Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 734 - 734 0463 Who Do You Think You Are

Chapter 734: Chapter 0463: Who Do You Think You Are Chapter 734: Chapter 0463: Who Do You Think You Are Chapter 0463: Who Do You Think You Are?

Not everyone cheered upon seeing Qi Tian instantly create a Gold Mountain and Silver Sea. The split within the Northern Expedition Army, which almost resulted in a brawl, was more than a simple protest over pay. A decent number of these people had been influenced by the Crown Prince. Otherwise, the disgruntled soldiers wouldn’t have formed an army, prepared to defect to the court.

As the majority of the soldiers prepared to obey Qi Tian’s orders and return to their respective camps, waiting for their owed silver to be distributed, a group of the hard faction who had decided to defect to the Crown prince showed a hint of resolution in their gaze. One of them shouted, “Don’t listen to them! They are lying with their silver and gold to deceive us. With the amount of money they possess, yet they have been delaying our payment for months. How can we trust them now? This is just a strategy to divert us. Once we return to our camps, they will separate us and surround us using their superior forces. At that time, if we don’t wish to die, we will have no choice but to continue enduring their exploitation. Fellow brethren, if you are tired of being mistreated, want to receive your pay on time, and envision a peaceful return to your parents, follow us and defect to the Crown Prince.”

“Defect to the Crown Prince, defect to the Crown Prince.” Amidst the insidious whispering of the instigators, similar echoes arose from various areas within the big army.

Qi Tian narrowed his eyes and commanded, “Anyone who dares to bewitch the army will be executed without exception.”

At Qi Tian’s command, figures such as Gao Jinmei, Jin Jin, and Wang Youjun leaped into action. They were all formidable Gold Core cultivators, blessed with acute hearing and perfect vision. Even their swift movements were too fast for ordinary people to understand. Their attacks were quick and ruthless. Usually, a single flash would be enough to silence anyone who was shouting; their movements were swift and merciless.

In a mere moment, hundreds of people lay in pools of blood. Their deaths were horrendous; some were decapitated, others were crushed to a pulp, not one body remained whole.

Seeing this spectacle, the remaining South Army soldiers had a drastic change in their complexion. Those who originally planned to return to their camps for their salary became more adamant in their decision, while those who were slightly tempted by the hard-liners’ shouts hurriedly abandoned their rebellious thoughts. Even if they doubted Qi Tian’s promise to give them their payment, they were unwilling to test their suspicion with their lives at this juncture.

Quickly, Gao Jinmei and others eliminated all the hardliners they could find. Of course, there might have been some innocent victims, and some who slipped through the net. However, those who escaped were cowed into silence, daring not to speak. Qi Tian didn’t care about their existence, nor did he order Gao Jinmei to root them out.

“Everyone, under the command of your respective leaders, return to your quarters. The arrears will be distributed within the next three days, not a single penny will be delayed.” Qi Tian reiterated.

“Long live Master, long live Master.”

The cheers echoed louder than before. Even though many deceased bodies lay around, and the air was filled with the lingering scent of blood, the soldiers shouted with all their might, regardless of their inner thoughts.

Within approximately half an hour, hundreds of thousands of Northern Expedition soldiers began to orderly return back to their camps. Qi Tian descended from the sky, dismounted from the brass statue of a crane, as Prince Zhao hurriedly arrived with his delegation.

“Greetings, Master.” The personally inclined Prince Zhao was the first to bow to Qi Tian, following which, the civil and military officials who had rallied behind Prince Zhao followed suit, some even kneeled and paid their respect to Qi Tian.

Qi Tian nodded in acknowledgment, then pointed at Marquis Ma, who was on the ground, bound tightly, and asked, “What exactly happened here? Didn’t I provide him with five million taels of silver? According to the timeline, the wages should have already been distributed. Why did the Northern Expedition army protest over their payment? It seems more than ninety percent of the people were involved. If I hadn’t returned, the consequences would have been disastrous. Can anyone explain this to me?”

The officials looked at each other, but nobody dared to step forward to invoke Qi Tian’s wrath. They all recognized that although Qi Tian seemed calm and displayed little emotion, there was definitely a raging fire beneath his tranquil surface.

Qi Tian turned his attention to Prince Zhao and asked, “Prince Zhao, you are the future heir, and the future ruler of Great Zhao, surely you must have an explanation, right?”

Prince Zhao hastily responded, “Master, it was not Marquis Ma’s fault, upon receiving the silver from you, he handed it over to me. As I was preparing to distribute the five million taels of silver among the soldiers as their pay, a cultivator suddenly barged in and seized all the silver without explanation. In addition to that, over a million taels of silver I had gathered for the same purpose were also taken away. We decided to keep this a secret, but the news leaked out a couple of days ago which led to today’s payment protest. The situation almost spiraled out of control, betraying the trust you placed in us.”

Qi Tian frowned, “Who dared to steal the soldiers’ pay? That’s audacious. Didn’t you request Gao Jinmei and others to recover the silver?”