Chapter 68

The two cooks were still bewildered. Xue Jin'an, having already adapted to his role as the commander-in-chief, naturally gave them orders. After giving the orders, seeing them still standing there motionless, he looked at them with some doubt and asked in a good-natured manner, "Is there anything you don't understand?"

The two of them: "..." Is this a question of understanding or not?!

The two of them had traveled with Xue Jin'an all the way, and although they hadn't even exchanged names, they felt that this young man was a decent person and considered themselves to have some acquaintance with him. After hesitating for a moment, they finally voiced their thoughts.

"Young man, we're on the Red Team. Isn't it a bit much to switch sides like this?" The older cook who spoke was surnamed Ding.

He had a long, deep slash on his face, a vertical cut that ran diagonally from his right cheek to his left. The wound was so deep that at first glance it looked like his face had been split in two, which shows how dangerous it was at the time. Because of this injury, he lost his right eye, and his eyeball turned a grayish color, which is why he had a nickname: Blind Ding.

As he spoke, Blind Ding pointed to the red ribbon tied around his arm.

Another, younger cook surnamed Jia nodded in agreement, looking quite troubled, and said, "The General hates traitors the most. We're just lowly soldiers in the cookhouse, just trying to make a living..."

After the new policy was implemented, the treatment of soldiers improved, especially for those stationed on the border. Suddenly, joining the army became a desirable job for children from poor families, transforming from something everyone avoided to something everyone eagerly sought after. Little Jia clearly didn't want to bear the risk of being punished by General Helian and losing his military post, returning home to farm.

After a brief analysis, Xue Jin'an understood the reason for their hesitation. Although he didn't understand, he respected their decision and nodded knowingly, saying, "You want to fight me."

Xue Jin'an wondered what he would do if he didn't want to submit to the enemy commander, and the enemy commander was alone. Of course, he would capture the leader first. Since he didn't want to submit to the other side and work for them, he would just capture the other side to increase his chances of winning.

Xue Jin'an, judging others by his own standards, felt that his own thoughts were correct. After drawing his conclusion, he didn't wait for the two of them to react. He directly picked up the Green Dragon Crescent Blade standing on the table. The hilt of the blade was like a long stick, and it looked even taller than Xue Jin'an. It was also quite heavy. Judging from the marks on the blade, it was a brand new blade that had been forged not long ago and had never seen blood.

This Green Dragon Crescent Blade is the legendary weapon of Guan Yu, but it is not suitable for actual combat. The fact that such a weapon appeared on the battlefield is actually related to Xue Jin'an, because the appearance of this blade is obviously a one-to-one replica of the template in his PUBG game.

—There are many weapons in the battle royale game. Xue Jin'an is a meticulous coder who doesn't make things up. Naturally, just like learning martial arts manuals, he dug out the weapons of famous people from his own database, such as the Green Dragon Crescent Blade and the Fangtian Halberd.

The Green Dragon Crescent Blade was a bit too long and too big for Xue Jin'an, making it somewhat difficult for him to wield. However, it was still usable for temporarily subduing enemies.

"Who wants to go first?" Xue Jin'an thought for a moment and said, "Let's all go together, it'll save time."

Blind Ding & Xiao Jia: "..."

The two men looked at the gleaming blade of the precious sword, then at the corpse of the former Blue Team commander lying on the ground, and very knowingly slid down to their knees: "Young brother, no, I mean commander-in-chief, your humble servant greets the commander-in-chief!"

"What did you just give, Commander? We'll do it right away!"

The two looked very sincere, and after speaking, they immediately pulled off the red ribbons on their bodies, showing no sign of their previous reluctance.

Xue Jin'an had just taken over the Blue Team camp, which was still almost an empty shell. He didn't have many people at his disposal. He put down his super-large sword with some regret and repeated his previous instructions.

It was all very simple. Blind Ding went out to call the flag bearers back, while Xiao Jia stayed behind to organize the main tents and camps, such as first moving the former commander's "corpse" onto the bed.

Xiao Jia really wanted to switch jobs with Blind Ding, but then he heard Blind Ding say, "There's only one person inside, and he's unconscious. With him there to keep watch, you'll be fine. But those flag guards outside are very wary; they might just make a move."

Xiao Jia looked at him with suspicion and uncertainty, "Then you're still going? Aren't you afraid?"

