This time, three choices were presented directly in front of Chu Yuan.
The first choice was to let the bandits continue to grow. This is impossible, for it would undermine the majesty of the Emperor. It could stir up public sentiment and even result in the loss of reverence for the imperial authority.
The second choice was to send the Forbidden Army to annihilate them, a seemingly good choice, where Chu Yuan would just wait in the palace for news from the Forbidden Army.
However, the third choice got Chu Yuan thinking deeply. To personally eliminate the bandits would be dangerous, but great rewards come with great risks.
"This outbreak of banditry..."
Chu Yuan tapped his fingers on his desk, saying, "Should I let the Forbidden Army handle it? But I trust myself more."
"Ding! The host has chosen option three and has gained one hundred Destiny Points."
....
The Southern Mountain located a hundred miles outside the Imperial City, with a continuous range and miasma all around, is riddled with snakes, rodents, and ants.
There are steep mountains everywhere, so even masters in the Original Spirit Realm who can fly would find it difficult to cross the Southern Mountain.
Before the establishment of the Great Wu Dynasty, there were many bandits within the Southern Mountain. However, when the Great Wu Dynasty was founded, the first Emperor led the God-martial Army to wipe them out, and there has not been any in decades.
"Southern Mountain!"
Chu Yuan arrived at the Southern Mountain and looked at the mountain ranges shrouded in mist.
There were no main roads to the Southern Mountain, only rugged trails.
When Chu Yuan entered, the strong smell of blood wafted with the wind, and from time to time, he could see corpses on the mountain.
These corpses were dressed in common clothes and not highly skilled, mostly at the body-nurturing and channel-opening levels. They were probably hunters, killed by bandits and discarded here.
The Southern Mountain housed many beasts. Some small villages were stationed here, but the arrival of these fierce bandits brought massacre to many villages, which were left deserted and in ruins.
"All those who dare to cause trouble under the foot of my Great Wu Imperial City must be eradicated!"
Chu Yuan looked at the second seal on his Emperor's Sword.
(695 million/1 billion)
Previously, the Emperor's Sword was still short of 300 million people's aspirations, but now it was still short of several tens of thousands.
"The willingness of all beings fluctuates, any rebellion or death will correspondingly reduce the willingness," the system reminded.
Chu Yuan understood that those who became bandits or established themselves as kings would no longer belong to the Great Wu Dynasty and would no longer provide the willingness of all beings.
"Yo! Another one's coming up the mountain. And a young lad at that, does he want to eliminate bandits too? Watch me take his head and hang it atop the mountain stronghold. This Southern Mountain is our territory now!"
Suddenly, at this moment, more than a dozen burly and formidable men rushed out from a mountain path. They were fearsome and desperate, the kind to lick blood off their blades, and they surrounded Chu Yuan.
The Southern Mountain only had a few paths up. The other areas were all cliffs, making it easy to defend but hard to attack.
"Haha, Scorpion, don't be so eager to chop off heads all the time, you're scaring him."
A menacing man said, "If he's too scared, it won't be fun. These days have been dull, if we capture him and bring him back, I just learned a new torture technique, we can try it on him."
"Viper, you're always so cruel. Wouldn't it be better to give him a swift end?" The man called Scorpion said, "But it's up to you. As long as you're happy."
"Hehe, boy, falling into my hands, the Viper's hands, is worse than death. I'll make thousands of cuts on your body, let the blood flow out, sprinkle honey on it and let all the insects in the Southern Mountain stick to you. It will be interesting."
The Viper laughed, step by step approaching Chu Yuan.
"In the Original Spirit Realm?"
Chu Yuan didn't bother about Viper and Scorpion's conversation, but instead was surprised by their cultivation.
This was not a common bandit.
The six realms of cultivation are: body-nurturing, channel-opening, soul-forging, original spirit, spiritual abilities, and God-peering.
Being in the Original Spirit Realm, which is already the fourth realm, they could have been colonels in the Forbidden Army in the Great Wu Dynasty. They would also be esteemed guests if they pledged allegiance to any family. Why would they choose to degrade themselves to bandits?
