38: Five-vine Dismemberment

Just as Liu Banshan was about to strike Xie Yanwen with a punch, a vine coiled around him and lifted him into the air. His golden hands grabbed at the vine, but no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't break it.

"Strange, we're clearly only one level apart, so how can this be?" It was too late for Liu Banshan to regret. Suddenly, he said in shock, "You aren't a Manipulation Level Ability User!"

"Hahahaha, I broke through long ago. I am now already a Control Level Ability User! Hahahaha!" Xie Yanwen said with a smug expression. At this moment, he was incredibly grateful to be working for Wei He.

"Impossible, how can this be? You clearly only reached the Manipulation Level not long ago, how could you break through again so quickly? This is impossible!" Liu Banshan roared frantically.

"Hahahaha, I gave you a chance. Say your last words!" Xie Yanwen waved his hand, and four more vines surged up, binding Liu Banshan's limbs.

"It doesn't matter if I die. Sun Fanshan is my good brother. All you want is power; I hope you can spare his life!" Liu Banshan's eyes revealed utter despair—the despair of being two levels apart.

"Fine, I promise you!" Xie Yanwen said indifferently. The five vines exerted force simultaneously, performing a Five Vines Dismemberment. Blood spilled everywhere, and limbs were torn from the body. It was a truly gruesome death.

"He's dead, his limbs were torn off. How tragic!"

"Are you crazy? Hurry and close the window! Don't let them hear you!"

"Oh my, what's happening? Aren't they on the same side?"

"Stop talking. Why do you commoners have so many questions? Aren't you afraid of being executed?"

...Many commoners along the street couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

After dealing with Liu Banshan, Xie Yanwen didn't care about the whispering commoners. He only knew to be loyal to the Commander and resolutely carry out the Commander's orders.

The next morning, in the main hall of the Lin Mansion in Nankang Golden Valley, Plucking Feathers from a Passing Goose—Lin Zhian—was sitting in the hall. His eyebrows were raised, his face was grim, and his eyes stared coldly at the floor.

"Lord, Captain Liu Banshan conspired with the enemy and committed treason. He resisted arrest, so I killed him in the street!" Xie Yanwen reported to Lin Zhian as soon as he walked in.

"I already know about you killing him. What I want to know is, how did you know he was conspiring with the enemy?" Lin Zhian asked coldly. After all, this was Nankang Golden Valley, and Xie Yanwen had killed someone in the street; he had already received a secret report.

"Yesterday, I received a report from a subordinate saying that scouts from the Magic Empire had sneaked into the valley. While we were secretly tracking them for arrest, I didn't expect to find Captain Liu drinking and chatting happily with two scouts. I even found evidence of their correspondence!" Xie Yanwen handed over the box he had taken from the scouts.

"Where are those two scouts? Bring them in!" Lin Zhian looked at the letters in his hand and the high-purity Magic Crystals—larger than a fist—and rare treasures in the box. His brow furrowed into a knot, and he gripped the letters tightly, speaking in anger.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Lin Zhian asked fiercely, looking at the two people who were brought in.

"We are scouts under the Army Array Commander of Phoenix Mountain. We only came here to deliver gifts! As for anything else, we know nothing!" the two scouts replied.

They truly knew nothing. They only knew to deliver the box and the letter; they were not allowed to open them to see what was inside.

"Take them out and behead them!" Lin Zhian's eyes were wide with rage, as if they were spitting fire, and his voice rose several notches.

"Did you read the contents of the letter?" Lin Zhian asked calmly after dealing with the two scouts.

"I did. Liu Banshan was sending information to the Magic Empire because he wanted to defect there. Furthermore, the letter mentioned that the Five Great Vajras have already gone over, and Ravich offered a very high price! Liu Banshan was just a step behind them before he could have gone over himself!" Xie Yanwen disclosed the entire contents of the letter. Of course, he knew that Ravich was already a red alert soldier, but he wouldn't tell Lin Zhian that.

"These scumbags... I haven't mistreated them, yet they still want to defect. Investigate for me and see how many more of these bastards there are!" Lin Zhian's face turned beet red. He knew Liu Banshan was likely being framed, but he had no other evidence.

Moreover, there was Ravich's letter. He had intercepted his letters before and knew his handwriting. This half-true, half-false incident left him momentarily unsure of what to do.

"Yes!" Xie Yanwen replied respectfully and strode out.

With Lin Zhian's order, Xie Yanwen immediately went to the Commandant's office. Commandant Sun Fanshan was wailing in grief over the passing of his good friend Liu Banshan.

"Enough, stop crying. I'm here to conduct a search on the Lord's orders! Search!" Xie Yanwen said calmly, glancing at Sun Fanshan, who was weeping on the floor.

"Yes!" Numerous soldiers filed in, running around to begin their search.

"It's you! It's you! You killed him!" Sun Fanshan pointed at Xie Yanwen, accusing him fiercely.

"Liu Banshan conspired with the enemy and committed treason. We serve the Lord, so naturally, we should kill such people to our heart's content!" Xie Yanwen replied with a righteous air.

"Impossible! You... you're framing him! He couldn't... he would never betray the country!" Sun Fanshan's eyebrows were raised, his eyes seemed to spit fire, and his voice rose several notches.

"The Lord has already passed judgment; he conspired with the enemy!" Xie Yanwen said nonchalantly, his eyes fixed on the chest his subordinates were carrying in.

"This is a frame-up! I'm going to report this to the Lord!" Sun Fanshan only hated that he lacked the ability to kill his enemy with his own hands; after all, even Liu Banshan couldn't defeat Xie Yanwen.

"Fine, let's go see the Lord together and let him look at your ledgers!" Xie Yanwen opened the chest his men had just brought in. It was full of evidence of Sun Fanshan's corruption and bribery over the years, as well as his embezzlement of soldiers' rations and false reporting of military supply losses.

"This is a case of the guard stealing what he was supposed to protect. You'd better think about your own problems first! Take the ledgers away!" Xie Yanwen walked out with a light step, followed by the others carrying the chest full of evidence.

When this evidence was placed before Lin Zhian, he was already beyond furious. The veins on his forehead bulged and throbbed. He grabbed a ledger from the chest and slammed it onto the ground.

"Arrest them! Arrest them all! Throw them all into the dungeon! Get out!" Lin Zhian roared hysterically.

The moment Xie Yanwen walked out of the Lin Mansion, his goal had been achieved. A Captain was killed in the street, a Commandant was thrown into the dungeon, and a brigadier general was also implicated by the Commandant. Of course, it wasn't just the brigadier general who was implicated, but also a host of officials—some were dismissed, and others were sent to the dungeon.

Xie Yanwen took the opportunity to arrange for his own people to fill the positions of Captain, Commandant, and brigadier general. Naturally, they all had one thing in common: they were all White Armor Soldiers controlled by Yuri.

At that moment, Lu Yifa arrived outside the Lin Mansion. As the wealthiest man in Nankang Golden Valley, he couldn't escape involvement in the corruption and bribery of these officials. However, he could stand there now as if nothing had happened, not only because he was Lin Xixue's cousin but also because Xie Yanwen had given him a pass. After all, on this continent of abilities, merchants were the most useless.

"You wasteful brat! My warships are finished again; they can't be destroyed this time!" Lu Yifa said harshly as he passed Xie Yanwen. After all, all five warships had been destroyed at Xie Yanwen's hands.

"They won't, they won't!" Xie Yanwen replied happily. Of course, he wasn't happy about the warships being rebuilt.