Chapter 47: Hong City’s Admiration
Hong Cheng’s face was grim. He walked so quickly it was as if he brought the wind with him.
Although Zhou Hongling trusted Lu Yuan, she was still filled with apprehension.
The others, however, wore a wide range of expressions.
Some were in disbelief, others were astonished. Zhou Ming, in particular, felt a complex mix of emotions.
However, all these inner thoughts turned to pure shock the moment they arrived outside the Captain’s Mansion.
The troop before them was trailing a seemingly endless line of horses, laden with baskets and sacks overflowing with human heads.
Some of the horses even carried live, bound captives.
Lu Yuan didn’t recognize Hong Cheng, but he stepped forward upon seeing Zhou Hongling and cupped his fist. "Lord Captain, on this expedition outside the city, we killed five hundred thirty-one Northern Barbarian Scouts and sixty-four Silver-armed Iron Kites.
We also captured twenty-three Iron Kites alive."
Before Hongling could respond, Hong Cheng had already strode forward, torn open a sack, and looked inside.
RATTLE!
He tipped the sack over, and a head rolled onto the ground.
Ignoring it, he went on to inspect the armor on the horses’ backs and the Identity Tokens hanging there.
"These are Iron Kites."
he rumbled in a low voice.
He then turned, sizing up Lu Yuan. "What is your current rank?"
Before Lu Yuan could respond, Zhou Hongling hurriedly interjected, "This is the Grand Commandant."
Lu Yuan had never met Hong Cheng, but he had certainly heard of him. The Marquis of Jiuse was a legendary figure on the Northern Border.
"Replying to the Marquis, I am currently an Army Centurion under the Lord Captain."
THWACK!
Hong Cheng’s hand clapped down on Lu Yuan’s shoulder.
"You’ve done well."
Then he turned to Hongling. "Get your Quartermaster over here! Tally the merits and distribute the rewards immediately!"
Naturally, she wouldn’t dare dally on Hong Cheng’s command and immediately sent someone to fetch the Quartermaster.
Someone brought a chair for Hong Cheng, and he, not one for ceremony, plopped down into it.
He wanted to see the final tally with his own eyes.
As for the prisoners, they had already been marched off to the dungeons.
This victory was a massive relief for Hong Cheng, a way to vent his pent-up frustrations.
The gloom on his face dissipated, replaced by obvious satisfaction as he watched Lu Yuan standing nearby.
Meanwhile, as the shock wore off for the people around him, a variety of expressions emerged. Zhou Ming was now filled with deep regret, a pained look on his face.
’Zhou Hongling had wanted to place Lu Yuan under my tutelage back then. How could I have been so bewitched, so foolish as to not even grant the man an audience?’
’If I had paid even the slightest bit of attention, this never would have happened.’
’Now, Yun Mo has lost an arm, and his future career is practically severed in half.’
’But Lu Yuan? Anyone can see he’s caught Hong Cheng’s eye.’
’As long as his merits and cultivation level keep pace, his future is limitless.’
’Plus, he’s so young and has already accomplished something this monumental. To call his foundation ’solid’ would be an understatement.’
Zhou Ren, on the other hand, was ecstatic. He was thrilled that such a talent had emerged from under his own daughter’s command.
’What’s more, she now has an elite unit comparable to the Night Patrol.’
’This is a massive win! And another thing—the position of Commander of the Three Cities is sure to fall to Zhou Hongling now.’
’It’s practically set in stone.’
Helian Tielin was filled with envy, sighing internally. ’How is it that the Zhou Family gets to snatch up every good opportunity? They already had an edge over us on the Northern Border, and now this...’
’Now we’ll even have to hand over command of Yellow Sand Pass.’
’My own son will have to serve as Zhou Hongling’s subordinate.’
’It would be a lie to say he was happy about it.’
His gaze then inevitably drifted toward Lu Yuan.
’If I had a subordinate like that,’ he thought, ’I might be able to turn the tables in the future.’
At this thought, a fervent glint appeared in his eyes.
Poaching talent from other garrisons was a common occurrence.
’Lu Yuan is just a Centurion, after all. If I offer enough, I refuse to believe I can’t poach him.’
As for Helian Shang, he was already cursing up a storm in his head. ’They’re both subordinates, so how can the gap between Zhang Zhe and Lu Yuan be this huge?’
