The cheers on the city wall lasted for a long time, until the setting sun cast its last wisp of afterglow over the corpse-strewn battlefield.
The bloody cleaning work began.
The soldiers silently carried the bodies of their fallen comrades down from the wall, tidying their appearances in the most sorrowful manner. More men stood guard below the wall, vigilantly monitoring the movements of the distant Xiongnu camp while piling up the Xiongnu corpses in preparation for burning them to prevent plague.
Wei Zhe did not join the cheers. He was leading his brothers, silently doing the exact same thing.
"Find all our sacrificed brothers, every single one of them without exception." This was his first order to Qian Hu.
Although his squad suffered no fatalities, in the previous melee they had also fought in coordination with other teams, watching helplessly as familiar or unfamiliar faces around them fell.
The cruelty of war only revealed its truest and coldest side after the ecstasy of victory faded.
"Squad Leader, our squad... really didn't lose a single person!" Hu Lei reported to Wei Zhe in an incredulous tone after finishing the headcount.
"Yeah, Squad Leader! Sanzi took a slash to the chest; if not for the Heart Guard Armor you gave us, he would've been gone long ago!"
"My back blocked a stray arrow, too!"
The brothers gathered around. The looks they gave Wei Zhe had evolved from adoration to a nearly fanatical devotion.
On this battlefield where human lives were as cheap as grass, being able to follow a superior who was not only immensely powerful but could also greatly increase their survival rate was the greatest of fortunes.
"Don't let your guards down." Wei Zhe's voice was very calm. "Being able to survive today doesn't mean we will tomorrow. The Xiongnu suffered a blow, and their next attack will only be madder."
His words were like a basin of cold water, extinguishing everyone's relief at having survived a catastrophe and tightening their nerves once more.
"Squad Leader, these are the battle merits our team harvested..."
Qian Hu walked over. Behind him, several veteran soldiers carried a dozen bloody cloth sacks containing the left ears of the Xiongnu.
According to Great Qin military law, for every enemy killed, the left ear had to be severed as proof to report for merit.
"Our squad killed a total of one hundred and fifty-seven enemies. Among them... among them, one hundred and twenty are your individual fruit of battle, Squad Leader." When Qian Hu said these words, his voice was trembling slightly.
A single person killed over a hundred enemies!
This battle record could no longer be described as "fierce"; it was simply a myth!
"Distribute them down." Wei Zhe did not even spare them a glance, saying indifferently, "Aside from the head of the centurion I killed, divide the remaining battle merits equally among all the brothers in the squad."
"What?!"
Qian Hu and all the squad members froze.
Over a hundred counts of military merit were enough to promote an ordinary soldier three consecutive ranks, directly elevating him from a Gongshi to a Shangzao, and earning him vast amounts of farmland and rewards!
Yet Wei Zhe actually... just distributed them out like this?
"Squad Leader, this must not be!" Qian Hu blurted out anxiously, "You traded your life for these military merits, how can we—"
"This is an order." Wei Zhe cut him off, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "I said it, we are a single entity. Your lives are my life. Naturally, there is a share of my merits for you as well. On the battlefield, there is no Wei Zhe, only 'Squad One'!"
He paused, then continued, "I only want the head of that centurion; using it for promotion is quite enough. The rest of you, split them up and trade them for solid reward money and farmland to send home, letting your families live good lives. Isn't this also our purpose in becoming soldiers?"
These words made the eyes of everyone present turn red.
Hu Lei, that tower-like man, even failed to keep from wiping his eyes with his sleeve.
"Squad Leader..."
"Thud!"
Qian Hu, a battle-hardened veteran, was actually the first to drop to one single knee. Facing Wei Zhe, he roared with all his might, "Your subordinate Qian Hu is willing to die for the Squad Leader!"
"Willing to die for the Squad Leader!"
Behind him, nineteen soldiers dropped to one knee in unison, their voices shaking the heavens!
At this moment, Wei Zhe's prestige within this troop reached an unprecedented peak. He was not merely their superior; he was their faith, the leader they were willing to follow with their lives!
