Seeing the recruitment notice from the River West County Garrison, many people signed up, including wandering heroes and ordinary farmers.
Most were attracted by the superior benefits.
Some were drawn by the reputation.
The county offices gathered the recruits and sent them to River West County.
Of course, some chose to travel to River West County on their own.
Wang Zhan and Chi Tiansheng were among those who decided to team up and head to River West County together.
“Brother Wang, you said there’d be enough meat. Do you think we’ll get to eat our fill?” Chi Tiansheng asked with a face full of anticipation.
“How would I know?” Wang Zhan replied, feeling a headache coming on. This big guy only thought about food the entire journey.
“Do you think we’re being tricked?” Chi Tiansheng asked again.
“Tricked? Tricked for what? Your money, your looks?”
“Or maybe your muscles?” Wang Zhan felt even more exasperated.
Chi Tiansheng, this big guy, was a bit simple-minded and only thought about food. Whenever he saw food, he would start drooling.
One time, he ate over a dozen baskets of buns and still wasn’t full, which scared Wang Zhan. He didn’t have any money either. He was just a poor swordsman who neither robbed the rich to help the poor nor did business. Where would he get the money?
“Brother Wang, I’m hungry again,” Chi Tiansheng said, looking at Wang Zhan with anticipation.
Wang Zhan felt another headache. He was out of money too.
“Hang in there. Once we get to River West County, you can eat to your heart’s content,” he said.
“Alright, let’s walk faster then.”
……
Since the recruitment notice was issued in River West County, people kept coming to enlist. The soldiers recruited from other counties were also sent over.
The city’s barracks couldn’t accommodate so many troops for training and living, after all, River West County was just a county town.
Oliver Sheng built another barracks outside the city to house the newly recruited soldiers.
Now, with a full complement of thirty thousand soldiers, Oliver Sheng was full of anticipation. When the day came that he had thirty thousand fully armored heavy cavalry, he would dare to sweep the grasslands and subdue all the Foreign Tribes.
“Now that we have recruited thirty thousand soldiers, the next step is to train them,” Oliver Sheng said to his subordinates.
Cameron Guo, Wesley Hu, Felix Wu, Hunter Tang, Owen Hai, Yuan Yong, and Jing Yuan, among other generals, all looked expectant.
With the expansion of the army, they were sure to get promoted, leading more soldiers.
A soldier who doesn’t want to be a general is not a good soldier. They also wanted to be generals.
Following Oliver Sheng, they would conquer all directions and build their careers.
“Let one veteran train two new soldiers together. After a month of training, we will make adjustments and assignments.”
“Also, you should seize the time to cultivate and quickly improve your cultivation levels.”
“Do you all want to remain at the Postnatal Realm and serve as Assistant Generals? Martial Artists as tribuni, and Martial Masters as Colonels?”
“With so many pills and meat provided to you, put in some effort.”
“General, I’m about to break through to the Prenatal Realm, but I’m not very confident,” Felix Wu said, a bit embarrassed.
“Don’t worry, I’ve already written to my friend Nolan Dan of the Pill Sect to get you all fifth-tier breakthrough pills. Quickly elevate your cultivation to the Postnatal Realm at Great Perfection,” Oliver Sheng said.
Felix Wu was at the Postnatal Realm at Great Perfection, Cameron Guo and Wesley Hu were at the late Postnatal Realm. Following Oliver Sheng, their fortunes had soared.
First, they obtained pills to break through to the late Postnatal Realm, and now they had a chance to break through to the Prenatal Realm, something they had never dreamed of before.
“We will definitely elevate our cultivation to the Postnatal Realm at Great Perfection within a month,” Cameron Guo and Wesley Hu vowed in their hearts.
Such a rare opportunity, if missed, would make them regret it deeply.
A fifth-tier pill that could help break through to the Prenatal Realm cost three hundred thousand taels of silver each, something they could never afford.
Having cultivated the Flood Dragon Devouring Technique, their cultivation speed had also increased.
As long as they could eat well, their cultivation speed would be fast. With Oliver Sheng providing them with Prenatal Pills, the Prenatal Realm was within reach.
If they still couldn’t cultivate to the Prenatal Realm, they might as well die.
Oliver Sheng didn’t bother with Xiao Chuyi. That guy had a background and didn’t lack fifth-tier breakthrough pills. Even without them, Xiao Chuyi could break through to the Prenatal Realm.
