion, his legal existence was erased; he had become a non-person. A non-person was ostracized and targeted everywhere, potentially even treated as a wanted criminal if caught by authorities. Even if he fled to another dynasty, it would be the same. In this world, without an identity, you were as helpless as a person without an ID card in his past life.

That was why Li Dao never considered it. He intended to fight his way out of the Death Row Battalion honorably and earn a new identity. There was one more reason: in this life, he still had family. To return to them, he needed a clean identity.

...

The Northern Barbarian soldiers had surrendered, so it was time to sweep the battlefield. Usually, after a battle, death row inmates were locked up separately, as they had to be escorted back. Perhaps because Li Dao had performed so remarkably and saved many Great Qian soldiers, no one brought this up. Moreover, everyone noticed that of the twenty death row inmates brought along, only 9527 had survived, so no one said a word.

Li Dao looked around and walked toward a campfire, where a lamb leg was roasting. He didn't stand on ceremony; he grabbed the lamb leg and began to tear into it, eating ravenously. With the first bite, tasting the long-lost flavor, Li Dao let out a long breath of relief.

While eating, he silently thought, "Panel."

A moment later, the panel popped up before him.

[Host: Li Dao]
[Physique: 3.16]
[Available Attributes: 1.24]

After the initial slaughter, his physique had reached three times that of an average person. Because the fighting had been so intense, he hadn't had the time to allocate his attributes, and many had accumulated. As he ate, he mentally applied all his attributes to his physique.

Instantly, a surge of heat flowed through his body. Perhaps because physical enhancement put pressure on the body, an even more intense hunger flared up.

*Crunch!*

Li Dao bit down, taking a mouthful of roasted lamb along with the bone. With a physique three times that of a normal human, his teeth were exceptionally strong, and he chewed the bone into pieces and swallowed it.

Ten breaths later, the heat faded, and Li Dao’s physical strength climbed to a new level.

[Host: Li Dao]
[Physique: 4.40]
[Available Attributes: 0]

More than four times the physique of an average person. Li Dao felt that even with his original, tetanus-ridden blade, he could slice a man in two with a single strike. If he had this strength earlier, he wouldn't have been so cautious and could have charged into the Northern Barbarian ranks to slaughter them at will. After all, a four-fold increase in physique was holistic: four times the strength, stamina, recovery, and superhuman speed and reflexes.

(PS: In reality, speed and reflexes wouldn't double just because physique did; they would increase incrementally.)

On their own, one of these might not be overwhelming, but combined, the effect was terrifying. With four times the strength, even an iron rod would become an invincible weapon. With four times the stamina, he was essentially a perpetual motion machine; he could swing his blade all night without tiring. With superhuman speed, his strikes would be lethal, and no ordinary soldier could dodge his attacks. With superhuman reflexes, the movements of ordinary people appeared to be in slow motion, allowing him to react and counter-attack instantly.

On an ancient cold-weapon battlefield, his combat effectiveness would be magnified infinitely. And this was only the beginning. He had only had the system for a week and had only been through one battle. As he continued to develop, his strength would only snowball.

The battlefield was cleared quickly; it was only a small Northern Barbarian squad, and there were no significant supplies. Li Dao had eaten his fill. Although the taste wasn't as complex as the roasted meat from his past life, compared to the prison rations, it was a delicacy.

"9527!"

A voice reached his ears. He turned to see Captain Liu standing nearby, leading a roan horse.

"Can you ride?" Captain Liu asked, patting the horse.

"Yes."

How could Li Dao not know how to ride? When he inherited his count title—a third-class military merit title—there had been examinations in horsemanship and archery. Even though he had used money and connections to pass, he still knew the basics.

Captain Liu nodded. "Then ride and follow us back."

"One last warning: with your skills, it is not impossible to walk out of the Death Row Battalion honorably. Do not make the wrong decision."

"Understood."

...

Because they had marched on foot under the cover of darkness to arrive, but were returning on horseback, Li Dao reached Longgu Town—the garrison point for the border troops—very quickly.

"Put these on."

As soon as Li Dao dismounted, Captain Liu approached and handed him a set of shackles. Seeing the familiar gear, Li Dao took them calmly and put them on himself. In the past, these were chains that bound him, but now, they were merely a transition; he would shed them sooner or later.

Not long after, Li Dao returned to the familiar place: the Death Row Battalion cells. The moment he pushed the door open, the other inmates were stunned to see him. They hadn't expected him to return alive. And when they saw he was the only one to return, they concluded that this man was not to be trifled with.

Li Dao ignored their reactions and sat in a corner. After the adrenaline of the battle faded, only sleepiness remained. He drifted off to sleep, feeling light. This time, there were no wooden splinters in his hand, for he possessed power far greater than that. As for being ambushed, he wasn't worried. His four-fold physique granted him keen perception; he could detect anyone approaching, even slightly. He had no worries at all.