138: Chapter 138 A Precious Treasure is Bestowed, Undercurrents Surge (1)

Lu Changyuan picked up the transfer order. The bamboo slip envelope was stamped with the red lacquer military seal of the Zhenhai Fortress Command Headquarters—underneath the military seal was a line of small text: "Sin Battalion—Wartime Logistics assigned to the Left Wing. Establishment: 3,000 men. Commanding Officer: To Be Determined."

The two characters "To Be Determined" had been crossed out by Commander Tie Zhan's vermilion brush. Three characters were written anew beside it—the brushstrokes were thick and stiff, the ink not yet completely dry: Lu Changyuan.

The tent flap fell behind Lu Changyuan. As the curtain moved, the scales of the black-scaled beast hide flashed a row of dark golden light spots—the light spots brightened from left to right, then extinguished. The air outside the tent was colder than inside—the Central Army area was near the sea, and the afternoon sea breeze blew in from outside the fence, carrying the scent of Spirit Beast grease and damp hemp rope.

Lu Hu stood five steps away from the tent. Wei Chuan and Jiang Shi were crouching by his feet—the two men were squatting on the ground, drawing Array Patterns on the gravel with the tips of their sword scabbards; they stopped halfway and looked up. Pan Haisheng was leaning against the fence, wiping his sword—the sword had already been wiped three times, its edge reflecting a very thin, cold light in the afternoon sun. Fang Yan and Duan Xiaoshi were sitting back-to-back—Fang Yan was mending a shoe sole, and Duan Xiaoshi was counting Spirit Stones.

Lu Hu saw the bamboo slip transfer order in Lu Changyuan's hand and took a step forward.

"Young Lord—what did Commander Tie Zhan say?"

Lu Changyuan handed the transfer order to him. Lu Hu took it—as soon as his fingers touched the red lacquer military seal on the bamboo slip envelope, his fingertips flinched. After reaching Foundation Establishment, the tactile sensitivity of his fingers was nearly twice as sharp as before—the red lacquer on the military seal was mixed with cinnabar iron powder used for Formation seals, and touching it produced a faint, scorching sensation. He opened the bamboo slip.

Sin Battalion. Wartime Logistics assigned to the Left Wing. Establishment: 3,000 men. In the Commanding Officer column—the ink of the two "To Be Determined" characters crossed out by the vermilion brush had already dried, and beside it, the brushstrokes of the three characters "Lu Changyuan" were thick and stiff, with the end of each stroke pressed down slightly.

Lu Hu closed the transfer order. His expression changed the moment he closed it—his mouth tightened, and his lips retracted into a very thin line. This line was a habitual action he displayed whenever he heard bad news on the battlefield.

"Young Lord—the people in the Sin Battalion are all thorns."

"Commander Tie Zhan said so."

"Those who broke military law in the fortress, those shoved in by noble families to gain prestige but then discarded, those who struck their superiors and were stripped of their military rank, those who owed military debts they couldn't repay and were conscripted—they are all shoved into this battalion." Lu Hu returned the transfer order to Lu Changyuan. "The establishment says 3,000 men—the actual number is probably less than 2,700. Those missing three hundred or so spots—are empty salaries for the dead that no one replaced."

Lu Changyuan glanced at him. Lu Hu had served as a soldier in the fortress for twenty years—his understanding of the Sin Battalion came from listening in the barracks tents. Low-level soldiers feared the Sin Battalion—they feared that entering the Sin Battalion meant adding an indelible stain to their military record. This stain would follow you—even after retirement, after changing professions, or even returning to settle in a Mortal town—as long as there was a record of the Sin Battalion on your military record, no decent job would hire you.

"Anything else?"

"The Sin Battalion is not directly under any commander—it belongs to the Logistics Department." Lu Hu's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. "The Logistics Department means—when the front line needs people to fill a hole, they are the first to pull up the Sin Battalion. Once the hole is filled, no one asks questions. Three thousand people filling a hole—their names won't even be written in full on the military report. It will only say 'Left Wing Logistics Battalion, casualties: some number'."

