Half Armor, Xiao Jinghong!

"Wuwu!!"

Right at that moment, several thousand li away from Shuzhou City inside the Black Armored Army Town, the melodious sound of horns rang out.

Two thousand soldiers dressed in crimson scale armor and holding Horse-Chopping Sabers were drilling their formations neatly, organized into arrays of five hundred men each.

"Hah!"

"Ha!"

These soldiers wore solemn expressions and possessed sturdy builds, brandishing the six-foot-long Horse-Chopping Sabers with fierce momentum that made the ground tremble.

Up on the high platform in front of them, three crimson banners hung high, embroidered with a ferocious tiger head in gold thread.

Remember the first-release website domain

Down below, a person stood beneath the banners, dressed in silver-white scale armor. Her build was leaner and shorter than those of the Family Household Soldiers, but her eyes, hidden beneath a Half Armor Mask, were as calm as water.

--She was none other than the second biological granddaughter of the current Marquis Dingyuan, Xiao Yuan: Xiao Jinghong!

She gazed at the array of soldiers before her, pondering the current situation, and thought to herself, They are far from enough.

As the southernmost tip of the Great Wei Dynasty, Shuzhou was surrounded by enemies on three sides.

To the south, it bordered the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains where the Barbarian Tribe resided. High mountains and dense forests filled the region, and countless barbarian tribes lived within them; ever since the great war twenty years ago, the barbarians would occasionally head north to raid the passes.

To the southeast lay the Poshir Kingdom, which was the eastern tentacle of the Western Buddhist Kingdom. Dressed in silks and satins they were men, but once they changed their skins they became horse bandits running amok along the Tea Horse Road.

To the southwest lay the inner sea, where pirates occasionally emerged to attack passing merchant vessels, and some bold ones would even come ashore to raid wealthy households or merchant firms.

Therefore, ever since the founding of the Great Wei, three Military Garrisons named "Iron Wall," "Azure Wolf," and "Black Armored Army" had been established in Shuzhou, dispatching military households to farm the land and construct cities for defense.

At the same time, the Shu Prefecture Protectorate, the Supervision Court, and the hereditary Marquis of Military were established to defend the region together.

Among them, the Marquis of Military responsible for commanding the three towns of Shuzhou was the Xiao Family of Marquis Dingyuan, to which Xiao Jinghong belonged.

An incense stick of time later.

The Black Armored Army soldiers finished their drills, standing still with horizontal sabers, their sharp eyes looking toward the high platform as they awaited the instructions of the various generals.

A middle-aged general beside the high platform stepped forward and asked with cupped hands, "General Jinghong, are you satisfied?"

Xiao Jinghong's eyes remained fixed on the Black Armored Army soldiers as she calmly uttered two words: "Acceptable."

The middle-aged general hesitated and said, "General Jinghong, please voice any opinions you may have, and the rest of us will report them to the Commander later."

Xiao Jinghong tilted her head slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "The aura is acceptable, but the cultivation base is a bit too low. They can block two against one when facing the horse thieves of Poshir, but they still lag behind the Barbarian Warrior."

"This..."

Several officers exchanged glances, each seeing helplessness on the other's face.

A Barbarian Warrior could rival a martial artist of the Ninth Rank, Upper Stage relying solely on brute strength. If they donned heavy armor and wielded sharp blades, ordinary martial path powerheads of the Eighth Rank Realm might not even subdue them in a one-on-one fight.

Yet these Black Armored Army soldiers were the two thousand martial artists at the Ninth Rank, Middle Stage gathered by the deputy commander of the military town after picking the best of the best. Achieving their current momentum was already extremely difficult.

Before the officers could speak, Xiao Jinghong spoke again: "The formation drill ends here; continuing will yield very little results. Go capture some pirates and horse bandits to give them some practical experience."

The middle-aged general thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and agreed, "This subordinate obeys General Jinghong's orders. After reporting to Lord Commander, I will order men to sweep the area."

Hearing this, Xiao Jinghong nodded slightly and turned to walk out of the drill ground.

"All troops listen up, your performance is still not enough. Today's extra drill is on the Horse-Chopping Saber..."

"Yes!"

A moment later.

Xiao Jinghong returned to her tent and paused upon seeing a figure slumped over the desk, fast asleep inside.

Two female soldiers in soft armor removed her heavy scale armor, took the helmet from her hands, and after tidying up slightly, stood guard outside.

Another woman wearing a long dress and wearing the same Half Armor Mask as Xiao Jinghong presented two booklets.

