Chapter 148: Breaking Force with Force, Meeting Speed with Speed, Subduing Completely!

Having decided to go all out and cooperate with Shang Lu in putting on a display of authority, the two Centurions immediately ordered their weapons to be brought to them and even donned their armor and helmets.

Their differing combat styles were immediately apparent from their respective arms and armor.

The bald Centurion clearly favored the vanguard approach, charging straight into the thick of battle. His primary weapons were a pair of twin Hunyuan hammers. The hammer heads alone were as large as a human head, requiring two or three regular soldiers working together just to lift them. Yet in the hands of the bald Centurion, he wielded one in each hand without the slightest effort. This clearly showed that aside from his acquired martial cultivation, his innate physical strength was immense.

In addition to his heavy hammers, the bald Centurion wore a full set of heavy plate armor. Someone like him appearing on a battlefield was essentially a human tank; short of encountering a martial artist above the Marrow Cleansing Realm, he was truly invincible. Even if he did encounter an expert above the Marrow Cleansing Realm, the bald Centurion could defeat or even slay them with the coordinated support of his squad of soldiers.

As for the Centurion surnamed Feng, although he also wore armor, it was a set of light armor. This lighter gear primarily protected vital areas such as the chest and heart. Inscribed upon the armor were various shamanic runes which, while reducing its weight, also enhanced the wearer's reflexes and speed. The weapons of the Centurion surnamed Feng consisted of a long saber and a rigid bow.

Once equipped, the two Centurions did not stand side by side. Instead, they took up positions one behind the other, forming a pincer formation that trapped Shang Lu in the middle.

This scene made the frontier soldiers watching from the drill ground feel somewhat uncomfortable, yet constrained by the deep-standing prestige of the two Centurions, none of them dared to hoot or jeer.

The two Centurions paid no heed to this, keeping their eyes locked entirely on Shang Lu.

"Lord County尉, we are ready. Please enlighten us!"

"Come on!" Shang Lu beckoned.

The moment his words left his mouth, the two Centurions struck simultaneously.

The bowstring twanged repeatedly in the hands of the Centurion surnamed Feng, and arrow after arrow streaked through the air like lightning, whistling toward Shang Lu. Unlike the previous squad leader, the arrows he shot were not only faster but far more skilled and strategic. Aside from targeting Shang Lu's vital points, they also sealed off any potential paths of evasion.

Meanwhile, the bald Centurion leaped into the air, crashing down upon Shang Lu with the force of a collapsing mountain. Because of his immense speed and sheer power, his twin hammers generated deafening sonic booms even while still in mid-air.

"Well come!"

With a long, ringing roar, Shang Lu unleashed his full strength. He intended to defeat the two Centurions in the fastest and most ferocious manner possible, completely subduing this band of unruly frontier troops once and for all!

Shang Lu flicked his wrist, whipping out the beast-hide lash coiled around his waist. The tip of the whip snapped like a cunning serpent, instantly snaring the arrows fired by the Centurion surnamed Feng and flinging them directly toward the bald Centurion.

Mid-air, the bald Centurion let out a furious roar. Refusing to dodge or parry, he drove his vital blood qi to its absolute limit, choosing to take the onslaught head-on.

*Clang, clang, clang, clang...*

Amidst violent crashes, the arrows imbued with Shang Lu's potent blood qi slammed into the heavy armor. The shamanic runes on the heavy armor flared, erupting into a fierce contest against Shang Lu's blood qi. The formidable blood qi forcefully punched several gaps through the rune-inscribed defenses, allowing a few arrows to slip inside, pierce the heavy armor, and strike the bald Centurion.

With his blood qi driven to the maximum, the bald Centurion possessed a body as tough as bronze and iron, impervious to blades and spears. Even so, he was still pierced and wounded by the arrows. In the blink of an eye, seven or eight arrows embedded themselves into the bald Centurion's body, blood spilling out to stain his armor crimson.

Yet the bald Centurion did not even blink. Such injuries meant nothing to someone accustomed to charging at the forefront of bloody battlefields. If anything, the pain thoroughly ignited his fighting spirit, making him feel as though he had returned to the front lines.

