Chapter 249: Cruel Tactics
On May 17th, Sunday, at the Hyacinth Villa.
After the complete closure of the Golden River Club, the population at Hyacinth Villa suddenly increased by more than twenty people, raising the permanent resident count to over sixty, including several personnel supported by Guo Hao.
Having distanced himself from the Hermit’s Castle, Guo Hao has, over the past two months since stabilizing in Northern Myanmar, gradually gathered several loyalists left by Xiang Zuxing, now exceeding thirty individuals, nearly two-thirds of whom are elite knights from the Ba Mansion.
Combined with Guo Hao’s baronial status, this force’s scale is equivalent to a medium-sized baronial family anywhere, creating a significant presence of a local power.
Having faced the turmoil in Northern Myanmar, Guo Hao has fully committed to moving forward with the Hyacinth, agreeing almost without hesitation to proposals for collaboration over the past few months.
In addition to the ones who have transferred to A.X.Intes, such as Xiao Guo and Xiao Lian, he has also sent over the mid-tier knight Xiao Hai, who is most familiar to Jiang Yan.
Excluding the exceptionally unique Jiang sisters, who are out of the knight ranks, there are now twelve knights concentrated at Hyacinth Villa, among whom the highest rank is Liang Tai, who recently became a high-tier knight.
Currently, Zhao Peng is leading these twelve knights, cooperating with another small team from the Wang family for a joint field simulation battle.
The leader of the Wang family team is the twelfth brother of the Wang family, who has long been responsible for covertly protecting Jiang Yao, a mid-tier baron named Aletai, an unassuming middle-aged man commanding a small team consisting of eight Wang family knights.
Both families have joined forces, yet their styles are quite different.
Although youthful, the Hyacinth unit, influenced by Wan Yue and Zheng Shaolin, carries obvious traits of a conventional army, appearing very professional.
On the other hand, the Wang family’s unit resembles a seasoned guerrilla group, employing an extremely agile and elusive tactical style.
Combined, they total two barons and twenty knights. Whether they can complement each other’s strengths remains uncertain for now, but the number of friction points and potential chaos is innumerable.
This nearly all-knight joint team only has one opponent to face: Jiang Yao.
Zhao Peng and the twelfth brother of the Wang family, along with the twenty knights, play the role of hunters, while Jiang Yao plays the prey attempting to break out.
Deep within the valley’s dense forest, the twelfth brother of the Wang family has already engaged with Jiang Yao, but this mid-tier baron, with notable combat experience, was defeated in just under three minutes, or rather, was psychologically unprepared against Jiang Yao, whose strength surged significantly in the heat of battle.
Immediately after, the Wang family’s knights responsible for the first circle of encirclement were subjected to Jiang Yao’s close-range assaults. Their constructed defensive line was shattered by Jiang Yao’s overwhelming blood surge, comparable to that of a viscount.
The Wang family’s people, having never experienced the suppression of Jiang Yao’s blood frenzy, found it difficult to exert even half their usual strength under the intense, disruptive pull of her overwhelming presence.
“No, we can’t let her get close! Meng Huai, I’ll create a firing opportunity for you!”
Zhao Peng’s expression tightened, and with a quick glance, he immediately expanded the second line of defense.
Zhao Peng’s role was to tie up resources, while Meng Huai led the other knights on the periphery to disrupt Jiang Yao’s movement route with ranged sniper fire.
Although Zhao Peng, as a newly promoted low-tier baron from Siberia, was not Jiang Yao’s equal, he refrained from a head-on confrontation, instead using himself as bait to lure Jiang Yao into the forward fire coverage zone commanded by Meng Huai.
The thrill of previously defeating the Wang family dissipated quickly for Jiang Yao, as if she had suddenly fallen into quicksand, struggling to move.
While others accounted for it, especially Meng Huai, who always managed to grant Zhao Peng moments to breathe, even to this day, the two hits Jiang Yao had suffered were inflicted directly by Meng Huai.
In this simulation battle, special ammunition was employed for safety; although the recoil and other sensations from the firearms still exhibited a significant gap compared to real bullets, it still caused Jiang Yao notable difficulties—according to the pre-established rules, if Jiang Yao accumulates five hits, Zhao Peng’s side would win.
