Chapter 496 Being Merciful to Enemies is Cruel to Oneself
Wang Chao had been observing for a long time and finally figured things out.
Ren Zhenguo had shed blood to defend the nation, bearing his wounds without complaint. He even chose to kneel and beg for mercy, using the most humiliating means to save his brothers.
No matter how you looked at it, Ren Zhenguo was a resolute and upright man.
On the other hand, Sheng Anhe had always been overbearing, pushing his limits and acting arrogantly. He was undoubtedly a despicable villain!
When dealing with villains, it was only natural to use villainous means against them, making them taste the same repulsive and cruel methods they had used before.
"What did you say?"
Sheng Anhe glared angrily at Wang Chao. "Do you know who I am? I am the young master of Sheng Family, one of the four major tribes under Sir Kong's Great King. You want me to kneel to that scum?!"
"You bastard, are you..."
Smack!
Before he could finish his sentence, Wang Chao slapped him, making his already swollen face even more swollen, causing searing pain.
"You dare to hit me..."
Smack!
Another heavy slap sent Sheng Anhe sprawling to the ground, his head buzzing.
"First of all, let me make one thing clear. I am not seeking your opinion; I am ordering you, and you have no right to refuse."
Wang Chao remained calm, extending his hand to retrieve a sword and placing it in front of Sheng Anhe. He said coldly, "I don't care who you are under the so-called Great King or which family you belong to."
"But one thing is certain: when you make a mistake, you must pay the price."
"Due to your excessive loss of blood, you will be dead in thirty minutes. Now, I'm giving you one last chance. Within one minute, kneel before Brother Ren, apologize, and lick his feet."
"Otherwise, I guarantee you'll have a gruesome death."
The sword trembled as it pierced the ground, exuding a terrifying aura and killing intent.
Sheng Anhe was completely stunned and terrified. In the past, simply mentioning the four major tribes' names would frighten many people and make them afraid to do anything against him.
But now, even after he mentioned Sir Kong, Wang Chao and Zhou Xinghe treated him so cruelly and threatened to kill him.
It was an unprecedented experience that left him feeling panicked.
"To kneel or not to kneel?"
Zhou Xinghe approached with his sword, placing it in front of Sheng Anhe and saying coldly, "If you don't kneel, I guarantee you won't have your other hand!"
As his sword descended, an immensely terrifying killing intent enveloped Sheng Anhe.
In an instant, Sheng Anhe felt as if he had plunged into an icy abyss, his body shivering with cold, as if he had been targeted by a demon emerging from hell. Every hair on his body stood on end.
"I... I... I'll kneel."
He hurriedly sat up, gritted his teeth, and with a thud, knelt in front of Ren Zhenguo, tremblingly pleading, "Ren Zhenguo, I was wrong, I beg you to be magnanimous and forgive me."
His voice trembled as fear and despair filled his heart.
Seeing the menacing posture of Wang Chao and Zhou Xinghe, he knew that if he didn't comply, the two thugs would undoubtedly kill him without hesitation.
The ferocious aura, akin to wild beasts, made his scalp tingle.
"This!"
Ren Zhenguo and Old Five were stunned.
They never expected that Zhou Xinghe, who had always been on a high pedestal, would actually kneel before Ren Zhenguo, showing such subservience.
"Speak louder! Are you deaf?" Zhou Xinghe scolded.
Sheng Anhe's expression turned extremely ugly upon hearing this.
Zhou Xinghe's shouting was clearly intended to humiliate him.
Considering that he was the young master of Sheng Family, high above others, a scion of a prestigious family who had always been superior and wielded countless wealth, power, and influence, he could easily crush many people like ants.
But now, he was being forced by Wang Chao and Zhou Xinghe to kneel before a commoner, confess his guilt, and beg for forgiveness, while being required to do so in a loud voice.
To him, this was blatant humiliation, more unbearable than death itself!
"It seems you still harbor resentment, Zhou Xinghe. Cut off one of his fingers," Wang Chao said in a low voice.
Without hesitation, Zhou Xinghe swiftly swung his sword, severing Sheng Anhe's little finger, causing blood to splatter.
Sheng Anhe screamed in agony, his cries echoing through the air.
At this moment, he became even more panicked, hastily kneeling before Ren Zhenguo and raising his voice, "Brother Ren, I was wrong, please spare me."
