If I made you cannon fodder, how did you manage to achieve your goal of conquering the wolf's l

The cold blade pierced the skull with a muffled thud.

The hands of the two inner fortress guards froze in mid-air, their movements toward the hilts of their swords halted abruptly.

Xu Qingshan gripped the knife hilt, his gaze cold as ice. His old cotton-padded jacket was soaked in blood and frozen into a dark red hard shell.

"Xu Qingshan! What do you mean by this?!"

Commander Chen's face turned ashen. Pointing at Xu Qingshan, he angrily rebuked, "Do you intend to claim all this credit for yourself? Don't forget, if I hadn't kept the inner gates tightly shut and held back the main force of the barbarians, your remaining troops would have been trampled into mincemeat long ago!"

Utterly shameless!

Upon hearing these words, the soldiers on the outer wall trembled with anger.

Tie Niu's eyes were wide open, veins bulged on his forehead, and his fingers gripped the battle axe so tightly they cracked.

Zhou Laoqi gritted his teeth and gripped his weapon tightly.

Hiding behind the iron gate like a coward, then running out at dawn to claim they are "restraining the enemy"?

Xu Qingshan was not angry, but just sneered and slowly pulled the scimitar from the head.

"To hold back the enemy?" Xu Qingshan's blade drooped, blood dripping down its edge. "The 'holding back' you speak of, sir, means hiding behind the iron gate, not daring to open it even a crack, watching our brothers on the outer wall die?"

Commander Chen, his sore spot touched, blushed and shouted, "Insolence! I am the commander of Black Stone Fortress! You are merely a centurion I promoted, yet you dare to defy your superior!"

Xu Qingshan raised his sword and pointed it at the dented iron gate of the inner fortress.

"Your official authority is indeed great, but unfortunately, when the barbarians rammed the door last night, your authority failed to frighten them away even a step."

Enraged, Commander Chen turned and roared at his personal guards, "Draw your swords! Seize this arrogant scoundrel who has no regard for military discipline!"

The fifty inner fortress guards hesitated for a moment, but still drew their swords.

But in the next moment, they could no longer take another step.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Without Xu Qingshan's order, Tie Niu, Zhou Laoqi, Hou San, and the more than one hundred blood-stained wounded soldiers behind them all raised their weapons.

More than a hundred swords and spears stained with the blood of barbarians gathered together in the morning light to form a steel jungle.

This group of people rolled around in blood and fire all night, and the intense bloodthirsty aura emanating from them was so palpable that it seemed to tangibly assault your senses.

Although the guards in the inner fortress had drawn their swords, their hands trembled uncontrollably, and they instinctively took a step back.

Commander Chen was also taken a step back by this display of force, his face turning pale.

He never expected that these soldiers, who were usually submissive, would dare to draw their swords against each other over a few words.

"Xu Qingshan! Tell your men to put down their knives!" Commander Chen roared, his voice trembling with fear. "You've drawn your swords against your superior; this is tantamount to treason!"

Xu Qingshan stood still, unmoved.

"My lord, the head of that centurion last time was exchanged for the command of the outer wall troops." Xu Qingshan kicked the head of the chiliarch on the ground with his toe. "This time it's a chiliarch... If you still want to use a few empty words to claim credit, I'm afraid you won't have enough bargaining chips."

Seeing that his hard approach was ineffective, Commander Chen quickly considered his options and tried to soften his stance and compromise.

"Qingshan, we are comrades-in-arms. Let's jointly submit a memorial regarding the commander's head! I'll guarantee you the position of squad leader, what do you say?"

"Commander-in-Chief?" Xu Qingshan scoffed. "I don't care."

Chen Baihu gritted his teeth: "Then what do you want?!"

"Hand over the defenses of the inner fortress, and the seal of Black Stone Fortress." Xu Qingshan's gaze was like a sharp blade, piercing straight into Chen Baihu's eyes. "From now on, I will be in charge of Black Stone Fortress."

These words shocked everyone present.

Commander Chen was horrified, his finger trembling as he pointed at Xu Qingshan: "You...you want to seize power?! That's a capital offense!"

"If you disagree, sir, you can ask the brothers behind me if they agree."