In an instant, the bald Centurion leaped right in front of Shang Lu. His twin Hunyuan hammers descended with the momentum to shatter mountains.

Shang Lu neither dodged nor retreated. Since the bald Centurion excelled in brute strength, he would defeat him precisely in terms of raw power. Only in this way could the bald Centurion be thoroughly and utterly convinced of his defeat!

Shang Lu whipped the beast-hide lash upward like a giant python lunging for its prey, meeting the incoming Hunyuan hammers head-on.

Seeing this, the bald Centurion was not alarmed, but rather delighted. In his view, a soft whip could never hope to block a full-powered blow from his hammers!

Yet the next moment, he discovered to his absolute horror that he was utterly mistaken.

*Boom—*

Amidst a violent shockwave, the Hunyuan hammers collided heavily with the beast-hide whip. The scenario the bald Centurion had anticipated—where his hammer would deflect the whip and then crush Shang Lu—did not occur at all.

The moment the soft whip collided with his Hunyuan hammers, it instantly hardened under the surge of Shang Lu's blood qi, becoming as rigid as a steel rod. Far from being beaten aside, it met force with force, unleashing an unimaginably powerful explosive burst that directly cracked the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers, sending a numbing shock through both his arms and stripping away his grip on the hammers.

*Whoosh—*

The bald Centurion's twin hammers were sent flying away through the air.

*Such terrifying explosive force! This is strength that only someone in the Marrow Cleansing Realm can possess! Wasn't it said that Lord County尉 was merely a constable until very recently? Why does he possess such terrifying strength?*

Shock washed over the bald Centurion, but his reactions remained swift. He reached toward his waist to draw his saber while thrusting his fist toward Shang Lu with his other hand.

*Boom—*

Shang Lu continued to meet force with force, trading blows with him fist to fist.

The bald Centurion's build was a full size larger than Shang Lu's, his fist twice the size of Shang Lu's own, yet in terms of sheer strength, he was completely crushed by Shang Lu. Shang Lu's single punch sent him flying backward through the air.

Yet this was not what shocked the bald Centurion the most. What terrified him the most was that his fist had not been shattered to pieces. Although Shang Lu's punch had been packed with overwhelming might, he had held back just enough force. This made it abundantly clear that Shang Lu's mastery and control over his own strength had reached an extraordinarily sublime level.

The very instant the bald Centurion was sent flying, the follow-up volley of arrows fired by the Centurion surnamed Feng arrived at Shang Lu's back. At the same time, the Centurion surnamed Feng lunged forward with ghost-like footwork, attempting to launch a sneak attack under the cover of the bald Centurion's flight and the rain of arrows.

The speed of the Centurion surnamed Feng was blistering. He assumed Shang Lu's attention was entirely focused on the bald Centurion and distracted by the arrows, meaning he would surely fail to notice him.

However, he never expected that Shang Lu's hearing far surpassed that of ordinary people. The moment he moved, Shang Lu detected his whereabouts through the subtle shift in approaching footsteps.

Without even turning around, Shang Lu directly projected his blood qi backward. A massive wave of formidable blood qi surged outward, meeting the incoming arrows and instantly obliterating them. The shrapnel, carrying immense kinetic energy, swept outward in all directions, blasting toward the Centurion surnamed Feng as well.

Drawing his saber with lightning speed, the Centurion surnamed Feng hacked and deflected the flying debris, only to discover that Shang Lu had vanished.

*Where is he?!*

The Centurion surnamed Feng was startled.

"Behind you!"

Still airborne and yet to land, the bald Centurion had a clear view from his angle and shouted out in warning, having spotted Shang Lu using blinding footwork to circle behind his comrade.

*What?!*

Horror gripped the Centurion surnamed Feng. His own speed was already terrifyingly fast—how could Shang Lu possibly be even faster than him?!

He whirled around in a panic. Before he could even catch sight of Shang Lu, a brilliant flash of saber light erupted like the blazing sun, nearly blinding his eyes.

The Centurion surnamed Feng was forced into a frantic parry.

Yet Shang Lu's saber technique was like a howling gale, raining down frantic, overlapping strikes. Each slash was faster than the last, each blow more ferocious than the preceding one. Before he could parry even two blows, his saber was knocked spinning from his grasp.