"There's nothing to be afraid of. What haven't I seen on the front lines? Besides, this is just an exercise. It's impossible for anyone to actually die. Even if a real fight breaks out, they'll hold back." Blind Ding said calmly, showing no concern for this kind of confrontation.

"What? You've been to the front lines? I thought you were just an ordinary wounded soldier..." Xiao Jia, who had been assigned to the cook battalion after only a month in the army, was even more shocked. He couldn't help but look Ding the Blind Man up and down.

Although the Northwest Army was a border army, in reality, when there was no direct combat, the main force and elite troops that could actually go to the front lines to fight the Rong and Di tribes were the assault troops. Training such main force and elite troops was extremely time-consuming, labor-intensive, and expensive, and they would not be withdrawn from the front lines unless they suffered fatal injuries that would affect their combat effectiveness.

But Blind Ding wasn't missing any arms or legs, nor was he lame; his only injury was the scar on his face—

Suddenly, an absurd thought occurred to Xiao Jia, and he exclaimed in surprise, "You wouldn't happen to be an archer from the Sharpshooter Battalion, would you?"

In ancient military camps, soldiers were also divided into different ranks. Cooks were the lowest rank, and those assigned to them were either wounded soldiers or "useless soldiers" who could not be trained no matter what and had little combat power. The highest rank, apart from the highly mobile cavalry, consisted of archers.

Archers are a very rare unit type because they rely heavily on talent and physical fitness. After all, how many stones you can draw depends on your arm strength, and physical fitness is not something you can achieve just by trying.

Other troop types don't have such high vision requirements and won't be removed from the front lines just because one eye is injured, but archers are different.

"I'm just a cook, no different from you." Although Blind Ding didn't directly answer Xiao Jia's question, his attitude suggested that Xiao Jia's guess was most likely true.

Xiao Jia was immediately dazed. The three of them came out together. One was a powerful figure who had directly occupied the enemy camp and been promoted to commander-in-chief. The other was a master who had retired from the sharpshooting battalion... It turned out that the cooks were really all hidden big shots!

Could it be that I also have some identity I don't know about? Xiao Jia was so shocked that he almost lost his mind.

As expected of someone who had served on the front lines, Blind Ding was adept at communicating with the soldiers. In no time, he persuaded the flag bearers to send two of them back with him to check on things.

The person who happened to have returned had witnessed the scene where Helian Yong had unilaterally caused trouble for Xue Jin'an, and was immediately stunned: "You are Long Aotian!"

Blind Ding & Xiao Jia: "!!!" This is actually Long Aotian!

The rivalry between Helian Yong and Long Aotian was indeed widely known. As soon as Xue Jin'an's identity was revealed, they couldn't help but think of this matter and immediately accepted Long Aotian's defection to the Blue Team: it wasn't that the Red Team was so bad, it was just that the Red Team had Helian Yong.

Clearly, it wasn't just Blind Ding and Xiao Jia who thought this way. Once the flag bearer went back with Xue Jin'an's identity, he successfully brought back all the other flag bearers.

However, although they all accepted Xue Jin'an as the head coach of the Blue Team, they still had doubts about his leadership abilities. It was at this moment that the original head coach of the Blue Team woke up.

The first thing the former Blue Team's head coach did upon waking up was to touch his clothes. Sure enough, he didn't find the head coach's keepsake. Then, when he looked up, he met Xue Jin'an's calm gaze.

He clutched his stinging neck, looking at the child who barely reached his chest. His feelings were quite complicated. Fortunately, he was a decent person and wasn't angry that his position had been taken away, nor did he think that Long Aotian was dishonest. The winner takes all, and the loser is condemned. He accepted his defeat, acknowledged Xue Jin'an as the commander-in-chief, and returned to his old job as a deputy general—he was Helian Cheng's deputy general.

Deputy General Han also helped Xue Jin'an persuade the other members of the Blue Team, actually only using one sentence: "His abilities are highly praised even by the Grand General."

The Grand General was the pillar of the Northwest Army. If even the Grand General thought someone was capable, then they were definitely not people of their rank to question. They completely let go of their wariness of Xue Jin'an and truly regarded him as their commander-in-chief, following his orders without any distractions.

Xue Jin'an's first order was that he would personally lead his men to wipe out Helian Yong's hundreds of men.