[Option One: Slay this group of bandits here and now, and earn a hundred Destiny Points.]
[Option Two: Let them go, ignore them, and ascertain the true facts immediately to earn one hundred Destiny Points.]
[Option Three: Conceal your power, pretend to be caught by them before counter-killing, and earn a hundred Destiny Points.]
"Did this little brat get scared stupid?" Seeing Chu Yuan remain silent, the viper chuckled.
"Viper, don't waste time. Last time, Dawu sent the garrison, if it weren't for our preparedness which led to their big loss, who knows when the Second Emperor will send more troops again, to eliminated us in the mountains."
The scorpion urged.
"Ha ha, no matter how many men the Second Emperor dares to send, we'll kill that many, we know their every move."
Viper laughed. His palm was already stretched towards Chu Yuan, with a nimble movement akin to a poisonous snake.
"And I am your so-called Second Emperor."
With a whoosh, Chu Yuan drew his Emperor's Sword, instantly creating a streak of shimmer. The sharp long sword made a cut on viper's face, a line of blood appeared, and his body was unexpectedly splitting from the middle.
"You killed the viper!"
Scorpion was shocked and furious. He and Viper were both masters of the original spirit realm, yet Viper was killed instantly by a sword. Thinking of what he said just now, he exclaimed in shock, "You are the Emperor of Dawu!"
Chu Yuan's eyes were icy, and the Sword of the Human Emperor slashed out a sword light tens of meters long, cutting through Scorpion and the ten-odd bandits at the waist in a sweep.
"Ding! Host completed Option One, earned a hundred Destiny Points."
After killing these bandits, Chu Yuan whooshed a few tens of meters away in a flash, traversing rocky mountain path as if it was flat ground, unaffected in the least.
His Emperor's Sword at his waist let out a resonant hum. This was a unique attribute of the Sword of the Human Emperor, capable of sensing the breath of human beings.
Guided by this sense, Chu Yuan arrived deep into Southern Mountain within half an hour.
"Such a strong smell of blood."
Chu Yuan frowned. This smell of blood had grown so thick that it became tangible, refusing to dissipate.
Following this scent of blood, he searched through it, suddenly seeing a grand pit under a cliff, where lay numerous bodies stripped of armor, stacked together haphazardly.
From the traces left by these corpses, Chu Yuan recognized them as garrison soldiers!
In addition to the Divine Abilities Army and the Martial Guard, Dawu also had a million-strong Forbidden Army stationed in the Imperial City, the Border Army guarding the borders, and the garrison and provincial forces within each prefecture.
These are the garrison soldiers from Wudu.
Wudu is the capital of Dawu.
Although the garrison soldiers didn't possess the combat power of the Forbidden Army, several thousand of them form a battalion. That they were all killed by a group of bandits was practically an impossible feat.
"No wonder the Prefect of Wudu had to report the situation, requesting the Forbidden Army to take action. The death of a thousand garrison soldiers is indeed not the work of ordinary bandits."
Chu Yuan smirked.
The original spirit realm could control a battalion, and a battalion of garrison soldiers usually had several masters of the original spirit realm.
How can so many experts suddenly appear?
Capable of wiping out an entire battalion of garrison soldiers.
He moved with agility, leaping among the mountains, with the Sword of the Human Emperor at his side, Chu Yuan could sense the location with the densest human qi. Suddenly, he stopped in a dense forest, catching sight of what lay ahead.
Ahead, three large mountains clustered together to form a hidden giant pit, with only a narrow entrance, making it easy to defend and hard to attack.
Inside that pit, Chu Yuan saw at least a few thousand men through his Thunder Eye, all clad in armor. The aura they emitted wasn't that of mountain bandits, instead seeming more like a trained army stationed there.
[Option One: Turn around and leave. The situation is unclear, and a well-trained army is definitely not something one person can deal with. Earn a hundred Destiny Points.]
[Option Two: Quietly note down the location, return and call for troops and generals. Earn a hundred Destiny Points.]
[Option Three: The hero goes solitary. March right in alone to avenge the one thousand garrison soldiers and uncover the truth about these bandits. Earn a hundred Destiny Points.]