Lin Feng reined in his thoughts and looked up at the ten pairs of eyes waiting for orders. There were no pleasantries, no lectures.

He raised his right hand directly, palm facing the ten garrison soldiers.

【Generals Majesty: Soldier Binding】

Ten invisible golden threads drifted from his palm, sinking precisely into the chests of the ten garrison soldiers.

The ten garrison soldiers knelt on one knee simultaneously.

"Greetings, Lord."

Their voices weren't loud, but they were in perfect unison.

Lin Feng didn't tell them to rise. He closed his eyes, feeling the ten new pulses connected to his soul.

An invisible wave spread from within him like a ripple, sweeping over the ten garrison soldiers. A faint golden light flashed simultaneously in their pupils.

The status panel changed quietly:

【Weakened Great Qin Garrison Soldier】

Level: 10

Strength: 10 → 11 (Generals Majesty +10%)

Constitution: 8

Agility: 6

HP: 210/210

Attack Power: 70

Their original ten points of strength had increased to eleven under the passive buff of his 【Generals Majesty】.

It wasn't much, but it was enough to let their halberds thrust an inch deeper; on the battlefield, that single inch was the distance between life and death.

Lin Feng lowered his hand.

"Rise."

The ten garrison soldiers stood up together, their halberds held vertically as they stared straight ahead.

Lin Feng said nothing more.

He turned and walked toward the open space in front of the Council Hall. The ten garrison soldiers followed silently in two columns, their footsteps perfectly synchronized.

In the morning light, the dark red sky cast long shadows of this small squad.

In front of the Council Hall.

Zhao Hu was stretching in the open space, his guardian round shield hanging on his left arm while his right hand gripped the bone-crushing greatsword, practicing swings that whistled through the air.

He had just reached Level 11 yesterday and was in the stage of needing to adapt to his surging strength.

Tie Dun squatted to the side, wiping his ironwall greatshield while munching on half a ration made by Li Gui, humming an unknown tune.

Arrow Eye sat on the steps of the Council Hall, silently sensing the power of a Windchaser Archer.

Wang Wu leaned against a wooden post with his eyes closed, his Black Iron Longbow resting across his knees.

Shadow Snake was in the shadows, as quiet as ever. A Wang, Scarface Liu, and the others arrived one after another, either sitting or standing as they chatted idly.

Su Yurou walked over from the kitchen carrying a bowl of hot soup. Seeing the lively scene, her lips curled slightly into a smile as she found a quiet corner to sit down.

Suddenly.

Tie Dun stopped wiping his greatshield.

"What's that sound?"

Everyone was startled, and then they all heard it.

It was the sound of footsteps.

Rhythmic, heavy footsteps of over a dozen people stepping in unison. It wasn't the patrol; the patrol wasn't this synchronized.

Zhao Hu turned, his eyes searching for the source of the sound—

Then, his eyes suddenly widened.

"L-Lord?"

Lin Feng walked at the front.

Behind him, ten soldiers dressed in dark brown leather armor and leather helmets, holding bronze halberds, followed silently in two columns.

The halberd tips were like a forest, and their footsteps like drums; the air seemed to fall silent for a moment.

The rag in Tie Dun's hand fell to the ground, his mouth agape, forgetting to pick it up.

Arrow Eye instinctively gripped the wind-chasing hunting bow beside him.

Wang Wu opened his eyes, A Wang sucked in a breath of cold air, and Shadow Snake poked her head out from the shadows, her eyes fixed on the ten soldiers.

Su Yurou's hand holding the soup bowl froze in mid-air, forgetting to take a sip.

Lin Feng stopped in the middle of the open space.

The ten garrison soldiers fanned out behind him into a single row, their halberds vertical, eyes looking straight ahead.

Lin Feng looked at everyone, his tone flat as if he were merely introducing new ingredients that had arrived in the kitchen:

"The ten professional soldiers recruited by the territory—the Beacon Guards. They will join the combat sequence from now on."

Silence.

Three seconds.

"Professional soldiers?! These are the Beacon Guards?"

Tie Dun was the first to jump up, circling the nearest garrison soldier three times, his eyes wide as copper bells. "Lord! Where did you recruit them from? Look at this equipment, this aura!"

"Tie Dun," Zhao Hu barked a warning, but he couldn't help but steal a few more glances at the perfectly aligned halberd formation. He had seen the world, and it was precisely because he had that he was even more shocked.

That silence, that orderliness, that discipline of following orders to the letter...

These were definitely not just some haphazardly recruited refugee militia; this was the seed of an army with a "soul," even if there were only ten of them for now.

Wang Wu stood up and walked to the side of the Beacon Guards' line, carefully observing ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) their posture, the angle they held their halberds, and where their gaze landed.

After a long while, he retreated back to the group and whispered something to Zhao Hu. Zhao Hu's eyes flickered, but he didn't respond.

Lin Feng didn't explain. He took in everyone's reactions and then got down to business.

His gaze swept across the open space.

Zhao Hu, Level 11 Heavy Shield Guard.

Su Yurou, Level 9 Healer.

Arrow Eye, Level 9 Windchaser Archer.

Shadow Snake, Level 10, unclassed.

Wang Wu, Level 10, unclassed, skilled in archery.

Tie Dun, Level 9.

A Wang, Level 9.

Scarface Liu, Level 9.

He nodded slightly. In just a few days, going from an average level of seven or eight to this lineup was good enough.

"For the next six days," Lin Feng began, his voice not loud, but everyone fell silent.

"Bone Eagle Cliff, northwest region."

Everyone felt a chill. They all knew of Bone Eagle Cliff; over the last two days, the Lord, Zhao Hu, and Shadow Snake had fought through the northeast and southeast, reportedly killing two Level 15 elites. But the northwest...

"The one entrenched in the northwest region is also a Level 15 elite."

Lin Feng continued, giving them no time for further thought. "Zhao Hu, Shadow Snake, and I have already killed two targets of the same level. The one in the northwest won't be any stronger than them."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the ten Beacon Guards who were as silent as iron, then over the core members who had come this far with him.

"So for the next six days, everyone, including these ten soldiers, will be deployed to the northwest of Bone Eagle Cliff to train through combat." (Note: This is troop training; the protagonist will only watch from the sidelines.)

His tone was flat, as if he were talking about what to have for lunch.

But everyone understood.

Nineteen people.

Six days.

To hunt down a Level 15 elite and all its followers.

This was—troop training.

In six days, push all the Level 9 core members present to Level 10.

Lin Feng didn't ask "Are there any problems?"

He directly ordered, "Gather at the West Gate in half an hour. Everyone check your equipment, supplies, and medicine."

"Li Gui has made two hundred portions of Endurance Ration Pill. A Wang, go collect them; everyone will be issued a six-day supply."

The ten Beacon Guards remained as silent as iron, their halberd tips perfectly still. Zhao Hu gripped his shield. Shadow Snake's claw blades slid out half an inch before being silently retracted.

Wang Wu slung his Black Iron Longbow back onto his back, a faint smile touching his lips. Tie Dun slapped his greatshield hard, producing a dull hum.

Half an hour later, the nineteen people arrived one by one. No one spoke much; there was only the soft clinking of weapons and the sound of suppressed breathing.

West Gate.

The air was thick with the morning dampness and a faint, lingering sense of battle intent.

The drawbridge was slowly lowered across the moat into the morning mist-shrouded wilderness. Nineteen figures crossed the moat.

Target—

Bone Eagle Cliff, Northwest.