"Wuu!!"
At that moment, within Black Armored Army Town, a thousand li from Shuzhou City, a resonant horn sounded.
Twenty thousand soldiers clad in scarlet scale armor and wielding Horse-Chopping Sabers drilled in immaculate formations of five hundred.
"Hu!"
"Ha!"
Their faces were solemn and their bodies powerfully built. As they swung their six-foot Horse-Chopping Sabers, the blades whipped up roaring gusts, their might making the earth tremble.
On the raised platform before them, three scarlet banners hung high, each embroidered with a savage tiger's head in golden thread.
Below, a figure stood beneath the banners. Clad in silver-white scale armor, she was slimmer and shorter than those soldiers, yet the eyes hidden beneath her Half Armor Mask were as calm as still water.
She was Xiao Jinghong, the second legitimate granddaughter of Xiao Yuan, the current Marquis Dingyuan!
She watched the formation before her and considered the present situation. They were still far from enough.
As the southernmost region of the Great Wei Dynasty, Shuzhou was surrounded by enemies on three sides.
To the south lay the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, home to the Barbarian Tribe. Amid its towering peaks and dense forests lived countless barbarian tribes. Since the great war twenty years ago, they had periodically marched north to assault the passes.
To the southwest stood the Poshir Kingdom, the spearhead of the Western Buddhist Kingdom's eastward advance. Dressed in silks and satins, they were men; shed their skins, and they became the bandits ravaging the Tea Horse Road.
To the southeast was the inland sea, where pirates occasionally appeared to attack passing merchant ships. Some of the bolder ones even came ashore to raid wealthy households and trading houses.
Thus, ever since Great Wei was founded, three military towns had been established in Shuzhou: Iron Wall, Azure Wolf, and Black Armor. Military households were transferred there to farm the land, build cities, and guard the frontier.
At the same time, the Shu Prefecture Protectorate, the Supervision Court, and a hereditary Marquis of Military were established to jointly defend the region.
The Marquis of Military responsible for commanding Shuzhou's Three Towns was the Xiao Family of Marquis Dingyuan, to which Xiao Jinghong belonged.
After the time it took to burn an incense stick.
The Black Armored Army soldiers completed their drill. They stood still with sabers held across their bodies, their eyes bright as they looked toward the platform and awaited the generals' instruction.
A middle-aged commander at the edge of the platform stepped forward and cupped his hands. "General Jinghong, are you satisfied?"
Xiao Jinghong kept her eyes on the Black Armored Army soldiers and calmly uttered two words. "Passable."
The middle-aged general hesitated. "General Jinghong, please speak freely if you have any suggestions. We will report them to the Commander later."
Xiao Jinghong slightly turned her head, pondering for a moment before she said, "Their Aura is acceptable, but their Cultivation Base is somewhat low. They can hold off two of Poshir's bandits by themselves, but they still fall short against Barbarian Warriors."
"This..."
Several officers exchanged glances, each seeing the helplessness on the others' faces.
A Barbarian Warrior could match a Ninth Rank, Upper Stage martial artist through brute strength alone. If they donned heavy armor and wielded sharp weapons, even ordinary Martial Path experts in the Eighth Rank Realm might not be able to defeat one in a one-on-one fight.
These Black Armored Army soldiers were already two thousand martial artists at the Ninth Rank, Middle Stage, painstakingly selected from the best by the deputy Commander of the military town. It had not been easy for them to attain their current level of might.
Before the officers could speak, Xiao Jinghong spoke again. "End the formation drills here. Continuing them will yield little benefit. Capture some pirates and bandits to give them real combat practice."
The middle-aged commander thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and agreed. "This subordinate obeys General Jinghong's orders. Once I have reported to the Commander, I will order a sweep."
At that, Xiao Jinghong gave a slight nod and turned to leave the training grounds.
"All troops, heed my command! Your performance was still inadequate. Today, you will add more Horse-Chopping Saber drills..."
"Yes!"
A short while later.
Xiao Jinghong returned to her tent and paused upon seeing a figure sprawled over the desk, sleeping soundly.
Two female soldiers in soft armor removed her heavy scale armor for her and took her helmet. After tidying it slightly, they stood guard outside.
Another woman, dressed in a long gown and wearing a Half Armor Mask identical to Xiao Jinghong's, presented two booklets.
