After getting Zhou Hongling's answer, Lu Yuan headed out to the Armory next door.
He now had nearly three thousand taels of silver, and he had also broken through to the Tendon Refining Realm.
Pills were a must-buy.
When he arrived at the Armory, he found only a sparse crowd inside. Clearly, no one had gone out of the city recently, leaving everyone short on silver and military merits. As a result, even the number of people coming here to exchange for supplies had dwindled.
After entering, Lu Yuan browsed the selection. In the end, his gaze settled on the Tendon-Refining Pill. Now that he had reached this realm, the pills he needed were considerably more expensive than before.
Three hundred taels of silver for a bottle.
Lu Yuan reckoned that one or two bottles definitely wouldn't be enough if he wanted to break through.
So, since he had plenty of silver now, he bought five bottles. After paying, he went home.
He swallowed the pills and began cultivating.
The night passed in the blink of an eye. Early the next morning, he arrived at the Captain's Mansion.
As soon as he entered, he spotted quite a few people already gathered on the training grounds. Some of them were familiar to Lu Yuan: Wei Yong, Zhang Gun, Zhang He, and others.
They noticed Lu Yuan too, and kept waggling their eyebrows at him.
But none of them dared come over and greet him casually.
The Captain's Mansion was no place to fool around.
Who would dare wander about as they pleased?
Once he went inside, he saw Zhou Hongling eating breakfast. There was quite a spread, all of it meat dishes.
Chunks of meat and medicinal herbs had been simmered together into a broth.
Just looking at it made his mouth water.
No wonder she's so well-built. How could anyone not fill out eating like that? Lu Yuan thought.
Zhou Hongling heard him come in. When she saw him, she pointed at the table opposite her. "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Sit down and eat. I knew you were coming, so I had them make extra."
Lu Yuan didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down and began eating.
He especially went to town on the big basin of soup, drinking one bowl after another.
Seeing how heartily he ate, a smile appeared on Zhou Hongling's face.
By the time Lu Yuan had eaten his fill, the dishes on the table were nearly gone.
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 refining his organs, he would have to rely on food as well as pills to convert it into qi and blood. His appetite would be even greater then.
It would only ease up once he reached the Xiantian Realm.
"Come on. Today's the day you officially take up your post as Centurion. You'll meet your new subordinates, too."
As she spoke, Zhou Hongling stood and headed outside.
Lu Yuan followed her. When they reached the training grounds, Zhou Hongling pointed at the soldiers standing in formation. "These are the men assigned to you, eighty-three in total. Thirty-seven have been added to the men who served under you before."
Among the newcomers, twenty have reached the Entry Realm. This is the most elite force we can spare right now.
After an elite unit was wiped out last time, there weren't many Entry Realm fighters left to spare. Otherwise, the ranks of Squad Leaders at the grassroots level would be left with a dangerous gap.
But every man here is young and strong, and each has seen battle. As long as they earn military merit, they'll be able to exchange it for pills and reach the Entry Realm before long.
"Thank you, my lady," Lu Yuan said, cupping his fists.
"No need to thank me. You're going out of the city to win me some glory, so supporting you is only right. All the Entry Realm fighters in this unit have been issued half-armor, and the ordinary soldiers have new leather armor."
Their weapons and everything else have been replaced, too.
As for the numbers, I know you'll be taking other people out of the city with you, so I haven't filled out your ranks completely.
Thinking of Zhou He, a smile appeared on Lu Yuan's face. During their last expedition, he had discovered that the young man was a real talent. Not only was he meticulous in managing the supplies, but he could also fight on the front lines.
With Zhou He's help, there would certainly be a lot less trouble.
Then Zhou Hongling continued, "You can decide for yourself when to leave the city. But my orders from above are to pacify the area around the Three Cities within a month. Eight days have already passed."
Lu Yuan immediately replied, "I'll do it as soon as I can."
"There's no need to rush. If you can get it done, that'll be a pleasant surprise. If not, so be it," Zhou Hongling said slowly.
She had come around to the idea that it was enough as long as the Helian Clan didn't get the post of Guardian General of the Three Cities.
As for wiping out the Iron Sparrowhawks, to be honest, even though Lu Yuan had broken through, she didn't have much hope.
Then Zhou Hongling turned her gaze to the soldiers on the training ground. Her expression instantly grew stern. "From now on, Lu Yuan is your Centurion. You must obey his orders."
"All right, take some time to get to know one another. I'll be heading back."
With that, she turned and left.
Normally, Zhou Hongling wouldn't personally attend the appointment of a Centurion. At most, she would send a Chiliarch.
But Lu Yuan was different. He reported directly to Zhou Hongling, with no Chiliarch above him. He was also truly exceptional, which was why she had come in person.
As soon as Zhou Hongling left, the men below visibly brightened with joy. There was no need to mention those who had served under Lu Yuan before. The others had all heard of his reputation and knew they'd get meat to eat if they followed him.
Hadn't Old Huang been an unremarkable old soldier before? Now he was doing well. They'd heard plenty of widows were fighting over him.
More importantly, with military merit, they could exchange for pills and break through.
As soldiers on the frontier, not one of them didn't hope to reach the Entry Realm.
Before, they had barely managed to scrape by without starving. But following Lu Yuan was different.
So not only did none of them step forward to cause trouble, not one even dared stand crookedly.
Lu Yuan looked at them and didn't waste time with a long speech. "Wei Yong, take the men and teach the newcomers the battle formations. Get them used to everything as quickly as you can. We'll leave the city in three days."
"Understood!" Wei Yong replied at once.
Lu Yuan had already walked away with his hands behind his back.
There was no need to be overly courteous. He'd gained some experience by now: as long as you let your subordinates get their share of the spoils, you could curse them out every day and they'd still be cheerful.
If you weren't up to the job and your men got nothing out of following you, they might bow and scrape in front of you, but they'd curse you behind your back.
The military was, by nature, a place that worshipped the strong.
Meanwhile, as Lu Yuan made his preparations, Zhang Hong and Zhang He were sitting in the Zhang Clan's residence in Yun Province, drinking tea in the main hall.
The former looked at his younger brother. "You've heard about A-Zhe, right? On his very first battle in the Northern Frontier, he ran into the Iron Sparrowhawks and came back badly beaten. Still, the Helian Clan can't really blame him for that."
After all, the Iron Sparrowhawks of the Northern Barbarians were famous across the nations.
But it's all a matter of comparison. I'm worried someone else might wipe out this Iron Sparrowhawks unit. If that happens, A-Zhe's life will become difficult.
I heard Marquis Hong Cheng of Nine Fortresses ordered them to clear out this Iron Sparrowhawks unit within a month.
Zhang He took a sip of tea before replying quietly, "Don't worry, big brother. Mr. Bai Hong sent another letter yesterday. He said the forces from the other two fortress cities were also routed. This mission won't be easy to complete."
"Besides, didn't the Yun Province General say as much over drinks last time? Against the Iron Sparrowhawks, with equal numbers, no one but the Night Scouts or the Silent Cavalry could win. If anyone had managed it, they'd already be famous throughout the Northern Frontier."
"But there hasn't been a single capable fighter to speak of in any of the three fortress cities."
"Alas, it's true enough. Still, it's a shame. If A-Zhe really could wipe out the Iron Sparrowhawks, he'd rise through the ranks in the military in no time."
As Zhang Hong spoke, his voice held a trace of regret.
The Zhang Clan desperately needed someone who could establish himself in the military.