Many Treasure Chests, All Opened!

"Good heavens."

"Battalion Commander."

Liu Lei was too shocked for words.

When they had previously wiped out the mountain bandits, Zhu Ying had still been a raw recruit who had enlisted less than three months earlier. He had earned merit by killing bandits and been promoted to Squad Leader, yet now he had actually been appointed Battalion Commander, becoming an officer who commanded thousands of soldiers.

Others might not understand the enormity of that leap, but Liu Lei understood it very clearly.

"Brother Liu."

"General Chen just told me that upon becoming Battalion Commander, I have the authority to form a personal guard of fifty men."

"I hope to incorporate the ten men I originally commanded into my personal guard." Zhu Ying said with a smile.

Although those ten men were all recruits, Zhu Ying was already especially familiar with them. Personal guards were truly his own people, so he needed trustworthy men.

"Zhu Ying, what do you think of me?"

Liu Lei suddenly looked at Zhu Ying with a serious expression.

"Brother Liu, what do you mean?" Zhu Ying asked in surprise.

"With my position as Hundred Household Commander, I should be able to serve as the General Officer of your personal guards, right?" Liu Lei said with a grin.

"Brother Liu."

"Are you serious, or are you joking?" Zhu Ying wore a strange expression.

"Of course I'm serious."

Liu Lei smiled, then his expression turned solemn. Extremely earnestly, he suddenly knelt before Zhu Ying. "Hundred Household Commander Liu Lei is willing to follow Battalion Commander Zhu and serve as your personal guard. I ask Battalion Commander to accept me."

The soldiers around them watched in astonishment, and expectation appeared in many of their eyes.

Seeing this.

Zhu Ying also realized that Liu Lei was serious.

"If Brother Liu is willing, I accept."

Zhu Ying answered with equal solemnity.

"Liu Lei is willing to serve Battalion Commander unto death."

Liu Lei immediately bowed and knocked his head against the ground.

Personal guards, personal troops.

They were the true close attendants of officers above the rank of Battalion Commander, as well as their most loyal men. At critical moments, they swore to serve them, even taking a blade for a Battalion Commander or an officer of even higher rank.

Once one became Zhu Ying's personal guard.

The person directly served Zhu Ying.

Moreover, they shared honor and disgrace.

The higher Zhu Ying's status rose, the higher the status of his personal guards. If anything happened to Zhu Ying, his personal guards would also be unable to escape implication.

The words "personal guard" were not merely for show.

"Get up."

Zhu Ying stepped forward and helped Liu Lei to his feet.

"Thank you, Battalion Commander."

Liu Lei did not dare overstep his bounds and immediately bowed.

"In that case."

"From now on, Brother Liu will be the General Officer of my personal guards. Aside from the ten soldiers from the squad I originally commanded, I'll trouble Brother Liu to select another forty men." Zhu Ying immediately entrusted the task to Liu Lei.

"This subordinate accepts the order." Liu Lei happily bowed in acceptance.

"I'll rest for a while."

"I'll leave it to you, Brother Liu."

Zhu Ying chuckled and walked toward his tent.

Having been promoted five ranks this time, Zhu Ying was filled with anticipation. It was not merely the authority—there were also treasure chests, which would certainly greatly increase his strength.

Watching Zhu Ying's back, excitement also surged in Liu Lei's eyes.

He knew very well that Zhu Ying's future was boundless. Going from Hundred Household Commander to General Officer of the personal guards appeared to be a demotion, but in truth, it gave him a better future.

Judging from Zhu Ying's promotions alone, Liu Lei did not possess Zhu Ying's martial prowess, nor could he possibly kill a hundred enemies. It would be difficult for him to rise to Battalion Commander; even if he could, it might take years, or perhaps even longer.

But by following Zhu Ying and becoming the General Officer of his personal guards, his status would also rise as Zhu Ying's rank increased.

"Brothers."