Xiao Jinghong accepted them. As she leafed through them, she pointed at the person on the desk. "When did she arrive?"
"Not long after you left for the training grounds."
As though she had heard the voices, the figure sprawled across the desk gave a muffled whimper and lifted her head, revealing a round, rosy face. A ring of silver Bells around her neck chimed with her movements.
She opened her eyes and looked around blankly. When she spotted Xiao Jinghong, her eyes widened. She sprang up and said happily,
"Sister Jinghong, you finally came back! I waited so long that I fell asleep."
Xiao Jinghong glanced at her and said coolly, "Pei Guanli, this is a military town, not a place you should be."
"I know, but Grandma insisted that I come find you."
Pei Guanli looked young and was shorter than Xiao Jinghong, but her bright dress accentuated her full figure. In particular, her bare feet were jade-white and translucent.
"Speak. Why did you come looking for me?"
"The Torch Festival for the tribe is coming soon, and Grandma wants to invite you over." Seeing that Xiao Jinghong did not even raise her head, Pei Guanli moved closer to read the booklet with her.
"Grandma said that the tribe's life has been better than ever these past years, all thanks to your care. She wants you to attend the Torch Festival, and also discuss the Mutual Market with you."
"The Mutual Market?" Xiao Jinghong paused. "The Thirteen Tribes, or only your tribe?"
"Of course all Thirteen Tribes," Pei Guanli said with a grin. "Sister Jinghong, are you satisfied?"
"Have someone go discuss the exact date with the tribal elders."
"Huh? You're not going?"
"No." Xiao Jinghong closed the booklet and sat before the desk. "Grandfather's sixtieth birthday is coming soon. I need to return."
"A big birthday? A Birthday Banquet?" Pei Guanli's eyes rolled twice, and a dainty tiger tooth peeked from the corner of her mouth. She hurriedly asked, "Can I go?"
"No."
"Why not? You didn't let me go when you got married. This time, Grandpa Xiao is celebrating his birthday, so I want to go. Please?"
"No."
"Sister Jinghong, if I hadn't stopped him when you got married, my older brother would already have led people to snatch the bride. Just consider it repayment, all right?"
"He will die at the Xiao Family." Xiao Jinghong's tone did not change.
"B-but..." Pei Guanli stared at her with watery eyes and said pitifully, "Just let me go, Sister Jinghong."
"I'll break your legs!"
"..."
Pei Guanli pursed her lips, then turned and walked outside. "Fine, don't let me go. As if I care."
When she reached the entrance of the tent, no voice came from behind her.
Pei Guanli stomped her foot in anger, leaving a distinct footprint on the ground, then strode straight out of the tent.
Not long afterward.
Xiao Jinghong heard Pei Guanli's shout drifting from afar outside. "Xiao Jinghong, if you won't let me go, I'll go anyway! And I'll teach that runaway groom a lesson..."
The Female Official beside her heard this and asked, "General, should we send someone to stop her?"
Xiao Jinghong shook her head slightly. "Forget it. Let her go."
"But the son-in-law..."
"Pei Guanli knows her limits. She will not do anything to him." Xiao Jinghong asked, "Has there been any letter from home?"
"Second Master sent a letter."
"What did it say?"
The Female Official hesitated. "He said the son-in-law began cultivating the Martial Path some days ago, but his talent is poor, and he... he does not apply himself. He is lazy by nature and cannot be entrusted with important duties."
A faint smile appeared on Xiao Jinghong's crimson lips beneath her Half Armor Mask. "That is fine. Being an Idle Son-in-Law is better than harboring ambitions as he did before."
She did not ask Chen Yi to strive for advancement. So long as he did not make the Xiao Family lose face by fleeing marriage again, she would say nothing even if he was lazy and useless.
"General, you... you are not angry that he Fled Marriage before?" the Female Official asked carefully.
"Why should I be angry? Before the marriage, I already knew why grandfather sought out the Chen Family for a son-in-law." Xiao Jinghong's smile vanished as she said,
"Next year, Wu Ge will depart for Jinling as a Hostage. The Xiao Family needs me here."
Having said that, Xiao Jinghong looked around and calmly ordered,
"Pack up. We leave tomorrow to return home. On the way, we will visit the Protectorate and the Supervision Court. By my reckoning, the Capital Prefecture's reply should have arrived."
Before you continue