Extreme Frontier Army: Starting from the bottom ranks, conquering the chaotic world

"Lu Jing, the soldiers at the front are fighting a bloody battle against the northern barbarians. As the third squad leader, not only do you not lead the charge, but you also lead your men to desert and hide in the rear to live a life of ignominy!"

Zhao He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, looking dignified and awe-inspiring.

"According to the military law of the Great Yan Dynasty, those who desert in the face of battle shall be executed! What else do you have to say?"

Lu Jing scratched his neck with the back of his knife and burst out laughing.

"Lord Centurion, if your eyeballs are only good for venting your anger, you might as well gouge them out and use them as bubbles to stomp on."

He took a step forward, ripped open his tattered cotton-padded coat to reveal the blood-stained chainmail of the Northern Barbarians underneath, and patted the gold-inlaid belt of a Northern Barbarian centurion at his waist.

The clanging of armored vehicles produced a dull, metallic sound.

"You call this running away? I just came back from restocking from the Northern Barbarian Iron Pagoda's camp. This armor, this belt, and this fine steel saber—were these issued by your Great Yan military supply department? Why don't you also run away from the Northern Barbarian main camp and pick up a couple of sets for me to see?"

Although the surrounding soldiers dared not utter a sound, they were not blind.

The style of those chainmails was clearly the kind of equipment worn by officers of the rank of centurion or higher in the Northern Barbarians.

This isn't just a deserter, this is a killing machine.

Zhao He's eye twitched twice.

He knew, of course, that Lu Jing hadn't escaped, and he even knew exactly what had happened with that poisoned arrow that had gone astray.

But that doesn't matter; the dead don't need reasoning.

"That's just sophistry!"

Zhao He drew his sword, the tip pointing directly at Lu Jing.

"Who knows which corpse you ripped that junk from! Not only are you a coward, but you're also taking advantage of the chaos to loot!"

His gaze fell on Ji Ruxue on the haystack.

The woman's face was covered in mud and her hair was disheveled, but her expensive bright red palace dress and her stunning beauty, which could not be concealed, were still dazzling in the firelight.

Zhao He's gaze lingered on that section of neck for two seconds before he forcibly looked away, suppressing the rage in his heart, and his voice suddenly rose eight octaves.

"Not only did you rob people, but you also went so far as to abduct women and offend nobles! Blood is being shed on the front lines, while you hide here and rape innocent women!"

Lu Jing was amused.

"I carried a living person across half the battlefield, and you call that humiliation? Zhao He, are you just plain ignorant, or have you never seen anyone before?"

Zhao He didn't give him a chance to continue speaking.

The dirtier the hat, the better. It would be best to kill him outright, even chop off his tongue to explain himself.

Raising his sword, Zhao He slashed downwards in an arc.

"All soldiers of the Eighth Battalion, listen to my command! This man is guilty of heinous crimes. Kill him on the spot, hack him to death! Leave no survivors!"

"drink!"

Hundreds of armored soldiers roared in unison and slammed their shields forward.

Heavy footsteps began to advance, and the sharpness of the spears gleamed bloodthirstyly in the torchlight.

The encirclement quickly tightened, compressing the open space in front of the tent to its maximum extent.

Shen Qingqiu retreated to the edge of the tent, his back against a wooden post.

Hopeless.

This time it's truly hopeless.

Ji Ruxue shifted to a slightly more comfortable position on the haystack, a cold sneer curling at the corner of her lips.

Such reckless courage is nothing more than this.

Faced with absolute military power and military law, no matter how strong an individual's fighting ability is, they are nothing more than a chopping block.

She stared at Lu Jing's back, silently counting down, waiting to see the madman get stabbed through.

Facing the approaching jungle of swords and spears, Lu Jing licked his chapped lips.

Suddenly he turned around and hooked a broken stool with a missing leg with his right foot.

Everyone was stunned.

Lu Jing sat down on the bench with his legs spread apart, casually sticking his steel saber into the frozen ground between his legs.