The distant elastic counterattack tactics that bore the mark of dark arrows were effective; under Zhao Peng’s harassment, Jiang Yao found it impossible to advance or retreat.
Two pellets struck Jiang Yao’s lower back, nearly causing the girl to lose her balance once more, not to mention that the fifth hit was from the most peripheral Wang family knights, who cheered at this moment.
“These bullets really hurt when they hit… How did Meng Huai figure out my approach?”
In a desperate forward charge, Zhao Peng, who had exhausted his strength, was finally flung back, crashing heavily into the woods and failing to rise for a while, while Jiang Yao’s eyes turned blood-red, panting heavily as she glared at the interlocking formations of the Hyacinth knights a hundred meters away.
“Enough, the whistle was blown… Hey, Xiao Yao, the simulated battle is over!”
Xiao Dong wiped the sweat from his forehead and stood up from behind a makeshift barricade of fallen logs, but before he could smile, he was terrified to see Jiang Yao charging at him with bloody eyes and a terrifying murderous intent.
Unimpeded and unstoppable, the training ammunition distributed to everyone posed no threat to blood kin.
A wave of violent rage filled with strong feelings of resentment surged forth, causing several Hyacinth knights, including Xiao Dong, to lose control of their bodies, helplessly watching Jiang Yao breach their defenses like a wolf wreaking havoc in a flock of sheep.
Meng Huai’s face grew serious, still maintaining a combat stance, as Jiang Yao’s figure loomed closer in his sight.
He felt again the accumulating oppressive sensation he had previously experienced beside Jiang Yan, biting down hard on his lip, blood appearing at the corners of his mouth, his shotgun trembling as it aimed at the girl’s figure, which was erratically shifting along her charge.
This was no longer a simulation, Meng Huai could clearly sense the unmasked savage killing intent emanating from Jiang Yao, and it was aimed directly at him—at that moment, the other party had developed a genuine intent to kill him.
Meng Huai felt as if he were experiencing dangerously high ocular pressure, pain radiating through his lungs, his vision beginning to blur. Despite the disorientation and the stiffening of his limbs, he continued to fire his weapon towards a single direction based purely on instinct.
More colored pellets struck Jiang Yao’s body, but she appeared to be beyond the control of any emotion at this point, her blood-red eyes reflecting a chilling glare that seemed poised to freeze everything.
“Duck!”
A figure struggled to rush over and grabbed Meng Huai from behind, pulling him aside just as he was about to fall over.
A few meters away, Jiang Yao’s distorted hand burst through the combat suit on Meng Huai’s back, her red and viciously sharp limbs swiping with savage intent.
“That’s enough, Xiao Yao, it’s over!”
Zheng Shaolin was one of the few knights who could still control his body, currently shielding Meng Huai, throwing his rifle at Jiang Yao in vain.
The two streaks of crimson light passed each other; Zheng Shaolin’s thrown rifle was disassembled in mid-air by Jiang Yao’s hand, along with the hefty log that lay before him, smashed into pieces.
Jiang Yao paused, exhaling deeply, glancing at the tangled forms of Zheng Shaolin and Meng Huai before retracting her blood surge and silently turning to leave.
All of this occurred in less than ten seconds.
Having seemingly escaped from the gates of hell, Zheng Shaolin’s face was pale, but he managed to force a smile, straining to sit up while gently touching Meng Huai’s arm.
“Yeah, both she and Jiang Yan have significant combat talent… Ugh, I think I dislocated something.”
Watching the retreating figure of the girl, Meng Huai wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, cradling his shoulder, and slowly sat up.
“Not bad, although it was merely a simulation, I didn’t expect to actually stand my ground against Xiao Yao. It seems the tactics of Dark Arrow have indeed improved over the years!”
Zheng Shaolin picked up a piece of his rifle, weighing it in his hand before smiling bitterly at several Hyacinth female knights trembling not far away: “Xiao Dong, Xiao Ling, hurry over here and help Meng… help Li Huai treat his injuries!”
“Old Zheng, her strength is probably not any less than Wan Jie’s, isn’t that the hand of Aletai… I see she hasn’t even broken through the full blood threshold yet is already at this level.”
Liang Tai approached with a few others and squatted down to help with the aftermath.
“What the hell, we clearly agreed earlier to end things, can’t you take a loss? Shaolin bro, you’re hurt, take your combat suit off, let me check.”
