Chapter 60: Massive Attribute Surge and Huge Profits from Treasure Chests!

"How can this be?"
"Can even the shield troops fail to protect the officers and generals?"
Li Jian asked with some surprise, his expression grim.
"General."
"After realizing the enemy rebel's expert archers, General Xu ordered all officers of the rank of chiliarch and above to be protected by shield troops."
"Yet the enemy's master archers are simply impossible to guard against. Their arrows can even pierce through the shields."
"This is an arrow from that master archer."
Commander Wei stepped forward, holding an arrow stained with blood.
Li Jian took it and examined it closely for a moment.
"This arrow is cast entirely of iron, and not even ordinary refined iron at that."
"How could the rebels possess such formidable arrows?" Li Jian said with a dark expression.
"General."
"It is precisely these arrows that render our officers defenseless; even under the protection of shields, they cannot be blocked."
"Today's defeat was likewise caused by that rebel master archer."
"Tomorrow."
"We must reformulate our offensive strategy and ensure the officers are properly protected before proceeding. Otherwise, without officers to command and coordinate, our vanguard will be no better than a mob," Xu Kai immediately interjected.
This offensive could well be described as a disastrous defeat, with casualties exceeding ten thousand.
Should the entire blame fall upon him, he would inevitably face severe reprimand, so Xu Kai had to attribute the cause to this factor.
"Hmm." Li Jian nodded, his expression exceptionally grave. After a moment of thought, he said, "Let the troops return to camp to rest first. General Xu, you will reorganize the military structure as soon as possible, and we shall discuss tomorrow's attack then."
"This subordinate obeys your command." Xu Kai breathed a sigh of relief inwardly and immediately bowed deeply.
Meanwhile, atop the city gate ramparts, after watching the enemy forces retreat, Zhu Zheng also let out a slight sigh of relief. The most fierce onslaught of this first day had finally come to an end.
"Tan Yuan!" Zhu Zheng shouted aloud.
"This subordinate is here."
Tan Yuan hurried forward and bowed deeply.
"Count the casualties."
"Send the wounded soldiers to the medical camp for treatment immediately."
"Let the uninjured brothers get a good rest," Zhu Zheng ordered instantly.
"This subordinate obeys." Tan Yuan acknowledged immediately, then quickly dashed off to make the arrangements.
Zhu Zheng withdrew his focus and immersed himself in his status panel: "Attribute Panel."
The next moment, a digitized panel materialized before his eyes.
Host: Zhu Zheng
Age: 25 years old
Internal Energy: 2,289 points
Strength: 2,634 points
Agility: 2,234 points
Spirit: 2,313 points
Stamina: 2,334 points
Lifespan: 125 years and 342 days
Treasure Chests: 14 common treasure chests, 4 tier-one treasure chests
Martial Arts: Charged Slash [Novice], Eight Extremes Collapse [Novice], Consecutive Divine Archery [Proficient]...
Storage Space: 29 cubic meters

Looking at his current comprehensive attributes, Zhu Zheng smiled.
Following this battle, with the enemy forces launching frantic assaults and serving themselves up as targets, Zhu Zheng had specifically targeted the enemy officers.
From corporal, sergeant, all the way to the enemy's assistant regional commander.
It had been immensely satisfying to slaughter them, and it yielded far richer attribute point bonuses than killing ordinary soldiers. After all, military rank represented value and intangible destiny; the higher the rank, the greater the rewards Zhu Zheng would reap upon killing them.
Slaughtering so many enemy officers with arrows this time not only pushed all of Zhu Zheng's attributes past the two-thousand-point mark—granting him over a thousand points in overall attribute enhancements—but also rewarded him with an exceptionally lavish haul of treasure chests: fourteen common treasure chests and four tier-one treasure chests.
One could hardly call this anything less than an explosive and bountiful harvest.
"General."
At this moment, the voice of Zhu Gaoxuo came from the side.
"What brings you here?"