At night, Wei Zhe returned to his own tent.
He did not rush to cultivate, instead first distributing his harvest from the day.
"System, allocate tempering points."
In today's battle, he had acquired over a thousand tempering points in total. Adding the 100 points for slaying the centurion, this was a massive fortune.
"Strength, agility, and constitution, add 300 points to each!"
He wanted to make himself stronger, with zero shortcomings!
A surging torrent of heat scoured his limbs and bones, and his strength once again welcomed a leap-like explosion.
Character: Wei Zhe Realm: Second-Order Warrior (Greenhorn) Strength: 100 Agility: 75 Constitution: 102 Available Tempering Points: 100+
When he opened his eyes again, he felt the entire world was different. The chirping of insects a hundred paces away and the patterns of dust on the top of the tent were all clearly presented within his perception. He clenched his fist, feeling as though he could beat a cow to death with a single punch.
"Not enough. Still far from enough."
Wei Zhe suppressed the excitement in his heart. He knew that personal martial might remained insignificant amidst ten thousand troops.
He cast his gaze toward the newly acquired diagram for the Fish Scale Armor.
"I must upgrade the equipment of the entire squad as quickly as possible!"
Right at that moment, the voice of Shi Meng's personal guard came from outside the tent.
"Squad Leader Wei, the general has an order commanding you to immediately proceed to the main tent and participate in the reward and merit ceremony!"
A stir touched Wei Zhe's heart. He knew that what was meant to come had finally arrived.
When he stepped into the main tent, he found it already filled with mid-level officers like the quzhang and tunchang of various camps. Shi Meng stood at the very front, while behind the commander's desk sat a heavily armored, imposing general of massive build.
It was none of other than the Northern Frontier commander, Meng Wu!
Everyone's gazes instinctively concentrated on Wei Zhe, holding curiosity, scrutiny, and a trace of hard-to-detect jealousy.
"In today's battle, our army won a great victory, slaying over three thousand enemies!" Meng Wu's voice was steady and powerful. "The merit-recording clerks' bamboo slips of each unit are already here. Among them, the third squad of the first camp in the Vanguard Camp performed the most outstandingly!"
He picked up a roll of bamboo slips, his gaze falling upon Wei Zhe.
"Wei Zhe!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"In the capacity of a squad leader, you led twenty men to hold the western section of the wall, slaying one hundred and fifty-seven enemies without a single fatality of your own! Furthermore, before the battle lines, you slayed the Xiongnu centurion Gu Lige, dampening the enemy's vigor and establishing the first merit for our great victory! Such a battle record can truly be called the pinnacle among new recruits entering the Northern Frontier Army!"
Meng Wu's words caused a suppressed gasp to ripple through the tent.
"However!" Meng Wu's tone shifted, and the atmosphere inside the tent instantly tightened. "Merit must be rewarded, and faults must be punished. You arbitrarily divided one hundred and twenty counts of military merit among your subordinates. While this act displayed benevolence, it violated military law. Do you know your crime?"
As soon as these words were spoken, even Shi Meng's expression shifted slightly.
A chill ran through Wei Zhe's heart. He knew this was the true test arriving.
He stepped forward, neither humble nor arrogant as he spoke in a clear voice, "Reporting to the High General! Your subordinate knows his crime! But your subordinate believes that soldiery relies not on the bravery of one man, but on the unity of comrades. Today's victory was not the merit of your subordinate alone, but was jointly traded by twenty-one brothers of my squad who cast aside their lives and faced death! If not for them forming formations to hold the line to the death, your subordinate would have long since been engulfed by the chaotic troops; how could there be any merit of slaying generals and capturing banners? The merit belongs entirely to the collective! If I am to be convicted for this, your subordinate will bear it alone!"
He shouldered all the responsibility onto himself.
Meng Wu looked at him, and within those unfathomable pupils flickered an extremely complex glint.
Inside the tent, absolute silence reigned.
Everyone held their breath, awaiting the commander's final verdict.
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