WHOO!!
At that moment, hundreds of miles from Shu State City, a long, drawn-out horn call echoed from within the Profound Armor Military Town.
Twenty thousand soldiers, clad in crimson Scale Armor and wielding Horse-Cutting Blades, were drilling their formations with perfect uniformity in phalanxes of five hundred men.
"HUAH!"
"HAH!"
These soldiers had solemn faces and sturdy builds. They brandished their six-foot-long Horse-Cutting Blades with such ferocious power that the very ground seemed to tremble.
On a high platform before them, three crimson banners flew high. Each was embroidered with a ferocious tiger's head in golden thread.
Below, a figure stood beneath the banners. Clad in silver-white Scale Armor, her frame was slimmer and shorter than that of the soldiers, but the eyes hidden behind a half-armor mask were as calm as still water.
This was none other than the current Duke Dingyuan Xiao Yuan's second legitimate granddaughter, Xiao Jinghong!
She watched the military formations before her, considering the current situation, and thought, 'They are far from enough.'
As the southernmost state of the Great Wei Dynasty, Shu State was surrounded by enemies on three sides.
To the south, it bordered the Hundred Thousand Mountains, home to the Barbarian Race. It was a land of high peaks and dense forests, sheltering countless barbarian tribes. Ever since the great war twenty years ago, the Barbarians would periodically march north to attack the passes.
To the southwest lay the Poshi Country, a tentacle of the Western Continent Buddha Country stretching eastward. Dressed in silks and satins, they were men; but change their clothes, and they became the horse bandits who plagued the Ancient Tea-Horse Road.
To the southeast was an inland sea where pirates occasionally appeared, attacking passing merchant ships. Some of the bolder ones would even come ashore to raid wealthy families or businesses.
Therefore, since the founding of Great Wei, three military towns had been established in Shu State, named "Iron Wall, Cang Lang, and Profound Armor." Military households were relocated there to farm the land, build fortifications, and defend the border.
At the same time, the Shu State Protectorate, the Military Supervision Institute, and a hereditary Marquis Wu were established to jointly guard the region.
The Marquis Wu responsible for commanding Shu State's Three Towns was the hereditary title held by Xiao Jinghong's family, the Xiao Family of Duke Dingyuan.
An incense stick's time later.
The Profound Armor soldiers completed their drills. They stood at attention, blades held horizontally, their gazes sharp and spirited as they looked to the high platform, awaiting the generals' address.
A middle-aged general at the edge of the platform stepped forward, cupped his hands, and asked, "General Jinghong, are you satisfied?"
Xiao Jinghong's eyes remained fixed on the Profound Armor soldiers as she calmly uttered a single word: "Passable."
The middle-aged general hesitated. "General Jinghong, please feel free to share any criticisms. We will report them to the Commander later."
Xiao Jinghong tilted her head slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "Their morale is acceptable, but their cultivation is a bit low. They can handle two of Poshisu's horse bandits each, but there is still a gap when compared to the Barbarian Race's strongmen."
"This…"
Several officers exchanged glances, seeing the helplessness on each other's faces.
The strongmen of the Barbarian Race could match an Upper Ninth Grade Martial Artist with their brute strength alone. If they donned Heavy Armor and wielded sharp blades, even an ordinary Eighth Grade Realm Martial Arts Powerhouse might not win a one-on-one fight against them.
These Profound Armor soldiers were the cream of the crop, handpicked by the military town's Deputy Commander. To have assembled twenty thousand Martial Artists at the Middle Ninth Grade of cultivation was already an impressive feat, and achieving their current level of power had not been easy at all.
Before the officers could speak, Xiao Jinghong spoke again. "This is enough formation drilling. Continuing will bring diminishing returns. Go capture some pirates and horse bandits for them to practice on."
The middle-aged general considered this, then gritted his teeth and complied. "This humble general will follow General Jinghong's orders. After reporting to the Commander, I will dispatch men to sweep the area."
Hearing this, Xiao Jinghong gave a slight nod and turned to walk off the training grounds.
"All troops, listen up! Your performance is still lacking! Today, you will do extra practice with the Horse-Cutting Blade…"
"SIR!"
「A short while later.」
Xiao Jinghong returned to her tent and paused, spotting a figure inside sprawled over a desk, fast asleep.
Two female soldiers in Soft Armor helped her remove the heavy Scale Armor and took the helmet from her hands. After a brief tidying up, they stood guard outside.