"From this day onward, I, Liu Lei, will become the General Officer of Battalion Commander Zhu's personal guards."

"Besides the ten men originally commanded by Battalion Commander Zhu as a Squad Leader, we still need to recruit forty personal guards. Those interested may register with me, and I will select men for the personal guards."

Under the night sky.

Liu Lei shouted to the soldiers of the Hundred Household Battalion under his command.

At those words!

The many soldiers grew excited.

"Me, I'm willing!"

"I'm willing too!"

"Hundred Household Commander, take me!"

"I'm willing to become a personal guard under Battalion Commander Zhu..."

One soldier after another shouted excitedly. Even soldiers from other Hundred Household Battalions crowded over.

Anyone with eyes could see that Zhu Ying had a boundless future. If they could become personal guards under Zhu Ying, it would be an enormous opportunity.

Inside the tent!

Zhu Ying set down his armor, saber, and sword.

"As expected of a Battalion Commander, this armor is much thicker and heavier than that of ordinary soldiers. Its defense is also stronger."

"And both the saber and sword are exceptionally sharp iron weapons."

Zhu Ying glanced at them, drew the saber and sword to inspect them, and could not help sighing.

The effect of power could be seen from this armor and weaponry alone.

"One hundred taels of gold."

"Not bad."

Zhu Ying naturally stored the chest of gold directly in his storage space.

"I've been promoted to Battalion Commander."

"Treasure chests."

Zhu Ying was filled with intense anticipation.

"Host's official rank has been promoted."

"Promoted to General Officer, awarded one ordinary treasure chest."

"Promoted to Assistant Hundred Household Commander, awarded one ordinary treasure chest."

"Promoted to Hundred Household Commander, awarded one ordinary treasure chest."

"Promoted to Deputy Battalion Commander, awarded one ordinary treasure chest."

"Promoted to Battalion Commander, awarded one ordinary treasure chest."

The panel displayed the notifications.

"Ten treasure chests in total."

"As long as my luck isn't too bad this time, I'll be able to open some good things." Zhu Ying's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

Then.

"Open all treasure chests." Zhu Ying immediately said.

"Host's command accepted. Opening all treasure chests."

"Obtained archery skill: Hundred Paces Through Poplar."

"Obtained Yellow Tier Mid-grade Treasure Eagle Bow."

"Obtained Fine Steel Saber."

"Obtained Yellow Tier Low-grade Frenzied Dance Saber Technique."

"Obtained Yellow Tier Low-grade Lesser Vitality Pill."

"Obtained Yellow Tier Low-grade martial technique: Divine Arrow Volley."

"Obtained Yellow Tier Low-grade Mountain Collapse Fist."

"Obtained 500 taels of gold."

"Obtained Fine Steel Refining Method."

"Obtained High-Quality Gunpowder Refining Method."

The panel notifications continued as all ten treasure chests were opened.

Zhu Ying swept his gaze over them, and a delighted smile appeared on his face.

"Not bad."

"Skills, ranked martial techniques, and ranked weapons."

"This luck is truly quite good."

"This Fine Steel Refining Method far surpasses the craftsmanship of this era, doesn't it? And this high-quality gunpowder should also be superior to the gunpowder of this era."

"Fine, I'll keep them."

"The world is vast. Once I possess enough strength in the future, I could even expand territory beyond the Ming Dynasty and become emperor." Zhu Ying smiled.

Naturally, he would not refuse anything obtained from these treasure chests. All of it belonged to him.

"I'll extract the archery skill first. Like riding, it should be a skill that I directly master completely." Zhu Ying thought.

He directly extracted the Hundred Paces Through Poplar archery skill.

As a glow descended, Zhu Ying went from having only beginner-to-intermediate mastery of archery to gaining a realization of the art. His archery had already surpassed that of ordinary people.

"Hundred Paces Through Poplar—first, strength; second, eyesight; third, feeling."

"So that's how it is."

Zhu Ying thought with newfound understanding.

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