That night, Raymond Lei sent someone to invite Ian Song to a dinner.
It was a family dinner, and Ian was the only guest invited.
There weren't many dishes—simple but exquisite. The wine wasn't expensive, just flower-honey wine, but it was personally brewed by Madam Lei.
She wore a blue dress, her figure graceful and poised.
Madam Lei's looks were only average, but she had a unique charm that made people instinctively overlook her appearance.
"Ian, don't be so formal."
Madam Lei personally picked up a dish for Ian, her manner very gentle.
"Thank you, Madam Lei."
Ian smiled at her, then put the piece of green vegetable into his mouth.
"Mmm...!"
He was severely injured and pushed into the river.
Unexpectedly, he survived, trained in secret, and twenty years later returned with late-stage Grandmaster cultivation to personally kill Tu Shijie, who had become clan head.
The death of the clan head enraged the elders, who sent experts to hunt him down.
He defeated every expert the clan sent, then joined the Blood River Army. Ten years later, he broke through to Martial Saint and became a member of the Offering Corps.
He is a taciturn and violently temperamental loner; anyone who provokes him is beaten half to death.
Ian picked up the third dossier.
The third was a woman, Hannah Han, forty-eight, mid-stage Martial Saint, hideously ugly and narrow-minded. She had a childhood engagement, but the groom's family broke it off because of her appearance.
She became a laughingstock and grew to hate the groom. On his wedding night, she snuck into the bridal chamber, cut off his manhood, and slashed the bride's face.
Afterward, she went straight to Blood River City and joined the Blood River Army.
The fourth dossier.
This one was relatively normal. His name was Tyson Xiong, raised among bandits. After his bandit stronghold was destroyed by a nearby sect, he barely survived and wandered the world.
Eventually, a reclusive master took him as a disciple and taught him powerful martial arts.
After his master died, Tyson had nowhere to go, so he joined the Blood River Army and became a member of the Offering Corps.
After reading the four dossiers, Ian sighed to himself that none of them were easy characters—he'd have to figure out how to bring these Martial Saints under control.
The meal was thoroughly enjoyed by both host and guest.
After the meal, Madam Lei brewed a pot of tea for the two men before going off to clean up the dishes.
"I've finished arranging the Assassin Camp personnel for you—six people in total. The strongest is already at late-stage Martial Saint," Raymond Lei got straight to the point. "But aside from Fiona Li and Marcus Meng, the rest have... rather difficult personalities. As captain, you'll have to put in some effort to win them over!"
Ian immediately started complaining, "Commander, aren't you just making things hard for me? I'm only a Grandmaster—how am I supposed to win over Martial Saints!"
A mischievous look flashed in Raymond Lei's eyes. "How you win them over is your problem. I've handed the people over to you—whether they follow your orders is up to you!"
"I don't know anything about them! How am I supposed to win them over?" Ian complained again.
Raymond Lei chuckled, "I've already prepared their dossiers for you. Take them with you when you leave!"
"Thank you, Commander," Ian said quickly.
Raymond Lei continued, "I've given you six Martial Saints, but I have only one requirement: before you leave Blood River City, assassinate five more Devil Race Martial Saints for me. If you can't complete the task, don't go back to Sanctum Martial Academy—stay here and work for me!"
Hearing this, Ian protested loudly, "Commander, do you really think Martial Saints are like Chinese cabbages? They're not that easy to assassinate!"
"I have faith in you!" Raymond Lei said solemnly.
"Alright, I'll give it my best shot!"
Ian knew he'd fallen right into Raymond Lei's old fox trap. From the moment he planned the Assassin Camp, he'd been scheming to keep Ian working for him at the Blood River front. Still, Ian wasn't angry.
Back at his courtyard, Ian took out the four dossiers Raymond Lei had given him.
The first dossier.
Jason Song, age sixty-three, late-stage Martial Saint. Once a Core Disciple of Divine Martial Hall, he committed the grave crime of drugging and raping a junior female sectmate and was imprisoned by the sect. Later, he escaped and, when pursued, committed another crime by massacring Divine Martial Hall disciples.
This enraged the upper echelon of Divine Martial Hall, who joined forces with over ten sects to send experts to hunt him down.
For three years, Jason Song was hunted relentlessly, with nowhere to run or hide. In desperation, he fled into the army seeking sanctuary.
The Human Race's army was formed by thousands of sects working together and governed by the Military Council, with nine Military Elders overseeing all affairs.
The Military Council once issued a rule: as long as you're Human, no matter how serious your crimes, if you join the army to fight the Devil Race and swear never to leave, your enemies are forbidden from pursuing you. Violators will be punished by the Council itself.
The Human army numbers in the tens of millions, all under the Military Council's direct control, showing just how powerful the Council is.
So after Jason Song fled to the Blood River Battlefield and joined the Blood River Army, Divine Martial Hall stopped hunting him.
But it effectively imprisoned Jason Song on the battlefield.
Now, after more than twenty years at the Blood River front, Jason Song ranks among the top experts in the Blood River Army's Offering Corps. He's known for being narrow-minded, greedy, and lecherous—extremely difficult to get along with!
Ian put down Jason Song's dossier and picked up the second one.
Shawn Tu, age fifty-four, mid-stage Martial Saint. Born an illegitimate son in the powerful Tu clan of a certain province, he grew up abused by his relatives. Gifted in martial arts, he drew the jealousy of the clan heir, who plotted against him—gouged out one of his eyes and deafened one ear.