Chapter 379: Fierce Soldier

Gu Wenjie sat on his horse with a weary face, propping his lower back with his right hand.

Although he had taken another nap at noon and eaten a medicinal wild chicken to strongly replenish himself, his body was still terribly weak; the fatigue from last night had not been recovered at all.

"Master, don't assign me anything else today—I really can't take it." Gu Wenjie said softly to the old man walking beside him, "If I keep going like this for a few more days, I'm afraid I'll die."

"Trash!" the old man holding the snake staff snapped angrily.

"Who told you to be unrestrained before your coming‑of‑age, wanting this and that before, now a bunch of girls stand before you for you to pick, yet you can't perform?"

"Take it easy; the vital essence you squandered in youth isn't so easily replenished. Rest assured, I'm doing this for your own good—I certainly won't harm you. Let's talk after a few days of rest."

Gu Wenjie heard this and let out a deep sigh of relief.

He never imagined that the thing he was so curious about in his youth would now make him so resistant.

"Master, Baiquan Village is almost here, but why can't I hear any fighting sounds? Nothing unexpected has happened, has he?" Gu Wenjie tightened the reins, letting his mount slow a bit.

The Snake Staff Elder casually replied, "Baiquan Village is surrounded by mountains on three sides, so it's normal not to hear anything. Once we cross the mountain ahead, we should be able to hear it; we're still some distance away."

Chen Wuji only took over a thousand men out of the city; even if Gu Feng were utterly useless, he couldn't possibly lead twelve hundred men and fail to hold out this short a time.

What's more, during this period he has let his troops loot and plunder, so his forces should actually be a bit more than twelve hundred. Keep your composure—as the commander of the Three Armies, you must stay calm.

Gu Wenjie nodded. "You're right, Master."

……

By the roadside, Yang Tiejiang carefully wiped his strange sword with a piece of torn cloth.

"Old partner, you haven't been out for a while. It's a shame that after sealing your blade for so long, your first battle back is against a bunch of useless fools—I feel sorry for you." Yang Tiejiang looked at his weapon with fond eyes, as if gazing at his beloved woman.

A soldier hurried over and said, "General, the enemy's coming!"

Yang Tiejiang raised his head and said, "Don't call me general anymore—I'm no longer a general. Now I'm… uh, what post did that kid give me?"

"Guoyi Commandant!"

"Oh right, I'm now the Guoyi Commandant; from now on just call me Commandant."

"Yes, Commandant!"

Yang Tiejiang joined the two sections of his strange sword together, slammed it into the ground, and told the troops standing silently by the road: "I won't waste words on other nonsense. This is our first battle after coming out of the mountains again—let's display the vigor of old days. Back then we were the strongest; we should still be the strongest now. Follow my orders and annihilate the enemy army!"

"Yes!"

The troops replied in a low voice.

Thereafter this detachment, a few men short of six hundred, followed Yang Tiejiang's steps along the main road, gradually spreading from a single line into a fan shape.

When the enemy silhouettes appeared ahead, the unit lowered their strange swords to the ground and quickened their pace.

When the distance between the two sides was still about two or three hundred meters, they suddenly launched a charge.

Without cursing, shouting battle cries, or beating drums, they simply surged forward in silence.

With six hundred men they surrounded the enemy's vanguard.

Not far from where Yang Tiejiang and his men had rested, Chen Wuji led Xu Zengyi, and the just‑finished‑fighting Qian Fugui, Wu Bu Yong, and Xiao Ershu of the Xiao family as they watched the battle.

Qian Fugui exclaimed in admiration, secretly glancing at Chen Wuji and casually remarking, "This momentum is truly terrifying—I can't imagine how strong they'd have to be if they numbered tens of thousands."

"I don't know when we'll ever have such imposing armor and strange swords; just looking at this outfit feels overpowering."

Chen Wuji glanced over and said, "Don't point at me, kid. After this battle I'll arrange whatever I can for you."

Qian Fugui chuckled, "Everyone heard it—the Commandant promised!"

Xu Zengyi laughed, "Qian Commandant, you'll have to wait for this—armor isn't easy to forge, strange swords aren't easy to master. Old Yang back then picked out fifteen hundred men from tens of thousands, and many later dropped out because they couldn't endure the training."

"One must strive to be the strongest; how can you become the strongest without some difficulty? I have full confidence in my men—they'll either be beaten to death by me or become the strongest." Qian Fugui's ambitions soared, and he dismissed Xu Zengyi's difficulties outright.

Chen Wuji gave him a sideways look, "If you dare to beat the soldiers, I'll kill you first."

Qian Fugui chuckled twice, "Just a harsh remark—I actually treat my men like brothers; for those truly skilled, I even regard them as my fathers."

Chen Wuji was speechless.

Another case of a father‑loving, son‑filial situation.

But Chen Wuji is quickly getting used to Qian Fugui's habit.

He always calls his senior family members "Old Immortal"; filial piety means nothing to him.

In the eyes of this group, Yang Tiejiang and his six hundred veteran troops smashed through the enemy's vanguard like a dry stalk being crushed, surging forward like a whirlwind sweeping away leaves.

The strange sword is a infantry weapon for countering cavalry, yet it is equally fearsome against infantry.

One strike basically leaves no one intact.

Its smoothness rivals the Chen family's inherited broad blade, capable of instilling deep fear in the enemy.

"Deputy Commander Chen, this couldn't be a unit you just recently assembled, could it?" Xiao Ershu asked.

"Naturally not." Chen Wuji shook his head. "I've only just formed this force; how could I have trained such a formidable unit so quickly?"

Yang Tiejiang's performance in this battle, Chen Wuji could only describe with the four words "pleasing to the sight."

Clearly outnumbered six hundred to two thousand, yet he made it feel like six thousand against two hundred.

That sense of oppression, Chen Wuji could feel it even from far away.

This is something that mere troop numbers cannot compensate for or demonstrate.

"Truly a unit of stalwart soldiers!" Xiao Ershu praised.

Chen Wuji felt a stir, "I see that Xiao Ershu and this unit are extremely compatible; I wonder if Ershu would be interested in joining us?"

"Thank you for the kindness, Commander, but we old folks are getting on in years, with creaky arms and legs; we'd hate to hinder your great undertaking." Xiao Ershu stroked his chest‑length beard, shook his head, and apologetically declined.

Chen Wuji smiled, "Xiao Ershu, why be so modest? This cleaver isn't something just anyone can wield."

"Only occasionally once or twice—it's purely a matter of throwing this old body into the fight, giving it my all. If we enlisted, we couldn't count on being useful in war; we'd probably just burden you with having to support us in our old age." Xiao Ershu smiled faintly and again politely turned down Chen Wuji's offer.

Chen Wuji glanced at Xiao Yuji behind him.

This now rests on you.

Xiao Yuji understood, nodded her head.