Upon hearing this, Vice General Han's lips twitched. He understood everything now. Helian Yong was bait thrown to them, and the men he sent out were probably trapped by the new commander.

Xue Jin'an confirmed his guess, "They're not the only ones trapped."

Since the goal was to trap people anyway, he naturally wanted to make the most of them. He trapped the Blue Party members to buy time to seize power, while trapping Helian Yong meant he had no intention of letting them go.

Since we're already here...

The Blue Team camp really went all out this time, and Xue Jin'an led the flag bearers to clean up the battlefield.

The fighting was fierce. Everyone thought that the despicable traps that had trapped them and caused them so much trouble were set up by the other side. Their anger was rising rapidly, especially Helian Yong, who was caught off guard. However, Zhao Pianjun, who was fighting against him, was really skilled and he was suppressed and was at a disadvantage!

This is outrageous! Insubordination! Helian Yong cursed inwardly, and his actions became somewhat reckless.

Zhao Pianjun was originally fighting with his strength in reserve. After all, he was a well-known general in the Northwest Army and had rich experience in fighting enemies. Even if Helian Yong was taught by the general, he could not possibly defeat him in such a short time.

Fortunately, this was just a drill. Although everyone was using real swords and guns, they couldn't actually injure or kill anyone. So everyone kept it brief. If a move was too lethal, they would use the back of the blade, which was coated with red powder that could leave a mark on clothing. Soldiers who were "seriously injured" or "dead" would leave the field on their own.

However, even though Zhao Pianjun had clearly left several marks on Helian Yong's body, the man completely ignored them, only continuing to pester him and even using harsh methods.

Zhao Pianjun's temper flared up, and he increased the force of his blow, slamming the back of the blade into Helian Yong's shoulder, causing the man's breath to stagnate and him to stagger back half a meter while clutching his chest.

"Oh, young general!" Zhao Pianjun's mind instantly cleared and calmed down. He regretted that he had acted without restraint and had actually injured Helian Yong. Although it was unavoidable in the competition, and even if the general knew, he wouldn't say anything, he was still his superior's son after all...

Zhao Pianjun almost immediately withdrew his sword and reached out to pull Helian Yong, but unexpectedly the latter grabbed his hand and swung his sword to strike!

Zhao Pianjun narrowly dodged the attack, but he was now completely enraged. Without a second thought, he flipped his wrist and slashed at Helian Yong with the sharp blade of his broadsword.

Xue Jin'an and his men arrived just in time to witness this scene. Deputy General Han was terrified and shouted, "Old Zhao, stop!"

Zhao Pianjun gritted his teeth and changed his move at the last moment. He struck Helian Yong on the forehead with the hand holding the hilt of his knife, making him see stars and almost vomit. Zhao Pianjun also loosened his grip.

Zhao Pianjun was stabbed by Helian Yong, but fortunately the wound wasn't deep. He broke free from Helian Yong's grip and quickly retreated to escape the battle. However, as soon as Zhao Pianjun stood still, his own men forcibly pressed his shoulders down and pushed him back down.

Several flag bearers rushed into the scene, capturing not only their own general but also Helian Yong.

"Hiss—be gentle, be gentle, what's wrong with you guys? Why are you even arresting your own people?!" If Zhao Pianjun hadn't confirmed that these people all had blue belts on them, he would have suspected that they were from the Red Team.

He looked at General Han with great suspicion, his face saying, "You wouldn't happen to be a spy, would you?" "What are you doing, Han? Separate me right now!"

Deputy General Han smiled wryly and waved his hand slightly, giving Zhao Pianjun several meaningful glances. It was unclear whether Zhao understood or not. Feeling that he had done everything he could, he slowly revealed the person behind him.

He was a young man with handsome features, a cold expression, and calm eyes.

Before Zhao Pianjun could finish observing the unfamiliar young man's expression, he heard Helian Yong grit his teeth and call out the other's name, word by word: "Long, Ao, Tian!"

Xue Jin'an looked in the direction of the sound and saw the marks on Helian Yong's clothes. Without the slightest hesitation, she stated the truth: "You are 'dead'."

When Xue Jin'an said "death," he wasn't referring to actual death, but rather that according to the rules of the game, he was already dead and should leave the stage.