Another woman, dressed in a long skirt and wearing a half-armor mask identical to Xiao Jinghong's, presented two ledgers.
Xiao Jinghong took them and began to flip through the pages, gesturing toward the person at the desk. "When did she get here?"
"Shortly after you left for the training grounds."
As if hearing their voices, the figure at the desk whimpered, lifting her head to reveal a round, rosy-pink face. A string of silver bells around her neck jingled with the movement.
She opened her eyes and looked around in a daze. When she saw Xiao Jinghong, her eyes flew wide and she jumped to her feet, saying happily:
"Sister Jinghong, you're finally back! I waited so long I fell asleep."
Xiao Jinghong glanced at her and said flatly, "Pei Guanli, this is a military town. It's not a place you should be."
"I know, but Ah Ma insisted I come find you."
Pei Guanli didn't look very old and was a bit shorter than Xiao Jinghong, but her vibrant dress accentuated her curvaceous figure. Her bare feet were especially striking—pale and flawless like jade.
"Out with it. What do you want?"
"It's our clan's Torch Festival soon, and Ah Ma wants to invite you." Seeing that Xiao Jinghong didn't even look up, Pei Guanli leaned in to look at the ledgers with her.
"Ah Ma said that thanks to your protection over the years, the clan is living better than ever before. She wants you to come, one, to attend the Torch Festival, and two, to discuss matters concerning the Mutual Market."
"Mutual Market?" Xiao Jinghong paused. "The Thirteen Tribes, or just your clan?"
"All Thirteen Tribes together, of course," Pei Guanli giggled. "Sister Jinghong, are you satisfied?"
"As for the specific time, I will send someone to discuss it with your clan elders."
"Huh? You're not coming?"
"No," Xiao Jinghong said, closing the ledger and sitting down at the desk. "My grandfather's sixtieth birthday is soon. I need to hurry back."
"A big birthday? A banquet?" Pei Guanli's eyes darted back and forth, and a small, sharp canine tooth peeked out at the corner of her mouth. She quickly asked, "Can I go?"
"No."
"Why not? You didn't let me go to your wedding, and now it's Grandpa Xiao's birthday. I want to go, please?"
"No."
"Sister Jinghong, if I hadn't stopped him, my brother would have brought his men to crash your wedding and steal you away! You should do this to repay me, okay?"
"He would have died at the Xiao Family estate." Xiao Jinghong's tone was unchanged.
"But… but…" Pei Guanli stared at her with wide, watery eyes, her voice full of grievance. "Please just let me go, Sister Jinghong."
"I'll have your legs broken!"
"…"
Pei Guanli pouted, then turned and stomped toward the exit. "Fine, don't let me go! See if I care!"
She reached the tent flap, but no sound came from behind her.
Furious, Pei Guanli stomped her foot, leaving a clear footprint in the dirt, and stormed out of the tent.
「Not long after.」
Xiao Jinghong heard Pei Guanli's voice shouting from a distance, "Xiao Jinghong, you won't let me go, but I'm going anyway! And I'm going to teach that runaway groom a lesson…!"
The female officer at her side heard the shout and asked, "General, should we send someone to stop her?"
Xiao Jinghong shook her head slightly. "No, let her be."
"But the Young Master…"
"Pei Guanli knows her limits. She won't do anything serious to him." Xiao Jinghong then asked, "Are there any other letters from home?"
"The Second Master sent a letter."
"What does it say?"
The female officer hesitated. "It says… that the Young Master began to practice Martial Arts a few days ago, but his aptitude is poor. He is… also not diligent. He is lazy and unfit for any important task."
A faint smile touched the vermilion lips beneath Xiao Jinghong's half-mask. "That's fine. It's better for him to be an idle live-in husband than to harbor ambitions like before."
She didn't expect Chen Yi to be ambitious. As long as he didn't embarrass the Xiao Family by trying to escape the marriage again, she wouldn't say a thing, even if he was lazy and useless.
"General, you… you're not angry that he tried to escape the marriage before?" the female officer asked cautiously.
"Why would I be angry? Before the wedding, I was well aware of Grandfather's purpose in finding a husband from the Chen Family." Xiao Jinghong's smile vanished as she spoke.
"Next year, Wuge must go to Jinling as a hostage. The Xiao Family needs me here."
After saying this, Xiao Jinghong glanced around and gave a calm order:
"Pack up. We head back tomorrow. We'll stop by the Protectorate and the Military Supervision Institute on the way. By my calculations, the reply from the Capital Prefecture should have arrived by now."