Then, the edge of Shang Lu's blade came to rest lightly against his neck.

"I yield!"

The Centurion surnamed Feng immediately conceded defeat. "Lord County尉's cultivation is far superior to ours. I yield."

Shang Lu sheathed his saber.

Over on the side, the bald Centurion had picked himself up off the ground. He trudged over, offered a military salute to Shang Lu, conceded his defeat, and thanked Shang Lu for showing mercy.

After a brief pause, he asked with lingering curiosity, "My Lord, I heard that until recently, you were merely a local constable?"

"Indeed," Shang Lu nodded.

The bald Centurion exclaimed in wonder, "Are all constables in the interior this outrageous? Judging by your cultivation, you must have reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm, right?"

Shang Lu laughed heartily. "The constables in the interior aren't all monsters. When I was a constable, I was only at the Bone Forging Realm; I only broke through to the Marrow Cleansing Realm recently."

Hearing this, the frontier soldiers assembled on the drill ground grew even more astounded. To elevate one's cultivation from the Bone Forging Realm to the Marrow Cleansing Realm in the span of a few short months? Such a rate of cultivation was practically unheard of, and far more shocking than him beating all the squad leaders and centurions flat.

Shang Lu returned his blade to its scabbard and swept his gaze across the assembled troops.

"Is there anyone else who refuses to submit and wishes to test my skills?"

"We yield!"

"Lord County尉 possesses genuine martial prowess, and we are convinced heart and soul!"

The frontier soldiers chimed in from all directions, their attitudes undergoing a complete one-eighty-degree transformation compared to when Shang Lu had first arrived.

The Centurion surnamed Feng cupped his fists in a salute of apology, saying, "We were blind before, and we ask the Lord to punish us!"

"Punishment won't be necessary," Shang Lu waved a hand.

His display of authority had achieved its purpose; now was the time to bridge the gap and win their loyalty.

With a smile, he said, "As elite frontier troops, you were suddenly transferred back to the interior to serve as county soldiers, and forced to answer to someone who rose up from being a constable. It's completely normal for you to harbor doubts and resentment. If I were in your shoes, I'd probably think my superior was just some bootlicker who rode the coattails of a powerful patron without any real ability. I wouldn't want to serve under such a commander either.

"Now that the fight is over and you've witnessed my abilities, we are all a family from here on out. As long as you perform your duties diligently, I will never be stingy with rewards..."

The frontier soldiers burst into loud laughter, feeling that Shang Lu truly understood them and had spoken the thoughts straight from their hearts.

Once he had finished offering conciliatory words, Shang Lu's smile abruptly vanished, replaced by a stern expression as he declared coldly, "However, starting today, if anyone dares to stir up trouble or disobey orders, I will punish them severely according to military law!"

Their expressions tightening, the men hastily reined in their smiles and cupped their fists in unison.

Having finished his admonition, Shang Lu dismissed the rank-and-file soldiers, keeping only the two Centurions and the four squad leaders behind to issue his directives:

"You've all seen the local militia in the county, haven't you? Their combat strength is indeed inferior to yours, and the batch of recruits we recently brought in is even worse off. Therefore, my plan is to intersperse the two hundred of you among the militia, letting your men whip them into shape. You must pass down your tactical formations, your fierce fighting spirit, and your battlefield experience to them! Furthermore, I want a group of experienced scouts selected to report directly to me, tasked with patrolling the county territory..."

The two Centurions and four squad leaders exchanged glances.

Aside from wanting to use experienced veterans to train greenhorns and swiftly elevate the combat effectiveness of the militia and recruits, Shang Lu had another objective: scattering and reorganizing their two hundred men to prevent any future cliques or rebellions.

Had this been before today, they certainly would not have agreed. But now, they had been thoroughly subdued by Shang Lu's might. Even if they felt dissatisfied with this arrangement, they dared not raise objections, let alone plot behind his back.

Having laid out his dispositions for the frontier troops, Shang Lu swept his eyes over the two Centurions and four squad leaders and asked:

"I have stated my intentions. Who is in favor, and who is against?"