Xiao Ling had a good relationship with Jiang Yao, but still leaned against Zheng Shaolin’s side with concern, touching her tactical suit and ballistic vest that had been shredded by numerous hits, indignantly voicing her displeasure.
“It’s fine, just superficial injuries. It shows she still maintained control.”
Hearing his girlfriend’s reminder, Zheng Shaolin realized he had been injured as well, his ballistic vest nearly split in half, dark red blood seeping from his combat suit.
Xiao Ai supported Zhao Peng as he emerged from the depths of the woods, having endured Jiang Yao’s most direct assaults, and seemed to have sustained some minor injuries as well.
“She alone can hold off two barons and twenty knights, and this is just a simulated battle; a typical viscount might not reach such a level.”
Zhao Peng entered the crowd, observing the surrounding Hyacinth members, and shook his head slightly: “Rules exist for a reason, but combat does not; we must never let our guard down.”
“But she obviously knows…”
“Enough, there are watching eyes up top.”
Before Xiao Ling could respond, Zheng Shaolin pulled her arm and glanced towards the valley above: “The more realistic this tactical training, the better. Although it’s merely a simulation, it proves we still have the capability to engage with high-tier blood kin.”
Following this statement, several Hyacinth knights exchanged glances, their faces displaying visible fear or confusion, only the three Ba Mansion knights under Guo Hao remained relatively calm.
“Peng bro, are we really supposed to fight high-tier blood kin, does the Wang family still need us?”
Xiao Ai supported Zhao Peng’s body, throwing a last glance at the Wang family knights assembling in the distance with an uneasy expression.
Zhao Peng did not respond, simply crouching down to gently pat Meng Huai’s shoulder.
On a high point by the valley, in a pavilion, Wan Yue, fully armed, was watching with interest everything that transpired beneath.
Beside Wan Yue, Jiang Yan’s expression was grim. Clearly, Jiang Yao’s breach of protocol had been quite severe, filling her with both anger and fear.
Due to her physiological period, Jiang Yan had to sit out all blood-related tactical training these past few days, only able to remain as an observer beside Wan Yue.
“What, do you think she doesn’t understand boundaries?” Wan Yue replied with a smile, “When I was young, I was just like her, extremely competitive. That’s the true demeanor of youth.”
Zhao Peng, Xiao Ai, and many others have lost their edge. Even if they appear only slightly older than you, their hearts have long since been smoothed over. Only a few in their thirties or forties can still relate to you two sisters normally.”
Jiang Yan dared not assess her companions yet worried about someone’s emotional state: “But I’m concerned that Xiao Yao may be influenced by her queenly nature; her impulsiveness and irritability have become increasingly evident over these past two months.”
Wan Yue pondered for a few seconds, shaking her head slightly: “No, if you think back carefully, her personality has been heading in this direction since the blood kin incident.”
It is said that dark arrows rely on psychological testing when selecting special talents, which I perceive as mainly looking for those with stable personalities.
Becoming a blood kin means sensing the wonders or cruelties of another world, along with significant personal changes, acquiring unparalleled strength and the ability to perceive others’ emotions.
In the earlier simulation battle, Jiang Yao’s cold and intense desire to win, along with her ruthless combat methods, precisely provoked her.
However, these traits do not fundamentally change a person’s character; they merely exaggerate certain characteristics. There’s a humorous saying that the more obvious such traits are in someone, the more suited they are to becoming a blood kin.
At this moment, Wan Yue held a sly smile, lightly tapping her chest and Jiang Yan’s: “For instance, you and I, while we can’t be chosen, with time, we will one day suddenly realize these.”
“Have I changed as well?”
Jiang Yan was taken aback, pondering thoughtfully.
“Perhaps you never considered being called a motherly sister?”
“Older sister, right? That is just an inherent strong kindness in your character, taking joy in caring for others. Becoming part of a clan only provides you with a more extreme opportunity than ordinary people.”
“Alright, let Zhao Peng handle it; don’t get involved, or else Jiang Yao will get angry with you again.” After finishing her sentence, Wan Yue sat down, reaching for a beer.
Reflecting on the past year, Jiang Yan slowly grasped the core of Jiang Yao’s physical and psychological changes—not that her identity as a queen had altered Jiang Yao but that she had realized or amplified her inner demands through her queenly identity.
