Centurion

After receiving Zhou Hongling's reply, Lu Yuan headed to the neighboring Armory.

He now had nearly three thousand taels of silver on him, and he had also broken through to the Tendon Refining Realm.

Purchasing medicinal pills was a necessity.

Upon arriving at the Armory, he found it sparsely populated. Clearly, no one had been leaving the city lately, leading to a shortage of silver and military merit, which in turn meant fewer people coming here to exchange for supplies.

After entering, Lu Yuan browsed through the selection, eventually fixing his gaze on the Tendon-Refining Pills. Now that he had reached this realm, the pills he required were significantly more expensive than before.

Three hundred taels of silver per bottle.

Lu Yuan estimated that if he wanted to make a breakthrough, one or two bottles would certainly not be enough.

He had plenty of silver now, so he bought five bottles and returned home after settling the bill.

He swallowed the pills and began his cultivation.

A night passed in the blink of an eye, and early the next morning, he arrived at the Captain's Mansion.

As soon as he entered, he noticed quite a few people already standing in the drill ground. Some were familiar faces, including Wei Yong, Zhang Gun, and Zhou He.

They spotted Lu Yuan as well, exchanging glances and winking from time to time.

However, none of them dared to come over and greet him casually.

The Captain's Mansion was not a place to mess around.

Few people dared to wander about recklessly.

Once inside, he saw Zhou Hongling eating breakfast. There was quite a spread, and it was all meat-based.

It was a soup made from large chunks of meat boiled together with medicinal herbs.

It looked mouth-watering.

No wonder she has such a sturdy build; anyone who eats like this would be well-nourished, Lu Yuan thought to himself.

Zhou Hongling heard the commotion, and upon seeing him enter, she immediately pointed to the table opposite her. "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Sit down and eat. I knew you were coming, so I had them prepare extra."

Lu Yuan did not stand on ceremony; he sat down and began to eat.

He drank bowl after bowl of the large pot of soup.

Seeing him eat with such gusto, a smile appeared on Zhou Hongling's face.

By the time Lu Yuan was full, the table was nearly cleared of food.

After his breakthrough, his appetite had grown even larger.

However, as far as Lu Yuan knew, he was still only in the Tendon Refining Realm. Once he began Organ Refining, he would have to rely on food to convert into blood-qi in addition to taking pills, so his appetite would be even greater then.

This situation would only improve once he reached the Innate Realm.

"Let's go. Today is the day you officially take office as a Centurion, and you should also meet your new subordinates."

As she spoke, she rose and walked outside.

Lu Yuan followed behind. When they reached the drill ground, Zhou Hongling pointed to the soldiers lined up in formation. "These are the subordinates assigned to you, totaling eighty-three men. Based on your previous command, thirty-seven more have been added.

Among these new recruits, twenty are already at the entry level of cultivation; this is the most elite force that can be spared right now.

After losing a squad of elites last time, there aren't many entry-level experts left to pull, or else there would be a risk of a gap in the lower-level Squad Leaders.

However, these men are all young and strong, and every one of them has seen battle. As long as they can earn military merit and return to exchange for pills, it won't be long before they reach the entry level."

"Thank you, My Lady," Lu Yuan said, cupping his hands.

"No need for thanks. You are earning glory for me by going outside the city; it is only right that I support you. All the entry-level experts in this unit are equipped with half-body iron armor, and the regular soldiers have been issued new leather armor.

Their weapons and other gear have all been replaced with new ones as well.

As for the headcount, I know you intend to bring others when you leave the city, so I didn't fill the ranks completely."

Thinking of Zhou He, a smile couldn't help but appear on Lu Yuan's face. During the last battle, he discovered that the lad was a talent; not only was he organized in logistics, but he could also hold his own in the heat of battle.

With his help, it would certainly lighten the load.

Then, Zhou Hongling looked at Lu Yuan and continued, "Decide for yourself when to leave the city, but the order from above is to stabilize the area around the three cities within a month. Eight days have already passed."

