"These scouts hadn't entered the village. They must've robbed a small merchant caravan. There wasn't much, but they had plenty of money," Zhou He said with a grin. He was very pleased with this ambush.
Each person in the Entry Realm was worth two merit points. He'd killed two, and there were also some ordinary scouts, earning him six merit points in total. Add the goods and money they'd found on the men, and it wasn't a bad haul.
Zhou He was most surprised by Lu Yuan's saber technique and his command of formations. This was the first time he'd seen Lu Yuan in action, and the man had met the Northern Barbarians' heavy weapons head-on and come out overwhelmingly on top. His saber technique was probably at the pinnacle. At the thought, Zhou He couldn't help drawing a sharp breath.
This guy's talent was monstrous.
Then there was his command of formations. Judging by his skill, he'd reached the minor mastery stage in the Arrowhead Formation. Zhou He had practiced formations for years and had only reached the entry level. Even his uncle had only reached minor mastery a little while ago.
As an officer in the army, aside from one's cultivation method, the most important thing was one's command of formations.
The greater one's skill in formations, the more one could draw out one's men's fighting strength on the battlefield.
It was said that famous generals could draw on the strength of their men and the land itself, allowing them to slay enemies above their level.
Before this, he'd been surprised that his uncle had asked him to pay more attention to Lu Yuan. Now, it seemed the older generation really did have a sharp eye.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan wasn't giving it much thought. He'd gained a lot this time.
The five Northern Barbarian warhorses alone were a considerable haul. Next time he went out, he wouldn't have to borrow horses from the Armory.
There were also five sets of leather armor and weapons taken from the barbarians. Though damaged, each set could still be exchanged for some silver when he brought them back. The Merit Pavilion would check their condition and assess the damage.
After searching the men, he found a few pieces of jewelry, probably things they'd stolen, along with more than twenty taels of silver in loose change. What pleased Lu Yuan most was a manual titled Wolf-Chasing Archery.
It wasn't anything particularly valuable, just a collection of archery techniques practiced by Northern Barbarian warriors.
The Great Yong Armory had a copy, but he only had one chance to choose a manual.
In battle, the bow was the best weapon for killing enemies at long range.
However, few people could truly master it. Once one's cultivation grew stronger, it became difficult for a bow to kill an enemy.
But Lu Yuan didn't believe that. In his view, if you couldn't shoot down an expert, the problem was with you. Just think of Hou Yi shooting down the suns. Were his opponents not powerful? He'd still shot them down one by one.
There were no cultivation methods that didn't work, only people who couldn't make them work.
After tucking the manual away, he looked at Old Huang beside him. "How did you fare?"
"I'm not strong enough. I didn't bring anyone down," Old Huang said, scratching his head.
"Here, take this. Finding those men was thanks to you." Lu Yuan tossed him one of the silver ingots they'd just found. It weighed about three taels.
Zhou He turned around too. "That's right. You were a big help. Take mine as well."
Then he grabbed some loose silver and put it in Old Huang's hand, probably another two or three taels.
As for the others, there was nothing to be done for those who hadn't gained anything. They'd have to wait for next time.
Still, they weren't discouraged. Lu Yuan's men in particular were in high spirits. Zhang Gun had killed an ordinary scout, and his face was flushed with excitement. In the past, he'd killed bandits and earned some silver, but never any merit points.
This was the real deal.
And there were armor and warhorses, too. This one outing had earned them more than several previous trips combined.
The Armory in the Merit Pavilion bought Northern Barbarian warhorses all year round, paying fifteen taels of silver per horse.
"All right, everyone, get ready to leave. We'll rest in Ancient Well Village tonight and head back tomorrow," Zhou He said cheerfully.
After that, everyone packed their things and set off for Ancient Well Village.
With Zhou He, a Bone Forging expert, among them, no one had died, though several had been injured.
When they arrived at Ancient Well Village, the village chief warmly cleared out rooms for them, heated some water, and called the village doctor to bandage the wounded.
As Squad Leader, Lu Yuan got a room to himself.
Once he'd settled down, he opened his system stats.
