"If nobody steps up, then starting today, every last motherfucker of you is going to tuck your tails in tight and honestly accept me as your boss! Did you hear that clearly?"
"Heard it clearly!"
It was unclear who roared it first, but right after, a response like a roaring mountain and churning sea resounded through the entire camp. This time, there was not the slightest bit of reluctant unwillingness left in the sound, but rather an excitement and anticipation full of robust, boundless vigor.
Sun He was staggered by this massive wave of sound, his complexion turning deathly pale. He knew it was over, that he was completely finished. The few hundred people he brought had their hearts entirely taken away by this youth within this short span of an incense stick.
Right at this moment, Wei Zhe made a move that everyone found completely unexpected.
He walked over to that beaten-unconscious stalwart man Zhang Kui, squatted down to probe his breathing and pulse, then stood up, fished a small porcelain bottle from his bosom, and casually tossed it to a nearby soldier who was trembling with fear.
"He won't die. His internal organs suffered some concussion and three ribs are broken, all minor injuries." His tone was as plain as if he were speaking of an insignificant trivial matter. "Apply this bottle of Bone-Rejoining Paste to him, then find a few people to carry him back to his tent for good rest and recuperation."
Pausing, he added another sentence, his voice not loud, yet clearly conveyed to everyone's ears.
"In addition, pass along my word: once his injuries heal, have him come and be the Squad Leader of my personal guard."
As soon as these words came out, the entire audience plunged into dead silence once again.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Promoting a person who had just openly provoked you and whom you had also beaten into a state of severe injury to be your personal guard Squad Leader?
What kind of operation was this?
Even Sun He was dazed; he completely failed to understand what Wei Zhe was actually trying to do.
Yet those veteran soldiers understood. Their eyes bulged round one by one, and their breathing even grew hurried.
What did this represent?
This represented that this new commander not only did not harbor resentment against Zhang Kui for his offense, but instead appreciated his courage and strength! Not only did he not pursue the matter, but he gave him a heavy promotion!
What kind of breadth of mind was this! What kind of daring and spirit!
In an instant, a fanatical surge rose in the hearts of all the veteran soldiers. Following such a commander, as long as you had ability, were you afraid of lacking a day to make your mark?
"Th-Thank you, Chieftain!" Those soldiers who originally had a good relationship with Zhang Kui, after reacting, turned red in the face with excitement and knocked their heads heavily against the ground with loud thuds toward Wei Zhe.
Wei Zhe waved his hand, as if he had merely done an insignificant trivial matter. Finally, he let his gaze fall upon Sun He, whose expression was shifting unpredictably and who was completely isolated, the corners of his lips hooking into an amused arc.
"Centurion Sun, now, do you have anything else to say?"
Sun He stood in place, only feeling that the gazes of everyone around him were like needles pricking his body. He opened his mouth, yet could not squeeze out a single word.
Say what?
What more could he say?
Say Wei Zhe should not have beaten people? Yet the man had already promoted the person to a personal guard squad leader and even given him top-grade injury medicine. This was called clear rewards and punishments coupled with a vast breadth of mind.
Say Wei Zhe did not follow the rules? The man was now a Chieftain, the highest commander of this independent battle camp, and his words were the rules!
To keep talking was not failure to assess the situation, but pure courting of death.
Sun He was no fool; he was an old slickster who had mingled in the military for over a decade, most adept at assessing the situation. He knew that from Wei Zhe sending Zhang Kui flying with a single punch to his casual promotion of the man, after this whole combo of moves, he had already lost thoroughly and completely, without any possibility of a comeback.
He took a deep breath, that face flushed red from humiliation and anger slowly returning to calm. Toward Wei Zhe, he stiffly cupped his fists, squeezing a few words out from between his teeth: "This subordinate... has nothing to say. Everything is subject to the Chieftain's arrangements."
After finishing these words, he felt as though all the strength in his entire body had been drained away.
