Heavens' Laughter-Chapter 114: Demand

"Do not move!" the First Prince commanded. "You are surrounded!"

His personal army started closing in slowly.

They all saw the corpses of innocents lay scattered like broken dolls, their blood pooling and staining the earth.

The stench of death hung heavy in the air, mixing with the metallic tang of blood.

Feng Shen rolled his eyes at the sudden appearance of all of these men, a faint smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

Shaking his head, he let out a loud, exaggerated sigh and muttered:

"Surrounded? By what? Dead men?"

The soldiers gripped their weapons tighter, some with trembling hands, as they watched this young man with wary eyes.

The First Prince narrowed his eyes:

"This is your last warning. Surrender now, or face the wrath of the crown."

Feng Shen rubbed the bridge of his nose, exhaling as if burdened by the futility of the situation.

"What an annoyance…" A faint smile crept onto his face, and his golden eyes began to glow faintly.

In the blink of an eye, Feng Shen vanished from where he stood, reappearing among the closest men.

"Die for me." He whispered, moving like a tempest, faster than the eye could follow.

Feng Shen used the soldiers’ own bodies as stepping stones, breaking necks with a single twist, severing limbs with razor-sharp arcs of his Qi, and turning their own weapons against them with devastating precision.

Everything became a blur of screams, broken steel, and blood.

"Shit! Kill him!" the First Prince roared, his composure cracking as the slaughter unfolded before his eyes.

For a moment, he was frozen, caught off guard by the sheer speed and brutality of such an assault.

Snapping out of his shock, he pointed toward the massacre with a trembling hand, as he looked all around at his soldiers:

"Don’t just stand there - charge! Take him down now!"

The soldiers hesitated only briefly before surging forward in a wave.

Ren Zu shook his head in disappointment, his expression calm but laced with disapproval. Casting a sidelong glance at the First Prince, he let out a soft sigh.

"If I may speak freely," he muttered, "that was a remarkably foolish decision."

His gaze shifted back, where chaos reigned, and the soldiers were being sent to their deaths in a futile attempt to kill.

"What do you mean by that?" the First Prince asked, his voice tinged with both confusion and a hint of irritation.

His eyebrows furrowed as he turned to the mercenary at his side, his hand tightening instinctively.

’How could ordering my men to engage the enemy be seen as anything but necessary?’ The First Prince thought to himself.

However, Ren Zu didn’t respond. Instead, he simply raised a hand and pointed forward, his expression unchanging.

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The First Prince followed the gesture, his gaze shifting back. His breath caught in his throat, and his mouth fell slightly agape.

Before his eyes lay the remnants of his personal army, now nothing more than lifeless bodies scattered across the blood-soaked ground.

Limbs were torn asunder, weapons lay shattered, and faces frozen in terror stared back at him.

It was a brutal, grotesque sight.

"What. The. Fuck…" the First Prince spoke slowly.

He had expected a skirmish, a battle at worst - not this one-sided slaughter. His hands trembled, knuckles white as they gripped the pommel of his sword.

Snapping his head back toward his mercenary, the First Prince’s expression twisted with fury, he barked, "Why didn’t you tell me he was this strong!? Why didn’t you warn me!?"

His anger fueled by a desperate need to deflect blame.

The First Prince refused to shoulder responsibility for this disaster - how could he, when the mercenary he’d paid handsomely had failed to intervene or even provide critical intel?

To him, this silence was as damning as betrayal.

"First of all… calm down," Bai Ning said, his tone smooth but firm, as if addressing a petulant child:

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"Second of all… you didn’t pay us enough for information. We are here solely to protect you, nothing more."

Bai Ning opened his eyes just enough to meet the furious glare, his forced smile remaining fixed in place, though the subtle edge in his voice hinted at his growing irritation.

"And third," he continued, his words sharper now, "despite your lofty social standing, let me make one thing clear: we do not tolerate disrespect."

Bai Ning’s expression was deceptively calm, but there was an unspoken warning beneath the surface.

He wouldn’t let some entitled, spoiled prince shift the blame onto them for his own miscalculations.

Coins was their god, their only motivator, and unless the First Prince was prepared to line their pockets further, they wouldn’t so much as lift a finger beyond what they were paid for.

Ren Zu gave a small nod. "My friend is right. Do not try to place the blame on us for your failure. It’s simply a childish tactic, one that does not suit you."

It was the matter-of-fact, dismissing the anger entirely, offering no room for rebuttal.

Biting his lip, the First Prince fought to suppress the boiling rage threatening to consume him. He wanted to scream at them, to order their execution right then and there for their insolence.

But as the thought crossed his mind, he quickly quelled it. He knew he lacked the power to do so.

Even if the First Prince did, his father held these two mercenaries in high regard, and challenging them would invite consequences far worse than any humiliation he’d suffered today.

So, with great effort, he swallowed his anger, forcing himself to take several slow, measured breaths, trying to regain some semblance of control.

Finally, the First Prince turned his gaze back to the young man.

"You!" he shouted. "I will allow you to leave... but know this - you are forbidden from ever setting foot on Phoenix Empire lands again! Do I make myself clear!?"

The First Prince was desperate to salvage some semblance of authority in front of the two mercenaries, despite the humiliating defeat he had just suffered.

However, he couldn’t shake the gnawing realization that it was probably unwise to act so high and mighty toward someone who had not only embarrassed him, but had slaughtered his entire personal army with ease.

Yet, the First Prince’s pride held firm.

"Are you dumb?" Feng Shen answered with a smirk.

He stretched his neck, his eyes narrowing as he began walking toward the three men, still breathing. His lips curled into a grin, showing his teeth as he held back a laugh.

"For real… How brain-dead are you?" Feng Shen continued, his voice mocking:

"I just slaughtered all your men, and now you demand I leave? No, no, no... you clearly don’t understand."

Stopping about twelve feet away, Feng Shen met the eyes that looked at him:

"I am the winner. And the winner is the one who makes the demands, not the loser."

Bai Ning and Ren Zu couldn’t help but agree internally with those words.

They both silently acknowledged the truth in such a statement.

Ren Zu looked toward the First Prince and opened his mouth to speak.

"Well, you heard the young man. He will make the demands now, and I advise you to accept them."

"It would truly be unwise not to." Bai Ning added.

A blank expression washed over the First Prince’s face as the weight of their words sank in. It felt as though a dozen arrows had pierced his back, each one a reminder of his crushing defeat.

His teeth ground together, and a vein pulsed angrily on his forehead. He was being called a loser, a helpless figure who had no choice but to accept.

Swallowing his pride, the First Prince forced out the words, his voice strained with frustration:

"Alright. What are your demands? Coins, women, scrolls, what? Name it, and I’ll give it to you."

Feng Shen tilted his head, tapping the air thoughtfully with his fingers, his expression one of mock contemplation.

For a moment, he appeared deep in thought, carefully considering his demand.

Then, with a sudden, almost playful gleam in his eyes, Feng Shen pointed directly at the First Prince and said, "I want your head."

A bright, almost innocent smile spread across his face.

"That’s it, that’s fine..." The First Prince began, relief briefly crossing his face as he assumed the demand would be something trivial. But then, a sudden realization hit him, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Wait... What did you say?" He stammered, his mind struggling to process the words. Surely, he had misheard.

His ears must be playing tricks on him. The First Prince shook his head slightly, trying to clear his thoughts, then looked at the young man in stunned confusion:

"Say that again. I must have misheard you."

"Hmmm~? Well, it’s a simple demand," Feng Shen replied with a carefree shrug, his expression bright and innocent.

He clapped his hands together:

"I just want your head! That’s not too much to ask for, right?"