"I suppose you are all aware by now that the Sovereign's intention is the complete annihilation of the Iron Army, or at least to leave them severely crippled. If I were to return with just the remaining brothers, who knows what other troublesome force, like the Mastiff Lion Legion, we might face in a few months? We certainly won't be so lucky next time..." Ye Jingyu spoke after listening to Zhuge Yishi's words...

Seeing no significant change on their faces, Ye Jingyu understood they had accepted this harsh reality. He then continued:

"Therefore, we cannot return, or at least not with this many men. However, Yue Youqun has betrayed us. The secrets we intended to hide are no longer secrets. Even if the person backing Yue Youqun doesn't immediately report to the Sovereign, we ultimately have leverage in their hands, and trouble will arise sooner or later... So, we must return..." Ye Jingyu wasn't afraid of what Luo Xiaofeng might do to him. After all, having utterly destroyed the Mastiff Lion Legion was an undeniable merit. As for why he kept five thousand men hidden, he could easily claim it was for strategic necessity...

"You mean..." Zhuge Yishi raised an eyebrow, dimly beginning to grasp Ye Jingyu's meaning...

"Find a suitable pretext. I will personally lead four thousand men back. After completely annihilating the Mastiff Lion Legion, we will still have over four thousand survivors. Even if the Sovereign doubts us, he won't have sufficient evidence to prove anything. For meritorious officials like us, even if he harbors suspicion, he wouldn't dare make any major moves. As for future threats, what could an army of four thousand truly accomplish?" Ye Jingyu spoke coldly. While the court was murky, he knew that as long as one held sufficient power, all conspiracies would become meaningless...

His own strength had greatly advanced, and entering the Lingxian Realm was only a matter of time. Once he successfully reached the Lingxian Realm, he would possess the strength to contend even with a Martial Saint. Luo Xiaofeng would never ruthlessly destroy him over a minor doubt...

"I understand..." Zhuge Yishi nodded. Ye Jingyu was the General, he proposed the plan, so devising the solution was his role...

"The remaining four thousand men, though they cannot return with me, cannot stay here indefinitely either; otherwise, they'll be no different from bandits... We can use these four thousand men to establish a mercenary force..." In truth, Ye Jingyu intended for these four thousand men to do much more, such as establishing his intelligence network, but their loyalty wasn't high enough yet. He couldn't scatter their structure; forming an intelligence network now was still too premature...

"Mercenaries?" Upon hearing Ye Jingyu utter that word, everyone in the command tent was stunned...

"Uh..." Ye Jingyu suddenly realized, having been in this world for so long, he hadn't heard the term 'mercenary' before. It clearly wasn't a concept indigenous to this world. He quickly explained, "They are armed forces used to protect the wealthy, of course, provided they are paid..."

"Oh, you mean a security escort agency, like a Biaoju..." A look of sudden comprehension washed over their faces...

"Biaoju? Uh, the meaning is similar, I suppose..." Ye Jingyu paused, reflecting that the function of a mercenary and a Biaoju were indeed comparable, and he nodded slightly...

"But to secretly establish a Biaoju of four thousand men under the guise of deceiving the court—this..." When it came to forming a security escort agency with the remaining men, difficulty showed in Zhuge Yishi's eyes. Never mind that most of these men were beyond reproach, even if they weren't, assembling a Biaoju exceeding three thousand men was impossible...

Luo Xiaofeng had personally decreed that no non-governmental armed organization could exceed three thousand members...

"No need to worry. We only need to establish a Biaoju of two thousand men. I have other arrangements for the other two thousand..." Ye Jingyu shook his head but offered no further explanation. Whether opening a Biaoju or pursuing other ventures, it all required money. Apart from the small fortune he obtained by trading gems brought out of the Southern Wasteland Forest, he was, despite his title as General, less than a newly rich man. Aside from his manpower, he didn't even possess a respectable estate, let alone standing comparable to the nobility. Building his own power base would be immensely difficult...

Seeing that Ye Jingyu had a plan, the others refrained from further comment...

In the days that followed, Ye Jingyu and his men temporarily remained with the Iron Army. However, the news that Luo Xiaofeng intended to use the Mastiff Lion Legion to wipe out the Iron Army slowly began to spread. These men were primarily martial artists, individuals valuing loyalty and camaraderie, and they held little affection for the court. Learning this news only deepened their disappointment with the authorities, while their respect for Ye Jingyu, who risked his life to save them, soared...

The entire Iron Army was gradually aligning itself toward Ye Jingyu...

Half a month flew by in the blink of an eye. In the Western Frontier, Xiao Geng advanced like a hot knife through butter, directly leading his army to the capital of the Hu Kingdom, forcing the Hu Sovereign to desperately send envoys to the Shu Yun Kingdom to sue for peace. But how could Luo Xiaofeng, who had finally found an excuse, agree so readily...

It was at this moment that near the Tian Gang Mountain Range in Hu territory, a mysterious army of six thousand appeared. These soldiers possessed extraordinary combat prowess, massacring and pillaging everywhere they went, causing chaos across Hu territory, daring not even to send aid to the Hu capital...

This army was, naturally, the Iron Army led by Ye Jingyu. Knowing that Hu's military strength had been thoroughly crushed by Xiao Geng, he unhesitatingly led four thousand men forward, equipped with supplies for six thousand, charging out of the Tian Gang Mountains to seize the spoils of victory. Otherwise, he truly wouldn't have found a justifiable reason to bring those five thousand men back home...

The reappearance of the Iron Army was swiftly noted by all factions. When Luo Xiaofeng learned that the Iron Army still retained a force of four to six thousand men, he dragged the bedridden Ouyang Leng Can out and brutally beat him...

However, upon learning that Ye Jingyu was still alive, he felt a strange sense of relief...

And the Eldest Young Master, upon hearing that Ye Jingyu had survived, found Yue Youqun and cursed him viciously. Poor Yue Youqun, who could have imagined that a man whose heart was pierced could still live?

As for Xiao Geng, upon hearing of the Iron Army's reappearance, he immediately launched a full-scale war against the Hu capital. He certainly didn't want Ye Jingyu arriving to steal his battle honors...

Knowing this, Ye Jingyu merely offered a cold sneer. After leisurely roaming the border regions of the Hu Kingdom for a while, he turned his army of the remaining four thousand-plus toward the capital city. They currently numbered over four thousand, and they had fulfilled the mission of annihilating the Mastiff Lion Legion—they certainly had justification to return to court now, didn't they?

As for whether the scattered Hu armies in the provinces would march to the capital to surround Xiao Geng after they left, that was no longer his concern...

It would be best if Xiao Geng met total annihilation...