Chapter 147 - 124: Great Village Chief

Chapter 147: Chapter 124: Great Village Chief

A moment later, the Vice General arrived outside Lu Yuan’s private room. He didn’t bother knocking, simply pushing the door open and walking straight in.

After all, from a purely official standpoint, the person inside was his subordinate.

But the moment he opened the door, he froze.

A sea of glittering gold met his eyes.

The room was filled with Imperial Guard generals. Seated at the head of the table was none other than the Marquis of Mucheng, one of Xiao Heng’s own men.

The group was in the middle of drinking and merrymaking when they noticed someone had entered.

Their movements halted, and the Marquis of Mucheng’s gaze fell upon him.

A flash of panic crossed the eyes of Shang Yong’s Vice General.

The Imperial Guard Garrison Generals, annoyed at having their good time interrupted, wore dark expressions. They might have been friendly with Lu Yuan, but that didn’t mean they were amiable with just anyone.

He was just the Vice General of a Border Marquis. Every one of the men who had become an Imperial Guard Garrison General came from a family with a Marquis of their own.

Shang Yong’s Vice General was quick-witted, however. "Greetings, Marquis. Greetings, sirs," he said hastily. "I was not aware of your presence. My apologies for the disturbance. I came to offer a toast to Captain Lu."

After speaking, he gave a bow, hurried forward, picked up a wine cup, and addressed Lu Yuan. "Captain Lu, a pleasure to meet you. I’ll drink this all. You can drink as you please."

He downed the cup of wine in one gulp, then turned and practically fled the room.

The pressure had been immense.

Once outside, he wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and hurried back toward the Marquis of Zhenbian’s private room.

Upon returning to Shang Yong’s side...

...the Marquis saw his strange expression and noticed Lu Yuan wasn’t with him. Assuming Lu Yuan was putting on airs and disrespecting him, his face darkened. "What’s wrong? Is he refusing to come?"

His voice was hard.

The Vice General quickly explained, "Marquis, I didn’t even mention your invitation. The Marquis of Mucheng is in there with him, along with several Imperial Guard Garrison Generals! Isn’t this Lu Yuan just a common soldier from the Border Army? How does he know so many people?"

The Marquis of Zhenbian’s expression changed. He pondered for a moment before saying, "Forget it, then. I’ll go see him personally after we get back."

In that instant, Lu Yuan’s standing in his mind had been completely transformed.

He had originally thought Lu Yuan was just an ordinary Border Army Captain—stronger than most, perhaps, but still someone he could control.

But now, first came a private summons from Xiao Heng, and now he was with the Marquis of Mucheng and his men. This was far from simple.

He couldn’t afford to offend a single one of those Imperial Guard Garrison Generals.

Let alone a whole group of them.

And so, he ate the rest of his meal in a state of growing unease.

Lu Yuan, however, paid it no mind. The group simply laughed off the little incident. After finishing the meal with his old friends from the Imperial Guard, he and Zhou Hongling took their leave.

After all, they had nothing further to report to Xiao Heng, so there was little point in staying.

They took their Personal Guards and prepared to return to Icefield Fortress ahead of the others.

After leaving the city, Zhou Hongling looked at the direction Lu Yuan was heading and asked, puzzled, "You’re going the wrong way. The road back to Icefield Fortress isn’t over there."

A smile touched the corner of his lips. "We’re picking up our men first."

Though confused, Zhou Hongling followed him.

A short while later, they arrived outside a military camp.

The Centurion guarding the gate was thrilled to see Lu Yuan. He immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, General."

They were well aware that they had been placed under Lu Yuan’s command.

These Border Army soldiers had become familiar with Lu Yuan on the Xirong battlefield.

Now that they were under his command, every one of them was excited.

"At ease."

Lu Yuan said as he walked inside.

He was quite satisfied with this army.

’They’re all skilled fighters at the Entry Level, and clad in iron armor. Master Xiao is truly generous.’

An army like this would definitely be considered an elite force within the Border Army.