’I only sent that guy out as a favor to the General of Yunzhou.’
’And now he comes fleeing back, utterly routed.’
That’s just how people are. Without a point of comparison, things might seem passable. But once you have one, the disparity becomes glaring.
A sense of injustice began to fester in his heart.
Just then, the Quartermaster came rushing over.
He began to tally all the spoils of war.
A moment later, a string of numbers was reported up, matching Lu Yuan’s account perfectly.
Hong Cheng made no effort to hide the broad smile on his face.
He was a general who had fought his way up from the bottom ranks and lacked the arrogance of the Noble Marquises. On the contrary, he greatly admired grassroots Warriors like these who dared to fight and risk it all.
Therefore, he rose to his feet and declared, "Today, the merits for Lu Yuan and his unit will be calculated at triple the usual rate! Furthermore, as a personal reward, I grant Lu Yuan five thousand taels of silver, and all the others one hundred taels each!"
At these words, a look of delight spread across Lu Yuan’s face.
He couldn’t help but exclaim internally, ’I’ve really hit the jackpot this time.’
’I already brought back a good amount of silver. Once the bounties for the heads, weapons, armor, and warhorses are cashed in, I should have over five thousand taels of silver already.’
’Add this reward of five thousand taels, and my purse is about to burst.’
’And more importantly, if my merits are calculated at triple the rate, my total from this, combined with what I had before, will be over twelve hundred. As long as my cultivation reaches the Organ Refining realm, becoming a Thousand Men Commander will be no problem at all.’
He immediately cupped his fist. "Thank you for your generous reward, Marquis."
"Haha! I’ve never been stingy, but my rewards are reserved for those with true ability. The fact that you can take this proves you’ve earned it."
Zhou Ren quickly chimed in, "The Marquis speaks truly. Now that the matter of the Iron Kites is resolved, shall we continue drinking? We prepared a great deal of wild game today, all your favorites, Marquis. It would be a shame to let it go to waste.
These men have been toiling outside the city for so long, why don’t we let them collect their rewards and go rest first?"
After speaking, he gave Zhou Hongling a pointed look.
She took his meaning and subtly motioned for Lu Yuan and the others to withdraw.
Clearly, the Zhou Family was worried Hong Cheng would try to poach their man.
After all, in Zhou Ren’s view, Lu Yuan’s performance had been nothing short of stunning.
He feared Lu Yuan’s unit was every bit as good as Hong Cheng’s own Guardian Army, which would inevitably make them a target for poaching.
Hong Cheng seemed to see right through Zhou Ren’s scheme, but since the Zhou Family had handled this matter so beautifully, he couldn’t say much more. He simply pointed a finger at Zhou Ren, chuckled, and walked into the courtyard.
But just as he turned, he seemed to remember something and called back to his Vice General, "Distribute the rewards from the Marquis Mansion as well, immediately."
Lu Yuan’s performance had been impressive, but it wasn’t so incredible that a Marquis would be willing to lose face over poaching him.
In Hong Cheng’s mind, Lu Yuan was simply ’quite good,’ and nothing more.
The Helian Family, however, was a different story. After the father and son exchanged a glance, Helian Shang fell back and whispered instructions to a subordinate.
Only after a moment did he follow them into the courtyard.
After all the dignitaries outside the Captain’s Mansion had left, Zhou Hongling walked over to Lu Yuan. Looking at the young man before her, she realized that at some point, he had grown to be half a head taller than her.
She then smiled. "You did well this time. The Zhou Family won’t forget this. Go rest for a few days; we’ll make further arrangements then."
Her meaning was clear: the Zhou Family would give him a separate reward, and it certainly wouldn’t be small. For now, he should just go back.
"Yes, Lord Captain!"
After acknowledging her, Lu Yuan led his men to collect their reward money.
At that, he finally let out a sigh of relief, which was quickly followed by a rush of joy. The gains from this mission were truly substantial.
His progress in terms of strength, in particular, had been immense.
’But that’s something I’ll have to check on when I get back. No need to rush right now.’
And at the same time, everyone knew that after this day, Lu Yuan’s name would echo throughout Jiuse on the Northern Border. From now on, his status was destined for a meteoric rise.