Helian Yong stiffened, not daring to look Zhao Pianjun in the eye, but still stubbornly said, "My injuries are nothing to fear. I have excellent wound medicine, and I have always had a strong will. I can definitely pull through!"

He spoke with such conviction that everyone couldn't help but twitch their lips, especially Zhao Pianjun, who almost laughed in anger upon hearing this. But after all, Helian Yong was the general's adopted son, so they couldn't say anything under these circumstances.

Xue Jin'an, however, was never one to listen to just anyone; he only believed in data. So, without a word, he picked up the Green Dragon Crescent Blade and swung it with ease, creating a bloody hole in Helian Yong's body.

No one was prepared for his sudden move, and they were all stunned.

Helian Yong was completely stunned. Caught off guard, he didn't even cry out in pain, as if he had really endured it.

When he finally realized what was happening, Helian Yong flew into a rage: "Long Aotian, you're using personal vendettas to get revenge! You want to kill me?!"

"I'm confirming what you said." Xue Jin'an sincerely controlled the broadsword to cut across the red marks on Helian Yong's clothes, as if he wanted to stab them one by one to test Helian Yong's endurance.

The metallic scent of the knife tip rushed into Helian Yong's nose. He knew clearly that it was his blood. His whole body stiffened, and his face twisted and turned blue.

Deputy General Han was so frightened that he almost stopped breathing. Seeing that Xue Jin'an was about to strike again, he quickly stepped forward and grabbed the hilt of the sword. "General Long, this shows that the young general can indeed endure what ordinary people cannot. Old Zhao, don't you think so?"

Zhao Pianjun, whose name was called, really wanted to shake his head and say no, feeling that he could have been poked a few more times.

He thought to himself: This Long Aotian has such a wild way of doing things, no wonder he has won the favor of the Grand General. He is much more decisive and efficient than Helian Yong! How awesome is that!

Unfortunately, no matter how pleased he was inside, he couldn't show it on his face. He even had to nod in agreement with Vice General Han's words, saying, "Yes, yes."

Lieutenant General Han didn't seem to mind the perfunctory tone in his words, and said to Xue Jin'an with a forced smile, "General, what do you think?"

Before Xue Jin'an could speak, Helian Yong looked furious. However, Vice General Han was quick-witted and stuffed something into his mouth just as he opened his mouth to speak, preventing him from speaking.

Deputy General Han knew that Long Aotian and Helian Yong were at odds, and he thought he would have to use a lot of persuasion to convince him to give up his revenge. However, Xue Jin'an nodded directly and said, "Okay, I understand."

However, before Vice General Han could be happy, he heard Xue Jin'an say, "These Red Team members have been incorporated into the army. Helian Yong is useless now, kill him."

Deputy General Han had grown tired of saying "no," but he still struggled to get a piece of Helian Yong's mind: "...recruiting troops doesn't necessarily mean killing the original generals; just reorganize them into the troops."

Xue Jin'an's rebuttal was very reasonable and well-founded: "He is weak, useless, and hostile to me. He also poses a risk of becoming an undercover agent... Why should I keep him around?"

Vice General Han... Vice General Han was persuaded. His already tilted balance completely shifted to Xue Jin'an's side. He was about to nod and decide to send Helian Yong away when he heard Xue Jin'an's order before he could even speak: "Just killing him normally won't necessarily 'kill' him. There's a pit over there, just bury him there."

"Bury it, bury it, bury it, bury it..." These three words echoed in Vice General Han's ears. He gasped, feeling a headache coming on. "No, Long Aotian, calm down. This is an exercise, not child's play. Personal grudges shouldn't be mixed into our actions..."

"This exercise is not child's play. I'm going to get him out of there. I have no personal grudges involved." Xue Jin'an denied it expressionlessly, and immediately selected the person who dug the hole and who would fill it. "Zhao Pianjun, this matter is your responsibility. Make sure he gets out of there successfully."

Deputy General Han closed his eyes tightly, really wanting to abandon this matter. In the end, it was Helian Yong who lacked martial ethics first, and Long Aotian had caught him red-handed. It would be good to teach him a lesson... But, was it really just to teach him a lesson?

As Vice General Han looked at the expressionless face of the young man before him, a sense of foreboding, a feeling of unease surging within him for the man who had saved his life on the battlefield, was growing stronger.