Zhu Zheng turned his head and looked at Zhu Gaoxu.
"General."
"The personal guards belonging to you have already been reorganized."
"A deputy chiliarch battalion, five hundred men strong."
Zhu Gaoxu stepped forward and bowed deeply to Zhu Zheng.
"So fast?" Zhu Zheng was slightly surprised.
Once one reached the rank of assistant regional commander, one was officially a high-ranking military officer, and one's status in the army naturally underwent a leap forward. High-ranking officers were naturally guarded by personal troops—five hundred men, forming a deputy chiliarch battalion.
"The personal guards for an assistant regional commander are personally deployed and selected for elite status by the regional commander himself."
"Wei Quan."
"Come and pay your respects to the General."
Zhu Gaoxu smiled and immediately waved a hand.
In response, an officer clad in the armor of a deputy chiliarch hurried over to Zhu Zheng, bowed deeply, and said, "This subordinate pays respects to the General."
"So it's you."
"You've been promoted now." Zhu Zheng smiled the moment he recognized the man.
The deputy chiliarch before him was precisely one of the centurions under Zhu Zheng's command back when he first served as a deputy chiliarch. Now, he had been promoted.
"This subordinate has followed the General all along. To be promoted this time and even become the commander of the personal guards protecting the General is this subordinate's utmost honor," Wei Quan said, looking at Zhu Zheng with unconcealed admiration and genuine reverence.
"This subordinate pays respects to General Zhu."
Behind Wei Quan, five centurions also bowed deeply to Zhu Zheng in unison.
Zhu Zheng swept his gaze across them.
Four of them exuded a dense military aura, clearly elite soldiers. Only one appeared slightly green, the youngest of them all, lacking the murderous aura of battlefield experience on his body, as if he had only recently enlisted.
Zhu Zheng's gaze immediately settled on this centurion.
"General."
"This one is my disciple, Zhu Sui."
Seeing Zhu Zheng's inquiring look, Zhu Gaoxu stepped forward immediately and replied respectfully.
"What is that old fellow Zhu Zhu thinking, sending his sons to my side?"
Upon hearing the name, Zhu Zheng naturally realized who he was. Without a doubt, this was Zhu Di's third son, Zhu Gaosui. He looked even younger than Zhu Gaoxu, and at this moment, facing Zhu Zheng's gaze, he appeared quite nervous.
"This subordinate, Zhu Sui, pays respects to General Zhu."
Zhu Gaosui, feeling extremely apprehensive, bowed to Zhu Zheng once more.
"The military camp is no easy place to stay."
"It's a place that takes lives."
"As my personal guard, you are destined to charge at the very front, which is also the most dangerous place."
"You had better think this through."
Zhu Zheng said to Zhu Gaosui with a serious tone.
These words were likewise meant for Zhu Gaoxu to hear. Entering the personal guard was entirely different from being other generals who remained in relatively safe positions. Zhu Zheng's style of commanding troops differed from other military leaders.
To lead as a general while charging at the forefront—this was Zhu Zheng's principle.
Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu nodded with utmost seriousness and then said, "From the moment this subordinate enlisted, bearing the high expectations of my father and elder brother, upon entering the battlefield, I shall fear no death."
"In the current army, General Zhu is the bravest and fiercest. The reason this subordinate wished to come to General Zhu's side as a personal guard is precisely to follow the General onto the battlefield to slay enemies and uphold the Great Ming."
With that, Zhu Gaosui bowed deeply: "I implore the General to accept me."
Seeing his earnest and solemn demeanor, Zhu Zheng nodded and said no more: "Since you have decided, there is no room for regret. Once on the battlefield, I hope everyone can survive and witness the success of the Jingnan campaign."
Having spoken, Zhu Zheng looked at Wei Quan: "Since you've arrived, go and help transport military rations up the city walls so the defending soldiers can get a proper rest."
"This subordinate obeys your command," Wei Quan answered readily.
……