Xu Qingshan took a step forward.

"The centurion is mighty!"

With a loud shout, Tie Niu led more than a hundred fierce soldiers to step forward in unison, their killing intent soaring into the sky.

Chen Baihu's legs went weak, and he turned to look at his personal guards.

Those usually arrogant inner fortress guards all lowered their heads at this moment, not daring to look directly into the eyes of the fierce soldiers on the outer wall, let alone go up and fight to the death.

The tide has turned—

Chen Baihu's face was ashen. He knew that if he said "no" today, these bloodthirsty remnants of the army would definitely chop him into pieces.

"Fine...fine! You win!"

With trembling hands, Chen Baihu untied the centurion's seal from his waist and threw it forcefully onto the snow.

"Black Stone Fortress is yours to handle! I'd like to see what fate awaits a lawless scoundrel like you!"

Xu Qingshan didn't even glance at the seal on the ground, but gave Zhou Laoqi a wink.

Zhou Laoqi stepped forward, picked up the seal, and grinned.

"Guards!" Xu Qingshan ordered loudly, "Escort Commander Chen back to his room to rest. No one is allowed to visit him without my permission!"

Several fierce veterans immediately stepped forward, disarmed Commander Chen and the inner fort's guards, and escorted them back to the inner fort.

In the dawn light, Xu Qingshan turned around and looked at the fortress that had been ravaged by war.

"Brothers, into the fort!"

At a command, the remaining soldiers on the outer wall straightened their backs and strode across the drawbridge that had once kept them out, and the iron gates of the inner fortress opened wide for them.

Upon entering the inner fortress, one is greeted by a warm feeling. In contrast to the dilapidated outer walls, the houses here are sturdy and well-preserved, with plenty of charcoal for heating.

Xu Qingshan did not delay and immediately issued the order to take over the defense.

"Xiao Hongluan!"

"Here!" Xiao Hongluan stepped forward, carrying a long spear.

"Take half the men to take over the inner fortress defenses, replace all the original inner fortress guards, move all the usable crossbows and logs from the outer walls up, and rearrange the defenses. The barbarians have suffered heavy losses; be prepared for them to come back."

"Leave it to me." Xiao Hongluan nodded and led her people to arrange the defenses with great efficiency.

"Shen Qinghe!" Xu Qingshan called out as he turned around.

Shen Qinghe walked up from behind, holding a wooden tablet for bookkeeping: "What are your orders, Centurion?"

"Take men to search the inner fortress's storerooms," Xu Qingshan said calmly. "Search everything, including grain, winter clothing, and medicinal herbs, and make a complete inventory."

Half an hour later, Shen Qinghe returned to the main hall with the results of the search.

Her eyes were filled with barely concealed anger: "Centurion, the warehouses in the inner fortress are stockpiled with a large amount of winter supplies. Rice and flour are piled up like mountains, and there are two hundred sets of brand-new thick cotton-padded clothes. These were originally intended to be military supplies for all the soldiers in the fortress, but they have all been intercepted by Centurion Chen and kept in the inner fortress for his own use and that of his fifty personal guards."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers on the outer wall inside the hall burst into curses.

They were freezing outside, unable to even hold a knife, while these corrupt officials were hoarding thick cotton-padded clothes inside, letting them get moldy!

"Distribute the cotton-padded coats." Xu Qingshan ordered without hesitation. "Every brother who participated in the defense of the city last night will receive one set. The remaining grain will be put into the granary outside the city wall for unified distribution."

The soldiers cheered. The veterans who received their new cotton-padded coats put them on, feeling the long-lost warmth, and looked at Xu Qingshan with even more unwavering devotion.

At the same time, Bai Zhi also entered the blacksmith shop in the inner fortress.

The furnaces and tools here are far more complete than the makeshift sheds erected on the outer walls.

She stroked the heavy anvil, her eyes gleaming: "With these tools, I can modify the repeating crossbow twice as fast!"

Xu Qingshan stood on the steps of the main hall, looking at the busy yet orderly inner fortress, and let out a long sigh of relief.

With internal troubles eliminated and military power secured, the situation is now under their control.

Only at this moment did this isolated border town truly come to belong to the Xu family.