"Don't forget, you still need to lick his feet," Wang Chao added.
After speaking, he signaled to Ren Zhenguo, indicating for him to extend his foot.
Sheng Anhe involuntarily looked at Ren Zhenguo's foot, and instantly, his stomach churned, almost causing him to vomit up last night's meal.
Ren Zhenguo didn't have much money, and after a long journey, he wore a pair of worn-out shoes covered in mud, grass, and other unmentionable substances. They were utterly repulsive!
Moreover, a certain pungent odor emanated from his foot, making Sheng Anhe feel even more disgusted.
"Mr. Wang, isn't this going too far? Sheng Anhe has already been taught a lesson. Maybe we should just leave it at that?" Ren Zhenguo frowned.
As a patriotic soldier, he loved his country and, although he became angry and would rise up when being bullied, he didn't like to bully others or abuse his power.
Sheng Anhe had already lost one hand and two fingers, and his face was swollen beyond recognition due to the beating from Wang Chao and Zhou Xinghe. He had already received punishment.
In Ren Zhenguo's view, this matter could come to an end, a period put to this incident.
Now, Wang Chao was asking Sheng Anhe to lick his feet, and that was something Ren Zhenguo found hard to accept.
"Brother Ren, as a seasoned soldier, you should understand one thing," Wang Chao looked at Ren Zhenguo and said calmly, "Being merciful to enemies is being cruel to oneself."
"Think carefully about how Sheng Anhe treated you before. He caused you to become disabled and forced you to kneel in public, to lick his feet."
"He humiliated you and wished for your daily suffering, showing his malicious nature."
"Faced with such an irredeemable scoundrel, do you still want to let him go?"
Wang Chao looked at Ren Zhenguo, his expression calm but his eyes icy cold.
Having served on the interdimensional battlefield and executed missions between various countries, he had seen far too many scoundrels.
These people had a common flaw: arrogance, disregard for the law, and even if they appeared to concede verbally, they would seek revenge behind the scenes.
Remorse, repentance—these four words did not exist in their dictionary!
Therefore, Wang Chao wanted Ren Zhenguo to see the true face of Sheng Anhe and not show mercy.
Ren Zhenguo struggled as he listened to Wang Chao's words.
He also wanted to exact revenge on Sheng Anhe, but after seeing him lose one hand and two fingers, and being beaten so brutally by Wang Chao and Zhou Xinghe, his anger had already subsided.
Now, asking Sheng Anhe to lick his feet seemed to him like going too far, a form of excessive bullying.
"Big Brother, I think Mr. Wang is right. When facing evil, we must be even more ruthless," Old Five gritted his teeth.
"This Sheng Anhe has gone too far and must pay the price," Old Two added.
"That's right, Big Brother. This bastard must face the consequences," Old Three said.
"Big Brother, don't be soft-hearted!" Old Four chimed in.
The five of them had been terribly mistreated by Sheng Anhe, receiving no rewards, lacking even the support for disabled individuals, living in poverty and destitution.
If it weren't for Wang Chao treating them to a meal, they might have starved to death!
What was most infuriating was that just when their lives were starting to turn around, Sheng Anhe came to dismantle their prosthetic limbs. It was clearly going too far, an attempt to kill them!
They wished nothing more than to tear Sheng Anhe into pieces!
Sheng Anhe, kneeling on the ground, looked at Old Two and the others, who were roaring and gnashing their teeth, and he was also taken aback, his eyes filled with fear.
With the loss of one arm and two fingers, and having been beaten so brutally by Wang Chao and Zhou Xinghe, he had long lost his fighting ability.
If these five people attacked him together, he might truly die.
Realizing this, Sheng Anhe hurriedly knelt before Ren Zhenguo once again, pleading desperately, "Brother Ren, I was wrong, it's all my fault. I beg you, please have mercy on me."
"I... I'm willing to lick your feet."
After speaking, he quickly shifted over and grasped Sheng Anhe's shoe, licking it despite the many repulsive substances that made him want to retch.
At this point, survival was paramount.
"This!"
Ren Zhenguo saw this scene and struggled even more, feeling guilt and discomfort all over his face.
"Hehe, Sheng Anhe, you never expected this day would come, did you?" Old Five said coldly.
"Sheng Anhe, weren't you arrogant and condescending before? Now you're the one licking feet," Old Two spoke in a cold voice.
