41: Chapter 41: He Scolds Zhu Chi!

Zhu Chi walked slowly through the Military Camp just like that.

It wasn't just City Lord Liu and his group who had issues with him; even the other four members of the Zhu family were somewhat dissatisfied with Zhu Chi.

Today's incident had practically destroyed his reputation entirely.

Abandoning the army, a commander fleeing first.

Even with the immense power the Zhu family held in the capital, it would be very difficult to help him turn around such a terrible reputation.

Zhu Chi was also clear on this; he knew how poor his previous performance had been.

What he could do now was to contain the unfavorable news within the Military Camp and prevent it from spreading back home.

Initially, Zhu Chi had intended to avenge his nephew while simultaneously battling the experts of the Jin Kingdom to secure some merit.

Now, he wasn't thinking about merit or revenge; he would be satisfied just preserving his reputation.

Inside the Military Camp, including City Lord Liu, no one stood up to show him respect.

Even though he was still that Eighth-Grade Expert, people had tempers.

When faced with danger, how could an Eighth-Grade Expert who lacked such composure command any respect?

"City Lord Liu, has the army returned safely? To prevent sneak attacks from the Jin Kingdom, the sentry posts around the Military Camp must be well-arranged in the coming days."

Hearing Zhu Chi speak these words, City Lord Liu let out a cold snort from the side, replying with a touch of sarcasm.

"Thanks to you, Lord Zhu, most of the soldiers from Yingyang Pass have returned. Without your intervention, who knows how miserable the outcome would have been this time."

These words carried a very obvious tone of mockery. With so many people around, anyone who wasn't foolish could tell.

Having lived for so many years, how could Zhu Chi not understand?

"City Lord Liu, did today's battle bring out your temper? Do you think that I, Zhu Chi, lack the guts to strike at you?"

Zhu Chi was extremely thick-skinned, going so far as to openly issue a threat!

After saying this, Zhu Chi cast his gaze toward the others in the Military Camp, scanning them coldly once more.

"This time, if I hadn't gone to hold back that Elder Langhe, would that so-called mysterious expert have dared to fight? I don't know what you are all bragging about regarding someone who doesn't even dare to show their face!"

Zhu Chi was truly thick-skinned; in just a few words, it seemed as if all the credit had fallen to him.

It was because he had taken the initiative that the mysterious expert dared to intervene.

His shameful act of fleeing the battlefield was directly ignored. The credit belonging to the mysterious expert had all been snatched away by him.

Hearing this, the surroundings of the Military Camp went instantly quiet, and a look of anger appeared on everyone's faces.

Zhu Chi was very clear about how everyone was feeling, but for these ordinary soldiers, he could simply suppress them with his authority!

"There is no joking in the army. Whoever dares to spout nonsense and talk rubbish in this camp, don't blame my sword for showing no mercy."

While speaking, Zhu Chi even raised the long sword in his hand and brandished it.

He absolutely would not allow Yingyang Pass to report his true performance to the imperial court.

The Military Camp was very quiet; after his words, it could even be described as silent.

But in this silence, someone made up their mind!

A middle-aged veteran slowly stood up. His standing up was not out of respect for Zhu Chi, but to speak up for that mysterious expert.

"A slovenly person like me should have died outside the Jin Kingdom's city walls just moments ago. It was that exalted one who intervened and saved my life. The exalted one saved my life, and I will clear the exalted one's name. Zhu Chi, stop gilding your own face. Does today's credit have anything to do with you at all! The fault of so many soldiers from Yingyang Pass nearly dying—that is what truly has to do with you!"

The middle-aged veteran's face was full of composure; he was already prepared to die.

How could he possibly keep his life after provoking an Eighth-Grade Martial Artist like this?

"Interesting, are there others with such thoughts? Killing one is too few; why not have a few more come forward, so I can slaughter you all to my heart's content in one go."

Zhu Chi's expression was calm; regarding these accusations, he continued to issue threats.

As his voice fell, a second person soon stood up.

"Zhu Chi, you villain, you'd better kill me too, otherwise this matter won't end!"

Following closely were the third, the fourth, the fifth person...

One after another, these soldiers of Yingyang Pass all stood up. They looked at Zhu Chi with indifference, just staring at him, this Eighth-Grade Martial Artist.

Since stepping into Martial Arts Grade 8, Zhu Chi had never encountered such a situation. The ants in his eyes actually showed not a shred of fear toward him.

At the same time, the general and deputy general of Yingyang Pass also stood coldly in front of Zhu Chi.

"Lord Zhu, if you want to make a move, it would be best to kill us all together. As long as one person from Yingyang Pass is still alive, what you did today will definitely spread outside. I wonder if you, an Eighth-Grade Martial Artist, can slaughter us all in a single breath!"

This scene made even Zhu Chi feel a bit afraid.

An Eighth-Grade Martial Artist was indeed very strong, but he dared not slaughter this army. Even slaughtering a few dozen people would result in Zhu Chi being branded a traitor.

By then, those factions that were not on good terms with the Zhu family could completely seize the opportunity to convict him, which would very likely cost him his life.

Zhu Chi, a person who was entirely self-interested, was truly frightened.

Inside the Military Camp, including the four members of the Zhu family who had come with Zhu Chi, none of them stood on Zhu Chi's side.

If that mysterious expert had not intervened today, the four of them would have died too. They still had a shred of conscience and did not follow Zhu Chi to slander their savior.

Seeing him hesitate, City Lord Liu stepped forward again: "If you dare not act, then please put your sword away, Lord Zhu. Otherwise, if the mysterious exalted one sees you, you might not survive!"

Once these words were spoken, Zhu Chi still wanted to retort. However, City Lord Liu cut him off and continued to fire back: "Lord Zhu, stop boasting there. You couldn't even defeat Elder Langhe, and you still want to compare yourself to that mysterious exalted one? Do you know that Elder Langhe died at the hands of the exalted one? He didn't even have a chance to escape!"

One could not defeat Elder Langhe, while the other could slay Elder Langhe. The gap in strength was truly not small!

With a surge of frustration in his chest, Zhu Chi looked at the other four members of the Zhu family. Those four also looked at him with indifference. There wasn't even a single word of verbal support.

Hesitating, Zhu Chi eventually turned around and quickly leaped away into the distance.

After this incident, the soldiers in the entire Yingyang Pass seemed to have gained a new surge of spirit. It was as if they had a backer, and they didn't have so many worries when doing things.

Li Yuan looked at his comrades in the army and also felt some emotion. He hadn't expected that he could give them such great encouragement.

This turmoil ended with the departure of Zhu Chi.

The remaining members of the Zhu family took the corpses of Zhu Xu, Zhu Ang, and the others back.

They did not suspect anything else. After all, even an Eighth-Grade Expert like Zhu Chi had come and could not defeat the enemy, so the deaths of Zhu Xu and Zhu Ang were not surprising.

For dinner today, the army boiled meat soup to reward the entire force.

As the sky turned completely dark, only then did Li Yuan begin to calculate the gains he had obtained today.