"Really? After all these years as a County Magistrate, you haven't pocketed a single penny?" Oliver Sheng looked at Magistrate Chen.

Could this guy really be an honest official?

"If you think you can do better, take my place. I'll write to His Majesty right now." If he weren't no match for Oliver Sheng, he would've smashed that handsome face of his.

"Hey, if I could even pass the scholar exam, do you think I'd care about a mere County Magistrate position?" Oliver Sheng's tone was full of disdain, as if the position was beneath him.

He wanted to be the top scholar, the Prime Minister, and...

"Just tell me, how much can you lend me at most? Give me a definite answer. I need the money to buy food for the soldiers. Surely, you wouldn't want to see nine thousand soldiers starving, would you, Magistrate Chen?"

"Five thousand taels at most. That's my entire savings, take it or leave it." Magistrate Chen was utterly exasperated with this persistent debtor.

Clearly, he was here to borrow money, but he acted like he was here to collect a debt.

"What? Five thousand? You must be really poor." Oliver Sheng widened his eyes at Magistrate Chen.

How did this guy manage to be a County Magistrate and fail so miserably?

With so many wealthy families in the city, he hadn't managed to pocket a single penny?

Even the village chiefs in his previous life made more money than Magistrate Finn Chen.

"Forget it, just leave. You're not welcome here." Finn Chen was so angry that veins popped on his forehead.

He was considered poor?

Five thousand taels of silver was a considerable fortune. How much did a pound of grain cost?

One tael of silver could support a family of five for a month.

"Alright, alright, five thousand it is. I'll pay you back in a few days. Why be so stingy?" Oliver Sheng quickly said.

Finn Chen was so angry he was practically blowing his beard, though he didn't have one.

He had lent all his savings, and he was still called stingy? That was his dowry money for getting a wife.

In the end, Oliver Sheng borrowed five thousand taels of silver from Magistrate Chen, temporarily alleviating the financial crisis in the military camp.

After Oliver Sheng left, the old steward stood behind Finn Chen.

"Master, why did you lend him all the money?" The old steward was puzzled. The military camp lacked funds; they should be asking the court for money.

"What does he need the money for?" Magistrate Chen asked calmly.

"To support the army," the old servant replied honestly.

"And why support the army?"

"To defend River West County."

"And what is my position?"

"County Magistrate of River West County."

"Seems like you're not senile yet!"

"I understand now."

...

After borrowing the money, Oliver Sheng continued training his soldiers. They ate well every day because only well-fed soldiers had the strength to train and the energy to cultivate.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The Wild Bull Strength technique involved eating, honing the body, eating, and honing the body again. It was perfect for military training.

In just a month, under Oliver Sheng's relentless feeding and training, many new recruits had broken through to the early stage of Martial Disciple, gaining some combat power.

His soldiers were starting to take shape, no longer just simple-minded farmers.

Three days later, Zane Wang returned to the camp.

"General, we have a target." Zane Wang reported to Oliver Sheng.

"Tell me!" Oliver Sheng's eyes lit up.

"In Tianlin County, a mountainous area, there's a band of over ten thousand bandits. Their leader is a powerful martial artist in the Prenatal Realm. The Ding Prefecture soldiers have tried multiple times to eliminate them but to no avail."

"Over ten thousand bandits with a Prenatal Realm martial artist? This band is not simple." Oliver Sheng stroked his chin.

To have so many bandits and still be safe, they were either the pawns of a powerful figure or secretly nurtured by a great aristocratic family.

Otherwise, wild bandits couldn't have grown to such a scale.

They would've been wiped out long ago for someone's political gain.

This wasn't the chaotic end of a dynasty.

"This band of bandits has been entrenched in Tianlin County for ten years, so they must be quite wealthy," Zane Wang added.

This statement directly stimulated Oliver Sheng's nerves. Wealth was exactly what he needed; otherwise, what was the point of robbing them?

"Damn it, let's go for them. How far is Tianlin County from here?" Oliver Sheng asked.

"A day's ride for the cavalry."

"It's time to test these wolf cubs. No matter how much they train, they need to see blood first. Otherwise, they'll always be new recruits," Oliver Sheng said decisively.

Then, Oliver Sheng called his two Colonels, Cameron Guo and Wesley Hu.

"General!"

Cameron Guo and Wesley Hu entered Oliver Sheng's quarters.

"You two, guard River West County well. I have some business to attend to," Oliver Sheng instructed them to guard the city.

Although it was winter, cold and snowy, making an invasion by the Barbarians and Huns unlikely, he still needed to give instructions.

"Yes, General!"

Cameron Guo and Wesley Hu didn't ask where Oliver Sheng was going. Their orders were to defend River West County.

After giving instructions, Oliver Sheng took his thousand men and two thousand warhorses, leaving River West County silently at night.

The next morning, when Xiao Chuyi got up to train her soldiers, she found that Oliver Sheng and his thousand-man army were missing from the camp.

Sensing something was wrong, Xiao Chuyi immediately found Cameron Guo.