Unlike Deputy General Han, Zhao Pianjun was overjoyed upon receiving the order. Ignoring his wounds, he jumped up from the ground and exclaimed, "Alright! Commander, rest assured, I will not fail in my mission!"

Helian Yong was pushed into the naturally formed pit. He struggled to spit out the stuff that was stuffing in his mouth, and was about to shout and curse when he opened his mouth and was hit with a mouthful of sand.

Zhao Pianjun deliberately threw dirt all over him with every shovelful of soil.

Helian Yong opened his mouth and swallowed a mouthful of sand, his face turning green. He could only shut his mouth in resentment and glare at Zhao Pianjun with murderous eyes.

Zhao Pianjun sighed and said, "Young General, I didn't want to either, but you know that military orders are absolute and cannot be disobeyed. Please don't blame me!"

The words sounded pitiful, but the shoveling of dirt was quite enjoyable.

Everyone thought Xue Jin'an was just joking when he said he would bury him, that he wanted to dampen Helian Yong's arrogance and make him never dare to use the title of Grand General to intimidate others again. Even Helian Yong himself thought so.

He even managed to throw a harsh remark while Zhao Pianjun was throwing dirt: "Long Aotian, you have guts! If you're so capable, then bury me alive! How will you explain yourself to my godfather, you vicious person like you!"

He deliberately emphasized the words "godfather".

"Hmm." Xue Jin'an responded to everything. He remained unmoved and unaffected by any threats. He was still instructing people to register the three hundred people he had recruited.

After a while, not only Vice General Han felt uneasy, but even Zhao Pianjun, who was personally burying the man, became increasingly stiff. Looking at Helian Yong, who was standing in the pit with the soil already covering his chest, he couldn't lift the shovel that was being inserted into the soil again.

Helian Yong was actually a little scared, but his youthful pride prevented him from lowering his head. Seeing Zhao Pianjun's expression, he immediately sneered, "Heh!"

...It was just a laugh; at least he didn't say anything more. Deputy General Han's anxiety eased slightly, and then he met Zhao Pianjun's gaze.

Ha! You little brat, weren't you just stirring up trouble? Now you're scared? You know things have gotten out of hand? Deputy General Han sneered inwardly, while also looking down on Helian Yong, who still refused to back down.

Facing the enemy with such toughness naturally demonstrates your bravery and fearlessness, but this is just an exercise in the military camp, and making such a gesture will only make people think it's unwise.

Moreover, he was the one who was wrong from the beginning. If he hadn't refused to "die" and hadn't been so ruthless towards Zhao Pianjun, things wouldn't have escalated to this point!

"He's utterly useless and more likely to cause trouble than anything else!" Vice General Han cursed inwardly.

However, regardless of his emotions at this moment, he still had to do what needed to be done and make peace as necessary.

This Long Aotian does possess the qualities of a commander. As the saying goes, "a kind heart cannot command an army." His cold and ruthless methods inspire awe, and are perfectly suited for use on the battlefield. However, it would be somewhat difficult for him to negotiate peace now.

Deputy General Han pondered deeply and tried every possible excuse to persuade Xue Jin'an, but Xue Jin'an only said one sentence: "He's useless."

Helian Yong was so angry he wanted to curse, but Zhao Pianjun, quick-witted and agile, stuffed a shovel into his mouth and said in a low, menacing voice, "Young general, you'd better calm down!"

Xue Jin'an had already noticed that Zhao Pianjun had stopped filling the pit. "Zhao Pianjun is tired. I'll have someone else take over for you."

Seeing that he was really going to bury Helian Yong alive, Deputy General Han racked his brains and finally had a flash of inspiration and realized that Helian Yong was useful. "Wait, he's useful, he's useful!"

“He is the general’s adopted son. If we capture him, it will surely make the Red Army hesitate to act.” Deputy General Han looked at Xue Jin’an with anticipation, hoping that this little rascal would give in.

Xue Jin'an fell into deep thought. He rehearsed the idea and actually came up with a plan, but it wasn't for dealing with the Blue Team. Instead, he thought, "Perhaps we can take down Helian City in one fell swoop."

Wait, what did I just hear? Helian Cheng? Is that the Grand General? Long Aotian is going to deal with the Grand General? Vice General Han was stunned, completely dumbfounded.