Old Three and Old Four didn't say anything, but they felt a sense of relief, as if they had released a great deal of pent-up anger.
"I thought you were tougher than this, but it turns out you're just a coward who bullies the weak," Zhou Xinghe said indifferently.
"Commander!"
The silver-armored warriors lying on the ground watched Sheng Anhe being humiliated, their teeth grinding, their eyes filled with fury. They struggled to rise, intending to fight Wang Chao and Zhou Xinghe to the death.
Their commander being humiliated meant their own humiliation!
The silver-armored warriors were full of indomitability!
"You are heroes, but a commander like this isn't worth risking your lives for. Stay down," Wang Chao said calmly.
With that, he took out a handful of silver needles and waved his hand.
The silver needles flew out like water splashes, fast as lightning, piercing the acupoints of all the silver-armored warriors.
Acupoint manipulation!
In an instant, all thirty silver-armored warriors stood rooted to the spot, unable to move.
They looked at the small holes in their chest armor, their faces pale with shock.
As silver-armored warriors, their chest armor was made of special silver steel, not particularly heavy but possessed strong toughness and defensive capabilities.
Wang Chao's silver needles were able to penetrate their armor and reach their acupoints—a level of skill far beyond the ordinary.
What was even more terrifying was that Wang Chao attacked indiscriminately, disabling all thirty of them in one go!
Such proficiency in hidden weapons was simply inconceivable!
Even the Great King Sikong might not be able to achieve such precision and devastating power!
In an instant, their eyes towards Wang Chao became completely different.
This person was incredibly strong!
At that moment, Ren Zhenguo suddenly knelt down and helped the still frantically licking Sheng Anhe to his feet, saying in a low voice, "Commander Sheng, that's enough!"
Seeing Ren Zhenguo's actions, Sheng Anhe instinctively thought that Ren Zhenguo was going to kill him. His face turned white, and he hurriedly knelt down, kowtowing, "Please don't kill me! I know I was wrong, please don't kill me!"
Ren Zhenguo grabbed his shoulder and helped him up, saying in a earnest tone, "Commander Sheng, rest assured, I won't kill you."
"You have made mistakes and received punishment, that's enough."
"Now I won't trouble you further. Take your men and leave, just don't bother us five again in the future."
"You... you're letting me go?" Sheng Anhe's eyes brightened.
"Yes," Ren Zhenguo nodded.
Then, he looked at Wang Chao and Zhou Xinghe, saying, "Mr. Wang, Mr. Zhou, I implore you, for my sake, let him go."
"Brother Ren, are you letting this scum off so easily?" Zhou Xinghe asked in response.
"As a man, I will not bully the weak. He has received the punishment he deserves and is now disabled. We are even," Ren Zhenguo uttered earnestly, looking at Wang Chao.
"I don't have any regrets."
"A man is born between heaven and earth. How can I stoop to bullying? Even if he's my enemy, seeing him in such a state, my vengeance has been satisfied. I cannot bring myself to harm someone who no longer poses a threat."
Ren Zhenguo stood tall, his gaze grave and bright.
Wang Chao stared at Ren Zhenguo and uttered in a low voice, "Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"No regrets?"
"As a man, I have principles and integrity. Revenge has its limits. Letting me strike at a defenseless person is not something I can do."
Ren Zhenguo held his head high, his gaze resolute and sincere.
Wang Chao looked at Ren Zhenguo's eyes with even greater admiration, waving his hand and saying, "Fine, I'll respect your decision."
This person truly was a stalwart man, not relying on strength to bully the weak. Furthermore, he had a kind heart and strong principles—a true hero.
Zhou Xinghe could only sigh helplessly and stepped aside, glaring at Sheng Anhe and saying, "Kid, consider yourself lucky to have encountered a hero; otherwise, you would have died here today."
"Now get lost!"
Sheng Anhe, feeling as if he had received a pardon, quickly stood up and limped away, looking particularly disheveled.
He even picked up his severed arm from the ground without sparing a glance at the silver-armored warriors, fleeing as if his life depended on it, fearing that Wang Chao and the others would slaughter him if he took one more step.
Zhou Xinghe watched Sheng Anhe's pitiful figure and uttered indifferently, "This bastard is heartless, abandoning even his own subordinates."
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