Chapter 19: The Second Qiao Mu
"Kill!"
"Charge!"
After Qiao Mu died in battle, Military Officer Chu no longer hesitated and ordered the nine hundred soldiers in the rear to enter the battlefield.
These nine hundred soldiers in the rear were unaware of the grudge between Military Officer Chu and Qiao Mu. They simply followed Military Officer Chu's orders.
The scenes they saw with their own eyes were the same as what Qiao Mu's men, including Old Huang, witnessed.
A young soldier bravely stood his ground, charging alone towards the thousands of bandits, unleashing his internal strength in the heat of battle, fighting until he exhausted his strength and succumbed to death.
Such brave and gruesome battles were rarely witnessed by many of the soldiers in their lifetime.
The silhouette of that young soldier standing on top of a mountain of corpses was destined to remain in their hearts from that moment on.
Such a scene, with such brave and fearless comrades, made their hearts surge.
"That fierce warrior who fought to the death, is he the newly promoted centurion Qiao Mu?"
"Is he the one who scolded the lord openly in the street, Qiao Mu?"
"Is it him? I once watched him practice martial arts when he first entered the military camp. I thought he was ordinary, but it turns out I underestimated him."
"This young man is truly courageous. We can't let him die in vain!"
When Military Officer Chu gave the order to attack, the soldiers' fighting spirit was immediately ignited.
The officials and soldiers already had the advantage in strength, and now, with their high morale, they quickly slaughtered the bandits, causing them to flee in disarray.
The situation was settled.
Military Officer Chu looked at the hundreds of bodies in the valley, with his gaze faintly passing over the body of Qiao Mu.
"This person was a bold troublemaker when alive, daring even to challenge the lord of the city. But when he died, he stirred the fighting spirit of the officials and soldiers, and died beautifully."
Military Officer Chu was already satisfied.
"In that case, let's return to Yan City," ordered Military Officer Chu.
"Return to Yan City? But these bandits have only escaped, they haven't been completely wiped out yet, and we haven't found their hideout," a centurion questioned with doubt.
"Am I the military officer, or you are the military officer?" said Military Officer Chu in an annoyed tone.
He disliked it when his subordinates questioned his orders.
The strength of this gang of mountain bandits at Mount Dong is much stronger than what Military Officer Chu had imagined before.
Initially, he thought there were only two or three hundred bandits, so he brought a thousand people from the city to eliminate them.
Who knew that there were nearly a thousand bandits, far more than what they had known from the intelligence.
If thousands fight against thousands like this, even if the military is stronger, there will still be casualties.
Besides, there's one thing that makes Military Officer Chu wary: until now, he still hasn't seen where the bandit's hideout is, and that so-called Bandit King Wang Songhe!
Moreover, he has already achieved his goal.
The main target of this operation is actually to kill Qiao Mu according to the lord's command, dealing with the bandits is secondary.
"The bandits are numerous, we cannot risk advancing further. What if there's an ambush?" said Military Officer Chu in a low voice.
"Let's return to Yan City for now, we can send more troops in the future. Capturing this bandit Wang Songhe will be easy, there's no need to rush," he continued.
These words from Military Officer Chu made his centurions fall into silence.
What the military officer said does make sense... but why didn't we act sooner?
Now that they finally know there might be an ambush by the bandits, they shouldn't take any risks?
It's a pity for the young centurion Qiao Mu, who fought and died as the last one standing...
When Military Officer Chu was preparing to lead the troops back to the city, Old Huang and the other soldiers, including the monk soldiers, slowly approached Qiao Mu's body, silent for a long time.
They spontaneously wrapped Qiao Mu's body with banners and together lifted the already mangled corpse to walk back.
They couldn't charge into death with Qiao Mu earlier...
Now, they could at least collect Qiao Mu's body and bring it back to Yan City.
This was the last thing they could do...
......
On top of the mountain ridge to the left of the valley.
Qiao Mu, who had resurrected once again, emerged from the shadows.
He twisted his neck from side to side, adjusting to this brand new body.
At this moment, he appeared even stronger than before, with his height increasing several centimeters. His facial features also looked more mature, and there was a thin layer of stubble on his chin.
"How old am I now?"
Qiao Mu's mind stirred, and the image of the Ouroboros Long Life Lock appeared in his mind again.
After experiencing death once, the Ouroboros Long Life Lock's radiance had faded away, returning to its usual dull state.
Death Assessment for this time: B (a young hero with a noble character, valuing honor over life and death).
Lifespan consumed by death: 8 years.
Remaining resurrection chances this week: 4/5.
Current age: 28 years old.
Skills: Long Life Fist (proficient), Military Spear Skill (mastered), Iron Crotch Skill (proficient)
Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method (proficient)
In his mind, memories of the past began to emerge, and Qiao Mu finally remembered the events of the past eight years.
Eight years!
For a full eight years, Qiao Mu practiced martial arts wholeheartedly every day.
Eight years of tireless dedication, without sleep or rest!
During these eight years, the strand of internal strength Qiao Mu just developed grew and became stronger bit by bit with the passing of time.
Step by step, getting stronger little by little.
Not only did Qiao Mu enhance his internal strength, but during these eight years, he also constantly honed his mastery of martial arts.
When eight years passed, drops of water gathered to form rivers.
Military Spear Skill, which he had just learned eight years ago, had now reached mastery.
The Iron Crotch Skill, which Qiao Mu had not yet formally practiced, became proficient through his relentless efforts.
Interestingly, Qiao Mu has become quite skilled in the self-harming Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method.
At this moment, Qiao Mu felt that his internal strength in his dantian had become several times stronger compared to eight years ago when he first awakened it.
"I have worked so hard!" Qiao Mu exclaimed.
"For eight years, I have diligently practiced the Long Life Fist, spear techniques, the Iron Crotch Skill, and even the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method. I have become a true master of time management! This is not just an eight-year improvement in skills!"
Qiao Mu noticed something unusual.
When he had died at the hands of Butcher Zheng, it was deemed a Class C Death Assessment, which accelerated Qiao Mu's martial arts progress by three years.
This time, the death was a B-level Death Assessment, but it was more than just the simple improvement of martial arts skills for eight years.
"Is this the extra benefit that high-quality death brings?"
"Although it was also eight years, my time efficiency was much higher during these eight years. Not only did my internal strength increase as if I had been practicing diligently for eight years, but I also learned multiple martial arts."
If a C-level death represents 100% time efficiency, meaning sacrificing sleep and rest, practicing tirelessly day and night, only able to have such perseverance in dreams.
So, Qiao Mu's B-level death this time probably reached a time management efficiency of 150%, even surpassing what one can achieve in dreams.
"If I can learn a few more hard skills and body techniques, I can quickly master various martial arts and techniques using the efficient time management brought by high-quality death," Qiao Mu pondered in his heart.
