Chapter 50: Beheading Ahachu! Zhu Ying: Those who violate the might of our Great Ming shall be executed!

Following the thunderous rumble of galloping hooves, Zhu Ying led three thousand elite Ming cavalry in a fierce charge. Amidst the dense phalanx of shields ahead and the deafening shouts echoing all around, even in the chaotic din of battle, Zhu Ying caught a crucial piece of intelligence.

"The Tatar chieftain is right here!"

A gleam of realization flashed in Zhu Ying's eyes. Hearing the surrounding Tatars shouting frantically to protect their chieftain, it was crystal clear to him. The greatest military achievement of this night raid was now within his grasp.

With this thought, Zhu Ying swept his gaze across the field.

Instantly, he spotted several hundred Tatar elite guards holding torches and forming a protective wall of shields. Right at the center stood a man who wore no leather armor, but rather rich furs, looking utterly panic-stricken. At a single glance, it was obvious that this man was none other than the Tatar chieftain.

"Brothers!"

"Slaughter the Tatars!"

Zhu Ying roared furiously, spurging his horse directly into the charge. The fine steel saber in his hand was already poised and ready.

"Quick! Kill him, quickly!"

Seeing Zhu Ying bearing down on him, Ahadu cried out in blind terror.

The frontline Tatar guards immediately raised their long spears and charged toward Zhu Ying. Multiple spears thrust directly at him. Spears were the natural counter to cavalry. It was evident just how much the Tatar tribe had come to fear Zhu Ying like a ferocious tiger, to the extent that even their personal guards had been equipped with long spears.

Yet, facing the oncoming tide of Tatar spearmen, Zhu Ying felt not a shred of fear. Their charging speed appeared to him as if moving in slow motion.

"Die!"

With a casual sweep of Zhu Ying's blade, a freezing flash of steel cut through the nocturnal gloom. A single slash sent a blinding arc of light sweeping outward.

"Ah! Ah...!"

The front rank of Tatar soldiers wailed miserably as six or seven heads were sent flying into the empty air, their headless bodies spinning backward through the night.

[Ding! Killed a Tatar soldier. Collected 10 points of internal energy. Collected 10 days of lifespan.]

[Ding! Killed a Tatar soldier. Collected 10 points of internal energy. Collected 15 days of lifespan.]

[Ding! Killed a Tatar soldier...]

The system notifications chimed incessantly.

Zhu Ying's warhorse never broke its forward momentum. Staring at the hundreds of Tatar soldiers before him, his eyes burned with intoxicating bloodlust. He licked his lips, locking his gaze entirely on Ahadu cowering behind the guards. These were all his prey.

Beneath the veil of night, Ahadu seemed to sense Zhu Ying's bloodthirsty intent, causing his entire body to tremble violently.

"Charge! Kill him!"

"Kill him for your chieftain!" Ahadu shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at Zhu Ying.

"Charge!"

"Kill!"

Hundreds of guards surrounding Ahadu brandished their weapons and hurled themselves at Zhu Ying and the oncoming Ming cavalry. Yet at this moment, right here in the heartland of their own tribe and the sanctuary of their royal court, the roles of offense and defense had completely reversed.

Zhu Ying spearheaded the assault. His personal guards followed closely behind, while thousands of Ming soldiers surged forward in a relentless tide.

"Kill!"

Zhu Ying roared like a fierce tiger descending from the mountains, his saber slashing wildly in a frenzied dance of death.

"Mad Dance Blade Technique!"

Blades of light flashed across the dark night. With Zhu Ying's blinding speed, a single slash multiplied into dozens in the blink of an eye. The dozen or so charging Tatar soldiers were swallowed entirely by the flashing torrent of steel almost instantaneously.

"Ah... Ah..."

Piercing screams echoed continuously. A dozen Tatar soldiers collapsed headlong into the blood-soaked earth, struggling and dying in agonizing spasms.

[Ding! Killed a Tatar soldier. Collected 10 points of internal energy...]

The system prompts kept rolling without a pause.

Meanwhile, Zhu Ying's saber continued its relentless dance. His steed charged ever forward, his blade carving a path of destruction. One after another, Tatar soldiers were cut down. Zhu Ying was like a god of war descended among mortals—unstoppable, fiercely valiant, and peerlessly brave. In this brutal melee of close-quarters combat with cold steel, Zhu Ying truly embodied a one-man army capable of holding off a thousand foes.