Just then, three Captains rushed over. All of them were at the Gang Qi Realm. Upon seeing Lu Yuan, they bowed and said, "We greet the General!"

"Is everyone here?" Lu Yuan asked, glancing at them.

One of the Captains quickly stepped forward. "General, everyone has assembled."

Lu Yuan nodded. "Then prepare to move out. We’re heading back to our garrison."

"Yes, sir!"

The Captains then withdrew and began ordering the army to break camp.

Watching the army, Zhou Hongling’s face lit up with joy. "What a powerful force! There’s nothing else like it in the Border Army. Master Xiao is treating you very well."

"Yes, he is. If it weren’t for Marshal Xiao, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly for me," Lu Yuan agreed with a nod.

About two hours later, the army was ready. Under Lu Yuan’s command, they set off toward Icefield Fortress.

With so many people, their pace was naturally slower than before. It took them a full five days to return to Icefield Fortress.

After settling the army into the barracks...

...Lu Yuan and Zhou Hongling finally returned to their respective residences.

The latter had matters to attend to, so the two went their separate ways.

In Lu Yuan’s Captain’s Mansion, Zhou He had arrived again, looking quite anxious. "When are we leaving the city? I heard there’s talk of preparing for war over at Celestial King Stronghold, but a few of the Innate Experts are complaining. They think life is good right now and there’s no need to provoke anyone else."

"They’re getting lazy and complacent."

Without the deterrence of overwhelming martial power, the newer recruits were clearly becoming insubordinate.

Lu Yuan glanced outside. It was now afternoon.

After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Wait for me. We’ll set out today."

With that, he went to the rear residence, first informing the Lu Clan of his plans, then changed out of his armor and headed back out.

Returning to the front hall, he said to Zhou He, "Let’s go."

The two of them then walked out of the Captain’s Mansion, mounted their warhorses, and rode toward the city gates.

Icefield Fortress could now be considered Lu Yuan’s personal domain. Zhou Hongling was willing to listen to him, and her subordinates wouldn’t dare to object.

Imperial Censor Huang Sheng looked to Lu Yuan as his leader.

Therefore, he didn’t need to worry about what any schemers might say.

However, once outside the city, they both donned masks to avoid revealing their identities.

If anyone were to discover that the General of the Northern Patrol was also the Village Chief of Celestial King Stronghold, it would cause a major incident.

After changing their attire, the two rode straight for Celestial King Stronghold.

By early the next morning, they had arrived outside the stronghold.

Celestial King Stronghold had changed once again. Its walls were now taller and thicker than before, truly taking on the appearance of a small city.

The men guarding the entrance also had a different air about them.

The laziness was gone, replaced by a sharp competence.

As soon as Lu Yuan arrived, he presented his Jade Token. The leader of the guards didn’t dare to be disrespectful and immediately bowed. "Greetings, Great Village Chief."

These old-timers of the stronghold held this mysterious Great Village Chief in deep awe.

He had only appeared a few times.

But his very first appearance had left a tremendous impression on them. Back then, Vulture Ridge was no easy target.

Yet it had been wiped out in a single day.

One could only imagine the power he wielded.

It was for this very reason that the newly recruited Innate Experts were wary of his backing and hadn’t yet dared to openly challenge Wu Han.

Otherwise, chaos would have erupted long ago.

Seeing the guard leader’s attitude, Lu Yuan nodded and headed straight into the stronghold, breathing a sigh of relief. ’The situation is better than I expected.’

’It hasn’t completely spiraled out of control.’

’In that case, this will be easy to handle.’

’It seems Wu Han has some skill after all.’

As if sensing Lu Yuan’s thoughts, Zhou He whispered, "The ten thousand elite soldiers Wu Han trained are all loyal to him, so he still has control of the stronghold. It’s just those Innate Experts who, relying on their high cultivation, have gradually become arrogant."

Lu Yuan paid this no mind. ’If they’re disobedient, I just need to beat them into submission.’