According to Wan Yue, Meng Huai indeed has a very stable personality, remaining consistent in both the ordinary and blood kin worlds, but Wan Yue has also previously said that attempting to use ordinary psychological models to assess the humanity of blood kin is a joke locked within an information barrier.
Simply put, it is no different from observing the heavens from inside a confined space.
“Well, Wan Yue, do you think the tactical drills organized by Zhao Peng and Meng Huai will truly be employed soon? I feel like there might be many casualties…”
Jiang Yan obediently settled beside Wan Yue, only quietly reminding after Wan Yue had finished a cigarette and a can of beer.
Jiang Yan could sense that Meng Huai’s tactics, which combined traits of blood kin and dark arrows, aimed to use knights or even servants as a baseline of power to defeat higher-tier blood kin.
So far, the effectiveness seems adequate, but Jiang Yan distinctly comprehended the extreme cruelty inherent within.
They had discussed these topics twice during their time in Northern Myanmar, yet Meng Huai clearly remained unyielding.
“It truly is difficult… and we both understand the reasoning.”
Fiddling with her empty beer can, Wan Yue fell into brief contemplation and then shook her head helplessly after a few seconds: “Aside from special eras, high-tier confrontations between blood kin are rare; high-tier blood kin do not engage in reckless bloodshed easily, so the vast majority of battles see knights as the backbone.”
However, in the eyes of high-tier blood kin, such battles are essentially no different from playing house with beasts; once a high-tier confrontation arises, knights become purely supporting characters. Aside from high-tier knights or half-step barons barely able to receive attention, the majority do not even reach the platform.
“Your experience of growth alongside Jiang Yao is different from that of most ‘normal’ blood kin. Even for the Aletai blood kin, renowned for their blood frenzy, knights facing strong opponents pay far greater costs than you might imagine.”
Upon hearing Wan Yue’s comment, Jiang Yan nodded in agreement.
In the blood kin world, once a high-tier confrontation occurs, it is predominantly high-tier blood kin-centric, with knights providing peripheral support. A simple example is the Wang family, where knights serve the baron’s tactics.
Nevertheless, at least in Huaguo, there’s one exception, the Hermit Alliance. The Ba Mansion has consistently followed a tactical route of barons serving knights! You should have noticed by now that Zhao Peng has been creating opportunities for twenty knights to attack, shielding them from being disrupted by Jiang Yao.
At this point, Wan Yue suddenly pointed towards several figures practicing freely in the valley. Following her gaze, Jiang Yan spotted Xiao Hai, Xiao Guo, and Xiao Lian.
“The goal of knights servicing barons… what is it?”
Jiang Yao paused in confusion, recalling her previous collaboration with Xiao Hai, Guo Hao, and others during their time in Northern Myanmar.
To speak frankly, based on Jiang Yan’s experience, the three knights from the Ba Mansion—Xiao Hai, among them—exceeded most Hyacinth knights in terms of discipline and combat performance.
Aside from Zhao Peng, who has already been promoted to baron, only Xiao Ai, Liang Tai, and Zheng Shaolin could barely compete with Xiao Hai and others, as they were also part of the Ba Mansion two decades ago.
During the earlier simulated battle organized by Meng Huai, only they could truly adhere to his tactical commands, but if real combat ensued, it would inevitably lead to casualties among them.
“Simple: the ability to realize the strategy of exchanging ten knights for a baron is always profitable… The opportunities, time, and resources required to cultivate a baron far exceed those for ten knights.”
“Otherwise, how did Guo Hao withstand the invasion of Nava with fewer than ten remaining knights after being gravely injured? Nava is no fool, they would not clash directly with the Ba Mansion but would instead resort to tormenting tactics to drag them down—a loss of face for a baron.”
Wan Yue chuckled smugly, evidently pleased.
Pleased, as if recalling certain past events.
“I’ve seen the tactics of the Ba Mansion; we at Hyacinth had similar strategies before, but the blood frenzy control a baron exerts on knights is not without solutions, right?”
Jiang Yan frowned slightly, still feeling something off; after all, she had encountered the Ba Mansion several times, and besides their willingness to fight and strict discipline, they did not possess anything particularly unique.
