Mountain Patrol Military Officer-Chapter 1086 - 709: Selection of the Last Colonel (Requesting Monthly Tickets)
Time flies, four days later.
Yunding Mountain, a scene of bustling activity.
The recruitment had not yet ended; it was proceeding vigorously, and the momentum was growing ever larger. Young men from various prefectures along Jiannan Road came attracted by the fame, resulting in an increasing number of enlistments over time, with a large number of martial artists joining the Mountain-cutting Army.
The continuous turmoil in Shu over the years, and the demon disaster at the borders, had already made life unbearable for the people. When the renowned Martial Saint General called for an offensive, the shift in the stance of attack and defense led to an overwhelming response.
And on this day, it was the date for the first batch of new recruits to receive their armor.
On the training field of the Ninth Mountain, yellow dust rolled as the autumn wind swept through the circular-collared robes of the newly recruited soldiers, raising a rustling sound.
Thousands of martial artists formed several phalanxes, their eyes nervous yet eager, watching the temporary long platforms erected in front of each phalanx, piled like mountains with black iron armor—neck guards, skirt armor... these pieces of armor shone with a cold, hard light under the autumn sun, seemingly heavy as mountains, with their patterned designs representing the bloody spirit of the Ninth Mountain.
"Tenth Camp, Huang Qiu!"
In front of one phalanx, the Timekeeper’s voice had a metallic penetration, sitting behind the long desk, calling out names from the roster, with a pen in hand.
A robust man in the front row of the team responded sharply, "Present!"
The voice trembled slightly with excitement, his body tense, stepping forward with raised head and chest.
The armor was distributed by an old veteran of the Ninth Mountain, blind in one eye. He hefted a set of armor made from Hundred Forged Steel, glanced at the newcomer, and gruffly said, "Raise both your arms!"
The recruit hurriedly complied, seeing the veteran’s great strength as he thudded the heavy armor onto his shoulder, the contact of the armor with his bones sending a tingling numbness across his newcomer shoulder. Then, with the veteran’s agility, the entire set of armor was disassembled and then sequentially donned onto the new recruit, generating the clanging sound of armor pieces colliding, which unknowingly stirred a surge of excitement in people.
When the armor was all issued, the veteran raised his hand in a signal, grasping a long knife, holding it horizontally against his chest, then with his other hand gripping the hilt, suddenly drew it, a cold light emerging. The blade was narrow, slightly curved, with an upward-curving tip like a goose feather, flickering with cold light.
The veteran then reinserted the waist knife, bumping it against the new recruit’s chest armor, releasing it.
"Weigh your knife!"
"Don’t underestimate its name; on the battlefield in the future, kill more demons."
The new recruit, his body numbed by the collision, clumsily took the waist knife, yet as he donned this military gear, he felt a sensation tingling from his feet to his head, now truly a fierce warrior of the Ninth Mountain. He straightened his stance, unable to help but shout loudly.
"Yes, I will not disgrace the mission!"
This scene stirred a commotion in the queue behind.
"Next, Zhao Kun!"
"Wang Qi!"
"Zhu Ba"
"....."
A sequence of name calls and responses echoed throughout the training ground, fueling the fervor.
When the sun gradually moved westward, after distributing thousands of sets of armor, no longer were there coarse cloth robes on the training ground, only a black solemn phalanx of armor, resembling an iron fortress. The wind rustled the armor pieces, emitting a sound like waves, and the enlisted soldiers, gripping the knife’s hilts, were filled with uncontrollable excitement.
....
This scene wasn’t unique to the Ninth Mountain; similar views were seen in other mountains as well.
Meanwhile, as armor was distributed, behind the Colonel Palace of the Sixth Mountain, under a pavilion in the backyard, the Colonels of the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth, who were familiar with each other, sat together discussing matters.
After all, these few were the only "old hands" left in the Mountain-cutting Army, often gathering together.
"Didn’t Lord Pei come?" asked the Sixth Mountain Colonel.
"Commander Pei has now become the Colonel of the Eleventh Mountain. It seems he’s changed entirely, unlike before, when he was always preoccupied. Now he’s thinking about how to quickly muster the troops. When I sent people to invite him, they said Lord Pei had personally gone to Jingguan City to organize military supplies." The Seventh Colonel could not help but express amazement and admiration.
"That’s good; I hope Lord Pei can come around soon. By the way, I heard from Mr. Gongsun of the Ninth Mountain that the armor and equipment distributed to the new recruits today, a large portion was provided by General Chen—three thousand sets in total." The Eighth Colonel timely responded.
"I’ve heard. However, compared to the current state of new recruit enlistment, I see that the gap in military equipment remains huge. Don’t expect anything from the Court; now that Mr. Gongsun is in charge of military logistics, he implies that each mountain will have to figure out individually how to cover the shortfall in military equipment."
"Speaking of this, it’s worrisome. Our individual arsenals and financial accounts were exhausted in the last few battles, and I reckon The Overseers are in a similar situation. Even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice. Let’s each figure out a solution on our own and try not to place too much pressure on General Chen’s side. If we absolutely face difficulties, then we’ll see."
"Yes, you’re right." Several Colonels nodded.
"By the way, I heard that this time distributing armor, except for the Ninth Mountain, all other mountains received uniform allocation, with The Government Administrative Office issuing two thousand sets of equipment per mountain, including Yun Tiansheng and Lu Ming, who are new officials and personal aides to General Chen." the Fourth Colonel suddenly wondered aloud.
"Yes, these details are public knowledge. What about it?"
"No reason, just when I came over, I heard that the Fifth Mountain issued three thousand sets." The Fourth Colonel was somewhat puzzled.
This comment aroused the interest of the Colonels from several mountains, "Is that so?"
"Speaking of which, now among the Twelve Mountain Assault Armies, only the Fifth Mountain has not confirmed its Colonel, right? Previously General Chen said the remaining two positions were for General Qi to pick, yet Qi Tian General only decided on one person, who has come to serve as the Tenth Mountain Colonel, while the other position remains unfulfilled, no news about it."
"Hey, the Fifth Mountain got three thousand sets of military gear. Doesn’t this suggest that the Fifth Mountain Colonel may already be chosen and might even be favored by and valued by General Chen?" The Sixth Colonel lowered his voice, casting a glance around.
"That seems to be the case. This prospect is quite curious indeed!"
"No rush, I believe they should appear soon enough. After all, a mountain of troops needs a backbone, and General Chen won’t delay on such matters."
"Let’s talk about the preparation of military resources; what plans do you have?"
"..."
The Colonels continued discussing the matter of military resource procurement.
And at roughly the same time, outside the Eastern City Gate of Jingguan City, several swift horses stirred up dust along the official road, charging forward.
Taking the lead, mounted on a chestnut-colored horse, was someone in a red dress with a sword on her back, exuding a dashing air, followed by several people dressed in the attire of a Demon Extermination Envoy.
"Yah!"
"Yah!"
"Yah!"
"....." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
The lightly-equipped group of riders quickly entered the field of vision of the Defensive Captain standing on the gate tower.
According to procedure, the city gate defense was to verify identities, but soon, someone recognized the woman leading ahead.
"It’s the Red Feathered Female General, who once led government soldiers from two regions!"
"Let them pass!"
The recognized guard, who had been part of those government soldiers two years prior during the support of the battle at Zhen Nan Prefecture, remembered the red-dressed female general vividly.