"Commander Zhao".

He reached into his clothes and slowly groped around inside.

"You just said I forcibly abducted a woman?"

He pulled out his hand, revealing a palm-sized, jet-black jade pendant.

The jade plaque gleamed with a warm, cool light under the firelight. The intricate cloud patterns on the front were lifelike, while the ancient seal script character "天" (heaven) on the back exuded an aura of power.

Lu Jing tossed the jade pendant up and down in his hand: "You call her a commoner?"

He stopped tossing it around, pinched the edge of the jade pendant with two fingers, and pointed the side with the emblem directly at Zhao He.

"Open your dog eyes and see clearly what this is."

Zhao He was still sneering, thinking that Lu Jing was going to pull out some hidden weapon or silver notes to buy his life.

The moment the firelight illuminated the jade pendant, he subconsciously squinted.

The Flowing Cloud Emblem, the Heavenly Decree.

A string in Zhao He's mind snapped suddenly.

He had only seen this thing once from afar when he was reporting for duty in the capital.

At that time, a fifth-rank military officer asked half a question about Lanyue Pavilion after drinking. The next day, he was stripped of his official robes and dragged out of the mansion. Three days later, his body was eaten by wild dogs in a mass grave outside the city, leaving only half of his face.

Upon seeing this decree, it is as if the Great Yan Princess herself has arrived.

The Imperial Guards can be mobilized, and executions can be carried out without prior approval.

Zhao He's sword slipped from his hand and almost fell onto his own foot.

Cold sweat trickled down the edge of my helmet, sticking to my eyelashes and stinging my eyes.

The top-level secret order from Lanyue Pavilion!

How did this thing end up in the hands of a new recruit in the sergeant's battalion?

No, the point isn't how it ended up in his hands.

The key point is...

The woman in red whom he had just identified as the "abducted woman".

A bright red palace dress, an exquisite face, and this jade pendant.

Zhao He's mind went blank.

The woman's identity is becoming increasingly obvious.

What did he just do?

He pointed at the Great Yan Princess's nose and said she was a commoner and that she had been violated by a respectable family.

If this gets back to the capital, Zhao He's entire family will be lined up to be beheaded.

The guards in the front row also recognized the design of the jade pendant. They exchanged terrified glances, and none of them dared to take another step forward.

What was originally a tense and deadlocked situation has been transformed into an extremely strange stalemate because of this jade pendant.

On the haystack, Ji Ruxue's previously tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

A hint of mockery flashed in his eyes.

This traitor wasn't too stupid after all.

Knowing that brute force alone cannot sustain them, they err on the side of using the Empress's secret orders to intimidate others.

As long as Zhao He is deterred, the situation will be stable.

Once Zhao He and his men have left, she has a hundred ways to get the jade pendant back and make Lu Jing wish he were dead.

"How is it, Lord Centurion?"

Lu Jing sat on the broken stool, looking at Zhao He's grief-stricken expression, and his smile grew wider and wider.

"Do you want to kill me on the spot? Do you want to hack me to death? Why don't you come up here and try it yourself, and see if this sign can stop your knife?"

Zhao He's voice was hoarse: "You...who exactly are you? Where did you steal this from! You're putting me in a difficult position!"

They still wanted to make a last-ditch effort, trying to label Lu Jing as a thief.

Lu Jing glanced at the charcoal brazier at his feet, which was used for warmth.

The charcoal in the basin was burning red-hot, making a slight crackling sound.

"Stolen? You must be joking, sir. This thing just annoys me."

He casually flipped his wrist.

"Difficult to handle? Then don't handle any of it!"

Just when Ji Ruxue thought he was going to put the token away, and Zhao He thought he was going to use it to command the whole audience.

The secret order from the Lanyue Pavilion drew a random parabola in mid-air.

The jade pendant fell straight into the glowing red-hot charcoal brazier.

It smashed open a shower of scalding sparks.

Ji Ruxue's face paled instantly.