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

The wind and snow had stopped sometime earlier, and the sky was overcast.

There were no lights in the tent, only the flickering glow of the charcoal in the brazier, casting the three people's shadows crookedly.

The skinny monkey was shivering outside, stamping his feet, and speaking in a low voice through the curtain.

"Sergeant, the supervisory team has rotated. Half of them have gone back to eat, and the rest are huddled around the camp gate warming themselves by the fire."

"Keep a close eye on them."

Lu Jing replied.

"If you see an unfamiliar face, don't alarm them. Come and report to me."

"understood."

The area outside the door fell silent again.

After a while.

"Clatter".

A very soft, crisp sound came from the corner of the tent.

It looked like something hit the wooden stake and rolled into the haystack.

Lu Jing's gaze sharpened.

Shen Qingqiu subconsciously reached for the dagger hidden at his waist.

A pebble the size of a longan rolled in through a gap at the bottom of the tent, wobbled a couple of times, and came to rest right at Ji Ruxue's feet.

A very thin silver thread was wrapped around the pebble.

The silver thread cut into the crack in the stone, its end tied with three complicated knots.

Ji Ruxue only glanced at it, and her whole body tensed up instantly.

The firelight illuminated her stunningly beautiful face, revealing an unprecedented pallor.

Lu Jing sensed something was wrong and followed her gaze.

"The Silver Wolf Guard's code?"

Ji Ruxue's throat moved slightly.

"Yes."

Her voice was soft: "What I left in the ruins were three crescent-shaped marks and a single-knot silver thread."

"That's the rally signal."

"As long as the Silver Wolf Guards are still alive, they will follow the trail I left behind to sneak into the camp after seeing the coded message."

Lu Jing stared at the three knots on the stone.

"What about this one?"

Ji Ruxue finally bent down and picked up the pebble.

The silver thread was cold, with three knots pressing down on each other.

"Silver thread binds the stone, a triple knot."

"This is another set of codes."

She raised her head, and for the first time, an undisguised fear appeared in her phoenix eyes.

"Only when the Silver Wolf Guards are in a hopeless situation and unable to get close to their target will they use this method to deliver a final warning."

Lu Jing's expression turned completely somber.

"What warning?"

Ji Ruxue took a deep breath, her chest heaving violently.

"The people outside aren't here to pick me up."

She said, word by word:

"They've come to tell me that the assassin who's there to silence me has arrived."

Lu Jing's heart sank. There was no need to ask who the assassin was; even if he asked Ji Ruxue, she might not tell him.

Most importantly, we cannot allow any one person in this camp to die.

"I understand, take a rest first," Lu Jing said calmly.

Ji Ruxue silently walked out of the camp and into the wind and snow.

Lu Jing watched the princess's retreating figure, lost in thought.

......

As night fell, the wind and snow stopped.

The stone with the triple knot engraved on it was placed next to the brazier.

Lu Jing leaned against the haystack at the very back of the tattered tent and untied the tattered strip of cloth that had turned dark red at his waist.

Shen Qingqiu squatted down beside him, holding a chipped, broken earthenware bowl filled with freshly brewed herbal dregs.

After Lu Jing scraped away the rotten flesh, she applied the dregs of medicine to the wound.

Lu Jing gasped.

"When your father was the Minister of Revenue, didn't he teach you to be gentle when applying medicine?"

Shen Qingqiu pulled a clean strip of cloth and wrapped it around his waist.

"My father taught me how to audit accounts, not how to serve a crazy person like you who doesn't care about his life."

Lu Jing twitched the corner of his mouth, about to speak, when the curtain of the tattered tent was lifted.

Ji Ruxue walked in from outside.

It was freezing cold outside, and her bright red palace dress had several tears in it.

But she still tied it tightly with strips of cloth, outlining a breathtaking curve.

But this woman isn't acting right today.

Even when she's in a disheveled state, she always holds her chin up when she enters the tent, and she always looks at Lu Jing as if he were a stinking stray dog.

She left in a hurry today.

After entering, he stepped over the brazier and sat down next to Lu Jing.

Those long legs were almost touching Lu Jing's legs.

Lu Jing could smell the unique, cool fragrance emanating from her, a scent characteristic of royalty.

The faint smell of sweat from not showering for several days actually created a deadly allure.

Lu Jing placed the steel saber across his knee and leaned back slightly.

"Hey lady, if you're getting all hot and bothered with a man in the middle of the night, are you going to put out the fire?"

Ji Ruxue rolled her eyes, but didn't call him shameless as she usually did.

"Tonight, don't let anyone near this tent."

The voice was kept very low.

Lu Jing glanced at the pebble next to the brazier, poked at the charcoal with the tip of his knife, and a few sparks flew out.

"A triple deadlock, the person tasked with silencing us has arrived. You're only now remembering to have me guard the gate? Isn't it a bit too late?"

Ji Ruxue turned her head away, gritting her teeth.

"The Eighth Battalion is drafty from all sides, and the men inside don't even have proper armor. If someone like that really wanted to get in, who could stop them?"

"You have to find a way." Ji Ruxue suddenly turned her head and stared at him. "If someone comes in tonight, I'll die, and you won't survive either."

Lu Jing was amused.

"You've gotten addicted to getting something for nothing, haven't you? I burned your top-secret order a long time ago. Now you're just a hostage. Why should I risk my life for you?"

Ji Ruxue took a deep breath, her chest heaving violently.

Just as she was about to say what her bargaining chip was, the smile on Lu Jing's face suddenly disappeared.