[Name: Lu Yuan] [Age: 16] [Technique: Blade-Breaking Eight Styles (2012/30000, Perfection)] [Tiger-Subduing Stance: Body-Tempering Realm (271/1000, Minor Mastery)] [Golden Bell Cover (478/1000, Minor Mastery)] [Arrowhead Formation (134/1000, Minor Mastery)]
Seeing the stats, Lu Yuan's lips curled. Battle really was the best way to increase proficiency.
The Golden Bell Cover and Crouching Tiger Stance had a great effect, too. The two complemented each other, and their progress was almost as fast as taking pills.
This trip outside the city seemed to have opened a whole new door for Lu Yuan.
So what if he had to trade blows with the Northern Barbarians? Anyone could do that.
Then he started practicing again.
The night passed peacefully. Early the next morning, everyone headed back to the city.
At the Merit Pavilion, Lu Yuan exchanged the heads he'd taken for seventeen taels of silver and received eight merit points. He also turned in the five warhorses.
He kept the two in the best condition for himself and exchanged the other three for forty-five taels of silver.
The five sets of leather armor brought him a total of fifty taels of silver.
With the silver they'd looted, he now had over a hundred and twenty taels in all. One battle had thoroughly filled his pockets.
At the very least, he could afford to buy pills now.
He still didn't have enough merit points to exchange for them, but he could buy them at the Armory.
After spending fifty taels of silver on a bottle of Body-Tempering Pills, Lu Yuan said goodbye to Zhou He and stepped out into the Merit Pavilion courtyard.
Wei Yong and the others promptly stopped him.
"Sir, I wouldn't have earned so much this time without you. Let me treat you to a meal at the Beef Offal House. There'll be plenty to eat," Zhang Gun said with a grin.
He'd earned a decent amount himself.
Nearly thirty taels of silver had gone into his pocket, and he was overjoyed.
Now he admired Lu Yuan tremendously.
Lu Yuan looked toward Old Huang, who was standing a short distance away.
Zhang Gun was a clever man. He immediately hurried over, grabbed Old Huang, and said, "Brother Huang, come with us. I was wrong about what happened last time. Give me a chance to apologize."
Wei Yong smiled as well. "Brother Huang, come along. I'm sorry about what happened last time. Let's clear the air."
Old Huang scratched his head, not taking it to heart.
He nodded. "All right, let's go have a drink."
Once he'd agreed, Zhang Gun and the others looked at Lu Yuan expectantly.
"Let's go. Someone's treating, so we might as well."
When he'd said that, Wei Yong and the others breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the Beef Offal House.
On the way, Zhang Gun pulled the worried-looking Wei Yong aside and spoke in a low voice. "Don't worry. Our Squad Leader won't be interested in Guo Xiu. What kind of person is he? He wouldn't set his sights on a widow's daughter.
"Let's keep our wits about us today and make it up to Old Huang and our Squad Leader. Then we can put this behind us.
"Otherwise, it'll look bad if Old Huang brings it up with the sir later.
"Since the Squad Leader doesn't know Widow Li threw a fit at Old Huang, we should do what we can now. He won't hold it against nobodies like us."
Wei Yong nodded. "You've got a point, but I'll still have to swallow my pride."
"Who cares about your pride in front of the Squad Leader? Didn't this trip outside the city make it obvious? We're simply not on the same level. Stick with the sir and work hard. That's the only way we'll get anywhere."
Zhang Gun patted the silver pouch at his waist.
At the same time, Zhou He entered his uncle's room.
Zhou Xiong glanced at him and asked flatly, "What is it?"
"Uncle, I went out with Lu Yuan these past two days. He's genuinely skilled. He took a Northern Barbarian's Wolf-Tooth Mace head-on and then killed him.
"His saber technique should be at the pinnacle. And from what I saw, he's reached minor mastery in the Arrowhead Formation, too. His talent really is impressive."
After speaking, Zhou He picked up the tea on the table and drained it.
Zhou Xiong glanced at him. "If that's the case, he really is a talent. It's been a long time since we've had such a gifted young man on the border. I'll go see the young miss tomorrow and find out whether Lu Yuan can join our Zhou Family.
"The rest is easy enough to discuss, but military formations are the hardest to master. He's reached minor mastery in such a short time. I think he's worth cultivating.
"Don't be too slow, or another family might snatch him up."
Zhou He nodded and left.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan had arrived at the Beef Offal House, surrounded by the others.