Lu Changyuan tucked the transfer order into his sleeve. He did not speak immediately—he turned to look at the direction outside the fence of the Central Army area. The spiritual light lines on the fence shimmered with a dark golden color in the afternoon sun—at the intersection of the light between each wooden stake was a very faint golden halo. Outside the fence were rows of gray tents—the further out, the shorter they were, and the further out, the more tattered the armor.

"These 3,000 men—Commander Tie Zhan handed them to me. Not to the Logistics Department."

He untied the Storage Pouch from his waist—that black Storage Pouch, with a tiny dark golden jade bead strung on the drawstring at the mouth. He placed the Storage Pouch in Lu Hu's hand.

"Inside the bag is an inner armor—the Xuanwu True Ring Armor. It can withstand three full-force blows from a Golden Core Late Stage cultivator." Lu Changyuan tightened the drawstring of the bag and wrapped it around Lu Hu's wrist. "Return to the Pier now—our flying boat is still by the Outer Port Pier. There is a Sword Ray Cavalry waiting on the boat. Give this bag to him—tell him to set off overnight and deliver it to Su Qingli within two days. Once he arrives, have Su Qingli reply via a communication talisman."

Lu Hu looked down at the loop of the drawstring on his wrist. The dark golden jade bead left a tiny circular mark on the skin inside his wrist. He raised his head and looked at Lu Changyuan.

"Young Lord—this armor is yours."

"I am in the Central Army command tent. Outside Commander Tie Zhan's fence stand two Golden Core Early Stage personal guards. You are guarding outside the Central Army command tent. If Right Commander Li Feng's men want to assassinate me—they must first pass that circle of dark golden spiritual light lines, then pass two Golden Core personal guards, and then pass twenty black-armored soldiers of the Central Army. Wearing this armor—I might not even need it in a year." Lu Changyuan moved his hand away from the drawstring. "Su Qingli is on Blue Moon Island—the third phase of the Killing Array is still being laid, and the Spirit Field drainage outlet might be breached by a school of Bone Fish in three months. Leng Feng is the newly promoted Grand Commander—his first order has not yet been issued on the battlefield. Once something happens on the island—she will be the first one to step up."

Lu Hu gripped the Storage Pouch in his hand. He gripped it for about three breaths—then turned and walked towards the Outer Port Pier. His pace was faster than when he came.

Adjutant Tie walked over from the side of the fence. His horsewhip had already been hung back at his waist—the worn, shiny old leather cord on the handle of the black-gold short whip shimmered with a very thin oily sheen in the afternoon light. He stopped in front of Lu Changyuan.

"Deputy Envoy Lu—Commander Tie Zhan asked me to take you to the Sin Battalion's station. Go west from here—pass through the outer barracks and then cross a military road."

"Much obliged."

Adjutant Tie walked in front. He did not ride his horse again—he handed the reins to a black-armored personal guard at the fence gate. The gravel road stretched westward—the tents on both sides of the road became shorter and shorter; the tents in the first few rows still had spiritual pattern waterproof layers on their roofs, while the tents in the rows behind only had coarse burlap left—the burlap was blown outward by the sea breeze, the ropes on the corners were tied and loosened, and some ropes had already been corroded and broken by the salt mist, reconnected with strips of rags.

There were more and more soldiers crouching on the ground. The soldiers in the first few rows of camps were wiping their swords—after wiping the swords, they would apply a very thin layer of Spirit Beast grease to the sword body, and the grease left a pale yellow film of light on the sword edge. The soldiers in the rear camps had no swords to wipe—they only had a short knife in their hands. The handles of the short knives were wrapped with tattered rags—the original wooden handles of the knives had already cracked, and from the cracks, one could see the rusty iron core inside.