He grabbed Ji Ruxue's shoulder and pressed her down onto the haystack, then covered her mouth with his hand.

Ji Ruxue was shocked and was about to struggle.

"Shut up."

Lu Jing's voice was very low, close to her earlobe.

Shen Qingqiu reacted extremely quickly. With a flick of his wrist, the rusty dagger slid into his palm, and he shrank into the shadows where the fire pit couldn't reach him.

Outside the tent, even the last whisper of wind had died down.

The hairs on the back of Lu Jing's neck stood on end, and an indescribable chill ran down his tailbone and straight to the back of his head.

This feeling was ten times stronger than when I faced that northern barbarian centurion a few days ago.

The intuition honed by special forces soldiers amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood is frantically alarming them.

There are people outside.

Moreover, he is a master whom he absolutely cannot afford to offend now.

Do these ancient people never sleep? They stay up all night on the wall like owls.

My back injury hasn't fully healed yet. If I really push myself too hard, I'll probably be queuing up for soup at the Bridge of Helplessness by tomorrow morning.

The highest section of broken wall on the outer perimeter of the ruins.

A figure dressed in gray cloth suddenly appeared there.

Silently.

He was like a piece of dead wood, blending into the surrounding night.

Qin Duan stood on the wall, his hand resting on the hilt of the long sword at his waist.

A martial artist at the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm, and the leader of the remnants of the Silver Wolf Guard.

He observed from the shadows for a full quarter of an hour.

The royal family has its own rules. If the eldest princess falls into enemy hands, her life or death is a minor matter; her reputation and the secrets are of paramount importance.

He needs to confirm three things.

First, is His Highness still alive?

Second, was His Highness humiliated? Were the spies of Lan Yue Pavilion and the royal secret orders leaked?

Third, if His Highness's will has been controlled or secrets have been leaked, then the royal decree to burn the phoenix will be carried out.

Kill His Highness, along with everyone in this camp who knows the truth.

Qin Duan's gaze pierced through the night, fixed on the tattered tent.

The breathing inside was erratic.

The corporal spotted him.

Qin Duan tapped his fingers lightly on the hilt of the knife.

This low-level soldier named Lu Jing was even more astute than rumored, able to detect his infiltration.

Now that we've discovered it, there's no need to hide it anymore.

Qin Duan prepared to draw his sword.

In that instant, the dilapidated wooden door of the tent was kicked open.

Lu Jing swaggered out, wearing the blood-stained shirt.

He walked directly to the open space in the center of the camp and stopped.

Then he looked up at the section of broken wall where Qin Duan was.

"Friends on the wall."

Lu Jing opened his mouth wide, and his voice carried far in the night.

"Drinking the northwest wind in the middle of the night, don't you get cold teeth?"

Qin Duan's figure stopped on the top of the wall.

The long sword was slowly drawn an inch, its chilling gleam flashing in the moonlight.

Lu Jing didn't play by the rules at all and directly started his rogue negotiation mode.

"If you're from the Silver Wolf Guard and you're here to pick someone up, prepare a hundred taels of gold. I'll charge you a toll, and you can take the person with you."

Lu Jing took out a tinderbox from his pocket, lit it, and looked at the empty wall by the flickering flame.

"If you're here to kill me and cover your tracks, I advise you to think carefully."

Qin Duan's knife stopped in mid-air.

"I have already made three copies of your Highness's top-level secret order."

Lu Jing told lies without batting an eye.

"One copy is in my hands, one copy was given to the spy in the general's camp, and the other copy was sent to the capital with the caravan three days ago."

He threw the tinder on the ground and stomped it out.

"If you dare to lay a finger on her tonight, or touch a single person in my Eighth Battalion, the entire Great Yan Dynasty will know at dawn tomorrow that the dignified Princess has been silenced by her own people, and the Lan Yue Pavilion's secrets will be laid bare."

Qin Duan pushed the blade with his thumb.

The long sword suddenly shot out half a foot.

Lu Jing felt a flash of cold light before his eyes, and a gust of cold wind brushed past his neck.

The next instant, the already dilapidated tent door behind him cracked silently, and a strand of hair slowly drifted down onto his shoulder.

The wound on my waist, which had just been bandaged, suddenly tightened, and warm blood seeped out again.

Lu Jing raised his hand and brushed the stray hair off his shoulder.

"Keep your hands steady."

Qin Duan's figure, suspended on the broken wall, remained frozen for a full three breaths.

Three breaths later.

With a clang.

The long sword was sheathed.

The man in gray leaped down from the broken wall, which was three zhang high, and landed with remarkable stability.

He walked step by step toward Lu Jing, stopping when he was three steps away.

Lu Jing got a clear look at the man's face.

A lifeless face devoid of any expression, with a broken section of its left eyebrow.

Qin Duan looked at Lu Jing: "I want to see Your Highness, alone."

Lu Jing cursed inwardly, thinking that the old man's oppressive aura was truly formidable.

Standing so close, I feel like I'm being exposed to the wind.

But he had a stubborn, unyielding expression on his face.

"Meeting is fine, but meeting alone is not."

Lu Jing pointed to the tent behind him.

"Her body is my spoils of war. You all chat, I need to listen in. What if you accidentally chop her up with a single blow? Who will I ask for my hundred taels of gold for the toll?"

Qin Duan stared into Lu Jing's eyes, seemingly assessing how long it would take to sever his head with a single blow.

In the end, he did not take action.

"lead the way."