Chapter 51

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Chapter 51: Zhao Pan’s Actions

“W-why? We, we clearly already…”

His gaze, full of mixed tears and blood, looked extremely miserable.

Everything happened too fast, so fast that one moment he had just surrendered, and the next he was already collapsed in the snow, dying.

Even now, he still hadn’t quite reacted, and his eyes looking at Zhao Pan held a hint of confusion amidst the grief and indignation.

Maintaining his expressionless face, no one knew what Zhao Pan was thinking at that moment.

Facing the barbarian’s question filled with grief and indignation, he was like a cold-blooded and cruel executioner, giving no response.

A heavy stone bullet flew out from the sling, ending the other party’s life in the blink of an eye.

“How should we handle these bodies?”

Zhou Yue looked at Zhao Pan with complex emotions.

When he first became a tribal warrior, he was very unconvinced by Zhao Pan, completely unable to understand why this guy, who couldn’t fight at all, was leading them.

Now, he seemed to understand a little.

“Burn them.”

“Otherwise, the scent of blood here might attract some dangerous wild beasts.”

“After burning them, everyone will continue patrolling according to the original assignments.”

After speaking, Zhao Pan left without looking back.

From beginning to end, no one questioned his actions.

His method might have been cruel, but it wasn’t wrong.

The Mirror Tribe was currently in a critical period.

For the safety of the chieftain and the tribe, he rejected all unstable factors!

And captives were clearly included in this.

Accepting captives, while increasing manpower, would also increase their tribe’s consumption of food and coal.

Moreover, these captives might not necessarily be obedient.

If they harbored any ulterior motives, it would affect the stability within the tribe.

Simply put, the disadvantages outweighed the advantages.

But they couldn’t just drive them away either.

Who knew if the barbarians who were driven away would return with more barbarians later?

Given the current situation of the Mirror Tribe, killing them was the safest approach.

After night fell, Luo Ji, who had rested for a day, felt his condition improve slightly.

Enduring his tired and weak body, he showed up for dinner.

The appearance of the chieftain was undoubtedly a shot in the arm for the tribal people whose hearts were filled with unease.

Everyone firmly believed that Luo Ji would definitely lead them through this difficult winter.

This was the advantage of high loyalty.

Sometimes, just showing up could play a role in boosting morale.

At the same time, Zhao Pan also found an opportunity to report the afternoon’s events to Luo Ji.

After listening, the expression on Luo Ji’s face didn’t change much.

He wasn’t overly compassionate, but he wasn’t a murderer either.

Also, his dizzy head really didn’t leave him in the mood for sentimentality.

He could only say that Zhao Pan’s performance surprised him.

But there was an ancient saying that put it well, benevolence does not command troops.

Decisiveness in killing is one of the basic potentials required to become a great general.

Originally, he thought that Zhao Pan, who had only received some simple training, might not be able to bring himself to be so ruthless in similar situations.

Now it seemed that the past 30+ years of his life had already tempered his character considerably.

What he lacked now was probably just experience…

Luo Ji reached out and patted Zhao Pan’s shoulder.

There was no blame, but also no praise.

After all, these kinds of matters were often delicate and difficult to clearly say whether they were right or wrong.

Using extraordinary measures in extraordinary times, he condoned it, but did not advocate for it.

After all, there were countless famous great generals in history.

Each and every one of them had spent their lives on horseback, and which one hadn’t directly or indirectly caused the deaths of thousands or even tens of thousands of people?

Some were praised as decisive in killing, while others were denounced as mere butchers.

While this was certainly influenced by everyone’s different perspectives and stances on viewing things, the key point was simply whether you could grasp a certain degree.

If you went too far, you were a butcher.

If you didn’t go too far, you were a decisive hero.

He believed Zhao Pan could understand what he meant.

Not dwelling on this topic, overcoming the current difficulties was the top priority.

The key points were nothing more than three.

First was obtaining food, second was maintaining warmth, and third was treating the injured and sick.

But on these three issues, Luo Ji could be said to have done everything he could do.

In this era where everything was lacking and the living environment was harsh, whether they could survive really just depended on fate.

At the same time, it was at this moment that he clearly experienced the reason why ancient people revered heaven and gods.

It was because in the face of this ruthless nature, they were so fragile…

The only thing worth being thankful for was that Luo Ji’s ‘Ruler’ talent allowed the tribal people to maintain high loyalty to him, even in this environment of sudden changes in the weather.

No upsetting incidents occurred within the tribe.

Under similar circumstances, if it were the tribes of other players, things would likely be lively now.

Cold, disease, food, rebellion, these could be said to be the four most difficult hurdles for all new players, and also their greatest trials during the novice period.

Time continued to flow.

On the third day of the temperature drop, after two consecutive days of recuperation, Luo Ji’s body gradually regained strength.

Feeling his illness improving, before he could even be happy for a second, a sudden piece of bad news instantly sent his heart plummeting.

In this severe cold, the tribe’s first death occurred.

It was their tribe’s eldest member, Zhao He.

This old man, who had always been sturdy, ultimately did not make it through this ordeal.

When they discovered him, Zhao He had already passed away in his sleep…

Looking at Zhao He being carried out of the tent, Luo Ji’s expression was complex.

As a player, were these tribal people just NPCs to him?

Clearly not.

Staying in this world, he truly felt that they had flesh and blood, would experience joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, and were living, breathing people.

A sad atmosphere spread throughout the tribe, affecting everyone

Even Luo Ji’s emotions became noticeably melancholic.

In this state, he made a willful decision, which was to hold a funeral.

This cold environment already caused everyone’s work efficiency to decrease, and the amount of food harvested and coal transported back each day was clearly decreasing.

Honestly, this was very bad.

If this situation continued, their tribe would quickly fall into a state of completely running at a deficit.

Under this premise, spending time holding a funeral would clearly further reduce work efficiency, making the tribe’s food and coal resources even more scarce.

But Luo Ji still did it.

Perhaps the sad atmosphere had infected him.

He felt that he needed to give the deceased an explanation, or rather, a final resting place.