’They’re just a bunch of Jianghu ruffians. The fist is the most effective way to communicate.’

The two then arrived outside the Hall of Righteous Unity.

They could faintly hear a clamor coming from inside.

Wu Han sat at the head seat, his gaze dark as he stared at the dozen or so men standing below.

Among them were the old high-ranking members of Celestial King Stronghold.

There were also the Innate experts he had recruited over the past year—five of them in total.

It was clear that the banner of Celestial King Stronghold was still quite effective.

One of the Innate experts spoke up. "Village Chief, our Celestial King Stronghold has everything we need now. We just have to wait a while and negotiate a good price with the imperial court. There’s no reason to go to war with others. I disagree."

The speaker was a coarse, eight-foot-tall man. He sat in a chair below, his heavy body making the ironwood seat groan under the strain.

This man’s name was Nangong Lie. He had once been a minor figure of some renown in the Dayong Jianghu, skilled in Fist Skill and possessing considerable strength.

The other Innate Experts also nodded in agreement.

But across from them, Copper-headed Lion Yang Xiao said coldly, "Since when did the Village Chief’s orders require anyone else’s approval?"

"Yang Xiao, you’re a mere True Essence Realm cultivator. You dare speak to me like that?!"

The current Yang Xiao had broken through to the True Essence Realm after joining Celestial King Stronghold. He now commanded the three horse pastures at the foot of the mountain and thirty thousand Village Soldiers, making him a definite high-ranking member of the stronghold.

Hearing Nangong Lie’s words, he replied coldly, "Are you challenging me to a fight right here?"

The brothers standing behind Yang Xiao rose to their feet in unison. "When we followed the Village Chief to found this stronghold, who knows where you lot were! If the Village Chief hadn’t taken you in, what would you be?!"

They had all been ruthless bandits in the past, accustomed to audacious behavior.

Seeing their leader being belittled, they naturally stepped up one by one.

Wu Han sat at the head of the hall, his eyes cold, but he remained silent.

His gaze was fixed on an old man below. The man was dressed in black robes, his hair and beard completely white. He looked like an ordinary person, but his pair of dark, iron-hued palms told everyone that he was not to be trifled with.

This old man was called Elder Qiansun. His Yin Transformation Hand technique was exceptionally formidable, and it seemed he was on the verge of breaking through to the Void Manipulation Realm.

He had long been a famous expert Beyond the Passes.

After joining the stronghold, he had become the leader of the several Innate Experts.

They had formed their own faction.

Wu Han knew this man was the instigator behind all of this.

But now, the tail was too big to wag; the subordinates had grown too powerful to control.

If he tried to deal with them by force, the entire Celestial King Stronghold would likely descend into chaos.

He himself didn’t know how many people would be left standing in the end.

So, all he could do was endure. Endure until Lu Yuan returned.

’In the end, it all comes down to a lack of strength.’

To be honest, after he had established Celestial King Stronghold, his ego had swelled. He had truly believed he was capable.

He thought he hadn’t let Lu Yuan down. But after Lu Yuan left...

...he discovered that things were not at all as he had imagined. Without Lu Yuan backing him...

...it was even possible that his position would be usurped.

These Innate Experts were, in fact, a product of his own inflated ego. If he hadn’t been so eager to recruit more powerful experts to prove himself, this situation would never have occurred.

The noisy disputes below only fueled the anger in his heart.

"Enough."

At that moment, with a single word from Elder Qiansun, the other Innate Experts fell silent.

Yang Xiao glared at him coldly, but his side was clearly at a disadvantage.

In that instant, it was as if Elder Qiansun had become the one steering the entire stronghold.

Just by sitting there, he was enough to intimidate everyone.

TAP... TAP...

Just then, Lu Yuan, who had been listening outside for some time, stepped into the hall.

The mask on his face glinted with a cold, dark luster.

A steady voice issued from behind it. "What a lively Hall of Righteous Unity. It seems I’ve arrived at just the right time."

As his words fell, he entered the main hall.