"Very good." Wei Zhe nodded with satisfaction. "Since that's the case, then take your seat. Centurion Sun, you are a senior in the army, sit by my side today."
He had actually taken the initiative to invite Sun He to sit together, which startled everyone once again. Sun He himself was also stunned; he had not expected Wei Zhe to give him this out. He hesitated, but ultimately still walked over silently and sat down at the position just below Wei Zhe.
A potential mutiny was thus smoothed away into nothingness.
At the banquet that followed, the atmosphere grew warm beyond imagination. Those "thorn-in-the-side" fellows who had just submitted seemed to want to vent all their previous stifled anger and shock, one by one holding large bowls, eating meat with ravenous hunger and drinking alcohol in large gulps. They continually toasted Wei Zhe, their words filled with heartfelt awe and ingratiation.
Wei Zhe refused none, drinking until every bowl was empty, and his bold, unconstrained bearing drew wave after wave of enthusiastic cheers. With his physique currently remodeled by the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, this little bit of alcohol was no different from drinking water to him.
By the end of a single meal, the morale of the Tiger and Wolf Army as a whole was considered thoroughly stabilized.
The next day, before the sky had even brightened, the shrill assembly whistle resounded through the entire camp.
Many veteran soldiers still suffering from hangovers cursed as they climbed out of bed, slowly putting on their armor.
"What the hell, blowing the whistle this early, are they leaving people any way to live? This is truly fucked."
"Exactly, a new official taking office brings three fires, but isn't this burning a bit too fiercely?"
"Stop complaining, hurry up already. Did you forget Zhang Kui's fate yesterday?"
At the mere mention of Zhang Kui, everyone shuddered, their movements instantly turning much faster.
When the three thousand men had crookedly finished assembling on the drill ground, Wei Zhe had already put on a set of tight martial attire, standing in high-spirited fashion atop the commanding platform. By his side were Qian Hu and Hu Lei, who were similarly fully armed.
As for Sun He, he stood in the front ranks of the formation. He had not drunk much alcohol last night, and at the moment his expression was gloomy, uncertain what he was pondering.
Wei Zhe looked at the disorderly formation below, his brows slightly furrowing.
"These are the soldiers of my Tiger and Wolf Army? Standing without the bearing of standing, sitting without the bearing of sitting, each and every one of you like a sleep-deprived sick chicken! Are these the so-called veteran elites of yours?"
His voice was not loud, yet it carried a trace of coldness that made everyone sober up a bit.
"I don't care how lazy you were in the past, starting today, forget those bad habits of yours! Now, everyone, fully armed, carrying a thirty-pound load, destination: that mountain peak to the east, ten-li cross-country run, and run back! The last hundred will not get breakfast! The hundred running at the very front will get an extra chicken leg in the morning!"
"Now, move out!"
As soon as the order was given, an immediate uproar arose below.
"What? A ten-li cross-country? And carrying a thirty-pound load on top of that, motherfucker?"
"Are you shitting me! Won't this run people to death?"
These veteran oil-slick soldiers usually dodged training whenever they could and lazed about whenever possible; when had they ever suffered this kind of hardship.
Yet before they could finish complaining, they saw Wei Zhe on the commanding platform casually pick up two heavy iron cakes from beside him, one in each hand, and hang them upon his body. Each of those iron cakes weighed at least fifty pounds, making a hundred pounds for the two!
Having finished all this, he actually leaped down from the commanding platform as the very first person, struck out his stride, and ran toward the mountain peak. His speed was not fast, but every step was steady and powerful, as if he did not know fatigue.
Qian Hu, Hu Lei, and those twenty old brothers who had followed Wei Zhe earliest spoke not another word and immediately followed after. They were the ones who had witnessed Wei Zhe create miracles with their own eyes, and their obedience to his orders had reached the point of blind submission.
The remaining new recruits looked at each other in dismay.
"Th-The Chieftain is running himself, too? And... and carrying a hundred-pound load?"
"Holy shit, is he made of iron?"
Before you continue