The latter immediately replied, "I will do it as soon as possible."

"No need to rush. If this matter is completed, it will be a pleasant surprise; if not, so be it," Zhou Hongling said slowly.

She had come to realize that as long as the Helian Clan did not obtain the position of commander of the three cities, that was enough.

As for wiping out the Iron Sparrowhawks, to be honest, even though Lu Yuan had broken through, she did not hold out much hope.

Then, Zhou Hongling turned her gaze toward the soldiers on the drill ground, her expression turning serious as she said slowly, "From now on, Lu Yuan is your Centurion, and you must obey his orders.

That is all. Get to know each other; I am heading back now."

With that, she turned and left.

Usually, Zhou Hongling would not personally attend the appointment of a Centurion; at most, a Thousand-Man Commander would come.

But Lu Yuan was different. He reported directly to Zhou Hongling, there was no Thousand-Man Commander above him, and he was truly exceptional, which was why she had come in person.

After Zhou Hongling left, the people below visibly showed joy on their faces. Those who had followed Lu Yuan in the past went without saying, but the others had also heard of his great reputation and knew that following him meant having meat to eat.

Had they not seen how Old Huang, once an inconspicuous old soldier, had now struck it rich? It was said that many widows were scrambling to be with him.

Furthermore, the most important thing was that with military merit, they could exchange for medicinal pills to break through their cultivation levels.

As soldiers on the frontier, there was no one who did not hope to advance their realm.

In the past, they could at most scrape by without starving, but following Lu Yuan was different.

Therefore, far from acting like troublemakers, not a single one of them dared to stand with anything less than perfect posture.

Lu Yuan looked at them without much preamble, simply saying, "Wei Yong, you will lead the men to teach the new brothers the military formations. Get them familiar as quickly as possible; we leave the city in three days."

"Understood!" Wei Yong replied immediately.

Lu Yuan had already turned and left with his hands behind his back.

There was no need to be overly polite. He had gained some experience now: as long as you let your subordinates eat meat, they would be happy even if you cursed at them every day.

If you were incompetent yourself and couldn't secure benefits for your men, they would curse your mother behind your back even if you were respectful to them daily.

The military was, by nature, a place that worshipped the strong.

And just as Lu Yuan was making his preparations, inside the Zhang Clan of Yun Province, Zhang Hong and Zhang He were sitting in the living room drinking tea.

The former looked at his younger brother and said, "You know about A-Zhe's situation, right? In his first battle at the Northern Frontier, he encountered the Iron Sparrowhawks and suffered a crushing defeat. However, the Helian Clan didn't really blame him for this."

"After all, the Northern Barbarian Iron Sparrowhawks are famous across all nations."

"But everything is subject to comparison. I am worried that if someone else wipes out this unit of Iron Sparrowhawks, A-Zhe's days will become very difficult. I heard that the Marquis of Nine Fortresses, Hong Cheng, has ordered the eradication of this unit of Iron Sparrowhawks within a month."

After taking a sip of tea, Zhang He said softly, "Don't worry, Big Brother. Mr. Bai Hong sent another letter yesterday saying that the troops from the other two fortress cities have also been routed. It won't be that easy to complete this mission."

"Besides, didn't the Yun Province General also say while drinking last time that unless the Night Scouts or the Silent Cavalry take action, it is impossible for anyone else to fight the Iron Sparrowhawks with equal numbers? If someone really managed to do it, they would have long since become famous throughout the Northern Frontier."

"But among the three fortress cities, we have never heard of any such capable person."

"Sigh, that is the logic of it, but it is still a pity. If A-Zhe could really wipe out the Iron Sparrowhawks, that would be for the best. He would truly have a smooth path to success in the military from then on."

Zhang Hong spoke with a hint of regret.

The Zhang Clan was in desperate need of someone who could establish a firm footing in the military.