Excessive Yuhe Elixirs may harm a knight’s growth foundation, but they can temporarily ward off the blood frenzy control of high-tier blood kin against lower-tier ones. Combined with long-term tactical acclimatization and discipline, over ten knights from the Ba Mansion can afford a brief opportunity to overpower a baron together.
As long as the blood frenzy control can be weakened and one fights desperately, even the opposing baron may not fully escape, but the cost would be severe casualties among the Ba Mansion knights, and the probability of overall victory would only be about fifty-fifty…
Wan Yue lit a cigarette, taking a satisfying puff, a hint of subtle self-mockery gleaming in her eyes: “You must be curious why only the Ba Mansion dares to do this? Most blood kin powers are unable to heavily skew resources intended for baron growth toward knights.”
Taking the Wang family as an example, it is not so much that the barons of the Wang family are unwilling; even most knights, especially those with high potential hoping to ascend to baron status in the future, find it hard to accept being mere cannon fodder against barons. The intricacies of familial connections among legitimate families cannot be underestimated…
Contrary to that, in the Ba Mansion, for knights to qualify for growth into barons, while ability is important, it is not the paramount criterion. With insufficient strong relationships, the vast majority of Ba Mansion knights rely solely on military achievements to speak for themselves. Only the Hermit Alliance, a band of freewheeling blood kin who disregard rules, would dare pursue such a ploy.
Throughout history, the bulk of the Hermit Alliance’s resources have been funneled into the Ba Mansion. From the outset, they have continually invested heavily to cultivate a significant number of elite knights. If the legend is true, the old eunuch from back in the day indeed created one of the most extreme legacies.
Feeding a baron from over a dozen knights over decades would be considered a hot topic, yet now just over ten knights can confront a baron, and the survivors still have opportunities for significant training through combat merits—a worthy sacrifice for Ba Mansion knights. Those who refuse this, wouldn’t even stand a chance to enter the Ba Mansion!
Whoever can help everyone gain spoils and merits becomes the most authoritative figure within the Ba Mansion; Xiang Zuxing could rally his loyalists, and I could pull away Zhao Peng and the others—this is how it works.
After saying this, Wan Yue stood up, dusted off her pants, and walked toward the Hyacinth Villa.
Digesting Wan Yue’s earlier explanations, Jiang Yan suddenly felt sympathy for Xiao Hai and several others, even including Zhao Peng and Liang Tai from more than twenty years ago.
The number of high-tier blood kin in the Hermit Alliance is evidently fewer than in equivalent mainstream blood kin families, but the proportion of knights in the Ba Mansion is peculiarly high, likely the fundamental reason behind it.
At this moment, it’s clear that not only does the Hermit Alliance’s Ba Mansion excel, but it seems Wan Yue has also secretly been implementing this strategy within Hyacinth, heavily expending resources on servants and even blood servants.
However, the Hyacinth has been established for too short a time and is too small in scale for any results to manifest within a mere twenty years.
Without the Yuhe Elixirs, the Ba Mansion wouldn’t be able to sustain such tactics, would they? The black-blood kin are notoriously self-serving and would indeed refrain from that.
Perhaps apart from the Hermit Alliance, there would be no other comparison… But one must not forget the Blood Dragon Team of Dark Arrow! From what Wan Jie had previously indicated, the Blood Dragon Team, established only a few decades ago, must be knight-centric, which means they…
Suddenly contemplating the value of the previously underestimated Yuhe Elixir within the Hermit Alliance, Jiang Yan pondered the possibility that there even exists an invisible, secret relationship between the Blood Dragon Team and the Hermit Alliance beyond just the Wang family.
If there were no resources and practical experiences being sourced from the blood kin world, how did the formerly blank-slate Blood Dragon Team manage to become a top-tier dark arrow unit capable of executing A-rank missions within just a few short years?
From the blood kin perspective, no one would allow the Dark Arrow to command such power, right? Simply because of the understanding between the Dark Arrow and the established blood kin families in the country?
Exactly, Wan Yue used to be from the Hermit Alliance, and her knowledge of the existence of the Blood Dragon Team seems far greater than that of others… Gazing at Wan Yue’s graceful figure descending the mountain, a peculiar thought suddenly emerged in Jiang Yan’s mind.
