On the drill ground, the gazes of three thousand men all followed his footsteps.
He did not go to help Sun He up, nor did he say any words of comfort. He simply took the porcelain bottle containing the Bone-Rejoining Paste from his bosom—the kind he had previously given to Zhang Kui—and threw it near Sun He's head.
"This is what you deserve as a centurion for taking responsibility for your subordinates," his voice remained icy. "Starting from today, I do not want to see a second instance of gambling in the camp of my Tiger and Wolf Army. Otherwise, it won't be as simple as thirty military staves."
Having spoken, he turned around and looked at the few gamblers still kneeling on the ground.
"Your centurion took this beating in your place. Your lives were given by him."
"Starting tomorrow, the daily training volume for the few of you will be doubled on top of everyone else's! Your monthly military pay will be halved! When the day comes that I see you capable of defeating Qian Hu and the others on the training ground, it will be restored! Any objections?"
How could those few still dare to have any objections? One by one, they kowtowed frantically like chicks pecking at rice.
"No objections! No objections! Thank you, Chieftain, for not killing us! Thank you, Boss Sun, for saving our lives!"
Wei Zhe ignored them further, issuing an order to the entire army: "You've all seen clearly—this is the example! Dismissed! Go back to sleep!"
The soldiers dispersed silently, but everything that happened tonight was deeply branded into each of their hearts.
Sun He was carefully lifted off the bench by a few of his loyal confidants and sent back to his tent.
Late at night, inside Wei Zhe's tent.
He did not rest, instead sitting cross-legged on the bed and running the cultivation method of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill.
To him, the high-intensity training during the day was also a form of cultivation. Every time he pushed his body to the limit and then used the cultivation method to recover, he could feel his strength and physique growing slowly and steadily. The proficiency of the first layer of the cultivation method was also creeping upward bit by bit.
He liked this feeling of growing continuously stronger.
Right at this moment, the report of a personal guard came from outside the tent.
"Chieftain, Centurion Sun He requests an audience."
Wei Zhe opened his eyes, somewhat surprised. He was injured so severely, yet he was already able to get out of bed?
"Let him in."
The tent curtain was lifted, and Sun He walked in, supported by two personal guards. His complexion was as pale as paper, his lips devoid of a trace of color, and with every step he took, beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Yet he had changed into a clean military uniform, and his spine was held ramrod straight.
"You all step down first," Sun He said to the personal guards.
After the personal guards retreated, Sun He took a deep breath, pushed away the support, and actually struggled to perform a single-knee military bow to Wei Zhe.
His body swayed, his knees went soft, and he almost tumbled.
Wei Zhe's gaze shifted, his figure vanishing from the bed in an instant, and the next moment he had already appeared before Sun He, reaching out to support him.
"With injuries like this, skip these empty courtesies."
Yet Sun He was exceptionally stubborn. He pushed away Wei Zhe's hand, gritted his teeth, and with all his might dropped to one knee on the ground with a thud. This movement tugged at the wound on his back, making him bare his teeth and grimace in pain as cold sweat poured down.
Yet he knelt with exceptional steadiness, raising his head to look at Wei Zhe with a clarity and solemnity unprecedented.
"Your subordinate Sun He pays respects to the Chieftain!"
He cupped his fists, his voice hoarse, yet every single word clanged like metal.
"Previously, your subordinate was blind at Mount Tai and committed many offenses. I can only hope the Chieftain will forgive my crimes!"
"From this day onward, this life of mine, Sun He, belongs to the Chieftain! Your subordinate is willing to follow the Chieftain's lead, go through fire and water, and never hesitate! If I harbor a double heart, let the heavens strike me with lightning and grant me a miserable death!"
He knelt on the ground, offering his most complete loyalty to Wei Zhe.
Wei Zhe looked at the fierce tiger kneeling before him that had finally been completely subjugated, knowing that from this moment on, there would be no discordant voices within the Tiger and Wolf Army.
He smiled, reaching out to help Sun He up from the ground.
"Good. From today on, you, Sun He, are my right-hand man. As for the post of deputy chieftain in my Tiger and Wolf Army, besides you, no one is qualified to take it."
Sun He's complete devotion allowed Wei Zhe's prestige within the Tiger and Wolf Army to reach its peak. He took the opportunity to promote Sun He to deputy chieftain, and further appointed Qian Hu and Hu Lei as Military Marquises, each commanding one thousand troops. The command system of the entire Tiger and Wolf Army could be considered officially established.
Following over half a month of devilish training and Wei Zhe's sparing-no-expense supply of meat and medicinal herbs, the physical fitness and mental outlook of the three thousand soldiers had undergone a rebirth. They were no longer that group of lazy veteran soldiers from before; each and every one of them had become full of vigor and spirit, their eyes revealing a fierce, death-defying ruthlessness.
Yet Wei Zhe knew that this was still not enough.
A powerful army required not only formidable soldiers, but even more so, fine equipment.
On this day, after completing the morning training, Wei Zhe called Sun He, Qian Hu, and Hu Lei into his tent.
"Starting tomorrow, daily training will be halved." The very first sentence Wei Zhe uttered left the three of them stunned.
"Chieftain, why must it be halved?" Qian Hu asked with incomprehension. "The brothers are currently at the peak of their enthusiasm. I feel we can still increase the workload!"
Having gone through this period of training, he had already become an unadulterated training maniac; if he didn't train his subordinates until they cried to their fathers and mothers every day, he felt thoroughly uncomfortable all over.
"That's right, Chieftain," Sun He also chimed in, "We finally managed to train the lazy bones out of these brats. Once we slack off like this, I'm afraid they'll go right back to..."
"Who said anything about slacking off?" Wei Zhe interrupted them. "Training is being halved because we have more important things to do."
He stood up, led the three of them out of the tent, and walked straight toward a newly built large workshop at the rear of the camp.
This was an independent Military Arms Department specially approved by the King of Qin for the Tiger and Wolf Army. Ever since Wei Zhe had been appointed as the commander of the independent combat camp, Meng Wu had assigned the two old blacksmiths from the Eagle Beak Cliff Military Arms Department, along with their dozen or so apprentices, entirely to Wei Zhe. Wei Zhe had then used heavy sums of money to recruit dozens of skilled blacksmiths, expanding this place into the largest military industrial workshop in the northern frontier.
As soon as they stepped into the workshop, a wave of heat mixed with coal smoke and the fishy stench of iron hit them in the face. Dozens of melting furnaces burned simultaneously, the firelight blazing intensely, and the clanging sound of hammering played without end, vibrating their eardrums until they ached.
"Chieftain, you brought us here to..." Sun He looked at this bustling scene with some confusion.
Wei Zhe did not answer. He led the three of them to a finished goods area in the center of the workshop.
There, several sets of brand-new armor and weapons were neatly displayed.
"Have a look at this." Wei Zhe pointed at a set of armor that was pitch-black throughout, its plates layered like fish scales and emitting a dim luster under the firelight.
Sun He stepped forward, reached out to touch the armor plates, weighed them in his hands, and immediately frowned.
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