Although Oliver Sheng was reluctant to admit it, Xiao Chuyi was the strongest among his subordinates. Xiao Chuyi had long been at the Postnatal Realm at Great Perfection, and breaking through to the Prenatal Realm wasn’t difficult for him.
However, Xiao Chuyi wasn’t in a hurry to break through to the Prenatal Realm but was instead focusing on consolidating his foundation.
Among Oliver Sheng’s subordinates, Hunter Tang, Owen Hai, and others were now at the late Martial Master Realm, and each had been promoted to tribuni.
They had once dreamed of becoming Sergeants, but now they were tribuni, with the potential to become Colonels in the future.
This proved the saying that following the right person was crucial.
“If you can’t keep up with your cultivation levels in the future, I won’t prioritize promoting you even if you have military merit. I’ve said this beforehand,” Oliver Sheng told his subordinates.
Everyone felt a chill in their hearts. It seemed they would have to train desperately. If they fell behind, it would be embarrassing.
“We will definitely train hard and live up to the General’s expectations.”
“Alright, go and lead the soldiers in training. Let the new recruits quickly get accustomed to barracks life and start their cultivation,” Oliver Sheng said, waving his hand.
“Yes, sir!”
Everyone got up and started to get busy. The barracks were filled with the sounds of training and shouts, a scene of intense activity.
Now, the barracks were divided into inner and outer camps.
The inner camp housed ten thousand soldiers, with Xiao Chuyi and Cameron Guo each leading five thousand, training in the city and guarding it.
Oliver Sheng moved the heavy cavalry to the barracks outside the city.
The outer barracks were spacious, ideal for training cavalry.
One day, Oliver Sheng was training the heavy cavalry, which had increased to two thousand men.
He had drawn soldiers from Cameron Guo, Wesley Hu, Xiao Chuyi, and Felix Wu’s camps, along with Martial Artists who had come to enlist, to form two thousand heavy cavalry.
This was his most elite unit.
Outside the barracks, Wang Zhan and Chi Tiansheng finally arrived at River West County. Seeing the barracks outside the city, Wang Zhan almost teared up.
Along the way, Chi Tiansheng had almost driven him to despair.
They had no money, and Chi Tiansheng was a big eater. Without money for food, Wang Zhan had to resort to robbing the rich to help the poor. But when he robbed a big family, their servants chased him down, making him look pathetic.
After many delays, they finally reached River West County.
He regretted agreeing to travel with Chi Tiansheng.
“Stop! This is a military area. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to approach,” a soldier on guard at the barracks gate shouted.
“Brother, we’re here to enlist,” Wang Zhan quickly said.
“Our recruitment is over. Go back,” the soldier said, holding his spear.
“What? Over? You want us to go back?” Chi Tiansheng immediately got anxious.
He had come to enlist just to get enough to eat. After enduring hardships along the way, now they were telling him to go back?
“Why are you shouting?” The two soldiers on guard looked displeased.
This was a military area, and unauthorized personnel were not allowed to approach. This big guy dared to shout loudly here. Did he have no respect for the barracks?
“No, why should I go back? I won’t go back. You lied to us. You said you were recruiting, and now that I’m here, you tell me to go back. You liars,” Chi Tiansheng shouted, his voice loud enough to attract the attention of other soldiers on guard.
The soldiers thought someone was causing trouble at the barracks, so they rushed over with their weapons, surrounding Wang Zhan and Chi Tiansheng.
“Who are you? How dare you cause trouble at our barracks? Do you want to die?” a Sergeant shouted.
“What, are you going to hit us?” Chi Tiansheng got anxious and rolled up his sleeves.
Wang Zhan quickly pulled Chi Tiansheng back, feeling a headache. This big guy was simple-minded and impulsive. If he got angry, he might really start a fight with these soldiers.
If things got out of hand, they wouldn’t just fail to enlist; they might not even make it out alive.
“Please, brothers, my friend here isn’t very bright. Don’t take it personally,” Wang Zhan quickly said.
If a fight broke out, it would be disastrous.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” Zhao Li asked.
“Sergeant, they came to enlist, but the recruitment is over, so I told them to go back. That’s when the big guy started shouting,” one of the soldiers on guard explained.
“Enlist?”
Zhao Li looked at Wang Zhan and Chi Tiansheng, sensing a powerful aura from Wang Zhan.
