In this chaotic world of vying for power, I can become stronger by marrying a wife.

As night fell, the Jing'an Army camp was brightly lit.

Su Ming stood in front of the newly allocated camp, looking at the empty training ground before him, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.

Shenji Battalion.

That sounds pretty intimidating.

To put it bluntly, it was just an empty promise from Xiao Qingtian.

He has to recruit his own people and choose his own equipment. Whether he can build a capable team depends entirely on his abilities.

"Squad leader... no, centurion."

Wei Lang led his original thirty personal guards over quickly and knelt on one knee.

"We are willing to follow you, sir, and form the Divine Machine Battalion!"

Su Ming glanced at them.

These thirty men were all elites under Xiao Qingtian's command, each a martial artist of the seventh rank or above, skilled in archery and swordsmanship, but it was still not enough, far from enough.

"Get up." Su Ming waved his hand. "You are the backbone of the Divine Machine Battalion, but we are still short seventy people out of a hundred spots."

After saying that, he turned and looked at the area behind the camp that was enclosed by a fence, where all the Jing'an Army prisoners who had violated military law were imprisoned and awaiting exile.

Wei Lang followed his gaze, his expression changing. "Sir, you're not planning to pick people from the prison camp, are you?"

"Is there a problem?" Su Ming raised an eyebrow, speaking nonchalantly.

"What kind of people are in there? Deserters, looters, those who injured their comrades... they're all military scum!" Wei Lang exclaimed urgently. "How can people like that be allowed into the Divine Machine Battalion?"

Su Ming didn't say anything, but simply walked towards the prison camp.

Wei Lang gritted his teeth, still wanting to continue speaking.

But Su Ming raised his hand and stopped him.

Wei Lang had no choice but to lead his men and follow them.

Upon seeing the centurion's token at Su Ming's waist, the guards in the prison camp immediately opened the gate.

A stench hit me.

Inside, there were hundreds of people, dressed in rags, with disheveled hair. Some were slumped on the ground, while others leaned against the wall with their eyes closed, their eyes filled with numbness and despair.

Su Ming walked in, his gaze sweeping over each of the people.

【System scanning...】

[7 trainable individuals detected]

[Prisoner Zhang San (Early Rank 8, Crime: Assaulting his superior, Reason: His superior withheld his military pay, leading to his mother's death)]

[Prisoner Li Si (Mid-rank 8th grade, crime: desertion, reason: returning home to bury his father)]

[Prisoner Wang Wu (Peak Rank 9, Crime: Hoarding military rations, Reason: Providing aid to refugees on the verge of starvation)]

Su Ming narrowed his eyes.

Sure enough, not everyone here is trash; some people have simply been driven to the brink.

"Zhang San," Su Ming said.

In the corner, a burly man with a face full of scars looked up, his eyes wary.

"How did your mother die?"

Zhang San's eyes instantly turned red, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

"That damned centurion starved me to death! He withheld three months' pay from me, and my mother was sick but I had no money for medicine..."

"So you hit him."

"I not only beat him up, I knocked out two of his teeth!" Zhang San gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with hatred. "But what does it matter? I'm still going to die, and my mother still won't come back!"

Su Ming nodded, then looked at the other person, "Li Si, has your father's grave been erected yet?"

Li Si shuddered, looked up, and his eyes instantly welled up with tears. "I was able to stand guard for seven days, but I was caught and brought back..."

"Wang Wu, what happened to those refugees you rescued?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Wu gave a bitter smile: "I don't know, they probably starved to death."

Su Ming nodded, turned to look at Wei Lang, and said, "Look, are these people scum?"

Wei Lang opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Su Ming composed himself, his authoritative voice echoing through the prison camp, "I don't care what crimes you committed, nor do I care whether you truly deserve to die."

"I only have one question."

"Do you still want to live?"

Dead silence.

A moment later, Zhang San suddenly stood up and roared, "Yes! I dream of getting out of here alive and killing all those corrupt officials!"

"I want to too!"

"Me too!"

One by one, the prisoners stood up, the numbness in their eyes fading, replaced by an almost frantic longing.

Su Ming nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. Now, I'll give you a chance."

"Join my Divine Machine Battalion, and come with me to kill, kill barbarians, kill traitors, kill all those who deserve to die."

"If you survive, your crimes will be wiped clean; if you die, you'll die on the battlefield, which is better than staying here and waiting to die."

"But let me make this clear: once you're in my camp, you have to obey my orders. If you dare to desert or disobey orders, I will personally send you on your way."

"Now, those who want to come with me, stand on the left; those who don't, continue squatting."

As soon as he finished speaking, almost without hesitation, everyone stood on the left.

Su Ming glanced at the number of people: 103.

He pointed to seventy of them, "You, step forward."

The person whose name was called was so excited that they trembled all over.

The remaining people's eyes dimmed.

Su Ming looked at them and said calmly, "Don't rush, you also have a chance. Perform well, and when someone in the Divine Machine Battalion dies in battle, you can take their place."

These words, though cold, made the eyes of those who weren't chosen light up again.

There is still a chance. As long as you are alive, there is still a chance.

Su Ming led the hundred men out of the prison camp. Wei Lang and the others looked at the prisoners with complicated expressions.

"Sir, aren't you afraid they'll betray us?"

"Turned against them?" Su Ming sneered, completely unconcerned. "If they had anywhere to go, they would have run away long ago. Now, where else can they go but follow me?"

He turned around, looked at the hundred men, and said seriously, "From today onwards, you are all members of the Shenji Battalion. Go to the armory to collect your equipment later. Tonight at midnight, come with me to kill someone."

"In the first battle, we killed our own people."

Everyone was stunned. Before they could react, they heard Su Ming's voice, which was as cold as a knife.

"There are people colluding with the Northern Barbarians to smuggle military rations at the Black Wind Pass granary. Tonight, we'll burn it down completely, leaving no one alive."

"Hahaha!" Zhang San grinned, revealing a set of yellow teeth, his eyes gleaming with bloodthirsty excitement. "Killing our own people? That's what I'm best at!"

child time.

The night was dark and the wind was high.

The Black Wind Pass Granary, located thirty miles northwest of the Jing'an Army's camp, is the largest grain and fodder storage site in the army.

At this moment, outside the granary, a hundred dark figures moved stealthily like ghosts.

Su Ming walked at the front, holding the black scroll he had obtained from Xiao Qingtian.

The scroll clearly shows the layout of the granary and the list of traitors.

[Grain and Provision Officer: Zhao Hu]

[Adjutant: Qian Kun]

[Guard Captain: Sun Li]

There were seventeen people in total.

A cold smile curled at the corner of Su Ming's lips.

Zhao Hu? What a small world!

This bastard was the one who set a trap on the mountain to kill me. Later, he tried to steal my prey, but I shot him with my slingshot and made him kneel down and beg for mercy.