Chapter 409

These soldiers all carried baskets, each containing different kinds of wild fruits.

"Leave the wild fruits here; I will deliver them inside shortly," the guard said.

"This..." the centurion hesitated before speaking again: "It's not that I don't trust you, but delivering the wild fruits is my duty; if anything goes wrong, I'll be beheaded!"

"Then wait outside," the guard said.

The centurion looked troubled, then glanced toward the interior of the tent.

"You cannot stand here; step back quickly!" the guard whispered harshly.

"Very well."

Helplessly, the centurion stepped backward.

After retreating to the side of those several soldiers behind him, the centurion led these soldiers to continue moving further back.

After waiting for quite some time, the guard outside the tent finally approached.

"Bring the wild fruits over; once my lord has inspected them, you may leave," the guard said.

"Then I trouble you all," the centurion hastily replied.

Ordering the soldiers to hand the baskets to the guards, the centurion waited patiently.

A little while later, the guard emerged from inside the tent and told the centurion that my lord had received them and they could now depart.

Only then did the centurion lead several soldiers away.

After walking quite a distance, one of the soldiers whispered softly: "Lord Wei is so busy yet still personally inspects the wild fruits; he is truly meticulous!"

"The guards wouldn't let us enter; are they doing something important?" another person asked.

"Could it be related to those kites that have appeared recently?" someone said.

"Do not discuss my lord; be careful not to bring disaster upon yourselves!" the centurion whispered harshly.

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

Not long after returning to their quarters, the centurion walked out again.

Glancing left and right to ensure no one was watching him, he headed toward a small thicket, appearing as though he intended to relieve himself.

Once inside the thicket, he immediately crouched low and moved forward.

He walked with great caution, fearing discovery.

Earlier, while delivering the wild fruits, he had been quite close to the large tent, and since his hearing and sight were exceptionally sharp, he could hear whenever the people inside the tent raised their voices slightly.

Although he heard only a few sentences, he managed to catch the most crucial part.

Lord Wei and his group intended to strip the generals of their authority!

This surely included the centurion's former superior officer!

Not long ago, the centurion had served under Wang Lun; he was transferred to headquarters only because he excelled at finding wild fruits.

As a low-ranking officer, it originally mattered little whom he served.

But when both sides came into conflict, he had to choose which side to support.

Now, he had chosen to stand on the side of his former superior, Wang Lun.

On one hand, Wang Lun had treated these low-ranking officers well; on the other, he also sensed that Wei Pao and others were nearing their end.

Moving cautiously through the jungle, just as he was about to leave the headquarters' sphere of influence, he saw two soldiers leap out from behind a large rock ahead.

"Halt!" one of the soldiers shouted.

"Are you blind? Do you not recognize this uniform?" the centurion cursed.

"You are from headquarters' logistics division; why do you appear in this area?" a soldier asked.

"Ha, is that any of your business?" the centurion laughed. "You fail to salute a superior officer and instead pry into my whereabouts; do you wish to die?"

"We are Special Guards; we take orders only from the Special Guard Commander. Regardless of rank, we have the right to question anyone outside the Special Guards!" a soldier stated.

The centurion frowned; only now did he notice that these two men's uniforms differed slightly from those of ordinary soldiers.

He hadn't noticed earlier because he hadn't looked closely, but now, prompted by the other party, he saw it clearly.

Realizing the opponents were Special Guards, the centurion grew tense.

The Special Guards were a unit directly subordinate to Wei Pao, wielding immense authority.

Moreover, every Special Guard possessed greater strength than ordinary soldiers.

"Even among Special Guards there are ranks; you are merely the lowest-grade ordinary agents, surely no higher than I, a centurion?"

"As for your claim that you have the right to question anyone regardless of rank, I express serious doubt!"

"First, I have received no such order; second, I do not believe you would dare speak this way upon encountering a millenary commander or even a great general!" the centurion declared loudly.

"No matter how much you say, it is useless; if you doubt our authority, then come with us, and we shall ask our captain!" a Special Guard shouted.

The centurion felt urgent anxiety in his heart.

He sensed that something major was about to happen.

Normally, these Special Guards did not inspect passing personnel.

Their current actions must surely be related to Wei Pao and his group seizing power from commanders at all levels.

"Where is your captain?" the centurion frowned. "If he is nearby, I will go; otherwise, I will finish my business first before going."

"What business do you need to attend to?" a Special Guard asked.

"I cannot say; that is discipline!" the centurion replied.

"Then explain it to our captain," the Special Guard on the left said.

"Our captain is nearby; come with us," the other Special Guard said.

"It seems I have no choice but to go," the centurion sighed. "However, I must warn you first: once we meet your captain, I will demand a clear explanation; who will bear responsibility for delaying my mission because of you?"

He deliberately adopted an appearance of fierce outward bluster masking inner timidity, intending to make the other party believe he truly intended to meet the captain.

He deliberately put on a show of being fierce on the outside but cowardly within, just to make the other person believe he was going to meet the captain.

He stepped forward a few paces, following behind one of the special guards.

The other special guard followed behind him.

The two special guards sandwiched him, one in front and one behind, with two or three meters between each person.

After walking for a while, the centurion felt his chance had come.

There was a vine on the ground ahead of him, and the special guard in front simply raised his foot and stepped over it.

But when he reached the vine, he deliberately let himself trip on it.

His body lost balance and pitched forward.

The special guard behind him saw it and assumed he had simply failed to watch his footing and tripped.

But as the centurion's body tilted forward, he pulled a short blade from his bosom and stabbed it toward the special guard ahead.

The strike was both swift and precise; the short blade drove into the special guard's back.

With a soft thud, the blade sank in completely, and fresh blood spurted out.

Only now did the special guard walking behind realize something was wrong, and he drew his sword to prepare for combat.

By this time, the centurion had already finished off the special guard in front and, in passing, drawn the sword from the guard's waist.

"You really are up to something!" the special guard roared and charged forward.

The centurion sidestepped and, in the same motion, swung his sword to counterattack.

The special guard's skill was considerably better than an ordinary soldier's, but the centurion's skill was no weak either.

Before becoming a soldier, the centurion had been a hunter, and through fighting wild beasts he had accumulated a great deal of combat experience.

After a dozen or so exchanges, the centurion spotted an opening in his opponent's defense and slashed through with his sword.

The special guard, unable to dodge in time, could only raise his sword to take the blow head-on.

But the centurion's slash was only a feint; after his sword met the opponent's, he used the momentum to spring up and thrust toward the opponent's eyes.

195. The Power-Grab Operation

Pfft…

The sword tip sank into the special guard's left eye.

The special guard let out a wretched cry and desperately swept his sword toward the centurion.

The centurion stepped back to let the sword pass, then swung his own sword forward to attack again.

Having lost one eye, the special guard's judgment of spatial position was far worse than when he had both eyes, making it very difficult to accurately gauge the position of the centurion's long sword.

After a few more exchanges, the special guard took a sword thrust to the chest.

This time he could resist no longer; he could not even keep hold of the sword in his hand.

His body swayed, then collapsed to the ground.