Emboldened by Zhu Ying's unstoppable charge, the soldiers behind him pressed forward without an ounce of hesitation. His personal guards, in particular, wore anxious expressions as they whipped their mounts into a frantic gallop to keep pace, hacking and slashing at enemies with their own blades. As Zhu Ying's elite guard, they held profound reverence for their master's peerless valor, yet they also felt deeply exasperated; every single time Zhu Ying charged, they simply could not catch up to him. Their commander was simply too ferocious—he probably didn't even need their protection to begin with.

"Follow the garrison commander!"

"Charge!"

"Slaughter these damned Tatars!"

"Kill!"

Wei Quan and Luo Hua, commanding three thousand-man garrisons respectively, along with Zhang Wu, a vice commander, roared at the top of their lungs. Mirroring Zhu Ying, they led their men in a frantic charge, slashing wildly and cutting down every Tatar soldier in sight.

It was a feast of slaughter.

Facing thousands of Ming cavalry, the hundreds of Tatars dwindled rapidly in number.

Zhu Ying had already carved his way straight through the enemy ranks, stopping just dozens of feet away from Ahadu.

Seeing Zhu Ying charging directly toward him with a blood-stained saber, Ahadu gripped his own weapon tightly. Fear flooded his eyes as he seemingly hesitated between fighting and fleeing. Yet, having witnessed Zhu Ying's terrifying prowess—dispatching his personal troops as effortlessly as cutting vegetables—his heart was entirely consumed by dread.

No one wanted to die, and as the chieftain of his tribe, he was no exception.

Almost instantly, Ahadu yanked hard on his reins, frantically turning his horse around in a desperate bid to escape.

"Trying to run?"

"You are my military merit."

"If I let you escape, how am I supposed to secure a promotion?"

Zhu Ying sneered coldly.

He whipped his horse viciously. The steed let out a sharp whinny and surged forward with incredible speed.

Sensing the murderous intent closing in from behind, Ahadu's face turned ashen. He glanced backward to see Zhu Ying already raising his saber, rushing toward him at breathtaking velocity.

"No!"

Ahadu let out a despairing shriek.

The very next instant, the blade swept down.

*Slash!*

Ahadu's final moments of consciousness spun violently as his head was cleanly severed from his shoulders.

Zhu Ying reached out and grabbed Ahadu's hair, lifting the dripping, blood-soaked head for all to see. While such a gruesome trophy would cause ordinary men to recoil in disgust, Zhu Ying was already completely accustomed to it. He casually tied the head to his waist—this was hard-earned, undeniable military glory.

Having breached the Tatar royal court and executed their chieftain, even though the Jianzhou Tatars were merely a minor tribe with a population of barely a million, they were still a sovereign ethnic group. While such a feat could not compare to deeply penetrating foreign territories or achieving the legendary triumphs of ancient heroes, for Zhu Ying to accomplish such a magnificent deed at so young an age and with such a modest force was enough to inspire the entire Ming Empire.

[Ding! Killed Ahadu, chieftain of the Jianzhou Tatars. Collected 200 points to all attributes. Rewarded with one Tier-1 Treasure Chest.]

Following the successful execution of Ahadu, the system prompt sounded once more, and the reward was instantly distributed.

Looking around at the remaining Tatar soldiers who were nearly all wiped out, alongside the civilian populace fleeing in panic across the settlement, Zhu Ying raised his saber high. Channeling his internal energy into his throat, his voice boomed through the night like a peal of thunder.

"Today!"

"I, Zhu Ying, have slain your Jianzhou Tatar chieftain to avenge your transgressions against the borders of the Great Ming!"

"Whoever dares to defy the might of the Great Ming shall be executed!"

Zhu Ying's majestic roar echoed far and wide, carrying outward into the distance and ringing directly in the ears of the countless terrified Tatars.

Hearing his proclamation shattered the very last vestiges of morale among the fleeing enemies.

"The chieftain is dead!"

"Zhu Ying, the Ming general, he killed the chieftain!"

"The chieftain is dead!"

"Our tribe is finished..."