Chapter 86 - 72: Renowned in Black Mountain

Chapter 86: Chapter 72: Renowned in Black Mountain

The Divine Martial Emperor of the current dynasty, Grand Ancestor Yu of the previous dynasty, and Grand Ancestor Wei of the dynasty before that could all command armies of over half a million men. This was the key to all three establishing their rule over the world.

After finishing the book on Military Strategy, Zheng Jun fell into deep thought.

"According to what is written here, it felt a bit strange when I performed the Array Formation last night," Zheng Jun pondered, feeling that his insights from last night didn’t quite align with the book on Military Strategy. "In terms of unified command, I didn’t feel any difficulty at all. The moment I entered the Array, the Blood Qi of those fifty men could be instantly controlled by me. Executing it felt as if it truly belonged to me—effortless and exhilarating, without consuming much of my energy."

This situation was completely inconsistent with what was stated in the Military Strategy.

Before the Array Formation last night, he hadn’t even trained seriously in Arrays; he only barely knew the positions of the Star Array. Even so, he had been able to act as the Commander of the army and unleash three Slashes at Meng Xian.

Could it be that he also had the potential to become a renowned general of this world? Zheng Jun couldn’t help but entertain the thought, feeling that perhaps he was a legendary "born general."

"Perhaps it was just because the numbers were insufficient last night. Fifty men were effortless for me. When everyone is gathered, I’ll try forming a larger one," Zheng Jun thought. However, putting together three hundred men would be somewhat difficult.

After all, he had pocketed the pay of eighty-nine ghost soldiers himself. At most, he could only form a Star Array of two hundred men to test it out.

While Zheng Jun was studying the book on Military Strategy, a County Soldier approached from outside. After entering, he respectfully saluted Zheng Jun and said, "Captain, Crew Leader Sun Rong of the third crew requests an audience."

"Let him in." Zheng Jun nodded, his eyes remaining fixed on the book on Military Strategy without shifting away.

Sun Rong was the Crew Leader who had been on guard duty last night. His crew was also the only one currently without any ghost soldiers on the payroll.

It wasn’t that Sun Rong didn’t embezzle payroll funds—once the ghost payroll was distributed, it was split evenly across the entire Black Mountain Guard. It was just that the third crew was usually stationed within the county town, so they needed to maintain some semblance of a full roster for appearances.

Overall, however, the quality of the Black Mountain Guard officers was decent. After all, when it came to embezzling payroll, the higher-ups usually ate the meat and drank the soup, leaving the subordinates to fend for themselves. But in the Black Mountain Guard, the higher-ups ate the meat while the subordinates got to drink the soup. In an army where everyone competed to be the worst, this was considered somewhat conscientious.

"Captain!" Sun Rong strode inside and respectfully saluted Zheng Jun.

He was a Martial Artist who had undergone five rounds of Blood Refining. His talent was quite decent; with five rounds, he was already touching the threshold of Qi Storage. Two more rounds, and he might step into the Qi Storage Realm. He was usually arrogant within the army. Previously, when Captain Wang was around, he often didn’t take Captain Wang seriously.

But now, this hyena had encountered a fierce tiger. Naturally, his legs went soft with fear, and he prostrated himself, sincerely submitting. He had never seen a peerless powerhouse like Zheng Jun!

"Rise." Zheng Jun set down the book on Military Strategy in his hand and nodded at Sun Rong, asking calmly, "Take a seat, Crew Leader Sun. Have you come because there is an urgent military report?"

"Reporting to the Captain, there is no military intelligence to report." Sun Rong cupped his hands in reply to Zheng Jun’s question before continuing, "It’s just that many Civilian Soldiers have gathered outside our Military Department, saying they want to enlist and serve. So I came specifically to ask you. What do you think..."

Hearing this, Zheng Jun felt a bit puzzled. He immediately said, "Asking me is somewhat overstepping protocol. Why didn’t you go ask County Captain Cai?"

The nominal head of the Military Department was County Captain Cai Xun. He was merely the second-in-command and front-line Commander. The County Soldiers of each county were only mobilized during wartime, at which point they followed military orders and could be directed by the Captain. If there was no wartime mobilization, they naturally had to obey the County Captain.

Hearing Zheng Jun’s words, Sun Rong froze for a moment. Then, after a thought, he spoke in a low voice, "County Captain Cai seems... to have business outside, so this humble subordinate came to ask you, sir."

In the military, fierce and courageous men were always revered. Cai Xun’s performance last night was obvious to all. The third crew had departed the camp alongside Cai Xun. Although they hadn’t seen Cai Xun being sent flying by Meng Xian’s sword strike, they had seen him looking disheveled, hesitating in the rear, and ordering them to go forward to rendezvous with Zheng Jun.

In contrast, Zheng Jun had stepped directly into the Array, unified their command, and Slashed Meng Xian three times, allowing their entire crew to receive rewards from the Court! It had been a long time since they had been deployed in formation by a proper military Commander!

If Captain Zheng had been the Captain back when they encircled and suppressed the Qingshui Gang, how could over seventy brothers have died? Therefore, upon receiving the report, Sun Rong had immediately come to find Zheng Jun without even considering Cai Xun.

Cai Xun? He was just a mascot. Our Captain Zheng could kill Outer Gang experts like that with absolute ease.

However, when Zheng Jun asked this, Sun Rong didn’t know how to respond.

"Never mind, I’ll go speak with the County Captain myself." Zheng Jun waved his hand, not dwelling too much on the issue. Instead, he stood up and spoke to Sun Rong as he walked toward the door. "Since our fellow townsmen are so enthusiastic, I’ll go take a look and see the fine young men of our Black Mountain County!"

With that said, Zheng Jun strode out.

Seeing this, Sun Rong immediately matched Zheng Jun’s pace. After a moment of thought, he probed, "Captain, should I go summon the County Captain and the Chief Clerk?"

He then carefully explained, "According to convention, conscription requires the presence of three high-ranking officials. Currently in our county, County Magistrate Meng Xian colluded with Demon Fiends, County Magistrate Tian Zhenyuan plotted a rebellion, and Historian Xu Heng died a violent death... Only the County Captain, the Chief Clerk, and Vice Captain Yang are left."

Hearing Sun Rong say this, Zheng Jun almost lost his composure.

County Magistrate Meng Xian had died by his hands. County Magistrate Tian Zhenyuan had been taken down by him. Historian Xu Heng had been Slashed to death by him overnight. The deaths of these three men all seemed to have something to do with him.