“What is your cultivation level?” Zhao Li asked Wang Zhan.
“Not much, just the late Postnatal Realm, almost at Great Perfection,” Wang Zhan replied.
“Late Postnatal Realm?” Zhao Li thought. Goodness, this was the first recruit with a cultivation level above the Postnatal Realm.
With such a cultivation level, the General would definitely accept them.
“And you? Big guy,” Zhao Li asked Chi Tiansheng.
“I’m Chi Tiansheng. I’m strong,” Chi Tiansheng said, scratching his head.
Zhao Li:……
Damn it, I asked about your cultivation level, and you tell me you’re strong?
“He hasn’t cultivated, but his blood and energy are strong, and he has the strength of ten thousand pounds,” Wang Zhan explained for Chi Tiansheng.
He was also surprised by Chi Tiansheng. Despite not having cultivated, Chi Tiansheng had incredibly strong blood and energy and immense strength.
“Come with me to see the General,” Zhao Li said immediately.
A naturally strong person with the strength of the Postnatal Realm without cultivation, and a late Postnatal Martial Artist—this was like finding treasure.
Zhao Li led the two to Oliver Sheng.
“General!” Zhao Li ran over to report.
“What is it?” Oliver Sheng asked, looking at Zhao Li.
“General, these two…” Zhao Li pointed at Wang Zhan and Chi Tiansheng and explained the situation.
Oliver Sheng’s eyes lit up as he looked at Wang Zhan and Chi Tiansheng.
Wang Zhan was at the late Postnatal Realm, with a solid foundation, close to breaking through to Great Perfection.
Chi Tiansheng had strong blood and energy, standing over nine feet tall, very robust.
“You two want to join my army?” Oliver Sheng asked.
“This is our General, the Imperial General of the Conquest against the Barbarians,” Zhao Li quickly said.
“General, if we join your army, can we drink Western Wind Blaze?” Wang Zhan asked.
“Yes!” Oliver Sheng nodded.
“Alright, from now on, I, Wang Zhan, will be the General’s soldier,” Wang Zhan said with a smile.
He was a down-and-out swordsman who loved wine and didn’t want to serve a big family. Unable to make money, he decided to join Oliver Sheng’s army.
“General, is it true that we’ll have enough food and meat?” Chi Tiansheng asked earnestly.
Oliver Sheng looked at Chi Tiansheng’s simple and honest face and couldn’t help but laugh. This was exactly the kind of heavy cavalry leader he dreamed of.
Over nine feet tall, nearly two meters in height, burly and muscular, with a body full of muscles.
The key was that he hadn’t even cultivated and already had such strong blood and energy, with strength comparable to a Postnatal Martial Artist.
“General, this guy can eat a lot. He joined the army to avoid going hungry,” Wang Zhan said.
“Heh heh!” Chi Tiansheng laughed honestly.
“You’ll have enough to eat. From now on, you two will follow me, and there will be plenty of food and drink,” Oliver Sheng said with a smile.
“General, I’m hungry. I want to eat meat,” Chi Tiansheng said immediately.
“Go tell the kitchen to prepare meat and bring wine,” Oliver Sheng instructed Zhao Li.
“Yes, General.”
“I heard you’re naturally strong?” Oliver Sheng asked Chi Tiansheng.
“I’m just a bit strong,” Chi Tiansheng replied.
“Punch me. Let me see how strong you are,” Oliver Sheng said, wanting to gauge Chi Tiansheng’s strength.
“This…” Chi Tiansheng looked at Wang Zhan, then at Oliver Sheng.
“You fool, what are you afraid of? Do you think you can hurt the General?” Wang Zhan said, exasperated.
Not to mention the rumors that the General had the strength of a Grandmaster, even a Prenatal Realm expert wouldn’t be hurt by Chi Tiansheng.
“Alright then!” Chi Tiansheng swung his fist at Oliver Sheng.
No technique, no True Essence, just pure blood and strength.
Oliver Sheng caught Chi Tiansheng’s fist with one hand. Chi Tiansheng felt like he was punching a mountain, unable to move an inch.
“Not bad, over nine thousand pounds of force. Truly naturally strong,” Oliver Sheng said, delighted.
This level of strength was comparable to a late Postnatal Martial Artist.
If Chi Tiansheng started cultivating, he would become a formidable general.
This was like finding a treasure.
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