Grinding to Martial Emperor from the Border Army

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: The Return

As time wore on and the sun climbed higher in the sky, the Marquis of Jiuse, seated in the main tent, looked increasingly on edge.

Although Zhao Yu and his men were secretly glad that Zhou Hongling’s subordinates had met with disaster as well, they didn’t dare let it show.

They were afraid of becoming the Marquis’s punching bag.

As for Helian Shang, he, on the contrary, hoped Lu Yuan would return. He wanted to show those generals from the Imperial City’s great families that the warriors of the Northern Border were no pushovers.

But in truth, the most worried of them all was Zhou Hongling.

Though she showed no sign of it on her face.

But beneath the table, her hands were clenched into tight fists.

She was starting to regret her impulsive decision to let Lu Yuan undertake this mission.

However, she also knew in her heart that there was no room for sentiment on the battlefield.

And for this task, none of her subordinates was more suitable than Lu Yuan.

Just as unease settled over everyone in the tent...

"Report!"

A loud voice rang out from outside the camp.

A messenger hurried in. "Marquis, the new scouts we sent out have found over a hundred Iron Kite corpses thirty li away. Based on the location, it appears they were killed by General Zhou’s Personal Guard."

The news was like a shot in the arm for the Marquis of Jiuse, and his spirits soared. "Scout further! Keep scouting."

Inside the tent, Zhao Yu frowned deeply. He found it hard to believe that one of Zhou Hongling’s subordinates could defeat an entire unit of Iron Kites in a direct confrontation.

"Everyone, give me your thoughts. Is there any hope that Lu Yuan and his men will return?" The Marquis of Jiuse was now grasping at straws, asking for anyone’s opinion.

He wasn’t particularly worried about Lu Yuan.

After all, while the man was talented, he was a Marquis commanding tens of thousands of troops; he had countless talented subordinates.

What concerned him now was getting concrete intelligence on the Northern Barbarians—that was the most important thing.

If his scouts kept getting picked off, his right-wing army wouldn’t be able to complete its primary objective. Even if he led the whole army back, he would surely face reprimand.

Zheng Tong rose to his feet. "Marquis, while Lu Yuan and his men have performed beyond my expectations, a great deal of time has passed with no word of their return. I’m afraid they must have perished deep in the Wasteland."

Zhao Yu, Huang Yan, and the others all nodded in agreement.

They had no desire for Lu Yuan to return. The bet itself was trivial.

Though the stakes were valuable, they could afford the loss.

The main issue was that their own men had been completely wiped out. If Zhou Hongling’s man returned victorious, it would make them look utterly incompetent.

Besides, the achievement was significant, and they didn’t want the Zhou Family’s Generals to monopolize the glory.

But Helian Shang was instantly enraged. Though he was only a Captain, he had his family’s backing and showed no deference to these Garrison Generals from the Imperial City.

"Heh, what’s this about ’beyond expectations’? Lu Yuan has hunted Iron Kites on his own before. He’s stronger now; there’s no reason he can’t complete the mission.

And just because you can’t do something, doesn’t mean he can’t either."

He spoke without a shred of courtesy.

Although the Helian Family and the Zhou Family were rivals.

And they often clashed.

But right now, Helian Shang was serving under Zhou Hongling. Besides, they were both from the military families of the Northern Border, so of course they would stand together.

Another reason was his personal fondness for Lu Yuan. Though Lu Yuan had once refused Helian Shang’s offer of recruitment, it hadn’t angered him. On the contrary, it made him admire the young man who had clawed his way up from the bottom even more.

If Lu Yuan had immediately pledged loyalty the moment he was courted, Helian Shang might have actually looked down on him.

After all, what general doesn’t prefer subordinates who are not only brave but also loyal?

Upon hearing his words, Zhao Yu frowned and was about to retort.

"Report!"

Just then, the voice of another messenger cried out from outside.

The messenger halted outside the tent and called out, "Reporting to the Marquis! Fifty li from camp, another squad of Iron Kites was found, all headless. There were also fragments of our Great Yu scale armor at the scene.

They must have been killed by Lu Yuan and his men."

"Keep searching! I must have word of Lu Yuan and his men today!" The Marquis of Jiuse’s voice grew louder.

’To have wiped out two Iron Kite units... no matter how you looked at it, Lu Yuan and his men couldn’t be called weak.’

However, after receiving this news, the Marquis of Jiuse, deep down, no longer believed the team could return. They had only traveled fifty li from camp and had already run into two Iron Kite units. Even though they had won, their own losses must have been significant.

For a team in that state to press deeper, gather intelligence, and then make it back... it seemed impossible.

After all, their return journey would be just as perilous, with Northern Barbarian scouts blocking their path. It would be anything but a smooth ride.

And he wasn’t the only one who thought this way.

The others felt the same.

To encounter the enemy twice in direct confrontation within fifty li... under normal circumstances, the best course of action for any scout would be to retreat immediately. Yet Lu Yuan and his men hadn’t returned; they were pressing onward.

In the eyes of many, they themselves could not accomplish such a feat.

But while everyone in the tent was lost in their own private thoughts...

Lu Yuan and his Warriors were, at that very moment, making their way toward the Dayong army camp.

After sunrise, just as expected, several more units of regular Northern Barbarian scouts and Iron Kites had swarmed them. At one point, their attackers numbered over a thousand.

But Lu Yuan simply charged and fought, never pausing for rest.

By afternoon, their two horses per man had dwindled to one.

Most of the warhorses had died from exhaustion; many of the mounts they rode now had been plundered from their enemies along the way.

Even so, the horses were drenched in a mixture of sweat and blood.

As for Lu Yuan and his men, fewer than thirty had survived, and half of the survivors were wounded to varying degrees.

Even the pauldron on Lu Yuan’s shoulder had been smashed to pieces.

A chunk of flesh had been torn from him by a Wolf-toothed Club, and that was only because his Mixed Element Golden Bell Shield had absorbed most of the impact.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been just a piece of flesh—his entire shoulder would likely have been crushed.

And his once-sharp Tiger Head Blade was now chipped and notched.

Fortunately, however, they had not been annihilated.

Now, they were less than twenty li from the Dayong camp.

In the distance, they could even see the Dayong relief party that had come to meet them.

The Northern Barbarian Iron Kites, though reluctant to give up, knew that pressing closer would be futile. They wouldn’t be able to kill this abnormally ferocious Dayong squad and would likely be cut down by the reinforcing troops.

So, they wheeled their horses around and retreated without a moment’s hesitation.

As the enemy fled, the approaching Dayong party caught sight of Lu Yuan’s group and involuntarily gasped.

The men before them looked as if they had been dragged from a river of blood. As they stood there for a moment, a gruesome pool began to form at their feet.

Human heads were slung over both sides of their saddles.

And the cloth sacks they carried were filled with bloody ears.

Heads were a large and cumbersome trophy, after all, and sometimes impossible to collect in the heat of battle.

So, on certain occasions, an enemy’s Identity Token or ears could be used to count military merits.

"Lord Lu, you’re actually back! I thought we’d never see you again! The Marquis is waiting anxiously. Please, follow me back to camp." The speaker was a Thousand Men Commander under the Marquis of Jiuse.

He had been quite arrogant in the past, but now, facing Lu Yuan, his address was filled with involuntary respect.

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