Chapter Twenty-Eight: One Month

Over the next few days, Lu Yuan practiced in his own courtyard and met with the subordinates assigned to him by his superiors.

After earning some silver, Zhang Gun and Zhang He had purchased cultivation resources and both broken through to new realms; they were assigned under Lu Yuan's command alongside Wei Yong.

At the same time, seven more experts who had entered the realm were transferred over.

They formed a squad composed entirely of experts who had entered the realm.

Moreover, they were all equipped with Squad Leader Armor and given the corresponding rank and treatment. It was clear that Zhou Hongling had provided Lu Yuan with a foundation; as long as he broke through to the Tendon Refining stage, he could use these men as the backbone to form a hundred-man unit.

No one was dissatisfied. They had all heard of Lu Yuan—the man who had taken down the Iron Sparrowhawks. Who would dare to be a thorn in his side? That would be a death wish.

On this day, Lu Yuan led his men out of the city early in the morning. He had accepted several missions this time.

If he could complete them, he would be able to secure a significant amount of silver and military merit.

In the armory, he had once seen a rare treasure called Dragon Scale Grass. It was supposedly the best item for tempering the body and nourishing the spirit, which would allow his physical body to reach the perfection of spirit-nourishment and break through to the Bone Forging stage.

However, the price was a bit steep—two thousand taels of silver—which he could not yet afford.

Therefore, by heading out this time, his goal was to harvest more Northern Barbarian heads and obtain more silver.

Out on the wilderness, as the spring breeze grew stronger, the white snow had melted, and tender shoots were emerging from the ground.

The boundless plains were filled with rolling hills.

There were also villages scattered like stars across the landscape.

As their warhorses galloped forward, they happened to run into a group of Northern Barbarian scouts. The enemy's numbers were similar to theirs, and there were about three experts among them who had entered the realm.

To Lu Yuan and his men, this was nothing to worry about.

Thus, he waved his hand, ordering his men to charge.

The military formation was set, instantly transforming into a sharp arrowhead.

As they closed in on the Northern Barbarian scouts:

"Shing!"

Lu Yuan swung his war blade, and everything within a radius of several meters was covered by his blade's edge.

The Northern Barbarian scouts who had just approached had several heads sent flying high into the air under his strike.

The next moment, it turned into a one-sided slaughter.

In less than the time it took to burn a stick of incense, the entire scout team had been cut down where they stood.

Blood stained the tender grass, and the riderless warhorses grazed on the ground.

After Lu Yuan and his men sorted through the supplies, they headed off in another direction.

Over the next ten days or so, they spent almost all their time roaming the wilderness. Their harvest, needless to say, was substantial.

Moreover, Lu Yuan's strength had seen significant growth.

However, it was precisely because of their retaliatory attacks that the Northern Barbarians grew dissatisfied.

First, the Iron Sparrowhawks had been killed, but that couldn't be helped—their skills were inferior.

But for several days in a row, the scouts sent out by the Northern Barbarians had all been killed, with not a single one returning.

Just like the situation at Ice Plain City when facing the Iron Sparrowhawks, they were at their wits' end.

Inside a Northern Barbarian tent, the chieftain of the Manyan Tribe sat. He was tall and robust, standing about two meters tall, with a thick beard on his chin.

"The Yong people are retaliating against us. In just over ten days, thirteen scout teams have been killed. What are they trying to do? Ever since my Manyan Tribe started the war with Great Yong, we have never suffered such humiliation."

The voice of Manyan Humie, the chieftain of the Manyan Tribe, rang out, rough and wild.

When his palm slammed onto the table, it made one's eardrums vibrate.

"It's all the fault of those Iron Sparrowhawks. They killed so many Great Yong people, and in the end, they were defeated and just walked away, leaving our people to suffer," a thousand-man commander of the Manyan Tribe said coldly after taking a large gulp of wine.

"You talk too much. We are here to discuss how to deal with this Great Yong scout team, not to complain. That man's surname is Xiao; no matter how much trouble he causes, there is someone to cover for him. What are you?"

Manyan Humie glared at the generals below, his voice irritable.

The surname Xiao might be common in Great Yong, but in the Northern Barbarian lands, it represented the royal bloodline—the most noble of all.

He continued, "Send Manyan Qihun. He is the most outstanding of our Manyan Tribe's younger generation. Form a scout team of eighty men and hunt down this elite Great Yong unit. Once you find them, leave no one alive."

"Understood!" the men below replied immediately.

At the same time, Zhang Zhe, who was already on his way to the Northern Frontier, complained to a middle-aged man beside him: "I don't know what my father is thinking, insisting that I come to the Northern Frontier. Back then, to avoid coming to this place, I let A-Yuan take the blame. I didn't expect I wouldn't be able to escape this trip after all."

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "A-Zhe, this is different. A-Yuan came here to suffer; it's possible he's already dead. But you are here to gild your resume. You have people protecting you and men under your command. As long as you stay for a while and kill some Northern Barbarians, you will have completed your mission."

"When that time comes, your future will be smooth sailing. If you want to go far in the military, not having a record in the Northern Frontier just doesn't look good."

The middle-aged man was named Bai Hong, a famous strategist from Yun Province and a private tutor for the Zhang Clan. His being sent here to assist Lu Zhe showed the Zhang Clan's determination regarding this military path.

"Sir, if we're being honest, Lu Yuan is your disciple too. If you truly run into him in the Northern Frontier, you wouldn't be unable to bear it, would you?" Zhang Zhe said, patting the dust off his armor.

After a selection process, many disciples of the Zhang Clan had studied under Teacher Bai Hong, and Lu Yuan had been one of them back then.

Any renowned teacher hopes to produce a famous general within their lifetime. Bai Hong had specialized in military formations and taught that subject, so naturally, he also wanted to cultivate a great general.

If a disciple could be enfeoffed as a marquis or appointed as a general, that would be for the best.

Currently, Zhang Zhe was the one he favored, mainly because the other party had the backing of a clan. In his view, even if Zhang Zhe couldn't become a marquis, his status in the military shouldn't be too low in the future.

Therefore, he replied indifferently, "I have already removed Lu Yuan from the register of disciples. Since he was exiled, he no longer has the qualifications to be my student. You can rest easy."

His action was also meant to tell the Zhang Clan that he had severed ties with Lu Yuan.

He was now single-mindedly assisting Zhang Zhe.

Upon hearing his words, the other party nodded in satisfaction and did not continue the topic.

Instead, he lashed his horsewhip hard against the horse's back: "Teacher, let's pick up the pace. Once we reach Yellow Sand City and complete the mission, we can head back."

"Very well!" Bai Hong said in a gentle voice.

He also spurred his horse forward.

However, neither of them could have imagined that the current Lu Yuan was not living a miserable life in the Northern Frontier; on the contrary, he was doing quite well.

Not only had he established a foothold, but he had also joined the Zhou Family.

He had already changed his name, making a clean break with the past.

After fighting continuously outside the city for nearly a month, Lu Yuan finally led his men back to Ice Plain City.

They had gained much from this outing.

Standing outside the Merit Pavilion, he dumped the mountain of severed heads onto the ground, along with the armor and weapons carried on their warhorses.

Everyone knew that Lu Yuan had made another significant haul this time.

They flocked over to watch.

The quartermaster led his men to count the heads and the supplies brought back.

He didn't even care that his hands were stained with thick, viscous blood.

It had been many years since anyone had delivered severed heads to the Merit Pavilion like this.

At this moment, Lu Yuan was also feeling somewhat impatient. If he could exchange this for enough military merit and silver, he would be just about ready to make a breakthrough.