"Colonel Guo, where is General Sheng?" Xiao Chuyi asked Cameron Guo.

Looking at Xiao Chuyi, Cameron Guo was very cautious.

"I don't know!"

"You don't know?"

"How would I know? Does General Sheng need to report his whereabouts to me, a mere Colonel?"

Cameron Guo snorted, implying that Xiao Chuyi was overstepping her bounds.

Xiao Chuyi stared intently at Cameron Guo, trying to discern something from his face.

But Cameron Guo wasn't a fool. Though not as cunning as a fox, he was an experienced veteran.

Not getting the answer she wanted, Xiao Chuyi had to return to her training.

Wesley Hu was also a direct subordinate of Oliver Sheng, so she couldn't get anything from him either.

Oliver Sheng's troops traveled through the night and reached the outskirts of Tianlin County.

Tianlin County was mostly mountainous, with few plains, making it unsuitable for cavalry.

But Oliver Sheng wasn't here to train cavalry; he was here to test his military formations.

"Zane Wang, take a team and scout out the bandits' position and defenses," Oliver Sheng ordered.

"Yes, General."

Zane Wang took twenty scouts and quickly disappeared from sight.

"The rest of you, rest here. Set up sentries to prevent anyone from approaching the camp," Oliver Sheng quickly instructed.

They didn't approach the county town or villages but stopped in a forested area, which provided good cover.

By evening, Zane Wang returned with the scouts.

"General, we've scouted the area. The bandits have set up camp on a hill behind a village outside Pingshan Town. The terrain is easy to defend but poorly guarded. It won't be hard to sneak up on them," Zane Wang reported.

"Good, we'll set off now and launch the attack at the end of the third watch. By then, their defenses will be even more lax, and they'll be sleepy. It'll be easier to sneak up on them," Oliver Sheng ordered the troops to move towards Qingshan Town.

The end of the third watch was around 4 AM, the time when night owls were most likely to be drowsy.

They reached the outskirts of Pingshan Town, bypassed the town and villages, and headed straight for Tiger Roar Mountain. The bandits called themselves the Green Forest Heroes of Tiger Roar Hall, but according to Zane Wang's investigation, they were ruthless bandits who robbed caravans, burned and looted villages, kidnapped women, and were a scourge to the common people of Tianlin County.

The villagers at the foot of the mountain were like livestock to these bandits, to be slaughtered at will. The people of Pingshan Town had become numb to their suffering.

The county soldiers couldn't deal with the bandits, and the common people had no choice but to endure.

"General, let me take a team to eliminate the guards at the checkpoint first," Zane Wang suggested.

Now a Great Perfection Martial Artist, Zane Wang was confident. Ordinary bandits were no match for him.

Thanks to the Huns' pills they had seized on the grasslands, the three hundred veterans following Oliver Sheng had received a lot of cultivation pills, greatly enhancing their strength.

"Take ten martial artists with you," Oliver Sheng nodded.

Zane Wang took ten martial artists and sneaked up the mountain.

Oliver Sheng led the main force, ready to attack at any moment.

On the mountain path, under the dim light of a fire, a few bandits guarding the path were dozing off.

"Ah... I'm so sleepy. Damn it, always making us guard the path. It's cold and tiring," a pockmarked-faced bandit yawned and complained.

"Shut up, Wang Pockmark. If the squad leader hears you, you're dead," a companion warned.

"Pfft, Tang Liping only became a squad leader because he sent his sister to be the seventh leader's concubine. What's he so smug about? His sister must be suffering under the seventh leader," Wang Pockmark grumbled angrily, emboldened by his fatigue.

"Shut up, do you want to die? Don't drag us down with you," another bandit glared at him, looking like he wanted to kill.

Daring to gossip about the seventh leader was asking for death.

Facing the murderous glare, Wang Pockmark obediently shut up.

The mountain path fell silent again. The bandits huddled around the fire, cold and sleepy, soon dozing off.

Zane Wang and his ten martial artists silently approached.

He struck first, covering a mouth with one hand and slitting a throat with the other.

Four others joined him, swiftly killing the guards.

"Take a deep breath. Feeling dizzy is normal; it won't hurt for long."

Wang Pockmark and the others didn't make a sound as Zane Wang and his team easily slit their throats.

Oliver Sheng led the main force up the mountain slowly.

At the gate of the bandit camp, Zane Wang and his team dealt with the sentries.

Unfortunately, a bandit with a weak bladder got up to relieve himself and saw Zane Wang and his team in a daze.

He saw white knives go in and red knives come out as the sentries fell silently, scaring him so much that he nearly wet himself.

"Who are you?" he shouted.

Zane Wang and his team were discovered, but it didn't matter; they were already at the gate.

"Kill!"

The ten martial artists charged, slicing the bladder-weak bandit into ten pieces.

He had ruined their perfect ambush.

The noise woke the bandits, who saw Zane Wang and his team slicing their comrade and raised the alarm.

"Kill!"

The main force, following behind, launched their attack.

The sound of battle echoed through the bandit camp.