Xiao Jinghong took them, flipped through them while pointing at the person at the desk, and asked, "When did she arrive?"

"Shortly after you went to the drill ground."

Seemingly hearing the sound, the figure slumped over the desk let out a soft whimper and raised her head, revealing a round, pink, and tender face. A circle of silver bells hanging around her neck tinkled with her movement.

She opened her eyes and looked around dazedly. When she saw Xiao Jinghong, her eyes widened abruptly and she jumped up, saying happily,

"Sister Jinghong, you're finally back. I fell asleep waiting for you."

Xiao Jinghong glanced at her and said indifferently, "Pei Guanli, this is where the Military Garrison is located, not somewhere you should come."

"I know, but Grandma insisted I come find you."

Pei Guanli looked young, and her height was a bit shorter than Xiao Jinghong's, but her figure was set off as voluptuous by that brightly colored skirt and dress, especially her bare feet, which were as white and translucent as jade.

"Speak, what is your business with me?"

"The tribe's Torch Festival is coming up soon, and Grandma wants to invite you over." Seeing that Xiao Jinghong didn't even raise her head, Pei Guanli leaned in to look at the contents of the booklet with her.

"Grandma said that thanks to your care all these years, life in the tribe is better than ever before. She wants you to go over, firstly to attend the Torch Festival, and secondly to discuss the matter of the mutual market with you."

"The mutual market?" Xiao Jinghong paused. "The Thirteen Tribes or just your tribe?"

"Of course all Thirteen Tribes together," Pei Guanli giggled and said, "Sister Jinghong, are you satisfied?"

"Give me the specific time, and I will send someone to discuss it with the tribal elders."

"Ah? You're not going?"

"I'm not," Xiao Jinghong closed the booklet and sat down at the desk. "Grandfather's sixtieth birthday is coming up soon, and I need to hurry back."

"A big birthday? A birthday banquet?" Pei Guanli rolled her eyes twice, a small tiger tooth showing at the corner of her mouth, and hurriedly asked, "Can I go?"

"No."

"Why? You didn't let me go when you got married before, but Grandpa Xiao is having a birthday this time, and I want to go. Please?"

"No."

"Sister Jinghong, if I hadn't helped you hold them back when you got married, my older brother would have already brought people to do some bride-snatching. Just treat it as repaying me, won't you?"

"He would die in the Xiao Family." Xiao Jinghong's tone remained unchanged.

"B-But..." Pei Guanli stared at her with watery eyes, aggrieved as she said, "Just let me go, Sister Jinghong."

"I'll break your legs!"

"..."

Pei Guanli puckered her lips, then turned and walked outward, muttering, "If you won't let me then I won't go, as if anyone cares."

Not long after she reached the tent flap, no sound had come from behind her yet.

Pei Guanli stamped her foot in anger, leaving a clear footprint directly on the ground as she walked straight out of the tent.

Before long.

Xiao Jinghong heard Pei Guanli's shouts echoing from afar: "Xiao Jinghong, you won't let me go, but I'm going anyway! I'm even going to go teach that runaway groom a lesson..."

The female official on the side heard the sound and asked, "General, should I send someone to stop her?"

Xiao Jinghong shook her head slightly: "Forget it, let her be."

"But what about the son-in-law..."

"Pei Guanli knows her limits and won't do anything to him." Xiao Jinghong asked, "Are there any more letters from home?"

"Second Master sent a letter."

"What does it say?"

The female official hesitated and said, "He said that the son-in-law began practicing the martial path a few days ago, but his natural talent is poor, and furthermore, he doesn't apply himself and is lazy by nature, making him unworthy of important tasks."

The red lips beneath Xiao Jinghong's half armor revealed a hint of a slight smile: "That's fine too. Being an idle son-in-law is better than harboring ambitions as before."

She did not demand that Chen Yi make progress. As long as he did not cause the Xiao Family embarrassment like his previous escape from marriage, even if he were lazy and unworthy of important tasks, she would not say anything either.

"General, are you, are you not angry that he ran away from the marriage before?" the female official asked cautiously.

"Why be angry? Before the marriage, I was well aware of Grandfather's purpose in finding the Chen Household to marry into our family." Xiao Jinghong's smile faded as she said,

"Next year, Wu Ge will set off for Jinling to serve as a hostage, and the Xiao Family needs me to be here."

With that, Xiao Jinghong glanced around and gave calm instructions:

"Pack up. Tomorrow we set off on the return journey, and we will stop by the Protectorate and the Supervision Court along the way. Figuring the time, the reply from the Capital Prefecture should have arrived by now."